4 Questions to Ask Before WWOOFing

Feature photo: www.worldon2wheels.com; Photo: emma.maria

In response to my question about how many hours a day the WWOOFers worked, the host replied, “We expect the WWOFers to enjoy the work enough not to mind how many hours they work.”

A red flag should have begun waving itself madly, but all I could see was the cheese factory on site, the fact they made their own pasta, and the assortment of animals on the farm. I ended up working about 12 hours a day on that farm, but never with the cheese or the pasta.

After having good and bad experiences WWOOFing in four different countries, these are the questions I’ve learned to ask:

1. How many hours do I work each day?

The purpose of this question is to be prepared for the expectations of the farm. The answer also gives you a reference point for addressing concerns if you find a significant discrepancy once you’re at the farm.

Asking about days off is also a good idea. One guy arrived at a farm and thought he had every weekend off. He was unpleasantly surprised to learn this was not the case.

2. What kind of work will I be doing?

Photo: strikeael

I always like to know there is a variety of work to be done. At one farm I never did the same thing twice; I faced new challenges like milking goats and making a basket out of willow.

At another farm I only did two things: herd goats and cut grass. Which one do you think I enjoyed most? This question is important because you can find out if the work will suit you physically and if the tasks offer the experiences and challenges what you want.

3. I only speak English. Does that matter?

In France, I WWOOFed at a host who had moved from England, so language was not a problem. In Italy, however, I encountered a few problems at two farms. The first host did not like speaking in English. Instead, the host spoke to the other WWOOFers who spoke Italian, never directing anything to me.

Photo: strikeael

Their listing had indicated English was spoken, but it was a quiet and unsocial two weeks. At the second farm there was frequent miscommunication because the host spoke little English and was impatient with misunderstandings. Better to be clear from the start!

4. Do you allow WWOOFers to use the internet?

WWOOFers are often travelers who want to stay in touch with family and be able to make further travel arrangements. Yet I was surprised by the number of farms that were unhappy to let me send a quick email or look up a train schedule.

Some people are simply of an earlier generation, don’t use the internet themselves, and don’t see why you should. Others have had bad experiences of WWOOFers using their computers. Either way, if you plan to stay connected, it’s wise to ask about the host’s policy.

Make sure you leave for a host prepared; otherwise, unpleasant surprises might take away from what could be a rewarding experience.

Community Connection:

Read some other practical tips in our First-Timer’s Guide to WWOOFing.

Powerful Pilgrimage: Insight on the Camino de Santiago

Statue of Santiago on top of the Alto de San Roque/ Photo: Fresco Tours

Through advances in science and technology, we have unprecedented access to knowledge. Yet the ‘Information Age’ has left us bereft of wisdom.

We are now entering a dangerous new period — an Age of Ignorance. The worldwide launch this week of the film, The Age of Stupid, suggests we are headed towards a 6th mass extinction, the 5th being the end of the Dinosaurs.

‘Change’ is the new buzzword. It was not only Barack Obama’s platform, but also became the catchphrase of the recent G20 gathering. Individuals in every country know that we have to dramatically shift our modus operandi to achieve a stable and sustainable future. More of the same is a recipe for disaster.

Enter the Camino de Santiago — pilgrimage routes throughout Europe that are a powerful agent for positive change.

Our Past and Our Future

Photo: compostelavirtual

Of course, every age has inspired humanity to grow to meet new challenges, but this time we have reached the limit to growth. The capacity of the earth to meet our incessant demands is reaching the end point.

Virtually every independent scientist (the ones not employed by government or by multinationals in the oil, motor, pharmaceutical, food and finance industries) and forward thinking individual accepts that fundamental change is now urgently needed.

Humanity’s collective greed spreads like a cancer that, if not checked, threatens to kill the host. For example, an increase in global temperature of a mere 4 degrees means humanity becomes history.

Through the exploitation of natural and human resources, we have created enormous environmental and social degradation. The core issue, however, is not about environmentalism or ethics — it is about the crisis of the human spirit.

The World Wisdom Council, and its affiliated Club of Budapest, are made up of some of the most illumined minds of our time. They include world leaders from a broad background of enlightened engagement, such as the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Muhammad Yunus, and Desmond Tutu.

