Passport Magazine Spring 2009

PASSPORT

Duke University’s International Magazine

FOREIGN AFFAIRS: JAPANESE LOVE HOTELS

MADAME “TOUBABOU”

IN MALI

FIJI: MORE THAN JUST A BRAND OF WATER

A HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO EUROPE

CAUGHT IN THE INFERNO:

SELF-IMMOLATION IN AFGHANISTAN

Volume 9 Spring 2009

EDITOR’S NOTE

The first time I ever saw my best friend, he was sporting a tiny pair of shorts and midriff-baring tee as part of a disturbingly odd “Titanic” parody onstage in Taiwan. I did not talk to him that night, nor did I think that our paths would cross again. He was just a random stranger. During freshmen orientation, however, I found myself facing the same guy who had embarrassed himself so wonderfully in front of me months before. Blushing, he explained, “I didn’t think I’d ever see anyone in the audience again!”

Alas, that is the beauty of Duke life. Everyone’s lives become so interwoven that the six degrees of separation often diminish to two or three. By reaching out, you might find that your world just got a little smaller. There are students in your classes who have danced barefoot with African tribes, gone spelunking in South America, or witnessed sacred religious rituals in Israel—and you don’t even know it. Take advantage of this and talk to your neighbors. Who knows what you might learn?

Through simple conversation alone, I have come to realize how little I have seen and how much is waiting out there for me to explore. And that is what Passport is here to do for you—to help you explore the world without even leaving your seat (think: your own mental magic carpet). This issue, let your curiosity be piqued by the love hotels of Japan, hear the cries for help by desperate women in Afghanistan, and experience a more down-to-earth lifestyle in Mali.

Regardless of where your travels may take you, it is just as important to remember your roots and the people who helped you get where you are today. With this semester marking the last few months that International House will be standing, Passport would like to give one final salute to the cozy little house that has become such a familiar fixture on Campus Drive.

I would also personally like to thank my writers and graphics team for the terrific job they have done this semester. It isn’t easy stepping into such big shoes, but everyone has been wonderfully supportive. A special acknowledgment goes out to my amazing senior staff. To our dedicated seniors—Melanie, Rosie, Nayantara, and Sandy—thank you for the past few years, we will miss you so much.

As the fourth editor-in-chief of Passport, I would like to welcome you to these pages. Enjoy!

Michelle Fang

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michelle Fang PRODUCER Nicholas Chan MANAGING EDITOR Bengisu Kuscu Linda Qu SENIOR EDITORS Sandy Sun Melanie Wright GRAPHICS EDITOR Lindsay Emery PUBLICITY Rosie Kilgore COORDINATOR Nayantara Atal Rosie Kilgore GRAPHICS Natalie Macaruso Kristin Oakley Sunmin Park Minette Yao EDITORS Kara Li Jei Min Yoo Grant Alport Tanya Braun Mara Herrmann WRITERS Rosie Kilgore Kara Li Sarah Newman Maddie Pongor Jessica So Sandy Sun Melanie Wright Jei Min Yoo Alice Zhang WEB DESIGN Derrick Chan Xiameng Sun

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Passport Magazine is a Franchised Publication under the Undergraduate Publications Board and sponsored by International House. The views expressed in this publication are the authors’ own and do not reflect the opinions of the magazine. photo by Jonathan Cross

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SPRING 2009

CONTENTS Reliving Abroad in Durham

by Mara Herrmann

In a Happy Little Foreign Town...

by Maddie Pongor Travel Lite:No Traveler Left Behind

by Jei Min Yoo Blowing in the Wind

by Melanie Wright

Fiji:Paradise Found

by Tanya Braun

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Children for Sale: Tourism, Trafficking,

and the Rise of Modern Day Slavery

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by Rosie Kilgore

An International Affair: Love Hotels

by Kara Li

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Acts of Desperation:

Self-Immolation in Afghanistan

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by Sandy Sun

Bollywood

by Alice Zhang

From Here to Timbuktu: Studying Abroad in Mali

by Sarah Newman

Among the Hmong

by Jessica So The Eleventh Plague

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24 27 29

by Grant Alport

cover photo by alexcomo photo by Michela Blain

Spring 2009

Reliving Abroad in Durham

by Mara Herrmann

While countless articles have been written on how to prepare for culture shock and cope with the abrupt changes, students who experience reverse culture shock upon returning from abroad have few reasources to turn to. For this reason, people often think that there is something wrong with them for feeling out of place in their own home.

Indeed, travelers often find dealing with reverse culture shock more difficult than the original shock. Although both phases involve similar emotions of not belonging,

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Other students have found that preparing the foods they ate while away can serve as a comforting reminder of their time abroad.

Jamie, a senior who returned from Florence last year, says, “I found that when I came back from abroad, cooking foods that reminded me of Italy helped me to bring a little bit of Florence back to Durham. I still make gnocchi from a packaged store brand variety. I mix it with olive oil, peppers, and sauce just the way I would order it in a ristorante in Florence. Even though it’s not the same, it brings back the flavors and the memories of Italy.”

Another helpful way to adjust to being back at home is to take up a cause in Durham relating to the country the student has just left. For example, many members of Duke’s student group WISER spent a summer setting up an all-girls boarding school in Kenya and were able to continue their commitment to the cause upon returning to Durham with fundraisers and concerts on campus. Continuing to advance a cause that a student was involved in while abroad can help ease the transition and strengthen his feeling of connection to that culture.

While settling back into Duke’s intense pace of life may feel uncomfortable at first, it is important to recognize that this is actually a normal feeling. A little uneasiness upon returning home indicates that students

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1 “Adjusting to a New Culture and Country.” Harvard International Office. 1 Feb. 2009. 6 Feb. 2009 <http://www.hio.harvard. edu>.

photo by teenytinyturkey

Upon arriving in a new country, travelers often experience the Honeymoon Phase, seeing every slight difference in a romanticized light—the food, the people, the streets, and even the pace of life are wonderfully new and exciting. However, after a few weeks, travelers enter the Negotiation Phase, when the very things that seemed charming or exotic at first now cause feelings of anxiety. They might miss their native country, longing for the ease or efficiency of a more familiar life at home. Then, after a few months, (hopefully) comes the Adjustment Phase, when they become accustomed to the new culture.

Many students have found comfort in reconnecting with their new friends from abroad, as they usually share the same fond memories and adjustment problems when they return home. Others cope with their transition process by continuing some of the cultural customs that they had adopted abroad. One junior who studied in Madrid for a semester states, “Even though it’s tough with my class schedule now, I try to fit in a siesta now and then, just to maintain one aspect of that slower, less stressful pace of life I got used to last semester.”

truly immersed themselves in new cultures during their time abroad. After all, it is only natural that they cannot just slip seamlessly back into their old college routine after spending time abroad widening their perspectives and seeing beyond the “Duke bubble.” Still, settling back into life at Duke does not mean that they have to let all of those new customs and memories go. Returning travelers can cook the local foods they loved in Mexico, get involved with new organizations that take up international causes, or try to appreciate the cultural experiences that Durham has to offer. Believe it or not, there are plenty of ethnic restaurants that offer that little taste of Africa some are missing, or museums and art galleries that can take one back to Europe. Those students who did not go abroad and are ready for some exotic adventures of their own can also treat Durham as a cultural playground. After all, for Duke’s international student body, Durham actually is abroad!

photo by adamcoop

photo by Laura Saucier

one seems like a natural and inevitable part of travel while the other feels discomforting and illogical. However, there are a number of ways to cope with adjustment back to Duke life.

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Have you ever accidentally responded to a waiter in the wrong language? Or been utterly frustrated trying to get simple errands done, only to find that things just work differently from the way that you are used to?

Many Duke students who go abroad experience culture shock upon entering a foreign country; however, a less widely discussed phenomenon is reverse culture shock, which can occur upon reentry into one’s native culture. Culture shock, the anxiety a traveler feels when first trying to adapt to an unfamiliar environment and navigate its different social norms, usually occurs in three primary phases known as the Honeymoon, the Negotiation, and the Adjustment Phases.1 Then, for some, comes the reverse culture shock phase.

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For those desperately missing their time abroad as well as those who never got the chance to go, here are some exotic dining and cultural experiences that the Durham/Triangle Area has to offer: Mediterranean: Past is Present: Classical Antiquities at the Nasher Museum – Nasher Museum exhibit Tallulas (Chapel Hill) – When you step off of Franklin Street and into Tallulas, you will feel like you have been transported straight to the Mediterranean, thanks to the eclectic live music and Turkish décor. Try the musakka, the delicious hot bread and hummus, a platter of the mezze, or the authentic Turkish coffee. (919) 933-1177 International Delights (Ninth Street) – (919) 286-2884 India: Tandoor (Chapel Hill) – All dishes are prepared to your personal taste, whether you like your food spicy or sweet. Tandoor also offers lots of great vegetarian options! (919) 967-6622 Royal India (Raleigh) – With a wonderful atmosphere, including beautiful architecture modeled after the Taj Mahal, Royal India specializes in northern Indian cuisines. (919) 981-0849 Asia: Jujube (Chapel Hill) – (919) 960-0555 Penang (Chapel Hill) – Try the Malay satay, a favorite Malaysian dish, at Penang.

(919) 933-2288

photo by Hendrian photo by jason perlow

Seoul Garden (Raleigh) – From Korean barbeque to hot kimchi stews, Seoul Garden has the best Korean food around Research Triangle Park. (919) 850-9984 Italy: Francesca’s Dessert Café (Ninth Street) – You can indulge in one of the many rich gelato or sorbet options in this cozy café.

(919) 286-4177 axfoo

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Piazza Italia (Brightleaf Square) – (919) 956-7360

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411 West (Chapel Hill) – (919) 967-2782

Red Room Tapas Lounge (Raleigh) – (919) 835-1322

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Spain: photo by wmliu

France: Rue Cler (Durham) – (919) 682-8844

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La Résidence (Chapel Hill) – (919) 967-2506 Vin Rouge (Durham) – You will feel like you are in the French countryside in this little bistro, especially if you take advantage of the outdoor seating on the beautifully lit back patio. (919) 416-0406 Mexico: Escultura Social: A New Generation of Art from Mexico City – Nasher Museum exhibit Torero’s (Durham) – (919) 682-4197

African Land (Durham) – (919) 489-1034 Afrika Exotic Africa Groceries (Raleigh) – (919) 873-0079

Spring 2009

photo by James Kim

Africa:

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w n... o T n g i re o F n a ppy Little Ha

by Maddie Pongor

Backpacking through Europe is a college student’s dream. Last summer I had the amazing opportunity to realize that dream as my friends and I traveled through Paris, Amsterdam, Brugge, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg. Here are a few highlights from that month—one of the most incredible times of my life.

Paris, France Where do you begin when trying to describe the most famous city in the world? Paris.

The name itself conjures endless images: tourists shuffling under the Eiffel Tower, art buffs exploring the sprawling Louvre, fashion gurus satiating their lust for haute couture, lovers strolling along the River Seine, socialites seizing the nightlife, les Parisiens sipping coffee outside cafés tucked away in the maze of cobble-stoned streets… take your pick. How could I take in everything Paris had to offer in just five days? It was impossible, to say the least. But then again, the idea of backpacking around Europe with friends from college, high school, and my childhood already seemed too good to be true. No matter what would happen, I knew I was already in an amazing place with incredible people.

The apartment that my friends from Duke chose was located in the third arrondissement marais, within walking distance from bakeries with croissants that melted in your mouth, countless shops with names I couldn’t pronounce, and the lazy River Seine. Whenever we left the cozy twobedroom apartment, my senses were overwhelmed. Did every pedestrian walk straight out of Vogue magazine? Why did everyone talk so much faster than my French professor? Could I cross the street without jeopardizing my life? I tried to suppress my awe of this extraordinary city to avoid getting lost in the rush all around me.

During the day, we visited the must-see spots. After picnicking in a park next to the Seine, we ambled along the ChampsÉlysées, which was packed with high-end fashion stores and teeming with impeccably well-dressed people of every style (there is no such thing as a hipster in this city).

Our walk ended at the Arc de Triomphe, a breathtaking vantage point from which you can look straight down ten major avenues.

It was as if we were on an urban island with the world swirling around us in doubletime. I struggled to tear myself away from the surreal scene and return to the bustling

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metro, because there was far more to see and do.

After applauding masked street performers who snuck up on oblivious passersby, we climbed Notre Dame to drink in more panoramic views. In the Centre Pompidou, we feigned understanding of modern art and then relaxed in the peace of the Jardin de Tuileries outside the Louvre. After stopping for ice cream on the Ile Saint-Louis, flitting between vintage stores, darting through marketplaces full of crepe-stands and “IYParis” t-shirts, we sighed in relief when we finally crashed at our apartment and massaged our aching feet.

One day we took a trip to the legendary Palais de Versailles, which is a short train ride from Paris. Even today, Versailles has all the charms of the palaces concocted by Disney: gilded mirrors, walls covered with paintings set in heavy golden frames, enormous chandeliers, marble statues in excess, and cavernous rooms…upon rooms…upon rooms (700 total). We passed through the chambers of King Louis XIV and Queen Marie Antoinette before renting bicycles and exploring the 250 acres of parks that comprised the estate. The most intriguing spot for me was the miniature village that Marie Antoinette had built according to her idea of peasant living. On one hand, it was disturbing to see how she fantasized the

life of poor, starving people. But at the same time, it was fascinating to picture the Queen innocently playing in her make-believe village, unaware that the peasants she trivialized would one day overthrow her husband’s throne and take her life.

At night, we sought out hot spots like le Paris-Paris and Club Rex. Techno pumped non-stop while colored lights flashed on the crowds of bobbing heads. As far as we could tell, we were the only group of non-Europeans there, struggling not to lose sight of each other. I dare you to try picturing five clueless college girls forcing themselves to blend in with crowds of culture-conscious French clubbers.

One particular night, we set off with three-euro bottles of wine on a mission to squeeze onto one of the floating clubs on the Seine…only to discover that one was a gay bar, another was a private birthday bash, and the rest were too far away for our sore feet to reach. We contented ourselves with finishing the wine on a bridge and meeting random people who were amused by our predicament. But I have to admit, our most spontaneous night came when we ran into an incredibly beautiful group of people (Swedish, go figure) who invited us to their apartment party. Everyone there was overwhelmingly friendly and…cool. There’s no other way to explain it. They were confident, care-free, gorgeous, and, overall, too cool for us Americans who probably looked like deer in the headlights. Luckily, however, they took a serious interest in American music. We recommended a song or two, the deejay found it online, and voilá!—suddenly we were “cool” to them too. Laughing yet? I definitely was.

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Amsterdam, the Netherlands My introduction to Amsterdam could not have been more fitting. I stepped out of the train station with my high school friend Kate and was immediately greeted by loud squawking coming from a trailer on the other side of the street. As we ventured closer, we realized that this was in fact the tourist information center. A large man stood in the doorway shouting exuberantly, “Welcome to Amsterdam! What do you want to know?

