Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

Subtheme 2

Exploration and travel narratives
Language and translation
Religious syncretism 
Islamic-Christian encounters
Indigenous diplomacy and treaty-making