Category: Uncategorized
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Blog resumes
Several drafts and ideas for posts have sat unfinished over the past year. Days, weeks, and months passed, with occasional attempts to start writing again; however, each time if I started at all, I found I lacked the concentration to follow through. A few sentences here, a blank page there, an empty and scattered mind…
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The Beautiful Snowy Present
A rare series of snowstorms have rendered the Seattle area into a beautiful winter scene.
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Helping my friend Diva
One of the amazing things about my life is that I have met many great people in many places around the world. During the last two years in Indonesia was no exception. I have many friends in the country, and after I run the half marathons in Cambodia and Thailand, I will go back to…
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Indonesia elects a new president
For the time I was in Indonesia, I wrote in this blog (though not often enough) about my experience and shared some stories. I’d like now to share some current and historical events in Indonesia, specifically relating to the recent presidential election and subsequent challenge. On July 9, just a week before I left the…
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On Volunteer Tourism Part II: Listen and Learn
Previously, I posted a video about the danger of a single story. In that video, Chimamanda Adichie tells her story and experience with the single story. This post is commentary connecting the single story to volunteer tourism. So, why is it important to consider the “single story” in reflecting on the trend of volunteer tourism?…
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On Volunteer Tourism, Part I: The Danger of a Single Story
Recently, I came across an article about volunteer tourism, The Problem with Volunteer Tourism, and thought I would share my thoughts in a series of posts. First, a video to watch and reflect on (I have posted before, but it’s worth doing it again). The description from the TED talk: “Our lives, our cultures, are…
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At the Market
It is Friday. I’m a little bit tired and homesick. I decide against spending the afternoon alone. The students also have a free afternoon, so I soon I find myself walking through Balige’s streets with a small group of students to the traditional market. Every day there are people selling their wares, but one day…
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Brief Update
Hello. I’m still here! I am getting closer to having my visa finalized. Last week I was in Penang, Malaysia arranging the visa (it has to be done outside Indonesia). I have the sticker in my passport that is good for 1 year. Now I am back in Indonesia, and have submitted a stack of…
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Sumatra Earthquake (updated)
As I wrote yesterday, I had been listening to the deep booms of an approaching thunderstorm. Barely 10 minutes after I posted my previous entry, the ground started to shake. It took a few seconds for my brain to register that this was, in fact, an earthquake. Balige is well inland, and was far from…
Megs the Wanderer 