Winter 2020

A lot can happen in 10 years. For Stowaway, 10 years consisted of 30 issues and thousands of adventures. We’ve been all across the globe and far into space. Throughout all our travels, there have been many trends between our travels and the world’s travels.The following is a recap of where we’ve traveled as Stowaway by year in a side-by-side comparison with the locations that were popular tourist spots around the world that year.2010 In 2010, Stowaway explored Beijing and Southern Asia, including Vietnam and India. We got lost in the London Underground, at the top of a mountain in Estes Park, and in other national parks around the US. We also road tripped through Arizona and visited Ireland.The top eight places to travel worldwide in 2010, according to The New York Times, were Sri Lanka; Patagonia; Seoul; Mysore, India; Copenhagen; Koh Kood, Thailand; Damascus; and Çeşme, Turkey.2011 In 2011, Stowaway explored New Zealand, learned safety hacks for whether we travel to somewhere cold and snowy or hot and sunny, and went to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio—the roller coaster capital of the world.We got to our ideal weight when we biked across the US and learned the Brazilian martial art of capoeira. We also celebrated Bon Om Tuk, went to Paris, learned about leprosy in India, explored the Norwegian Coast, spent some time away in Ecuador, and discovered Havasupai.The top eight places to travel worldwide in 2011, according to CNN, were New York, New Zealand, the Peruvian Amazon, Barcelona, Norway, Albania, Japan, and Guatemala.2012 In 2012, Stowaway stowed away to Prague, got a taste of Istanbul, got lost in Iceland, kayaked to the Bahamas, visited George Lucas on the set of Star Wars, explored the history of Boston, and became stranded on New Caledonia.We also discovered the many wonders of Tokyo, learned the mythical sport of globe-riding (more commonly known as zorbing), learned how to fall like an expert, trekked through a safari, and reconnected with our roots.The top trending eight places to travel worldwide, according to CNN, were England, Mayan ruins, Myanmar, Chicago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Netherlands, Atlantic Canada, and Uruguay.2013 In 2013, Stowaway blessed the lives of orphans through service, made a pilgrimage to Camino, explored the beauties of Kazakhstan, found some hobbits in New Zealand, stayed the night in the Caribbean at Xcaret, explored many castles in ruin in Wales, and discovered local culture from people in their hometowns.We also made a trip to Paraguay, saw the Golden Temple in Harmandir Sahib, went to High Line Park in New York City, explored Sedona, partied with Sweden during their Midsommar festival, found our way to Cape Town, relaxed in Bali, and fought AIDS in Uganda.The top 8 travel sites worldwide in 2013, according to CNN, were Scotland, Morocco, Slovakia, sub-Saharan Africa, Gettysburg, Amsterdam, Columbia, and Montenegro.2014 In 2014, Stowaway learned about how the Korean culture is taking the world by storm, celebrated the Hindu festival of colors, visited Sochi for the Winter Olympics, rebuilt New Orleans, found bones in Malagasy, discovered reasons to remain in Romania, and used races as an excuse to travel.We also made a pilgrimage to Camino, went to FIFA in Brazil, ate pasta in Italy, visited Fiji, explored Mayazaki’s Japan, saw Alaska from above, took a road trip to discover how the New Deal affected the US, pieced together Mayan murals in San Bartolo, discovered the Anasazi, went to Armenia, and explored the history of faith in America.The top eight worldwide travel spots in 2014 were, according to CNN, Brazil, Panama, Myanmar, Iceland, Ecuador, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and Japan.2015In 2015, Stowaway escaped to Berlin and hid out in Mar del Plata, Argentina. We learned cool facts at museums of science around the world, survived a disaster in Cairo, and discovered treasure in the Rocky Mountains.We also spent Christmas in Germany, went stargazing in Parowan Canyon, trekked back to New Zealand to visit George Lucas when Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out, and traveled to some historical sites to visit open-air museums.The top eight worldwide travel sites of 2015 were, according to CNN, London, Bangkok, Paris, Dubai, Istanbul, New York, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur.2016 In 2016, Stowaway ventured into the Antarctic, explored the sites of inspiration for the most popular Disney movies, visited mosques around the world, tracked wolves in Yellowstone, and sojourned in the Baltic. We found hope at the House of Terror, the killing fields of Cambodia, Pearl Harbor, and Auschwitz.We also explored the mystical