Visited Quotations

When I was 12 years old, I went to Natchitoches, La.; it was summer vacation with my family. We visited a plantation, Melrose. And I met an Afro-American woman who was a painter. I already had some idea of what I wanted to do in life, and one of the things that interested me was painting.

When I visited Wisconsin, I fell in love with the place. I liked the academics and the fact it had Big Ten sports. So I called Maine because I didn't want them to waste their money on me.

When I visited Vietnam for Oxfam, the thing that really struck me was how the local farmers had to prepare to evacuate or climb to their mezzanines with their valuable family possessions.

When I visited Ireland with my father and heard the people on the farm talking, I couldn't believe the gift of language they had. I felt very untalented.

When I visited China, ... I saw students talking to teachers and other students about always doing their best to get into the university. Our students have the opportunity to go to great schools. We really have got to light a fire under them.

When I visited Chechnya, I was taken aback at first because people would regularly make jokes about kidnapping me.

I remember the newspaper articles and even the coaches when I visited there. They said they were really interested. I was thinking if I'm available, I was going there. And then they took Jeff Faine. I kept waiting. That's the game you've got to play.

We have no idea how she got it. We visited her neighborhood and found no poultry or caged birds near her house.

I am South African by birth, but because of my father's job, our family traveled a lot. While living in places like Africa and Australia, we visited indigenous peoples. From the beginning, I carried a camera to document the beauty and wonder of these far-flung countries. I also realized many of these cultures were faced with issues I could not ignore. I understood at a very early age, things were not like they were represented in travel magazines.

Centuries ago, sailors on long voyages used to leave a pair of pigs on every deserted island. Or they'd leave a pair of goats. Either way, on any future visit, the island would be a source of meat. These islands, they were pristine. These were home to breeds of birds with no natural predators. Breeds of birds that lived nowhere else on earth. The plants there, without enemies they evolved without thorns or poisons. Without predators and enemies, these islands, they were paradise. The sailors, the next time they visited these islands, the only things still there would be herds of goats or pigs. .... Does this remind you of anything? Maybe the ol' Adam and Eve story? .... You ever wonder when God's coming back with a lot of barbecue sauce?