Thursday, December 5, Jakarta “Because here’s something else that’s weird but true: in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only......Read More
THE BLIND CAT OF MOULAY IDRISS I: I have no reason to believe in the appearance of things or in sight itself but I believe in the existence of things in themselves in such a way the Seeing cannot imagine And when I bump into a wall I bump into the......Read More
Dear Families and Friends, It is now December, and I hope that everyone is staying warm and happy. If some of you may recall, I wrote a Yak in early October in which I shared some of my sketches. So much has happened since then, and the course is......Read More
As our course comes to an end, we had a chance to look back and reflect on these past few months. Having seen, experienced, and felt so much, it is hard to put our time following the Mekong into words. No matter how many times we cursed the......Read More
As most probably know or figured out, my Dragons journey ended a little bit earlier than everyone else’s. Due to some medical complications, I returned to Nashville (yeehaw) at the beginning of November. Leaving Morocco was the last thing I wanted......Read More
It has been one week since we left our homestay in Sampela, the remote village suspended on dried coral reef and stilts over the ocean off the coast of the Wakatobi island chain. Like our students, this was my first time visiting this community.......Read More
As we enter into a countdown of numbers that seem unfathomably small–6 days left, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1–the closeness of life after the course feels both so close I can feel it and at the same time, more unimaginable than when the countdown was......Read More
11 Things I’ve Learned in Morocco By: Lauren Laugh at yourself: it’s important not to take yourself too seriously. Making mistakes is both okay and normal, and poking fun at messing up makes it easier. Laughing at yourself is also a great way to......Read More
Lessons Learned in Morocco: 1. Talk to strangers. Random conversations about random topics have been some of the most interesting and educational parts of this journey. There are so many people in this world; all of them are interesting if you ask......Read More
When I was in sixth grade, I was picked to give a commencement speech at my graduation. I remember the excitement, the nerves, but most of all, the challenge of what to write about. How could I aptly summarize seven years of school? All the jokes,......Read More
Nearly ten years ago, I was preparing to depart Taiwan after a year-long study abroad experience. The transition time was tough and I ached to find ways that would allow me to reconcile with leaving. Returning to my life in the U.S. seemed......Read More
We started out in Dieng, in the chilly, misty, geologically active highlands. Amid steam vents, ancient temples, and terraced potato fields, we got oriented to each other and to Indonesia. Now, ten flights, a dozen islands, 100 mangoes, 750 es......Read More
From a birds eye view all the trees look like pieces of broccoli And the lakes look like puddles And the buildings, well they don’t even look like building Couldn’t even compare to a dolls house So I imagine how minuscular I appear in this world......Read More
As I sit on the plane with Today’s Hits pulsing in my ears, the distance between myself and my home for the past six weeks seems to grow exponentially. The stories I collected in Ambatomanga seem as long ago as my childhood and the rocks I turned......Read More
We have spent much of the last few days sharing our gratitude with each other and for this amazing country and culture that has hosted us over the last six weeks. The following is a collectively written poem by the students of the 2019 Summer......Read More