{"id":734,"date":"2012-02-07T17:43:25","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T17:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cycloexpeditionamericas.com\/?p=734"},"modified":"2012-02-07T17:43:26","modified_gmt":"2012-02-07T17:43:26","slug":"until-the-snow-melts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cycloexpeditionamericas.com\/en\/2012\/02\/until-the-snow-melts\/","title":{"rendered":"Until the snow melts…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While my bike is stored until the snow melts, I keep myself busy (as if I wasn’t busy enough) by reading a little bit.\u00a0The first book, The Conquest of America<\/em>, by Tzvetan Todorov, was submitted to me through a psycho-sociology\u00a0class\u00a0at the university.\u00a0The subtitle, The question of the Other<\/em>, is much more important than the main title for my class.\u00a0This essay discusses about inaccurate perceptions that people often have of others and constructions that we make from a newly discovered place. Taking place during America’s conquest made by the Spanish conquistadores and during the greatest genocide in history of humanity that ensued, this book allowed me to learn a lot more about what happened.\u00a0Various historical figures are portrayed as Columbus, Cortes, Montezuma, Duran and Las Casas, showing their relation with otherness. One will react in a contemptuous way, without attempting to know the culture he is facing. In the opposite, an other will want to know all the details in order to better control the unknown, in order to take advantage of the other by controlling information. An other will idealize them by putting on a pedestal a culture that he does not really know. In the end, the ideal reaction to otherness seems humanly difficult to achieve.<\/p>\n

The second book, History of Latin America and the Caribbean – From Independence to the Present <\/em>by\u00a0Jos\u00e9 del Pozo, is a bit more pragmatic, but yet relevant.\u00a0I have also discovered this one at the university, in an optional class that I chose, but that I had to cancel because my schedule was getting too busy.\u00a0Although I don’t go, I decided to get the book.\u00a0I just started it, and it will take me to the hectic days of the early 19th century, when most Latin American countries were getting independent, until our time.\u00a0This is a part of the world from which, apart from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, we don’t learn a lot in our poor history highschool’s lessons here, so I find it very useful to know more before leaving.\u00a0It might be fine to \u00ab\u00a0enjoy the moment\u00a0\u00bb on a trip, but to understand what’s going on, we have to understand how we got there.<\/p>\n

I think it’s okay to activate those neurons before leaving, but I also have to activate my muscles! The program this winter, every week, is:<\/p>\n