Our group is using the Steinbeckian type journey as a template for our exploration of America. We are going all around America, starting in Austin and hitting some iconic areas along the way until we get back to Austin. The idea is to get a taste of every region of America and learn what only the locals know. We want to check out cute little cafes, bars, churches, and festivals to get to know the real America in that region. The idea is to find where the natives hangout, not where the tourists go. This is very much like what Steinbeck did, but we are following a different route as well as looking for areas frequented by the younger natives of the area.
Jackie suggested an awesome website, couchsurfing.com, that would give us the chance to get to know America in a way Steinbeck did not necissarily have access to. The premise of the site is you search for someone who is willing to let you sleep on their couch for a few days, and they show you around the area. This would be an absolutely terrific way to really get to know at least a few people in each area, and form ties to most of America. Which is really the whole idea of Steinbeck's journey, discovering an America you have become out of touch with. In our case we are discovering an America we may not really know yet, but definitely want to discover.
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I think the "couch surfing" idea is brilliant! You would have the opportunity to really get know people from different regions of America. Steinbeck would definitely approve.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a wonderful trip! You would definitely be able to meet locals going to these places in the stops you make and hopefully really get to know America, doing all of this!
ReplyDeleteHow long would you be staying in any one place? How long do you plan to make your trip? Do you plan on going to all states in the continental US? What are your hopes for the America you find? How do you hope that the way this very life shaping journey will affect you?
I'm sorry, I'm not sure how to edit a post but I just realized that my last question did not make sense. This is what I meant to write:
ReplyDeleteIn what ways do you hope that this very life-shaping journey will affect you?
I agree with Nadia, the use of couchsurfing.com will definitely help make this trip all the more interesting. While its clear that you all want to get to know the "real America" in different regions I do have a few questions. Does the whole group have a concise idea of what the "real America" should be or does each member have their own ideas? Would visiting tourist areas really be so bad? There might be some things (such as festivals) that might fall under the "tourist area" AND the "native spots" categories. I think it would be a good idea to check both out, rather than negate tourist zones. By doing this you might actually get more information out of the regions you visit.
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