The Club’s manifesto includes reference to another Nobel Peace Laureate, Albert Einstein, stating:

The fact is, one cannot solve a problem with the same kind of thinking that gave rise to it. When all is said and done, we come to a basic insight: we need a more evolved consciousness. Entering the 21st century with the consciousness that hallmarked the 20th century would be like entering the modern age with the consciousness of the Middle Ages. It would be not only inappropriate, but dangerous.

So what does this have to do with the Camino de Santiago? Put simply, the Camino, with its winding roads and paths, offers respite from the business of modern existence. It provides a unique opportunity to reappraise our direction, and helps to shift us from the Age of Ignorance to the more evolved state noted by the World Wisdom Council.

The Camino allows time away from the familiar and habitual so that new insights can be revealed. A wider perspective opens up, where we begin to realize who we are and what we came here to do.

Our lives are currently lived at such high speeds that we often forget to press the pause button. Many find themselves at the end of life too exhausted to care, while others feel powerless to make any difference.

Making the Shift

It is a given that we need a more evolved consciousness, but how do we make the shift?

Photo: compostelavirtual

Barring divine revelation, such as Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, we are unlikely to make the leap to an entirely new way of thinking while our noses remain welded to the grindstone.

There are, of course, many different paths that we can follow that may help elevate our lives and our collective consciousness. We can join a yoga class, start a daily meditation practice, go on a retreat, take a mid-career break.

But there are always temptations that come to rob us of our new resolve. How easy is it to miss just one class and then another, to skip the morning meditation because we have a deadline, or to use our timeout to travel to some exotic location where we are tempted to drink too much Tequila or to eat too many Fajitas?

With the Camino, no such temptations arise. Each day is lived in the simplicity of the path where we travel at a more natural pace of just 2 miles an hour. This allows time to witness the rising sun, the sacred landscape that surrounds us with its rich array of fauna and flora.

We proceed slowly towards the welcome that awaits us at the day’s end where the warden of the next pilgrim hostel greets us. Along the Camino, these guardians are called ‘hospitaleros,’ a softer term from which we get the word hospitality.

The Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh has his main ashram adjacent to one of the Caminos in France. Here, he and his community practice ‘mindful walking’ every day.

He explains that mindful walking is one of the most effective forms of meditation for our frenetic western mind. He suggests that sitting meditation is simply too difficult for many of us and that meditation has to form part of an activity to be more generally effective.

The Divinity Within

Walking an overtly pilgrim route, such as the Camino de Santiago, reminds us every day of the divinity within ourselves and within all life.

As we walk through the landscape Temples of France and up over the Pyrenees into Northern Spain and Galicia, we are reminded every moment of that spirituality that connects us all, irrespective of our differing religions and philosophies. We find ourselves in the company of like-minded individuals that form a traveling community unique in the world.

Country cart path along the Camino / Photo: Fresco Tours

There are many pilgrimage routes, such as the way to Fatima, but that is exclusively Roman Catholic in orientation. The Hajj is exclusively Muslim, and the Kumbha Mela is sacred to the Hindus.

Only the Camino de Santiago transcends our differences to unite us in an eclectic bond of openness and shared values.

Only the Camino has been designated Europe’s First Cultural Itinerary, recognized by UNESCO, and given World Heritage status on account of “…the testimony to the power of faith and the 1,800 buildings of great historic interest that lie along its path.”

That power is as potent today as it was over a thousand years ago when the first pilgrims set foot towards Santiago. If you are in need of some spaciousness and change in your life, put on your boots and join a community dedicated to lifting collective consciousness by mindful walking along the Camino, which translates simply as ‘the Way’.

What do you think about the possibilities of the Camino de Santiago? Share your thoughts below.

Community Connection

Interested in other spiritual pilgrimages? Check out an interview with Spirit Quest Tours’ founder in Greg Roach Wants You To Make A Spiritual Pilgrimage, and amazing places to worship throughout the world in The World’s 12 Most Spectacular Houses of Worship.

Portugal Reports Results of Drug Decriminalization Act

Photo: Foxtongue

Five years ago, Portugal decided to do something bold about its drug problems: pass a full-on decriminalization act, making the possession and use of even hard-core illicit drugs–including cocaine and heroin–a public health problem rather than a legal/criminal justice issue.

