Out of Eden Walk

Last week the students had the privilege of speaking with Paul Salopek, a journalist who is undertaking a seven year journey, retracing the steps of our own migration out of Africa. He will be completing this journey mostly on foot in an effort to gain and share an alternate perspective on the stories of lives that are often told only through soundbites. At the time of our meeting, via Skype, he was sharing his story with a group of our peers in Djibouti. Our classes were able to ask questions of one another and share a bit of our experiences in our home countries. 

When preparing questions for Paul, the students tried to adopt his perspective at various stages of the journey - from preparation to completion asking various questions including, "What do you wish you would have brought with you?" or "How do you think you will have changed when it is all over?"

At one point in the conversation, Paul said, "We are all Djiboutians in a sense."This really struck several of my students and my class discussed this statement after our conversation with Paul. As the students talked about the meaning of his statement, I saw and heard their thinking about borders between countries begin to shift. As we looked at the map on our wall, one student said, "Before we were Americans, Ethiopians and Djiboutians, we were just us."

We were very grateful to be a part of this and are really hoping to connect with Paul again later in his journey.

Information regarding the project can be found at these sites:

http://www.outofedenwalk.com/

http://outofedenwalk.nationalgeographic.com/

Please take the time to learn more about his experiences so far.