Editor’s note: Contrary to the popular belief of my male friends who are obsessed with Angelina Jolie, I did not intentionally come here on the heels of her recent trip to Ecuador. I planned mine way before, though I doubt my trip will get as much press coverage.

It’s Day 2 in Quito, Ecuador and I’m fighting like mad for an Internet connection – it’s me against the machine.

While I’d love to write down every juicy detail of my expedition right this minute, I have decided to save it up in my handwritten journal and publish when I’m with connection again.

And I’m trying so hard to memorize every detail. Which brings me to my latest thought: I often wonder about the memories that will ultimately stand out when I return home. Of course, I can’t know now. I can write down every detail and stay present during every turn (except during nap time.)

The idea of “what sticks”  when it comes to travel and exploring the unfamiliar is a cool concept – and continues the adventure after I get back.

In the meantime, here’s a short list of what’s fascinating me here so far – I’ve included links where possible, so I encourage you to take a look around and see the sights.

1 Oswaldo Guayasamin: Famous Ecuadorian painter, sculptor, collector. My fabulous guide and I checked out his final work “The Chapel of Man.” I’m so intrigued, blown away and a a bit obsessed. In his art, he captured the pain of humanity in dramatic forms as a message … a message so abrupt, I found myself a bit shocked at the first. And then further study made a whole boatload of sense. Picture included here (not mine, but I did take an exact replica) and I’m eager to share more, including an interview with one of the museum staff members.

2. Mitad del Mundo: The middle of the world – I stood there yesterday, basking in all the glory of latitude and longitude coming together. A whole troupe of French scientists were the cool guys who marked the spot and the Mitad del Mundo is adorned with their sculptured mugs.

3. Churches and more churches: I know, I know – you’ve seen them in every city – how different can it get? Way different – I actually recorded many observations and cool commentary from my guide via voice recorder (memory tool!) just so I can recount the richness. My interest in the evolution of Catholic Church and the Incan / Andean cultures started during my Peruvian adventure. More to come.

4. I simply can’t close this post without mentioning the brilliant time I’m having here at the rustic yet magical Hacienda Rumiloma – and no, they’re not paying me a word to write this. The attention to detail and the effort to create a space that reflects the authentic Ecuadorian culture is almost unbelievable.  But believe it – they’ve done it.

How do you memorize your travel adventures? From photos and postcards to journals and simple reliance on fond thoughts, we each have different ways of keeping our travel experiences and memories alive. Share your ideas in the comments below!

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This is a guest post from brilliant friend Josh Hanagarne, author of the fabulous World’s Strongest Librarian. I’m psyched to include yet another one of Josh’s brilliant and, well, hilarious posts here on TJCC. Many thanks to Josh for helping me stay on my reading and writing toes.

My parents started reading to me before I was born. Not loving books was really not ever an option. Eight years of book-filled days and nights passed.

One fine day, my mom finally reached her limit and came as close as she ever had to yelling at me: “Okay! If you’ll go play outside for 30 minutes I’ll take you to the library!”

I was good at three things:

- Reading

- Accidentally sitting on my glasses

- Making the librarians happy

90 minutes later on my bed with a huge stack of new books. Back then, any book would do. Reading was reading. Joy was joy. I was so happy with my books that it never occurred to me to wonder why.

The change

A tumultuous shift occurred when I brought home Charlotte’s Web that afternoon. Strangely enough, it wasn’t the story—wonderful as it was/is—that hooked me. It was a couple of illustrations.

If you don’t know the story, Wilbur the piglet is the runt of the litter. He gets saved from the bacon-hungry farmer when his daughter, Fern, intervenes and pleads for his life. He relents and Wilbur becomes her pet.

But Fern’s good will isn’t enough to spare Wilbur from the fate of most farm pigs: a delicious debut on someone’s holiday china.

However, Charlotte the spider and the other barnyard animals come up with a plan to save Wilbur’s life. I won’t spoil the finer plot points if you haven’t read it yet.

None of that mattered

What mattered was when I turned the page and saw a particular picture of Fern. She sits on a three-legged stool, resting her forearms on the rails of the pigsty, with her chin on her forearms. She’s smiling at Wilbur, who’s doing pig stuff nearby.

My heart stopped. The look on her face…oh man oh man oh man. I started flipping pages, looking for more pictures of Fern and Wilbur. Here he was in a bonnet, being pushed in a stroller while she stares down adoringly. Here’s another one. And here.

I wanted to be that pig. I would have worn the bonnet. I would have eaten the slop. I would have done anything to get Fern to look at me the way she was looking at Wilbur.

I couldn’t wait to show my friends. But horror of horrors, they didn’t care. I couldn’t even get them to look twice. Then and there, a defensive critic was born. I would defend the book and I would defend Fern.

There were two realizations:

1. Not all books were created equal. Whereas before I had read anything and everything, now I had a baseline jolt that I would demand (and fail to find in most cases) from the other books I’d read

2. Not every book affects everyone, at least not in the same way. This was a bitter pill to swallow. “She’s beautiful! Admit it!”

That was almost 25 years ago. Every time I open a book, I’m still waiting for the moment when I see a sentence or turn a page and then WHAM.

It doesn’t happen often enough, but when it does, it’s always worth the time I spend hunting for it.

**

Josh Hanagarne is the author of The Knot and is the World’s Strongest Librarian. You can also visit him at Strength Rules. He is also a giant and is currently working on a cure for Tourette’s Syndrome. Please subscribe to his RSS updates to stay in touch.

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We have a winner! Frank Mundo‘s The Brubury Tales signed copy giveaway goes to June Goodwin!

Last week, as a part of the contest, we asked readers about the role reading plays in their lives. We received a range of diverse, creative comments from readers and writers alike. Frank and I are both excited to share June’s winning comment:

Reading has always been a huge part of my life. I don’t even remember learning how to do it. It just feels like I always knew how. I literally can’t eat without a book or some kind of reading material in front of me. I do make an exception for restaurants!

Now that I’m working toward being published and have a blog that focuses on books, I’m reading constantly. I read to improve my writing craft and to do reviews to promote authors. Reading has always played a big part of my life and it only seems to be growing bigger.

June is also the author of the blog Writing is a Blessing – I encourage you to check out her wise words on books and reading on her site.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated – it was not only fun, but intriguing to see the various – and impactful – ways that we engage with words to learn, relax and connect with other stories that keep our curiousity stimulated.

Congratulations June! We’re grateful to everyone who participated.

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