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rapeculturerealities · 3 years

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Long before she decided to help others eat better by becoming a dietitian, Jessica Wilson learned that the profession was unlikely to offer much to people like her.

Growing up as a Black girl in a mostly white area of Sacramento, Calif., she was bullied for her size and subjected to unpleasant visits with dietitians, who taught portion control with the aid of unappetizing plastic models of green beans and chicken breasts.

In her dietetics program at the University of California, Davis, Ms. Wilson was the only Black student. A single day was devoted to what the curriculum called “ethnic diets.” “It was not, ‘These are interesting and awesome,’” she recalled. “It is, ‘These are why these diets are bad. Next class.’”

Mexican food was dismissed as greasy. Indian food was heavy. Ms. Wilson was taught to prescribe a bland “kale-and-quinoa” diet. When she started treating patients — including many who, like her, are people of color or identify as queer — she learned how much those identities informed their perspectives on health, and how little she’d been taught about that.

“It makes people feel so guilty for not being able to eat what Goop would recommend,” said Ms. Wilson, 38. “I was no longer able to use the tools that had been given to me in school with good conscience.”

As the coronavirus pandemic has made Americans more aware of their health and eating habits, many have turned to registered dietitians like Ms. Wilson (or to nutritionists, who are not always required to obtain a specific education or certification). Yet the advice they get can sometimes seem more tailored to some past era than to the motley, multicultural nation the United States is in 2020.

In recent years — and particularly in the last several months, amid the national discussion about race — many dietitians have begun speaking out and reimagining the practice in a more inclusive way, often without institutional support.

Today, Ms. Wilson counsels many people of color on eating a healthy diet based on the foods they grew up with and love. Hazel Ng, 48, who runs a private practice in Alhambra, Calif., has created handouts for her Chinese clients that showcase produce found in Asian grocery stores, like bitter melon and lychees

In June, Sherene Chou, 36, a dietitian with a private practice in Los Angeles, organized a group letter to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics — the largest and most powerful organization for food and nutrition professionals — outlining steps it should take to address systemic racism in the field, including antiracism training and more support for people of color. Leaders of numerous dietetics groups lent their support, signing the letter on behalf of 70,000 practitioners and students.

Many of these dietitians say the academy’s research, programs and articles ignore non-Western cuisines, or imply that they are unhealthy. They feel the profession places too much emphasis on consuming less and not enough on understanding individual eating habits. And, they add, it perpetuates an ideal of thinness and gender normativity that can exclude different body types and identities.

“It is a good-old-girls’ club where, as a person of color, you have to do so much to be invited,” said Jessica Jones, a dietitian in Richmond, Calif., and a founder of the inclusive dietetics website Food Heaven.

In response to these criticisms, the academy said it is working hard to broaden its ranks and resources to better reflect different cultures.

“Like other professions in health care and countless other fields, nutrition and dietetics has for many years experienced underrepresentation by persons of color in its membership and leadership ranks,” it said in a statement last week. “The academy knows change will not happen overnight. Still, we are making real progress that will create permanent change in our organization, our profession and our communities.”

The group is influential in setting the United States Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines that Americans are urged to follow; its members make up half of the 20-member committee that oversees those recommendations. In a July report, the committee acknowledged that the dietary approaches it studies don’t “qualitatively address cultural variations in intake patterns,” yet said the resulting guidelines allow a “tremendous amount of flexibility” that allows them to be tailored to an individual’s cultural and taste preferences.

The recipe database on MyPlate, the agriculture department’s healthy-eating website, includes 98 dishes classified as “American,” but just 28 “Asian” recipes and nine “Middle Eastern” ones. Though it lists 122 “Latin American/Hispanic” recipes, they include dishes like a “skinny pizza” made with tortillas. The Asian recipes include “Oriental Rice” and “Oriental Sweet and Sour Vegetables.”(A spokesman for the department said that “expanding the recipe database and other MyPlate consumer resources to reflect more diversity is one of our top priorities.”)

If the options seem narrow, they may begin with the narrowness of the profession. More than 71 percent of the nation’s roughly 106,000 registered dietitians are non-Hispanic white, according to the academy’s Commission on Dietetic Registration. Nearly 84 percent are women.

Entry requirements are steep: Practitioners must earn a degree from an accredited program, complete an internship (sometimes unpaid) or a supervised learning program, and pass a registration exam with a $200 entrance fee. Starting in 2024, a graduate degree will be required to take the exam.

“This is an expensive profession, with no guarantee that you are going to have a high salary,” said Lisa Sasson, a professor in the department of nutrition and food studies at New York University. She called the new graduate-degree mandate “unconscionable” and “an even greater barrier to people of color in our profession.”

The academy said that its charitable foundation provided more than $500,000 in scholarships and grants from 2017 to 2019 “for diverse individuals within the field,” and that those funds continue to grow.

Internships are highly competitive, and some even require the intern to pay. Alice Figueroa, 33, who runs a private practice in the East Village of Manhattan, said she struggled to afford food during her internship, even as she was advising others how to eat. Evelyn Crayton, 74, who was the academy’s first Black president, said many of the people in charge of matching students with internships are white, and may be more likely to select applicants who look like them.

Funding for dietetics programs at many historically Black colleges and universities, including Fort Valley State University and Grambling State University, has been cut since the 1970s. The number of Black dietitians fell by 18 percent, to 1,107, from 1998 to 2019, according to the academy’s Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics.

Even when Dr. Crayton was president of the academy, in 2015 and 2016, she felt out of step with its other leaders. “I have heard that behind my back they called me an angry Black woman, because I raised questions,” she said. Her nominations of Black dietitians for leadership roles, she added, were frequently snubbed.

Told of her comments, the academy responded, “We were not aware of this until now, and we are very saddened to hear that Evelyn was subjected to these inexcusable statements. They do not reflect the academy’s core values and we are moving swiftly to investigate this matter.”

The profession’s exclusivity goes beyond race. Kai Iguchi, 28, a dietitian working at Rogers Behavioral Health in Oconomowoc, Wis., didn’t feel comfortable coming out as nonbinary to graduate-school classmates. “When the program itself as a culture is very cisgender, thin, white and female,” they said, “it is hard to be different and succeed.”

Mx. Iguchi said what they learned at school did little to address the unique problems that transgender and nonbinary clients face — being misgendered by their dietitians and family members, or feeling discomfort with overtly feminine imagery on health materials. Adult transgender people are also at high risk of developing eating disorders, according to a 2019 study by the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Even some dietitians who teach the standard curriculum find it wanting. “I have reached my limit with my textbook,” said Maya Feller, an adjunct professor in nutrition at New York University, adding that it doesn’t take into account social factors that often explain why people of color are disproportionally affected by health issues.

She said she was also unhappy with educational resources like MyPlate, which recommends meals like salmon, brown rice and broccoli, but not the curried chana and doubles served by her mother, who grew up in Trinidad. (After her interview for this article, Ms. Feller was hired as a consultant to help make MyPlate more inclusive.)

“If I saw that plate and then looked at my doubles, I would be like, ‘Well, my food is no good.’”

Ms. Feller, 43, tries instead to promote an “ongoing and consistent education around cultural humility” — not telling patients what they can’t eat, but considering the foods they have access to, and embracing, not stigmatizing, their cultural preferences.

It rankles Ryan Bad Heart Bull, 36, a Native American dietitian who works with the Oglala Sioux Tribe in Pine Ridge, S.D., that many of his peers praise the nutritional value of traditional Indigenous ingredients like salmon and bison, without understanding how federal government policies have made it harder for Native Americans to hunt and forage on their own land. To be ignorant of this cultural and historical context, “and then to turn around and say bison meat is one of the best meats you can eat and here are the ways you can incorporate it into your diet,” he said, “it is insulting and saddening.”

In 2019, he published a guide for the American Indian Cancer Foundation to educate Native cancer survivors about the nutritional value of their traditional foods.

Diksha Gautham, 27, a nutritionist in San Francisco, tells her mostly South Asian-American clientele that a healthy diet can include palak paneer and aloo tikki. As a child, she said, she harbored a blind perception that anything that wasn’t dry chicken and broccoli, including the dal and rice her mother cooked, “was bad for me.” No nutritional database she has encountered includes Indian ingredients, so she created her own guides to healthful Indian food.

A Toronto dietitian, Nazima Qureshi, 29, has self-published “The Healthy Ramadan Guide” with her husband, Belal Hafeez, a personal trainer. It includes meal plans that adhere to fasting guidelines, with recipes like stuffed dates and za’atar roasted chicken, and exercises to give people energy going into daily prayers.

Some of Dalina Soto’s Hispanic and Asian clients in the Philadelphia area have been told by other dietitians that they can’t eat white rice. “They shut down,” she said. “Either they go way to the extreme, where they are no longer eating any of their cultural foods, or the other side is, ‘I am just not going to manage my disease.’”

“My goal is to bring them in the middle,” said Ms. Soto, 32. She’ll suggest a salad alongside their rice and beans.

Still, many of these practitioners feel frustrated as they try to nudge the dietetic establishment toward change.

The profession is governed by the academy’s board. One subsidiary organization, the Commission on Dietetic Registration, sets professional requirements and fees; another, the Accreditation Council, certifies programs. Together, these entities and their majority-white leadership act as gatekeepers, their critics argue, limiting deep-rooted change.

The academy, which has about 100,000 members, funds research and hosts the largest annual conference for dietitians, the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. In 2016, it announced the Second Century Initiative, an effort to expand its reach and teachings around the globe.

The academy has had a diversity and inclusion committee since 1987. But, like all the academy’s committees, it is filled by volunteers. Teresa Turner, 37, a member from 2015 until May, said the academy offers the panel few “resources or benchmarks.” “Its only purpose,” Ms. Turner said, “is to make the academy look like they are doing something.”

The academy denied those assertions, saying the committee plays an active role, recommending strategies to recruit people from underrepresented groups to join the profession, and the academy, and promote their advancement.

A group that calls itself Audit the Academy (whose members include Ms. Turner, Ms. Figueroa and Ms. Chou) said the academy research it has seen is largely conducted by white dietitians studying nondiverse populations; if they study communities of color, they often do so from a white perspective. Members also see little representation of transgender and nonbinary people.

“If we are invisible in the research,” said Sand Chang, 42, an Oakland, Calif., psychologist who specializes in the transgender health and eating disorders, “we are going to be invisible in assessment and treatment.”

The academy, however, said it “offers materials, programs and educational opportunities to help its members provide care to a diverse array of clients,” including articles about treating transgender individuals.

In June, the organization responded to pressure from disaffected members by committing to developing action plans to address inequities in the profession. It has created a new Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group, and conducted virtual forums to hear the concerns of 126 randomly selected members.

Shannon Curtis, 30, a Houston dietitian who helped found a group called Dietitians for Change, attended one of the sessions. “Although it was empowering to know that we are not the only ones screaming about this,” she said, “it was kind of a waste of time, in my opinion, because I am not exactly confident that they will take this information and put it into an action plan they will actually act on.”

Other organizations have emerged to address the inequities in the profession, like Diversify Dietetics, founded in 2018 by Tamara Melton and Deanna Belleny. It offers resources like mentors and educational materials to help students of color pass the registration exam.

In response to criticisms that it is harder for nonwhite dietitians to succeed in the profession, the academy offered an interview with Kristen Gradney, a senior director at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, La, and one of several registered dietitian nutritionists who speak on behalf of the academy.

Ms. Gradney, 40, said that while the academy “has really missed the mark” in preparing dietitians to deal with diverse populations, it is starting to make progress. Still, she said “true change” would probably not come from the academy, but from grass-roots initiatives like Diversify Dietetics, where she serves on the advisory board.

In 2018, Dr. Crayton, the academy’s past president, hosted a conference in Montgomery, Ala., where she lives, for World Critical Dietetics, an organization that champions a more inclusive approach to dietetics. Panels discussed the role that unconscious bias plays in education, and whether the registration exam was fair to all students.

Dr. Crayton took participants to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma, where in 1965, peaceful protesters marched for civil rights. “I could never have done that with the academy,” she said with a laugh. She said events like that could help pave a path toward sweeping change.

“I don’t know how to get to people’s hearts, but it is a heart thing,” she said. In a discipline that deals with such a deeply personal matter — one’s eating habits — “there has to be a change of heart, where people really feel empathy for groups who they are trying to include.”

#diet culture #racism #food #xenophobia #colonialism #hostility to bodily autonomy

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buck-nialled · 4 years

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Affirmations - N. Horan Blurb

NOTE: i am posting this on the app and not the site, unlike usual so sorry if the formatting is a lil weird...oh and it’s angsty so get ready y’all

this is also slightly inspired by the song “Ready To Lose” by Ingrid Michaelson on her album “lights out” which I highly recommend :)

Truthfully, the foul comments never stopped. When you gathered the courage to join Niall on a few publicized events and interviews of his, fans were quick to realize this was no fling. Some were hopeful that your relationship with Niall was a hoax (it wasn’t) and something orchestrated by his record label.

Others were certain it would be a year at most (wrong again). But the more they got to know you through the sparing posts you made in the media, many of Niall’s dedicated fans noticed what a likable character you were. They researched you for hours on end in attempts to find any dirt on you, but your reputation was quoted to be “squeaky clean” on and off of the World Wide Web.

Some were ignorant of these facts though, still. As much as you wished for the false theories that you were a gold digger, heartbreaker or any swear word in the book to disappear from both your and Niall’s comments, it was a difficult task. You know Niall had seen them, he probably knows you acknowledged them also. The one thing that was keeping him from making a public statement was how well you brushed them off of you.

Even on the worst of days, when everything went wrong and you went online for comfort to find the internet demolishing your confidence through a photo of your smile, your eyes were fortified. Determined to not let even the smallest of tears trickle down your cheek. The act of closing off your emotions was not one you did for yourself. Strictly for Niall, as you know how protective he would be of your vulnerability. You had shown it too many times in the past, declaring yourself to be a neurotic and finding embarrassment over the tiniest things and Niall denying these claims soon after.

But this was something you had ensured you would not cave into. At least, before tonight it was. Niall said he was spending a late day at the studio, which usually meant he would be back anywhere from eleven o’clock at night to one in the morning. He always told you not to wait up, which only helped motivate your drooping eyelids to stay open until he was safely beside you in bed, no matter what time of the night.

