The Internet and other forms of global communication have affected (and continue to affect) many parts of our lives. In fact, they've affected so much that I will only go over a few ways they've changed the world, and only very briefly.
Through the use of various social networking sites, poeople have been able to interact with others from all over the world, and have been able to learn about cultures and languages different from their own. One example of such a website is Lang-8 (www.lang-8.com), a social networking site where users post journal entries in a language they are trying to learn, so native speakers of that language can correct things such as grammatical errrors and give them tips on how to improve.
Language itself has also been affected; many new words that originated in other languages are gradually being brought to widespread use outside of the country of origin. An example is this is the vast amount of words that have been borrowed from Japanese and are used mainly within "Otaku culture" (to simplify, this refers to people that are active fans of Japanese animation, video games, comic books, etc.). Some words have also gained new meanings through Internet-based communities, such as meme and troll. One last thing I'll mention on this subject is the verbification of many nouns, with one of the most well-known examples being Google.
Using the Internet, individuals can now buy and sell products from all over the world. This has also made it easier for individual sellers to sell their products; such as the many sellers of handmade crafts and clothing on sites like Etsy (www.etsy.com). On a slightly different but potentially more negative note, outsourcing work to other countries has increased significantly with global communication. While there are many benefits for companies outsourcing work, it is often criticized for various reasons: a perceived drop in product quality as a result of the company no longer having direct control over its production, outsourcing to foreign countries so they do not need to pay as much in US taxes, and many other reasons.
Not complete, and making me ask questions about what words existed before the internet got its hands on them and which ones didn't. I don't want to write anymore. I want to play Zangeki and do all that other homework.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Outline
"What is global communication and how has it promoted the globalization witnessed in the past ten years?"
Terrible outline on how global communication has affected some stuff. I have no introduction or thesis statement and I am not interested in making either of them before I begin to actually write. I’m also not going to write something about every single possible subject because there are just too many. But the internet is central to global communication, so basically everything I’m going to talk about will deal with that.
I. Cultural changes
1. Knowledge
2. Language
3. Hobbies/friends/food (needs a good name)
II. Other changes (this and all below it need better names. Or none. It’s just an outline, after all.)
1. Buying/selling/outsourcing
2. I want to talk about WikiLeaks somehow.
I'm sure this outline won't make any sense once I've actually written it. But it's something.
Terrible outline on how global communication has affected some stuff. I have no introduction or thesis statement and I am not interested in making either of them before I begin to actually write. I’m also not going to write something about every single possible subject because there are just too many. But the internet is central to global communication, so basically everything I’m going to talk about will deal with that.
I. Cultural changes
1. Knowledge
2. Language
3. Hobbies/friends/food (needs a good name)
II. Other changes (this and all below it need better names. Or none. It’s just an outline, after all.)
1. Buying/selling/outsourcing
2. I want to talk about WikiLeaks somehow.
I'm sure this outline won't make any sense once I've actually written it. But it's something.
Monday, January 24, 2011
When to use colons and semicolons
Semicolons and colons both have multiple uses. I'll go over each use and give a few examples.
SEMICOLONS
- To connect two sentences that could stand alone but are related to each other. A simple way to think of this use is: if both a comma and a period seem equally appropriate, you can use a semicolon.
Examples
"The sun was not shining; it was nighttime."
"Six people entered the haunted house; only two remain."
- To clarify how each part of a sentence with many commas relates to the others.
Examples
"As you know, class next week is cancelled; however, there is a review exercise you will be expected to complete during that time."
"The people that are coming to the party are Sophie, who will bring the van; Claire, who will bring the peach pie; and Chelsea, who will bring all the gifts."
COLONS
Colons are a lot more useful than semicolons. In addition to the three uses I'll be going over, colons can be used for expressing time (e.g. 12:47 PM), separating a title from a subtitle (e.g. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages), and I don't think I want/have time to talk about this anymore so I am done.
- To connect one sentence with a second sentence that explains or gives details about the first sentence.
Examples
"They were told only one thing: don't go into the woods at night."
