Winter’s special exhibition at the British Museum, Babylon: Myth and Reality, is up and running and will be open until March 15th.
Inside, the collection details the rise and fall of the ancient city, highlighting on the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and pulling from biblical, ancient and even modern references. You’ll see 16th century artist’s renditions of the Tower of Babel, Hanging Gardens, various historical accounts on a host of ancient media and silently wander past models of Babylon at it’s prime. You also will learn about the site in it’s current condition today, where a US military base has astonishingly placed restrooms over sensitive archaeological content in the desert.
Babylon: Myth and Reality is an excellent opportunity to peer into the window of Babylon, learn about its history spend a few hours wandering through the well presented exhibit.
As always, access to the British Museum is free to all visitors, but to get into the special exhibition, an adult ticket will cost 8£. Alternatively, if tickets are sold out or you wish to further support the museum, you can become a member for 45£, after which all exhibitions are free for a year.
I’m wild about independent films with ultimately feel-good heart. Milk and Opium is a film that caught my attention in 2007. So did Binta’s Great Idea. Here’s another film project I’m excited about: I Ran Iran. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem, from what I’ve discovered, that the film has been completed. That’s too bad. The trailer and the story behind the film are intriguing. By the end of the trailer I was smiling and curious as to what happened to the project. Intrigue and smiles means two thumbs up by me.
Here’s the scoop. Tyler MacNiven who, along with his teammate B.J. Avril, won season 9 of the Amazing Race, set out to make I Ran Iran as a way to illustrate the warmth and hospitality of the Iranian people and the richness of their culture. To do so, MacNiven set out in 2006 with his best friend, Bobak Bakhtiari, an Iranian-American, to run the the 1000 miles or so between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Some of Bakhtiari’s family still live in Iran so family visits were also in order.
Unfortunately, the two were stopped from completing their journey a few days after it started because Iranian officials were concerned that the purpose of the run was political. It wasn’t, but from what I read in MacNiven’s explanation in this Lonely Planet article, he made an off-handed comment about Iran’s ability to pursue nuclear energy to a reporter. That comment snowballed into a political statement, something MacNiven was horrified by.
Instead of finishing their run, MacNiven and Bakhtiari were told to leave Iran. About a week after starting, lickety split, they were in Amsterdam with memories of Iran still floating through their heads as they tried to wrap their minds around the unexpected scenery change.
I’m hoping this project is able to be completed and am wondering where it now stands. Perhaps there is a funding issue. Perhaps there are political issues. From what MacNiven wrote, it’s too bad if there are political issues because from what they found, there is a warmth towards Americans by many Iranian people.
If MacNiven and Bakhtiari are unable to complete the film as they intended, I’m hoping it shows up in a larger venue in another film about the trials and tribulations of making a film in another country. I feel as if I’ve been engrossed in a book and have reached the end, but the last two chapters are missing and the author has disappeared.
Reading this story is a reminder that when traveling in another country, off-handed comments and actions can have unintended consequences. It’s unfortunate that exuberance and curiosity can sometimes kill the cat, or at least curtail its efforts.
Several of my close friends and family members were adopted, adopted a child, or are in the process of adopting a child from Asia. In fact, my sister is months away from traveling to China to pick up her daughter, and our very own Gadling writer, Jamie Rhein has a daughter adopted from Vietnam. While China, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and India are just a few of the popular adoption locales these days, there are several others popping up all over the globe.
The adoption travel trip is like no other you will ever experience in your life. It’s is the first step in documenting your adoptive child’s journey with you. It’s something s/he will not likely remember, so taking photos, and recording the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of his/her birthplace is a most important step in the process. Certainly, a lot of preparation has to take place before you even step foot on foreign soil. (Sometimes the adoption application process can take up to two years!). However, so much goes on during and after the trip, that it’s important to consider your adoption travel experience in three distinctive parts:
BEFORE
Consider your health: Just as you would prepare for an ordinary trip abroad, you will need to understand the health risks involved in traveling abroad. Odds are you are traveling to a third world country where diseases like malaria and dengue fever can be contracted. Be sure to take the necessary precautions (i.e. take those preventative shots) and stock up on the necessary medications.
