Often times when you see travelers, you see them with their journals. Some would say it's a necessity, having that book or camera with them non-stop as they travel. It can be more important than a guidebook. Keeping a journal allows the traveler to jot down the details of their memories verbatim, before time has a chance to change recollections or perspectives. Journals can take the form of the typical bound book that you keep in your backpack pocket, or it can be something else: long letters home, photographs taken in the hundreds.

This category explores the travel journal and includes essays, letters, photos, and diary entries about travel.

Next issue: April. Submission deadline: March 15, 2006.
To learn more about contributing to The Long Trip Home, click here.

Sendangsono new!
by Barrie Lie-Birchall

On the slopes of the Menoreh Mountains, 45 kilometres from Yogyakarta in Central Java Indonesia, one can find the sacred shrine of Sendangsono.The shrine is a holy place that compares with that of Lourdes in France. It is visited by thousands of Roman Catholics each week - some on a pilgrimage, others seeking solace. It was at Sendangsono that Fatren Van Lith first baptised and converted one of the locals to the Catholic faith. 

to read all of Sendangsono

Child's Play in South Africa new!
by Tracy Villanueva

When most tourists come to South Africa, they rave about the breathtaking vistas of Cape Town and their safari expeditions. There's no denying the beauty to be found in South Africa, but I found it in a squatter camp and orphanage in Soweto, near Johannesburg.  

to read all of Child's Play in South Africa

Roma, Cittá Aperta
by Tara Kilachand

Rome reeks of historical sentimentality. There are paeans to slayed Roman generals at every turn, a smug looking Colosseum that dominates the majority of treacly postcards sold by smarmy vendors, and seven gloriously crumbling hills that wreak havoc on the knees. As a tourist you could not possibly want for things to do.

to read all of Roma: Cittá Aperta

Manchester, England Via Bury
by Mark Byers

Bury’s bus station is an unattractive place. I think I’d sooner spend my time in purgatory. I can’t single it out as the most unattractive station in the northwest of England either, because in fact they’re all pretty similar. The same hopscotch of greasy chewing gum on the floor, the same rancid unidentifiable smells and the same pimple-faced teenagers eyeing you as if you were about to burn down their house.

to read all of Manchester, England Via Bury

At The Ballet
by John Champagne

After a twenty-year hiatus, I am returning to ballet class. I was never a particularly gifted dancer. I toed in so badly as I child that I had to wear a corrective brace on my feet while I slept. And besides, I only made it through a semester of ballet class before my money ran out.

to read all of At The Ballet

Bali: a photojournal
by Barrie Lie-Birchall

january quarter 2006

With an area of 5,624 sq metres, the small island of Bali is the gem of Indonesia. A diversity of topography - arid areas to lush tropical jungles and steep mountainous regions - compliments Bali's semi-tropical climate. There is estimated to be ten thousand temples on the island. Roughly 95% of the population's religion is a mixture of Animism and Indian Hindu. They pray and worship their Gods daily and in ritual temple ceremonies throughout the year.

to see all of Bali: a photojournal

Queen of the Medina
by Shaun Chavis

"Ba-BAH, ba-BAH, ba-BAH-- the drums and horns at a nearby wedding party are playing the same rhythm I heard just before we went to bed. We had climbed up on our own roof hours earlier to take a look at the festivities. The terrace was filled with people dancing and musicians dressed in colorful hats and costumes. 
 
I roll over to glance at the clock. It's after 3:00 a.m. local time. I try going back to sleep but the music follows me. I can't distinguish between the end of the party and the dawn call to prayer broadcast from the nearby mosque. 

to read all of Queen of the Medina (originally in the Jan. 2005 Spotlight)

Gold, Sequins and Cigarettes
by Catherine Skrzypinski

I hate souvenir shopping. When travelling I try to make it as easy and painless as possible by asking friends and family what they would like me to bring back for them. Before embarking on my trip to Cairo, my sister rattled off her list; clothes, jewelry, music, shoes, etc.. The list got longer and the requests got sillier, and she finished off the list by requesting a 'real' magic lamp; complete with genie or Aladdin (she was not fussed).

to read all of Gold, Sequins and Cigarettes

Buy A Vowel
by Catherine Skrzypinski

I always dreaded the first day of school, especially when attendance was taken for the first time. As you can tell by the byline above, my last name is quite a challenge. Polish in origin, “Skrzypinski,” (pronounced “Scra-pin-ski”) roughly translated, means “violinist.” My parents found that ironic, since my sisters and I were able to carry a tune and read music at an early age. But that didn’t change the fact that I was constantly the punch line at roll call, year in, year out.

to read all of Buy A Vowel

Cosa Pensavo: What I Was Thinking
by Corrie Cook

I remember sitting at the airport in an uncomfortable chair. Three other Ball State University students on the same study abroad program tried to find a comfortable position in their own chairs. Above us, a television replayed the same news-brief for the sixth time. It was a story from Italy, I honestly don't remember what about. Between the newscaster's bits of text flashed brief images of Italians offering an answer to some question, the soft curves and elegant movements of their lips in ugly contrast with the sharp sound of an English translator's voice-over. I remember wondering, can I get one of those? Some minuscule chip implanted under my hairline that translates Italian into English inside my ear and English into Italian inside my throat?

to read all of Cosa Pensavo: What I Was Thinking

A Family Journey: a photojournal
by Cristine M. Klika

Our journey to China in November 2000 was not so much a journey to China as it was a journey to our family.

During the couple of days off from doing paperwork while we waited for our daughter Piper's adoption papers to be completed by the Hubei provincial government, Tracy, our guide, was kind enough to take me to the place where Piper was found abandoned. Thereported location was the entrance to Gongchenying—a "committee"—which translates to mean an apartment complex.

to see all of A Family Journey (originally in the China Spotlight, April 2002)

In Soweto, South Africa
photo by Tracy Villanueva

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