"Don't make me think up more example sentences: I'm starting to hate all punctuation and all grammar."
- To indicate that a list follows.
Examples
"I bought a number of things at the store: a stapler, a new clock, safety pins, and tape."
"Bearded dragons will eat any of the following: veggies, crickets, meal worms, and wax worms."
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Boxal Draft of Incompletery (actually, this is complete)
The waters of the river glistened under the sunlight, and rippled out as a small canoe came through. In the canoe was a single woman; her graying hair flowing gently in the breeze. Above her a small brown bird circled in the sky a while, before suddenly changing its course and landing at the tip of the woman's canoe.
"What is it, little bird?" she asked it, with a voice oddly sonorous considering her rather rough appearance. The bird, of course, did not answer. It seemed to be preoccupied with something floating in the water near the tip of the canoe. Leaning forward would have put off the balance of the canoe a bit too much to be safe, so the woman reached out and felt for the mystery object without first seeing what it was. It didn't take her long to find it, and she pulled it out of the water and took a good look at it.
It seemed to be some sort of bottle decorated with beautiful paints. Upon opening it, she found two pieces of paper. One was some sort of letter, written in a language she did not know. At the end of the letter someone had stamped a single symbol, in red ink. Perhaps that was the name of the one who had written it. On the map, she saw that there was a village marked on it. Perhaps someone who lived in the village would know how to read the letter. Rather conveniently for her, her position on the map was easy to locate due to a statue of ebony, depicting a woman with ears drooping down to her shoulders. The statue was one she had passed not long ago, and it was also marked on the map. And so she set out to find this village.
When she arrived at the village, she was immediately greeted by a young boy wearing old, worn-out clothing. He appeared to be undernourished, yet he smiled as he played a fast, cheerful rhythm on a percussion instrument of some sort. At his feet was a small jar, with a few coins piling up at the bottom. She saw then that he was attempting to raise money, and he no doubt needed it, by the looks of him. But she did not have any money, and she came from a land far away from this village; so even if she did her money would likely be of no use to this boy. Feeling a bit guilty about being forced to ignore this boy's talents and problems, she moved on and explored the city.
She noticed, as she walked, that the poor boy's situation seemed to be the norm here. However, no one else appeared to be working to raise money, merely lamenting the state of affairs. Soon, though, the woman came across a single person, a young woman, who was dressed in very decorative clothing that the other inhabitants of this village could likely only dream of owning. It was a red dress of sorts, adorned with a colorful pattern of beads. She was wringing the water out of a cloth made from what appeared to be velvet. This woman, she felt, was the most likely to be able to read the letter she had found.
When she approached the woman, though, she was greeted with a barrage of words she could not understand. Of course, why would these people speak the only language she knew? This was likely the other side of the world from her homeland. To demonstrate her side of the language barrier, she replied, saying simply "I don't understand." The woman looked at her, and raised an eyebrow. Seeing this as the right time, the traveler presented to this woman the letter she had found. The woman examined it a moment, and then snatched it from her hands and said something in a tone that seemed almost accusatory. However, the traveler did not leave, merely stood there confused, so the woman quickly went into her hut, and when she came out she forced something into her hands and shooed her away.
Complying with her rather obvious wishes that she leave, the traveler returned to her canoe, and saw that she had been given three chestnuts. She supposed the woman gave her anything, anything to make her leave, but she kept these nuts nonetheless. Perhaps she could prepare them into some sort of meal later. She noticed, then, that she still had the map that she found in the bottle. She examined it again, looking for anything of particular interest, and found that there was a red "x" marked on the map a little ways behind the statue she had seen before. Very curious to find out what was there after witnessing the woman's reaction to the letter, she returned to the area to explore.
She had planned on exploring land, but when she returned to the area around the statue, she found that there was a branch of the river that had been hidden by the overgrown plants. She turned into this part of the river, and took it to the end. At the end was a clearing where there were numerous flowers of all colours growing around a large rock. The traveler could tell that there was something carved into the rock, but she couldn't read it at this distance. She stepped out of her canoe to get a closer look... but the moment she touched the ground, the scenery around her changed. The plants were no longer lush with life; now they were brown and wilting.