Nothing particularly exciting was on the television, which you had turned on to distract yourself from the cold, empty space beside you. All your work had been completed, this week feeling easier than others. You peered over at your bookshelf, and could almost hear it taunting you to buy some new books soon as you had read all of the others occupying it.

Finally, you felt it. The humming of your phone against your hip shielded with the thin cloth of one of Niall’s tee shirts. Your hand-collected it in its grasp, eyes gazing at the notification.

Why you decided to post a selfie of you and Niall today, you were unsure. There was no big pregnancy or engagement announcement everybody admitted to being waiting for, your families included. Why you turned on notifications along with it was another mystery. You never cared to stalk random persons’ validations for you, so what changed today?

Opening up the application, you heaved a sigh as you clicked on the comments fans awaited your prying eyes to see. The top one, of course (it always was) came from Niall’s account and was a string of red hearts. The simplicity of it still had your lips curling up, and you felt slight reassurance at all the likes the comment had.

However, your smile fell all too soon as you kept scrolling.

Comments, hundreds of them, all asking when you two were finally going to break up or tie the knot. When you were going to dump him or have his child. Of course, the classic names came into play. Those never failed to fuel your doubts into tiny lip trembles. An hour passed while you sat there in bed, feeling your dependence dwindle at all the words being thrown at you. The pressure felt heavy on your shoulders, your breathing becoming uneven and lightly shattered as your eyes paused to flicker up at the time; 3 o’clock. You finally took into account the feeling of your searing, wet cheeks as you read over the next comment.

Is he gonna leave her soon or what because it’s pretty tiring just waiting for it…

Glancing over at the empty space beside you, a loud sob burst from your throat. Numerous wails followed it as your head buried itself into one of the pillows, subconsciously wanting the cotton to crawl into your mouth and down your throat.

“Petal…” Niall breathes out in astonishment at your trembling figure on the bed. Only whimpers could leave you as he rushed over to your side, laying a warm hand on your arm and stroking it up and down.

“I-I should have called you…fuck, sorry love. The guys wanted to get drinks and I couldn’t refuse. Shit, I shoulda texted.” Niall curses, bringing a hand up to scratch at his neck.

“Y-you aren’t leaving right?”

Your meek voice has Niall’s eyebrows raising nearly to his hairline. “What?”

“D-don’t leave me, Ni. Please don’t…don’t leave me-e-e.” Your pleading falls off into yet another sob before your are being embraced by Niall’s cologne. His face much closer to yours made the smell of Jack Daniel’s tasting his breath much more prominent. He peppers kiss after kiss across your hairline, mumbling affirmations to you as he does so.

“Never gonna leave ya, love. You’re it for me. M’yours forever.”

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arcticdementor · 4 years

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Civilization is collapsing, the revolutionary political crisis is approaching, but, worse than that Heartiste has stopped posting on game, and Roosh has turned tradcuck. So even though I have sworn this is not going to be a game blog, and my life has demonstrated times without number that no end of men are better qualified to post on game than I am, I guess I will have to step into the gap, at least a little bit.

The three magic words are not “I love you”

The three magic words are “You are mine”.

…

I have followed the Sixteen Commandments of Poon both instinctively, and through long and painful experience, long before Heartiste started blogging, and they are the greatest short summary of that small part of game that can be put into readily intelligible words.

Game, however is more readily intelligible if we understand it through the lens of Evolutionary Game Theory, which should be understood as a materialistic account of the spiritual truths of the first part of the Book of Genesis, Evolutionary Game theory being, for higher animals, primarily evolutionary psychology, evolutionary psychology being in large part the application of game theory in the context of natural selection, the moral consequences of material and effective causation, the Logos.

Evolutionary Game theory is an account in terms of material and effective causation, in terms of chance and necessity, the Book of Genesis tells us something about how the consequences of Evolutionary Game Theory are the Will of Gnon.

…

For about the cost of two dates, you can have a hooker, and it is not an adequate substitute. Hookers are only a marginal improvement over masturbation. What progressives offer men, a rotating series of hookups, is just not what most men want, as revealed by men’s actions.

…

Look at the typical male polyamorist. He is psychologically scarred and mentally crippled for life. Having a bunch of whores rather than owning a woman, or better, owning two women, just really sucks brutally. Those guys are traumatized for life.

It unmans men, as if every day a bully beat them up, and they could do nothing about the daily humiliation but suck it up. Just look at what it does to men. It would be kinder to cut their balls off, which is pretty much what progressives are planning to do to us.

The typical male polyamorist looks as if a fat blue haired feminist has been beating him up every day – indeed, he would probably love it if a fat blue haired feminist beat him up every day.

Whores are a marginal improvement on beating off to anime, and hookups a marginal improvement on whores. When men are reduced to such desperate straights, it totally crashes their testosterone and they buy an anime cuddle pillow and weep bitter tears upon it.

We are maladapted to watching the decline from the pool.

Roosh took the wrong redpill from realizing that banging sloots becomes unfufilling after a while. He wants a 50s family life as men generally do, but needs to realize its impossible without a restoration of some degree of de jure patriarchal authority.

A convincing claim to be backed by the supreme alpha, and a plausible willingness to carry out his will on adultery, adultery as defined in the Old Testament, serves as a substitute for de jure backing of patriarchal authority.

The Old Testament prescribes the death penalty for a man who sleeps with someone else’s wife or betrothed, and the death penalty for the woman if she consented. And who gets to carry out that penalty?

Well, that is not defined. In the time of judges, Israel was somewhat anarchic, so presumably the husband and his family and friends. In the book of Proverbs, King Solomon assumes that system, though he implies some regulatory restraints, so that continued to be the system under King Solomon.

That is the best system, because the state or the official priesthood monopolizing the killing of adulterers emasculates the husband, and thus makes adultery more likely.

…

Listen to Heartiste, but, as Roosh discovered, there are better lives than watching the decline. Heartiste speaks the truth, and an important truth, and everything he says is true and important, and unlike most of Satan’s servants should be listened to with attention, but when he truthfully tells you that that watching the decline from poolside is the easiest way, and the better way is hard and dangerous, and likely to end in terrible failure, he is telling a truth that serves his master.

…

You cannot make a housewife out of a ho in our current environment, because she will see you as weak compared to numerous pimps she has been with. However late eighteenth, early nineteenth century Australia had swift and total success in making ho’s into wives. When the elite shotgun married them off, they reacted as if abducted from the weaker tribe into the stronger tribe, and completely internalized the values of the stronger tribe – which required and expected respectable female behavior. Female virtue is more easily obtained if you are more manly than anyone she has been with previously and a bit scary than by searching for it. Of course, in today’s environment, you don’t have backing from your tribe, you have hostility from your tribe. This makes things far more difficult than in late eighteenth century Australia, but not impossibly so. You have backing from God.

…

The mating dance has not been accurately depicted in media since the sixties. (Though it is still accurately depicted in Communist Chinese media, but the Chinese are too alien, too different.)

If you don’t perform the mating dance correctly, will get nowhere fast. The dance is complimentary but asymmetric.

…

This is why, when you are trying to get a chicks attention, it never helps to something nice for her, even to rescue her from danger. Rescuing the damsel in distress is a trope for male viewers. In books and movies targeted at women, the male love interest never rescues the damsel, he endangers her. Negs work, asking her to do something for you works, commanding her works. Stuff that a man would find ridiculous or insulting, and would either make him angry or make him laugh at your pretensions, works.

Negs work astonishingly well, even if so lacking in wit that they are actually insults and would make a man bristle up.

I have actually rescued a chick from danger in real life, with entirely predictable results. Protecting people registers with men as strength, but not with women as strength. Endangering people, innocent people, including the woman herself, registers as strength. I know this from my personal life experience. If you doubt me, check out the love interests in books written by women for women. All women are like that.

…

You don’t plant trees on land you don’t own, and if you don’t have some land and plant some trees for your grandkids, it hurts.

Roissy truthfully tells us how to operate in defect/defect equilibrium with women. But the point is to achieve cooperate/cooperate equilibrium.

…

Female behavior that appears wicked, foolish, and self destructive to a man is entirely intelligible when we realize that the proud independent rapidly aging overweight barista with one hundred thousand dollars in college and credit card debt is unlikely to have children, and is likely to die alone and be eaten by her numerous cats, but if abducted by Islamic State and sold on the auction block naked and in chains would probably have seven children and twenty five grandchildren, and would die surrounded by loving family.

If a man is defeated, conquered and subdued, perhaps because his tribe and country is conquered and subdued, he is unlikely to reproduce. If a woman is defeated, conquered and subdued, she has escaped from defect/defect equilibrium, escaped from prisoner’s dilemma, and also been transferred from weak men and a weak tribe to strong men and a strong tribe, and is therefore likely to be highly successful in reproducing. As a result, women have no country, no tribe, and no ingroup. When they are daughters, they have their father’s tribe, when wives, their husband’s tribe. A woman without a father or a husband is a stateless person, and if a state piously declares her to be a citizen, the state is deluding itself, or deluding its actual citizens in order to commit treason against them.

Thus female behavior that is seemingly wicked, self destructive, and crazy, makes sense when looked at through the lens of Evolutionary Game Theory.

…

But there is no escape from shit tests. Mohammed had a large harem, absolute power, and it clear he had a hard time. This is a chronic problem with large harems, and empires frequently die of it, as is the Turkish empire did and the Chinese empires often did. Genghis Khan had no women problems, and neither did his sons, but his grandsons were lesser men than he. Women will find a way to shit test you.

#james a donald

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ryanmeft · 4 years

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Movie Review: Motherless Brooklyn

The greatest villains of noir are never the central antagonists. The corrupt cops, the slimy businessmen, and the small time hoods and assassins typified by the genre’s heyday are of course all vital to the seedy underrealms these movies sink us into, but the true villain is always the world itself, and specifically the rotten and festering systems whose waste drips down and creates the conditions for battered, weary detectives and crooks with no hope in the first place. This was implied in most classic noir, but Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn makes it explicit. It focuses on a man seen by others as a freak, trying to do a good thing in a city that exists because of bad things. He’s up against such a vital underpinning of his entire world that he might as well be trying to punch out the moon.

Lionel Essrog is not exactly the first person you might choose in such a fight, even if one overlooks his Tourette’s syndrome, which in the decidedly unenlightened 1950’s is unlikely. He’s one of several detectives working for the aging Frank Minna (Bruce Willis), whose particular skills would have been equally applicable on the other side of the law. Also under Minna, in a crew the older man pulled from the morass of an abusive orphanage and led through World War II, are the force-and-bluster tough guy Tony Vermonte (Bobby Cannavale), who has an interesting relationship with Minna’s widow (Leslie Mann); the sharp information-gathering Danny Fantl (Dallas Roberts); and the reserved and slightly bumbling Gilbert Coney (Ethan Suplee). The film opens with a terribly thrilling sequence in which Minna seems to be trying to make a deal with some underworld figures, and as one might expect the deal goes wrong, resulting in Minna’s eventual death.

Let’s take a moment and look at that sequence. It takes up the first half hour or so of the film, and it takes its time. Essrog, played by Norton, listens in for a signal from Minna, and you know something is going to go wrong. Yet where other movies might make that a quick and easy scene, Norton gets our hopes up that Minna might live, and it is genuinely affecting when he doesn’t, because of how much he clearly meant to our protagonist. This death is more than just a device to set off the plot of the film. It defines Lionel’s key character traits: loyalty to those he trusts, suspicion towards most everyone else, all of the wariness that a lifetime of being infantilized by others would give a man. His character is not defined by Tourette’s, which, for the record, is presented accurately as the repetition of tics and phrases rather than by the cliche and rare repeating of profanity. His photographic memory is a tool for detective work, but also a burden; imagine never forgetting anything, and if you’ve suffered at all in life you might realize that isn’t a superpower. He wears his boss’s old hat and coat, in tribute to the man rather than to try and be him. Lionel is a fully developed character, and not a gimmick. The film is patient with him and with the plot, the kind of patience lacking in modern films where audiences will sit for more than two hours only if computer effects are involved.

His case is no gimmick, either, but a fully developed and twisted web that goes, of course, up to the Very Top. The central question: why was Minna, ostensibly a licensed private eye, talking to mobsters as if they were dealing with each other? Lionel digs into this, and it becomes clear it involves the city’s powerful planning commissioner, Moses Randolph (Alec Baldwin). He seems able to demand whatever he wants from the government, behaves like a Godfather instead of a public servant, and is involved in the demolition of slums. Ostensibly, the plan is to provide better housing for the mostly black residents, an assertion which is challenged by two people. The first is wary-but-idealistic housing activist Laura Rose (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who develops a connection with Lionel that feels true and complex and not like an obligatory screenplay romance. Mbatha-Raw is a seriously undervalued actress, and here she represents the counter-culture of jazz, which was primarily African-American and seen as degenerate at the time. Her uncle Billy (Robert Wisdom) and cool-as-ice trumpet-playing friend (Michael K. Williams) have some level of insight into what exactly is happening to Brooklyn’s poor black population, and they become allies. It must be noted that scenes in nightclubs are handled perfectly, feeling like the close, crowded, smoky places that jazz clubs should be.

The second is a ragged man with a frantic voice named Paul (Willem Dafoe), who appears at meetings and angrily whips the crowd into frenzies against Moses. He lays out what crooked deals are going on, but encourages Lionel to be the one to stop it; he cannot, for reasons that will be revealed. I found him the most fascinating supporting character on the canvas, and a perfect role for Dafoe. In movies, most of the good-aligned characters we meet will eventually abandon all self-centered interests and heroically join the cause at great self-sacrifice. Film noir is decidedly unsuited to such sentiment, but in the old days often suffered from it nonetheless. Paul is the apotheosis of that: he is legitimately angry at the conspiracies he sees, but has been too hurt by his own failures to fix them in the past, and now wants to pass the buck so he does not have to suffer any more losses. In our heart of hearts, most of us know we are more like Paul.