Ask me anything, I know everything!” Was he drunk? High? Both? We couldn’t tell, but he did manage to give us vague directions to our hostel. After passing several “coffee shops” and the outskirts of the Red Light District, we found it—overlooking a canal, just minutes from the central square. Aside from the co-ed bathroom with a bacteria cesspool for a floor, it was all we needed since we would barely spend time inside anyway. There was too much to do and too little time.

Amsterdam was peaceful yet thriving.

Though there were people from every part of the world, the city never felt too crowded or overrun by tourism. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, but with every worldly delight at your fingertips, how could you not be? Just as I’d heard, there were coffee shops on every corner with menus full of cannabis rather than caffeine. Sex shops were as numerous as fast food restaurants.

Men and women, young and old, wandered around looking light-headed and slightly lost, but serene. It was eerie yet intriguing at the same time, and I was constantly caught between awe and horror. Is this place real? I had trouble grasping the fact that everything around me was completely acknowledged and permitted.

There appeared to be two sides to this fascinating city. One was the “tame” side:

families eating ice cream in the parks, elderly couples enjoying the mild weather on a gondola, and school groups visiting Anne Frank’s house and the Van Gogh museum.

We experienced all of the above…and ventured on the “wild” side as well. One night we met up with some European friends and crashed a “Pirate Party” at a club on a street with seven syllables in its name. Another time, we sat by the canal outside our hostel and cramped from laughing at the terrified men sprinting in and out of the Red Light District. As delightfully scandalous as Amsterdam could be, however, I mainly enjoyed exploring the city, hunting for cheap restaurants and unique boutiques (for the

record: go to “Zipper” and thank me later).

My photography obsession kicked into high gear and I took far too many pictures of the quirky townhouses with geometric rooftops and picturesque clock towers overlooking the canals.

One night, we played cards with a few backpackers from Idaho in our hostel, exchanging stories and recommendations. These new friends suggested a bike ride to the coast, but it turned out to be a disaster—a ridiculous, cold, long, hilarious disaster.

We somehow misread the map and rode to the wrong coast. Had we gone

east, it would have been a quick, easy, hourlong trip. But instead, we went west. I doubt we would have survived the seven-hour ride if Kate and I were not so easily entertained by unabashedly singing (or rather, wailing) every song imaginable. Between our hostel and the desolate North Sea, we wove our way through miles of industrial parks, cow fields, forests, and never-ending suburbs.

The sky was overcast, and the wind and rain picked up the closer we got. I stopped counting after the fifteenth U-turn.

To make matters worse, it was not tulip season, and I could not find any of the famed Dutch windmills. There were electric, sky-high windmills along the industrial coastline (next to some oh-so-appealing oil tankers), but obviously those do not count.

Eventually we did find a solitary, wooden windmill in the middle of a suburb. My sanity was temporarily restored.

Toward the end of our excursion, when we could finally smell the salty ocean, we rode through sand dunes dotted by yaks.

Wait, yaks? Where do you find wild yaks?

Apparently they dwell at the end of the earth, where I was convinced we were. But after we parked our bikes, leapt in joy, and trudged along the barren beach like we had discovered uncharted territory, I noticed something that caught me off-guard. Men and women were parking their luxury cars at the top of the hill and striding down the boardwalk toward an upscale country club.

They were dressed to the nines, ready for some classy occasion.

Right then it hit me: while this place was just the “middle of nowhere” to me, it was the center of the world for the people who lived there. If one of them came to the Bostonian suburb I call home, they would probably think I lived in a no-man’s-land too.

And while I could never fully understand what it would be like to live in these countries so far from my home, I was incredibly fortunate just to get a taste of their amazing cultures and people.

Spring 2009

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

Brugge, Belgium and...

Brugge was every inch a quintessential European city. Cobble-stoned streets led us down alleyways lined by townhouses, over Brugge, Belgium

Strasbourg, France Strasbourg blew away all my expectations.

After rushing around four countries in two weeks, I thought remaining in one place for the rest of the month would give me ample time to take in the city. Instead, the time flew by because there was so much I wanted to see and do. Fortunately, I stayed with close family friends who lived in the city and knew every nook and cranny.

I took a day to explore the city with my digital camera and, like an obnoxious tourist, took a hundred or so pictures of the chapel with one steeple, the River L’ill, the squares where too-stylish high school students hung out, the inviting pastry shops, and anything beautiful I ran into—which turned out to be about once every ten yards.

Strasbourg perfectly balanced the old and new; I found department stores like Printemps nestled between ancient stone buildings with gargoyles, as well as an upscale restaurant where the shell of a grenade from

small canals filled with swans, past candy shops bursting with Belgian chocolate, and into large plazas framed by restaurants and ancient, foreboding churches. Instead of dodging taxis in Paris or sidestepping drunken revelers in Amsterdam, we now had to look out for horse-drawn carriages.

Searching for roads-less-traveled, we stumbled upon secluded parks with fountains, arbors, and romantic gazebos. An ideal city for honeymooners and the over seventy crowd, Brugge was not exactly the most exciting place for us younger travelers, but it offered a welcome respite from our last

one of the World Wars is still wedged in the outer stucco wall. The atmosphere was youthful and upbeat, but not overwhelming like Paris. The tree-lined river and fountains complemented the urban environment even though Strasbourg lacked the typical, frustrating features of a metropolis, like taxis ready to run down pedestrians and grumpy city slickers who scoff when you ask for directions. Instead, I found that there were very few major roads in the city’s interior— we saw many more bikes than cars. The residents were extremely polite and helpful; as I was taking my pictures, more than one person asked if I wanted them to take a picture with me in it.

Along with Anna (a childhood friend from Strasbourg) and her classmates, I went to a park outside the city to which the former owner of the property had added his own unique touches. As we walked along a path, we stumbled over little elves about four inches tall planted in the ground. Later, we found a cluster of oak trees with huge metal ears protruding from

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nine days in two of the most popular cities in Europe.

Even more low-key was Luxembourg, where we stopped after Brugge. This tiny nation (even smaller than Rhode Island) is wedged between France, Belgium, and Germany. We gave ourselves a “self-guided

the trunks.

We eventually came across a grass patch in an elf-less, ear-less meadow where we played cards, sketched each other’s portraits (personally I doodled since my drawing skills are...well, non-existent), and napped on an improvised picnic blanket of jackets. I unwrapped a Toblerone chocolate and thought, I guess I could get used to this.

Whenever we returned to the apartment, Anna’s mom had delicious ideas for dinner.

Sometimes we went to the bakery down the road for fresh baguettes, but usually she somehow had all the necessary ingredients for a mouthwatering dish that put my favorite American restaurants to shame. All the fruits and vegetables were fresh; the cheese and meats were specially chosen from the marketplace; and whatever wine she selected was guaranteed to be superb. The dessert was even more devilishly tempting. I don’t know how I restrained myself enough to let others have a fair portion—it was a brutal test of self-control.

As if all this exploring and dining were not enough, we took a day to visit the spas in Baden-Baden (a German town in the Black Forest) and take a wine-tasting tour in Alsace. We soaked in pools of varying temperatures—some with waterfalls or whirlpools—and dipped into steam rooms filled

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...Luxembourg City, Luxembourg tour” and covered the capital in about an hour. We proceeded to get lost among the castle ruins and towering stonewalls, still intact from the days when Luxembourg was a key military standpoint in the French Revolution and both World Wars.

Europeans are crazy about soccer (called “football” there), and we joined in the World Cup madness even though I couldn’t have cared less about the outcome. The football games were mostly excuses to hang out and meet other travelers. In our Amsterdam hostel, we met people from all around the world: Australia, China, Brazil, you name it.

Like us, most of them were just stopping in

Luxembourg between other major cities because it was an easy, inexpensive addition to their Eurail Pass train routes.

Two Canadian college graduates suggested various towns we should visit in the countryside, and we soon found ourselves in quaint, cozy villages tucked into the forested hills. From one of these, we rode an empty bus to an enormous, deserted stone castle atop a mountain that pierced through the clouds. Despite the rain showers, it was so gorgeous that Kate was inspired to plan her wedding at this breathtaking location. I laughed, but was mostly disgruntled that I hadn’t thought of the idea first.

with various intoxicating aromas. Our ice cream lunch afterward was shaped like real food. My friend Zophie had the “spaghetti” plate: vanilla ice cream squeezed into long strings with strawberries as the tomato sauce and meatballs, while I ordered mini burgers: chocolate and other flavors layered between vanilla “buns.” Then came the wine tasting. We drove through the mountains and vineyards to a tiny, medieval town where the doorways were barely six feet tall (they had been built when the average person’s height was much shorter). By the time we were ready to leave, we were contentedly tipsy and loosening our belt buckles without regret.

There was one extremely frustrating aspect of Strasbourg: while the food was delicious and rich, somehow everyone managed to stay incredibly skinny without feeling the need to work out. Perhaps my American metabolism was just different from theirs, because I just had to go out and run in the park l’Orangerie, a block from the apartment, even though I was only one of maybe five runners there.

L’Orangerie is easily the most beautiful park I have ever visited. In one corner, there was a little zoo with exotic birds and monkeys. On another end, an old mansion with expansive lawns and gardens overflowed with vibrant flowers I had never seen before. In the lake at the center, you could rent rowboats to explore the streams that weaved throughout the park. On hot

days, boaters would back their boats under the waterfall and soak their friends. A café overlooked the lake, which was always full of swans and ducks; ice cream and hotdog stands were scattered all around. A huge playground tempted me to jump in with the kids—but I figured drawing more attention to myself was not necessary. To complete the idyllic, storybook scene, you could climb ancient ruins in the middle of the park for a panoramic view of l’Orangerie.

Oh, and l’Orangerie happened to be across the street from the European Court of Human Rights. Comprised mostly of glass and red metal, the building was constructed in the shape of a scale to symbolize balance and justice. Coincidentally, Anna’s best friend’s mom worked as a librarian in the ECHR and let me come in after hours to gape. I got to stand in the courtroom and go right up to the podium, in the same place where thousands of diplomats have stood before me. I could only imagine what major decisions announced right there had changed history. As a Public Policy major and self-professed nerd, I was in heaven.

I was also fortunate to be in Strasbourg at the time of la Fête de la Musique—a national music festival during which every city has its own celebration. Starting in the afternoon and ending in the early hours of the morning, there were ongoing concerts on every street corner and plaza of the city.

There were electronica deejays with multicolored lasers beaming over the audience;

all photos by Maddie Pongor

jazz bands; cover bands for the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers; an African drum ensemble; indie music; classical musicians…you name it, you would find it.

For another taste of European music, Anna and her friends got us tickets to a Manu Ciao concert in a huge stadium that was a piece of modern art itself: oval-shaped with outer walls made of layers upon layers of thick orange fabric. The inside was spacious, but we were still packed like sardines in the mosh pit. The place was packed and sweltering, but everyone was content to listen to the songs instead of screaming the lyrics. The only time I felt uncomfortable was when Manu started bashing America, although this seemed to be a popular thing to do in many European countries.

On the last night, Anna took me to a club in Strasbourg called the Living Room. It was designed as—you guessed it—a classy living room with white lamps, black floors and walls, and deep-red upholstered furniture. I had to stop myself from gawking at the gorgeous people who were dancing, chatting, and drinking away without looking sloppy.

Even though I enjoyed the swanky club, my favorite part was the bike ride there and back. We swerved down the alleys in the warm summer air, breezing by fountains and historic buildings all lit-up…and finally cruising down Anna’s tree-lined street that smelled like a garden. I never wanted that ride to end.

Spring 2009

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Let’s say you were going to Europe this summer. What would you want to do?

It is not hard to find a variety of answers to this question. Want to travel all of Europe with just a credit card? Or save every penny, so you can see as many archeological wonders as possible? How about sleeping in five star hotels and visiting fancy restaurants to keep your tummy full and happy? Everyone wants something different—and why not?

As a traveler, you owe it to yourself to make the most out of your experience.

I would like to give you a hand. After all, even the most seasoned travelers seek advice sometimes. Why not you? Here are some personal travel tips, condensed and well-packed for your convenience.

Packing Regulations for flights into European countries permit only one checked piece of luggage—not exceeding twenty kilograms (or forty-four pounds)—and two carry-ons, so it is important that you pack efficiently.

From my experience, packing under twenty kilograms is not as difficult as it seems. For clothing, I throw in the bare minimum: a few short-sleeved shirts, a long-sleeved shirt, one or two pairs of pants, a light jacket, some socks…Enough to prepare myself for the weather and a few special occasions, but nothing more. By hand-washing my dirty clothes every two or three days, I manage to travel without bogging myself down with laundry. In order to bring more, rolling your clothes will help because it enables you to pack twice as much in the same space.

For female adventurers, choosing the essentials can be a challenge. Just try to pack basic wardrobe pieces that you can layer or combine. For instance, go for solid colored pieces over patterned ones—they are easier to mix and match. You would be surprised by the number of different outfits you can make with just a few simple items of clothing, some accessories, and a bit of creativity. If you bring large bottles of shampoo and cleanser, be mindful of them spilling inside your luggage; pack the liquids in Ziploc bags to prevent a mess should leaking

No Traveler Left Behind

by Jei Min Yoo

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occur. If you plan on staying in hotels, saving their complimentary toiletries for later use on your trip can also help reduce the amount you pack.

Cameras Another important goal of traveling is to return home with many memories to share, which makes it essential to bring the right camera. Although bulky digital cameras with high capacity (such as digital single-lens reflex cameras, or DSLRs) are now available at affordable prices, I recommend a compact camera for the casual traveler. When I brought my DSLR to Europe, I did not realize how cumbersome its size and weight would be. After much struggle, I gave up and borrowed my friend’s smaller camera instead. DSLRs, however, do take better photos in general, so if you are interested in photography the inconvenience might be worth it. If the trip lasts longer than a week, it also helps to bring a small portable hard drive with you. When the memory card becomes full, you can find an Internet café or just use a computer in your hotel to transfer the photos onto the hard drive. It is much more cost-effective than bringing four extra memory cards. Plus, memory cards are often small and easy to lose—why take the risk? You may also consider purchasing a cheap disposable camera for use during a challenging hike or a night out in town where you could easily break or lose your camera.

Passport and other travel documents You often do not fully appreciate something until it goes missing. If you were without a passport and had nothing with which to prove your identity, you might find yourself in very deep trouble. I lost mine and had to wait a full week to get a temporary passport to return home. Thankfully, I had taken my mother’s advice and made copies of my passport and visa, which facilitated the process. Bringing extra copies with you will help reduce the stress and hassle if such a situation arises. Buying travel insurance is another tip that college students often overlook; medical insurance covering up to $50,000 can cost as little as $50, which is a fairly good deal.

Flight tickets Being Internet-savvy college students, most of you will be able to sift through

10 websites and compare airline ticket prices.

While this is usually a good way to save money, there are also other options. Travel agencies often provide better deals than the average ticket website; they get discounts from airlines by buying the same kind of tickets in bulk quantities and can thus sell them at a lower price. For instance, typing in ‘from Durham to South Korea’ on expedia. com shows fares around $1,800, but some travel agencies sell tickets for $500 less.