"Is this the place's true form?" The woman wondered aloud. It was then that she realized the biggest change; the stone was no longer there. In the center of the field of flowers was a small house, and from the windows she could see some source of light. Mentally preparing herself for the mystery of what would happen now, she stepped forward, and knocked on the wooden door.
Almost immediately, she was greeted by a beautiful woman with dark hair, wearing a rather extravagant violet-coloured dress. The traveler could sense, however, that not only was this not her true form, but she was a being who came from the realm of the dead.
"Oh, hello there. Are you a traveler? You must be exhausted. Please come in, I shall prepare a nice meal for you and you might rest a while..." The woman said all at once, giving her little time to decline. The traveler knew that stepping into the house of a dead being, of your own free will, would lead to your own death. After all, that would be accepting their invitation, and their home is, in truth, in the underworld.
"No, actually, I'm quite fine, I simply wish to know--"
"Nonsense! Come inside now." She interrupted her and practically dragged her inside by the arm. Once she was inside the house, against her will, she knew she was at least safe from the tricks of the undead, and so she sat at a small table when motioned to do so. The traveler looked around the room, and noticed, among various odd objects, what appeared to be a stamp made of stone. It was small, very decorative, and couldn't be larger than a small square... such as the symbol that was stampled onto the end of the letter. The woman returned with two glasses of tea, and placed one in front of the traveler.
"So, where did you come from? And how is it that you found this place?" She asked. The traveler found it a bit surprising that this woman spoke the same language as her, but refrained from commenting about it.
"A land so far away that you have certainly never heard of it. As for how I got here, I actually came across a map in a bottle that had this place marked."
"A map in a bottle, you say?" The woman seemed genuinely interested, perhaps even a bit surprised. "Might that map have been included with a letter?"
The traveler hesitated, wondering what honesty in this situation might bring. But she knew she would learn nothing if she did not tell this woman. "Yes, it did have a letter with it. I seem to have misplaced the letter, however. Its contents were... quite interesting, to say the least."
The woman's face twisted slightly, showing a mix of anger and surprise. "Oh, so you read it." She said, very matter-of-factly.
"Indeed I did."
"Then you should know that I had no choice but to make that man ill. It was for justice. He wronged me, so I wrong him back."
"What did this man ever do to you?" The traveler was quite pleased with the amount of information she had been able to get despite her dishonesty.
"He threw me into the river, that's what! He threw me in, knowing full well that a bloodthirsty beast had made its home there! He threw me in, and because of that I died."
And now everything comes together. This woman was a ghost, the type that can't bring itself to forget about the affairs of the living. Many monstrous catfish have been known to show up in rivers such as this one, and often they become maneaters. This man she spoke of pushed her into the river, be it for ill will or as a mere joke, and one of these maneaters then chose her as its next meal. She made the man ill, and the letter must have been meant for the woman she found... she was most likely related to the man. This ghost-woman wanted revenge on the man.
But now who stood before her was a stranger, an old woman. Not the man she sought. Yet this woman, the traveler, had uncovered her secrets and questioned her actions. Of course the illusion shattering and the ghost-woman going into a rage was bound to happen. The house disappeared, and now they both stood in the field of dead-looking flowers. Three lines of dark purple energy spiraled up around the ghost-woman, whose appearance was now itself decaying, and then at once the three lines of energy shot out at the traveler.
Three fast actions from the traveler, and each of the lines of energy had disappeared. Three objects then fell to the ground. They were the three chestnuts the traveler had been given. She had quickly thrown each to block one line of energy, though she imagined that they were no longer edible. They had allowed her to save her own life.
"What?!" The ghost-woman said, shocked, "How did you block them?!"
"The woman who has the letter right now... she gave me a parting gift before I set out to find this place. I had not imagined that they would be this useful." She answered. With that, she raised her hand to the sky, and the bird that had initially found the bottle flew overhead. A feather from this bird landed in her hand, and she threw it out in front of her. It stopped in midair, floating, and began to glow. The light it emitted became so bright that not a thing could be seen.
