so. i'm here in the district of columbia, and what a fine city it is. sometimes. not so crazy 'bout the lack of recycling facilities (i know, i'm an eco-prude), but the museums are awesome and so is the concentration of NGOs and other politically active groups. muy cool.
the program started 11 days ago, although it feels like months. we've already covered all of our orientation, done quite a bit of reading and assignments, visited the World Bank, Capitol Hill, and environmental NGOs. the 27 other students and myself are parking our tired, studious bodies in a cute little bed and breakfast every night, which is
probably the last bed we'll sleep in without fear of scabies, lice, or bed bugs for a long time.
for those readers who have not idea what this "program" is, i'll go into a brief explanation now. if you've already heard me give all the boring details, then feel free to skip ahead to the next paragraph.
the program i am on is called "Rethinking Globalization," and it is the only year-long study abroad offered by the International Honors Program. i will be studying anthropology, ecology, social movements, development and economics, and environmental policy in Washington, DC, Tanzania, India, New Zealand, and Mexico. along with the 27 students, i will travel, live, and study with faculty both from the US and elsewhere. some of the highlights (everything is tentative, though): visiting the Ngorongoro Crater and Olduvai Gorge, walking through the sights, sounds, and tastes of Delhi and Mumbai, living among the Maori, and observing the alternative economic and social structures of indegenous people in Southern Mexico. the program offers a really progressive, hyper-critical perspective, and they really encourage personal inquiry and open-mindedness. in other words, it's gonna be really, really fantastic and really, really difficult. so it goes.
but back to the moment - i've been dividing my relatively little free time between getting to know the people i'll be with for the next 8 months (yes, they are all really cool), exploring the city, decompressing from long days of intensive intellectual discussion with a nice game of "Taboo" or a pint at a local cafe, and generally figuring out how i'm going to survive this thing mentally, physically, and spiritually intact. there have already been some major shifts in how i observe and process isses, and i can only imagine how much further i'll have to go to even begin to understand the complexity of what i'll be seeing and studying. so i'm both supa-dupa excited and also mightily intimidated.
part of my study involves a year-long project, which i am still crafting but will include lots of person-to-person research and interaction (i.e. interviews) to better understand the lives and visions of the people i'll be in contact with around the world. once i get a more complete version of the project, i will post it up here and i would love to hear your feedback/comments/critiques.
i don't feel that there is much else i can talk about, since i'm sure the stories to come will be FAR more interesting than my academic pursuits in the capital. so i'll end it here.
the program started 11 days ago, although it feels like months. we've already covered all of our orientation, done quite a bit of reading and assignments, visited the World Bank, Capitol Hill, and environmental NGOs. the 27 other students and myself are parking our tired, studious bodies in a cute little bed and breakfast every night, which is
probably the last bed we'll sleep in without fear of scabies, lice, or bed bugs for a long time.for those readers who have not idea what this "program" is, i'll go into a brief explanation now. if you've already heard me give all the boring details, then feel free to skip ahead to the next paragraph.
the program i am on is called "Rethinking Globalization," and it is the only year-long study abroad offered by the International Honors Program. i will be studying anthropology, ecology, social movements, development and economics, and environmental policy in Washington, DC, Tanzania, India, New Zealand, and Mexico. along with the 27 students, i will travel, live, and study with faculty both from the US and elsewhere. some of the highlights (everything is tentative, though): visiting the Ngorongoro Crater and Olduvai Gorge, walking through the sights, sounds, and tastes of Delhi and Mumbai, living among the Maori, and observing the alternative economic and social structures of indegenous people in Southern Mexico. the program offers a really progressive, hyper-critical perspective, and they really encourage personal inquiry and open-mindedness. in other words, it's gonna be really, really fantastic and really, really difficult. so it goes.
but back to the moment - i've been dividing my relatively little free time between getting to know the people i'll be with for the next 8 months (yes, they are all really cool), exploring the city, decompressing from long days of intensive intellectual discussion with a nice game of "Taboo" or a pint at a local cafe, and generally figuring out how i'm going to survive this thing mentally, physically, and spiritually intact. there have already been some major shifts in how i observe and process isses, and i can only imagine how much further i'll have to go to even begin to understand the complexity of what i'll be seeing and studying. so i'm both supa-dupa excited and also mightily intimidated.
part of my study involves a year-long project, which i am still crafting but will include lots of person-to-person research and interaction (i.e. interviews) to better understand the lives and visions of the people i'll be in contact with around the world. once i get a more complete version of the project, i will post it up here and i would love to hear your feedback/comments/critiques.
i don't feel that there is much else i can talk about, since i'm sure the stories to come will be FAR more interesting than my academic pursuits in the capital. so i'll end it here.
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