Collected Item: “No Hands Across the Water: The Cancellation of Plans for International Travel”
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No Hands Across the Water: The Cancellation of Plans for International Travel
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Text story
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I was planning to go to London this year to present at an international conference of librarians and connect with librarians from all over the world. This conference is only held every three years, and it is an important forum to share thoughts, present ideas and projects, network and build international collaborations, and plan joint projects. Doing so through email and Zoom is a poor substitute for this type of one-on-one conference. I travel internationally frequently, and I was planning to fit in a trip to Ireland before the conference, to visit with the land of my ancestors. I’ve been involved in a genealogy project along with some of my relatives, and my trip to Ireland would have given me the opportunity to do some family research. When I travel, I travel very close to the ground: staying in small B&Bs or hotels, dining in local establishments, traveling by bus or rail, and really trying to fit into the community rather than be a tourist to the extent possible. International travel is so important for this divisive world these days to foster understanding and cooperation both personally and professionally. So the cancellation of my trip meant not only the loss of some fun times but also speaks to a greater loss.
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travel, conference, genealogy, international, HST 580, ASU
Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)
Sharon E. Hunt
Give this story a date.
2021-01-24