When the light cleared, the place returned to as it was before the traveler stepped onto the land. Beautiful flowers in full bloom, not a house or ghost in sight. The traveler hoped that the woman had returned to her rest, and then remembered that she wanted to know what the stone in the field of flowers said. She knelt down, and brushed off some dust. The carving on the stone was again in the language she did not know, but from the organization of the symbols, she could tell this was a marker of someone's grave.
She returned to the village, only to find the wealthy woman waiting outside of her hut, carving out of wood the face of a person. When the traveler approached her, she immediately put all that down, and lead her eagerly inside the hut. Inside, she was made to sit at a table, and the woman went and brought back with her a man. This man seemed a bit weak, but he was clearly recovering. The traveler assumed that this was the man who was cursed. They both seemed infinitely grateful to her, even to the point of serving her a delicious meal on a very elegantly-decorated plate. After they ate, the traveler thought to leave, but the woman stopped her, and took out what appeared to be a leather wallet. She took from it a number of coins, and held them out to the traveler. She hesitated, trying to communicate that she could not accept this gift, but the wealthy woman then took her hand and placed the coins into it, essentially forcing her to accept it.
With that, the traveler left. On her way back to her canoe, she saw the little drummer boy from before, still working hard. She went over to him and smiled sweetly before putting all of the coins she just received into the boy's jar. He looked surprised at first, but then smiled the biggest smile she had ever seen. With that, she felt content to leave. She set off once more, with no destination in mind. Perhaps it would lead to another adventure, or perhaps back to her own home. Either was fine with her, so she let the river's current guide her.
"What is it, little bird?" she asked it, with a voice oddly sonorous considering her rather rough appearance. The bird, of course, did not answer. It seemed to be preoccupied with something floating in the water near the tip of the canoe. Leaning forward would have put off the balance of the canoe a bit too much to be safe, so the woman reached out and felt for the mystery object without first seeing what it was. It didn't take her long to find it, and she pulled it out of the water and took a good look at it.
It seemed to be some sort of bottle decorated with beautiful paints. Upon opening it, she found two pieces of paper. One was some sort of letter, written in a language she did not know. At the end of the letter someone had stamped a single symbol, in red ink. Perhaps that was the name of the one who had written it. On the map, she saw that there was a village marked on it. Perhaps someone who lived in the village would know how to read the letter. Rather conveniently for her, her position on the map was easy to locate due to a statue of ebony, depicting a woman with ears drooping down to her shoulders. The statue was one she had passed not long ago, and it was also marked on the map. And so she set out to find this village.
When she arrived at the village, she was immediately greeted by a young boy wearing old, worn-out clothing. He appeared to be undernourished, yet he smiled as he played a fast, cheerful rhythm on a percussion instrument of some sort. At his feet was a small jar, with a few coins piling up at the bottom. She saw then that he was attempting to raise money, and he no doubt needed it, by the looks of him. But she did not have any money, and she came from a land far away from this village; so even if she did her money would likely be of no use to this boy. Feeling a bit guilty about being forced to ignore this boy's talents and problems, she moved on and explored the city.
She noticed, as she walked, that the poor boy's situation seemed to be the norm here. However, no one else appeared to be working to raise money, merely lamenting the state of affairs. Soon, though, the woman came across a single person, a young woman, who was dressed in very decorative clothing that the other inhabitants of this village could likely only dream of owning. It was a red dress of sorts, adorned with a colorful pattern of beads. She was wringing the water out of a cloth made from what appeared to be velvet. This woman, she felt, was the most likely to be able to read the letter she had found.
When she approached the woman, though, she was greeted with a barrage of words she could not understand. Of course, why would these people speak the only language she knew? This was likely the other side of the world from her homeland. To demonstrate her side of the language barrier, she replied, saying simply "I don't understand." The woman looked at her, and raised an eyebrow. Seeing this as the right time, the traveler presented to this woman the letter she had found. The woman examined it a moment, and then snatched it from her hands and said something in a tone that seemed almost accusatory. However, the traveler did not leave, merely stood there confused, so the woman quickly went into her hut, and when she came out she forced something into her hands and shooed her away.
