Slate
Jan 26 2007

If It’s Tuesday This Must Be Timbuktu

Today’s university alumni are citizens of the world. They cannot be
wooed, as potential alumni donors once were, with charter flights to
Paris in the company of some retired professor of art history. The
California Alumni Association’s in-house travel agency, Bear Treks,
has learned to change with the times. In December it mailed a 20-page
brochure to members offering alumni association members and their
families "an epic journey by private jet" to gawk at indigenous
peoples on three continents before they die out. Available for a
limited time only! "The powerful and widespread effects of
globalization threaten the future of these colorful cultures," the
brochure explains.

Up to 88 reservations are now being accepted, according to sample
pages of the brochure below and on the following nine pages, to
participate in this exclusive travel package. The three-week journey
features "the ultimate in convenience, security & service," including
an expedition chef who uses "only the freshest ingredients" and a
staff physician "knowledgeable in travel medicine." Further, "a world
class team of scholars will … illuminate the history of empires"
throughout the expedition. The cost of your Birkenstocks is not
included in the package.

The itinerary begins in Finland where "like-minded" U.C. grads will
discover Sami nomads "the oldest surviving inhabitants of the
Scandinavian Peninsula" on the Island of Inari for an "intimate" Sami
family gathering and "yodel-like singing of poems." The group then
jets south to study proud Armenians, "people of the world’s first
Christian nation," where U.C. alums are hosted by the Hayer people
who "believe they are descended from … the great grandson of Biblical
Noah."