wonders of Turkey, slept in some unique spots around the world, floated down the Nile and other rivers in Africa, visited national parks, explored space, witnessed the effect of tourism in Nicaragua, Kenya, and Vietnam, found new places to pet animals, visited some neat pop culture locations, and ate at some unique restaurants.Top eight travel spots worldwide in 2016, according to CNN: Bangkok, London, Paris, Dubai, New York, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Istanbul.2017 In 2017, Stowaway got lost in Glacier National Park, traveled with Blackbeard, tarried awhile in Perth, skied at Verbier, crashed in Qatar, spent a night in Boston, became an immersive traveler, visited sinking villages in New Zealand, trekked to the monuments of war heroes, and considered colonizing Mars.The top eight travel locations that were trending worldwide in 2017, according to CNN, were Prince Edward Island; Penang, Malaysia; Colombia; Bermuda; Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine; Isaan, Thailand; Bhutan; and Chengdu, China.2018 In 2018, Stowaway found some abandoned sites with abounding beauty, traveled the world with toddlers, saved a Bolivian mining town, considered the effects of voluntourism, and witnessed Japan’s declining population in the wake of rising tourism.We also returned to Yellowstone, visited places that may be swallowed by the ocean in a few years, traveled while taking a break before starting a master’s program, stood on both hemispheres in Ecuador, visited the Royal sites in the United Kingdom, and found a job that can travel with us.Top eight travel locations around the world in 2018, according to CNN: Cape Verde; Botum Sakor National Park, Cambodia; Malta; Serbia; Nevis; Banff, Canada; Nagana, Japan; and Puebla, Mexico.2019 In 2019, Stowaway listened to music in Africa, found thrills in Transylvania, discovered stolen art, became immersed in South Korea, toured sites with a dark past, became lost in Jerusalem, worried about bee colonies, and celebrated the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.We also saw how a movie has changed tourism in Iceland and other forgotten tourism spots, fell asleep to bedtime stories from around the world, learned to cook without gluten, found some interesting vending machines in Japan, and explored how travel affects climate change.The top eight travel sites that were trending worldwide in 2019 were, according to CNN, Christchurch, New Zealand; Egypt; Fukuoka, Japan; Ghana; Grand Canyon, US; Hawaii, US; the Hebrides, Scotland; and Jaffa, Israel.Future of Travel Travel will continue to change, and while there is no way to really predict the hottest cities in future years, I’m sure that some of the same locations will be popular with tourists and that there will be a mix of many exciting new locations as well.Travel will continue to evolve as we evolve; all we have to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Safe travels!—Beverly Unrau

Transylvania is home to over six million Romanians and one incredibly mythicized monster: Dracula. However, Dracula isn’t the only thing that makes Transylvania alluring. But it is a big factor in the region’s tourism. Interestingly enough, all of this hype started with a British novel.Vampire HistoryBram Stoker’s namesake character in his 1897 novel Dracula was likely based on the historical Romanian figure of Vlad Dracul, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler, a 1400s vigilante who basically singlehandedly took back his principality, Wallachia, from the Turks.Vlad was famous for torturing his enemies and impaling thousands of their heads on spikes, namely his Turkish enemies. Dracula has since become immortalized in pop culture, and Transylvania definitely takes advantage of these myths and all the hype around the story to promote tourism. Now, when you hear “Transylvania,” vampires are what come to mind.Bran CastleIf you’re seeking to take part in the vampire craze, you’ll want to stop by Bran Castle, the designated tourist site for all things vampire in Braşov, Romania. Though not the main castle of Vlad the Impaler, the building still gives an impressive image for what Bram Stoker might have had in mind for his villain. One of the features of the castle is a creepy secret passageway. There is also a gift shop and several other shops along the streets outside the castle where you can buy Dracula-themed paraphernalia and scare yourself in a little haunted house.But there’s so much more to this Romanian region than the vampire stories. Along with Bran Castle, consider visiting some of the following sites on your trip to Transylvania that aren’t about vampires.BearsBelieve it or not, Transylvania’s Carpathian mountain range is filled with a