Earlier I mentioned the look of the jazz world, but I must mention the look of the rest of the world, as well. Regular Mike Leigh cinematographer Dick Pope films a mid-century New York reproduced by production designer Beth Mickie, that is lost, where boat-sized cars rumble down narrow streets and dark shadows are hidden in the eaves of bridges and corners of doorways. Lionel is at one point invited to meet with Moses to strike a deal, and Moses’ office is as spacious as the rest of the city is not; in an excellent wide shot, he patrols this throne room as a king, passing judgments and decisions entirely as it pleases him. This is not a man who will fall like a typical movie crook, and indeed the film leaves open whether Lionel succeeds at all.

Norton, who is friends with novelist Jonathan Lethem, has, with the author’s consent, done what a filmmaker should: used the parts of the book that suit, and changed those that did not. Most notably, he has moved the 90’s setting (this project has been long gestating) to the 1950’s and wrapped up the plot in one of our great modern national stains, the New York housing discrimination that still affects the African-American community today. The parallels are both obvious and buried, and though Norton has discussed the connections between Moses and Donald Trump, this is not an overtly political picture. It is instead a deeply involving mystery with highly engaging characters and an intriguing world, that happens to have greater points under the surface for those who are looking.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

Note: I don’t use stars, but here are my possible verdicts.

Must-See

Highly Recommended

Recommended

Average

Not Recommended

Avoid like the Plague

You can follow Ryan's reviews on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/ryanmeftmovies/

Or his tweets here:

https://twitter.com/RyanmEft

All images are property of the people what own the movie.

#edward norton #gugu mbatha-raw #bruce willis #movies #motherless brooklyn #Bobby Cannavale #ethan suplee #dallas roberts #noir #alec baldwin #new york #jonathan lethem #willem dafoe #michael k williams #robert wisdom

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hamtigers · 4 years

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So for some reason I woke up today thinking about an RP community I used to be a part of for awhile years ago. So I just wanna give a shot out to anyone who used to be a part of the KH RP board Kingdoms Unleashed awhile back, especially before they shut it down and re-opened it. I tried to come back once after it reopened but I just... couldn’t stay inspired enough for threads with the character I returned on and the fact that they didn’t allow OCs anymore honestly killed a lot of the appeal in the forum for me. And during typing this I just noticed my bookmark for it still exists, but the board itself has been deleted. So I suppose I may as well delete the bookmark.

more specifics about my feelings (and info about the board for anyone uninvolved but curious) below the cut because I am going to ramble A LOT. Like... this post is gonna be hella long, so I’m sorry if read-mores don’t work on mobile still. Also sorry if this shows up in people’s searches since tumblr picks words out of the whole body and not just the tags.

I honestly feel like I’ve made a post like this once before in the past but I still... want to make it again, because I’m feeling incredibly nostalgic about it. Kingdoms Unleashed was a KH-centric RP board on proboards that I lucked out and got into very early on in its life thanks to @highly-radioactive-nerd stumbling across it. I know a few buds from the board also were mutuals on tumblr, but I don’t know how many of you guys still use this site. But anyway, the big draw of the board was that you could bring in characters from outside of KH as long as they “fit the feel” of kingdom hearts, which they ruled as being: from a disney property, from a videogame, from an anime/manga, or from a similiarly styled media(as the catchall for allowing characters from, say, avatar the last airbender in despite it being a western-made cartoon). This was before the big starwars and marvel mergers, which is funny to me because western superheroes were a given example of what wasn’t allowed. Every character (whether they were from KH or not) had to go through an application process, and it was the main way they screened for quality control in RP and so that they could make sure no one was bringing in any super overpowered characters (the quality bar wasn’t like, elitist or anything, you just had to show a basic grasp and consistency on the character’s personality and that you weren’t gonna post a bunch of one-liners) The minimum required activity level to keep a character was pretty lenient too, you just had to make sure you made a post like... somewhere around once or twice every two week period, with activity checks being made once a month? Unless you gave notice of an extended absence. (common reasons included travelling w/o internet access since smartphones weren’t common yet, computer problems, health reasons, and needing to study for classes and exams)

But on top of all this, they also allowed OCs and fan characters under some small stipulations. The big ones I remember are: -No keyblade wielders to avoid an over saturation of keyblades -No vastly overpowered characters. This applied to canon characters too though. Like... one person got to have a touhou character only because her powers got stripped down a lot and they had already proven themselves as a long time responsible RPer on the forum. -No pre-existing ties to canon characters. They could know OF someone if it made sense for their background! But they couldn’t have already met them personally. Anything that develops in character after that is free game of course, but if a canon character got dropped then picked up by someone else, they had no obligation to pick up where the previous player left off. This bullet point is gonna be super important in my later talking! -This is kind of a sub-thing of the last one, but nobodies also couldn’t (officially) join org-XIII under any circumstance.

One of the GMs even admitted in the forum chat at one point that they were on the fence about allowing OCs to begin with, but they were glad they did because of the quality of OCs that got brought in.

The place ended up flourishing into a VERY healthy roleplay forum, with the rare drama cases either being resolved or with the instigator getting thrown out if they didn’t settle down. My favorite part was that unlike other RP places I’ve been on, there wasn’t a massive posse schism or canon/OC schism. No, people RPed canon characters with OCs and fancharacters and characters from different games or anime constantly, to the point where several canon characters ended up in romantic relationships with peoples’ OCs.

I loved it. My characters never ended up among those dating canon characters, but it made me so genuinely happy to see a forum so openly embracing fan characters and OCs to that degree. I was used to people only wanting to facilitate ships they already had in their minds, or making fun on FC/canon ships in other places that it just genuinely made me happily astounded to see the forum grow into a place where that was common and other RPers would actually like... get invested in and follow these romances they weren’t a part of despite not knowing the OC.

I still occasionally wonder, however, if the forum’s overall activity hadn’t dwindled down, if I would have landed a ~dream ship~ with a canon character and my own fancharacter. A bunch of people had been recently bringing in FFIV characters (which is my fav FF not counting XIV) so I decided to take a chance on bringing in my fan character, Ayletta. This was shortly after I had lost inspiration for Rydia and dropped her so that another fan of the character could have her instead and hopefully do her more justice. Ayletta is a physically disabled girl (can’t stand or walk for more than very short periods of time) that relies on her Chocobo to get around and dreams of having her own chocobo ranch. What didn’t get included in her profile or mentioned by me anywhere on forum was that I "secretly” ship her with Kain.

Guess who just happened to be the only person that joined my first thread I started as her was? I was immediately ecstatic, even more so when I saw how quickly they got along even with someone else controlling him. What really got me and left me wondering what ~could have been~ is what they included in his described thoughts, but not in his spoken words. The RPer drew parallels between Ayletta/her chocobo and Kain’s father/his dragon to the point where he immediately was in awe and respect of the bond between Ayletta and her bird. This was a facet I had never even realized or considered between them before then, and only added to the fuel of my own thoughts. The thread was fairly short lived, but there was definitely plans for them both to meet up again later on which unfortunately never got to happen.

#Ham rambles #wall of text #long post #just reminiscing #god I miss being in good RP communities #I'm just too much of a weenie to seek out new ones #and too exhausted by previous failures to try starting my own #yeah I just searched my blog and I made a post about this same shit 4 years ago lmao #but I'm still posting this new one because I ALREADY TYPED IT UP DAMMIT

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schraubd · 5 years

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Federal Court: "Jewish" Isn't a Race Under Title VII

Last year, I wrote about a federal court opinion in Bonadona v. Louisiana College, addressing whether Jewishness is a "race" for purposes of Title VII litigation. The question rarely comes up, because Title VII also protects against religious discrimination, and so Jews suing on basis of antisemitism typically just use that as their statutory hook. But Bonadona involved a Jewish-born convert to Christianity, who was nonetheless allegedly denied a position at a Christian university on the basis of his "Jewish blood" (yes, that phrase exactly). So he couldn't claim religious discrimination -- he was Christian, just like his would-be employers -- but the reference to "Jewish blood" certainly smacks of an employer who viewed (and disparaged) Jewishness as a race. The decision last year concluded that Jewishness is, or at least could be, a race for Title VII purposes. But it was actually only a magistrate's recommendation, and a few days ago the district court judge apparently overruled that recommendation (via) and decided that Title VII categorically does not provide protections to Jews as a "race" because Jewishness was not understood to be a race in 1964 (I say apparently only because the court's opinion does not mention or discuss the magistrate's recommendation in any way). This lack of discussion is disappointing, since the magistrate's opinion raised some issues that I think are worthy of discussion but get no attention in the relatively sparse treatment offered by the district court. The latter's analysis begins and ends with (for what it's worth, uncited) declaration that Jewishness wasn't viewed as a race in 1964, and so consequently the statute could not have been intended to encompass Jews (at least, as a race). This distinguishes the Bonadona case from other precedents which found Jewishness was a race for the purpose of Section 1981 litigation -- Jewishness was seen as a race in the 1860s, but wasn't by the 1960s. To me, though, this analysis isn't persuasive, and smacks of a sort of vulgar textualism (what in the constitutional context is sometimes called "original expected applications originalism) that is just wrong as a matter of fundamental legal interpretation. The right question -- even from an originalist/textualist vantage -- isn't whether Jews were (by everyone? the majority? themselves?) viewed as a race in 1964 (or 1866). It's whether, under the prevailing understanding of "race" that would have dictated meaning in 1964, Jews are being viewed as a race now (either generally, or in the particular fact pattern at issue). For example, suppose that in the mid-1970s, a race of human mole people emerged from beneath the earth and sought to integrate into above-ground human society. Though they're biologically human, they have their own distinct customs and practices, and are physiologically distinguished by their dark blue skin. In the United States, they are quickly assimilated into normative American race politics (e.g., White supremacists hate them, some people are nervous about allowing them into their children's public schools, a network of stereotypes about them quickly entrenches itself, and so on). Are they a "race" for Title VII purposes? It'd be weird to answer "no" because in 1964, "moleman" (not yet having been discovered) wasn't recognized as a race. Rather, the question is, given what "race" was understood to have meant in 1964, whether the manner in which the mole people are being treated corresponds to a racial category. If the answer is "yes", then they're a race for purposes of the statute. If not, then they're not. The reason we have to stretch to a hypothetical about "mole people" is that it's quite hard, under prevailing contemporary understandings of race, to imagine a clear cut example of a new race being "discovered". In reality, while race is not a static concept, social groupings don't move into or out of the category all at once. In the case of Jews, for example, sometimes we've been viewed as a race and other times not, and even within a discrete time period some people have viewed us as a distinct race and others not. White supremacists today still discriminate against Jews on racial, not (just) religious, grounds, even though many other people do not view Jews as racially distinct. That was probably equally true in 1964. It seems very odd to say that discrimination that is both expressly described by the perpetrators and acutely experienced by the victims as occurring on racial grounds is nonetheless not on basis of "race" because ... what, exactly? Jews aren't "really" a race? There isn't a metaphysical or biological reality to race, other than how it's performed -- the act of treating a group as racially distinct is all there is to race-ing a group. Consequently, I'd suggest that, at minimum Jews are a race for Title VII purposes in cases where the discriminatory treatment they experience is racialized. The markers of racialized treatment -- which I think had purchase in 1964 -- are things like viewing ones personal character or human value as dictated by one's biological ancestry, assuming sweeping similarities across a wide range of character traits based on perceived physiological or genetic similarity, viewing the group as one which has the potential to degrade or "pollute" the gene pool, perceiving membership in the group as per se (or at least highly suggestive) evidence for all individual members that they are congenitally incapable of integrating with others not-like-it, and so on. Admittedly this may not be amenable to being nailed down with precision-- but that fuzziness is probably why Title VII doesn't attempt a definition of "race" (if it were as simple as "the groups that were generally classified as races in 1964", then the statute could have easily just given that list). To a large extent, when it comes to whether a particular group is being viewed as a race, "we know it when we see it". Does the above rule -- where one is a race when one's discriminatory treatment is racialized -- cover all cases of antisemitism? Not necessarily. Someone who refuses to hire a Jew because "they don't worship the same God I do" is engaging in religious discrimination, but that sort of statement does not on its own evince a view of Jews as a distinct racial group. One can imagine a range of cases that get grayer and grayer as you approach the middle, but refusing to hire someone because of their "Jewish blood" seems to sit pretty comfortable on the far side of the spectrum. And this, I think, represents a more faithful application of the original understanding of the word "race" in Title VII than the casual inquiry given by the District Court. It is unlikely that the drafters of the Civil Rights Act thought of themselves as protecting certain ahistorical and immutable categories of "races" that existed from the depths of antiquity and would persevere endlessly into the future. By 1964, when we had started abandoning the view of race as a biological reality and instead treated as a sociological category, a "race" for Title VII purposes is a group that is treated as a race in cases covered by the statute. via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/2MZh5v7

#anti-semitism #Christians #employment discrimination #Jews #Race #racism #religion

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bk-201-314 · 5 years

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Why is Turf Grass a Discourse?

Like, this is a thing actually happening right now on tumblr? Are we for real? This is hilarious only because otherwise it would be horrifying.

When I first saw signs of the discourse on the nice green plant covering most of our yards I thought for sure it was a joke. We had already done this before and the results were not great *coughcough-as-the-increase-in-astroturf-in-cough-southern-United-States-would-show-cough*, we couldn’t possibly be doing this again, right? I was apparently very wrong as I saw more and more posts about it.

Grass and lawn owners were being called out, but why? People were left with many many questions I am sure; and as a Horticulture graduate in North America with a course of Turf Care under their belt, I’m hoping to make some clarifications for a few people.

The grass in most well-kept lawns on your average residential street today originated in Europe. Livestock grazing caused the grass there to begin to grow naturally shorter. This, in turn, became used as a defensive strategy for walled cities as the shorter grass surrounding them gave them a better line of site to approaching enemies. In the 17th century recreational grass came into use as formal open turf areas gained popularity with the rich for garden parties and polo matches. In the 18th century open space between gardens would be filled with turf in estates and parks, but still be grazed. That is until in 1830 when Edwin Budding invented the lawnmower.

Soon, turf grass came to the Americas during colonization and grew in popularity as cities established and then even more so when suburbia did after WWII.

This is where our issues begin.

Under Anti-Grass or Anti-Lawn (or whatever the hell you want to call them) belief, today the modern lawn is an introduced species, therefore not entirely suited to our climates, therefore requiring more care. This seems especially true when they begin to discuss grass as a monoculture. Monocultures are mass plantings of a singular species as we see with many of our crops today and monocultures are notoriously known to struggle with pests and disease.

