The Far East

My first semester of grad school is finally over!  I can't wait for winter practicum to begin because I will be going to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam with a stop or two in China.  I have never been to this part of the world so I am very excited!  I will be participating in the winter practicum course "Challenges to Peace-building: Cambodia".  We will be conducting research so we can examine, understand and analyze the challenges to peace-building in Cambodia.  Cambodia is a post-genocide society and this has had a huge impact on the peace-building process in Cambodia.  We will be collecting first hand accounts from the people of Cambodia and try to understand what they went through, what life has been like after the genocide and what they see for Cambodia in the future.

I am going to Bangkok Thailand a few days early to see the city before we meet up and go to Cambodia.  After Cambodia, I will travel with a few classmates to Vietnam to Ho Chi Min city to see the different culture in Vietnam.  Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia are very different societies with vast histories, however, they have all dealt with the conflicts within Southeast Asia, but were affected differently by them.

 I have my visas and I am getting ready to get my vaccinations and on January 11, 2009 I will be heading to Thailand to start my Far East adventure.   I will be keeping a journal of my thoughts and so on and after my trip, I will post some of my entries here with pictures to share my first hand experience in the field.  I doubt I will be able to get to an internet cafe since we'll be in the more rural parts of Cambodia.  I'll post my itinerary later!