not-so-mythical creature: the brown bear. In fact, at Braşov’s Libearty Bear Sanctuary in Zărneşti (just over thirty minutes from Bran Castle), you can observe these incredible creatures.The bears come from zoos or other caged environments. At the sanctuary, they are free to roam a much larger, more natural space. The sanctuary is comprised of 160 acres of forest, plenty for the bears to roam freely (though there are safety fences and security cameras throughout).It’s safe and comfortable for both bears and visitors and makes an amazing stop when touring the Transylvanian landscape. While the sanctuary is a great way to ensure you’ll actually see bears, you could also book a tour with a guide to take you to look for bears in their natural habitat—the forest.While the sanctuary is a great way to ensure you’ll actually see bears, you could also book a tour with a guide to take you to look for bears in their natural habitat—the forest.ASTRA Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization Photo by Andrei Dan SuciuTo the west of Zărneşti stands a pretty unique museum. Located in Sibiu, the ASTRA Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization is completely outside! With over 400 traditional folk buildings from times past, including the museum’s famous windmills, it may feel like you’re in an old Romanian village. There are even restaurants and activities you can try inside to help you latch onto that feeling even more.Salina Turda Photo by Robert AndersAt Salina Turda, you can find yourself exploring the depths of an ancient mine. Excavated with various wells, this salt mine has been remodeled as a museum depicting the history of salt mining (you can see the thick, natural salt on the walls), and as an amusement park-style attraction. There are several different spaces within the mine, but the craziest one of them all is what was once the Terezia Mine: now, it houses a UFO-shaped structure on top of a lake where guests can ride a ferris wheel, take boat rides on the lake, and play mini golf.Lake UrsuDespite Vlad Dracul’s notoriously destructive nature, Transylvania’s nature is remarkably reconstructive. Transylvania is known for its many health benefits—including its salt water. The most famous healing water is found at Lake Ursu, or Bear Lake, which gets its name from its bearskin shape. Part of the Sovata resort, the lake has a ginormous salt content and is able to absorb heat from the sun. In fact, it’s the largest heliotherm lake in the world. The lake has a layer of fresh water that acts as a barrier and keeps the warm sunlight in the salt-water layer below. (Supposedly, the salt water can help heal fertility issues.) While you relax in these sun-heated waters, you can also observe the luscious greenery surrounding the lake, courtesy of the rich volcanic soil. Patrons can swim between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and enjoy the other various spas the resort has to offer.High HighwaysIf you’re hankering for a road trip, Transylvania is home to some of the highest roads in the world. The Transfăgărăşan Road reaches the lofty altitude of 6,699 feet (2,042 meters) and spans a windy 60 miles (90 kilometers). The road includes dark tunnels and curves like a long snake along the mountainside.The best way to truly enjoy the Transfăgărăşan is to stop along it for adventure. You can take a hike in the Făgărăş mountains, view the Vidraru Dam, and go fishing at the gorgeous Bâlea Lake. During the winter, the lake can be accessed only by cable car, and because of the high elevation (6,673 feet or 2,034 meters), it is cold enough that every year an incredible hotel is built out of the area’s ice.The Transalpina Road is the highest road in Romania, reaching 7,037 feet (2,145 meters), and is about 92 miles (148 kilometers) long. Like the Transfăgărăşan, there are plenty of beautiful stops on this highway. You can explore Lake Galcescu, the biggest lake in the Parâng Mountains, wander around the historic Oasa Monastery, and enjoy the Ski Resort Transalpina. Both of these roads are so high that they are closed off during the winter months because of all the snow and ice, so be sure to take that into consideration when you plan your trip.Whichever road you choose to take, don’t forget to pack a lunch—you’re bound to enjoy the view.While you may still go see Bran Castle, hopefully when you make your visit to Transylvania, you’ll consider the other awesome places you can go as well. Be sure to check out as many as you can!—Laura Combrink

I still remember my first trip to Hawaii—I was so excited to get my feet in the sand. Growing up and listening to Iz sing about the beautiful white sandy beaches of Hawaii, I thought it truly sounded like heaven on earth.