This seems to make a lot of sense to people who see grass as one singular species of which it is not. Many yards today are polystands. Meaning they consist of two or more species and often different cultivars of said species. You can go from one section of the yard to another and often find different species from one patch to the next. Polystands generally require less maintenance and are more resistant to pests and disease.

So why is there a belief that yards are monocultures? Three reasons: Sports, Sod, and People just not knowing any better.

Many sports fields are monocultures particularly golf courses as different grasses on your greens can impact the speed and movement of the ball. The golden child of sports grass is Agrostis stolonifera (Creeping Bentgrass) and in warmer climates, you’ll find Bermudagrass is the favourite. This is because Bentgrass is extremely aesthetically pleasing in both colour and texture. It also repairs itself quite well. Golf greens were considered the epitome of grass and therefore the desire of many a homeowner to the point where Creeping Bent was an extremely popular monoculture choice for residential yards at one time. That all changed when homeowners began to see how unrealistic the maintenance of these yards would be.

Agrostis stolonifera is the most high maintenance of the cold season grasses in North America. It is not drought tolerant and requires syringing or misting on hot summer days. Active growing season means it can be cut almost daily and non-active seasons mean at least three times a week. It grows in so thick and is the highest thatch producer that it needs regular aeration and dethatching. This same thickness makes it very prone to disease which in turn would mean the use of pesticides. Creeping Bent is also a huge glutton with one of the highest fertilizer demands at 12-16 pounds of nitrogen per 1000ft per year with applications every 2-4 weeks.

Soon Bentgrass fell out of favour with residential owners but was replaced with Poa pratensis (Kentucky Bluegrass). The thing about Kentucky Blue was that it and its cultivars made up almost 100% of sod. Sod is a huge convenience, it gives you a yard instantly, but it is highly labour intensive to install, usually pretty expensive, and again it is mostly a monoculture.

So how are these residential monoculture plantings polystands today? We overseeded the crap out of our yards. See, those with sod often have a hard time caring for it and end up having to overseed any thin areas and those with Bentgrass yards knew it would be easier to throw more seed into the yard than to just tear it up. This works because most seed unless otherwise specified is sold in polystand mixtures. This is also extremely useful if you struggle with yard weeds. If you can, remove the weeds and as much of the root systems as possible by hand, then overseed. If you can get the grass to grow thick enough it will force out and prevent yard weeds.

Fun Fact: your yard and a lot of its weeds are both introduced species, but weeds like dandelions, clover, Henbit, and Creeping Charlie often provide the first food source for our pollinators.

Continuing with our anti-grassers vs. Introduced species, it seems that because our lawns are introduced that automatically makes them bad whether they’re polystands or not. Granted our modern turf grass is not the most environmentally friendly option when you compare it to our native perennial grasslands; with root structures many feet below the surface and ample food and habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, but our modern lawns are not the worst thing to have either *coughcough-astroturf-coughcough-concretejungles-cough*.

Our turf grass today does not require much maintenance after establishment, still produces large amounts of oxygen and increases air quality, still provides security via line of sight, still sequesters carbon dioxide, it still filters runoff and rainwater and recharges groundwater, it breaks down some pollutants, still reduces noise pollution, turf still provides food and habitat for insects and pollinators, it dissipates heat, and probably most effective is humans like it. Humans often experience biophilia, we have a tendency to like other living things, nature, and green things in general. Our need for our own plot of grass is theorized to come from encoded memories of African savannas. It seems strange until you realize that green is a calming colour for humans and reduces tension and specifically walking on grass barefoot releases an increase in endorphins and can lower stress up to 62%. Our modern day turf grass makes walking barefoot extremely practical. It is often softer, denser, and shorter to see obstacles.

Overall, our turf grass isn’t a problem. Until it’s grown in areas where it shouldn’t be. Make sure you have the right species for your area, for your soil, for your yard’s amount of sunlight, and are planting it at the correct time (SPRING IS NOT THE SAME PLANTING TIME FOR EVERYTHING!). Remember that grass can go dormant and know when for your area so you don’t have to waste water on it.

Also, know that mosses are NOT options even if they’re native as they often are even more high maintenance than our European turf grasses. Yards turned into edible gardens are not always practical, any less maintenance, and depending on the crop choice can actually be damaging to the soil. Invasive ground-covers and garden plants should be a no-brainer, as in FUCK NO!

Those in arid regions should not have turf grass beyond their natural grasses. The water consumption of turf grass in these areas is absolutely out of control and people who live in these drought areas and insist on maintaining them are indeed selfish. You do not need and should not have grass. Xeriscaping removes the need for supplemental watering, is easy as hell, uses species native to your area, still looks fantastic, fulfills that human need for green life, is fairly inexpensive, and unlike astroturf and grass paint (yeah that’s a thing); that hold in heat, the native plants reduce heat in the surrounding area like grass would.

In Conclusion:

Don’t hate on turf grass or people who have turf grass. Instead, educate about the benefits of more naturalistic landscapes consisting of native species, offer hardier lower maintenance turf grass options for people and more effective polystands based on zones and the environment. Grass is not bad, people just don’t fully understand it or its requirements. It’s such a common thing that it is seen as something that must be of less value and less effort when instead it should be the opposite.

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laranjatoranjalaranja · 5 years

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Aesthetics and History of Art: what is their role under fully-automated luxury communism?

Aesthetics has become unpopular among the left. Today, it is commonly associated with fascism and right-wing manipulative propaganda tactics. Walter Benjamin’s famous text about the modern reproduction of artworks can be credited with laying out a great part of the structure and terms of this discussion. In his work, what he calls the “aestheticisation of politics” is famously associated with fascism, while art, understood as a kind of aesthetics that has been politicised, is contrarily and positively associated with communism.

The main reason why this text acquired the cult status it has today, within the artworld, is because of the way in which it defines contemporary art as inherently revolutionary. Benjamin believes that, thanks to recent advances in its technological reproducibility, truly contemporary artworks were finally freed from old hierarchical ideas of originality, and thus acquired a new and enhanced political potential, particularly suitable for the communist political project.

Aesthetics, on the other hand, without the politisation that would turn it into art, becomes simply the domain of appearances, simulation, and spectacle in the Debordian sense. And this is where this theory starts to show its fragility.

A closer look at Benjamin’s theory reveals it to be susceptible to the same criticism as Debord’s Society of the Spectacle. As Jacques Rancière has pointed out in The Emancipated Spectator, the separation between the simulated appearances that seduce the masses, and the true reality only accessible to some, is unfounded and misleading, despite being commonly understood to be a fact of life.

The legitimacy of this separation depends on a thriving platonic idealism that often affects both right and left of the political spectrum and which is particularly prevalent in the Western world. According to this ideology, the mind and the body are hierarchically separated. While the mind is our reliable means of accessing the truth, the body is the deceiving realm of flawed sensorial perception which is completely unreliable unless previously subjected to correction by reason.

If we understand aesthetics in its broadest possible form, as simply that which relates to the senses, it inevitably falls into the suspicious second half of this division. But art can still be saved if it is not understood in aesthetic terms but as politicised aesthetics. The politicisation of aesthetics entails fighting ‘the spectacle’, by subjecting the ‘simulations’ our body perceives to the political ‘corrections’ of our intellectual reason.**

To further clarify why this kind of framework is flawed, it becomes useful to make a quick detour to the work of another author. In Pedagogy of The Oppressed, Paulo Freire defines praxis as a dialectical union between theory and practice. This means that, while our theory can, and should, inform our practice, this same practice also needs to inform our theory, thus making sure it matches our actual, lived reality. This means that the relationship between mind and body, theory and practice, reason and senses, is better understood as one of cooperation and mutual dependency than one of hierarchy and antagonism. It also means that aesthetics, broadly understood, plays an essential role in this dialectical process.

But, going back to Benjamin, I have said that the main reason his theory got so popular within the artworld is because of the revolutionary character he assigned to art. But this is not the only reason. Complementing this idea, we have a second one which relates to the phenomenon of demonization of aesthetics I mentioned in the very beginning.

It is becoming increasingly hard to ignore the fact that the art faces serious, and inherent, issues and contradictions. The complementing aspect of what makes Benjamin’s argument appealing is that it allows us to keep our faith in art, while also feeling like we are targeting the problems that ‘threaten its purity and integrity’. These problems are thus presented as non-inherent, originating from external sources, and a great deal of what made this ‘outsourcing’ possible has been the use of aesthetics as a scapegoat for the issues affecting art in general.

Aesthetics has proven to be a particularly good fit for this. This is because if, on the one hand, some people felt suspicious towards art because they thought it was shallow, futile and even deceiving, we could argue, like Benjamin, that this was a problem of aesthetics and not art. Although this ‘futility’ argument is relatively common, it is not a very strong one (as I have tried to show when I mentioned Ranciere’s critique). A strong argument that can be directed against art, on the other hand, would be that it is a historical invention of the modern West, which means it has not always existed and, therefore, the usefulness of its continued existence becomes open for debate. But this critique too can be diverted towards aesthetics.

In fact, aesthetics much more that art, was accused of being something made up in the 18th century by Western white males unaware of their privilege, to create rules that would validate what they thought of as beautiful and worthy of attention. Aesthetics, as a discipline, deserved all the criticism it got. More recently, the art market and the ‘artworld’, where also targets of a similar critique which, was also perfectly valid but, for some reason, continued to assume that all these things can be separated from art itself. As if art could ever have come to existence, and continue to exist, without them.

This criticism of aesthetics as an academic discipline, the art market or the artworld, is usually done using a leftist discourse. But critiques that extend to the notion of art itself are rare.

Occasionally, more radical leftists will become interested in topics like art. And many of them do end up realising, half way through their own research, courses or degrees, that all these accusations often thrown at ‘aesthetics’ are just as applicable to our notion of art. Frequently, these people end up being the ones who are more dismissive and suspicious of our contemporary cultural institutions in general. They often believe that art, like most of our contemporary culture, can be categorised as ‘capitalist spectacle’, and therefore should be understood as a distraction to be ignored.

These people can be easily convinced that art is a capitalist invention of the modern West. But the conclusion they draw from this is that the best thing to do is to dismiss all the things presented as art by our artistic institutions as capitalist distraction tactics, meant to divert our attention from the ‘real’ issues. What they fail to recognise, on the one hand, is that art is not a distraction to be ignored, but a weapon to be fought. And, on the other hand, they make the mistake of accepting the terms in which the capitalist artworld defines what aesthetics can be.

Capitalism knows well how to use aesthetics to its advantage. It has developed things like marketing and branding, as well as art, which are complex and highly effective techniques designed to work specifically to its own advantage. It knows how to tell the seductive and persuasive story of its own triumph and legitimacy.

This left, on the other hand, has little more than outdated ideas of communist propaganda, which are literally from the last century. And this is because, today, the left often conceives of aesthetics as either evil or merely secondary. We haven’t taken any time to develop an alternative way to understand this other part of us, the one that is more connected to the senses and which is equally essential to understanding the world around us.

While part of what I will do here is question the validity of, and politics behind, our modern notion of art, I also want to argue that aesthetics is, actually, not necessarily susceptible to the same criticism. Unlike art, the artworld and the art market, the word aesthetics can have an older, broader meaning. Aesthetics, as that which simply relates to the senses, is not susceptible to the same criticism as its modern academic homonym, or as art, because it is not to be understood as a Human creation. It is not connected to any idea of ‘what it means to be Human’ or any ‘essence’ of Humanity. So, in this specific sense, aesthetics can be said to be an a-historical concept.

The prevailing platonic idealism I mentioned previously, leads people to prefer thinking in terms of Art and Humanity, rather than in terms of aesthetics, which would imply the recognition of a common ground, shared among us and all the other animals.

Aesthetic sensibility, understood in this way, is possessed by anyone and anything that simply possesses senses. From humans, to animals and maybe even other kinds of beings. While we can say that not all cultures have art because the concept of art is an invention of the West, we cannot say the same of things like aesthetics in this broad sense.***

Rather than dismissing aesthetics as a product of capitalism or a more or less futile thing to be dealt with ‘later’, we need to recognise that capitalism will thrive as long as it continues presenting itself as the best, or even the only, materially realistic, viable, alternative. No matter how many theories and manifestos the left has, as long we are not capable of presenting aesthetic alternatives to what capitalism has been imposing, none of it will feel, or even be, translatable to real life.

The left cannot go on pretending like aesthetics is a dispensable, secondary issue. Aesthetics is not a distraction, it is an essential part of how we experience our lives and therefore it too deserves a pride of place in our political agenda. Ignoring it will not make it irrelevant.

At this point, I have been studying History of Art in academia for 5 years, and it strikes me how, despite appearances, truly revolutionary History of Art barely exists. Despite the overwhelming number of so-called radical journals and other kinds of left-wing publications, most of it is actually liberal. What I mean by this is that most of the people who write for these publications seem to share a common goal: to free art from the elites’ domination (much like Benjamin). This is a liberal goal because it aims at reforming rather than revolutionising the existing system. It aims at saving art at all cost and it rules of even considering that its obvious and persisting problems might be inherent and that a possible solution would be to replace it with something radically different. Related to this, is another striking problem which is the prevailing assumption that art and the elites are separable to begin with.

I want to make it clear here that art cannot be understood (especially within academic contexts) as a human constant. Studying the history of art implies that art has a history and, therefore, a historical origin. Humans were not ‘artistic’ by nature, since the beginning of time. Art is a concept created by the modern West. There were no actual synonyms to the word Art in non-Western cultures and no one in Europe was even talking about such a thing until the 18th century (see Kristeller’s The Modern System of The Arts (pt. I and pt. II) and Shiner’s The Invention of Art*).

It is irresponsible and anachronistic for Art historians to say or imply that art is something that humans have always done. This is an imperialistic tendency that we need to, not only distance ourselves from, but also actively fight against. And I stress actively fight against because these things I am writing about here have already been mentioned in academic publications from decades ago (Kristeller’s first article was published in 1951).

Since its creation, Art has existed to serve the capitalist elites (see Taylor’s Art, An Enemy of The People*). It was created by them, for them. To both serve and represent their interests.

