Day Four: World Coloring In Day
Not all days are full of throwing away meaningless crap...
Today is "World Coloring In Day." Today, I took out the world map and colored it in:
Green for countries I've been to already (I know, Alaska is not a country, but it's huge and separated from the US and I've never been to it).
Blue for countries I plan to go to in the next year (France is Day 205, so I colored it both green and blue!)
Yellow for countries I want to go to....
I spent a long time on that one. Partly because it was hard to read the map, but also because.... there are a lot of terrifying places in the world right now. In my lifetime, they may be desired destinations, but right now? As interested as I am in the world around me, do I really want to see it that much?
Red is for countries I never want to go to. I used question marks because, again.... perhaps things will change, and all the "istan" countries and the oil-laden quagmire of the Middle East and certain parts of mob-run Africa will actually turn out to be nice places to visit in the future. But right now? Today.... I don't know.
Today was a hard assignment. Have you ever looked at a map and crossed something out, denied its existence in your future world plans? I felt like a little part of me was crying-- ashamed to not want to go "there," and yet also acknowledging the need for security, my own need for there to be a relative state of peace around me, especially when I travel. I felt like I was making a great denial, but because I had not been, I did not even know what I was denying.
posted by Mortaine @ 7:52 PM