One of the most important parts of experiencing other cultures, in my mind, is eating their food. Here are three delicious Jamaican eats to flavor your next visit.Chilitos JaMexicanJaMexican cuisine: It’ll make your mouth water like nothing else on this planet. Count it—Jamaican and Mexican culture blended into some of the most delicious meals that money can buy. In my two years of living on the island, I found nothing even approaching it.Unfortunately, there’s only one place where you can experience this delicious treat: Chilitos. Located on 88 Hope Road, Kingston, Jamaica, Chilitos isn’t out of the way for tourists already in the city—and it’s more than worth the trip.The menu has everything you could expect and want from a Mexican restaurant: burritos, tacos (with soft and hard shells), enchiladas, and nachos. Combine this with unique Jamaican ingredients, such as jerk pork, jerk chicken, plantains, and ackee, and you’re in for an incredible treat.When I first walked into Chilitos, the restaurant felt exciting and inviting. The restaurant itself is largely open-air, with a good view of Kingston.It has a roof and some half-walls to protect you in the event of rain, and some fans in case it gets too hot. On the walls are colorful murals that depict Jamaican settings with the vibrancy of Mexican art.The staff was incredibly friendly, and I was seated and got my food fairly quickly. I ordered a burrito with rice, beans, and plantains—and let me tell you, I would have never imagined this combination myself, but the flavors felt as meant-to-be as peanut butter and jelly.The Cook ShopBut JaMexican isn’t the only food that Jamaica has to offer. If you’re feeling friendly, talk to some locals and ask them to point you in the direction of the nearest cook shop. A “cook shop” in Jamaica is like an immobile version of a food cart you might find in the US. A chef sets up a small kitchen on a street corner, starts cooking, and is open for business almost 24/7.You can’t get more local than a cook shop. Although most cook shops sell only fried chicken with rice and peas—beans are referred to as “peas” in Jamaica—every shop I visited was delicious and tasted unique. You also get an incredible amount of food for how much you spend—for around US$5, you can get two fried chicken breasts and a huge plate of rice and peas!Most cook shops come and go fairly quickly, but every once in awhile, one will prove to have staying power. These cook shops usually grow until they almost look like regular restaurants—but no restaurants can beat the low price and personal, local touch of a cook shop.You can easily find permanent cook shops in Montego Bay, Kingston, and Port Antonio, just to name a few towns. If you see a new dish on the menu, don’t be afraid to try something unique and scary—turkey neck may sound strange, but it’s some of the most flavorful and tender meat I have had in my life.As a final note, if you’re ever in Port Antonio, ask around for Boston Jerk—this cook shop is mobile, and it prepares the richest, most savory, most melt-in-your-mouth jerked pork to be found in the Caribbean.Jamaican PattiesThe unfortunate similarity between the above shops is their lack of air conditioning—so if you’re feeling the heat but still want unique food, head toward your nearest Tastee or Juici. They are Jamaican fast food joints, and they sell cocobread and patties.What Jamaicans call a “patty” is comparable to a US calzone, but it’s not exactly the same. Patty shells are pinched together and thin and flaky—crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. The most common ingredient within is corned beef, but patties can also contain chicken, pork, curried shrimp—tasty, but risky if you get sick easily—and other ingredients.Throw a patty between two pieces of cocobread—coconut bread—and you have an inexpensive, tasty, and filling meal that you can eat in one hand. Don’t eat too fast, though—they’re served burning hot.As for which restaurant to choose, it’s hard to say—I like Tastee cocobread much more, because it’s softer and larger, but Juici has much more variety in the types of patties they sell. You’ll probably need to try both—several times—to find what suits you most.For the adventurous of location and of palate, I can’t more heartily recommend anywhere above the land of Jamaica. Let’s eat, mon!—David “Boo” Ludlow

