Holy cow, Batman! Journal 9

Throughout this semester, we have had the opportunity to read the pieces of many different travel writers. Through Mary Russell we have seen what post-war Bosnia was like, through Twain we were able to encounter a spur of the moment trip across the continental United States, and lastly through Kapuscinski we learned about a pressing desire to travel. While these are not all of the writers that our class has encountered, these are the select few that pop into my head when Friday comes and its time to reflect once again. (*disclaimer, I couldn’t pick just two, so I had to pick three)

For those who are unfamiliar with Mary Russell, she embarked on a trip to Bosnia during one of the first elections. Once arriving she reflects how, “to local people, of course, armored cars and tanks and guns are simply the furnishings of post-war Bosnia and most people are glad they’re there” (Russell, p.127). After the reflects she embarks on a journey to Sarajevo where she will “have to leave the safety of the bus” (Russell, p.135). When most people face situations like this they will run away in fear willing to miss the experiences that will come. Only a select few of writers will embark on journeys to areas that are not the safest or to areas that are still in turmoil. 

Twain’s story differs only slight from Russell. While Twain doesn’t enter a state of post-war, he does begin a journey across the west or at the time, the unknown terrain of the United States. According to Twain, his brother was about to make a “long, strange journey … new world he was going to explore” (Twain, p.1). Twain was so enraptured by the journey his brother was willing to make he jumped at the opportunity to become an assistant and “at the end of an hour or two I was ready for the journey” (Twain, p.2). Unlike Twain, many people are unwilling to join trips that are not thought out or thoroughly planned. 

Lastly, Kapuscinski takes his readers through his journey of crossing a border for the first time. Since Kapuscinski was from a post-Stalin era “the closer one got to a border, the emptier the land and the fewer people one encountered” (Kapuscinski, p.9). Not many people would be willing to leave a country based on the fear that surrounds them, the world that is unknown. He explains how he was taught “to fear the West like fire” (Kapuscinski, p.11).

With these three travel writers there are many similarities and differences. First, Russell and Kapuscinski both explain post-war states; however, it differs because Kapuscinski grew up through one and Russell willingly travels to one. All three writers are similar since they are all traveling to places where it is not entirely known what they will encounter and all pre-conceived notions will be put to the test. I believe the biggest difference between these three writers is not only their destination but their reasoning as to why they traveled. Russell was traveling for a political election, Kapuscinski was traveling because he wanted to simply cross a border, and Twain jumped at the opportunity to see a new place. 

All three of these writers have taught me to grasp every opportunity that is presented to me and to not run in fear or “become a soft first-world traveler,” as Steve’s says, if a country is not exactly like the area I am familiar with.