Photojournalism, PeaceCorps, Big Dead Place

A few years ago I bought a book about photojournalism, sort of a how-to guide to independent photojournalism, from the basics of composition to the practicalities of working as a free agent in a crisis situation. That appeals strongly to me, but there are also reasons why such a career is not appropriate for me. Some of the advice appealed very strongly; the guide advised to keep one's passport and other basic travelling necessities on one's person at all times, a small bag packed in the trunk of the car — just in case you had to dash off to some foreign country without having time to stop at home first. That sounds appealing to me, especially if I could do it in some kind of science capacity.

I started applying for PeaceCorps yesterday but then came to the conclusion that the jobs for which I qualified were horribly boring — I don't think I would take very well to teaching villagers to use Microsoft Excel. The civil engineering jobs sound vastly more interesting, but I haven't studied civil engineering, now have I?

It's January now, summertime in the Antarctic. It turns out it's time to apply again for work in that Big Dead Place. Maybe I could attempt a McPhee-esque treatment of the trans-Antarctic highway.