Get travel insurance: This is an important trip, and you don’t want it to be bogged down by lost baggage or flight cancellations. Nowadays, travel insurance can cost as little as $100 a month, so it’s worth the peace of mind.
Pack light: Don’t burden yourself with excess baggage. Necessities like diapers and clothes are attainable and often cheaper upon arrival in your destination.
DURING
Document and record every moment: Take photos, keep a journal, and pay attention to even the smallest details of your experience. This is really the symbolic birthplace of your new child, so capturing as many memories as you can is crucial.
Allow time for adaptation: You will not be jetting over to this country just to jet back. It’s important to take the time that is necessary to allow your new child to adapt to his/her parents and surroundings. Sightseeing is a great experience for both you and the child, as well as simple human interaction.
AFTER
Take your time: Patience is a virtue most necessary for adoptive parents. Your new child will need even more time to get used to his/her new national soil and the different faces that make up his/her new family. Go slow in immersing him/her into the new pace and style of life.
Visit the pediatrician: This is a necessary step in identifying just how healthy your new child is. Measures may need to be taken to ensure his/her stability and health upon arrival home, so make sure this initial trip to the doctor is thorough and extensive, yet comfortable and informative.
Return to the birth country when the time is right: At some point, your fully adapted child will need to understand where s/he came from. If possible, make the trip with your child when s/he is able to document the experience for him/herself.
Adoption regulations change depending upon diplomatic relationships between countries. Be sure to find out the newest regulations before you embark on this journey, and be prepared that things might change. Sometimes adoptions are halted between the U.S. and another country.
Also, be advised that some countries suggest or require multiple trips before the real adoption takes place. If this is the case, the initial trip is a unique opportunity to explore the country, document, and record before you become a parent. Enjoy this special journey!
The following are some helpful sites with useful adoption travel tips and stories:
Monday night, the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in Manhattan was home to the International Debutante Ball. This display of insanely conspicuous consumption proves that, regardless of how bad economic conditions get, a generation of children will be blissfully unaware that actions have consequences. These are people that the NY Times’ Lisa Foderaro describes in such manners as, “willowy 18-year-old with chestnut hair who is a great-great-granddaughter of a 19th-century French president.” Why should they have to know what suffering the proletariat sustains?
The good news is that even the rich are suffering in this market. Attendance at the ball was down this year. There were 47 debutantes, while there were 58 in 2006. The number of guests dropped from 976 two years ago to 662 two days ago. Yet, the director of the ball, Margaret Hedberg, refuses to let reality intrude on this fantasy world. A table at Monday night’s event would have set you back $14,000, which Hedberg believes wasn’t unreasonable. “Watches cost more,” she said, probably in a way that would make the rest of us hear, “Let them eat cake.”
The good news? Foderaro writes, “Some parents recognized the disconnect between the opulence inside the hotel’s gilded doors and the mood beyond them.” For those who struggled to realize that the cost of a table is more than some people make in a year, solace was found in the fact that the event raised a few hundred grand for charity, mostly the Soldiers’, Sailors’, Marines’, Coast Guard and Airmen’s Club.
And, if nothing else, Hedberg observes that we got through the recession of the late 1980s/early 1990s, and “life does have a way of going on.”
My favorite video of all times is Matt Harding’s Dancing. Every time I’m at a friend’s house and someone is on the Internet, I say, “Hey, there’s something you have to see.” The last time that happened was two days ago in Ottawa, Ohio, the town whose flood I wrote about last January.
Janelle Nanosen at Intelligent Travel offered up Harding’s video yesterday as worthy of end of the year attention. Considering that I had just visited Harding’s website, and it’s such a feel good look at the world’s people, here it is again.
Janelle mentions that Harding was given kudos by World Hum as Traveler of the Year. Of course he was, and rightfully so. As my friend, Tom Barlow at Wallet Pop said when he first saw it, “People in Hollywood spend millions of dollars trying to create the feeling that this guy was able to do in just four minutes.”
As we move into 2009, here’s hoping your travels bring you this feeling every day of the year. Wouldn’t that be great?