September 23, 2008 -Marco Polo-

I am incredibly sick of reading The Travels of Marco Polo. Usually I love books with historical value, but this one is just so boring! I hate how he just drones on and on about these places, and yet not once does he describe any of his experiences in them. The entire thing is just so impersonal, like he purposefully extricated himself from the vast majority of the novel. (Could you really call it a novel?) This, I suppose, helps to really spark the debate as to whether or not he ever went to Asia. Don't you think that if he really had made that incredible trip he would have had tales to tell, experiences to relate? A popular theory is that he only made it as far as Persia, and that everything you read in the book is merely tales told to him by travellers passing through who actually had made the trip. That would explain why the book never mentioned the practice of foot binding, or tea, a staple drink in China that didn't even exist in Italy at the time. Then again, really, he doesn't talk about local customs much at all, the book mainly consists of how long, in terms of days, it takes to get from point A to point B, the weather, the terrain, religions practiced in different areas, and the fact that he encounters many people speaking languages "peculiar to themselves."
I don't know though, I just think that everyone is inclined to believe conspiracy theories. Roswell, New Mexico, the JFK assassination, even 9/11. Everybody wants to believe that there is some big secret being held back from everyone. And I'm not saying that I don't believe some things are conspiracies, but when it comes to Marco Polo, I'm not really sure why, but I want to believe the best about him. If you were to ask me what I really thought, I would have to say that yes, I believe he went to China, I believe he served in the court of the "Grand Khan." Why not? And the quote from his deathbed, "I did not tell the half of what I saw." That's one of my favorites. Right up there with Ghandi's "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
On a far less interesting note, I've ordered this Honeybush Apricot tea from Adagio and I am absolutely in love with it. I'm going to order a big bag as soon as I have the extra cash. Something you should probably know, I am positively addicted to tea. Mostly black leaf, though I do like green every once in a while. There is nothing more relaxing than a hot cup of quality tea and a good book. Granted, Honeybush is not actually tea, it's a tisane, (a term that includes herbal beverages and infusions) but typically, I drink tea.
The new laptop is glorious, I played on it for ages. I can't wait to get my own, but a car is my number one priority. In December I get payed for doing a Covance study, and I'm buying a Beetle! (Red or yellow??)