Looking for a place to go that’s historical but that can still party? Germany is that place, especially since this year, 2019, was the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.It came as a shock to even some of the Germans when the wall fell because the wall had lasted for over two decades. German teenagers and some young adults never knew anything different. The Berlin Wall divided a city and a country and prevented recovery from World War II after being erected basically overnight in 1961.Since the wall’s fall on November 9, 1989, celebrations and festivities have been held every year to commemorate the rise of democracy and freedom.Der Mauerfall, as the fall of the Berlin Wall is called in German, came as a surprise to Sandra Ehlert, a native German who was visiting both West and East Berlin about three weeks before the momentous Mauerfall.However, Laura Rawlins, an American working for a family as part of a Brigham Young University internship in Berlin before the Mauerfall, could see the inklings of protests.History of a Divided Berlin, the Wall, and Revolution Surrounding West Berlin, the Berlin Wall effectively kept Easterners, who occupied East Germany and East Berlin, from escaping the USSR to freedom in West Berlin, which was occupied by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.The wall itself was made of concrete panels 3.6 meters high (about 12 feet), topped with barbed wire. There was a strip of land next to the Eastern Wall: a no-man’s-land that crawled with guards, police dogs, and alarms; as well as a second wall, the Western Wall, that people could walk right up to. However, the guard towers on the two walls easily made people wary.“A lot of people died trying to flee East Berlin,” Sandra said, confirming all the fears that one could have. Nearly 140 East Berliners died trying to cross. “They had to be really determined,” explained Laura regarding those that tried to cross.The wall was built in the midst of the Cold War between the USSR and the US as a way for the USSR to prevent fleeing, as well as to assert its dominance.In the June of 1948, the USSR closed all incoming roads, canals, and trains from West Germany into West Berlin, forcing the Berlin Airlift to commence. Nearly two years’ worth of airlifted food, supplies, and medicine—a total of more than 2.3 million tons (2.3 Tg)—was lifted into the allies’ sectors of the city.From Their View Sandra was 16 years old when she went from her home in Hamm, near Münster in Western Germany, to Berlin on a school trip. She and her fellow students had to take a train to the divided city: beginning with a steam engine through West Germany, switching the steam engine for a diesel one through East Germany, then replacing the original steam engine once they reached West Berlin.Because there had been different currency between the two parts of the capital, Sandra explained, they had to exchange their money.“But then, you then had to donate your money at the border,” she continued, “because you weren’t allowed to have East German things in the West.” Laura, who was 18 during her first visit to Berlin for her internship, confirmed the same thing: “The woman of the family I was working for had picked up all these things and hid them in the back of our car. Had I known that, I would have been more terrified, because as we were going back to the West, they actually pulled the seats out of the car . . . . We could have gotten in a lot of trouble.”Sandra grew up in West Germany and defined herself as a West German, so when she was young, she saw the Mauerfall as an impossibility. “Most of all, unreal,” Sandra said, explaining her feelings about the Mauerfall. “ what I found so interesting: There was absolutely no indication whatsoever that this would happen just a few weeks later.”Laura even said, during her internship, that “ was really strange to think that you’re in this medieval city where you were walled in. It was sobering to see the wall for the first time.” Looking back at the Mauerfall, “it was completely unbelievable,” said