Finally..

I've finally entered the 21st century! Its taken me a week to set up this blog but I've finally evolved to the point that I can now blog. Unfortunately, with all my previous travels abroad, I maintained a travel diary at best, usually keeping it to myself. This blog will now allow me to publish my thoughts, keep me in touch with friends and possibly get feedback on current research I am doing. Well, I loathe rambling and I will keep this short but I'll leave this posting with an observation that has occurred to me: Having been to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Americas, Europe, I realized that the more one travels and experiences different cultures... the more aware one becomes of the incredible similarities between people. I'm not an anthropologist by training or education, but this simple thought, which is probably "anthropology 101" is also one of the single greatest points that is largely forgotten in the US when we watch our nightly news describing violence in Gaza, crime in Baghdad, and the multitude of other problems and issues around the world. The only thing separating us from them is distance and even this is a minor formality in today's age. Everyone needs food, water, shelter, and a sense of security for a basic existence. Lacking one of these can mean the difference between peace and war, life and death, stability or migration. Just a thought as I sit in a nice cafe in Phnom Penh. Cheers and more to follow.