Complying with her rather obvious wishes that she leave, the traveler returned to her canoe, and saw that she had been given three chestnuts. She supposed the woman gave her anything, anything to make her leave, but she kept these nuts nonetheless. Perhaps she could prepare them into some sort of meal later. She noticed, then, that she still had the map that she found in the bottle. She examined it again, looking for anything of particular interest, and found that there was a red "x" marked on the map a little ways behind the statue she had seen before. Very curious to find out what was there after witnessing the woman's reaction to the letter, she returned to the area to explore.
She had planned on exploring land, but when she returned to the area around the statue, she found that there was a branch of the river that had been hidden by the overgrown plants. She turned into this part of the river, and took it to the end. At the end was a clearing where there were numerous flowers of all colours growing around a large rock. The traveler could tell that there was something carved into the rock, but she couldn't read it at this distance. She stepped out of her canoe to get a closer look... but the moment she touched the ground, the scenery around her changed. The plants were no longer lush with life; now they were brown and wilting.
"Is this the place's true form?" The woman wondered aloud. It was then that she realized the biggest change; the stone was no longer there. In the center of the field of flowers was a small house, and from the windows she could see some source of light. Mentally preparing herself for the mystery of what would happen now, she stepped forward, and knocked on the wooden door.
Almost immediately, she was greeted by a beautiful woman with dark hair, wearing a rather extravagant violet-coloured dress. The traveler could sense, however, that not only was this not her true form, but she was a being who came from the realm of the dead.
"Oh, hello there. Are you a traveler? You must be exhausted. Please come in, I shall prepare a nice meal for you and you might rest a while..." The woman said all at once, giving her little time to decline. The traveler knew that stepping into the house of a dead being, of your own free will, would lead to your own death. After all, that would be accepting their invitation, and their home is, in truth, in the underworld.
"No, actually, I'm quite fine, I simply wish to know--"
"Nonsense! Come inside now." She interrupted her and practically dragged her inside by the arm. Once she was inside the house, against her will, she knew she was at least safe from the tricks of the undead, and so she sat at a small table when motioned to do so. The traveler looked around the room, and noticed, among various odd objects, what appeared to be a stamp made of stone. It was small, very decorative, and couldn't be larger than a small square... such as the symbol that was stampled onto the end of the letter. The woman returned with two glasses of tea, and placed one in front of the traveler.
"So, where did you come from? And how is it that you found this place?" She asked. The traveler found it a bit surprising that this woman spoke the same language as her, but refrained from commenting about it.
"A land so far away that you have certainly never heard of it. As for how I got here, I actually came across a map in a bottle that had this place marked."
"A map in a bottle, you say?" The woman seemed genuinely interested, perhaps even a bit surprised. "Might that map have been included with a letter?"
The traveler hesitated, wondering what honesty in this situation might bring. But she knew she would learn nothing if she did not tell this woman. "Yes, it did have a letter with it. I seem to have misplaced the letter, however. Its contents were... quite interesting, to say the least."
The woman's face twisted slightly, showing a mix of anger and surprise. "Oh, so you read it." She said, very matter-of-factly.
"Indeed I did."
"Then you should know that I had no choice but to make that man ill. It was for justice. He wronged me, so I wrong him back."
"What did this man ever do to you?" The traveler was quite pleased with the amount of information she had been able to get despite her dishonesty.
"He threw me into the river, that's what! He threw me in, knowing full well that a bloodthirsty beast had made its home there! He threw me in, and because of that I died."
And now everything comes together. This woman was a ghost, the type that can't bring itself to forget about the affairs of the living. Many monstrous catfish have been known to show up in rivers such as this one, and often they become maneaters. This man she spoke of pushed her into the river, be it for ill will or as a mere joke, and one of these maneaters then chose her as its next meal. She made the man ill, and the letter must have been meant for the woman she found... she was most likely related to the man. This ghost-woman wanted revenge on the man.