Laura.Yearly Celebrations If you want to visit Berlin for the celebration of the Mauerfall, then plan your trip for October, instead of November: Germans have a national holiday on October 3, which was the designated Unity Day set in 1990. Most of the celebrations happen around this day, especially because October 3 is also Oktoberfest.Due to the brutal massacre of Jews by Nazis, called Kristallnacht, on November 9, 1938, there is not a national holiday on the day the Mauerfall occurred. It was deemed inappropriate to have such large-scale celebrations on the anniversary of such an inhumane day.The Unity Day celebrations this year were mainly held in Kiel, near the northern border with Denmark, but it was celebrated throughout the country. Mainly consisting of festivals, fireworks, and speeches, German Unity Day is a day that no one would want to miss. Each state celebrates it slightly differently, so do some research before traveling.However, the small festivities were easily overshadowed by Berlin’s week-long celebration—the week leading up to the Mauerfall on November 9.The 7 Days, 7 Locations program was held in seven main attractions throughout the entire city: Alexander Plaza, Gethsemane Church, Brandenburg Gate, Schloss Plaza, Kurfürstendamm, the East Side Gallery, and the Stasi Headquarters.These locations are beautiful and historical year-round, but during the 7 Days, 7 Locations activities, each of the locations were lit up with fireworks, concerts, film showings, and more in over 200 events.The art installation called “Vision in Motion” was strewn in a canopy down the Straße des 17. Juni (the 17th of June Street), leading up to the Brandenburg Gate. It consisted of blue and yellow ribbons written with the hopes of thirty thousand people for the future. Likewise, the East Side Gallery and Alexander Plaza projected images and videos onto the surrounding buildings of the oppressed Easterners and onto the Peaceful Protests that occurred before the Mauerfall.The Instagram of the event, @mauerfall30, shows photos and videos of the construction, preparation, and celebration of it all.Visit and Celebrate Today Even today, there are still differences between East and West Berlin; “it’s still so obvious to me,” said Laura.Be sure to visit both sides of Germany and Berlin to really get a feel for the division and conflict that developed their different cultures.Today, the longest intact piece of the Wall is the East Side Gallery (at about 1.3 kilometers/0.81 miles long) which was converted into an open-air museum in September 1990. Immediately after the Mauerfall, artists from over twenty countries came and started painting the wall, leaving it full of life as well as sometimes being satirical.Pieces of the Wall were also partitioned off as signs of peace from Germany to other countries of the world. Therefore, there are parts scattered around the world: the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, South Korea, and even the Vatican.From the memorials of the Mauerfall to the places of the Peaceful Revolution, there are plenty of places to see and visit in Berlin, but everywhere you go, you can feel the words “Ich bin ein Berliner,” spoken by President Kennedy, resonating through the air. Mainly, it is a place to reflect on freedom and unity, and a place to get a Berliner donut.—Kaitlyn Meyers

They always say the bigger you are the harder you fall—but it should be the bigger you are, the prettier your city transit should be. We all have to get around—whether it be by foot, bike, car, train, or plane—and for the majority of people, that means taking public transit.

We’ve all had those moments when we just need a break from all our responsibilities and tasks. A road trip is the best remedy to stress! Not only is it healthy to get your eyes off of a screen for a bit, but you can also grab your friends and take time to jam to oldies, have deep conversations, or even just enjoy the silence together as you drive on the open road.

A deeply traditional musical sensation has been sweeping through West Africa’s Senegal for the past few decades, and it continues to be an ever-evolving art form that only grows in popularity in this day and age.