Another way to save money is to search for connecting flights, rather than limiting your focus to direct ones. By visiting Vancouver on the way, for instance, I can fly from Durham to South Korea for under $1,000! I might have to stay in Vancouver for one or two days, but these kinds of short visits can be considered a bonus rather than a delay for the traveler. (Fun fact: Air Asia offers a one-way trip from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to London for $320. That is a non-stop flight from South Asia to Northern Europe for the price of a domestic U.S. flight!

Protection from theft People go to great lengths to hide their money. For easy protection, however, try using a money belt; it is a small pouch made with synthetic material that you strap around the chest. Cover it with your shirt, and stealing it would be difficult for even the most skilled pickpockets. The only downside I have found is that it may sometimes feel too tight or loose, but I would gladly bear the money belt’s drawbacks for the peace of mind it brings. Similarly, there are also pouches that you can wear on a string around your neck and hide under your shirt.

For larger belongings, many European rail stations have coin lockers. These lockers provide an inexpensive and safe storage place, and some are large enough to fit your luggage. They proved to be very convenient on my trip when I wanted to tour the area but did not have a hotel room in which to leave my baggage. In addition, if you are going to stay in cheap hostels, you should bring your own combination lock in case they have open lockers.

Staying friendly with your travel buddy One of the greatest challenges when traveling is maintaining a healthy relationship with your travel partner. When the train does not arrive on time, the hotel reservation is canceled, or your backpack feels too heavy, it will be easy for tempers to flare and fingers to point. Yet after the bickering, you will realize how depressing it is to eat, shop, and take pictures alone. To prevent this situation, discuss your individual travel preferences with your friend in advance.

What time do you go to bed? Do you like to walk a lot or do you prefer to take bus-

es? Are you willing to share shampoo and body wash? Will you explore every museum that you can reach or simply go in ones that strike your fancy? Agreeing on such issues before setting off will allow you and your travel partner to understand your differences and prepare accordingly.

Language problems What would you do if you were stuck in an unfamiliar place and did not know the country’s language? This situation commonly occurs when traveling abroad, but there are a few good tricks to getting around the language barrier. When seeking directions, I try to just repeat the name of the location that I want to go. This ‘brute force’ approach worked surprisingly well when I was in France, where people would get angry when I spoke in English. According to Rick Stevens, a professional travel guide, another way of getting through the language barrier is to write down your questions on a notepad; he reasons that many people understand written English much better than spoken English.1 My friend once employed this method; he went to a train station, wrote down the name of his destination and number of passengers, and handed the paper to the conductor. And it worked! By keeping things simple, you can eliminate unnecessary confusions that arise from the language barrier.

Staying energized The first three days of backpacking in Europe can be fun and thrilling. As time goes by, however, physical exhaustion begins to eat away at your initial excitement. How do you escape from this low point? I started by stretching every night. You may underestimate the power of stretching when you overexert yourself every day, but it can actually make a great difference if done consistently.

On my trip, I walked an average of three to four hours a day and, before stretching, the resulting muscle ache would discourage me from visiting some really good tourist sites. Soon, I found that my stretching routine helped to increase my endurance. If stretching does not work for you, other remedies also exist. Simply slowing down your pace and giving up a few tourist sites will let you enjoy the rest more fully. Occasional social events can also rekindle your energy, although you might need some courage to befriend complete strangers. Eating well

photo by Lindsay Emery

is also part of an exciting trip. While many college students try to get away with cheap meals in Europe, nutritional and tasty food is a must on a prolonged journey.

Transportation in Europe As you may know, Eurail is the way to go in Europe. Its convenience and accessibility stood out to me when I was there.

I had used trains prior to my trip, but the overnight train still came as a surprise: the bunks shook as the train moved, waking me up every time I was about to fall asleep; the doors were shut tightly at night; and I had to breathe in hot, humid, and often smelly air while cringing in the small bed. Yet, even with all these shortcomings, a night’s stay including breakfast at only $35 seemed like a great bargain to me.

Your Eurail pass may also include other modes of transport. I took a boat in Switzerland while in transit between train stations and got to see some of the best scenery of my entire trip during that ride. Snowtopped mountains, a crystal-clear lake, and beautifully-laid green grass all came together to form a stunning, majestic landscape.

If constant train riding bores you, a little deviation will do wonders.

It has been a while since my trip to Europe, but I still surf the Internet for interesting travel logs. Reading about famous artifacts and seeing beautiful photographs are always enjoyable. I still prefer personal anecdotes, however, because they truly bring back the memories—buying souvenirs in flea markets, barely managing to reserve a train ticket, fighting with a hotel receptionist for a booking, and meeting up with a pen pal from a foreign country. In my opinion, these are the true highlights of a journey. A few travel tips cannot guarantee these moments, but they do help you prepare for them. So, why not go out this summer and put these tips to the test?

1 Steven, Rick. “Leaping Over the Language Barrier.” Europe Through the Back Door. 2009 <http://www.ricksteves.com>.

Spring 2009

BLOWING IN New Zealand’s Chance at Renewable Energy

by Melanie Wright

Built in 1993 in Wellington, on New Zealand’s North Island, the facility was the first of its kind in the country. From atop a hill, those who came to see this novelty could also witness a stunning panorama all around them. Furthermore, the construction could be seen for miles, fundamentally altering the landscape. Although the community was wary at first, it has since embraced the new landmark, featuring it on tourist brochures and even on tiles at a local shopping center. What people once worried would be an eyesore has become a source of local pride. Could the wind turbine be the country’s way to a greener future?

New Zealand has pledged to obtain ninety percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2025. Although this seems ambitious, the islands have long been utilizing green sources, with sixty-five percent of their electricity coming from water and five percent from such renewables as solar and wind.1 Still, much doubt remains regarding the feasibility of the plan, as the government has to juggle the development of new energy-generating plants with the skepticism of residents who attribute their recent sky-high electric bills to unreliable green sources. Politics aside, though, it seems that clean and renewable wind energy holds the greatest potential for the country.

Why renewables?

New Zealand generally favors transitioning to greener electricity, but fossil fuels such as gas and coal still hold economic appeal. Although these non-renewable sources produce relatively cheap energy, they have other unsavory aspects.2 Coal is abundant and affordable in New Zealand, but it is one of the most polluting forms of energy due to the carbon dioxide and other toxic substances released into the air when it burns.

“Clean coal” technology, which would mitigate these issues, has yet to be adequately developed. Although the short-term monetary benefits may make coal appealing, the decline in air quality, environmental damage, and contributions to long-term climate change show that fossil fuels are an unsustainable choice for New Zealand’s future.

As a replacement for coal, many favor burning more natural gas because it can be used for large-scale projects and can easily be converted into electricity. As an added bonus, gas-fired generation plants are also

11

less damaging to the local environment.

Continuing to find sources of gas, however, poses a challenge for its future use: unless new sources are discovered, New Zealand may have to start importing petroleum within the next decade.3 In addition, while its emissions are not as severe as those of coal, gas still contributes to greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and thus to global warming.

Recognizing such environmental issues, New Zealanders have embraced the international movement towards more sustainable energy production. They have had a long history of pioneering the use of renewable sources, including building the world’s second geothermal plant in 1958. Their 2025 goal was inspired by the government’s desire to be seen as a world leader on green energy. Many articles and organizations note that New Zealanders are ashamed of their country’s carbon emissions4 and pride themselves on living in harmony with nature and improving sustainability.5 In 2008, a public opinion survey found that eightyeight percent of the population was concerned enough about climate change that they felt the need to take personal action.6 The degree of their concern illustrates that New Zealanders are in a position to serve as an example to others on how to become greener.

Beyond people’s concerns, government leaders have also seen a fiscal advantage to promoting environmental health and sustainability. Prime Minister Helen Clarke, who hopes that New Zealand will one day become the world’s first carbon neutral nation, said in 2007, “The long-term benefits of becoming a sustainable nation will spread beyond our national reputation and success in business to benefit all New Zealanders.”7 The Ministry for the Environment even conducted a study of the economic value of New Zealand’s “clean green image,” ultimately concluding that association with environmental health and awareness increased the worth of their exports and tourism by “hundreds of millions, possibly billions, of dollars.”8 Environmentalism is more than an ideal to New Zealand and its government—it is an economic strategy.

Is this possible?

In order for New Zealand to meet their 2025 goal, they will have to change twenty

percent of their electricity generation from fossil fuels to renewable resources such as water, solar, geothermal, or wind energy.

This conversion may be difficult for two main reasons. First, most of their renewable energy right now comes from water, but environmental conditions prevent New Zealand from creating too many new hydroelectric plants. Second, some industrial and corporate interests have fought against the trend towards green energy because of economic costs and reliability concerns. They claim that depending on nature to always provide the needed sun, water, or wind is just too risky.

The first hydroelectric plants in New Zealand were built in the early twentieth century, but environmental concerns have accompanied their construction since the 1960s. In fact, some claim that the country’s environmental movement arose around concerns that raising a lake to build the Manapouri Power Station would severely damage the local ecosystem.9 Environmentalists won their fight by petitions and political organizing, and they have since fought to make sure that the construction of renewable energy-generating plants does not itself harm the environment.

While increasing the already prevalent hydroelectric energy would seem the easiest way to reach the ninety percent goal in time, New Zealand’s rivers are already operating near their full potential. Power plants that pull energy from water rely on river flow, and droughts in the past two years have significantly decreased their generative capacity.10 As a result, many New Zealanders are worried that new plants would not be able to consistently provide the needed energy.

These concerns, combined with limited location options for new plants and environmental opposition, suggest that New Zealand will have to increase its renewable energy production by other means.

Another obstacle comes in the form of the business community, whose economic arguments, while ignored in the past, are starting to exert greater influence over governmental policies. This group had objected strongly to the Resource Management Act of 1991, the New Zealand government’s first attempt to set an agenda for creating a sustainable future through changing patterns of energy use. Although the act passed, complaints over economic costs of

N THE WIND the sustainability measures continued. In order to mitigate tension, the government established the Ministerial Panel on Business Compliance Costs in 2000, which led to a series of conferences between the government and corporations.11 Due to this cooperation, new environmental policies are not as strict about pursuing the goal of clean, renewable energy as many in the environmental movement would like. Compromises in the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy of 2007 (NEECS) demonstrate the influence of disagreements between businesses and environmentalists. The head of the Environment and Conservation Organizations of New Zealand, for instance, complained of “the government’s ongoing commitment to further drill for gas and oil around New Zealand.”12 Likewise, the Bioenergy Association of New Zealand was disappointed that carbon taxes were excluded from the NEECS.13 The corporate community, on the other hand, disapproved of a ten-year ban on new thermal plants—ones that generate electric power by burning fossil fuels.

Responding to the new act, the business community used economic arguments to appeal to the government and hinder environmental measures. Ralph Matthes, Executive Director of the Major Electricity Users’ Group, argued that severe winters keep many renewable sources from functioning, and gas and oil-powered energy was all that was keeping New Zealanders from experiencing blackouts. In addition, he claimed, efficient thermal plants could save consumers money on their energy bills.14 Low water flows in 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2008 had reduced hydroelectric power generation and significantly increased households’ energy costs.15 The government initially resisted this argument, claiming consumers would feel little or no monetary effect from the measure.16 After the people suffered through another summer of expensive electricity, however, Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee became convinced that thermal plants were necessary for the security of the energy supply. Parliament eventually repealed the ban in December 2008. Despite New Zealand’s intention to use almost entirely renewable electricity in just over fifteen years and the plan that the NEECS clearly lays out to accomplish this, such continued political pressure from industry will make the path forward more difficult.

photo by cbotman

Why wind?

Four main options exist for future renewable energy development: solar, hydroelectric, wind, and geothermal. As discussed above, water has limited expansion potential, except perhaps in small-scale, individual ventures. Solar technology alone would not be sufficient to compensate for New Zealand’s growing needs. Geothermal energy is a possibility, but the finite sites where such plants could be built restrict its ability to continually expand. That leaves wind energy, which offers the best opportunity for generating the majority of new renewable electricity.

Wind offers clean, reliable, and inexpensive electricity. First of all, a spinning turbine produces no emissions, so the only possible pollution comes from construction and installation. Due to its latitudinal location, New Zealand’s wind supply is stronger and more consistent than that of many places in the world, making the country an ideal candidate for wind-generated electricity.

The fifteen-year-old wind turbine outside of Wellington produces enough electricity each year for 100 households,17 which suggests a significant generative capacity from newer and more sizable wind farms. In addition, wind is infinitely renewable and free to obtain. Turbines do require a large initial investment for construction, and New Zealand does not offer any government subsidies for using this technology. Still, windpowered electricity has grown in popularity and profited well enough that the wind industry can now power 145,000 homes each year.18 This enormous growth in the past few years suggests that wind energy can provide the impetus New Zealand needs to reach its goal of ninety percent renewable electricity by 2025.

Wind energy has faced some obstacles, many of which continue to complicate future energy policy. First, wind turbines require consistent winds in order to operate, and neither extremely strong nor very weak winds allow them to function properly.

A study by the New Zealand government suggested that most turbines are only operational twenty to fifty percent of the time, thus requiring an electricity grid pulling from a variety of sources to compensate for these lulls.19 Some New Zealand farms, however, have experienced much greater efficiency than the report predicted. The Tararua wind farm operates ninety-nine percent of days, half of the time at maximum capac-

ity.20 This far outstrips the performance of most European wind farms, suggesting that New Zealand wind energy holds special potential. In addition, aesthetic concerns that have stirred controversy elsewhere have posed few major challenges in New Zealand. Eighty-eight percent of the population supports wind farms, and seventy-one percent even approve of them within view of their houses.21 Thus far, all of the challenges presented by wind power have proven to be surmountable.

New Zealand has set its goals high, and reaching them will require appeasing both the power fossil fuel industry and priceconscious consumers. To complete their endeavor, the government and private corporations will have to throw their support behind the most promising renewable option: wind. Through this powerful natural resource, New Zealand can serve as an example to the world of how to generate electricity in a clean, green way.

1 “How much wind energy can be integrated into the grid?” New Zealand Wind Energy Association. 2009 <http://www.windenergy.org.nz>.

2 “New Zealand’s energy outlook to 2030.” Ministry of Economic Development. 7 December 2007 <http://www.med.govt.nz>.

3 Parker, David. “The future for gas.” Beehive.govt.nz. 8 August 2008 <http://beehive.govt.nz>.

4 Barnett, Sarah. “Carbon Clodhoppers.” New Zealand Listener 216:3580 (2008).

5 “Why is Sustainability so Important?” Green Office Guide. 12 June 2002 <http://www.greenoffice.org.nz>.

6 “Wind Farms and Public Opinion.” New Zealand Wind Energy Association. October 2008 <http://www.windenergy.org.nz>.

7 Clark, Helen. “Launch of emissions trading scheme.” Beehive. govt.nz. 20 September 2007 <http://beehive.govt.nz>.

8 “Valuing New Zealand’s clean green image.” Ministry for the Environment. August. 2001 <http://www.mfe.govt.nz>.

9 “Manapouri: A Green Awakening.” Forest & Bird. 7 May 2008 <http://www.forestandbird.org.nz>.

10 McMahon, Barbara. “New Zealand faces power crisis amid drought.” Guardian.co.uk. 9 June 2008 <http://www.guardian. co.uk>.