I say capitalist elites, specifically, because the works commissioned by the traditional nobility did not fit with our modern idea of art in their original contexts. The treasures of the French monarchy only became Art when the bourgeoisie took over and made them what they are today - the collection of an Art museum. These objects were stripped of their original meanings and functions and became targets of ‘disinterested contemplation’ and those who see this as a revolutionary triumph over an oppressive regime conveniently forget that the reality is more complex and the same thing was also done with foreign objects stolen by the French colonisers, shortly after.

Today, many people are still wondering why is Duchamp’s Fountain Art. The answer is, mainly, because this is what the elites behind our art institutions decided is art. The line between Art and non-Art is merely an institutional one. Art is an institutional system. And this is a system whose tables cannot simply be turned because, in order for Art to exist, it needs to distinguish itself from other modern categories like crafts and popular culture. The category of Art depends on this hierarchical distinction because, simply put, Art is High Culture.

This means that as long as art, as we understand it today, exists, there must also exist a privileged group that gets to draw the line between High and low culture. The cultural identity of these elites might change overtime, but their status as oppressors will always remain, within this structure. This is why the quest to ‘democratise’ art is merely reformist rather than revolutionary.

I am not advocating for the burning of museums, Futurism style. I do think museums are important sources of information that should be free especially when they are public. What I am saying is that when these museums exhibit things that were not originally intended to be art as if they have always and unquestionably been so, they are making a serious mistake. They are silencing alternative narratives and disrespecting the people who created the objects they claim to be spreading knowledge about. They are suppressing aesthetic diversity, not promoting it.

Regarding contemporary Art museums and galleries, I think it would be fair to say that they are mostly bullshit. I make intentional efforts not to give any of my money to them (this also applies to academic Art Schools). I sometimes visit them, when they are free, because I want my opinions to be informed. I don’t usually pay for any tickets (they are usually even more expensive than regular museums anyway) nor do I let myself be troubled by those who believe I cannot be an expert on Art with a proper opinion, if I don’t go to all the ‘landmark’ cultural events. I try not to let art snobs like Jonathan Jones dictate which cultural events are or aren’t worthy of attention.

To conclude, History of Art as an academic discipline still has serious issues. Real History of Art should recognise that Art has a specific historical origin, and not treat it like a mysterious (mythical) part of ‘Human Nature’.

To do leftist History of Art, nevertheless, we need to take this even one step further and study the consequences of the capitalist origins of this phenomenon and how it developed from there. The impacts of its structure, the way it works, how it legitimises itself, its weaknesses, all these should be analysed in ways that will allow this phenomenon to be coherently perceived through a left-wing lens, subsequently enabling us to imagine viable alternatives to the current Art system (Richard Sennett does something like this in his book The Craftsman. If you don’t feel like reading, he also explains it beautifully in his lectures on craftsmanship available on youtube).

Also, I feel like I should mention that the mythical treatment Art historians give their subject, either emphatically and intentionally or through the passive and implicit acceptance of this mythical definition, is probably one of the things that mostly contributes to the much criticised workings of our contemporary art market. Surely, one of the reasons why artworks are sold at such exorbitant prices is because what these people are buying is not just good looking paintings. These objects are being sold as the latest, most recent pieces in the important puzzle that is Human History. Once gathered all in the correct order, these pieces are thought to reveal what it means to be Human. The ‘History’ of Art I’ve been criticising here is largely responsible for the maintenance of this profitable myth, that has been giving the powerful disproportionate control over the narratives of our collective existences.

Notes:

* If you don’t have access to these texts via your public libraries, genesis online library should have it for free download, just click here and try following the links presented (they are forced to keep changing domains because certain people don’t like it when information is too accessible).

** I do believe there is something more to be said about this politicisation of aesthetics. I think it can be a very useful and interesting terminology, but it needs to be conceptualised outside of this limited ‘reality versus simulation’ framework.

*** Or, for example, of something like venal blood. All people and animals with venal blood can be said to have venal blood, despite understanding or not what this means. A culture which does not understand what we mean by ‘art’ today, cannot be said to have it (they will have other things, which they will understand in different terms, and which, I want to emphasise, are not of lesser value just because they won’t fit our ‘artistic model’).

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madagascanoverseas-blog · 4 years

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Everything started that night of September 1998 when I was supposed to board a plane to Lyon, France for the purpose of studying. Had I known that night that my study trip will not see its end in France, but will continue to the state of Pennsylvania in the US, then later to Australia, and a few years down the line, to Canada where I do live with my wife and son, I am convinced that I might said to myself « That is just impossible »!On this night of september 1998, the air at Antananarivo Ivato Airport is hot and dry as the summer season is about to strike back again. My father will accompany me as it was the first time I am leaving Madagascar, my country, for such a long time. We will be spending a few days in Paris before heading to Lyon, where I will be commencing a school of hospitality.For most of the Malagasy youngsters like myself, it is in fact very usual to pursue one studies in France once we obtained our HSC or High school diploma; the reason being the fact that we speak French and that France is generally the country we tend to know about the most outside Madagascar obviously. I have had one or two classmates in Madagascar who went directly pursuing their education outside of France, but in general very few dared to pursue directly their studies to a country like the US or Canada.

That being said, I will always remember that night of september as despite of being mentally prepared, I surely knew I had so much challenges ahead to overcome, and I was even more aware that there were greater chances for me to fail than to make it! I knew it because since I was a child, I never left my parents for more than 10 days…and that was only once during a trip organized by my high school (La Clairefontaine) for us to visit Washington. But that was it!!! Apart from that accompanied trip, I really never had the chance to be on my own nor experience what I would be capable of should I be alone in an unknown environment.

I CANNOT EVER FORGET

I will always remember the face of my mother and my sister who were there at the airport; I can hardly erase from my memory this face of my mom seeing me going away and knowing that I was leaving for some time at least. I will also remember this Air France plane – having a big logo of a French kid holding a ball as Farnce has just won the Word Cup a few months ago – waiting for us to board. Also, I will never forget the next morning when we were flying right next to the very famous « Mont blanc ». At that very moment, I knew I was already flying over Europe. I will never forget my fathe’s words as the aircraft started to descend over Paris that day and as I was trying to familiarize myself with all those names that I saw on the map…at that moment, he said to me « well, that would be your country for the next three years ». With all the emotions of the departure, I still couldn’t realize that I have really left home, and that I left behind me everything I Knew, every place I was familiar with, everyone wiwth whom I used to share things. Now on, I have to be on my own and find my own way…here in this country….

In this article, I will be expose some insights about myself, about my personal stories as well as the different challenges I was facing. But more importantly, this article is also about providing advices in regards to travel overseas or settling in a foreign country.

I have also written this Blog as a Malagasy perspective dealing with overseas travels is of an extreme rarity. Most of the Blogs, articles, critics, history books, for example, about Madagascar, have been mostly written by non-Malagasy individuals. Also, most of the blogs, travels, articles existing on the net are hardly produced or written by any persons from the island of Madagascar. Today, by dropping a few lines here, I hope that there would be some changes, and invite other Malagasy both overseas and in Madagascar, to share their experiences or their talents online as I know that there are a lot of bright young people down there, bust most are not just given the opportunity to prove that.

LET’S START ABOUT THE DECISION PROCESS OF STUDYING OVERSEAS:

Even though I am writing this blog on the behalf of Malagasy students, it is also designed to help ANYONE who just has dreams to study overseas. It can be a US student wishing to spend 2 semesters in Argentina for example who wishes to study Spanish.

I have a youtube channel which displays different videos about my trip to Australia as well as Canada, but not limited to those. If you are interested to have a look at them, please go to:

www.youtube.com/channel/UCBY350-Kgd7X4umOAuCJk9A

WHAT SHOULD I DO FIRST WHEN PLANNING TO TRAVEL TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY?

first, do your research. get to know about the country/countries you plan to go to.

Secondly, if you can, try to get in touch with some people there

THE BIG QUESTION: SHOULD I SAY OR SHOULD I GO?

This question has no YES or NO answer, as it depends firstly on different parameters, notably:

external parameters: (the country you are going, whether you go alone or with someone else) and

internal parameters : your personality, you historical backgrounds, whether or not you were exposed to some individualistic environment, etc…

Some people that I knew when I was in Madagascar, were very bright and had all the skills they needed to succeed academically; however, among those people, many have grown within a highly non-individualistic environment. In other words, once overseas, they were struggling to adapt to an environment which different from theirs on a cultural standpoint. Many were also missing their friends back home, and that had huge consequences of their overseas stays in general, and many of them ended up abandoning their studies and coming back to Madagascar.

I also came across some Malagasy youngsters who chose France as a place to study, but for some reasons, did not fit in. Among those, some just came back home as they thought they were not fit to study overseas, but some others tried another option, which consisted of moving for example to Germany or to the UK, and as strange as it may seem, ended up adjusting just fine!!! So here, it was the French cultural and social environments, which were the causes of the problem.

FOR ME, WHAT WAS MY SECRET WHEN I SETTLED IN FRANCE

Well, as I said earlier, unlike my cousins or friends, I had no prior experiences about how it is to live away from parents and even less about how to live overseas, far from the loved ones.

But I remember each of the very first days I have spent in Lyon when I just arrived. In fact, the day we were supposed to travel to Lyon, there was an incident that happened to us at the Gare de Lyon, in Paris. That day, we arrived earlier as we thought that having lunch before the trip would be a nice idea. We then sat at a cafe inside the Gare de Lyon station, and as we were waiting for our order, a man poked at my dad and showed his vest. He then checked it and saw this huuuuuuge stain made of ketchup at the back of his suit…he was. shocked. At that moment, none of us realized what was to happen, but just a few seconds later, my dad realized that one of our bag has vanished (yes, just to let some Malagasy people know, there are many pickpockets in Paris!!!!). This is when we realized that our passports have also disappeared!!! Once we finished eating, we went to report to a police station and they issued us with a document allowing me to stay on the French territory for just 8 days!!! That means, I had just 8 days to lodge my application at the prefecture de Lyon!

We then travelled to Lyon and once there, explained the incident to the student adviser. It was so kind of him to offer me assistance while I was so far away from Madagascar, as when my father flew back to Madagascar with only a « laisser passer », he really assisted me to liaise with the prefecture de police as well as with the Madagascar consulate in Lyon, so I can obtain a new passport as well as a « carte de sejour » or permit of stay. As strange as it may seem, this incident has helped me to settle into the new hospitality school, while from time to time, making jokes about it with my new French friends!

Then, time went on and progressively, I made this new environment my home. I managed to make new friends, some of whom were French, but some were also Asians, namely from Korea and Indonesia. Both invited me to join some party, to eat soup, and two of my french friends invited me as well in their native region of Cher and Jura.

But you are probably wondering if from time to time, I missed my parents. Sure many times, and feeling lonely was something I considered being normal the first six months of any stays away from one’s family.

That being said, being a person growing with the « half-filled up glass » philosophy, I tended to be happy with what I had, and this was always the way I have always been. each day, I remained positive, saying to myself that everything will just work fine! But on the other hand, I told to myself: « If I should fail in this enterprise, I will just pack my bag and fly back home to Madagascar », and continue my studies there. Those thoughts have ,in my opinion, allowed me to remain calm as well as confident during those first crucial months of my stay in France.

AND THEN..

And then, after having spent 7 months in this hospitality school, I am leaving to to join the ISEG, a management school based in Lyon. Over there, I will be get acquainted with new French friends. The school is itself will last 2 years and after that time, with the help of my uncle Thomas who found that school for me by the way, I will choose to apply for this French-american school (called CEFAM) for another 2 years. Their principle is simple: students do the foundation courses in France, earn credits on each course they pass and then, can apply to US-universities once all conditions are met. Upon my registration at CEFAM though, I have met with the director who gave me credits for many of my classes taken at ISEG, which had allowed me to earn credits towards my BBA degree as well as some precious time, and more importantly, this had allowed us to save money as well on tuition fees!

But once I was about to earn all the credits from CEFAM this time (as I planned to pursue my studies in the US), the same director who gave me credits a few years before, sabotaged many foreign students applications, including mine!!! What he did was that he wrote to the US universities stating that « Mr X has met me and he has let me know that he no longer wishes to study in the US ». He just put a letter saying so once the applications sent, and wihout you knowing it! that means many students waited and waited hoping for a response, but nothing happened!!

The strange part about is is that it happened right after the event of 2001 in New york, and most of the sabotaged students were all foreigners, including asian students!

SO WAS EVERYTHING OVER FOR ME?

Well, some students abandoned that school and returned home. I did not choose to but instead, decided to push further. Each day I saw him, I kept asking him what about my application. A few times, he just told me to wait, but I just kept writing to Temple university (in the US) to get some feedbacks; strangely, I got almost no answers. I then decided to apply for further courses to increase my GPA (grades) and seeing me pushing through doors wasn’t to please him!! He as so angry to see me sitting there and taking additional courses because now, he knew I would have greater chances to apply to the US or even , to apply to any universities, including outside their partnership zone (Temple was their partner) or even Unis in canada or Australia. He probably guesses that I was clever enough to go around the obstacles he set on my pathway! So he convoked the staff and ordered them to cancel the classes, which y the way, was undoable as many students were registered already! That person would do anything not to let me go there for some reasons that might seem obvious (If he knew that at this time, I am living in a beautiful place like Canada, he would probably shoot himself in his feet!)

Now, I have no idea what happened but one day, this director (David R.) announced he was leaving his function. He was to be replaced by a new director, but when that happened, I went back to Madagascar for vacation….

When I came back in september, I was asked to meet immediately with this new director. He inquested about what happened and particularly about my intention to study in the US. I said that I still have those intentions and that I never expressed the opposite idea to his predecessor. Seeing me being persuasive enough but also, with all the « strange » parallel cases the former director did to other foreign students, he ended up believing me. It took him so much os willingness to explain this « highly particular » situation to theTemple U admission staff in the US, but he sure was w-aware that something was fishy!

I wanted to advise others: If you are victim of discriminatory acts like I did, never give up as giving up will just make the other person happy! Keep trying, and always keep pushing! In some cases, feel free to talk to other persons who are more open-minded and in an extreme case, do not hesitate to refer the matter to a lawyer and do not forget to bring proofs of what you are stating (signed documents, emails, written contents, etc…)

6 MONTHS LATER…

6 months later, I landed at Philadelphia airport at the end of the summer. I was finally in the United States, and about to start my two-semester program there. If everything goes fine, I will get my BBA degree soon!

