The idea:
This couple, drinking at the Herbstdult beer festival in Regensberg
Germany, are millennials-- part of the generation born between 1980 and
2000.
This woman, weaving a basket in Kontum, Vietnam, is a millennial, too.
By age alone they are lumped in with the group that the American media
has made synonymous with indecision, entitlement, and delayed adulthood. But what do they, their lives, expectations, hopes, and fears have in common with this image, or with each other?
This campaign will provide
partial funding for my research exploring the lives of so-called “millennials” (those born 1980-2000) across Eurasia, via an overland trip from Helsinki to Beijing
on the Transmongolian Railroad. After almost a decade
exploring the world (over 40 countries!) and straying from the
conventional professional path, I feel I have some interesting
insights to share. Preparing to close this chapter of my
life and begin a career in journalism, it occurred to me that this might be a good time to reflect on my experiences off the beaten path and the lessons
to be learned from them.
I studied anthropology at university, and here
is where my training kicked in. I wondered how my own perspective might compare with those of peers from other
cultures... and an idea for a book was born: a hybrid
travelogue-memoir-cultural-investigation mixing my own experiences as
a millennial with stories of those I meet along the way. On a literary level, a train
journey provides a great narrative device in which to mix reflections
and insights with travelogue-style observations and adventure. It
offers a concrete beginning and ending point, narrative momentum, and
a built-in geographic transition ripe with parallels to the process
of growing up. One a practical level, researching Across will call
upon my strengths: finding and facilitating adventure in foreign
places, making new friends from different cultures, seeking out and
recording their stories, and distilling it all into
compelling, insightful prose.
I hope that this book will help do what trend pieces from countless media have not: ask questions about the borders of the "millennial" experience in terms of geography, culture, and class; shine a light on the diversity of the twenty-something experience world-wide; and ask what this generation, poised to inherit the world, can learn from one another and do to understand each other better.
The money:
This idea is a little more than a
year old, and I've spent the last 12 months saving for it. I had
hoped to crowdfund just 25% of the project, but expenses,
particularly visa processing fees, are more than I anticipated. Since
self-funding is impossible, I am hoping to raise 40% of my research
budget. I will cover the remaining 60%, as well as a plane ticket
home from Beijing. Funding for the time needed to write the draft
itself will come from my own savings and from grants I search out
after I arrive home. The following is a rough budget:
Dates: Approximately June 10-August 1
- Visa processing: $200
processing fees + $440 consular fees + $70 dollars postage: $710
- Airplane
ticket from Madrid to Tampere, Finland: $180
- Ferry
ticket, Helsinki to Saint Petersburg: $60
- Trans-Siberian
Train Ticket: $1000
- Mongolian
Train Ticket: $200
- Mongolia-China
Train Ticket: $175
- Food,
at approximately $30/day for 51 days: $1530
- Accommodations
at $20/night for 30 nights (with hope of couchsurfing or sleeping on
the train along the way): $600
- Travel/health
insurance: $170
- Gifts
for couchsurfing hosts, helpers, interview sources, and general
palm-greasing (necessary for a foreign researcher working in these
cultures): $250
Total: $4875
40% + IndieGoGo cut +various processing fees = $2100
Please note: If the situation between
the US and Russia deteriorates and I am denied a visa, I will be in
direct touch with all contributors regarding return of funds.
Still not convinced? Read a few of my
essays/clips. This is the kind of writing you will be supporting with
a contribution.
- "True Manhood By Dodging Turnips," an account of a unique Extremaduran festival published this month in the "Spain Scoop." http://bit.ly/1m3wcxg
- "On Horcruxes and Homes," a meditation on the meaning of home to a traveler, from my personal blog. bit.ly/1m3wFPT
- "My Fifth Wesleyan Reunion--in Madrid," on recreating a college reunion abroad, published October 2013 in "Wesleyan Magazine" http://bit.ly/1lEbq4j
- "Being Chinese in Charlestown, Part 3," the last installment of a three-part feature on the Chinese community in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood, published Fall 2011 in the "Sampan" newspaper. http://bit.ly/1oRqBNH
Being Realistic
Although I would be humbled and thrilled if this project were to
be fully funded, the trip will happen regardless via loans. I am
committed to this project and really excited to see it out in the
world. Any donation, in any amount, is greatly appreciated! As you'll see, many of my perks involve taking my contributors along with me virtually on the trip. I hope to share this experience with many of you!
Still, these are hard times and I know not everyone will want to or be able to contribute financially. Regardless of your decision, I value your feedback-- please share this project widely and feel free to contact me about friends in the countries where I will travel who might want to speak with me or ideas you have for how to make this book better.
An archery competition among millennials in Leh, Ladakh, India