While drug dealing and trafficking still carried criminal penalties, possession and use resulted in diversion to treatment and intervention, rather than imprisonment, in most circumstances.

Decriminalization is a drug policy tactic that has been considered by other governments, but remains deeply divisive in the United States.

Portuguese officials, however, offer evidence that the legalization strategy might just be the best means of addressing at least three social problems–drug use, prison overcrowding, and poor public health– simultaneously.

In this article, published in Scientific American, a US think-tank analyzed Portuguese public health drug-related data since the decriminalization act was passed and reported the following:

“Five years later, the number of deaths from street drug overdoses dropped from around 400 to 290 annually, and the number of new HIV cases caused by using dirty needles to inject heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances plummeted from nearly 1,400 in 2000 to about 400 in 2006….”

Beyond the benefits to public health, a US criminologist also quoted in the article noted that the decriminalization act did not–as some critics expected– cause Lisbon to become a magnet for drug-seeking tourists.

So is decriminalization a viable policy where you live? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Community Connection:

Read about other decriminalization movements in this article, Latin America Changes War on Drugs Strategy: Legalize!

It’s Always Snowing Somewhere

Photo: geoftheref

I gazed out the bus window last Sunday afternoon to see…well, nothing.

No jagged mountains or endless pampas as I’d imagined. Instead, a solid sheet of white hung like TV static out the slowly progressing bus window. Blizzard-like conditions were slamming Patagonia’s Route 40.

This was the first time I saw it snow during my now six months in South America. And I was just as shocked as I had been back in January, flying out of snowy Boston to arrive in the humid, hazy summer of Lima. How amazing that it’s possible to switch seasons in a day simply by hopping a plane.

Photo: lepiaf.geo

However strange it may feel, I’m ready to take advantage of what Patagonia’s throwing at me.

Over the next month or so that I’ll be here in Esquel, Argentina, volunteering with Asociación MAPU (which just so happens to be a Matador member organization), I should have a couple days free to hit the local ski mountain, La Hoya.

And if I were to venture a bit farther north, I could sample a couple of the 5 Best Southern Hemisphere Ski Resorts that Trips profiled earlier this year.

The other three are in Australia/New Zealand.

What about my fellow Southern Hemisphereans? What are your plans for enjoying the winter of 2009 while our cousins up north steam and sweat? Let me know in the comments.

Community Connection

To connect with other Matador members stationed below the belt, search the community destination pages.

Ten of the World’s Farthest Flung Gay Bars

Photo (and feature photo): Tseandwyer

Frenz Frenzy. Osaka, Japan.

The only gay bar in Osaka run by a foreigner, Frenz Frenzy looks better designed for a Sid & Marty Krofft show than it does for drinking. Dubbed “rainbow heaven”, the venue looks like some kind of twisted first grade glassroom. You’re definitely going to have nightmares after you finish that crantini.

Real. Almaty, Kazakstan

Yes, a gay bar in Kazakstan. Believe it or not, many people say that Christian influence in this part of the world is what’s softening up Muslim attitudes toward gay life. Trip on that for a minute. A website for the area turns up a few bars, including Real, which seems to be the dandy of the scene. Friday nights prove the worldwide ubiquity of the Drag Show.

Beyonce? We think not. Photo: Babasu

Ying Di Jiu Ba. Xian, China

You’ll have to work hard to find this spot, marked only by its telephone number (8762-6676). Once inside “Indy” you’ll find a packed house. Prize night is very popular – simply pay Y$10 to open one of ninety sealed boxes and find out what’s inside. Terrifying.

The Blue Light. Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA

The Blue Light is host to the Mr. and Miss Lakeshore contest, although it would appear from photos that the winner in each category may have a penis.

Linga Bar. Siem Reap, Cambodia

If a day of exploring Angkor Wat has made you long for some dude love then this is the place for you. Linga Bar serves all kinds of fruity cocktails. Featured in the January 2009 Travel & Leisure, we’re wondering if the author was aware that many of the patrons (who are quick to sit on your lap) seem to be interested in a little bit of side work.

The Linga Bartenders. Photo:Asiax89

Flamingos. Hobart, Tasmania

Open on Friday and Saturday nights, Flamingos has been a mainstay in the Greater Hobart Area. They’re currently in the middle of a little facelift and will re-open later this summer. Google alerts, people!