The very first days is the US were quite challenging as it took me about 40 days to find a place to stay. During that time, I had to stay in a motel close to the delaware state border and clsoe to the airport, too. My parents were anxious as they knew I was far away and alone in a country that I did not know. On top of that, I wasn’t fluent with english, so exchanging ideas with others or even doing basic tasks like buying bread wasn’t that easy! I remembered 4 or 5 times, when checkin out at counters being looked strangely by cashiers as I did not understand what they said. When I explained to them that my first language was not english, they became suddenly very sensible! This was what I liked the most about Americans as they do understand that you may come from a different cultural background… this kind of understanding is something that you wouldn’t find too much in France.

THE WAY COURSES WERE STRUCTURED IN THE US

The American structure of teaching differs from the French one in many ways. In France, and to some extent, that is true as well for most of continental Europe, classes are being taught using a lot of theories; in other words, in the French system, the theoretical concepts tend to be dominant; the consequence being: one tends to learn concepts ny heart and there are more things to remember. In America however, courses are taught in a more practical way. It is very common in American universities to spend just 3 hours at the University, and spend the rest of the day to work on assignments as well as group projects. When studying in the United States (and later on in Australia as well for my Masters degree), I had to get used to work on group projects, do presentations in front of dozens of students, as well as be able to answer pertinent questions related to a specific topic.

Education in anglo-saxon universities in general are not always about remembering and be able to « spit out » the concepts; it is more about being able to deal with challenges, learn to work with peers coming from various cultural and academic backgrounds. It also teaches you to look beyond, to improvise on questions you may not expect…

Now, was it hard for me to adapt as a Malagasy? Sure it was! Coming from a french education system, I had to cope with reviewing entirely the way I was studying, as from now on, learning and remembering will no longer be that necessary!! In the way Americans as well as Australians (later on) educate their children totally differ from the way us the Malagasy do educate ours. I personally think that learning things by heart as we are so clever to do in Madagascar, is just an inefficient way of learning because first of all, after a few years, chances are that you are going to forget most of the concepts; secondly, learning without understanding a particular idea is just a total nonsense!

APART FROM STUDYING, WHAT DID I ENJOY IN THE UNITED STATES?

I enjoyed Philadelphia, where I spent about semesters! This is surely an old city with its own drawbacks, but it is a city with a soul, a city rich in history because one has to know that it sued to be the former capital of the United States. Apart from « Philly », I had the opportunity to visit the twin cities of Saint-Paul as well as Minneapolis, both located in the northwestern state of Minnesota. Compared to Philly, those twin cities were much more modern and the surrounding environment kind of looked like the environment you would find in some places in Canada.

I also have visited the deep south of the US, in New Orleans, which a few decades ago, was among those southern states known for practicing racial segregation. First, you might be wondering whether I want there alone. Just like I did when I was travelling through Europe a few before, I just booked a flight and an accommodation from a travel agency located inside the premises of Temple University, and went there by myself. When I landed there, I just felt that the environment was quite different indeed from the northern part of America. I do not mean that people were mean or bad, it is just that I felt that « something » out of the ordinary has happened it some time ago. For example, I saw that the frictions between whites and Black Americans were a bit harsher down here than it is in places like Washington DC for example. You also have those « invisible codes » that still seem to exist here, but which have already disappeared or evolved much north. I remembered knocking at the door of a fancy restaurant in downtown New Orleans; a patron opened the door for me and spoke to me very politely by saying that surely, I could have lunch there. But as we moved inside and as I wanted to sit « over there » on the right as to my perception, the left side was a bit crowded, the patron very politely invited me to sit with the other guests on the left side of the room using an argument that the right side is normally open during the evenings only. On the spot, I did not realize that there was a strange connotation to that invitation, but I just agreed and sat with the other guests, most of whom, I precise, were white Americans, or more precisely, white southerners. As I sat, some just nodded politely.

The next day, I have booked a tour to visit a very well-known plantation, called Oak valley. It was on a tour and it was a place surrounded by oak trees. In this sublime villa, there was a very beautiful house, which was owned by ancient plantation owners in the 1800s. Not far from it, one could find renovated houses, in which former slaves used to live.

Even though I was technically an African, my South-eastern asian ancestry (and genes) may have made that experience quite different from, let’s say, a person who might have been of an African descent or someone who ancestors who were ancient slaves. Here, in the southern part of the US, this hurtful past still haunts its victims, but to some extent, the whole American South itself.

A few days later, after this trip in the state of Louisiane, I flew back to Philadelphia to pursue my last semester. I had just a few subjects to take as well as one summer session before being able to finally graduate with my BBA degree. During the spring semester, I have had interesting courses among which the Risk Management course, taught by an American of Italian origin, who knew how to inspire us with his long-lasting passion. I remember doing a project on this particular course and that project that I chose (with my group mates) talked about the financial cost of the very sad and tragic 2001 event, which happened in New York. I have no idea whether it was my non-local perspective which made it interesting, but I managed to hold the breath of the whole assembly during the presentation.

The same semester, a marketing teacher of mine – for some reasons I do not know – has made everything in her power to fail me and some other students in her class. That event just reminded me of what happened to me in France a few years ago with that director who sabotaged my application to apply to Temple U. Being of a tempered and calm personality (that has helped a lot during my life by the way), I just remained calm as I knew that the chances of succeeding would be so low and that in any cases, my failure had nothing to do with the quality of my work. It had a purely discriminatory motive. So…. I just waited that the semester ends and waited that she flies to Norway for her vacations. Once she left, I wrote her an email saying that I was a bit « exhausted » and needed some time off. But in fact, instead of flying off to Madagascar, I just got registered with another lecturer, Craig. A (for the same subject), and got enrolled into the summer session! Now guess what, by exactly providing the same level of effort, the marks I have obtained with this lecturer, Craig. A, were way above Ms. Schau has given to me. That is already some kind of proof that there was clearly some form of « favoritism ». When she actually realized that I « fooled » her (as her colleague, a certain Smith saw me), it was way too late for her to intervene, and despite her effort to persuade Craig. using many arguments, the fact that I have proven to him that I could provide good-quality work, has made Ms Schau arguments totally meaningless!

As you can guess, before the end of the summer session, I passed this subject, which meant that I could now graduate!

I graduate with most of the CEFAM students, most of whom decided not to continue with another BBA degree. The day of my graduation, I can always remember my name being called, but what made me « laugh » was the American guy who had some struggle to pronounce my first as well as my last name, as firstly, it was not an English name, and second, because it was a long and unusual name. But that was fun, I started to get used with it and can fully understand that no one is supposed to be perfect; we just all try to do our best!

As soon as my semesters finished, I spent about 3 additional weeks in Philadelphia to enjoy that place for the last time. During this time, I visited most of my French and African friends – most of whom I’ve considered as family as we spent so much time together here in the US but also there in Europe, and to be entirely truthful I guess most of us did consider each and everyone as a sort of a family member, to some extent.

Fall was about to kick in when I left the United States… I cannot forget that funny incident at Philadelphia airport, where I got issues to board the plane. Having seen that I had no French visa in my Madagascar passport (when transiting through Paris, any nationals from Madagascar do NOT require a visa, unless they plan to stay in France for more than 24 hours; it is being called by the French as « Transit aéroportuaire » or airport transit, which normally does not require any visa at all!), I had to explain this agent that I was just passing through Paris, but will continue my flight to Madagascar four hours later! It took me almost 2 hours to make him understand things that even a 7 year old Malagasy kid would understand! In other words, I missed my plane to Paris just because I had in front of me an Air France staff who did not understand that I had another flight to Madagascar; he kept believing I was to disembark in France.

At the end of the 2 hour conversation, he finally understood but that was too late, I have missed my plane, so they had to disembark my 3 luggages and I had to book for a hotel for another 3 days until another flight to Paris becomes available.

After 3 days, I came back to Philly airport, went queuing at the desk that same agent was actually working. Why is that? In that way, I was to make sure that at least, after this 2 hour « intelligent » dialogue, he would remember the Madagascar guy who plans to transit in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, and who then flies to Madagascar…and guess what, he did remember me well, and that time, he knew for sure that we have already solved the situation last time. But still, I had at least 30 kgs of luggage excess; not astonishing as I have decided to buy many things (including some maple syrup jars from Vermont) and have expected that excess. The same agent obviously let me know about this and I just answered to him: « I have a Miles card so what if I’m using my miles to pay for the excess ». As it is a rule, he just accepted.

The flight to Paris was to take about 8 hours, and as we approached the Western coast of France, I just felt at that moment that America was there, way beyond of what is now this vast Atlantic ocean. I start to realize that I have undertaken something big and have confronted obstacles, challenges in a country that I barely knew. Not only so, I have succeeded to get an education and go till the very end of it in a place I had to learn to speak the language. Yes, I have suffered for some time! sure, I had to explain things to people so that they could understand why I struggled so much with my English! But if you asked me whether this struggle was worth it? I will respond you with a Malagasy proverb « ny valala tsy mandry inin-droa am bavahady », which signifies that it is rare that life gives you a second chance, so if you have one, just go for it!

BACK IN MADAGASCAR

In 2004, I was back in Madagascar after having spent time in France, as well as a bit in the US. Even though I finished and obtained my BBA degree from a US university, I had this feeling that I wanted more and that those few years of overseas experiences weren’t enough, at least for me. I had the chance to settle down there but for some reasons, my spirit went thinking of pursuing a degree elsewhere, but right now, I had no idea on earth where would that be?

The very first months of my stay in Antananarivo were more than an adjustment. I had to learn to get used to the quite conservative mentality and behavior of people in Madagascar. I remember living in the southern suburbs of Tananarive, and even though I had all the comfort that I needed, that place was entirely different from any places I used to stay in France or America. Unlike developed countries, people in this place tended to mingle into your own business and your daily life. There were moments for example you feel observed and envied (that suburb of antananarivo has a high unemployment rate, and also reminds me of some places in South Africa where there was a huge gap between the richest and the poores) and to be entirely honest with you readers, I have ever felt this kind of « strange feelings » during all these years I have spent in France and America, because over there, people have something to fill up their day, and on top of that, they have been raised to respect other’s privacies and life. I understood that I had to put a strategy in place, and that is not a strategy to fight back as changing those types of mentality would almost be impossible, but more a strategy to continue the « study road » elsewhere.

instead of losing my time thinking about the « mentality issues » of some people there, I started to look for post-graduate degrees in places like Germany or the United Kingdom. At that time, my father was working with a UK-based company, which was conducting geological surveys in northern Madagascar. One of the persons there advised me to apply for a university in Nottingham. I constituted the application to both that University and another university in Northern Germany, more precisely, in Bremen.

Now, we all know that university applications take time, knowing that there will be months of waiting time for the application, and other 2 or 3 months waiting time to get a study permit, I decided to do what I never had the courage to do when I was a teenager!! I decided to travel on my own in southern Madagascar, using the most basic mean of transportation ever, the famous « taxi-brousse » or bush taxi! I had not knows it at that moment, but this archaic trip will change the fate of my studies forever!

TRIPS TO SOUTHERN MADAGASCAR

After having spent a few years travelling in Europe and the US, I thought : How is it to travel in a country that is far less developed?

It is an experience that I will probably never forget, but at the same time, this experience has allowed to meet all sorts of people, to get to learn things that I have never knew about my own country! At the same time, it has probably shaped my perception of things and who know…was it thanks to that funny trip that I became more willing to be able to appreciate countries like Australia or Canada?

DEPARTURE TO AUSTRALIA

february 10th, I am standing in front of the desk at the airport to register my luggages. I just realize now that the trip that I have undertaken in the south is now over. I keep shuffling in my head those faces that I have encountered and made this trip so special. I am also remembering those days spent in the bush taxis, travelling in the middle of the night on the National 7 road. I also recall those nice moments spent with the FCE staff, notably the train drivers and ticket controllers, with whom I sympathized with after undertaking so many trips in the South-eastern part of Madagascar.

Now, I’m here again, ready to fly overseas, in a country I have ever been and whose official language is equivalent to what I would define as « my third language », after Malagasy and French, but thinking about my two semesters in the United States would help me reassure myself that I could probably do it.

It is now around 3 PM and I am about to say good bye to my parents. Unlike my very first departure to France many years ago, this trip, I will have to do it all by myself. Indeed, no one is coming with me. After tomorrow, I will be landing in a country that neither my father nor any of my extended family members have had the chance to step foot on.

Now, having hugged my parents and my sister, I crossed the security points, and I remember once I picked my hand luggage from the scanner, I turned by back hoping they were still behind looking from far…but as I looked, they were no longer there…. All I could see was the public area of the airport where they were standing a few minutes ago with people walking back and forth, and this noise that is so particular to airports. At that moment, I realized that I was leaving Madagascar for good.

…

The Air Mauritius plane awaits for us to board. Around 5 PM, the plane takes off the runway and heads to Mauritius, which we reached after 1h35 minutes. When it landed in Ramgoolan Intl. airport, the night has fallen and as we debarked, we had to queue for the immigration as I had to spend one night in Mauritius. The cab that picked me up proposed that he comes back the next day but the next day, I ended up taking the shuttle bus to go back to the airport.

…

That day was a « grand day » as I am going to fly to a totally new place. Over there, I knew no one and am aware that I will have to build my own network of friends once there. If you ask me if I had apprehensions, I would say yes, I did.

Once passed the security point, I was now inside the duty free zone. I looked at the screen to make sure I embark on the right gate. For now, very few people were queuing but despite of that, I couldn’t help myself slowing down and paying attention to those who were there because for the first time, I was to see many Australians in just one place. After 20 minutes or so, many more joined the queue..most were families coming back home after some vacations in Mauritius, others were businessmen probably and the rest were surely Mauritians who were flying to Australia. For sure, I am the only Malagasy boarding this flight bound to Sydney today!

…

After the different procedures, the A340 took off and was heading eastward. It is for the very first time that I have taken off from Mauritius and headed towards that direction. The flight was to last 11 hours but it was a pleasant trip as I had the chance to chat with a Mauritian man who has been living in the UK for years and now, plans to visit his daughter who is studying in New Zealand. He will be just passing through Australia tomorrow before boarding to another plane to Auckland.

