This website is used to display the journey of Paul Salopek. Paul is a journalist for National Geographic. Paul is in the midst of a decade long journey to record all walks of life. His journey will start in Africa, where human life is thought to have originated. It will then and continue through the Middle East to Asia, Asia to North America, and North America to South America, hugging the Pacific coastline all the way.
There were a couple of things that stood out to me on Paul’s journey. The first being when he was in Cyprus. The people there have different standards of wearing clothing. Here people are always clothed, but due to the extreme heat, many people opt only to wear shorts. I also Cyprus is the oldest inhabited place in the world. The hunter and gathers who first lived there built some of the first homes and villages. They also hunted most of the island’s animal population to extinction.
The glacial valleys of Karakoram are located in Pakistan. In these valleys live nomadic people who prospect for gold. They find the gold nestled in the riverbanks. The prospectors live off the gold that they find even going to say that they are good at finding it. But knowing where to look is only the first step as it takes manual labor to dig up boulders that the gold is located under. These nomadic people do not make an enormous sum of money, but it is enough for them and their families to survive.
Paul is using technology to record life from all over the world. Paul can record and tell the stories of people that otherwise would not be said. This journal that Paul is creating on his journey is a perfect example of being global citizenship as it teaches about other cultures.
I will incorporate Paul’s journey into my classroom when I am older. As an Environmental Scientist, it is crucial to look at the whole picture. When looking at environmental issues at a global scale, you have to comprehend or have some understanding of all walks of life to be able to come with strategies and plans to help everyone. If my students learn what Paul learned on his journey, then they will be better prepared for the future.