Ko Ko. Yangon, Myanmar

While not listed as a gay venue, this cafe is owned by a renowned hairstylist. That’s code where we come from. Not surprisingly, reports say that the crowd tends to be hip and stylish. It’s a bit hard to find, so go armed with the address: 9 Sayar San Rd (near Mr. Guitar).

Q Bar. Reykjavik, Iceland

The self-proclaimed “hottest gay bar in Iceland” is in Reykjavik. This is one of those multi-faceted bars with a night for everyone, from the kind of (elderly, drunk) folks who like pub quizzes, to the (tweaked, drunk) folks who like to dance to bad house music. June 2nd was Speedo Night and we’re not asking for pictures.

Q Bar in Reykjavic, before doors open. Photo: Wendycrockett

Pegs N Pints. Delhi, India

A blog about this place gives a real sense of how difficult it is to be gay in India. Pegs N Pints seems to be Delhi’s sole outpost and is only open on Tuesday nights. Things change fast for gay establishments in this country, so make sure that it’s still open if you plan to attend.

Acid. Beirut, Lebanon

Acid is renowned as the first gay bar in the Middle East. It’s as weird to type as it is to read. Not surprisingly, very little information is available online about the outlet, however a website makes sure to point out that “Excessive same sex affections and body contacts are not tolerated.”

Editor’s Note: The author has several lesbian friends, knows the drill and wishes to head off many tirades by saying that there is a planned follow-up to this article just for girls. Chill, please.

The Minority Perspective

The author and her Nepali host family at home in Kathmandu. All photos courtesy Sarah Vazquez.

Being a minority is one of the most valuable experiences of travel. The sensitivity and awareness we learn from the minority perspective is important to bettering ourselves as global citizens. This is especially true for citizens of the United States.

Our country’s makeup includes many types of people and heritages. To say that there is one, streamlined “American Identity” is simply impossible.

From the earliest days of Manifest Destiny and mass immigration to our current times of hostile neighbor relationships (inside and outside our borders) and unprecedented presidential elections, the story of the American Minority has always been highly relevant.

My digging skills under review.

Foreign Americans

By definition, all Americans are travelers and foreigners.

Connecting with the experience of being a foreigner in a global context is really to relate back to the innate immigrant thread that all Americans share.

Amazingly, our common experience as immigrants does not fracture us into categories, regions and races, but rather weaves through our differences and ties us together as one nation.

Whether or not your (great-great-great-great) grandmother’s house was next to Plymouth Rock, or your family just moved to Queens five years ago, we can all learn what it feels like to be “the only one” in a room by adopting the minority perspective and remembering what the experience of immigration was like for our ancestors.

Maybe you are like many Americans and have ancestry rooted beyond the red, white and blue of our nation, but have simply not yet connected with your heritage. Sadly, many efforts towards assimilation and shared identity have meant losing our own distinctive histories and cultural traditions.

Laughing at me?

Personally, I have experienced much of this internal bi-racial contradiction.

My father is from Mexico, yet for many reasons, I have been raised more or less in a completely “American culture”.

Of course, there is no right or wrong type of heritage, and I’m thankful for the unconditional love and patience my family has given me.

However, in my mind, for better or for worse, “American culture” has sometimes meant a focus on the future at the expense of my heritage.

When I was in Nepal a wave of liberating realizations hit me, subtly and powerfully, over the course of my three months as an oddball foreigner.

I was sometimes, conspicuously, the only female in a room. I was the only one whose skin color didn’t match. I was the only one who couldn’t speak Nepali. I was the only one who couldn’t do the simple task at hand.

In addition, I was often culturally inept. I stepped in the wrong place, I ate the wrong way and I showered poorly.

I was a person I had never been at home in America.

I was a distinct minority.

Celebrating Holi, the Festival of Colors.

I tried to take my failures at cultural assimilation lightly.

I quickly got over being afraid of embarrassment, because embarrassment was simply inevitable.

I learned humility, and many of my pre-conceived notions of “what’s proper” soon disappeared as I watched the everyday tasks accomplished in a new way.

I began to lift my head and look around outside of myself. It occurred to me that the Nepali ways were not foreign. The only thing foreign was myself.