…

After the lunch, the night set quickly as the plane is flying eastward. I managed to sleep for a few hours, but at a very moment, I just woke up in the middle of the night. I looked around and everyone was asleep. I raised my eyes to look at the map and noticed that our place was now right over the western coast of Australia, somewhere south of where Perth is. Even though I wasn’t sitting close to the window, I did my best to try to look through one of the windows which was left open by mistake I guess, and I could see some lights stemming from what I would define as a small town; without doubt, I have finally reached the shores of this continent, that I have ever expected to see anytime in my life and I just could not believe I was here. Another 2 hours went on before breakfast was served. Right after that, we almost reached over Adelaide and the plane made his way through probably northern Victoria, Canberra before commencing descent to Sydney. Just 45 minutes before landing, they started to send a video on which I could recognize Steve Irwin, a highly known person in Australia. The video was to warn passengers about the highly strict quarantine laws existing in Australia and informed that any food, products containing for example nuts or meats had to be declared upon entry.

THIS IS AUSTRALIA!!

I will always remember when the Airbus 340 did its final approach to Sydney; it was a quarter to 6 in the morning and we were in the middle of the summer in the southern hemisphere.

From above, I could see the lights from firefighters and those streets, being all parallel the one to the others.

The city of Sydney was now below me and I couldn’t wait to finally discover it, after so many years of wishing that one day, I could see this beautiful country for real!

This was downtown Sydney back then as I first saw it!

One landed in Sydney, I said goodbye to the mauritian guy, while he wished me good muck for my Master degree. After a few minutes, we all disembarked and as I was walking inside the airport corridors to head towards the immigration, I could already perceive this Australian accent hearing airport staff coming the other way.

This is the neighborhood of Quakers Hill, located in Western Sydney. That was were I have lived the very first months of my arrival, in a cottage among other international students. having always lived by myself during my studies in France, sharing a living space with total strangers is going to be a new challenge for me.

As paradoxal as that lay sound to you, this trip that I have undertaken in southern Madagascar – in which I got myself used with constraints and discomfort – will be of a great help for me to cope with this new experience!

The surroundings of Quakers Hill, Western Sydney

It took me a while to get familiarized with this whole new environment, but I have to admit that living in France as well as spending some time in the US has helped me a lot to adapt to this new country. One night, one of my roommate, a guy from the Emirates, had to go to downtown Sydney to visit his friend; He suggested that I accompany him so that he could show me the way to the City as well as getting used with the train system in Sydney. As in any big cities, Sydney is a busy town with lots of restaurants, all sorts of amenities as well as all types of shops. Unlike Paris, Sydney is highly cosmopolitan and is the home of many migrants coming from so many corners of the world!

Here is a video of how Sydney Harbor looks like when I was travelling on the ferry!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbelHdNmFWs

WHAT EDUCATION OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA? There are many Universities in Australia, but another option consists of studying for shorter courses, which are being offered at TAFE colleges. The link is below:

www.tafensw.edu.au

If you are looking into getting into a Bachelor’s program or a Masters program, you also have the option to apply for those in one of the Australian Universities. You can find the liste right below, otherwise, as I said earlier, you can contact an IDP Office in your country or get in touch with Go Study Australia, https://www.gostudy.com.au, which is an office based in Melbourne, and which advises foreign students about the different study options available to them in Australia!

Here is a video of how Sydney Harbor looks like when I was travelling on the ferry!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbelHdNmFWs

www.tafensw.edu.au

WHAT WERE THE FIRST THINGS I SAW IN AUSTRALIA?

When I first arrived in this country located so far away from any other places I have visites, I was so impressed to see the famous icons of Sydney, which were so known worldwide, and which included the Harbor Bridge, the Opera House, the famous QVB (Queen Victoria Building) among others. Fours months after my arrival in Australia, I have travelled withe. a friend of mine to Canberra, the capital city of Australia, a city which was created because The two giants, Sydney and Melbourne, could not find an agreement which of them would become Australia’s capital; The creation of Canberra was then said to be a « compromise »

#australia #madagascar #studies #france #malagasy #travels #voyages

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topfygad · 5 years

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A guide for traveling Tajikistan (Tips + 3-week itinerary)

The ex-Soviet Republic of Tajikistan is a truly wild country that you don’t want to miss in your Silk Road journey.

Home to the Pamir range, one of highest mountain ranges in the world, the mountains of Tajikistan attract the most adventurous travelers, especially those wanting to drive the M-41, or Pamir Highway, an impressive road and architectural masterpiece that goes through some of the remotest and most beautiful mountain scenery in Central Asia.

With tourism increasing year by year, the country is daily becoming more prepared to receive international travelers and, after spending 1 month in the country, I have this compiled this guide that contains all the tips needed for traveling to Tajikistan, plus a compelling 3-week itinerary.

Read: Ultimate guide to the Pamir Highway

Visa Travel Insurance Best time to visit The country, the people and its culture Getting in Safety Scams and corruption Money Food and alcohol Transportation Useful books Internet and SIM Card Accommodation Itinerary More information

Total transparency! – If you like my website and found this post useful, remember that, if you buy any service through of my links, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. These earnings help me maintain and keep Against the Compass going! Thanks

Do you know what a VPN is? A Virtual Private Network allows you to access blocked sites when you travel, as well as it lets you access content only available in your home country (like Netflix), plus it prevents hackers from stealing your personal data. Learn here why you should always use a VPN when you travel

How to get a visa for visiting Tajikistan

Most likely, you can get an e-visa – Most nationalities can apply for an e-visa through the official portal, valid for any port of entry.

The visa costs 50USD, is valid for 45 days, single entry and takes 1 or 2 working days.

Double entry visa – If you want one, you will have to get it through the embassy. Most people who want a double entry visa do so because they want to travel the Afghan Corridor, accessible from Ishkashim.

If this is your case, these are the requirements:

1 Passport valid for at least 6 months of validity and with two empty pages

Passport copy and visa copy from the country you are applying from

2 Passport photos

US Dollars

I applied for one in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and got it on the same day.

My double entry visa for visiting Tajikistan

GBAO Permit – The Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) is the region located in the east of Tajikistan, where the Pamir Highway and Wakhan Valley are.

If you want to visit it, you must tick the GBAO checkbox in the application form. If you are applying at the embassy, make sure to tell them, so you get the extra stamp.

By the way, the GBAO permit costs an additional 20USD.

Read: 30 Tips for traveling to Kazakhstan

Trekking in GBAO – Things to do in Tajikistan

Travel Insurance for Tajikistan

Eastern Tajikistan, where the Pamir Highway is, is a high altitude area, averaging around 4,000 meters above sea level.

You should know that, if you read the fine print, most insurance companies won’t cover you from 2500-3,000m and above, so you better check before you travel to Tajikistan.

World Nomads, however, does provide cover, including their most basic policy, which already covers for trekking at 4,000m.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE QUOTE FROM WORLD NOMADS

If you want to know more options, read how to find the best backpacking insurance

Best time to visit Tajikistan

If you plan to do some trekking in eastern Tajikistan, you should come in summer.

I remember being in Alichur, a small village in the Pamir Highway and one of the coldest places in Central Asia, and, in the morning, during August, it was -5ºC and there was a freezing, strong wind, so it felt even colder.

Imagine the weather there during the rest of the year.

Me, at the top of Gumbezkul Pass. It was the month of August and it was absolutely freezing – Best things to do in Tajikistan

Nevertheless, the Pamir Highway is open all year long so, if you are self-driving, you can drive it at any time. Actually, my friend Joao Leitao from Nomad Revelations drove it in winter.

On the other hand, the Fann Mountains in west Tajikistan are at lower altitude, hence warmer, so they can be visited during spring and fall.

I did the 7 lakes trek in September and it was particularly hot!

The Fann Mountains – Is travel to Tajikistan safe

The country, the people and its culture

After the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991, Tajikistan went through a dark period of Civil War that lasted pretty much until 1997 and it was not only in 1999, that they formed an actual, stable government, even though Emomali Rahmon, who is still today President of Tajikistan today, had already been ruling from 1994.

It was one of the countries most affected by the Soviet Union’s breakdown, as all their economy and development depended on the Russians so, after getting their independence, the country went to ruin.

Murghab and all the Pamir highway is really poor – Should I travel to Tajikistan

That crisis can still be seen today, as this is clearly the least developed of all the Stans (not counting Turkmenistan), a country with high rates of unemployment, and the fact that most of their infrastructure is still from the Soviet Union times.

It is also the least Westernized country, also due to the fact they are far from Russia so, unlike Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, their cultural influence is not that visible, hence they have less international exposure.

Actually, after having some conversations with quite a few highly educated Tajiks in Dushanbe, I felt that they don’t really know anything about what is going on in the outside world.

A Soviet truck

They were people with very few Western values and no apparent ambition who asked me many times why I would ever want to travel to Tajikistan.

Moreover, Tajikistan is one of those fake democracies where elections are celebrated but there is only one political party, so the same President has been ruling since 1994.

There is no freedom of speech and I remember when my Australian friend, Sam, was talking to a local man for about half an hour at the main square in Dushanbe, a man in a suit came to ask what was going on and invited him to leave.

This means that, still today, the Government doesn’t like their citizens to get international exposure.

The Tajiks – Tajiks are a Persian ethnic group who live mainly in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, but also in Xinjiang (China) and Uzbekistan.

Actually, nearly half of the total Tajik population live in Afghanistan.

Lovely Tajiks in Khujand – tRAVEL TO tAJIKISTAN

Nevertheless, you should know that, like all the Stans, Tajikistan is ethnically mixed and, actually, most of the people living in the Pamirs are Kyrgyz, whereas those in the Wakhan Valley are Wakhis, so if you want to meet the real Tajiks when you are traveling to Tajikistan, you will have to explore Dushanbe and the western part of the country.

Kyrgyz people from the Pamirs

Language – Tajik, which is a dialect of Persian (the language spoken in Iran and Afghanistan) is the official language. Russian is, of course, widely spoken among most people. English tends to be a problem across all the country. I recommend you learn some basic Russian before you visit Tajikistan.

Religion – Tajiks are Suni Muslims but, like in all Central Asia, religion is not a very big deal. However, I felt that Tajiks were the most religious people in all Central Asia, especially those from the Fann Mountains. I remember that the men there never said hello or shook hands with my girlfriend.

Read: 65 Tips for traveling to Uzbekistan

Tajik women – Tajikistan travel guide

How to travel to Tajikistan

Travel to Tajikistan by air

Traveling to Tajikistan by air is very easy, as there are many international flights connecting Dushanbe with Europe.

If you intend to travel the Pamir Highway, many people fly into Osh, the largest city in southern Kyrgyzstan and the beginning of the M-41 on the Kyrgyz side.

Travel to Tajikistan by land

Moreover, if you want to travel to Tajikistan by land, know that it shares a border with 4 countries and most of them have multiple border crossings.

Kyrgyzstan – There are 6 border crossings and 4 of them are open to foreigners. The most obvious is the Kyzyl Art border crossing, which is the one that follows the Pamir Highway. For more information, read the latest Caravanistan updates.

Kyzyl Art pass: Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border – Tajikistan travel guide

Uzbekistan – There are 5 border crossings with Uzbekistan and all of them seem to be open. I personally crossed the one at Konibodom, that links Khujand with the Fergana Valley, but if you don’t plan to visit that region, it is not very convenient. The Oybek border crossing is the one that connects Khujand with Tashkent and Penjakent is the one that connects the Fann Mountains with Samarkand. For more information, check the latest updates on Caravanistan.

Afghanistan – You can cross at Ishkashim, the gate to the Wakhan Corridor and a very safe part of Afghanistan; or the border crossing south of Dushanbe, which is also open but leads to Kunduz, a not very safe part of Afghanistan. Both borders are open but, if you plan to travel back to Tajikistan, remember to have a double entry visa.

China – Apparently, Kulma Pass is open now, as long as you have a valid printed visa on your passport. For more information, check the latest updates on Caravanistan.

Kulma Pass leads directly to the Karakoram Highway that connects Kashgar with Islamabad in Pakistan. Read here the full guide.

Read: 75 Tips for traveling to Kyrgyzstan

Uzbekistan – Tajikistan border crossing

Is it safe to travel to Tajikistan?

In summer 2018, 4 cyclists traveling across Tajikistan were murdered in Danghara, an area relatively close to Dushanbe. ISIS claimed the attack.

That accident triggered a big concern among many travelers and the Tajiks are concerned that it might affect their tourism negatively.

This unfortunate event, however, has been a one-off thing and I personally think that it shouldn’t affect your decision to travel to Tajikistan. A similar case happened in Morocco in December 2018 when 2 Scandinavian girls were killed and, so far, it doesn’t seem that tourism has been affected.

Aside from that, Tajikistan is a safe country with very low crime rates.

Tajiks are always friendly – Is traveling to Tajikistan safe

Scams and corruption when visiting Tajikistan

I still remember being in the car with a homestay owner, on our way to Khujand, when he gave some money to a policeman after stopping at one checkpoint.

Why did you give him money? – I said

Oh, this is just the standard bribing procedure. If we don’t pay him, then he would try to find a reason to fine or arrest us.

The corruption in Tajikistan is a well-known fact and some of these police officers also try to rip off foreigners but luckily, as tourists, there is not much they can do to you unless you are credulous and believe their lies.

Common scams include policemen telling you that there is a problem with your Tajik visa or making you pay an entrance fee to a place that, obviously, doesn’t require an entrance fee.

Dude, just think:

How the hell there is going to be something wrong with your visa? And also,where have you been where you need to purchase an entry ticket from a policeman?

Just say no and continue with your business.

Epic landscapes

Money when you travel in Tajikistan

The official currency is the Tajik Somoni and, in February 2019, 1USD = 9.50SOM

ATMs and credit cards – You can find ATM’s in the big cities (not in the Pamir Highway).

How much does it cost to travel to Tajikistan

It really depends on where you go and, ultimately, how you travel the Pamir Highway.

Typically, meals cost something between 1 and 3USD and budget homestays around 10-15USD, which tends to include dinner and breakfast.

