Ethnographies and Travelogues

[delkelric.livejournal.com]

"Good morning class!" said Mr. Valdoria with a grin. "Today we're going to discuss the difference between travelogues and ethnographies. I'm going to pass around these hand outs. First is the syllabus, please read, and ask any questions you may have. I would like you to take the rest home and come back next week with 100 words on the difference between an ethnography and a travelogue and be ready to discuss them. For today, we're going to discuss your preconceptions about traveling. So, when traveling, what thing do people do that normally wind up with them getting killed? Discuss."

Roster:
1) kawalsky
2) conathon
3) courier_gavin
4) psycho_barbie
5) _farmboy_
6) 12parseckessel
7) wraithbaitjohn
8) not_an_ex_demon
9) notguildenstern

Comments

[12parseckessel.livejournal.com]

Anything you do can get you killed in the wrong place. Walking on the wrong side of the street--and I don't just mean by oncoming traffic, eating the wrong food, saying the wrong words, sitting in the wrong spot, even being the wrong species or gender.

So far, I've been pretty lucky.

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

*walks into class, takes handouts, and sits down*

Things which get you killed?

*leans back in chair and looks at ceiling*

Failure to properly scout terrain, not keeping a proper guard, forgetting to ask about potential hazards such as bandits, Amazons, or Hydra, trusting the word of bandits, being disrespectful or patriarchal when dealing with Amazons, especially when in Amazon lands (although that's more of a wish they had killed you thing), dismissing warnings of Hydra and other such beasties as "Silly Pagan Superstitions", lack of adequate supplies, ill-chosen campsites, improper camp set-up, not vetting your caravan guards, not hiring caravan guards, not exercising proper caution when leading your army through territory belong to a warlord with a better army. That's all I got off the top of my head.

Really, you're better off staying at home

[courier-gavin.livejournal.com]

"Sneaking into mad scientists supposedly empty lair, that'll get you killed," Jake leaned back and started thinking. "Oh and time travels to the past without prior warning, good one, 'cause you're unprepared, and they don't have double mochas. Dad says me asking for coffee all the time, is bound to get me killed by a client some day, but I don't believe him."

[wraithbaitjohn.livejournal.com]

Dude... I signed up for this? Okay...

Um... being the featured item on the hosts' menu will get you killed.

Playing with toys technology you aren't even close to being equiped to understand will get you (and 5/6 of a solar system) killed.

Kissing people you oughtn't be kissing can get you killed. (Okay, that doesn't just apply to when you're travelling)

Stealing Rodney's last PowerBar on a planet where all the food is some derivative of lemons will get you killed.

Turning off devices that are meant to stay *on* in order to contain nanovirii will get you killed.

Pissing off a culture who only *looks* to be pre-technological can get you killed.

[kawalsky.livejournal.com]

Bending over to check on someone and not watching when an alien parasite burrows into your neck and takes over your body can get you killed.

I speak from experience.