11 “Resource Management Act 1991: Panel Recommendations Already Implemented at the Time of Striking the Balance in 2001.”

Ministry of Economic Development. 8 December 2005 <http:// www.med.govt.nz>.

12 ECO. “ECO Welcomes Renewables and Energy Efficiency.”

Scoop. 12 October 2007 <http://www.scoop.co.nz>.

13 Cox, Brian. “Submission to the Ministry of Economic Development on the Draft New Zealand Energy Strategy and New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy.” Bioenergy Association of New Zealand. 30 March 2007 <http://www.bioenergy. org.nz>.

14 Major Electricity Users’ Group. “Ban on thermal stations a regulatory nightmare.” Scoop. 14 October 2008 <http://www. scoop.co.nz>.

15 Hansen, Carl. “The Politics of Low Hydro Inflows.” M-co design.

30 June 2008 <http://www.m-co.com>.

16 Fallow, Brian. “Fossil fuel ban ‘should not cost consumers.’”

New Zealand Herald. 5 December 2007 <http://www.nzherald. co.nz>.

17 “Fact Sheet 1: Wind Energy.” Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. October 2005 <http://www.eeca.govt.nz>.

18 “Wind Generation in New Zealand.” New Zealand Wind Energy Association. 2009 <http://www.windenergy.org.nz>.

19 “New Zealand’s energy outlook to 2030.” 2007.

20 Meduna, Veronika. “Wind energy in New Zealand.” Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 21 September 2007 <http://www.

TeAra.govt.nz>.

21 “Wind Farms and Public Opinion.” 2008.

Spring 2009

12

PARADISE FOUND

by Tanya Braun

To many Duke students—or just Americans in general—the remote islands of the South Pacific are not a point of frequent thought or contemplation. While more recognizable names such as Fiji and Samoa might elicit thoughts of sunny, palm tree-bedecked beaches and pretty water bottles, other names, such as Tuvalu and Vanuatu, are likely to result in a blank stare and shrug.

Yet, common to all of these countries is a rich cultural and ethnic heritage that often goes unnoticed. The Republic of Fiji is a perfect example, serving as a beacon of culture and diversity in the Pacific.

In terms of population, Fiji plays host to various ethnic minority groups such as other Pacific islanders, ethnic Europeans, ethnic Chinese, native Fijians, and IndoFijians. Relations among these groups have played a significant role in forming Fiji’s history because they have shaped both society and government ever since the country was founded, and they could be confusing to those who do not understand their origins. Indo-Fijians, one of the predominant groups, are the mixed descendents of native islanders and Indian immigrants who were brought over during the 100 years of British rule, from 1874 until Fiji’s independence in 1970. In 2006, ethnic tensions culminated in a coup that led to the Fijian government declaring an official state of emergency in 2007. Though this declaration was recently lifted, Fiji still faces significant political and social challenges.1 These racial and ethnic

barriers are also accentuated by differences in religion: across the islands, it would not be unusual to find a Christian church, an Islamic mosque, and a Hindu temple all within a short distance from one another.

These complex social and political relationships across the islands have attracted scrutiny from many international organizations, particularly the United Nations.

But what else is there to this archipelago nation of 322 South Pacific islands? What would the average tourist find if he were to venture beyond his luxury seaside resort into the actual cities and countryside of Fiji? If he were on one of the main islands, Viti Levu, he might explore the capital city of Suva, home to three quarters of Fiji’s population and surrounded mostly by mountainous terrain, mangrove-lined coasts, and tropical forest. As the third largest urban area in the South Pacific and the center of the Fijian government, Suva is a bustling locus of trade, commerce, and culture. Our traveler could visit attractions such as the Fiji Museum, home to various South Pacific artifacts, or the Thurston Gardens, a botanical medley of various island flora. There is also the University of the South Pacific’s Laucala campus, where students from across the Pacific region come to study.2

entering a village, one is expected to seek out the blessing of the chief and offer him yaqona, Fiji’s national drink.3 Due to the communal nature of island life, our tourist could easily expect to be taken into a native home, fed, and cared for, without any expectation of repayment. Foods he might be offered include tropical fruits such as papaya and mango. Meals, which are generally eaten without utensils, often consist of a variety of meats served with cassava, a starchy root integral to the Fijian diet. As a whole, native Fijians tend to be very generous and open, willing to share their homes with travelers.4 Though ethnic Fijians dominate in rural areas, it is just as important to notice the distinct lifestyle of the many Indo-Fijians, who practice native Indian traditions. A typical Indo-Fijian household includes Indian food and dress, as well as religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism. This is not to say,

On the other hand, perhaps our wandering tourist prefers a rural lifestyle to an urban one. Life in the Fijian countryside is in fact very different from the bustling modernity of Suva.

Rural Fiji is defined by small villages that are typically structured around complex social hierarchies. When

13 all photos by Jen Kozin

14

Regardless of which parts of the islands our tourist prefers for his sojourn into the heart of Fijian life and culture, he should be aware of certain traits or quirks which are essential in understanding this small island nation.

Perhaps most important is the significance of Fiji’s national sport, rugby, which was adopted from British colonists. The islands play host to various rugby leagues, and the Fiji Sevens Team has achieved much fame over the years after winning several international titles. Many Fijian players are also drafted internationally, often by countries with top teams such as Australia and New Zealand.6 Another feature special to Fiji is its unique artistic heritage derived from the islands’ mixed ethnicities. Despite its century of British rule, Fiji has managed to maintain its native culture while adopting customs and beliefs from other societies such as India and Europe. This cultural diversity can be seen in the myriad of patterns and styles of items sold in Fijian markets, such as native pottery, intricately woven and painted mats, and wooden sculptures and carvings. In fact, many world heritage organizations consider Fijian arts to be some of the most diverse on Earth.7 As with any venture beyond the comfortable confines of a country’s tourist-catering locales, a trip into the real and active world of Fiji can be disconcerting and even risky; however, such an endeavor can also prove a pleasant surprise. Fiji’s culture is lush and varied, its attractions many. By choosing to explore the islands, one can develop a greater understanding and appreciation of this tiny republic and the diverse people who call it home.

1 “Suva Places of Interests.” FijiSuva. 2009. 7 Feb. 2009 <http:// www.fijisuva.com>.

2 “Fiji.” Infoplease. 2009. 7 Feb. 2009 <http://www.infoplease. com>.

3 “Fiji Islands Culture.” Fiji-Islands. 2008. 7 Feb. 2009 <http:// www.fiji-island.com>.

4 “Customs of Fiji Islands.” MsnEncarta. 2008. 7 Feb. 2009 <http://encarta.msn.com>.

5 Resture, Jane. “Fiji Islands.” 2008. 7 Feb. 2009 <http://www. janesoceania.com>.

6 Fiji Rugby Union.” Fiji Rugby. 2009. 23 Feb. 2009 <http:// www.fijirugby.com>.

7 “Arts and Crafts in Fiji.” AsiaRooms. 2009. 7 Feb. 2009 <http:// www.asiarooms.com>.

photo by CARF

however, that Indo-Fijians have remained separate from native island culture; in fact, Indian influence is evident in popular Fijian culture, manifesting itself in Bollywood films and fashion trends. Tourists should not be surprised to hear unique mixtures of Hindi and Fijian language, or to find that many of the social complexities characteristic of Indian life, most notably those of the caste system, have been replaced with a more lax and accepting island perspective.5

Tourism, Trafficking, and the Rise of Modern Day Slavery

by Rosie Kilgore

J

aena is a seventeen-year-old survivor of sex trafficking who now lives in Kadmin Nara, India. When she was fourteen, Jaena was befriended by four women at a railway station as she was returning home after work. The women convinced Jaena that the train routes had been changed due to construction, and she followed them onto their train instead.

Jaena’s suspicions were aroused when she noticed that the trip was taking several hours longer than it should have for a simple construction detour. She began shouting, questioning the duration of the trip.

Assuring her that the train was just traveling slowly, the women gave her some tea, which instantly made her drowsy. Jaena regained consciousness three days later, finding herself in a brothel in Bhandup, Mumbai, India. She had become a part of the “flesh market.”1 The first time Jaena was sold to a customer for sex, she struggled and fought.

The customer hit her multiple times on the legs and pushed her into a room, causing Jaena to fall and strike her face on a mirror. From that encounter, Jaena suffered a one-inch laceration on her face and a halfinch laceration on her chin. The customer then had forced intercourse with Jaena and paid the brothel keeper 9,000 rupees ($180). Over the next two months, she was beaten more than fifty times with sticks, plastic water pipes, and electrical cords, and was told repeatedly that she had to “do

this business.”2 Jaena’s average working day lasted from noon to as late as four in the morning, servicing approximately twentyfive customers per day. She was forced to have sexual intercourse without a condom and had a total of three abortions. To keep the girls under control, Jaena and the other sex workers were regularly drugged. Luckily, the International Justice Mission in conjunction with the local police conducted a raid of the brothel, and Jaena is now free.3 Unfortunately, Jaena’s spot was most likely filled within twenty-four hours.

Jaena’s story is not uncommon. There are an estimated 2.5 million children forced into CSEC (commercial sexual exploitation of children) each year.4 CSEC is a lucrative industry that thrives for two main reasons.

First, child sex trafficking flourishes amidst poverty and a desire for financial gain. Many of the victims come from economically deprived and marginalized groups. Some are recruited by brokers and then sold to pimps or brothel owners.5 Brokers, often community members known to the victims or their families, approach them with the promise of aid. Recruitment strategies include false assurances of employment, convincing parents to part with their children to alleviate debt, kidnapping, and arranging marriages in which brokers persuade grooms to pay poverty-stricken parents a dowry. Once married, wives are then sold to brokers, who resell them to brothels.6 Many children also offer themselves because they have lost

Spring 2009

their parents to HIV/AIDS or other diseases and need a way to support themselves and their siblings. Second, child sex tourism has grown tremendously, supported primarily by rich tourists traveling to less developed countries—where laws are weakly enforced—in order to seek cheap and readily available sex. In fact, in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, child sex tourism now accounts for anywhere between two and fourteen percent of the national income.7 Although tourism and trafficking are the driving forces behind CSEC, the ease of informationsharing through the Internet explains the industry’s sharp increase within the last ten years.8 Other reasons fueling CSEC include a lack of education, gender discrimination, inadequate law enforcement, and political corruption.9 The Children The majority of victims are girls between the ages of five and fifteen; however, an increasing number of boys are being recruited each year. Child prostitutes serve an average of two to thirty clients per week, or 100 to 1,500 clients per year.10 Escape is difficult, if not impossible, for these children because traffickers maintain control over their victims by weakening their physical and psychological defenses. Their tactics include physical, sexual, and psychological violence; isolation; deployment to unfamiliar areas; forced dependence on drugs and alcohol; limited access to food and water; and surveillance through the use of cameras and dogs.11 This treatment leads to inhumane living conditions for the children: inadequate diet, poor hygiene, abuse, neglect, and denial of health care. Victims are often forced to have unprotected sex with their clients—charged at a premium— heightening the risks of unwanted pregnancies, dangerous abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS.12 Many of these children not only suffer from physical consequences, but are also affected emotionally and behaviorally. Although empirical studies have not been performed to assess the psychological impact of child trafficking, various case studies have reported adverse emotional effects among trafficked children, including depression, hopelessness, guilt, shame, flashbacks, nightmares, loss of confidence, lower selfesteem, self-blame, and anxiety. Behavioral consequences common among victims include attachment difficulties, mistrust of adults, antisocial behaviors, and difficulty relating to others.13 The Offenders Most sex tourists are middle to upper class adult males from industrialized countries. Approximately twenty-five percent of all sex tourists are from the United States,

15

but in areas where sex tourism is particularly prevalent (e.g. Cambodia and Costa Rica), the percentage jumps to as high as eighty percent.14 Sex tourists are divided into two categories: preferential offenders and situational offenders. Preferential offenders are more characteristically pedophiles that travel with the primary intent of having sex with children. These offenders choose to go abroad because many countries do not strictly enforce laws prohibiting sexual exploitation of children. Situational offenders exploit children when the opportunity presents itself.15 Both types of offenders believe they will not be prosecuted in their home country. There is also the common misconception that sex with children will reduce or eliminate the chance of contracting STDs, when in fact children are more susceptible

into Thailand while Thai children are trafficked into other nations.19 Thailand is also a major producer and distributor of child pornography. Various street corners across the country display pornographic images, films, texts, and comics. Printed brochures that advertise child pornography are also openly delivered by the Thai postal services.20 It is not uncommon for boys and girls on the street to be approached directly by tourists seeking sexual contact, and tourists have even been known to rent long-term accommodations for the sole purpose of abusing children and producing pornography.21

Thailand does have legislation in place to protect children. The definition of child prostitution and length of prison sentences for offenders in Thailand match international standards and the age of consent in Thailand is eighteen, with more severe prosecutions for sexual misconduct with children under the age of fifteen.

In addition, parents that place their children in institutes of child prostitution may be fined or serve jail time. These measures, however, are greatly undermined by weak enforcement and implementation of antiphoto by Nick Rain trafficking procedures.

The Ministry of TourA Cambodian girl begs on the streets of Bangkok after being trafficked into the country.

ism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand are currently to HIV/AIDS and other STDs.16 Still another making efforts to report travel agencies that handful of tourists believe that having sex facilitate child sex tourism.22 with a virgin will actually cure their HIV/ AIDS.17 The inherent innocence of children Costa Rica is perhaps the greatest motivation for cerCosta Rica enjoys a fairly stable econtain tourists to seek them out. The majority omy due to tourism, but considerable povof brothel owners market young children erty still remains. Consequently, many poor as virgins, and offenders often pay higher children are coerced into sex trafficking by prices for them.18 their families, and the child sex trade continues to grow.23 Costa Rica is a source, Locations for Child Sex Trafficking/ transit, and destination country for sex trafTourism ficking and tourism. Some have even nickVirtually every country has seen some named it the Thailand of Central America.24 increase in child sexual exploitation due to Many children are trafficked into Costa rises in sex trafficking and tourism. How- Rica from places such as Nicaragua, the ever, some areas are more notorious than Dominican Republic, Russia, and the Philothers. ippines.25 Costa Rica also serves as a transit point for victims trafficked into the United The Ones in the News States, Mexico, Canada, and Europe.26 It is uncertain how many children are involved Thailand in sex tourism and trafficking in Costa Rica; Possibly due to widespread media cov- estimates from non-governmental organierage, there has recently been a noticeable zations (NGOs) have been as high as 3,000 decline in the number of Thai children traf- per year, while government officials claim ficked into local sex industries. Sadly, this as few as fifteen. None could deny, however, decline has instead sparked an increase in that the sex trade is a serious problem. It the number of foreign children trafficked has been estimated that as many as 30,000

16 American tourists travel to Costa Rica each year in search of sex with children.27 Many of these tourists are greeted by hotel receptionists and restaurant owners willing to help them find such children and taxi drivers that will gladly take them on prowls to search for underage girls on the streets.28 Costa Rica, however, has implemented training courses to prevent those in the hospitality industry from aiding such tourists.

