Final Post (Week 10) Due April 26

As sad as it may seem to all of you, this is actually our last week of posts. For this week, take a moment to share your favorite quote about traveling with your fellow China Tour participants. In addition, explain why the quote is so meaningful for you. To get things started, here's one of mine: "Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road/Healthy, free, the world before me/The long brown path before me leading me wherever I choose...Strong and content, I travel the open road." (From Walt Whitman--"Song of the Open Road")

Week 9 Posts Due April 19

The second time I traveled to Thailand, I went to attend a traditional wedding ceremony in the rural Thai village of Ubon, near the border with Laos. We traveled for most of the night by bus from Bangkok, arriving at 4 am and then passing out on pallets in the loft of the bride's family home, while her extended family partied and continued preparations below. After a two hour nap, I was advised that the shower was available. Now, I had traveled in Thailand before and considered myself pretty open minded, but if my friend hadn't stopped me on the way downstairs and said, "You do know it's a traditional shower, right," I would have been confused and probably embarrassed myself by returning unshowered to our hostess. "Shower" in my experience has always denoted an overhead faucet with water running down; never has it conjured pictures of a dripping mid-waist high pipe filling a large garbage can with a smaller bucket and pail beside it. A traditional shower means that you stand close to a hole in the bathroom floor, pour water over yourself with a pail, soap up, and then rinse off with another few pailfuls of water, all the while attempting to keep your dirty water from getting in the large garbage can. Incidentally, the same pail is used to pour water into the toilet for flushing--no handles. 

Consider some experiences you have faced while traveling, either in the US or abroad, in which you found yourself forced to expand outside of your normal experience. How do such circumstances affect us, both short term and long term? Why are they valuable for both ourselves and the people that we meet along the way? What advice can you offer your classmates for how to enjoy, rather than feel intimidated by such experiences?

Week 8 Posts Due April 12

Congratulations on finishing your reports for Dr. OB!  At this point in our blog posts, you no longer need to post about your reading.  Instead, discussions will center on the trip ahead.  We have already been moving in that direction with the last few posts, as some of you finished your reading early.  For this week, think back to our early meeting and getting to know your classmates.  At that time, you shared some of your thoughts and expectations about the trip.  Have any of those changed?  At this point, what are you most looking forward to experiencing?  What do you feel most anxious about? 

Week 7 Posts Due April 5

I hope you all are not only enjoying your reading, but also looking forward to the journey ahead. When you have time, check out this 5 minute documentary about the people and culture of the Yunnan province in Southwestern China. While we will not be visiting this area, the documentary will help you to realize that China is a much more diverse nation than many at first suppose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r9nHrGten8

Week 6 Posts Due March 29

Well everybody, we're moving quite quickly towards the end of the semester. Our journey is just around the corner. As you look ahead to the trip, consider how you plan to make the most of the coming opportunity. All too often when travelers return from time spent overseas, they come back with regrets about time spent watching TV, surfing the Internet, or even sleeping in rather than taking off to explore and interact with the country and people they are visiting. What can you do to make sure you return from your trip without these kind of regrets?

Wee 5 Posts Due March 22

As the end of the semester continues to press closer, I urge all of you to make sure to keep up with your reading, and to consider beginning some of your assignments following the guidelines in the syllabus if you have time. And don't forget to get your immunizations and travel documents in order! It's been fun to read and follow your posts and see how all of you have been interacting with one another. Keep up the great work :)

Week 4 Posts Due March 15

Despite being ironically spoken through the, anything but brief, words of Polonius, Shakespeare's quote--"Brevity is the soul of wit,"--still rings true. It takes true talent to be able to condense one's thoughts into a short, but complete statement. On the other hand, many times short thoughts are anything but complete. Keep this in mind as you post and comment over the next several weeks, being sure that your words reflect careful thought and pertinent content.