Circumnavigate (def.)

Cir·cum·nav·i·gate (sûr'kəm-năv'ĭ-gāt')
1. To proceed completely around: circumnavigating the earth.
2. To go around; circumvent: circumnavigate the downtown traffic.

Circumnavigator:
1. One who sails around... the world

Notable Circumnavigators: Magellan, Phileas Fogg, Micinski


The Grant:

"The award is worth $8,000 and will be presented by The Michigan Chapter of Circumnavigators. This prestigious award has been granted since 1981. For 25 years, Michigan Circumnavigators, through its Foundation, have sponsored 12 students on an around the world trip during the summer between the junior and senior year. The student receiving the grant is looked upon as an ambassador representing both the United States and the Circumnavigators, which have 14 chapters throughout the world...The grantee must travel around the world, by any means of transportation, in one continual direction...[The trip must also] include a minimum of 10 weeks of travel through at least 5 countries spread over at least three broad geographical regions or continents."

I submitted my application while I was studying abroad in Egypt focusing exclusively on Arabic in November. Then I was selected in December as a finalist. After I arrived stateside, I was interviewed in early January by the Michigan Chapter's selection committee. Later that night, I found out I would be circumnavigating the world this summer!

More info on the grant and the foundation.

The Project:

The purpose of my research is to test the following hypothesis: Civil society organizations perform a crucial dual role for newly immigrated Muslims as well as for long-established Muslim minority communities, by encouraging connections to their former homeland and teaching skills for integration. While the actions of governments can be seen easily through legislation and administrative policies, the actions of civil society are harder to identify. But precisely because civil society is less rigid and more informal, it has the potential to respond to problems in more creative and effective ways. But to learn about these connections, I will go to the field.

Thus to test this hypothesis and fill a gap in the literature on civil society in Muslim communities, I will travel to Brazil, France, Norway, Russia, India, and Singapore this summer, There I will conduct interviews with leaders, staff, and members of organizations within Muslim diaspora and Muslim minority communities. I will investigate the services each organization provides and its effects on the Muslim community and the larger community of which it is a part.

The Itinerary:

Sao Paulo, Brazil: May 29- June 4
New York: June 5
Reykjavik, Iceland: June 6
Paris, France: June 7- June 12
Oslo, Norway: June 13- June 19
Stockholm, Sweden: June 20
Finland: June 21- June 25
St. Petersburg, Russia: June 26- July 3
Kazan, Russia: July 4- July 9
Moscow, Russia: July 9- July 16
Dubai, UAE: July 17- July18
Chennai, India: July 19- July 25
New Delhi, India: July 26- August 5
Singapore: August 6- August 10

With my sights on Odysseus' home

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)