Exploring the Out of Eden Walk on National Geographic was very interesting. This is being done by Paul Salopek. He is retracing and discovering migration throughout Africa and the rest of the world. The starting point is Ethiopia and the ending point is at the tip of South America. Throughout this blog, I will discuss my three personal favorite parts that I explored on his walk.
I will begin by talking about Milestone 72: Absences. This particular exploration was published on July 7, 2020 near Thickegyin, Myanmar. It was Day 2,415 of the walk and mile 7,100. What particularly stuck out to me was the first line in the story which is: “In a world so green it was hard to believe anything was wrong.” There are 12,000 plant species in this area which is absolutely mind blowing to me. I did not know of this place. Salopek also did a profile on Myo Minaung who is a farmer. He talked about the struggles of being a farmer from the weather to the horrible wages that are paid. It was saddening to see the struggles that are faced by different people in other parts of the world. My hope is that one day we can get these families and people out of the situation that they are in and treat them with the respect and honor that they deserve.
The second story I chose was Milestone 55: Leaving Lahore. I particularly chose this because a lot of my friends are from Pakistan. This immediately grabbed my attention since Lahore is a city in Pakistan. This story was published on May 18, 2018 near Amritsar, India. It was Day 1875 mile 5400 of the journey. The description of India reminded me of my home country, Bangladesh. There are a lot of cows everywhere, especially if you are in the village. I also enjoyed the simplicity of Mr. Singh’s story. Mr. Singh is a carpenter and farmer who Paul highlighted in this specific story.
The last exploration that I am choosing to blog about is Milestone 58: First Rain. This journey was published on September 17, 2018 near Dhankoli, India. The journey is Day 1967 and mile 5700. Paul discusses the monsoon season in this specific region. His vivid descriptions reminds me of when the monsoon season occurs in Bangladesh. It is constantly raining over there.
All in all, I enjoyed viewing this resource. I have heard of the Out of Eden Walk before. However, I never went deep into discovering what it actually was. I am glad I did because the stories were amazing. I believe Paul is doing great things to bring awareness around the globe. This would be especially useful to use in the classroom. Students can become aware about a lot of different places around the world while also familiarizing themselves with an exciting project.
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