Spring 2012 - Clarion University

The
“Student Voices” section concludes with two travel journals. Mariah’s story
acts as inspiration. She argues study abroad offers the opportunity to redefine
what freedom means, a chance to examine our identity and acquire another lens
through which to see the world. Her words underscore the WGS Advisory Council’s
decision to set globalizing the curriculum as a priority.
I share a tale, too, in part as answer to the “So what are you going to do
when you retire” question. I hesitate, seeking the perfect answer, one that shows
I’m ready.
My husband assures immediately, “She may not know exactly,” he sighs. “But
she’s always got a pot boiling.”
I say aloud, “Whatever I want.” But secretly I yearn to travel light, read lots
and write my memoirs – say somethin’ about the women in my life. I start here.
TRaVeLing thRough the PRism
Mariah Yancey, english,
Wgs & spanish minors,‘10
The following passages are excerpts
from my journal as I traveled across
Europe from January 2009 until June
2009…one of the best life-altering
experiences of my life to date…
This is something that I have always
wanted to do—travel and see the
world, do things I would otherwise never
have been able to do, meet new
people and create a new definition
of freedom for myself in multiple ways.
Eight countries total – Spain, Portugal,
Italy, France, Holland, England, Germany
and Morocco in six months:
sPain: The men I pass in the streets
of Spain are strange but nice, as it
is mostly because of how open they
are. They’re helpful and generous, but
if they find you attractive, they’ll have
no problem stating why, from head to
toe, adding a whistle on top. They
stand right in your face to talk to you,
and many times I think that they are just
flat out going to knock me down when
they come to chat. Elders refer to
young women as “hija” or “daughter,”
and my host mother, Encarni, would say
“mi hija” or “my daughter,” their term of
endearment that respects our distance.
I love the people here. They
all nicely correct my Spanish in stores,
making sure I understand why it’s said
this way and not that, especially if I
use a Latin American phrase, for which
they continue to explain why theirs
is better. They are laid back, letting
their dogs roam freely on the streets
and riding bicycles everywhere, so I
join them, soaking in the freedom of
los kioskos y cervecerias, or kiosks and
beer stands, on every corner as the
sun beams in everyone’s faces. Along
the Quadalquivir River, the “Port to the
Americas” in the 13th century, stand
lines of Orange trees and wooden
lattices strung with lavender flowers.
The citrusy-floral heat greets the face
and absorbs the body, because the
soul had been lost in it long ago. That
smell will be with me forever…Sevilla,
España, la maravillosa.
In Barcelona, while staying in a hostel
room with eight other strangers doing
exactly what my friend and I are doing,
I met an older British friend, Sam, with
whom I reconnected in his hometown
of London, England, later in my globe
trot. In London, while spending four
days and three nights with Sam, my
life is transformed. I find myself sitting
in his unkempt garden under a typical
cloudy London sky. Surrounding us
are pink and blue weeds as we sit at a
white, cast iron table, wearing matching
white robes and enjoying breakfast
of poached eggs, sausage and toast,
all prepared by my wonderful host. I
truly believe that we met to fulfill a
deep need we both have, if only for
a brief moment. He shows me that it is
OK to be sexual, not to be afraid of
it, that it is natural and that all men do
not take advantage of others’ weaknesses.
Because of this, I have been
more comfortable with my wants and
unwants, my “yeses” and “nos,” as well
as my “whos” and “wheres or whens.”
MoroCCo: There are hardly any
women to be seen and when they are,
they never look up and generally seem
rushed. If she does happen to be
working in The Medina, their maze-like
market place, she is in the back mixing
up food or crafting her trade that her
husband will sell for his profit. There is
poverty everywhere and starving chil-
39