Relating to my Father

Perhaps I could now relate to how my own father, along with many other young immigrants, felt in his first years in America.

My father and I had never connected on this type of level before, because we had always focused on our commonalities, namely our recent past together and the future ahead of us.

Although we still don’t talk much about this now, I feel (and hope) that my new-found sensitivity to the minority perspective has spoken louder than my words ever could.

Just like family.

The Lessons of Being Different

Perhaps one of the most useful things I learned in Nepal was how to treat foreignness as a gift.

I began to take solace in the fact that I was learning what it meant to be “the only one” in the room.

Often times over the course of history, Americans have rejected foreignness in favor of conformity. In Nepal, thousands of miles away from home, I learned that everyone is a foreigner somewhere. We are all foreigners because we are all unique.

We all have differences, and so our position of being different turns into a shared experience.

Most Nepali’s seemed to dismiss the idea that I was “wrong” when I misspoke or made a cultural misstep. They just accepted, with enthusiasm, the fact that I was “different.”

I got laughed at. A lot. By many people.

It took me a while to get used to being in the social spotlight all the time, but the humor of my Nepali hosts was not malicious or antagonistic.

My host-family and their friends laughed simply because my differences amused them. It made me happy to see that I could make people smile simply by being myself and by doing some things my own way.

Working in the wheat field.

I treaded these cultural waters with trepidation at first, expecting to be chastised when I stepped incorrectly. Instead, I was respectfully guided in the more culturally acceptable direction.

Perhaps more amazingly, I was never corrected for the sake of retaliation or enforced conformity. Instead, I was always corrected so that I could become a better Nepali and improve my own experience.

Strength in Difference

I returned to America with a strong belief in the importance of respect and understanding within the global community. We must all be responsible, compassionate global neighbors.

But I also returned with a vision of what it means to be an American today. Our nation’s backbone lies in our shared experience of the minority perspective. Our differences help make us strong.

What do you think about the minority perspective?

Please join the conversation by leaving a comment below.

Book Review: An Irreverent Curiosity

I don’t think I’ve come across any other book, though, that combines those two favorite themes as enjoyably as David Farley’s An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church’s Strangest Relic in Italy’s Oddest Town.

The book follows Farley, a New York City-based travel writer (and Matador member) as he journeys to an isolated Italian village with his wife, Jessie, and trusty chihuahua, Abraham Lincoln, for an extended stay.

The reason for the expatriation? Calcata, the village in question, is home to a bizarre Christian relic, the foreskin of Jesus Christ. Or rather, Calcata was the relic’s home - until it was stolen.

What follows is an entertaining, endearing and, yes, educational mix of history, conspiracy, humor, and personal travelogue.

There are two main threads running through “An Irreverent Curiosity”.

First, the story of the Holy Foreskin, how it came to be placed in and then stolen from Calcata’s church, and, more broadly, how the Catholic Church came to revere and then downplay a whole array of holy relics over the centuries.

And secondly, how Farley managed to settle in a small village, learn Italian, and gain the trust of the locals in order to pursue his quest.

That first thread could easily have become dry and academic, or oversimplified, but Farley is able to keep the sections on the history of relics approachable and entertaining without ever dumbing them down.

On the other side of things, Calcata’s odd assortment of characters - the hilltop medieval village was re-settled by artists and other “freaks” after a bureaucratic twist pushed all the original residents out - could easily have become cartoons, quirky foils for Farley’s story. Instead, the residents who pop up most frequently feel fleshed-out and real.

David Farley, Author

While it’s still clear that many locals are decidedly unusual, Farley’s humor and self-deprecation means that the reader never feels as though the Calcatans are being mocked or their hospitality abused.

I’ll be honest: I’m a bit of a church history geek. So I suppose it’s possible that not everyone will find the story of the relic itself as absorbing as I did.

Luckily, though, the various elements of the book are woven together so tightly it’s not likely that anyone will have time to get bored, no matter how disinterested they think they are in relics.

Before that happens, Farley will be off on another sneaky research trip to the Vatican Library (where he once introduced himself to a priest as Gary Coleman), or drinking dangerous quantities of wine in a Calcatan cave, or recalling his high school days in the “special ed” class.