Renovated Airstreams, trailers, and camper vans have mixed nostalgic wanderlust with modern conveniences, making many Millennials dream of selling their belongings and hitting the open road. The freedom of going wherever, whenever, is enticing—especially when these adventures are documented with hashtags and validated with likes, comments, and virality.However, Millennial minimalists are not the first ones to hit the road—not even close. First there were the pioneers on covered wagons, then the railroaders, and still today there is a large community of people who spend their lives driving, almost 24/7, without any pomp and circumstance.Enter truckers—the opposite of hipster #vanlife, and the unsung heroes that keep our grocery stores stocked and our businesses running.One of these hidden heroes is Val Stokes, founder and owner of Stokes Trucking. As a 17-year-old in the early 1970s, he worked at a local truck stop, the Crossroads, in his hometown of Tremonton, Utah, and felt the wanderlust bug bite him.Val loved watching people come and go. “I’d see the truckers pull into the Crossroads, get their fuel, go into the café and have dinner, then get in their truck and head off. I thought, ‘Geez, I wonder where he’ll be tomorrow.’ All my life, I’ve loved seeing what’s over the next hill. So I just thought it would be fun to drive for a living.”In 1978, he began driving trucks for others. But the following year, he persuaded his father-in-law to cosign on a loan that would finance his first truck. Leaving behind his wife and one-year-old son, Val began to drive five or six days a week, 600 or 700 miles a day, at the then-national interstate speed limit of 55 miles per hour.With a trailer full of canned soup, or dairy products, or bananas, or pharmaceutical supplies, or baking flour, or even bowling balls, Val would head to a new destination each week: maybe Las Vegas, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Wisconsin, South Dakota—anywhere. All without any form of GPS.“I had an atlas,” says Val. “A good old Rand McNally. I had a briefcase full of city maps, like Chicago, LA, San Francisco. You could buy those at truck stops readily. Anytime I’d go to a city I’d never been before, I’d stop on the outskirts of town and buy myself a map.”And if he needed to call a customer to verify directions, he’d have to stop at a truck stop and use the payphone.Still to this day, Val knows not only how to navigate across the country on the interstate, but how far all the cities are from one another. Photo by Paul Waldron“From right here in Tremonton, it’s 110 miles to Evanston, Wyoming,” he recalls from his inner map. “403 miles across Wyoming, 456 across Nebraska, and 310 across Iowa—and you’re in Illinois.”On his cross-country treks, he would tune into a good AM or FM station or listen to one of his cassette tapes. He would also check out books on tape at one truck stop that could be returned at another, like an interlibrary loan.Truck stops were and are central to life on the road. At truck stops, truckers refuel both their bellies and their trucks, take showers, and park for the night so they can snooze in their sleepers. Nowadays, like everything else, many mom-and-pop truck stops have been taken over by large chains.When Val would get hungry—the ice in his cooler from home melted and the homemade sandwiches long gone—he’d stop at a truck-stop café, where he consumed “good, home-cooked meals.” (Unlike today, his early trucks lacked amenities such as a microwave and refrigerator.)“You could get anything,” Val says. “Omelets, chicken-fried steaks, mashed potatoes. Any kind of breakfast, lunch. A lot of times they’d have a lunch special. Most truck-stop cafés would have a special at night. But you could get anything from spaghetti or chicken parmesan to a patty melt or a steak.”After eating, he’d head back out to deliver his load until he needed to stop again. Truckers are only allowed to drive for eleven hours at a time, meaning that if a trucker hits his or her limit fifteen minutes outside of a big town, they have to stop on the road and wait until they can drive again. In the early days, trucker logs were on paper, and a creative mind could get around the eleven-hour limit easily. Today’s trucks, with their electronic logs, are not so forgiving.Despite the daily grind, Val enjoyed seeing the sights as he drove. One of his favorite routes traversed through the Upper Midwest.“I liked the Upper Midwest in about May, when the corn’s about that tall”—Val’s hand demonstrates about three or four feet off the ground—“and everything’s green. You can look at the corn rows over the rolling hills and it wasn’t too hot and humid yet. It was beautiful.”He also loved driving to California, where you could see relics from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Now, the desert drive is bumper-to-bumper from Vegas to LA. He misses the days when you could pull a big truck onto the Vegas Strip, right up to a hotel casino, and indulge in the $1.99 buffet.The increase of traffic is one of the biggest changes Val has seen through the years. That and gas prices—when he bought his first truck in 1979, diesel fuel was just 35 cents per gallon.40-plus years, a brand-new office building, and forty trucks in the fleet later, Val only takes a load when one of his drivers is sick. But he’s still proud of being a trucker.“It’s a great profession,” he says. “It’s one that’s severely underappreciated, and that’s kind of a sign that we do our jobs so well. If we weren’t doing our jobs so well, we’d get a lot more attention.”—Ashley Evans

Looking for international flights but don’t want to shell out thousands of dollars for a single round-trip ticket? Don’t want ten layovers just to get to one location? Well, I know a guy—a guy online named Scott Keyes.