It has also developed a national plan for fighting underage trafficking, though the plan has not yet gained budget allocation for its execution.29 The Ones that May Surprise You Kenya In Kenya, there has been a growing incidence of child sex tourism and trafficking within the last five years, especially along the coastal areas. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 girls living in these regions are being sexually exploited at irregular intervals, and an additional 2,000 to 3,000 girls and boys are exploited year-round by sex tourists.30 There is a high awareness among Kenyans about sex tourism, but a large percentage actually consider it an acceptable practice.31 Some of the girls are deemed lucky, as their families have moved from lower to middle class because of their involvement in the trade. On the other hand, many young girls are sexually exploited at school by their teachers, fueling the child sex trade industry and contributing to the high dropout rate among girls in school.32 Sexual offences against students are the number one reason for dismissal of teachers, but despite the number of complaints brought before the Teacher’s Service Commission, not a single case has been taken to court.33, 34 This leaves a vast number of young women who are not only impregnated by their teachers, but are also in search of work. Because jobs for uneducated girls are scarce, many of them are coerced into commercial sex work and trafficked to coastal areas or other countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, southern Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.35 The Department of Children’s Services has sought to build knowledge of child protection issues, but the greatest hindrance is the lack of funds and training on CSEC issues.36 A national committee has also been created to set up a taskforce comprised of government officials and civil society organizations; it is currently working on a national plan of action to combat human trafficking.37 United States When most people think about sex trafficking, their minds drift to foreign countries, believing that the United

States is immune to such an issue. In reality, an estimated 300,000 children in the U.S. each year are at risk of commercial sexual exploitation, and the U.S. is considered a source country for child sex tourism.38 Domestic sex traders, or “pimps,” are very knowledgeable about the culture of their target groups and play on their vulnerabilities, insecurities, and desires. Not only do they go after runaways and homeless children, but they have also been known to lure children away from tourist attractions, concerts, restaurants, malls, and even their own homes. Many of the victims are drawn in through offers of modeling or other forms of employment. They are then forced to work in strip clubs, street-based prostitution, escort services, and brothels.39 While the average age for children in the international sex trade is fourteen, it is twelve in the U.S.40 These instances are not only limited to major cities—some of the largest areas for trafficking are in rural regions. In fact, there are currently sex trafficking cases open in all fifty states.41 As with other countries, children are trafficked into the U.S. from Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa to work in massage parlors, hostess clubs, and both commercial and residential brothels.42 The U.S. is also one of the largest producers of child pornography.43 While the U.S. government has devoted considerable efforts to anti-trafficking initiatives internationally, the focus has been primarily on drugs and forced labor rather than children. It is also unclear whether the government is taking adequate measures to address the issue domestically. There are, however, a considerable number of NGOs fighting to shed light on the problem,

though there are few examples of cooperation among them. In 2003, the U.S. also established the Protect Act in which citizens or residents who engage in sexual activity abroad with a child under eighteen can face up to thirty years in prison.44 Greatest Hindrances to Fighting the Child Sex Trade Many countries have passed legislation criminalizing the sexual exploitation of children, but more often than not these laws remain unenforced. One of the major obstacles to combating CSEC is the promotion of tourism. Governments in countries with struggling economies frequently turn a blind eye to sex tourism in order to eradicate their national debt through this industry.45 Corruption among law enforcement officials is also common. Police have been known to guard brothels or, worse yet, seek out children for prostitution.46 Another impediment is that many trafficked children, rather than traffickers, are detained because of immigration violations, flagging them as criminals rather than victims.47 Moreover, hindrances to fighting child sex trafficking are also present in many of the laws themselves. The U.S. Code Title 18 2423(b), for instance, requires evidence that an alleged sex tourist had the intent to engage in sexual activity with a child prior to initiating sexual contact. While this law has helped to secure a handful of arrests, it severely limits the prosecution of situational offenders. They will not, for instance, have brought video cameras with them to film their sexual exploits or have carried any items from America indicating that their plans were premeditated. But one of the

photo by Nick Rain Cambodia: A Vietnamese girl waits in a brothel marketed by her pimp as a virgin for a higher price.

Spring 2009

photo by the Emancipation Network

children who are trafficked in America; many of them are kidnapped, and many are also trafficked through America. This is not just a problem in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam; the U.S. is probably the number one destination for trafficked children and women. So in order to do that we decided to do a walk that raises national awareness. The flagship moment will be in New York City; the campaign also extends to fifty cities and over 300 universities.

In July of 2008, I learned of an ABC journalist, Dan Harris, who left his New York City Apartment, took a cab ride to JFK airport, flew to the capital of Haiti, went to the local hotel, and started asking where he could find a child. Within ten hours he negotiated with pimps and others and was able to purchase a child for $150. His report, entitled “How to Buy a Child in 10 Hours” stated that 300,000 children are vulnerable in Haiti alone. It was then that we realized that as long as there is a perverted desire on the part of sex tourists, there will always be a continual supply of children available to be kidnapped and enslaved for sex trafficking.

Therefore, seventy percent of the money raised from this walk will go to fighting the demand side. In order to do that, we need to help law enforcement agencies; there are not enough trained professionals and far too few convictions. As a part of the walk, we are hiring elite, retired military and law enforcement who are trained in how to gift wrap a case of a predator and trafficker and turn it over to the FBI and local law enforcement.”

Children rescued from the red light district in Calcutta

greatest barriers to enforcing laws against sex tourism is the Internet. The sex tourism industry has been facilitated by ubiquitous online marketing. Various websites provide potential tourists with detailed, first-hand accounts of sexual exploits with children.

These websites also supply information about sex establishments, prices, and tips on how to specifically find and procure child prostitutes. As far back as 1995, there were over twenty-five businesses in the U.S. that offered and arranged sex tours.48 Additionally, a number of sex tour travel agents publish brochures and guides online that cater to child sex tourists. Thanks to the Internet, this information is easily accessible, generates interest in child sex tourism, and facilitates child sex abusers in making their travel plans.49 Ways to Get Involved Locally International Justice Mission (IJM) is a faith-based human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and other forms of violent oppression. The mission statement for Duke’s chapter of IJM is “to advance the international struggle for justice by making known the faces and victims of oppression and moving the campus and local community to action by providing powerful tools capable of bring[ing] those victims real rescue.”50 The Duke chapter hosts and sponsors events that help raise money to fight CSEC and other forms of human trafficking in North Carolina, the United States, and abroad. Additionally, a STOP Child Trafficking Now (SCTNow) walk will take place on September 27, 2009 in New York City and at various locations across the U.S., including Duke. Ron Lewis, one of the founders of SCTNow, had the following to say about the cause: “[My wife Lynette and I] realized that we had to do more than just gather information; we needed to do something to help these children…There are thousands of

17

If you were to ask a handful of people about slavery, images of historical events and cries for justice would often come up. Yet the fact of the matter is that slavery is still very present in our society, with CSEC as one of its most troubling manifestations.

Many sources estimate that there are approximately twenty-seven million slaves around the world today.51 As we look back on the slavery of centuries past, we cannot and must not forget the lessons learned from those times. As in the famous words of Dr. King, “an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

------For more information about IJM or the walk, please visit http://www.duke.edu/ web/duijm/ and http://sctnow.org/index. php respectively.

1 Testimony of Jaena. Polaris Project Action Center. 3 Feb. 2009 <http://actioncenter.polarisproject.org>.

Ibid Stopping the Source. 2008. Stop Child Trafficking Now. 3 Feb. 2009 <http://sctnow.org>.

5 Joffres, Christine. “Sexual slavery without borders: trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation in India.” International Journal for Equity in Health 7.22 (2008). 10 Feb 2009 <http://www. equityhealthj.com>.

6 Ibid.

7 Song, Susan. “Children as Tourist Attractions.” Youth Advocate Program International. 3 Feb. 2009 <http://www.yapi.org>.

8-9 Ibid.

10 Rafferty, Yvonne. “The Impact of Trafficking on Children: Psychological and Social Policy Perspectives” Child Development Perspectives 2.1, 13-18 (2008). 3 Feb. 2009 <http://safestate. org>.

11-13 Ibid.

14 Song, Susan. “Children as Tourist Attractions.”

15-18 Ibid.

19 EPCAT International: End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes. Online CSEC database. 3 Feb. 2009 <http://www.ecpat.net>.

20 June 2004. 17 Feb. 2009 <http://news.bbc.co.uk>.

21-22 Ibid.

23 Davidson, Julia O’Connell and Jacqueline Sanchez Taylor. Child Prostitution and Sex Tourism: Costa Rica. Sept. 1995 <http:// www.streetchildren.org.uk>.

24 Sere, Adriene. Costa Rica: Thailand Of Central America. Feb. 2001. Said It – Heard This. 17 Feb. 2009 <http://www.saidit. org>.

25 Trafficking in Persons Report 2008 - Costa Rica. 4 June 2008.

Refworld. 17 Feb. 2009 <http://www.unhcr.org>.

26 Ibid.

27 Davidson, Julia O’Connell and Jacqueline Sanchez Taylor. Child Prostitution and Sex Tourism: Costa Rica.

28 Wright, Phillip. “Lessons Learned in Costa Rica.” BBC News.

29 EPCAT International: End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes.

30-37 Ibid.

38 Commercial Sexual Trafficking of Minors Widespread in American Cities. 2008. The Earth Times. 17 Feb. 2009 <http://www. earthtimes.org>.

39 Domestic Trafficking withing the U.S. Polaris Project: For a World Without Slavery. 15 Feb. 2009 <http://www.polarisproject.org/content/view/60/81>.

40 Commercial Sexual Trafficking of Minors Widespread in American Cities.

41 Human Trafficking of Children in the United States. 6 Aug 2007. Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. 17 Feb. 2009 <http:// www.ed.gov>.

42 Transnational Trafficking into the U.S. Polaris Project: For a World Without Slavery. 15 Feb. 2009 <http://www.polarisproject.org>.

43 EPCAT International: End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes.

44 Fact Sheet: Protect Act. 30 Apr. 2003. Department of Justice. 17 Feb. 2009 <http://www.usdoj.gov>.

45 Child Sex Tourism. 6 Nov. 2007. U.S. Department of Justice. 17 Feb. 2009 <http://www.usdoj.gov>.

46 Ibid.

47 Country Narratives—Countries S through Z: Trafficking in Persons Report. U.S. Department of State. 17 Feb. 2009 <http:// www.state.gov>.

48 Child Sex Tourism.

49 Ibid.

50 Slavery Today. 2007. Free the Slaves. 27 Feb. 2009 <http:// www.freetheslaves.net>.

51 About Us. International Justice Mission, Duke University. 17 Feb. 2009 <http://www.duke.edu/web/duijm/about.html>.

2-3 4

An International Affair: Love Hotels

18

by Kara Li photo by grenade

Japan has long been the source of fascinating creations. Playstation, the AIBO dog, and cosplay are just a few of the immensely popular Japanese innovations that have fascinated the world. Yet, none of these inventions comes close to rivaling the dazzle and intrigue of its love hotels. These rabu hoteru (the Japanese pronunciation of the English term) are short-stay havens for those looking for a private moment with that special someone, be it the wife, girlfriend, prostitute, or drunken co-worker.

With more than 37,000 establishments across Japan and 1.4 million clients every day,1 the rabu hoteru is a deliciously scandalous escape from the strict regularity of Japanese daily life.

For an establishment devoted to amorous interactions, the love hotel has a surprisingly utilitarian origin.

The combination of Japan’s small strip of mountainous land and large population—more than twice that of the United Kingdom, at 127 million2— means that privacy and space are prized commodities. This demand for personal space, especially in raunchier aspects of life, helped spur the growth of the love hotel industry, created specifically to satisfy the needs of by-the-hour customers who do not want to pay a full day’s expenses at a traditional, loftily-priced ryokan. While similar accommodations existed as early as the 1860s, the establishments officially gained prominence in Japan after World War II. Families rented out spare rooms called tsurekomi yado (literally “bring-along inns”) on an hourly basis, catering primarily to prostitutes until prostitution was outlawed in the 1950s. After years of entrepreneurship in the industry and an increasing clientele, Japanese love hotels evolved to become the curious and frequently gaudy enterprises seen today.

For those looking for a private engagement, love hotels are not hard to find in Japan. Typically located near railroad stations, highways, or in industrial districts, rabu hoteru range from extravagant castles with faux-Western names and neon lighting to demurely functional, windowless buildings. Regardless of external appearance, however, a common theme of anonymity is expressively evident in all such establishments. The designers and managers of each hotel go to great lengths to ensure that the identities of their clients remain

hidden. In the deserted lobby, customers peruse a back-lit panel featuring the hotel’s selections and press a button to indicate their choice. Short two-hour “rests” range between ¥2000 and ¥5000 (roughly $20$55), while overnight stays can cost up to ¥13,000 (roughly $140).3 Payment and room keys are exchanged through automated machines—such as the pneumatic tubes most commonly used by banks—or a pair of disembodied hands behind frosted glass.

Departure is equally discreet: separate entrances and exits are commonplace, created for patrons who wish to avoid potential gossip.

photo by Matt Murf

The incredible variety of rooms would shock most delicate American sensibilities. While some of the rooms are strictly functional and barely discernible from that of regular hotels, the rest—outrageously themed and painstakingly decorated— clearly set the rabu hoteru apart. Underwater rooms, prison cells, metro train rooms, high school classrooms, and even Hello Kitty S&M rooms (yes, you read that correctly) are merely a few of the ways in which your deepest fantasies and most bizarre fetishes can be fulfilled. In a few of the more elaborate rabu hoteru, lights even flare up on the floor to guide customers to their rooms. The Japanese are just as creative with their love hotels as they are with their gadgets.

When Japan came under international scrutiny for child pornography and prostitution in the 1980s, the government passed a set of laws regarding child exploitation, popularly known as the Shin Fuuei Hou or the New Public Morals Act.4 Sweeping regulations of love hotels and the sex trade came with these laws. In an effort to circumvent regulations set by the New Public Morals Act, many traditional rabu hoteru have been replaced by extra-legal establishments that serve as conventional hotels—if only

on paper. Many love hotels tonedPhoto downby grenade their raunchy designs in order to avoid legal problems and became more sophisticated and stylish establishments. Ironically, some of these “fashion hotels” or “boutique hotels” are now regularly featured by respectable design magazines. In contrast, true rabu hoteru, with the vibrating beds, bumper cars, and other cheesy décor, have largely retreated to the red light districts of Japanese cities. In Tokyo, establishments with love hotel-like facilities are restricted by law into four specific neighborhoods. As new regulations are passed, an alluring and whimsical industry that has constituted a richly fascinating part of Japanese culture and history is slowly fading.

The rabu hoteru enterprise, emerging from the basic need for private space and cultivated by unique Japanese customs, has since grown into a colorful world that offers an environment to indulge every imaginable whim and fetish. And while it is true that legal regulations in Japan have limited the extravagance previously common to these hotels, the growing respectability and sophistication of the industry reflect a change in the Japanese sexual climate. From a simple spare room to a lavish sexual escape, the constantly transforming rabu hoteru offers, and always will, a sensational and unconventional glimpse into Japanese society.

