I finally took some time to write a list of things I want to do before I die or before I am too old. Here are some of the things that are currently on my list.
1. Go skydiving
"I looked down, half a mile down… I should like now to report hair-raising sensations. But actually I was cool -- or perhaps the better word is dead. While I stood out there and looked down, my
heart stopped pounding. It was the factor X again, coming in handy; I could feel no animalistic fear of falling, because I could get no animal sense of the depth. I could see the altimeter registering 2500 feet, but the position of a needle on a dial was evidence too thin and intellectual to give a good scare. The pilot nodded. I felt no reluctance. I let go of my hold, took hold of the ripcord ring over my heart, and with one long step walked out into the farms below." - Wolfgang Langewiesche (1907–2002), "Knapsack of Salvation
," I'll Take the High Road, 1939
2. Sleep in an Igloo
The igloo is used primarily by the Inuit people as a source of shelter. The architecture and engineering used to build igloos so that they have uniform thickness and density is remarkable. The principles of physics and chemistry used to for igloo construction is one of the greatest phenomena that one should be able to experience.
3. Visit Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a land of history where civilizations was born. Additionally, despite the continuing conflict around this area, I believe Jerusalem has the ability to bring people of different cultures together better than any other place in the world, aside from the U.S. Ben Nicholson said, ”I feel most strongly about Jerusalem, because architects ultimately have to address that city."
4. Witness the great migration of the Serengeti
The Serengeti, which is located in East
Africa, is one of the Seven Wonders of Africa. This is because every year in November, over 1,000,000 wildebeest, zebra, and antelope migrate from Masai Mara in Kenya to Serengeti in Tanzania and back to Masai Mara. As Brian Jackman puts it, “No matter how often I visit the Serengeti, its magic never pales. In this wild and open country, you feel you could drive forever and never have
enough of it. Out on the plains, the light is dazzling. Colossal thunderheads trail shawls of rain across horizons wider than the sea, and wherever you look there are animals.”
5. Climb the Table Mountain
The Table Mountain is located in Cape Town, South Africa. It is not just symbolic of nature’s beauty, but also of a nation which fought apartheid, racism, and colonization. Nelson Mandela (1998) said, “During the many years of incarceration on Robben Island, we often looked across Table Bay at the magnificent silhouette of Table Mountain. To us on Robben Island, Table Mountain was a beacon of hope. It represented the mainland to which we knew we would one day return.”
