"Go have fun now"

(thanks to Roy for that advice! Glad to report a successful mission.)

My trip is drawing to a close and I look back on months of traveling and getting to know people in many ways along the road. In Mississippi I talked to a man on a train, who was trying to convince me that the government should never interfere with the economy because (quote) the market always works (end quote).There was Nicolas Cage starring in a brilliant subplot to my travels, where he almost assaulted my host in New Orleans at her workplace and now got arrested in recent days. Hopefully he gets his life in order! I have ridden a bike on Beale Street and across a university campus. Old friends and their families have provided me with food, shelter, dog walks, dance parties, tours to graveyards, and afternoon tea in the sun. My host in Austin showed me a place where he used to float along a river with his buddy on inflatable rafts, drinking beer. I went hiking with an extraordinary new friend, who I hadn't met until we shared the same room for two weeks all through Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. In San Francisco I have connected with some gentle *g* people that I had only known via the internet. A podcast led me to a meditation center, where I got to know a peace activist, who gave me a place to stay. A blog led me to the house of an Iranian journalist, who is everything I had hoped for after having read her blog some years ago: warm, engaged, strong, and loving.

I have slept in tents, motels, on couches, on beds, on the floor, even in the back of my car. When I took along a hitch-hiker in Sonoma County, I was not murdered, and when I was hitch-hiking for a couple of miles in Flagstaff, I got to know a Texan couple, and a guy with a bed in the back of his van. I have not felt unsafe or unwelcome anywhere I went and can truly say that this is a hospitable nation. Certainly I will be back here.

After three months on the road the world has become smaller for me, more beautiful, and more colorful! When the world comes knocking on my door I will be sure to let it in and give it a big hug :)

On social movements

For my thesis I have been doing reading in social movements and different models of explaining what makes it probable that a common social or political interest transforms into a wave of activity from people with different backgrounds. So to give you a snippet of what I am up to these days, here are some of the ideas I have come across:

Some researchers think it's social structure that has the most influence on whether a movement takes off. Think of a society with a lot of young academic people when a lot of structural change is going on. People moving to the cities, new industries growing and modernizing media can all contribute to the surge of movements because change is 'in the air'.
Then there are constructivists that say it's all about how you frame the situation to help a movement grow. If you find a way to credibly explain to the public that the circumstances they are living in are unjust and inacceptable, that there is a certain reason for it and that you know how it can all be helped, over time you are sure to find followers.
And some say that it's all a matter of how the political opportunities are structured. Different authors lay emphasis on what has the most influence, but overall they consider the political system (democratic, open or closed, pluralistic or not) and how well you are connected to the people in power as crucial factors.

For my paper I am focusing on what the internet has changed or is going to change with respect to how a movement is created. More and more people are informed and connected to the neverending stream of information. I myself feed it with this post. Does it make a real difference, except that some things go faster than before? Is the internet actually furthering democracy? Well, if I had the answers to those questions yet, I would probably not be posting it here first, but I might let you know as soon as I have more insights to offer :)

So I will leave you with your own thoughts and a short and interesting video to illustrate what makes a movement from the most practical perspective :)

Quick travel update

I am currently sitting in an internet café in Oviedo and will later travel on to O Porto, Portugal. I spent the last week hiking and camping in the great Picos de Europa National Park with a long time friend who returned today. We had a wonderful time:
- weather of all kinds (rain and strong wind while walking over snow fields covering the path; torrential rain at night; strong spring sun and warm evenings)
- all from no to the greates view of all (dense fog in which we got lost for an hour -fortunately there was a big group nearby which we rescued eventually- and 360º panorama of surrounding mountains)
- a lot of animal sightings (cows ringing bells all night long, sheep and goats, as well as huge birds of prey sitting on rocks and crossing the valley above and below us)

I however have two more weeks of travelling before me. Seeing friends and making new ones. It has all gotten so much more difficult to organize since my phone battery died a sudden death and left me without phone numbers or any means to contact anyone quickly (which also messes up my couchsurfing plans). I also left my laptop at home in an attempt to live less digital for three weeks only to discover again that I depend on it in some respects (no ways of using free wifi at the mall for example).

Well, this is it for now. Life is good and the Iberian Peninsula has me back once more. If I remember my camera next time there will be some fotos :) Have a great week everbody!

Civil Society 2.0

This short documentary talks about how the big public protest marches and the so called Strike for Education came about. It was the new media combined with spontaneous crowds with a common interest à la flashmob. Being one of many and still having a say is a powerful experience and genuinely democratic, unlike the kind of representative democracy we are finding ourselves governed by in Germany. It has made me think about whether this kind of international protest could have happened in pre-internet times. Is it a question of scale or is there a whole different sort of interaction at work?

***

If you stumble around the internet these days, you come across many stories that fall in the categories "reflection on technological advancement" or "analysis of the impact of social media". And being part of this whole new sphere of human existence has inspired me to research it for my thesis by which I hope to earn my degree as a sociologist.

It's so interesting to me how many people still mostly ignore (as do most conservative politicians) the force that is the interconnectedness and evergrowing communication between individuals. In 10 or 20 years time I expect for the digital divide to close significantly. If we succeed in defending net neutrality against some corporate interests, we will soon feel the power of the opinions of millions of Africans, Asians and South Americans that so far have a lot less voice in the global discussion (much like at the WTO).

So expect to hear more about this part of my life in 2010 :)

Dito!

Newsflash

Things happening in and around my life right now:

- After the parliamentary elections 10 days ago, politicians in Germany are "coaliding" to form a coalition. Some "big brother" related issues on the agenda could be crucial to the future development of personal freedom in this great nation (just auto-repeating expressions I've heard, that seem to sound good together)

- My Portuguese intensive course is over and I already speak another language. Thanks to an absolutely wonderful teacher and the small group size fast studying progress was a piece of cake for my language trained mind. Yeah, I know, I am just bragging, but seriously: Portugal and Brasil, here I come :)

- Geocaching (here) and Couchsurfing (here) both get better and better the more you get involved in them. And they can be easily combined, as I found out yesterday when I visited the so-called "Devil's Kitchen", a beautiful nature spot and clear water well not far from here. I got to pet a wild boar and found two treasures via GPS-coordinates. All the time I was accompanied by a charming Canadian travelling duo that happened to be around for the Oktoberfest and afterwards wanted some quieter down-time from partying. I think they enjoyed themselves quite a bit and will have great memories of Bavaria!

- I am having interesting conversations about spirituality these days and my belief system is being challenged and nourished by different yet inspiring perspectives on the world. Do you think that there is of benefit to imerse into end-of-the-world-scenarios or are you more adherent to the old school of utopians? What can I learn from that for my daily behavior?
Also, in the light of a recent murder of a courageous life saver by some brutal teens, how do you act in situations you are confronted with aggression? Questions for personal growth... I might lose a word or two about it in my gradauate thesis that's coming up.



May you be happy! Desejo que todos estão felizes :)