10) It could be worse: they could be an –ologist. You know, anthropologist, biologist, etc.
9) Historians sometimes answer the question “And how was your day honey?” with a “Oh, pretty normal, just reading some letters written by a king from the 17th century.”
8) They get to go on awesome trips like this one.
7) It’s really funny when they don’t know some really simple historical fact, and it can be used to embarrass them for years.
6) Even though historians lie and say that they know more languages than they really do, they still know more than the average person, and it can be pretty useful.
5) They all like to drink...a lot.
4) What other profession can be symbolized by pocket protectors and elbow patches?
3) Usually historians can actually answer those pesky, rhetorical questions that you ask yourself in a new place, like “When was this city founded?” and “Why do they like to eat that funky stuff?”*
2) Watching their attempts at assimilation can be pretty amusing. One word: Speedo.
1) Historians are important!
Okay, once you’re done laughing, keep reading.
Let me explain. To plagiarize heavily from a common economics lecture, take a Taco Bell meal. No one person on the earth knows everything there is to know about how to make that meal. No one knows at what time the tomatoes ripen best, at what temperature to cook the tortilla shells, and the marketing ploys behind the color of the wrapper. It takes a lot of different people.
History is like that. The next time you say to someone, “Yeah Brazil, don’t they speak Portuguese?” you should go out and hug a historian. Because hundreds of people have worked for centuries on thousands of different issues so that the very big and complex issue of world history can filter down into a textbook and then into our little pea brains. Just like a meal from Taco Bell, except not quite as tasty and much more educational.
So go on, hug your nearest historian. Oh, not too closely...remember that pocket protector...
Not only does it have breathtaking views, but somehow the town has managed to achieve that perfect state of charming ruin. The churches are crumbling and mildewed, grass grows out of every crevice, and the interiors are thick with dust and shadows, and yet somehow they are the better for it.
About 10 minutes after we were there, Matt and I were walking down a trail, when all the sudden we were surrounded by a pack of wild monkeys that were playing in the trees. These small little creatures are very common in Brazil (think squirrels) but I was fascinated with their cute litte faces and obvious intelligence. And, of course, monkeys are very photogenic.
