What is The Road?
Peter negotiating with an Indian air crew and a Northern Alliance soldier in Afghanistan (2001)[i-Peter negotiating with an Indian air crew and a Northern Alliance soldier in Afghanistan (2001)]
The Short Version:
Consider 'The Road to the Horizon' as a interactive and dynamic eBook with a weird mix of topics, written as "things happen".
In content, the only commonality between all posts is the writer. Being an international aid worker, addicted traveller, radio amateur, adventurer and sailor, you can imagine the topics on "the Road" vary widely: humanitarian issues, the environment, travel, ham radio, sailing, news, and anything occuring in my daily life.
Or if you prefer, here is the long version:
The Long Version:
The idea of this website started with the short stories: stories of remote, sometimes exotic places. Either where 'few men have ever gone to', but more often where 'nobody with a sane mind would ever want to go to'.
The stories are about the people I met and the situations I encountered during my travels. All non-fiction stories, even though the names of people are sometimes changed to protect their privacy.
Some stories are inspired by the work I do as a relief worker for an international humanitarian organisation. These are the stories about war-torn countries, areas devastated by natural disasters, or engulfed by political turmoil with an impoverished population.
Another inspiration is what I do in my spare time: expeditions to places even more remote than those I work in, searching 'the end of the known world' (or 'just for the kick of it', as my wife would say).
Yet other stories are just picked up while sailing and travelling with the family.
The Road's tag cloud according to Wordl[i-The Road's tag cloud according to Wordl]
Over time, The Road to the Horizon grew a bit in scope. It now has five parts: the eBook, the Rumblings, News, Pictures of the Day, Picks of the Week and Blogging tips:
- The eBook:
This website, "The Road to the Horizon", is originally an eBook with travel stories. Some have been published before in magazines, are extracted from Emails sent to my loved ones, but most of them are newly written.
The table of contents of the eBook, you can find in the right column under the header 'My eBook Short Stories'. Or check out the reader's digest.
The stories are all individual pieces, which you can pick and choose from the index or the digest. The sequence in which you read them does not matter as each story stands by itself.
- The Rumbles,...
While writing and publishing the eBook short stories on this site I found that:
- The short stories are several pages long. Too long for an average 'blog audience'.
- The stories take typically a few weeks to rehash. This is too much an interval to publish stuff on a typical blogsite, which should have something new every one or two days.
- While writing the short stories, I came across many small but funny/interesting anecdotes that will probably never make it to a real eBook short story but were still worth telling.
So, Once Upon a Fine Morning, I decided to add small blog-entries (anecdotes, tips ["rumblings", Tine calls them]) on top of the short stories. They still fall within the spirit of this site. They too are about travelling and remote spots, or comments on things that happen around me, and my life.
- News
While writing (and rumbling), I come across news about stuff I care about: items about the 'humanitarian cause', developing countries, the environment, individual's rights, travelling, the war in Iraq... I list these regularly in 'News' postings.
- Pictures of the Day
Scanning the news, I often come across pictures which catch my eye, worth posting. Often I put a short caption text with them.
- Picks of the Week
Links to those sites or posts I found interesting.
- Tips and tricks
This part is rather stand-alone and independent from the rest of the posts: I am a total newbie to 'Internet Publishing' or 'blogging'. When I started, I did not know the first thing about HTML, CSS, RSS or any of that stuff. I learned the hard way with a lot of blood, sweat and tears. I always think 'you need to give the world back as much as it gives you', so I started to list some of the blogging tricks I discovered in posts with the prefix 'Tips & Tricks'. I hope they help other newbies like myself... Update: this section now moved off to a blog of its own: BlogTips.
I love to hear from you. Be with compliments, or with critical remarks. About a passage you did not like, which was confusing, grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, or something you *did* like... All of it helps me to improve this site, with its short stories and rumblings, and to write better.
And all of it in the hope it may serve as an inspiration to others. Enjoy walking with me on this Road to the Horizon. Who knows where it may lead us! :-) [straight into despair, Tine says!]
Peter,
peter(at)theroadtothehorizon(dot)org
Read also:Introduction to the Road to the Horizon, the eBook
Interested in aid work? Contemplating of making a change in your life? This posting might be of interest to you.
9 comments:
I've been reading your blog and I think it's bloody brilliant and very amusing. I've also been reading the how to become an aidworker section in which you list sites, organisations, advice etc and I think that's also brilliant.
I have been enjoying a lot while reading your site and stories. And not just
for fun as - I guess that quite many others who spend time on your site - I
have been building "courage" to jump out the rat race to do something more
meaningful. Meaningful... Yep, a funny and often wrong-understood word as it
raises the question what's meaningful and to whom. To one's self or others.
Or both. Or neither. Don't know exact answer but that's part of the
excitement - I guess... ;)
One of the most interesting things was to read about how you turned into
your profession. Made that hard (?) decision to jump out from the wheel.
i am extremely happy that i found this website. i think it is a great mission which you have started, may it inspire many more people
After having a blog for too long without a list of links, I've finally put up a 'Web Readings' section on the side bar of www.ugandascarlettlion.blogspot.com and I’ve linked to you.
Thanks!
SL (Glenna)
Some recent posts...
Thinking twice about political blogs in Uganda
http://ugandascarlettlion.blogspot.com/2008/07/thinking-twice-about-political-blogs-in.html
The problem with African Woman magazine: From Fistula to Fab!
http://ugandascarlettlion.blogspot.com/2008/07/problem-with-african-woman-magazine.html
Housing in Kampala
http://ugandascarlettlion.blogspot.com/2008/07/housing-in-kampala-part-ii.html
Newspaper Dating Adventures
http://ugandascarlettlion.blogspot.com/2008/07/newspaper-dating-adventures.html
Lunch at Luzira Prison
http://ugandascarlettlion.blogspot.com/2008/07/luzira-prison-at-lunchtime.html
Kevin Carter, the Kireka Quarry, and Karamoja: thoughts on the limits of photography
http://ugandascarlettlion.blogspot.com/2008/06/kevin-carter-kireka-quarry-and-karamoja.html
Thanks, Glenna!
This is my first time on your site. It looks interesting and intriguing. I look forward to checking back and reading more!
how do I get a copy of one of your photos so that it might be frame it for my living room.
mdferraro2@aol.com
Thanks for the well written and inspiring article. Hoping to read more of you blogs!
As a relief worker for an international humanitarian organisation your extensive travel will help to identify the areas and people where humanitarian assistance is needed. Your post will help the millionaire sugar daddies to know where to help to make it reach the needy people.
Sugardaddie
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