Bottom line: “An Irreverent Curiosity” is the story of an unlikely holy relic, true, but it’s also the story of a very unlikely village, and of one man’s (very funny) obsession with both.

Go ahead, snicker and make an off-color joke if you will, but for my money there should be more travel books like the tale of the holy foreskin.

Community Connection

Be sure to check out Matador’s exclusive interview with David Farley about “An Irreverent Curiosity” at The Traveler’s Notebook.

Five for Friday: July 24 Edition

Photo: Seamus Murray

1. Using Urban Space Smartly.

As a city-dweller, I’m always interested in stories about how urban designers, policy makers, politicians, and activists collaborate to think of innovative ways to optimize space, so it’s no surprise that this short piece from The Stimulist about San Francisco turning curbs and other public space into mini farming plots grabbed my attention.

2. Developing Alternative–Real Alternative–Fuel.

In the US, we say we’re committed to developing alternative fuel, but as oil prices soar then drop, soar then drop, our interest in alternative fuel fluctuates accordingly. There are lots of reasons why–not the least being major infrastructural overhauls that would be necessary if we implemented a massive alternative fuel system–but that shouldn’t keep us from continuing research and innovation in this important area.

Over at The Atlantic, correspondent Lisa Margonelli muses about the true economics of conventional fuel (not to mention the environmental economics), and then references a couple articles about the urine-powered fuel cell being developed by researchers at Ohio University. For the quick and dirty lowdown on pee power, check out this article, which explains how a single cow can produce enough pee to supply hot water for 19 houses.

3. Telling “Convenient Truths”: Urban Transportation Reform is Easier Than We Think

I first read about Curitiba, Brazil and its former mayor, the visionary Jaime Lerner, a few years back, so I was excited to receive a screener copy of the documentary, “A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil,” by mother-son team Maria Terezinha Vaz and Giovanni Vaz del Bello.

The filmmakers interviewed Lerner and other Curitiba urban designers and planners, all of whom affirmed that urban redesign is a whole lot easier than most politicians and decision makers claim it is. It’s an inspiring model for the most sustainable design for cities, and though it would be naive to think that Curitiba’s solutions are one-size-fits-all blueprints for the rest of the world, there are lots of lessons to be learned from this Brazilian city:

If you’re interested in seeing the full documentary, purchase information is available here.

4. Rachel Maddow Proves Lots of People Want to Make a Difference… They Just Don’t Always Know How.

Last week, popular political TV talk show host Rachel Maddow did a segment on the Iraqi national baseball team (yup, there is one) and its struggle to get basic gear and uniforms. Within 48 hours, the segment had generated enough attention to result in donations that more than outfitted the team and got them fully geared up. The take-away lesson? Lots of people are ready to pitch in to help others– they just need someone to bring an issue to their attention and provide them with the means to make a meaningful contribution.

5. Matador’s Own Misty Tosh Gets Ready to Expand 4th World Love.

I’m always inspired by Matador members and someone who consistently makes me stand back in amazement is Misty Tosh, founder of the NGO, 4th World Love. If you’ve missed the work she’s doing in Indonesia, check out this article. And then get fired up about her next project: She’s taking 4WL on the road–to Mexico’s Baja California–and she wants you to come along with her! Read up on all the details here.

Interview with David Farley: On the Holy Foreskin, Writing His First Book, and More

So, the holy foreskin, eh? How did you find yourself studying such a bizarre footnote to Christian history?

I sometimes asked myself the same question—especially during the periods of self doubt. But having studied European history in college and grad school it seemed like the perfect subject for me: this unusual relic has been looming about the periphery of various historical periods and movements, from the Middle Ages to the fury that inspired the Reformation to the 19th-century Romantic movement. It was a fun challenge in writing the book to put the relic into a historical context for each period.

Your book actually began life as an article in Slate, right? At what point did you start thinking there was a full-length travel narrative in the making, and how did you make that transition from article to book?

Actually, a book was my original intention. But writing the article was a great first step. Plus, in the back of my mind, I had hoped the article would get enough attention that it would help me sell the book. And, in fact, that’s exactly what happened. The blogosphere went crazy over the article, people were talking about it on the radio, and people from the publishing world were emailing me asking if I’d sold the book yet. I often tell my writing students that the easiest way to sell your book is to write an article on the subject in a high-profile publication.