Is diversity as inevitable as it is important? Because of the various definitions, multiculturalism can be difficult to define. Most seem to agree that multiculturalism is information from in-group and out-group members that affects how people behave. Multiculturalism is the result of migration and cultural change over time. No individual culture is ever static and unchanging; there is always constant change and adaptation. As travel has become more accessible and common, more people are starting to immigrate to different parts of the world. Often times, diverse cultures are found throughout a country or within a city.In sociology, multiculturalism is the end state of a country or community. Some metaphors that are used are “melting pot,” which implies that all cultures are a mix of other cultures; “cultural mosaic,” which implies that distinct cultures are well integrated into a society but maintain their uniqueness; and “salad bowl,” which implies that cultures different from the majority culture do not integrate but maintain their own cultural identity.For example, the United States is often referred to as a melting pot. This is partially because multiculturalism is not clearly defined at the federal level but ethnic diversity exists in both rural and urban areas. In other words, immigrants usually keep certain aspects of their cultures—especially in their own communities—but can be considered fully American and also adopt certain American values and behaviors.Cultural pluralism is another way in which communities become more diverse, and in everyday language, it closely fits the salad bowl metaphor: smaller groups within a larger society keep their individual cultural identities, values, and practices. Canada, for example, is often described as a salad bowl society. The dominant culture in salad bowl societies is usually accepting of these different values, even if they are somewhat similar.Reactions to MulticulturalismWhen people are exposed to the idea of multiculturalism, they become more willing to accept multiculturalism within society. Most schools try to teach children about multiculturalism as early as possible, and in recent years, these efforts have been intensified.It is estimated that the 46 million Americans ages 14 to 24 are the most diverse generation in American society, so it is more important than ever to teach young children, whose generation is potentially even more diverse, to tolerate and appreciate different kinds of cultures. According to the US census, as of 2015, 40 percent of Americans identify as non-white. In 2010, that number was only 38 percent. As this percentage increases, it is expected that more people will welcome societal diversity.However, this will not always be the case. I interviewed a middle-aged woman who has lived in Orem, Utah, for most of her life. (She wanted to remain anonymous.) When I asked her for her opinion about the changing demographics of Orem, she said, “Orem got more populated and more diverse. More houses had to be built, and we lost a lot of the orchards and farms we had. We also had to build bigger buildings, and many people lost their homes because of it.”In the Orem woman's opinion, it is “not a good thing” because it increases the population, which can have drastic consequences like the ones mentioned previously. Her perspective brought to light some potential issues with multiculturalism that I had not considered. Perhaps there are negative consequences of diversity that are often ignored. However, it is also important to note that overpopulation can happen in communities with little diversity without immigration.Many cultures are conservative in that they tend to resist change. Some resist to a greater degree than others by creating laws to preserve tradition and make it harder for alien ideas and practices to enter in. In France, the government banned English words that are used in products, especially if the word has a French equivalent. This is not entirely surprising, considering that French used to be the lingua franca, or global language. However, the government is struggling to eradicate English use because young people continue to use English words like “sandwich” and “computer.”Some cultures, however, are very accepting of and open to change. Ever since 1980, the people of China have been using American technology, such as cell phones and television, and have adopted American culture in everyday life. McDonald’s has been very popular and has opened 560 restaurants in China and will soon be opening 100 more. KFC is even more popular: 1,000 stores opened, 100 of them being in the capital! Even less popular food chains such as Taco Bell, A&W, and Pizza Hut are also gaining traction in China. In 2003, China made learning English a requirement for all children in the country. This instruction begins when students are in third grade. These children will look to American TV shows and movies to maintain their English skills, and this will likely spread westernization.Some people believe multiculturalism can lead to egalitarianism. Evidence from a study done at Berkley that suggests people in diverse communities are kinder and see themselves as part of a worldwide culture.In short, cultural diversity starts when the members of a community are open to having other cultures represented in their culture. Indeed, diversity is as inevitable as it is important.—Marissa Faulkner