Exploring the WORLD of Design
So, I pahked my cah in Havahd yahd the other day (I visited Harvard Square) and there I spotted a travel agency featuring a 'round the world' airfare special for only $1,300 USD. I nearly dropped my latte as I froze in the street, eyes fixed on the big neon sign showing photos of exotic destinations and smiling faces. I thought about a favorite book by David Elliot Cohen, One Year Off: Leaving It All Behind for a Round-the-World Journey with Our Children, about the adventures of the Cohen family, a courageous bunch that sold everything, resigned from well paid jobs, even gave up their massive home in California, to globe trot for one year with their children. (If anyone knows the Cohens, please tell them I am dying to see what they are up to these days. Fascinating bunch.) I digress...
Anyway, that same sign announcing the exotic adventure also brought back memories of an evening spent with Jean-Francious, a young man from New Caledonian (via Paris) that took a year off to explore every major country in the world along with several islands and a few U.S. cities. I met him in the early '90s as a teenager. He had visited Boston during the 11th month of his journey to see my friend, Judy. Upon his arrival, Judy invited a gang of us over to meet her exotic explorer. As Jean-Francious laid out piles of freshly-developed photos, fanning them out as he spoke, I sat their feeling somewhat out of touch with the world, especially since I had never crossed a U.S. border at that time.
After Jean-Francious left for his next exciting destination, Judy and I rambled for hours about his amazing adventure and some of hers as well (she had studied abroad for some time). I remember casting forth my dreams of landing on new soil, hoping that someday I could also sit amongst friends reciting stories of far off places I'd ventured.
About a month later, I received a gift subscription in the mail. It was my first issue of European Travel + Life magazine with a note of encouragement from Judy. It said something along the lines of, "educate yourself until you have the chance to immerse yourself."
Thanks to the support of Judy and others, I now have stories to relate about my own distant travels, one that turned out to be a trip of a lifetime - when I met my now husband at the luggage carousel in a small German airport.
Isn't the support and encouragement of friends so important? Doesn't it make sense to look outside of your country to see what else is happening in the world, and in this case, in the design world? Let's do that for a moment together. I'll be back to feature some of my favorite design magazines and why I think you should consider reading them, too.
Will I be taking that $1,300 flight? Not anytime soon. Unless the pages of a magazine count...