Was it a tough balancing act over there, between making friends, researching your book, learning Italian, and, I assume, writing for a living as well? Any advice on how writers can balance all their commitments while tackling something like a book project?

It wasn’t so difficult. I had fully absorbed myself into the village and into the history of the relic and the area. It all pervaded me to the degree that nearly everything I did could have been part of the narrative that would become my book.

As for magazine and newspaper assignments, they came much easier than when I’m back in New York. One fast-track way to getting assignments is to move to a country often featured in travel publications—like, say, Italy. You’ll get story ideas and angles much easier, you’ll appear “an insider” to editors because you’re living there, and you’ll come delightfully cheap since no one has to pay for you to fly across an ocean to get there.

The rolling hills of Calcata, home of the Holy Foreskin / Photo: draks

When you were still in Calcata, were you thinking ahead to the writing, and going, “Man, I need a dramatic climax to this story,” or were you too wrapped up in the mystery itself to think that far ahead?

I was hoping to have a conclusion that was less speculative, but I didn’t know what. Until I heard (from a Vatican insider) what happened to the Holy Foreskin, I had no idea how the book was going to end. So, not only I was I jump-up-and-down excited that my efforts had finally produced a conclusion on the relic, but I was also happy I was going to have an ending to the book, too.

There’s some pretty meaty religious history worked into the text. Could you give us an idea of the breakdown between research and writing time? Was it difficult to find a balance between the two?

I was—and still am—so obsessed with the history of the Holy Foreskin that it never felt like work to me. It was great going the Vatican Library and doing research and then spending the next day writing about it.

The most challenging part was actually balancing historical exposition and writing about my present search for the relic in the narrative. The transition between the two, while writing an accessible and comprehensive (and generally chronological) history of the relic, was almost like putting together a huge jigsaw puzzle in my mind.

What’s been the hardest thing about writing and publishing your first book? And the most fun, or satisfying?

The only way into Old Calcata / Photo: paulspace

For most people, the most difficult aspect is getting a publishing house to want to publish your book. As I mentioned above, I didn’t really have that problem. So for me one of the most difficult aspects was being able to shut out distractions while I was writing the book.

I wrote the first two-thirds of the book—60,000 words—in three months in Calcata, where I didn’t have very many modern distractions (like TV and the internet) and I wrote the last one-third of the book—30,000 words—in six months in New York City. If I had tried writing the entire thing in New York, I’d probably still be working on it. Now I understand the importance of writing colonies and retreats.

Finally, the inevitable question: What’s next for David Farley? Another book? Another weird town? Perhaps some well-deserved rest?

Trying to get the word out about An Irreverent Curiosity. Also, I’m just starting on another book project, but it’s in the very early stages, so I don’t want to go into much detail yet. I will say that it’s far from a travel narrative and will have much more consequence than stuff I’ve written in the past.

Community Connection:

US House of Reps Approves Proposal to Consider Puerto Rico’s Status

Photo: Oscalito

The status of Puerto Rico is one of the most complicated, confusing, and fascinating political arrangements in the world.

Puerto Rico, formerly a Spanish colony, was ceded to the United States in 1898 as a consequence of the Spanish American War. For several decades afterward, the status and identity of the island were in limbo as the United States and islanders attempted to arrive at a viable political arrangement that would satisfy the interests of both parties.

The result was a strange compromise in which Puerto Rico became a commonwealth, or “free associated state,” of the US. The status granted some–but not all–of the benefits of US citizenship and left many Puerto Ricans wondering what, exactly, being a commonwealth meant.

It’s an issue that remains the focal point of politics on the island, with referenda being held every few years to determine what islanders want their status to be. There are those who favor statehood, others who favor complete independence, and still others who would be content to let the commonwealth continue as is.

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that the US House of Representatives approved the island’s proposal to allow Puerto Ricans to hold a new referendum to vote on the island’s political future. Under the proposal, titled the Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2009,

“[v]oters would choose between keeping the island’s commonwealth status, adopted in 1952, or to opt for something different. In the latter case, a second plebiscite would let them decide whether they wanted statehood, independence or independence with a loose association to the United States.”

Though no date has been scheduled for a vote, anxiety about the potential referendum is already high. The last referendum was held in 1998.