http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/malli/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from malli en-us Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:05:05 +0000 Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:05:05 +0000 Hi friendsAgain it's been a while since I last wrote and I apologize. My reason is not a lack of interesting material that's for sure. In fact just the opposite is true I have had a very easy time staying quite busy here.To be honest I was not expecting to love China. I expected to learn a lot and for this experience to be very interesting but it was not in my list of expectations to ab http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-451705.html Hey AllIrsquom back on campus and taking a deep breath as I decompress from our homestay that as you can tell was chockfull of adventure. Happily I can tell you that despite the little side trip to the hospital it was truly an enjoyable experience. One unexpected plus is that my Chinese is actually improving. I can now string together elementary sentences such as ldquoMy horse is fat http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guizhou/Kaili/blog-442939.html Hello Family and FriendsIt hardly seems appropriate that my first entry from China should come from my fall break when there's so much to tell about campus classes and new friends. Everything in Zhuhai has been happening very quickly and I've been managing to stay so busy that after only two and a half weeks of classes break really snuck up on me.It may seem too early to be on vacation but t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-441876.html Hey everybody get ready for a rundown on my latest adventure. Last Thursday was a holiday in Spain because it was St. Josephrsquos day and therefore also Fatherrsquos Day. Also classes were canceled. Well if you donrsquot have classes on Thursday itrsquos not really worth sticking around for Friday right A week before hand Amanda and I decided that it would surely be a better http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/blog-385945.html Hey EverybodyI know that itrsquos been far too long since I updated so I just wanted to make a quick post to let you all know that Irsquom still alive and doing just fine. I just completed my third week of classes and for the most part they are going well. Irsquom in three Spanish for Business Usetype classes a Literature class that I absolutely love Translation and a more intensive http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Navarre/Pamplona/blog-377368.html I have been on a whirlwind of an adventure these past couple of weeks. I have arrived in Pamplona and Irsquom very happy to be in one stable place with my suitcases completely unpacked.That said Norway was absolutely a blast. So let the rundown begin.After my last entry I spent three days going to school with Tessa and visiting the English classes that she teaches. The students stay in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/blog-370471.html Dear FriendsI am tired out from a very satisfying long walk in the fresh air. Today has actually been pretty lowkey but I think I will be ready for a good nights sleep tonight.As most of you know I have traveled quite a bit this week so I guess we can start with Philadelphia. I had a fivehour layover there on Wednesday and luckily my friend Winn goes to school at Haverford which is abo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/Ostlandet/blog-367101.html I have to say that Delhi has been my favorite part of India thus far. When planning for this entire semester the one thing that I absolutely knew I had to see was the Baharsquoi Lotus Temple in the capital city of the nation. We arrived in Delhi on a Friday morning settled into the YWCA hostel and then split off to enjoy our free afternoon. Tessa and I feeling adventurous hailed http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jodhpur/blog-223125.html We left Visthar early on November 10th and headed to the Bangalore airport where we caught a flight to Hyderabad. We were all exhausted when we got there and luckily they had a fairly relaxed day planned for us we visited an art museum and then had time for an afternoon nap. We stayed at a Catholic run retreat center that was fairly comfortable. Our purpose in Hyderabad was to study http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-223121.html After returning from Thailand we were in Bangalore for a little over 24 hours before we turned around and headed out on a minifield visit to Shravanabelagola say that three times fast in northern Karnataka. The purpose of this field visit was to learn about Jainism an ancient religion that got its start in India. The main thing that I got out of the visit is that Jains place high i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Karnataka/blog-223114.html Itrsquos a long one folks so feel free to read it in multiple settings. Please note that due a certain aspect of Bangkok parts of this entry may not be appropriate for schoolaged kids. Itrsquos unfortunate that this need be mentioned at all but itrsquos a part of the world we live in Irsquove tried to keep explicit details to a minimum. Fall break was a bla http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-218218.html Hi everybody here is my second paper as promised. The trip to Thailand was great we got back Sunday morning and we're off on another field visit here in a few minutes. Life is moving along quite quickly these days I'll backblog about Thailand shortlyMallory VogelGlobalizationSJPD 2007Neocolonialism Tourism in Goa Walking along Colva beach in Indiarsquos state of Goa you wander th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/blog-217281.html I realized that yesterday was the halfway mark of my time in India and despite the various times Irsquove longed to cuddle up next to the fire place at home and just let life be easy the time here is flying by.Field visit 2 began on Thursday October 11 when we boarded a bus in Bangalore for an overnight trip to the western state of Goa. The bus had 1.5 decks meaning that there were normal http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/blog-214453.html We've just finished up our first class here on the SJPD program. This is my final essay and I hope it helps to explain my last field visit and some of the things I'm experiencing here a bit better. Enjoy... Throughout our month in India our group has been witness to a frustrating societal pattern. It seems as though everybody fits into one of two molds born poor live poor stay poor or bo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jodhpur/blog-209505.html Hey everybody sorry itrsquos been a while since I last wrote. On Thursday September 20 five other students and I took the train to Chennai in Tamil Nadu to start our first filed visit. While in Tamil Nadu we worked with an NGO called Peoplersquos Action Movement PAM. PAMrsquos motto is ldquoEmpowering People. Ensuring Rightsrdquo and they work almost exclusively with Da http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Tamil-Nadu/Chennai/blog-207323.html Note I was told today that the name of the city where wersquore staying has been changed. In the 9th century this area was called Hale Bengaluru over time the name changed to Bangalore. Now Irsquom told that theyrsquove changed the name back to Bengaluru but many still refer to the city as Bangalore. I just want to make it clear that Bangalore and Bengaluru are in fact the same cit http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Karnataka/Mysore/blog-200296.html Well family and friends it feels like ages have passed since I left home. It was only a week ago that my parents dropped me off at Gustavus Adolphus College GAC so that must mean that a lot has happened. Here we goAs most of you know Irsquom spending the fall semester in Bangalore India. I am with a group of 19 people 5 Concordia ladies 13 Gustavus students and a philosophy professo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Karnataka/Bangalore/blog-199011.html