But now who stood before her was a stranger, an old woman. Not the man she sought. Yet this woman, the traveler, had uncovered her secrets and questioned her actions. Of course the illusion shattering and the ghost-woman going into a rage was bound to happen. The house disappeared, and now they both stood in the field of dead-looking flowers. Three lines of dark purple energy spiraled up around the ghost-woman, whose appearance was now itself decaying, and then at once the three lines of energy shot out at the traveler.
Three fast actions from the traveler, and each of the lines of energy had disappeared. Three objects then fell to the ground. They were the three chestnuts the traveler had been given. She had quickly thrown each to block one line of energy, though she imagined that they were no longer edible. They had allowed her to save her own life.
"What?!" The ghost-woman said, shocked, "How did you block them?!"
"The woman who has the letter right now... she gave me a parting gift before I set out to find this place. I had not imagined that they would be this useful." She answered. With that, she raised her hand to the sky, and the bird that had initially found the bottle flew overhead. A feather from this bird landed in her hand, and she threw it out in front of her. It stopped in midair, floating, and began to glow. The light it emitted became so bright that not a thing could be seen.
When the light cleared, the place returned to as it was before the traveler stepped onto the land. Beautiful flowers in full bloom, not a house or ghost in sight. The traveler hoped that the woman had returned to her rest, and then remembered that she wanted to know what the stone in the field of flowers said. She knelt down, and brushed off some dust. The carving on the stone was again in the language she did not know, but from the organization of the symbols, she could tell this was a marker of someone's grave.
She returned to the village, only to find the wealthy woman waiting outside of her hut, carving out of wood the face of a person. When the traveler approached her, she immediately put all that down, and lead her eagerly inside the hut. Inside, she was made to sit at a table, and the woman went and brought back with her a man. This man seemed a bit weak, but he was clearly recovering. The traveler assumed that this was the man who was cursed. They both seemed infinitely grateful to her, even to the point of serving her a delicious meal on a very elegantly-decorated plate. After they ate, the traveler thought to leave, but the woman stopped her, and took out what appeared to be a leather wallet. She took from it a number of coins, and held them out to the traveler. She hesitated, trying to communicate that she could not accept this gift, but the wealthy woman then took her hand and placed the coins into it, essentially forcing her to accept it.
With that, the traveler left. On her way back to her canoe, she saw the little drummer boy from before, still working hard. She went over to him and smiled sweetly before putting all of the coins she just received into the boy's jar. He looked surprised at first, but then smiled the biggest smile she had ever seen. With that, she felt content to leave. She set off once more, with no destination in mind. Perhaps it would lead to another adventure, or perhaps back to her own home. Either was fine with her, so she let the river's current guide her.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Box in a Story (draft)
There was a man who traveled the world by canoe. He saw many amazing sights and was able to experience wacky adventures that other people could only dream of. He traveled alone and nobody knew where he came from. He sometimes wondered if he was even capable of remembering where he came from.
One day he came upon a bottle floating in the river. Interested to find out more about his discovery, he took it and opened it. Inside he found a letter, a map, and three small tree nuts. The letter was written in a language he could not understand, and at the very end there was some sort of special symbol stamped onto the paper in red ink. He did not know what to do with the letter or the nuts, so he put them back into the bottle and took a closer look at the map. He found out approximately where on the map he was by using his surroundings, as he had seen a very unique statue of a woman with no hair and long, drooping ears a few hours before, and this statue was also marked on the map. After that, he saw that there was a small village on the map, and it was not too far from his current location. He decided he would go there in hopes that someone there could read the letter.
When he arrived at the village, he was immediately faced with a young boy in old, worn out clothes. The boy was playing some sort of percussion instrument, and had placed a small jar by his feet. There were a few coins piled at the bottom of it. He knew that the boy sought money, but money was something the traveler did not have, and even if he did, it would no doubt be in a currency this boy could not make use of. He felt slightly guilty about ignoring the poor boy, as he quite clearly did require money, but there was nothing he could do, and he moved on.
