Page 17 - Pauza Magazine

travel

peace corps time warp

all 50 states and the District of Columbia in A famous aphorism at-
the 2012 presidential election, plus nearly all tributed to Buddha reads,
the Senate races. Apparently he made quite a
few headlines that must not have reached us “as you walk, and eat, and
overseas. travel be where you are.
On an early January visit to New York City, I Otherwise you will miss

may have been the sole patron of the MTA No. most of your life.”
7 line train to Manhattan bereft of Apple prod-
ucts, as everyone around me furiously texted urge to share photos of cats in silly hats with
distant friends and relatives on an iPhone or hundreds of people I may vaguely know.
shot pigs with tiny kamikaze birds on an out-
sized iPad. Over dinner at Madison Square The most notable conversation piece of my
Park’s Eataly – imagine an IKEA-esque Ital- apartment in Negotino was a hand drawn
ian farmer’s market combined with sandwich Facebook logo hanging on the wall with a bold
shops and sit-down Italian ristoranti – I was red X crossed through it. Visitors never failed
openly mocked as I brandished a pocketsize to ask me about it, allowing me to explain one
Sony digital camera to capture my plate of of the guiding principles of my Peace Corps
pesto lasagna and red wine. service: being mentally present wherever I am.

“People still have those?” my college buddy A famous aphorism attributed to Buddha reads,
cracked as he and another college friend re- “as you walk, and eat, and travel be where
corded the moment with their iPhones’ dual you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your
cameras. “I haven’t seen one in years!” life.”

I may sound old fashioned, but I’m perfectly Instead of spending all my time tele-
happy not knowing how to work anything phoning friends in the United
fancier than my antiquated iPod States, perusing nostalgia-
Nano nor feeling the irrepressible inducing photographs on
I may sound old Facebook, or even reading
up on current events in
fashioned, but my hometown and state,
I’m perfect- I focused my thoughts
ly happy not as often as I could on
where I was – in Nego-
knowing how to tino – and into relation-
work anything ships with the people I
fancier than my encountered there. And
I like to think that it made
antiquated iPod my Peace Corps experience
Nano nor feeling so much more rewarding and

the irrepressible urge fulfilling than it might have been
to share photos of otherwise.
cats in silly hats with In the spirit of full disclosure, I did just or-

hundreds of people I der myself a Kindle Fire HD. I might be-
come a techno addict yet.
may vaguely know.
Fall 2012 – 17
Winter 2013 – 17