E.M. Forster’s famous tag line in Howard’s End seems ridiculously appropriate today.
“Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer.”
Yes, Forster’s opus deals more with connecting across different social classes (another favorite theme of mine), but as I gear up for my latest big wandering, I’m realizing it’s human connection — getting back to people I love and miss, and the delicious thought that new connections could await at any corner — that drives me, far more than the pretty pictures in my Lonely Planet guide (though those help).
On Friday, a day when I should have been grading the 49 essays I needed to grade or packing my (still-unpacked, less than 24 hours before I’ll leave) backpack, I drove out to Rutgers University to do a presentation for a group of teachers about to depart on a six-week Fulbright seminar to Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Connecting with Hungarian colleagues, last June
The Hungarian Fulbright director, Huba, told me I was just to talk about my life in Hungary, and as I began showing slides and listing tips for enjoying the life magyar- style, I realized I was talking far more about people than the “stuff” there. One teacher told me later how she felt so excited to depart, because “you just seemed so happy discussing your time there.” Then, one of the other presenters recognized our mutual friend, Veronika in a slide (who I taught with at Pazmany Peter when I loved abroad, and who had spent the previous year on a Fulbright at Rutgers). While we discussed her awesomeness (for she is truly awesome), Huba joined in and I thought about how odd it was: one community college teacher from Virginia, a Rutgers history professor and an older Hungarian man, all connecting over another Hungarian, a Shakespeare scholar and all-around wonderful literature teacher.
The sights of travel are great. Gorging on local delicacies is also lovely (as the teachers I spoke to probably noticed, given my attention to lángos and pálinka during the presentation). But it’s the connections I make when traveling — and how those burst forth into more and more chances to meet, understand and experience this array of great people you might otherwise miss — that make it worth the jet lag, low bank accounts and less-than-stellar wardrobe and furnishings. Earlier this week, I’d actually been feeling a bit guilty. Who am I, a teacher who makes (most gratefully, most thankfully) a decent, livable wage, but nothing near an eye-popping salary, to go to Europe for a month? Isn’t it irresponsible, financially? Shouldn’t I learn to settle down and stay still, a bit (I do have some gray hair, after all…)? Today, I’m taking the Forester-philosophy: connecting is more important.
Now, to tackle that backpack…
