Episode 48: The Visa Situation—Germany, Where Andes Hoped to Become a Minority

Andes has to get a letter from the office of labor in Bonn, so that he can extend his stay in Berlin, before returning to Sweden to continue his studies, before ultimately, maybe, one day returning to Indonesia.  I went with him to the post office ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Join the Observer Effect Kiva Team→ Subscribe in iTunes→ 

Visit the Global Experience, where Andes interns→  

Learn More about Life Back Home→

Practice Easy German→ 

“What I hear most often as I travel the country are five words that never, ever fail to touch my heart, that’s ‘I am praying for you.’”

— Donald Trump

Episode 47: It All Stems from Naivety—Damascus, Where Binta Met an Old Man

Binta took her very first trip alone at a very young age.  Looking back, she wonders if maybe she might have been too trusting.  We asked why she's traveling alone still ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“All my days I have longed equally to travel the right road and to take my own errant path.”

— Sigrid Undset

Episode 46: The Other Kaveesh—Quintana Roo, Where Kaveesh Spent His Last Pesos

Kaveesh grew up in Toronto and wonders what he might have been had he only ever stayed there rather than study in London.  We asked who's on the other path that diverged from the one he chose ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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Visit Junior's Barbershop→

“I know you must hold secrets, such a long way from home. Some day you won’t be so alone. Some day you’ll be where you should go.”

— Britt Daniel

Episode 45: A Matter of Circumstance—Egypt, Where Silas Started to Wonder

Silas works at Harding University in Greece, an overseas program where students spend a semester just outside Athens.  A former attendee himself, he now leads the trips around the Mediterranean that made such a big impact on his life.  I asked whether he could put into words what this kind of experience does to a young person ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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See Mohammad's Story on Kiva.org→

“The mere exercise of attention—eyes wide, ears pricked, heart open—is not a bad way to move through the world.”

— Mary Karr

Episode 44: Everyone—Chicago, Where Helkin Came Out

Helkin moved to Chicago from Venezuela to study English, with dreams of big city life and plans to return to the company that gave him time off.  He ended up falling in love and getting married.  I asked why he came out ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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Go to Dollop→

“Trembling knees and an unrelenting sense of failure is one way forward.”

— Terri Kapsalis

Episode 43: The Tattoo—Australia, Where Bertrand Was Cured of Travel

Bertrand shared a traditional Italian drink with us from a wooden, six-spouted pot—called La Grolla—one evening in his home in Bordeaux with his girlfriend Anna.  We had no idea how rich a story he would tell when we asked what his tattoo means ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“It seemed to me beyond the realms of possibility that I should travel so far.”

— Sigmund Freud

Episode 42: The Last—Kenya, Where Anna Kidnapped a Baby

Anna was once a stewardess and did something unexpected on her regular route to Kenya, but that's just one small part of her story.  She met her boyfriend Bertrand in Australia, when she moved there from Italy because of a tragedy.  And we met them when we stayed in their apartment in Bordeaux, France through Airbnb.  Nearly every night, they cooked a special dish for us since they're chefs.  We couldn't believe our good fortune, asking excitedly how all these travels changed her ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“As often happens with the most beautiful adventures in life, this journey began by chance.”

— Tiziano Terzani

Episode 41: Fingertip, Dot, Ray, Gauze, Sea—Casa Azul, Where Tomek Saw Symbolism

Tomek visited Frida Kahlo's Blue House in Mexico City, little knowing that I would interview him while we stood in line.  I asked him to describe one of her paintings ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Lend to Lourenco on Kiva.org→  Subscribe in iTunes→

Check out Saskia Diez's Designs→

“As a matter of fact, there is just as much that is interesting, strange, mysterious, and wonderful; just as much to be learned that is edifying, broadening, and refining in a cabbage as there is in a page of Latin.”

— Booker T. Washington

Episode 40: The Berber Nomad—Morocco, Where Hamou Wouldn't Talk to Me

Hamou did not want to share his story with me.  This is the first anniversary of The Observer Effect.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“Great eloquence may seem to be inarticulate.”

— Laozi

Episode 38: Thus You Shall Bless—Hawaii, Where Carroll Wanted to See the Stars

Carroll moved from Chicago to Arkansas, then Texas.  I asked why he didn't feel worthy of going on the trip to Hawaii his kids gave him to celebrate his thirty-fifth anniversary ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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See Elsie's Story on Kiva.org→

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

— Numbers 6: 24-26

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Episode 37: If You're Going To—Standing Rock, Where Mary Ann Delivered Supplies

Mary Ann wanted to support the effort to block the Dakota Access Pipeline but also wanted to make sure her intent was the right one.  I asked whether going to Standing Rock changed her ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Whether you go or not, Mary Ann highly recommends reading the Resource Packet at:

Standing Rock Solidarity Network→ 

You can also join the Observer Effect Kiva Team→  

Or subscribe in iTunes→

“A sentence starts out like a lone traveler heading into a blizzard at midnight.”

