Cory Maley

Maestro the Vagabond

Just back from East Africa on my Honeymoon, and back to the Ph.D. grind. It may be a while before I'm back to the blog, but then again, who knows?





Travel Blog Posts


Djibouti Calls

Published: January 21st 2012Africa » Djibouti
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Maestro the Vagabond
January 14th 2012

Djibouti is extraordinary in several ways; it is a country that is virtually unheard of (so in that way it’s a perfect destination) and if people have heard of it, they remember it as a mnemonic for an ample backside. It is also remarkably dry compared to its western neighbor from which we arrived, so much so that I asked if the trees become any greener during the rainy season (which for Ethiopia runs from late spring to early autumn). Our guide looked at me matter-of-factly, but replied incredulously that this was the rainy season. To describe Djibouti’s geography as scrubland would be as generous as the country is dry. Surely, it is a sun soaked and rain starved country. The third, and most extraordinary fact about Djibouti is that it is expensive in the extreme. ... read more



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Maestro the Vagabond
January 11th 2012

"Hello, Money!": The children of Ethiopia are both a source of joy and of consternation in this place. We both enjoy their smiles and their constant waving, but also find their pestering wearing. Children come up to you, say "hello" and then reach their hands out, or ask first "give me pen?", to which you reply, "No, I don't have one". They don't miss a beat "give me money." In Lalibela where kids are least likely to hassle you owing to policies of the town, kids simply waved and said "hello, money." One young girl, who was maybe four cam running up to us with the most intense look on her face and yelled "give me money!" We had discovered Ethiopia's answer to Will Ferrell's Pearl (I tried putting a link in, but it screwed up ... read more



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Maestro the Vagabond
January 1st 2012

We arrived late in the evening on New Years eve after a long sert of flights from Boston - Frankfurt - Addis Ababa. Flying Lufthansa was a treat and on the way from Boston, because this is our honeymoon, the woman who checked us in offered us the exit rows and the flight attendant poured sparkling wine for us on the house. It was nice to be treated like this. On the flip side, Lufthansa's vegan fare is, well, hopefullu a work in progress. Most of it was vegan, but lacked flavor (although the polenta dish was really nice) The dessert was jello - which is really just fruity hooves. So, we gave that a miss. Jenn was just grateful they had any kind of offering. We arrived and found we were quick to get off ... read more



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Maestro the Vagabond
July 15th 2010

It's been a while since I've made an entry; I've been hung up with grad school, and a limited amount of traveling and/or time to blog. This one's short, but there's news involved herein. Pre-amble to the Main(e) Excitement: This summer up to a certain (to be divulged soon) point, has largely been "excitement" free, to be truthful. It's been full of work, and interesting challenges to be sure. I taught a graduate education class for the first time which was awesome, both in terms of work and my enjoyment of it. I've had confirmed the notion that my desire to teach teachers is indeed a good one. It was a ton of work, but very worthy of my time. I have also been working on my comprehensive exams and a research project with one of ... read more



Even Black Olives Taste Good Here

Published: June 12th 2009Europe » Portugal » Northern » Porto
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Maestro the Vagabond
June 12th 2009

Porto Fortunately, my departure to Portugal was less eventful than that of mine to Mallorca. It was perhaps unfortunate, however, that my departure would have to begin at 02:45. Not realizing the hours of the first tube departures in the morning, and thinking only of the cheap airfare, I booked without consideration of the logistics at hand to actually get to the airport for a 6:30 flight to Porto. As it turns out, this may have been fortuitous, as had it been any later, I would have had to count on the tube, rather than having to figure out which bus to take; this would have left me in deep doo doo when the tube strike took effect as of 19:00 the evening before. And as it turns out, the station where I had to catch ... read more



Going Local in Mallorca

Published: June 7th 2009Europe » Spain » Balearic Islands » Majorca

London I've not seen a dry day in London as yet. My justification for being here was to meet with Dr. Judith Suissa, a professor of education who has done work on Anarchist education. She was kind enough to spend more than four hours obliging my questions, giving me a tour of the "radical East End" of London and then treating me to some Bangledeshi food, which passed favourably. What's more she urged me to pursue a topic of interest in relation to democratic / free schooling that I think will be interesting, unexplored, and largely applicable to the wider realm of the educational world, which I think will please Alan, my advisor. I hope that my work and my company will prove worthy enough an experience for her as well. As always visiting Steve was ... read more




Prelude: Willimantic After a year of diving back into the plenary experience of graduate school, my first year of "doctoral college," with its thrill and exhaustion, my parents decided to venture down to Connecticut for a visit. UConn, as it's known here (which is often mixed up with the Yukon - people are either very polite and mention that they didn't know the Yukon had a uni, or ask me what in the hell would make me go up there?)" It's a slip I make frequently. I have the fortune to live in the small town of Willimantic, the nearest actual town to UConn, which is really a campus in the middle of nowhere. Willimantic, however, has the misfortune of being known as the methamphetamine capital of the Northeast. While it's act has been cleaned up ... read more



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Maestro the Vagabond
October 24th 2008

While it's technically true that I've been to New York before, it was under conditions that were less than ideal. I had just returned from England where my girlfriend had broken up with me. I missed my connecting flight in Newark, and figured I should go to see the Big Apple. But after taking the train into Penn Station, I managed only a couple of blocks before falling into a lonely drink across the street from Madison Square Garden. It was an uneventful night, and for all intents and purposes I had seen nothing of New York. So all technicalities aside, I was truly visiting New York for the first time. My roommate Kasey was meeting some of her artist friends from Florida there and was kind enough to extend the invitation to me. So this ... read more




A Short Stop in the Bay Area My return to California for the first time following my move back to Canada has proved an interestingly enlightening experience. I have to admit that I've had a difficult time in letting go of California, and the life I was living here during my time as a teacher. I arrived with excitement, full of exuberance and nostalgia, but that sense has faded quickly like the marine fog under the hot afternoon sun. I can't really explain why, but I feel the same way now as when I returned to Calgary in July. I was suddenly a stranger in a place I had once called home. It was the first of what proved to be a string of events that would require me to "let go," of sentiments and fantasies, ... read more



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Maestro the Vagabond
April 23rd 2008

Big Mamma, Con-men, Crab Shrapnel, and a Birthday to Remember Bangkok: Soi Cowboy I've been to Bangkok before, but had never managed, or cared enough to make the trip to Soi Cowboy, the lady-boy / stripper district that in many ways defines Bangkok. I told Darren though that I wasn't making an decisions about his only night in Bangkok, but being Canadian, he also didn't want to have to make decisions about his only night in Bangkok. But his friend Grant suggested Soi Cowboy, then Peter and Feyette, the couple we met en route suggested it as well. So we went. It's lit up like Vegas, and has that sort of exciting unseemly feel too it. Ladies and lady-boys alike try to tempt you into their establishments, dirty old men whisper to you with offers of ... read more






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