As he explored the village, he found that most people were giving him blank, sometimes questioning stares. He soon found a woman who, unlike most of the villagers, was very well-dressed, even to the point of meaningless decorations that the others could not afford to even consider. She was cleaning a velvet cloth with a floral pattern on it. He felt that she was the most likely to understand the letter he had found, so he approached her and showed it to her. She spoke some words he could not understand before at last moving her eyes to the letter he held out for her. She took a moment to read it, then snatched it out of his hands and, giving him an accusatory look, said more he could not understand. To demonstrate the language barrier to her, he said in his own language that he does not understand what she’s saying. After hearing him speak, the woman seemed to understand, and calmed down. He showed her the bottle he found it in, still holding the map and chestnuts. She took them from him, and pointed to the place marked with the statue on the map. She then picked up a small wooden chest, and made a large, sweeping motion with her arms, as if to say there was a large chest hidden there. Perhaps that’s what she was saying. He bowed to her, trying to show her respect despite the language barrier. He then held out his hands for her to return the letter, but she shook her head, held it to her chest, and turned to walk into her house. He still had the map and the chestnuts, however, so he decided he would explore the area around the statue more thoroughly.
He went back to it, and moved close to the statue. He had simply passed by before, so he had completely overlooked a narrow branch of the river that was hidden by overgrown plants. He turned into this path, and at the very end there was a small portion of land leading into a cave. He got out of his canoe and went into the cave. It was too dark to see, so he had to feel his way through. Maybe half way through, he saw a light somewhere in the distance. But he also found a path in the cave on the side he was feeling. Knowing he would lose his way as soon as he turned into the darkness, he emptied the bottle and placed it at the very edge of the wall. Surely he would hit it while walking and it would tip over, so he would know that this is where he had been before. He soon found what appeared to be a room, as he could find no more entrances or exits. He felt around in the dark, finding that there were stone shelves lining the walls. Most had nothing on them. However, one had a small box -- a chest, actually, as he learned when he felt the curved top. This was most likely what the woman was trying to tell him about. He made his way back, tripping on the bottle he left on the floor, but then knowing exactly where to return to his canoe.
When he returned to the village, he presented the woman from before with the chest, which, on his voyage back, he found was locked. The woman’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw it, then she took it and rushed into her house, then peeked out quickly and gestured him inside. He followed her to a back room, where a man lay on a bed, shivering and occasionally coughing. He was clearly very ill. The woman picked up a wooden carving of a person’s head that was on a table, and turned it upside-down to reveal that there was a hidden opening, that you could hide small objects inside of it. From it she took a small key, and used that key to open the chest. And inside the chest, there was a small bottle containing some sort of liquid. She took this liquid and quickly held it to the man’s lips, encouraging him to drink it. He suspected it must have been some form of medicine, as the man drank it eagerly and the woman was crying, tears that seemed to be out of happiness. After he had drank all of the liquid, the woman took from her pocket a leather wallet, decorated beautifully with an elephant. She opened the wallet, and emptied its contents into her hand, and then held the coins out to the traveler. He tried to tell her that he could not accept them, but of course she did not understand, and took his hand and put the coins into it herself. She smiled as he left, and once he returned to his canoe, he caught a glimpse of the little drummer boy again. He walked to the boy, and put all of the coins into his jar. The boy gave him a huge smile, and the traveler set off again.
He remembered that there had been a path in the cave he did not take. He supposed that was an adventure for another day.
Story in a Box, Inventory
- A cloth made out of some velvet-like fabric with floral patterns on it
- A painted bottle
- A statue of a miniature village
- A heavy stone stamp with some symbol from a language I don’t know on it
- A miniature plate
- A statue of a woman with no hair
- A statue of a man with a drum
- A wooden carving of a person’s head
- Three small nuts of some sort
- A wooden miniature canoe with a bird’s feather in it
- A leather wallet decorated with an elephant
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