around the world in twelve months

Dear Mum,

I really liked your turban sketch from the Fabric of India exhibition – and the exhibition itself! Although, almost as soon as I walked in I felt the sharp bite of the Travel Bug, and now I can’t stop dreaming of exploring the world in search of the most beautiful textiles.

A beautiful textiles shop I visited in Kyoto – how I miss gallivanting

Obviously being a full-time student, with the restraints on time and money that that entails, does not allow for a great deal of gallivanting around the world. Fortunately, Anthropology is a subject that is rather accommodating of learning about other cultures (haha) so while I won’t be booking myself onto a flight for quite some time, that doesn’t mean I can’t travel. In a way…

The idea came from Ann Morgan’s challenge to read a book from every country in the world in a year (read her blog here, or listen to her TED talk – it’s awesome), having noticed that the books she read were all too often from Britain or America. I loved the thought of learning so much about the world through its fiction, but there are other areas of culture that I am interested in too. And so I came up with my own challenge: to learn a little bit about a country/island/state I’ve never visited every month. In theory, this will involve trying out a national dish, reading a book written in the country/region (translated, if not in English) and learning about any interesting traditions, crafts and textiles native to the area. However, if you or any of our dear readers have suggestions or information to do with the following regions, I would love to hear it!