1 Kelly, Tim. “Love for Sale.” Forbes.com 5 June 2006 <http:// www.forbes.com>.

2 “Japan.” CIA - The World Factbook. 19 Februry 2009 <https:// www.cia.gov>.

3 Moran, Simon. “Love Hotels in Japan.” Japan Visitor. <http:// www.japanvisitor.com>.

4 West, Mark D. “Japanese Love Hotels: Legal Change, Social Change, and Industry Change.”Michigan Law and Economics Research Paper No. 02-018 . 2003.

Spring 2009 photo by A_of_Doom

photo by http://www.bornplaydie.com

A room at Gang Snowman’s

Love Hotels: Up Close and Personal With prices that are often lower than those of conventional hotels, rabu hoteru can be a daring budget alternative for those traveling in Japan. Most establishments willingly accept single customers, though same-sex companions may encounter some trouble. Regardless of one’s purpose, a love hotel can be an entertaining and educational detour for any traveler. The following are a few suggestions for courageous adventurers looking for a different kind of Japanese experience. Keep in mind, however, that the rabu hoteru is anything but a normal hotel. In some cases, once a customer leaves the room, returning to it will likely mean having to pay for it again.

Gang Snowman’s:

Little Chapel Christmas:

Sagamiko Elizabeth Sekitei:

Part of the hugely successful Plaza Angelo Group, Osaka’s Gang Snowman’s is a short walk from the Tanimachi 9-chome train station. Recently renamed the Carnival Hotel (but still more well-known as Gang Snowman’s), this hotel is famed for having some of the most bizarre rooms and facilities in the rabu hoteru industry. Room 202 contains a mini jail-cell, while 209 boasts a vaulting horse—with manacles. This rabu hoteru’s crown jewel is the rooftop garden, which features a red 70s Cadillac converted into a bed. But wait, there’s more! Gang Snowman’s also offers their guests complimentary ice cream and drinks in the lobby.

Visit Gang Snowman’s website at www.angelo-jp.com for bookings.

Looking for something a little more seasonal? Check out Nihonbashi’s Little Chapel Christmas, where it is Christmas every day!

A piano-playing Santa Claus hangs atop the entrance of a building a thousand times gaudier than your neighbor’s ridiculously over-the-top lawn in December. Unlike the average love hotel, this establishment features festive decorations, canopy beds, and flower arrangements. Guests are presented with Santa Claus pajamas or stuffed animals upon entering. With its cute décor and appeal to the holiday-crazed romantic— or to the Santa costume fetishes of some clients—Little Chapel Christmas is one of many hotels catering towards those seeking a memorable night out rather than a wild adventure.

Arguably one of the most famous love hotels in Japan, Sagamihara’s Sagamiko Elizabeth Sekitei occupies a rather unusual structure.

Modeled after the HMS Queen Elizabeth II, this ocean liner hot spot specializes in nautical themes and S&M rooms. Unfortunately, this bizarre love hotel is only accessible via car, so it may be reserved for more travelsavvy customers. For those looking for the perfect place to walk the plank or scrub the deck with their partners, the Sagamiko Elizabeth Sekitei is a dream come true.

The roof at the Gang Snowman Hotel

19 photo by http://www.bornplaydie.com

Acts of Desperation:

by Sandy Sun

In the outskirts of the capital city of Kabul, there is a celebration. A wedding. Music is blaring, children are dancing, two fathers toast each other for arranging a prosperous union. Only one person does not take part in the celebrations—the seventeenyear-old bride, Chehra, who had begged her father not to give her to this man. She will become a part of his family today, the dutiful bride and daughter-in-law, ranking the lowest in the hierarchical family structure. After this day, her life will never truly be hers. Overwhelmed by her complete powerlessness, Chehra weeps.

At the same time, across Afghanistan in the city of Herat, Nadira tries to hold still as her father-in-law hits her again and again. Why does he hate her so much?

She has learned to detach herself from the pain. Suddenly the blows stop. Nadira looks up at him with relief, ready to return to her chores. But then he begins to grope her, softly at first and then more urgently, reaching a hand under her burqa. Struggling violently, she cries out, desperate for somebody, anybody to save her. When nobody responds, Nadira closes her eyes and detaches herself once more from her body.

She isolates from the world around her, safe inside herself.

In modern-day Afghanistan, these situations, though not the norm, are the reality for some Afghan women. Considered inferior to men, women have limited rights and little to no power. Only two decades ago, the political and social landscape for Afghan women was vastly different. Beginning in the Nineteenth century, male Afghan leaders attempted to align Islam—a religion that stresses family values and the right for both genders to education, work, freedom of movement, and expression—with social practices.1,2 By 1977, women were given “equal rights and obligations before the law.”3 They were able to attend universities and work in any field, including the government, entertainment, and business.

All of this changed when the Taliban came to power in 1992.4 Under the guise of upholding Islamic teachings, they stripped Afghan women of the rights they had just begun to enjoy. Using references from the Koran (the holy book of the Muslim religion) which stated that “men have a ‘degree’ over women,”5 and the Hadith (teachings by the prophet Muhammed), which declared women to be “genetically and legally inferior to men because of the deficiency of their minds,”6 the Taliban re-established a maledominant society. In the Afghanistan under Taliban rule, many of the main principles of Islam became ignored.

20

Self-Immolation in Afghanistan

The first step the Taliban took to subordinate women was to order them to cover their heads, legs, and arms. By 1996, the Taliban had forbidden women to “attend school, or to leave their homes unless accompanied by a mahram (close male relative).”7 Eventually, the edicts progressed so that women were required to wear a burqa, a garment that covered their entire bodies except for a mesh opening for the face, at all times in public. Furthermore, aside from “a small percentage of positions available as health workers and surveyors with international aid organizations,” women were not allowed to work.8 The Taliban relegation of Afghan women to this inferior status had major implications on the country’s health and justice systems. The segregation of women and

photo by Yan Boechat

men into separate hospitals in 1997 severely limited women’s access to healthcare.9 Although a few female physicians and nurses were allowed to continue working, many of them left the country, fearing that they would be punished for not conforming to the new social standards. This left women with even fewer choices for doctors as they were not allowed to be seen by male physicians without a mahram. The justice system was also biased in favor of men. Honor killings, in which male family members murder a woman who has acted dishonorably (e.g. not conforming to the norms, not being chaste—even if she had been raped), were rarely punished. Having no economic or political power and limited mobility, Afghan women found themselves at the mercy of their families.

Spring 2009

Even after the Taliban was removed from power in 2001 and Afghanistan signed several agreements committing to women’s rights, such as the Bonn Agreement and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), conditions were slow to improve.10 Statistics show that seventy to eighty percent of women are still forced into marriage, fifty-seven percent are married before age sixteen, and eightyfour percent remain illiterate (compared to fifty-nine percent for men).11 Though data is ignored, many studies indicate that there are frequent instances of “sexual or physical violence against Afghan women…primarily perpetrated by husbands and in-laws.”12 In the face of such blatant discrimination and limited control over their lives, many Afghan women turn to desperate measures.

On her wedding night, as her husband sleeps next to her, Chehra thinks about her life with him. She will have to serve him and his parents dutifully. When they have children, her sole responsibility will lie in raising them. Day after day of endless monotony.

In Herat, Nadira picks herself up after her father-in-law has used her and cast her off. She is empty and drained. They have taken everything from her—her dignity, her strength, and now her virtue.

Though on opposite ends of the country, both Chehra and Nadira have come to the same decision. They douse themselves in kerosene, feeling in its cool sensation the promise of escape. Bringing the flame closer to themselves, they whisper a prayer to Allah and brace themselves for death, convinced that what lies ahead for them is infinitely better than what they are leaving behind.

Sadly, many women longing for an escape from their situations are practicing self-

immolation—the act of burning oneself to commit suicide. In Afghanistan, cases have been occurring at an increasing rate.13 Reports by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and the Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs indicate that there were 106 cases of selfimmolation in 2006, which accounted for five to six percent of all instances of violence against women in that year. In 2007, the AIHRC found that the number of selfimmolation cases had risen to 184.14 This increase, of course, could simply be due to better reporting as the issue has become better known. Unfortunately, publicity on self-immolation has also led to the copycat effect, where more and more women see the act as a possible route for escape. Data on self-immolation may also be skewed because many families try to hide the truth, finding it shameful, and instead attribute the injuries to a kerosene stove explosion.15 Of the data that does exist, statistics reveal that of the women who committed selfimmolation in 2006, fifty-five percent were between sixteen and nineteen years old. In sixty-one percent of all cases, the victims had burns spanning the majority of their bodies. Moreover, eighty percent of the patients were married and ninety-five percent had little education.16 From interviewing the women who survived, the primary causes for self-immolation were found to arise from “various forms of oppression or violence against women.”17 In twenty-nine percent of the cases, women were forced into marriage or childhood engagements.

Badal, “forced marital exchange to settle a conflict between families or tribes,” accounted for eighteen percent, and abuse from in-laws was cited in sixteen percent.18 Though physical abuse from their husbands was a common occurrence, it was not the proximal cause of self-immolation for many of these women.19 Authorities believe that Afghan women choose self-immolation as a method of suicide because it is a form of protest against maltreatment.20 Seema Shir Mohammadi, director of women’s affairs in Herat, reports, “Women are increasingly paying back the violence they receive at home and

outside by self-immolation and suicide.”21 When questioning survivors, Nabila Wafiq, a researcher for the German-based aid group Medica Mondiale, also found that, “[Afghan women] said that when they take pills, they don’t die, but when they commit self-immolation they believe they will die, one-hundred percent.”22 And, because of the poor health care system in Afghanistan, eighty percent of selfimmolation cases are fatal.23 To improve conditions for women, Homa Sultani, a researcher at the AIHRC in Kabul, believes that, “the government must ensure proper investigations into cases of suicide among women and where needed bring those responsible to justice.”24 Sultani clarifies that “there is a culture of impunity for those who push women to self-immolation and suicide.”25 In addition, steps should be taken to educate women and provide them with equal rights. As Kofi Annan once said, “Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.”26 Though the changes may be gradual, there is hope that Afghan women will someday be able to enjoy the rights that they deserve and that the horrors of selfimmolation—like the Taliban system that first instigated it—will become but a thing of the past.

Physicians for Human Rights. The Taliban’s War on Women.

1998.

Shorish-Shamley, Zieba. “The Plight of Women and Health Care in Afghanistan.” Women’s Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan. 9 Feb. 2009 <http://www.wapha.org>.

3 Ibid.

4 Campbell, Elizabeth A., Guiao, Isabelita Z. “Muslim Culture and Female Self-Immolation: Implications for Global Women’s Health Research And Practice.” Health Care for Women International. 25 (2004): 782-793.

5-6 Ibid.

7 Physicians for Human Rights. The Taliban’s War on Women.

8-9 Ibid.

10 Raj, A., Gomez, C., Silverman, J. “Driven to a Fiery Death—The Tragedy of Self-Immolation in Afghanistan.” New England Journal of Medicine. 358.21 (2008): 2201-2203.

11-13 Ibid.

14 “ Forty-seven Self-immolation Cases were Recorded in Herat City Hospital in Six Months.” Rawa News. 9 Sept. 2009 <http:// www.rawa.org>.

15 Tang, Alisa. “Self-Immolation by Afghan Women Rising.” The Washington Post . 15 Mar. 2007 <http://www.washingtonpost. com>.

16 Raj, A., Gomez, C., Silverman, J. “Driven to a Fiery Death—The Tragedy of Self-Immolation in Afghanistan.”

17-19 Ibid.

20 Romm, S., Combs, H., Klein, M. “Self-Immolation: Cause and Culture.” Journal of Burn Care & Research. 29.6 (2008): 988993.

21 Tang, Alisa. “Self-Immolation by Afghan Women Rising.”

22 Ibid.

23 Raj, A., Gomez, C., Silverman, J. “Driven to a Fiery Death—The Tragedy of Self-Immolation in Afghanistan.”

24 Tang, Alisa. “Self-Immolation by Afghan Women Rising.”

25 “ Forty-seven Self-immolation Cases were Recorded in Herat City Hospital in Six Months.”

26 Annan, Kofi. “Annan Makes the Case for Gender Equality in Africa.” Modern Ghana. 30 Apr. 1998 <http://www.modernghana. com>.

1

2

21 photo by IRIN News

22

by Alice Zhang

photo by nikunj2007

finding that Bollywood’s high-energy movies appeal to diverse audiences and provide the opportunity for expansion into global markets. In 2007, Sony co-produced and distributed Saawariya, the first Indian movie sponsored by Hollywood. Shortly afterwards, Disney contributed its animating talents to create the first animated version of a Bollywood movie, Roadside Romeo.

This year, Warner Brothers combined Hong Kong’s kung fu choreography and Bollywood’s musicality to produce Chandni Chowk to China. The recently released, Oscarwinning Slumdog Millionaire, acclaimed by audiences and critics, was inspired by Bollywood movies of the 1970s, which am featured young chilV y dren running from evil. to b pho With each new Bollywood or Bollywood-inspired movie that Hollywood produces, Bollywood takes one more step in making a new imprint on the American movie industry. Saawariya earned the honor of being one of the first Bollywood movies released on Blu-Ray. Chandi Chowk to China broke new ground by becoming the first Bollywood movie to get a North American release from a major studio.

Despite these accomplishments, most critics have exhibited lukewarm reactions to Hollywood-produced Bollywood movies. The sight of Tiananmen Square in the background or skinny, animated dogs performing high-energy dance moves may seem jarring to the seasoned Bollywood movie viewer. For example, despite being the fourth highest grossing film in India so far this year, there is a very slim chance that Chandi Chowk to China will generate enough revenue to cover the massive production costs, let alone make a profit. Most critiques attribute the failure of such films to the sloppiness of the script since much of their production is focused on marketing and building up hype. Scripts in Hollywood normally undergo a scrupulous process eath

story? By attempting to steal the heroine away from the hero, the villain adds thrill, suspense, jealousy, deceit, and greed to an otherwise sappy romance. A fight or chase scene is guaranteed between the hero and villain.

The hero always outruns the villain, even if he is on foot and the villain is in a speedy helicopter. In the fight scenes, the hero dodges every single bullet and his strikes never miss the villain. Better yet, he may even grab the villain’s bullet and deflect it back to him.

All throughout the movie, songs and dances pop up. The hero and heroine change clothes and locations, from the Swiss Alps back to India, in the blink of an eye. In the rainbow swirl of saris, bangles, and cholis, a duet transforms into a group sequence. Mournful and passionate love songs between the torn lovers feature prominently in the mix, generally set at night with the moonlight shining on their forlorn and wistful faces.

If you are still confused about what a typical Bollywood movie looks like, think about Moulin Rouge. Its director saw a Bollywood movie while in India and returned inspired.

Moulin Rouge has the main elements of a typical Indian film, featuring a poor hero (Christian, the writer) who falls in love with the wrong girl (Satine, the glamorous star of the club).1 The sinister Duke, fulfilling his role as villain, prevents Christian and Satine from being together. Adorned with jewels and an extravagant costume, Satine performs flanked by an ensemble of dancers. In fact, one of her songs, “Hindi Sad Diamonds,” is derived from a song written for the 1998 Bollywood movie China Gate.2 Multiple dance numbers and a dozen costume changes later, Moulin Rouge ends with Satine dying from tuberculosis in Christian’s arms.

