Mr. Tambourine Man

“Though I know that evening’s empire has returned into sand
Vanished from my hand
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping
My weariness amazes me, I’m branded on my feet
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street’s too dead for dreaming”

(from Mr. Tambourine Man, Bob Dylan)

Bob Dylan’s voice was not the one I was expecting to come out of the little radio in my cousin’s apartment on my first morning here.  I never really listened to any of the lyrics (I’m not a huge Dylan fan—don’t hate me) but the song was familiar and soothing.  Dylan’s words acknowledged my fatigue, unfamiliar surroundings, and little connection.  I had a horrid first night trying to sleep (new place, sounds, thunderstorms, heat, and a wicked migraine at 3 am).  

Without a little dog to wake me up early or being surrounded by familiar household noises, I decided to immerse myself in some new morning sounds—like listening to the Croatian language. But, there was a surprising amount of English on the radio. Apparently, about three years ago, The Dubrovnik Times in partnership with Soundset Ragusa (The Voice of Dubrovnik) began to bring news of Dubrovnik to the world in English. I found out that my direct flight from Philadelphia to Dubrovnik on American Airlines was new and only bagan this summer—“…It is the first time in 28-years that Croatia has had direct flights from an American destination” (http://bit.ly/2jYobTv). Lucky me.

My day ended with registering for the European Health Psychology conference at the Valmar Lacroma where scholars from 48 countries and 5 continents are represented.  On Friday, I will present my work on using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a pedagogical tool to address global health and gender inequities. You can bet that I will be writing more on what I learn here.  

“So, hey! Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you”

Dobro jutro!