Final Post due April 28

As sad as it may seem to all of you, this is actually our last week of posts. For this week, take a moment to share your favorite quote about traveling with your fellow China Tour participants. In addition, explain why the quote is so meaningful for you. To get things started, here's one of mine: "Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road/Healthy, free, the world before me/The long brown path before me leading me wherever I choose...Strong and content, I travel the open road." (From Walt Whitman--"Song of the Open Road") And as an extra bonus, if there are still a few of you who have late blogs/posts you'd like to get points for, I will open them up for grading this week only. Blessings and prayers as you finish up this week and prepare for exams~Prof. Schilleman

Week 9 Posts due April 21

The second time I traveled to Thailand, I went to attend a traditional wedding ceremony in the rural Thai village of Ubon, near the border with Laos. We traveled for most of the night by bus from Bangkok, arriving at 4 am and then passing out on pallets in the loft of the bride's family home, while her extended family partied and continued preparations below. After a two hour nap, I was advised that the shower was available. Now, I had traveled in Thailand before and considered myself pretty open minded, but if my friend hadn't stopped me on the way downstairs and said, "You do know it's a traditional shower, right," I would have been confused and probably embarrassed myself by returning unshowered to our hostess. "Shower" in my experience has always denoted an overhead faucet with water running down; never has it conjured pictures of a dripping mid-waist high pipe filling a large garbage can with a smaller bucket and pail beside it. A traditional shower means that you stand close to a hole in the bathroom floor, pour water over yourself with a pail, soap up, and then rinse off with another few pailfuls of water, all the while attempting to keep your dirty water from getting in the large garbage can. Incidentally, the same pail is used to pour water into the toilet for flushing--no handles. Consider some experiences you have faced while traveling, either in the US or abroad, in which you found yourself forced to expand outside of your normal experience. How do such circumstances affect us, both short term and long term? Why are they valuable for both ourselves and the people that we meet along the way? What advice can you offer your classmates for how to enjoy, rather than feel intimidated by such experiences?

Week 8 Posts due April 14

Well everybody, we're moving quite quickly towards the end of the semester. Our journey is just around the corner. As you look ahead to the trip, consider how you plan to make the most of the coming opportunity. All too often when travelers return from time spent overseas, they come back with regrets about time spent watching TV, surfing the Internet, or even sleeping in rather than taking off to explore and interact with the country and people they are visiting. What can you do to make sure you return from your trip without these kind of regrets?

And remember! No late posts will be graded after this week; this includes any blog assignments from April as well!

No Posts During Book Review Week

Take a break from blogging this week to focus on your book reviews. Be sure to stop by and see Dr. OB or Dr. Erskine if you have any questions. You can also check out this link at the OWL Purdue Online Writing Center for tips on compiling a book review: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/704/1/. I also recommend making an appointment at the McKee Library Writing Center to get some extra help. Contact and appointment sign-up links are available at http://www.southern.edu/academics/academic-sites/library/writing-center/writingcenter.html. Happy Writing!

Week 7 Posts due March 31

I hope you all are not only enjoying your reading, but also looking forward to the journey ahead. When you have time, check out this short documentary about the people and culture of the Yunnan province in Southwestern China. While we will not be visiting this area, the documentary will help you to realize that China is a much more diverse nation than many at first suppose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r9nHrGten8.

Week 6 Posts due March 24

As the end of the semester continues to press closer, I urge all of you to make sure to keep up with your reading, and to consider beginning some of your assignments following the guidelines in the syllabus if you have time. And don't forget to get your immunizations and travel documents in order! It's been fun to read and follow your posts and see how all of you have been interacting with one another. Keep up the great work :)

Week 5 Posts due March 17

Despite being ironically spoken through the, anything but brief, words of Polonius, Shakespeare's quote--"Brevity is the soul of wit,"--still rings true. It takes true talent to be able to condense one's thoughts into a short, but complete statement. On the other hand, many times short thoughts are anything but complete. Keep this in mind as you post and comment over the next several weeks, being sure that your words reflect careful thought and pertinent content.

Week 4 Posts and Comments due March 3

Hey everybody, great job on the posts so far. In future posts, consider linking some of what you're reading to what you already know about business, culture, history, etc. from some of your other courses or traveling experiences. Also, I'm still missing some posts or comments from some of you, so try not to get any further behind. Not only will late posts and comments only receive partial credit, but when you post late, others will most likely not read what you had to share since you posted after they have completed that blog section. Posts that are beyond two weeks late will not receive credit at all. Happy reading this week, and enjoy a break from blogging over the spring holiday!

Week 3 Posts and Comments due Feb. 24

Hey everybody, you've made some interesting points so far, and I'm enjoying seeing you get to know one another a bit further through your thoughts and ideas. It's fun to see some conversation going on about the various topics your encountering in your reading. I'm still missing some posts or comments from some of you, though, so try not to get too behind and accrue too many late points. Happy reading this week!

Week 2 Posts and Comments Due February 17

Sounds like everyone has some interesting reading ahead. I'm looking forward to reading more about what you're learning and the thoughts you have to share!

Week 1 Posts and Comments Due Feb. 10

In order to make the posting easier and keep them in order, I will set up a weekly post section on Monday of each week. All you need to do is just click the comment button and add your post from your reading. Since this is the first week of required posts, and I imagine you're all rushing to come up with something to add or may have even completely forgotten to get your book from or are still waiting for it to come in through the library, why don't you just start by sharing the title and general topic of your different books. That way, we can work out any of the "kinks" in the whole process and then be prepared to make some more thorough posts next week. I'll add instructions for comments to next week's posting section on Monday. Good luck to all of you. The initial comment is a sample to give you all an idea of what you can add in the future. Note! If you do not have a google account, you will need to set up a gmail account to post on the blog, but you can delete it after the course if you wish.

“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” – Wendell Berry

Welcome to the School of Business and Management's International Business and Communication China Study Tour. We are excited that you will be sharing with us in the journey ahead.