Editor's Note

From the Field Editor's Note

The “how have you been since *insert last time we met*” is a staple of Middlebury conversations. With both a half-semester online and a full summer to cover—not to mention a backdrop of a global pandemic, social unrest and political turmoil—these conversation starters have been taken to a new level this strange fall on campus. Frustrated by my inability to fully articulate what I was doing and how I was feeling mid-social crisis, I defaulted to a simple answer that really encapsulated what I’d been up to:

“Well, I got a bike.”

A neon-green Cannondale road machine, well-bruised from its previous two owners but still keeping its charm, defined my quarantine existence. After a few initial battles with the unfamiliar clip-in pedals and several clumsy crashes just a few weeks in, that bike became the antidote to cabin-fever and Zoom exhaustion.

From mornings of dodging traffic before hours of online work to weekend afternoons exploring empty backroads, these moments removed me from the screen, the stresses of living at home and forced me to slow down. Scanning the road in front of me after topping off a steep climb or stopping to look at the Maryland countryside and think, I was challenged with the immediate needs of the ride while enjoying the space to process the chaotic world at hand.

Removed from the blaring noise of the media and alone in simple moments of joy, I never forgot about the pandemic, my longing for Middlebury and the people I love here, or the needed dismantlement of systems of violence in our society. Rather than an escape, these were small voyages, trips in which I could reorient myself to the situations of my life both personal and societal.

This 17th edition of Middlebury Geographic features stories from before and during this pandemic, from around the globe and in Addison County. Through their lenses, prose and art, our contributors and editors contemplate life and death, the ethics of travel, the trials of scientific research, creativity, emptiness and belonging. Their experiences and stories, brief snapshots and sweeping panoramas of their experiences and themselves, challenge us to reflect on our own experiences of searching for moments of peace and joy during this unrest.

In this time of uncertainty in which truth is conflicted, journalism is attacked, and narratives are twisted, our storytelling remains steadfast. Continuing our mission to be a platform for global storytelling, art and photography, this issue of Middlebury Geographic serves as a reminder that profound beauty and meaning exist inside our current climate. In these pages, we ground our experiences, visions and reflections in the embracement of the challenges of these times while seeking to show the moments of humanism and grace that I believe make us human.

We hope this issue gives you that brief moment of joy.

Words by Daniel Krugman '21 | Editor-in-Chief Photo by Matteo Moretti '21 | Editor-in-Chief