The False Joys of Burger King!

Just a quick note in response to what was said today in class to do with liminal spaces and the idea that they are non-spaces, that one cannot experience a relationship with them or form any sort of connection as they are quite literally devoid of identity. Thinking about this I was reminded of my travelling days in Bolivia when we had been struggling through the Andes for a month in the freezing cold experiencing a nasty amount of frostbite! However when we reached La Paz there was such a feeling of excitement amongst our group as we rounded the corner of the very dirty road and saw a gleaming Burger King in front of us! We were all so relieved to have found a place where we felt at 'home' even though it was just this rather nasty burger restaurant which doesn’t even do nice food! (The Bolivian version of the 'Whopper' is not good!) Despite the fact that I would not normally eat a meal in Burger King back in England, I still felt the need to force down 3 meals a day there in a rather false attempt to feel closer to home! It just got me thinking about how far some people will go to feel at home in a foreign place... and I am an example of three Burger King meals! Dearie me!

Kim Varvell