writing

Thoughts on a Crashing Plane from a Plane That Is Hopefully Not Crashing

Posted on by Mathew Polowitz

It seems the more I fly, the more I fear the possibility of a death by plane crash. I see it ever more clearly. The booming groan of an engine failing mid-flight, a sudden jerk turned into weightlessness as our 80-ton death chamber plummets towards it’s fate below.

It is only a toy! A toy charged with holding the lives of too many, one that can at any point be plucked from it’s trajectory and sentenced to a fall through eternal nothingness down yonder.

And it is a game! We play at it ferociously, tinkering to find better ways, faster ways, ways that are sleeker and more clever than all of those dated, inferior ways of the past. Ways that reach the sky in their ingenuity and dance circles around those that never dared to dream big. But who is smarter now? Who more clever than the ones flailing gracelessly towards earth, returning to the place from which they leaped with so much irreverence? Read More

Traveling Slow in Pai

Posted on by Mathew Polowitz

When it comes to traveling responsibly, slow travel often tops the list of suggestions. What is slow travel? Think opposite that checklist mentality so many take in venturing out to explore the world. It’s stopping to spend more than just a couple of days in each destination. It’s slowing down to really learn and appreciate each place you visit. It’s finding your own favorite spots removed from the tourist circuit. If you’re looking for a true cultural experience, this is the way to do it.

I know, I know. Not everyone has the liberty of taking months off to go see the world. Not everyone can plop down in a place they find homey and just decide to stay a while. For most, it takes planning. It also takes a degree of open-mindedness, and a somewhat open schedule. But all of these things are pretty easily attainable when you allow yourself the freedom. They can all be procured with a little bit of initiative, and a little bit of faith. Read More

Omeliah

Posted on by Mathew Polowitz

“Omeliah,” Papa said to us as we strolled up to the rice paddy kitchen, a leaf-covered bamboo pavilion that holds all the essential cooking supplies, a fire pit, and even a reserve of blankets and pillows for midday rests. These are the trademark home-away-from-homes for the Karen people, erected at any rice paddy a family owns – an arrival at which marks an end to one’s typical hike from town to work site.

Translated literally, ‘omeliah’ means ‘have you eaten rice?’ Translated loosely, the phrase becomes a more general ‘have you eaten anything?’ It is one of those common cultural nuances that makes sense among the many hill tribes of northern Thailand, wherein rice is the staple of sustenance. Among the Karen, this is also as close as I could get to discerning any type of greeting. From what I could tell, their live’s are all so fluently entwined that there is simply no use for the word hello. Read More