In Dushanbe, you can find dorms for 3-4USD and the local transportation ranges from 2 to 10USD, depending on where you go.

For all costs referred to the Pamir Highway, read my guide.

Read: 80 Tips for traveling to Iran

We were on a low budget, so we hitchhiked the entire Pamir Highway

Food and alcohol when visiting Tajikistan.

Heads-up.

Like in all Central Asia, the food won’t be the highlight of your visit in Tajikistan.

In the Pamirs and different homestays, you are likely to eat shorpo for every meal, which is a meat broth.

In local restaurants, you will just find things like shahslik, meat skewers; lagman, a noodle soup; manti, fatty meat dumplings; or plov, rice fried in lamb fat.

As per alcohol, as in all ex-Soviet countries, beer and especially vodka are found everywhere.

Lagman is the comodin dish. After eating 100 bowls of it across all Central Asia, I really hated it but since I like pasta a lot, I could handle it more than other dishes

Transportation when you travel around Tajikistan

The below information refers to types of transportation in western Tajikistan, not the Pamir Highway. For this, read my guide to the Pamir Highway.

Marshrutkas – Marshrutkas is what former Soviet countries call their public minivans. They are really cheap and travel between most towns and cities.

Local shared taxis – Actually, we used more local shared taxis than marshrutkas and, as far as I could see, they are the most preferred option among locals.

Hitchhiking – Highly doable and easy! We actually had one of our most crazy hitchhiking experiences, when we spent more than 48 hours in a truck, on our way from Khorog to Dushanbe.

Traveling in a mini UAZ-452 – A classic Soviet van

Books for traveling to Tajikistan

Tajikistan Travel Guide by Bradt – The most comprehensive travel guide to Tajikistan. I bought all the Bradt guides to Central Asia (e-Book format). They are, by far, the most insightful guides I have ever read recently.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES ON AMAZON

Central Asia Travel Guide by Lonely Planet – I am not a fan of this guide, but if you are traveling to all the Stans and want to buy just one book, it is a good choice as well.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES ON AMAZON

Internet and mobile when traveling in Tajikistan

Wi-Fi – From Murghab to Khujand and Dushanbe, the Wi-Fi connection when you are traveling in Tajikistan is one of the worst I have ever seen. In Dushanbe, the Wi-Fi in my hostel was particularly bad and then every day I would go work to a fancy café and the internet was down every now and then. In the Pamir Highway and the Wakhan Valley, Wi-Fi doesn’t exist.

SIM Card – 3G was just OK anywhere outside of the Pamir Highway. I bought MegaFon and, for a few Somonis, I got plenty of GBs.

Accommodation in Tajikistan

Homestays – On the Pamir Highway, homestays are the way to go. I recommend you stay in random homestays, not in the popular ones. This way, the benefits will be spread more equally plus random homestays are cheaper.

Hostels – Hostels are popular, from Khorog to Dushanbe and Khujand. Click here to check all the available hostels in Tajikistan!

Hotels – In Khorog, Dushanbe, and Khujand you can find hotel options for mid-range travelers. Click here to check all the available hotels in Tajikistan!

Yurts – In the Pamirs, you can also find nomadic yurt camps where Kyrgyz nomads live.

A yurt camp somewhere in the Tajik Pamirs

Traveling to Tajikistan – 3-week Itinerary

I traveled to Tajikistan from Kyrgyzstan via Kyzyl Art Pass and left through Uzbekistan at Konibodom, so this Tajikistan itinerary reflects the direction I took.

Map of the Tajikistan itinerary

Things to do in Tajikistan – Pamir Highway (8-9 days)

Built by the Soviets in 1930, the Pamir Highway is an architectural masterpiece that goes through some of the remotest landscapes you can ever imagine.

Officially, it starts in Osh (Kyrgyzstan) and ends in Afghanistan but the highest and most beautiful part of it lies in Tajikistan.

The following information is just a small summary.

For the full guide, read my 6,000-word guide to the Pamir Highway.

The stunning Pamir Highway – Tajikistan travel itinerary

How many days are needed for the Pamir Highway?

Well, it is really hard to say. We spent more than 2 weeks between the Pamir Highway and the Wakhan Valley but that is because we stopped in many places plus we also did a 3-day trek.

Normally, most people take a 5 or 7-day tour (starting from Osh), which also includes the Wakhan Valley, but, to be very honest, it is not enough to explore the side valleys, which is where the most stunning landscapes are.

Amazing road! – Tajikistan travel itinerary

If you don’t have the time, I get it but, if you do, here are all the places you need to stop at:

Karakul (1 night) – The first big settlement coming from Kyrgyzstan, Karakul has a very big lake and with some pretty cool snow-capped mountains at the background.

Murghab (2-3 nights) – Murghab is the main town on the M-41 and a base for visiting other places and valleys. We first stayed 2 nights because we waited for a festival and then we stayed a 3rd night after coming back from the trek.

The mosque in Murghab – Tajikistan itinerary

Gumbezkul Pass trek (2-3 nights) – If you have your own car, you can do this trek in 1 day but we did it in 3, cause we walked all the way from Murghab and spent one amazing night with some real nomads in the middle of nowhere. For more information, I wrote the full guide for Everything Everywhere: How to trek the Gumbezkul Pass.

Alichur (1 night) – Very cool landscapes, yaks, trekking and Marco Polo sheep safaris.

Madyian Valley, close to Murghab – things to do in Tajikistan

Bulunkul (Stopover) – The coldest place in Central Asia is home to a beautiful lake. The trek from Alichur to here is a popular one. You can find a few homestays.

For most travelers, the Pamir Highway is, definitely, one of the best things to do in Tajikistan.

For more information, don’t forget to check my guide to the Pamir Highway

The festival we attended in Murghab – Things to do in Tajikistan

Places to visit in Tajikistan – Wakhan Valley (3-4 days)

Many travelers tend to classify the Wakhan Valley as part of the Pamir Highway (M-41), which is completely wrong because they are 2 different places.

Actually, to reach the Wakhan Valley you need to leave the road and drive towards Afghanistan for several kilometers.

The Wakhan Valley

Anyways. The Wakhan Valley is one of my most favorite places in entire Central Asia and my most favorite place in my Tajikistan itinerary.

And the reason is that, besides being home to intriguing and jaw-dropping landscapes, the Wakhan is of great historical importance as the ancient border between North Asia and South Asia and on the remarkable Silk Road route, which can be seen in the many fortresses and other sites of cultural heritage there.

Moreover, in the 20th century, the Wakhan Valley marked the border between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan and the Soviet tanks came through here to invade Afghanistan in the 70s.

Today, the river you will go along during your whole journey, whose other side is in Afghanistan, is the main entry point for smuggling products, especially heroin, and, from the window of your car, you can wave and say hello at the many Afghans across the river, from whom you are separated by only a couple of meters.

Once again, this is a small summary, so for more information, don’t forget to check my guide to the Wakhan Valley in Tajikistan.

The views from Khaaka fortress – Left side is Afghanistan and right Tajikistan – Places to visit in Tajikistan

These are all the places we stopped at:

Langar (1 night) – The first big settlement you find is Langar.

We personally didn’t like Langar, as it is the only place in the Wakhan where the locals are very pushy in trying to promote their homestays, plus it is actually far from the river.

I recommend you continue for a few kilometers to Hisor, a more genuine village and with nicer views to actual Afghanistan.

Vrang (stop) – Vrang is another old village that has an ancient Buddhist temple. It is worth stopping for a few hours.

Yamchun (1 night) – The most striking fortress in the Wakhan, which stands with the Afghan Hindu Kush on its background.

Yamchun fortress – Places to visit in Tajikistan

It also has some famous hot springs called Baby Fatima that are believed to have some fertility benefits.

Namadgut (1 night) – There is nothing in particular to see here but travelers don’t tend to stop here, so it is quite untouched. That is why here we had the best cultural experience with a local woman who blessed us with her hospitality.

Kaakha Fortress – The second most famous fortress after Yamchun has also great views to Afghanistan.

Ishkashim (1 night) – The main town in the Wakhan Valley. It used to hold the Afghan market in no man’s land but it is temporarily closed. It is also the border to Afghanistan for those interested in doing the Afghan Wakhan corridor.

For more information, read my guide to the Wakhan Valley

Wakhi people – Best things to do in Tajikistan

Tajikistan itinerary – Khorog (2 days)

After nearly two weeks of showering with buckets, using holes and bushes as toilets, exclusively eating shorpo and with no internet at all, getting to Khorog felt particularly good.

It is not a very big town but it has a good local market where you can buy many food items that were not available in the Pamir Highway, like cheese, and supermarkets with cold beer.

There is also an Indian restaurant that tends to be filled with travelers and a really good Tajik restaurant by the river, serving high quality grilled meat and other stuff.

Other than this, Khorog is a place to just chill, where we spent 4 days just catching up with work and filling our bellies with decent food.

By the way, the famous Afghan market takes place on Saturday.

Afghan people in the Afghan market of Khorog – A travel guide to Tajikistan

Where to stay in Khorog

Backpacker Hostel – Pamir Lodge – All right, it is a cool place and there is a friendly atmosphere. However, the hostel has the capacity for nearly 100 people and it only has two toilets and two showers, so when I came in August, it was very difficult to find them empty, apart from being quite dirty of course.

Backpacker Hostel – Hostel Do Nazarbayg – An alternative to Pamir lodge. You will find fewer backpackers but the location is much better and it is not that busy.

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Guest House – Riverside – A quieter, more homestay-style place.

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The journey to Dushanbe – 1 day

The road to Dushanbe is a very long way.

Shared taxis take around 12 hours and cost 30USD. They leave from near the market but you need to be there early, 7am at most.

We arrived before 8am and there weren’t any marshrutkas or taxis left, so we decided to hitchhike and it took us 3 days, spending more than 48 hours in a truck.

The distance is only 518km but the road is really bad but beautiful and interesting as, again, it goes along the Afghan border for the most part of it.

The road from Dushanbe to Khorog: the left side is Afghanistan and the right Tajikistan

Things to do in Tajikistan – Dushanbe (2 days)

The capital of Tajikistan is another place to chill for a few days while you collect some visas, like the Uzbek or Turkmen visas.

Well, not the Uzbek visa anymore, as from February 2019, they started issuing visas on arrival. Check my Uzbekistan travel guide for more information.

Dushanbe has cafés with real coffee, a variety of restaurants and a few pubs where to hang out at night.

What I liked about Dushanbe is that it was my first introduction to the real Tajikistan, as most people you meet in the eastern part are Kyrgyz, Wakhis or Pamir, so you will see a significant difference with the people living here, especially in the way women dress.

Don’t forget to check the main bazaar and the Rudaki Park, which holds the second tallest flagpole in the world

Where to stay in Dushanbe

Backpacker Hostel – Green House Hostel– We spent so many days here because the hostel was really comfortable. Comfy beds, a big kitchen and a living room with awesome couches.

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Budget Guest House – Hello Dushanbe – If you want a less backpacker-friendly place, Hello Dushanbe may be slightly more expensive but the facilities are great. It has both private rooms and a dorm.

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Lovely Tajik women

Hissor Fortress – Day trip from Dushanbe

If you are bored to be in Dushanbe, we also did a day trip to a fortress named Hissor, which was built by the Uzbeks in the 18th century, as this part of Tajikistan used to belong to the Emirate of Bukhara. The north was part of the Russian empire.

All right, the fortress itself was boring, as it was overly refurbished, but we always like to get out of town, take a local marshrutka and just see other towns, so it was worth it only for this reason.

How to get to Hissor fortress

From Dushanbe, you need to take a marshrutka to a town named Khisor. From there, take a taxi or hitchhike back to the fortress which is 4 or 5km away.

The fortress

Places to visit in Tajikistan – Penjakent and the Fann Mountains (3-4 days)

Once again, this is a small summary.

For all the information needed, read my guide to the Fann Mountains.

While they are not as stunning as the valleys around the Pamir Highway, the Fann Mountains are also very pretty and their main advantage is that, unlike the Pamirs, they are heavily populated and filled with several tiny villages where actual Tajik people live.

Tajiks from the Fanns

Therefore, visiting the Fann Mountains is a great opportunity to discover the real Tajik rural life, so different from anything you have seen during your Tajikistan itinerary.

Most people come to the Fann Mountains to visit Iskanderkul lake but I recommend going to the area around Penjakent and doing the 7 Lakes Trek.

Trekking in the Fanns

The reason is that, although Iskanderkul is a beautiful lake, no people live there plus it is always busy with domestic tourists, which isn’t a bad thing, but you won’t see much of the local culture.

On the other hand, the 7 Lakes trek starts in Penjakent and goes through several tiny villages where you can do homestays.

From Penjakent, we took a UAZ-452, the classic Soviet mini-van, and drove to a village named Rachnapollon.

That area is really off the beaten track, so the driver himself invited us to stay at his place, for free, but we decided to give him a generous tip because he had been feeding us.

How to get to Penjakent

First, take a local shared taxi from Dushanbe to Penjakent, which costs 70TJS (8USD). It is a 230km journey.

In Penjakent, for just a few somonis, we got in the UAZ-452 to Rachnapollon, from where we started walking on the next day.

Remember to check my guide to the Fann Mountains

Random people during the trek

Places to visit in Tajikistan – Khujand (2-3 days)

Khujand is the purest Tajikistan in its most genuine form and one of the oldest cities in Central Asia (2,500 years old).

It is the second largest city in the country, a city with little international exposure that has kept its traditional values.

Most travelers use it as a mere transit point, as it is close to the closest border with Tashkent, but I recommend spending here two nights at least.

Arbob Palace Tajikistan

Things to do in Khujand

Don’t forget to check the traditional bazaar, one of those traditional bazaars where everybody asks for a photo and gives you free stuff; and all the mausoleums and historical buildings around the main square. The Arbob Palace is also worth checking out.

Mosques in Khujand

Where to stay in Khujand

Budget Hostel – Somoni Hostel – The best choice for backpackers and a really cool hostel.

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Budget Hotel – Golden Apartments – The alternative to a backpacker hostel.

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Khujand’s bazaar

More information for visiting Tajikistan

Here you can find all my articles and travel guides to Tajikistan

And here all my guides to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.

Traveling to Iran? Find all my articles here

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