Source: pulitzercenter.org
In class we are learning about early humans and migration. Follow this great story and blog by National Geographic writer, Paul Salopek as he makes a seven year journey following the footsteps of man. His Out of Eden blog can be found here. Read more about his project here:
From 2013 to 2020, writer Paul Salopek is recreating that epic journey on foot, starting at humankind’s birthplace in Ethiopia and ending at the southern tip of South America, where our forebears ran out of horizon. Along the way he is engaging with the major stories of our time — from climate change to technological innovation, from mass migration to cultural survival — by walking alongside the people who inhabit these headlines every day. Moving at the slow beat of his footsteps, Paul is also seeking the quieter, hidden stories of people who rarely make the news.
You can follow his blog or dispatches on our class blog. There is an RSS feed listed on the right side of the blog and you will see his most recent posts. You can also ask Mr. Salopek questions about his journey. He posts thematic maps here and you can see where he currently is, if you see this Google Map. This is a very cool story, one that you can follow for the next several years. In class, we are brainstorming questions we would ask Paul. We will collect the best questions and post a message on his blog, Out of Eden Walk. Hopefully we will respond during his trek. Below is a video playlist about his journey and human migration (see pages 46-47 in our textbook).
Linking to Thinking 
How does he go though all the dangerous countries. That is so weird.
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Ben,
We heard your ideas today about the dangerous world we live in. Yes, there are some dangerous regions, and I am sure Mr. Salopek takes precautions. However, it seems like you think the entire world is a dangerous place to Americans. I don’t think it is.
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Where does he get all the supplies and the materials for the 7 year walk? And does he sleep at the streets or at the hotel? Where does he get all this money from and why does he go over dangerous countries? I bet he is not normal person..
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Juyang,
What an adventure he is on. Yes, I suppose in some way he is not normal. It depends on what you think normal is. I would love to be on this adventure, but my wife would not let me leave for seven years. Ha!
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I would never do the 7 year walk He is very very brave to do this because it is during wars.
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Yes, I am sure he is very brave, one of the many traits we can use to describe him.
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I think that the 7 year walk is really a good idea. BUT THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD DO IT!!!!
7 YEARS!!! I think 1 years is already pretty long but 7…. That is like 1/9 or 1/8 of a lifetime….. Even if I wouldn’t do it, I think that if he is curious we shouldn’t stop him to go out there and look search and maybe DISCOVER.
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I think Paul Salopek is really courageous. Can you imagine walking for 7 years? I won’t do that, but after all, it might be an amazing trip, discovering countries must be very exiting, but very dangerous because he can get sick, or go without food so that is risky!
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I really think that Paul Salopek is amazing because I don’t think I can use 7 years of my life to walk the same route as early humans. I also thought he treated everybody fairly and equal because even we asked him questions and he answered all of our 4 questions using his busy time during journey.
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Yuki,
It was nice of him to answer our questions. He must be quite busy with his journey, so I am appreciative of the time we took to answer our questions. I hope he will answer other questions we send him.
Mr. Martin
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I heard that he is coming to India but he will be further north.He will be in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.Did you know that Dharamsala was the first retreat for Dalai Lama.Dharamsala is also the home to some of the Himalayan Mountains.It has an area of 29.51sq. km.
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7 years walking will be so tiring for me and I will never do that. I think Paul Salopek is really brave making the decision to walk 7 years and walking through dangerous places.
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I think he is really really cool. Because to walk 7 years is so hard.
I wonder why does he can walk every day, every time and not giving up.
Why is he so strong?
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