Marketing Intern
I wish my life were as interesting as
Karin Muller’s. Unfortunately, it is not. I’ve won a grant or two, even one
that will send me to England next year, but nothing I have ever done or will
ever do will be as cool as what Muller’s done with her grant from the National Geographic Society. Here, let me break it down for you. Have you ever:
1. Gone a on a
six-month jaunt through Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Chile, with a camera man in
tow?
2. Map in hand, gone in search for
remnants of the ancient stone-paved Inca Road that crisscrosses South America?
3. Been hit over the head with a squealing Guinea
pig, only then to be told your diagnosis by the look of its entrails?
4. Been tear-gassed in an indigenous
antigovernment protest?
5. Witnessed the mysterious crash of a
Brazilian military helicopter in the Andean highlands?
6. Watched a military crew clear live
mines that Peruvians planted during the Ecuador-Peruvian border war?
7. Donned an orange cloak and gold
sparkles to pull a roast pig (clocking in at 200 pounds) during the traditional
Festival of Mama Negra?
Oh, you haven’t? Yeah, me neither. But
Karin Muller has, and better yet, she’s interwoven into her adventures the vibrant
story of the rise and fall of the Incan Empire. The remnants of the Incan
people are everywhere in her travels, and she takes us from the persistence of ancient shamanism (curanderismo) to roundups of vicunas (which, by
the way, are adorable), and the harvesting of coca leaves. She explores ancient
traditions like chewing coca leaves, as well as contemporary problems, like the
cocaine industry. That’s right—there’s a lively history lesson to
be found in there too.
My
life will probably never be this fascinating. But with any luck, for an
evening, I’ll live vicariously through Karin Muller, and witness her South
American adventures as if they were my own. If you’ve ever had an inkling for South
America, or for adventure in general, I would suggest that on May 7th and 8th, you do too.
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