Somebody Tell Rod

[no e]

somebody please tell rod "he's the luckiest sompregnant dog alive" for going on this third world tour!

thanks! have fun travellers!

j. burk (no "e")

[lindenboy]

what!? this thing replaces the "b" word with "pregnant dog." weird.

"sombiatch." try that one you sneaky forum.

ah, the colloquialisms of the english language.

[kda]

Rod says he would trade his three world tours to be 30

[archetype99]

Greetings WT3/P17,

I am a CAP alumnus who traveled during school but never on the scale or scope of WT3/P17. I count among those less fortunate than all of you in my ability to travel on such a wonderful learning opportunity and with such influential and caring leaders willing to give up time with their families to take you across the world.

May I speak for many of my fellow alumni who did past Polyark trips and all trips similar that I think that some of your journal posts could be not only be more informative and insightful as to where you are at the time, but a lot more positive.

I understand through the grapevine that CAP and the entire University community follows your progress. I personally read your journals and coursework nearly every day, and I am surprised, to say the least, that some participants' journals seem to reflect that time and attention is directed towards gaining access to internet/email/chat (excluding your coursework), downloading and watching episodes of 'the office,' or complaints about local food.

After many years following graduation I have learned that travel is not about getting those things that can wait or are probably waiting at home. It is about experiencing things, places, people, food, and happenings that are NOT at home, and seeing, analysing, and understanding them enough to potentially share these with someone else, someday. I doubt very highly that any one of you would count watching an episode of 'the office' in a foreign land as your most meaningful travel memory twenty years from now, but, I could be wrong.

I implore all of you to go on a 'diet' (however short) of things familiar... open your eyes, and see.... focusing and directing what energy and time you have on creating memories for a lifetime of sharing.

Those TV shows and familiar foods will be here when you get back, rest assured.

Sincerely,

~Archetype99
CAP Alumnus

[amy]

I agree with some of what the previous writer said. Some of the journals have expressed great happiness in finding good hotels and steaks, but don't be too hard on the world travelers. This is typical behavior for young travelers and some of it is just culture shock. Some of the experiences won't sink in for years. I have read some insightful journals, the one in Venice about night falling like sheets. We had a Korean exchange teacher recently and he was very open to our culture. However, some of the other Korean teachers were reluctant to engage with their host families and stuck to the other Koreans whenever possible. Some host families were also disgruntled with their guests. It is the exceptional person that really is open to another culture.

[kda]

Dear archetype99,

Thank you for this message, and it will be forwarded to the entire WT group. Being only 20-somethings on this trip, I'm sure many of us, myself included, take some aspects of the trip for granted.

However, I would like to assure everyone that many if not all of us are experiencing much more than the "familiar." In fact, I'm sure that the journal entries are a little one-sided, since it can be hard for us world travelers to remember that our audience has not seen the same things we have over the past several weeks. Also, I'm sure you can understand that when traveling abroad, those rare "American" moments and reminders of home are sometimes what remain in the front of your memory when writing a journal entry, such as the fried chicken and french fries I had the other night after several weeks of strange Asian food that my stomach had a hard time digesting.

Despite that disclaimer, I assure you that the students will be encouraged to focus on their "foreign" experiences in their journal entries and try to be more open minded during the second half of the trip. I have heard through the grape vine that some of the "favorite" experiences on the trip by many of the students have been places like Cambodia and Mongolia, simply due to the culture shock. The world is bigger than we imagined. We've also found it difficult to remove ourselves from the "typical tourist" mentality, due to our rapid itinerary, bus tours, and cultural shows. Perhaps now is the time to really think critically about the things we've seen.

Thanks,
KDA

[Guest]

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home."

~James Michener

via www.thesavvytraveller.com