— Billy Collins

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Episode 36: Travel Medicine Kit—Madrid, Where Jane Saw a Bullfight

The Hull House Museum in Chicago has one particular item on which they have lavished special attention.  Instead of a paper label stuck to the wall simply telling what the object is, they commissioned a book to draw every visitor into a slow museum experience.  I tracked down and asked its author, Terri Kapsalis, what role travel played in shaping Jane Addams and Hull House ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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Buy Terri's Book: Jane Addams' Travel Medicine Kit→

“To be everywhere is to be nowhere.”

— Seneca

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Episode 35: Afterwardsness—Athens, Where Sigmund's Desire Led Us Astray

The Freud Museum at Berggasse 19 in Vienna showcases among other artifacts from the psychoanalyst's life, his suitcase, stamped with his initials and the name of his adopted city.  They also published a book called Freud's Travels.  I asked what led him to choose travel as one of the defining metaphors of his work ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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Learn about Dominga→

Read Freud's Letter "A Disturbance of Memory on the Acropolis"→

“Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Episode 34: An Everlasting Itch for Things Remote—Fiji, Where Tim Came Closest to Channeling Melville

The Moby-Dick Marathon draws fans of Herman Melville's classic from all over the world to the New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts every January to read the great book straight through over 25 glorious hours.  Afterwards, I sat down with a scholar who has taught Melville in Pakistan and led his own life of adventure.  I asked why Melville took that fateful first voyage on the Acushnet in 1840 ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“Such opportunities can arise only during a conversation.”

— Franz Kafka

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Episode 33: Only Go—Ulm, Where Gerald and Franz Start the Camino Each Year

Whether travel stories spring from joy or sorrow, result in change or status quo, they have made this an incredible year for us—we collected more than ninety from strangers we met ... Gerald and Franz walk for five days every year along the Camino de Santiago, the traditional route of pilgrims from all over Europe to the western coast of Spain, picking up where they left off the last year.  We asked why they started their pilgrimage ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“On the first day of our pilgrimage I barely used my camera.”

— Patti Smith

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Episode 32: The Dream—Cebu, Where Hitoshi and His Family Began Their Journey Around the World

Whether travel stories spring from joy or sorrow, result in change or status quo, they mean so much less absent family ... Hitoshi spent a decade saving for his and his wife Yoko's dream of traveling the world only to realize it with their two little daughters just before they hit school age.  We asked Sana and Rena what their favorite country is ... and hope listening like this makes borders as meaningless to us as they are to them.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Check out Hitoshi's website→tabikazoku.com

And follow them on Instagram

 

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“Unfortunately, I have gained no wealth to leave my children and descendants except this true story.”

— Bernal Díaz

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Episode 31: Un'emozione gigante—Sauveterre-de-Béarn, Where Giorgio Spent a Nice Night in a Haunted Pension

Whether travel stories spring from joy or sorrow, result in change or status quo, given room, they meander ... Giorgio pivoted from architecture to journalism, now researching and writing novels from his wondrous apartment in one of the more fascinating corners of Rome.  I asked what the abstract painting of a man lying prone in a strange body of water on his wall meant ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  It was a dream his mother had.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“What happens tomorrow is not always important.”

— Primo Levi

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Episode 30: The Narrow Road to the Deep North—Norway, Where Orry Went in Search of Deep Winter

Whether travel stories spring from joy or sorrow, result in change or status quo, they move toward ends we hardly anticipate ... I met Orry panning for gold in the Austrian Tyrol.  He taught me the word "petrichor."  I asked him to tell his best travel story ... and he did not disappoint.  We hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“Men dig tons of earth to find an ounce of gold.”

— Heraclitus

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Episode 29: The Ten Pound Poem—Oxford, Where Vixen Found Another Way About

Whether travel poems spring from joy or sorrow, result in change or status quo, they can chalk truths onto sidewalks we never paid attention to before ... Vixen, Street Poet, wrote me an on-the-spot work when I ran into her in Oxford.  I asked how we can help ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

You can see one of Vixen's poems here.

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“Nothing in the world is as painful as the feeling of not being liked.”

— Sei Shōnagon

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Episode 28: The Home of the Wanted and the Unwanted—Oklahoma, Where Jürgen Got Arrested

Whether travel stories spring from joy or sorrow, result in change or status quo, they unlock what the domestic incarcerates ... Jürgen became a US citizen in the Caribbean, nearly missed out on Burning Man, and once got arrested in Oklahoma, but those might not even be his best stories.  We asked how to ameliorate solitude—and find mushrooms—in the Swedish forest where he lives now ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“What I am about to say is so strange that I scarcely know how to make my meaning clear.”

— Boethius

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