Crawling Through Europe:

a photo travel journal

Ed H. Chi, May 2000.

Photos are for sale.

One does not realize the extent of one's existence until one has traveled to experience the world and to experience oneself.  We are constantly the victim of our own environment and the environment in which we create and choose to live in.  To travel is to see and experience environments that are foreign, different from the ones that we're used to.  It is to this end that voyages are meant to broaden our "horizon", both in the figurative and literal sense of the word.  It is in the service of this capacity that I've embarked on this voyage.
Oppression, condemnation, depression, and other forms of human misery are all really forms of isolation, which is a fundamental fear of loneliness.  For example, oppression becomes more bearable only if there are others who are willing to stand up for the same cause and are also oppressed by it.  It takes courage to stand alone, because of the consequence of being alone.
So, this is a historic moment in my personal history.  To travel alone and to experience the challenges of a unfamiliar culture, people, and language.  Facing the consequences of your actions alone, and the freedom to choose the direction of your own destination and destiny.  A powerful feeling.  A fundamental fear of loneliness has finally been digested in the last year or so.  This trip has been the capstone to this new awareness.  I'm grateful to this change and cherish the fruits of the results.

Written while waiting for my bullet train:
2000-04-22 3.30pm Gare du Nord, Paris.

Mission:  Crawl Through Europe
Place: Amsterdam, Hague, Paris, Provence
Date: March 31 - April 23, 2000
Operative: Special Agent 0001 Edward The Newly Independent Bit
 

Week 1: Amsterdam, Hague, Leiden

Tap into the resources in the Netherlands, and establish a base from which to make contacts and tactical decisions.
 

Week 2: Paris

Assimilate Parisian culture, infiltrate, and go undercover.  Eat lots of good dinners, and try not to appear like a tourist.
 

Week 3: Avignon, Aix-en-Provence

Recover old artifacts from Provence, in Southern France.  Sit in sidewalk cafes, and enjoy the sun and the views.
 

                        Home Sweet Home....

(with a bottle of Paddy's, about the only thing that I brought back.  If you know what it is, then you need to invite me out for a drink.)

Art I saw that I liked:
Dalou, the peasant sculpture.
Marie, Bashkirtseff, sculpture. Douleurde Nausicna 1884.
Albert Bartholome', Fillette pleurant, 1894
Maurice Denis, Nu, Femme assiste, de dos, 1891, Pastel, Musee d'Orsay


Page made May 2nd, 2000                 Text and Images Copyright 2000, Ed H. Chi, All rights reserved.

Ed H. Chi (chi [at] acm.org)
Copyright 1996-2009 Ed H. Chi

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.