Moulin Rouge may have been one of the first Bollywood-inspired movies to enter mainstream American culture, but it is no longer alone. Hollywood has recently turned to its Indian counterpart for ideas,

pi re of D

In Ho l l y w o o d , the perfect formula for a successful movie can be as elusive as the elixir of life. A sappy romantic comedy? Taken. A fun, light-hearted family movie complete with fart jokes? Overdone. Fast-paced action thrillers? Check. A lively three-hour extravaganza of love, music, and dance?

Hmm… Every year, Bollywood, the largest movie producer in India, churns out multi-million dollar productions characterized by bright costumes, catchy songs, lively dance numbers, and overwrought love stories. Dramatic plot lines commonly include twins separated at birth, scheming villains, or reversals in luck and fortune. But the golden rule of Bollywood movies is that there must be at least one hero and heroine who fall in love.

Typically, multiple characters fight over the girl—with bonus points given if they are brothers—and eventually one emerges victorious, but not before each broken-hearted lover delivers a lengthy monologue.

As for the love story, complicated circumstances (not unlike that of Romeo and Juliet) and incompatible personalities prevent the hero and heroine from falling in love immediately. The hero has either good looks or a muscular build. He is also from a poor background, with a job like a rickshaw driver or a shop owner. Meanwhile the heroine comes from a dramatically different social situation from the hero; she is typically the daughter of a rich and powerful man. Sporadic dance numbers highlight her status by placing her in the center of attention, surrounded by a troupe of dancers.

But where is the drama without a villain plotting to thwart the progressing love

Spring 2009

photo by beastandbean

involving focus groups, expert consultations, and continuous research. But for some reason, Hollywood eliminates the painstaking process of perfecting a Bollywood script, causing the quality of the movie to suffer.3 While Hollywood may seek to borrow some elements of Bollywood, finding the right combination of such themes is not a matter of copy and paste. What works in Bollywood will not always work in Hollywood and vice versa—American and Indian audiences may want very different things.

When people go to the movies, they expect to be entertained and taken away from everyday situations. But the way movies transport their viewers into an electrifying environment differs between the two countries.

Slumdog Millionaire, a roaring success in the United States, filled only about twenty-five percent of the movie seats when it debuted in India.4 Even though Indian

23

critics embraced the movie much like their American counterparts, viewers in India were not so enthusiastic. This story of a young, uneducated man from India’s slums who makes it big on a game show provides Americans with a break from their lives and shows them a whole different world. On the other hand, the movie depicts reality for many Indians and, as a result, does not offer the same escape. Indians can step outside of the movie theater and see Slumdog Millionaire’s environment right in front of them. Bollywood gained extreme popularity because it gave Indians the opportunity to indulge in their fantasies and experience a dramatically different and exciting life.

distributors in India, Bollywood movies in the United States earn a mere $100 million per year.9 Even then, only about eighty se-

photo by Megha

p h ot o b y a n n a

kamann

In particular, the characteristic dance sequences of Bollywood movies with attractive women and songs about love and life give Indians a release from the usual doldrums of life.5 In addition, most Bollywood movies run three hours and give Indians the feeling of getting their money’s worth. A good entertainer is referred to as a paisa vasool, which literally translates into “money’s worth.”

Most Americans, however, get antsy after two hours of movie-watching. One of the complaints about Saawariya was that the two hour and twenty-two minute movie ran too long, although one critic acutely noted that Saawariya was “short by Bollywood’s standards.”6 American movies are also separated into different genres while Bollywood rarely differentiates between its movies’ styles. Bollywood movies combine different sorts of genres, ranging from romantic dramas and action thrillers to dance songs and comedies. Such movies, which have a bit of everything, are called masala, named after a spice mixture.7 Despite the lackluster reception of some Hollywood-produced Bollywood movies, Hollywood has demonstrated a considerable amount of interest in Bollywood’s style and the potential blockbuster gains from these movies. But why has Hollywood only recently begun to look at its Indian counterpart for inspiration? Both movie industries emerged in the 1920s. The characteristic features seen in Bollywood’s movies began appearing in the 1950s; by the 1990s, the poetic and lyrical songs had transformed into overdramatic musical numbers combined with heart-throbbing love stories.

While romance was at the heart of nearly every movie, Bollywood stayed away from any on-screen kissing or nudity, unlike the more risqué productions of the American film industry. Other features, such as action sequences, comedy, and family-centered fun, initially appeared from time to time and soon became a staple.

At the turn of the new millennium, Bollywood saw an increase in popularity and appeal around the world. Indian moviemakers began making extravagant productions and widening distribution beyond India and into the United States. Indian films enjoy greater popularity than those from any other country, causing Hollywood to become entranced by Bollywood’s success at the box office.

Disney has acknowledged the global impact of the Indian box office and has turned towards producing more Indian-influenced films, as shown by Roadside Romeo.8 According to Yash Raj Films, one of the largest film producers and

lect theaters routinely screen these Indian films. In India, Bollywood is an $8 billion industry that produces more than 900 movies in twenty different languages every year.10 Fueled by both the financial appeal and the exhilarating liveliness of Bollywood movies, Hollywood may look towards Bollywood for more and more inspiration in the future.

Although it will take time for the American audience to adjust and movie producers to perfect the right formula, the new direction will definitely add some masala to future films from both countries. Hopefully, in the near future, Hollywood and Bollywood might have more in common than the “–ollywood” attached to their names.

1

Bhaskar, Chetna. “Appreciate Indian cinema.” 29 Dec. 2006.

MSNIndia. 22 Feb. 2009 <http://content.msn.co.in>.

2

“Studies in the influence of Bollywood: Moulin Rouge.” 2008.

LearnHub. 22 Feb. 2009 <http://hollywood.learnhub.com>.

3

Iyera, Meena, and Dubey, Bharati. “Hollywood takes a short cut in India, loses its way.” 8 Feb. 2009. The Times of India. 22 Feb. 2009 <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com>.

4

Singh, Madhur. “Slumdog Millionaire, an Oscar Favorite, Is No Hit in India.” 26 Jan. 2009. Time Magazine. 22 Feb. 2009 <http://www.time.com>.

5

Cook, Sharell. “Bollywood Movies, Song & Dance.” 8 Dec. 2007.

Suite101.com. 22 Feb. 2009 <http://india-travel.suite101.com>.

6

Honeycutt, Kirk. “Saawariya.” 9 Nov. 2007. The Hollywood Reporter. 22 Feb. 2009 <http://www.hollywoodreporter.com>.

7 “What is Bollywood.” 2005. BollywoodWorld.com Entertainment. 22 Feb. 2009 <http://www.bollywoodworld.com>.

8

Boyd, Colin. “Disney’s Bollywood Debut, ‘Roadside Romeo’.” 21 Oct. 2008. Get the big picture. 22 Feb. 2009 <http://www.getthebigpicture.net>.

9 Wadhwani, Anita N. “’Bollywood Mania’ Rising in United States.” 9 Aug. 2006. The Washington File. 22 Feb. 2009 <http:// www.america.gov>.

photo by beastandbean

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by Sarah Newman

The plane bumped and bounced as we neared the bare, dark airport. Children squealed playfully, thinking it was all a game, and several adults gasped as they were jolted in their seats. “Just a little turbulence,” I told myself over and over again. “Nothing to worry about, it’ll all be over soon.” Perhaps this was true of my flight, but my study abroad adventure was just about to begin.

Study abroad is typically described as a wonderful, unique, and life-changing experience. It is a way to see the world, make new friends, get off Duke’s campus, and change the “class-class-party-homeworkclass” routine. While students typically go to Western Europe (Australia is also popular among engineers), I took a different path and ended up in Mali. Most people have heard of African countries like Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Senegal; Mali, however, is not one that many Americans know of. When asked where I was going abroad, people seemed confused by my response. One of my co-workers responded, “Oh Bali! What a fabulous place to study abroad!” Even the U.S. Post Office appears to have trouble locating it; in fact, it is a good idea to specify “West Africa” on all mail or it might travel around the world before getting to Mali.

To clear up any confusion, Mali is not Malawi, Bali, or Somalia. It is a large country in West Africa that borders Senegal, Algeria, and the Ivory Coast. A former French colony that gained its independence in 1960, Mali is now a stable democratic state with a popular president—a rarity for the region. Timbuktu, the once large trading post that linked North and West Africa, is located in Mali. To Europeans, Timbuktu was known as an exotic, far away place; it inspired the phrase, “from here to Timbuktu” to represent all distant lands. While I never got the chance to visit Timbuktu, I did travel to a distant, foreign

land. The Mali I experienced is a beautiful country with a vibrant culture that deserves its own recognition.

Family Life: Noisy and Boisterous Life with a Malian family was both challenging and rewarding. For four months, I lived in Bamako, Mali’s capital, with the Bahs, a warm and rather small family by Malian standards. My host mother was beautiful—tall, caring, and gentle. My host father was friendly but also the strong, strict, and authoritarian head of the household. He liked to repeat to me the few English words he knew. Given the American election, he often said, “Obama!

Your new president, yes? Obama!” I had four adopted siblings—one older sister whose room I shared, two younger sisters, and one younger brother. To them, I was Kady Bah; they never asked me for my American name and I never found out if they even knew it.

My family spoke excellent French and, as a native French speaker, I found it easy to converse with them. However, they still spoke Bambara1 to each other, so I desperately tried to learn a few words.

Classes started early every morning, so most of the time I spent with my family was in the evenings. My routine was simple: I would walk forty-five minutes home from school with my friends, occasionally stopping at the Cyber Café to check emails.

When I arrived home, I would greet the family members already there: “Aw ni wula! Aw ka kene?”2 I would then relax for a bit in my room, attempting to enjoy the peace and quiet before the rest of my family returned home and the house filled with noise and energy. The living room was always loud—the TV was on around the clock and people were constantly talking or yelling—but I usually sat quietly and either observed the scene or tried to zone

it out to concentrate on reading or work.

I would fight against mosquitoes and try, unsuccessfully, to cool off under the fan. My mother would cook in the back of the house, always refusing my help; my father would come down from his room for dinner and retire an hour later; my sisters would stroll in and out, sometimes with friends and sometimes with homework, often singing and dancing; and my youngest brother would run around yelling, “Kady! Kady!”

When I was tired enough, I would say, “N be sunogo, n be taa n da”3 (having repeated the phrase silently to myself several times before I had the courage to say it aloud) and go to bed.

Food: Il Faut Manger!4 One day in school, we discussed the Malian diet during a nutrition lecture. The doctor giving the lecture asked, “So what do Malians eat for breakfast?”

We all responded, “Bread!”

“And what do they eat for lunch?”

“Rice!”

“And what about dinner?”

“More rice!”

This exchange essentially sums up what I ate in Mali for four months. The typical dish was rice and sauce. While the rice remained the same (sometimes there was couscous), the sauces changed—peanut sauce, onion sauce, tomato sauce, and the dreaded green, slimy okra sauce. Usually we had small, hard pieces of meat or fish mixed in with the rice.

My sisters, brother, mother, and I ate on the floor out of a big communal bowl.

My father ate separately at the table in the living room. We ate with our right hand (right hands are used for clean things, such as eating and offering something to others, and left hands are used for dirty things, such as wiping your face or cleaning yourself).

It took me a while before I mastered the

Spring 2009

proper scooping technique that minimized the amount of food being dropped on the floor—and myself. Embarassingly enough, I was a messier eater than my five-year-old brother for the first few weeks.

Being plump in Mali suggests good health and prosperity, so my mother and father constantly tried to fill me up with a huge amount of food. My mother would toss pieces of meat or fish across the bowl to my side saying, “Kady, il faut manger!”

No matter how much I ate, when I was done and washing my hands in the rinsing bowl, my mother would shake her head with displeasure and exclaim, “Oh Kady, tu ne mange pas.”5 By the end of my trip, though, I did not disappoint my parents. Before I left, my father looked at me and said, “Good, you got fat. Your mother at home will be very happy.”

Clothes: Bizarre on the Pale, White Folk Malian clothing is made out of beautiful, vibrant, patterned fabric. The typical outfit for an unmarried girl is a pagne, a simple long skirt, and a small, matching top; married women wear bou-bous, large, shapeless dresses, with matching hair cloths wrapped around their heads; men wear either colorful pants and matching shirts or bou-bous. Malians select their fabric at markets or various beauty stores and go to their local tailors to have their clothes cut and fitted.

To make us feel welcome, many homestay families made their students Malian clothes to wear for the holidays. While this was well-intentioned, many of the families did not know what colors would work well with our pale skin. In general, Malians’ bright fabrics contrast sharply against their smooth, dark skin. But the colors they picked out for their students were pale, often the patterns did not match, and the clothes were badly fitted: usually too large and shapeless. For instance, my neighbors made a terrible outfit for their student, Anya.

Designed from a beige and burgundy fabric, the top had three huge bows down the front and was so large that Anya described herself as a lampshade. Despite the unflattering designs, the families thought we looked fabulous and encouraged us to wear our “fête-clothes”6 on every occasion. Some of us dreaded wearing our fête-clothes, but we were still encouraged to try out our

own versions of Malian clothing. Once we learned how to combine the Malians’ fashion sense with designs that suited our own features, we did feel beautiful.

Ramadan: Fête Time Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, began the day after we arrived in Mali. Because the country is predominantly Muslim, almost all Malians fast throughout the month and my family was no exception.

Every morning, they would wake up before sunrise and eat a hefty meal of rice or potatoes. At sunset, they followed a strict routine: they would first drink water followed by sweetened tea, eat a few dates, and drink bouilli, a sweet, milky soup with balls of wheat. Even though I did not fast (under the sage advice of my homestay mother and the instructions of our program director, who reminded us that adjusting to a new country was hard enough to begin with), I participated in this routine. I loved bouilli (my mother added lots of milk, sugar, and lime) and enjoyed spending time with my family in a much quieter environment.

At the new moon, Muslims celebrate a day-long holiday which, though officially called Eid ul-Fatr (Arabic for the Festival of Breaking the Fast), was commonly referred to as “the fête.” As we approached this day, the other students and I became increasingly excited—we were going to participate in one of the most important holidays of the Muslim world. We expected lots of food, parties, dancing, and music. When the day finally arrived, school was canceled and we all got into our “fête-clothes.”

In the morning, I helped my mother and sisters prepare the meal (I was finally allowed to contribute). When I was done cutting the vegetables, I went to find my sister, who was sitting outside in front of our house. I asked her what we were going to do today—after all, it was the fête. She responded, “I don’t know. We eat. And Aka7 goes out.” I was confused—that was what we did every day! Later that afternoon, I learned that families and friends visit each other, ask to be forgiven for any wrongdoings during the past year, and give their best wishes for the new year. After so much anticipation, I found myself slightly disappointed. As a foreigner, I simply sat outside or in the living room, waiting for my evening routine to begin. In my neighborhood, there was no music and no dancing during the day;

people were with their families, eating and sleeping.

