Softness
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I read one of your interviews on LJ (Karen Miller, 2007). In it you mentioned a 6 week study tour of Africa. What was that like? Have you written more about that trip somewhere? Do you still have any of those picture slides you took? You also mentioned hitchhiking in Europe! What countries? I'd love to hear more if you ever feel like talking about these adventures. ^^ -Kalli
Lois McMaster Bujold
The Africa trip was in 1971, and the Europe one in 1965, so both over 50 years ago. While I still remember more about them than any of my high school classes, I don't think I have the endurance to type them out just now.
I do still have all the slides. No slide projector or other method of displaying them, however. (Note to all the techie readers about to jump in with advice, Yes, I know they could be converted to digital. No, I'm not on for that project just now either, thanks.)
The hitch-hiking was with my 21-year-old brother (I was 15.) 1965 was likely just on the cusp before such a thing came to be considered too dangerous. Youth hostels and his valiant attempt to tour Europe on $5 a day. We did England, Scotland, and a bit of Wales. Switzerland and north Italy were in there somewhere, and passenger trains, a novelty to my Midwestern experience. (My brother was a big train and model railroad buff. To this day I still find public mass transportation alien and daunting.) Three weeks of this, switched to trains in France, where it wasn't so easy to thumb it, then he dumped me with my parents in Paris, once we'd finally found their hotel, and he went north to Scandinavia and we went south by car to Germany and Italy.
This was back in the days when a trip overseas was considered a once-in-a-lifetime experience, not a weekend jaunt. I was, of course, totally ignorant of the histories much of what I was seeing, and no internet to fill in, hah, but less so by the end. 1965 trip is also memorable for being where I first found The Fellowship of the Ring, on a used-book rack in Rome. I would say, "Left by some hippie," but hippies weren't invented yet.
Ta, L.
I do still have all the slides. No slide projector or other method of displaying them, however. (Note to all the techie readers about to jump in with advice, Yes, I know they could be converted to digital. No, I'm not on for that project just now either, thanks.)
The hitch-hiking was with my 21-year-old brother (I was 15.) 1965 was likely just on the cusp before such a thing came to be considered too dangerous. Youth hostels and his valiant attempt to tour Europe on $5 a day. We did England, Scotland, and a bit of Wales. Switzerland and north Italy were in there somewhere, and passenger trains, a novelty to my Midwestern experience. (My brother was a big train and model railroad buff. To this day I still find public mass transportation alien and daunting.) Three weeks of this, switched to trains in France, where it wasn't so easy to thumb it, then he dumped me with my parents in Paris, once we'd finally found their hotel, and he went north to Scandinavia and we went south by car to Germany and Italy.
This was back in the days when a trip overseas was considered a once-in-a-lifetime experience, not a weekend jaunt. I was, of course, totally ignorant of the histories much of what I was seeing, and no internet to fill in, hah, but less so by the end. 1965 trip is also memorable for being where I first found The Fellowship of the Ring, on a used-book rack in Rome. I would say, "Left by some hippie," but hippies weren't invented yet.
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Mary
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
In this past year I've discovered audio books. Now I own your entire collection in three formats! (Hoarder, much?) I've found that some books really shine when read aloud, no matter who reads them, some shine when presented by a great narrator and some have all their deficits glaringly exposed by being voiced aloud. (Yours shine. Like the sun!) What has been your experience as author and a listener with audio format?
Kosigan
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
On a re-listen of the Vorkosigan audiobooks recently, I noticed a 1-line reference to the tunnels under Vorbarr Sultana that were used to such great effect in Captain Vorpatril's Alliance - which was written about 20 years later. This got me to wondering: how much research of your own work is (was) involved in preparing for a new entry in a series that has been written over such a length of time?
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Jan 21, 2018 12:45AM
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