what an interesting thread, very much what i've come to expect from these emails: multiplicity of opinions and viewpoints and experiences, all in a considerate tone.

i took to heart candice's caution re reverse snobbism, since it's probably a poverty-induced practice of mine. in all honesty, my mode of travel is determined by my graduate student income and less by the burning desire and moral decision to share a room with 6 strangers. but when options are limited by finances, and here i speak solely for myself, i think it's only natural to articulate what is valuable about those reduced circumstances, to identify and cherish what is particular and unique to that experience, rather than be wisftul about the amenities that simply are out of reach.

one important difference however, is when we all travel to the "third world," to places where all of our interactions will necessarily be striated by global economies. for a scathing portrayal of precisely the stilted interactions that these exchanges can sometimes produce, read jamaica kincaid's a small place about antigua.

back to grading final papers...8 down 35 to go...and very much looking forward to a research trip to cuba on the 22nd, yeah!

best, jeannine