That night, I saw the real party among young people in the bars and clubs. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are not allowed to drink so bars and clubs remain empty for the entire month. After being restrained for four weeks, people let loose during the fête. Dressed in bright, traditional party outfits, people packed the clubs and stayed out dancing until the early hours of the morning. This was what my sister had meant when she said, “and Aka goes out.”

Malaria: Just like the Flu In our eighteen person group, we had at least eleven cases of malaria, three cases of typhoid, and five other cases of unidentifiable illnesses. At first glance, this seems terrifying. Westerners only hear that malaria and typhoid are deadly illnesses that kill vast numbers of people and are major concerns for global health advocates. This is all true. But what we do not hear is that if you have enough money and are in a relatively populated place like Bamako, medication is easy to obtain and the diseases are not difficult to recover from (which makes the fact that so many people are dying much more tragic). When some students got malaria and typhoid the first weekend we were in the country, we were all incredibly concerned and shocked. By the end of the trip, however, the phrase, “I had malaria this weekend,” was practically commonplace. That said, it was not fun to have any of these illnesses. The students were tired, sick, scared, and often found themselves alone in a health clinic where doctors do not explain what is happening.

Because sickness was so common, I was always concerned with how I was feeling. Was I nauseated? Did I have a fever?

Did I feel chilled or weak? I knew this was getting to me when I came home from a busy day and convinced myself I was sick because I was tired, rather than realizing that I had simply done a lot of physical activity.

Paranoia was common in our group

25 all photos by Sarah Newman

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and we often discussed how someone was feeling and whether we thought they should go to the clinic to get tested for malaria or typhoid, or simply wait it out.

Toubabou: Na, Na! Every time I walked in the street, I heard “Eh, toubabou! Toubaboumuso!

Mademoiselle Toubabou! Na, na!”8 Toubabou is a Malian word for foreigner, but it is commonly used for a person with white skin—it originally identified colonists and other French people living in the country. The word is not derogatory; Malians simply use it to point out our foreignness. Not many Caucasian people visit Mali and there are especially few in the neighborhoods where we lived; as a result, we were the center of attention every time we left the house. It was difficult not to be able to walk home, to the Cyber Café, or to the corner store without being painfully noticeable, especially once I had been in Bamako for some time and did not consider myself a simple visitor anymore. However, for Malians it is simply a label—no different from calling us Americans or students.

Sotramas: Avoid the Corners at All Costs Sotramas, an abbreviation of “Societe de Transport Malien,”9 are the Bamako public transportation system. A sotrama is a green van that usually runs from the outskirts of the city to the center. They are designed to have twenty people sit along all four sides of the van on wooden benches, but I rarely rode in one with fewer than twenty-five or thirty people. Two people operate the sotrama: one driver and one young man who hangs out the sliding door, collecting the passengers’ money and banging on the side of the van to make it stop. Sotramas are privately owned and decorated to the owner’s liking. Some remain classically green, but I saw sotramas covered in American flags or world soccer posters and

even one that was a tribute to Obama that I fondly labeled the “Obama Sotrama.”

Logically, the money collector tries to squeeze in as many passengers as he possibly can. People usually spread out along the sides of the sotrama until more and more people get packed in. When the sotrama starts to get full, all the passengers begin to scream and shout at the money collector in protest. He then points at someone, yelling at him or her to make space. When this happened to me, I could not see how anybody else could possibly fit and I feigned the motion of sliding over but really only moved up and down in my seat. However, sometimes a small sliver of space was produced somewhere in the middle of one of the sides. The waiting passenger would get on and try to slide into the spot. The space was often too small for the additional person, who would end up sitting on another passenger’s lap.

The corner seats were the worst. As passengers slide down they push into the corner seats, shrinking the spot more and more. The seat is deceiving because there is plenty of room behind it, but the passenger’s legs get pushed from either side until they are stacked on top of the legs of the neighboring commuters.

Anything can be carried on a sotrama as long as it fits. I have ridden with enormous bags of vegetables, fruit, clothes, and toiletries piled high in the center of the van; once I had a dead chicken at my feet.

My friend came back from a trip into town having just shared a sotrama ride with a slaughtered cow chopped up into pieces in giant buckets; she gruesomely explained how the blood from the cow would tumble out during stops and turns, consequently ruining my appetite that night.

“Wawa”: When Everything Goes Wrong Nothing in Mali ever goes completely smoothly. The water shuts off; the electricity

shuts off; the Internet shuts off; all the MasterCard ATMs in all of West Africa shut down for several weeks; your sotrama breaks down on the way to an important appointment. These things are common and your day rarely goes according to plan.

It was rumored that some anthropologist, student, or tourist once coined the term “wawa” (an acronym for “West Africa Wins Again”) to explain all these unpredictable, often annoying, but unavoidable incidences.

When everything seemed to be going wrong and I was not getting where I wanted to go or doing what I wanted to do, it was a relief to say “wawa” and try and start over without taking everything so personally.

I am not going to deny the fact that I was excited to be at the airport at eleven o’clock the evening of December 11, getting ready for my journey home. The trip had been challenging and an abundance of “wawa” moments had worn me down. I was looking forward to going back to a place where I was not always the only foreigner, the outsider, or the ignorant white girl who was not at home with the culture, the food, or the sotramas. The many moments that made me cry in Mali now make me laugh as I rehash the number of great memories I made there. I do not regret my trip. For me, Mali, with its unique way of life, now stands out on its own and I will never confuse it with Bali or Malawi. Having gone “from here to Timbuktu,” I learned how to live, completely immersed in a foreign land that was unlike any other place I had been before. Now all I need to do is to truly visit Timbuktu and see if it actually is as exotic as its European reputation deems it to be.

Along with French, Bambara is Mali’s official language.

“Good evening! How are you?”

“I am tired. I am going to bed.”

4 “You have to eat!”

5 “You don’t eat.”

6 What we named these hideous holiday outfits.

7 My oldest sister 8 “Eh, white person! White woman! Ms. White person! Come here, come here!”

9 Malian Transportation Organization 1

2 3

Spring 2009

Among the Hmong

by Jessica So

Nestled in the picturesque Hoang Lien Son mountain range in northwestern Vietnam is Sapa, a sleepy town just recently discovered by tourists and nature enthusiasts. This is a place where new meets old, where a cash economy is slowly gaining ground alongside traditional rice farming. Every day, women and girls from the surrounding Hmong villages travel into town to trade their produce, where they can frequently be seen pursuing foreigners down the main street in hopes of selling their handicrafts. The Hmong, an ethnic minority originally from China, are easily distinguished from the Vietnamese by their colorful dresses and silver jewelry. While most of the women are in town haggling with tourists, Hmong men usually work in rice paddies set into mountain terraces. The children are left to roam freely around the villages and the mountainside, with kids as young as four taking care of children even younger than themselves. Their clothing, a mix of intricate hand-made garments and mass-produced items, reflects the fusion of modernity and tradition in Sapa and its residents.

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all photos by Jessica So

Spring 2009

The Eleventh Plague

by Grant Alport

During my two-week trip to Egypt last June, I journeyed through 4,000-year-old tombs but managed to leave unscathed by ancient curses. Grave robber traps never troubled me, and mummies never chased me through the desert—in fact, I saw more mummies in London’s British Museum the previous summer than I saw in all of Egypt. My trip was instead characterized by five-times-aday prayer calls that radiated throughout Cairo and blistering heat—nearly 116 degrees Fahrenheit—in Aswan. On one particularly sweltering day, I remember laughing at my mom as she struggled to don her purple hijab before entering the towering Mohammad Ali Mosque. This Egypt had no mummies rising from the dead to wreak havoc as The Mummy movies portray. In fact, it soon became apparent to me that there is a monumental disconnect between our romanticized views of ancient Egyptian history and the reality of its modern Islamic society.

“Few Egyptians visit the ancient temples and the Great Pyramids,” our tour guide Mahmoud told a group of us rather nonchalantly, as our 200-passenger cruise ship navigated the Nile. I was in shock. As a Westerner who grew up associating Egypt with images of mummies, vast deserts, and ancient temples with their indecipherable hieroglyphics, I assumed that Egyptians would see the same value in their past.

After all, the Great Pyramid of Giza, also known as the Pyramid of Khufu, is the last remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It took twenty years

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to finish this pyramid—the largest and oldest in Giza—and it stood as the tallest manmade structure in the world for over 3,800 years.1, 2 Its pyramidal shape represents the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. While debate stills exists over the exact intention behind construction of the pyramids, most believe that they are burial mounds.

In addition to the hundreds of pyramids scattered throughout Egypt’s deserts, there are numerous temples still standing. Many of these were dedicated to different gods or once served as the center of festivities and celebrations. One of these, the Temple of Edfu, was constructed in 57 B.C. but still remains almost completely intact. Another, the Karnak temple complex, is famous for its 134 massive columns, ranging from ten meters to twenty-one meters tall.3 This complex also contains one of the largest obelisks in Egypt, weighing in at 320 tons.4 How could the locals look out their windows each day and glimpse these strange pyramids and alluring temples without feeling a sense of cultural pride?

Yet, in the shadow of the pyramids, a population completely divorced from the Egyptians who built these wonders struggles to survive. The slums of outer Cairo are located just meters away from the relics. While a wealthy visitor has the opportunity to enjoy the view from one of several upscale hotels located in Giza or up close on a touristy camel ride, most Egyptians who share the same view suffer daily without clean, running water or electricity. Twenty

to thirty percent of Egyptians live below the poverty line, and Egypt’s gross domestic product per capita is nearly one-thirtieth that of the U.S.5 Furthermore, while tourists spend hundreds of dollars on international flights to the country, many Egyptians are too poor to make even the relatively short trip to visit the ancient sites. Even Egypt’s modern-day official religion, Islam, has nothing in common with that of Egypt’s ancient past, which involved worship of multiple deities. Perhaps the only aspect connecting present-day Egyptians to the ancient ruins is tourism.

Tourism drives the Egyptian economy, with over eleven million people visiting Egypt in 2007 alone.6 Since it is the excitement and enigma of ancient Egypt that draws these visitors, modern Egyptians must capitalize on their history, different as it may be from their Egypt. When sightseers tour an ancient site, they are heckled by Egyptian vendors trying to sell everything from papyrus bookmarks for one dollar a dozen to boxes containing Mother of Pearl stones.

While the goods they are trying to sell might harken to an Egypt of the past, these merchants are far from antiquated or provincial in their thinking. Once, while weaving in and out of the crowd, I had the opportunity to interact in Spanish with vendors in the famous Khan el-Khalili street market. To my surprise, I discovered that they could also speak English, Arabic, Japanese, Russian, German, and French. One merchant especially impressed me with his

30 for other projects, especially in light of the country’s rapid modernization in recent years. Cairo’s pollution and the increasing number of tourists pose significant threats to the ancient remains. Already, many of the ornately painted tombs have lost their coloring, largely due to the irresponsible acts of tourists, such as taking photos with flash and stealing token pieces from the sites, acts prevalent in earlier decades when visits were much less regulated. Unless more attention is given to the dire situation, these relics that have survived thousands of years may not see many more.

Still, all is not lost. Despite the world of difference between Islam and ancient Egyptian religion, some Egyptians still feel the duty to protect their heritage—in part to boost the tourism industry. For instance, there have been movements in recent years pushing for the return of ancient artifacts to the country, such as the Rosetta Stone, which was removed by the French and now resides in the British Museum. In response to the heavy flooding caused by modern damming projects, the Egyptian government sought help from foreign archeologists and engineers to relocate affected sites. Some of these ancient temples have actually been taken apart piece by piece and reconstructed safely away from potential water damage. Balancing development with the massive effort required to preserve Egypt’s rich heritage is difficult, but the government has shown it is willing to do what is necessary–even if it means seeking foreign help.

A visit to Egypt

sible to separate old Egypt from new Egypt, as the two are interwoven in the intricate web of tourism, but it is easy to see and appreciate each for its own cultural value.

1 Winston, Alan. “The Pyramid of Khufu at Giza in Egypt.” Tour Egypt! 17 Feb. 2009 <http://www.touregypt.net>.

2 Ibid.

3 Dunn, Jimmy. “Karnak in Thebes (Modern Luxor).” Tour Egypt! 17 Feb. 2009 <http://www.touregypt.net>.

4 Ibid.

5 “Egypt.” Nations Encyclopedia. 27 Jan. 2009 <http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com>.

6 “Tourism.” Egypt State Information Service. 30 Jan. 2009 <http://www.sis.gov.eg>.

7 Ahmad, Seemi. “Islam in a Nutshell.” Tour Egypt!. 19 Feb. 2009 <http://www.touregypt.net>.

8 Ibid.

9 Kamel, Seif. “The Mosque of Mohammed Ali at the Citadel.”

Tour Egypt! 29 June. 2006 <http://www.touregypt.net>.

photo by Marja Flick-Buijs

knowledge of politics and languages. Yet, despite these overwhelming signs of internationalism, the vendors also display signs of modern Egyptian culture; the men wear full-length Egyptian robes, the gallabia, and include Islamic prayer scrolls among the items for sale.

The influence of Islam is one of the larger changes separating ancient and modern Egypt. Through conquest, Islam entered the country in 639 A.D., replacing the Egyptian Coptic Church that had been established a mere two centuries before.7 However, it was not until 1980 that the government officially recognized Islam as the state religion. Today, nearly ninety percent of the eighty million Egyptians are Muslims.8 Since nearly all Egyptians live within twenty miles of the life-giving Nile, many cities and towns engulf the ruins. While touring a temple over four millennia old, one can hear the daily calls to prayer that resound throughout the Egyptian streets. Our tour guide Mahmoud, himself a Sunni Muslim, refrained from alcohol consumption, prayed five times a day, and avoided physical contact with females as was demanded by the religious tradition.

Because Islam permeates so much of Egyptian daily life, the trip to modern Egypt cannot be complete without making the effort to visit some Islamic relics as well. The most famous of these is the Mohammed Ali Mosque, which was completed in 1857 under the influence of the Ottoman Empire.9 Within one of Cairo’s finest jewels, you will find on the walls Arabic script rather than the faded hieroglyphics of the Karnak Temple. Tourists, in turn, must respect Islamic society and its cultural rules. When my mother entered the Mohammed Ali Mosque, for instance, she had to wrap a scarf around her head and shoulders; when we visited a local mosque that was actually used by Muslims for prayer, the women had to put on thick green gowns and enter through a separate entrance from the men. Inside the Mosque, with its ornate geometric decoration and towering cupola, I was distanced from the ancient relics that many come to Egypt to see. Trying to understand Islamic customs and the poverty that many cope with every day, I felt like a complete stranger to Egyptian society and culture.

Likewise, modern Egyptians often feel disconnected from the ancient part of their history: to them, the Great Pyramids and temples may just as well have been built by the Inuit. As a result, preservation of the historic sites has occasionally been set aside

provides one with an experience that dates back to 3150 B.C. juxtaposed against a modern view of an Islamic society. While the two cultures have little in common, they provide a fascinating mix for a Westerner looking to escape from a typical European adventure to Greece or Rome. It is impos-

Spring 2009

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