A picture is worth 1000 words

The picture I have chosen is an accurate portrayal of my time here, not because the subjects are drinking, but because that's when the best discourse happens. There's a lot to be said over a drink. Every meaningful conversation had taken place in a bar or pub or other drinking establishment. A single beverage can last for hours while the conversation continues. I've seen professors, grad students, and undergrads gather around a table and discuss rich academic topics while sipping beer. As for me, I've seen taken to a conversation or three just from a beverage. While there is much to be said for a conversation in a relaxed lounge setting, early evening pub chats are some of my favorite. There's an atmosphere of calm and genuine peace. A drink is sums up the majority of my time in Lancaster, and there's little wrong with it. It isn't so much this photo is worth 1000 words, but that before and immediately following the photo, 1000 meaningful words were spoken.

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

I was very excited to get a picture of a British post box when we were visiting Chester our first weekend at Lancaster. Lancaster city didn't have one like this, at least to my knowledge at that point in time. To me, these scream Britain as much as red phonebooths, doubledecker buses, and blue police boxes. I have a strong association to these post boxes because of Harry Potter. I know there is no post on Sundays thanks to Uncle Vernon in the first book/movie. In the Harry Potter lego games, while traipsing through the city areas, you can magically destroy these post boxes for coins. The idea of the mail system seems very British. It has a firmly held order. It goes about its business even in the rain. If that doesn't explain Britain in part, I don't know what would. 

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

A boom truck waiting to be used in the Beaufort Fishing Community.    

While this is not a glamorous picture, boom trucks like the one seen above have great  meaning and practical use in North Carolina’s eastern fishig communities.  Most tourists would not understand the significant ritual behind the annual parade in which similarly old and rusted-out boom truck’s drive down the streets of Beaufort with a battery powered winch installed in the back; and with the boats being coming to the dock to be blessed in anticipation of the new fishing season.  In Beaufort, the fishing industry is the economy’s mainstay, and the fishermen’s boom trucks are vital to supporting its effective operation.  The annual parade and boat blessing is meant to recognize and give thanks to those people who collect and risk their lives in the pursuit of providing seafood for others.  

A picture is worth a 1000 words

March Madness at the marine lab

Duke Basketball. Blue Devils. Coach K. Cameron Crazies. March Madness.

These are words I hear constantly at the Duke Marine Lab as everyone takes their basketball team very seriously.  This came as a great shock when I arrived for several reasons: one, I am very disinterested in sports. Two, sports are not very significant on Allegheny campus, and three, basketball is not a sport anyone talks about in western Pennsylvania.  I assume this is because we do not have a professional team, but I am so unfamiliar because of its lack of regional popularity that I do not know any of the terms (is it a goal? point? hoop? score?).

Duke students can be intense at times. During one of my first dinners at the marine lab a handful of students I was sitting next to started to discuss basketball but were not using key words (like basketball), so I was not sure what sport they were discussing.  When I asked to be conversational, I received a response of surprise, disbelief, and strong annoyance.  Similar situations have occurred a couple of times in the future; once because I did not know the coach's name--- meanwhile, I could not name a single coach at Allegheny, which is far from abnormal (at least among my friends).

Basketball is undoubtably core to the "Duke Culture", and as I would be intrigued as a foreigner at, say, Russian customs, I am frequently fascinated and surprised by the fierce passion these students all share for their sports team.  When passively watching the game (I was actually building a puzzle) the other night, I overheard another girl describe how she had been acutely nervous all evening leading up to the game, because the games have that much personal impact on many of them.  Another example of the great commitment is that during games that occur in the winter, the students strip down to almost nothing, paint their entire bodies with blue paint, and wait in line, outdoors, for their tickets. During the game I attended, a dozen of my peers stood outside like this, in approximately 20-30 degree weather for almost two hours.  I was seriously concerned for their safety as I could barely withstand it in my large, warm hoodie.

This basketball activism has seemed to cause both positive and negative outcomes.  It has appeared to serve as a source of bonding for the students, which I witness when they watch the games, discuss the latest trades, or talk about "tenting" (the act of living in a tent for 2-8 weeks for a ticket to the "big game" - the University of North Carolina vs. Duke game).  However, I have noticed some unfortunate outcomes such as the attitude towards rival teams.  It has been a very salient illustration of groupthink in my mind since I have arrived. During the games (I attended the "big game", luckily without having to tent), the Duke students chant several un-sportsman-like phrases at the opposing team that cross a line, in my mind.

Understanding the sports of a large, famous, division one college has provided me insight into the motivations and loves of individuals that seem so similar to me, yet are so different in many ways.  Witnessing the passion they hold for this game has made it clear how certain scandals can occur-- from rape scandals to mass faculty and administration driven cheating incident.  It has also shown me what can bring a group of people together in a way I have never seen.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

These four pictures accurately capture the culture of Duke University and their extremely school-spirited students. I have never seen anyone so passionate about a sport, especially basketball, because back home, basketball isn’t nearly as important as it is here…

Because those of us who are studying here at the marine lab this semester cannot wait in line as early as others do for a basketball game (since we’re 5 hours away from Duke’s main campus), we have to contact the “Line Monitors” at least two weeks in advance if we want to go to a game and they will try to save us a spot. (When I first heard my friends talking about the “line monitors,” I thought they were joking because that sounds like something you would see in a movie). When we arrived on Duke’s main campus for the Duke vs. Notre Dame game, I could not believe the amount of people that had been waiting in line for, not just hours, but days for this game. Students literally camped outside to wait in line for a few days before the game so that they could get in the student section. My jaw dropped. But “tenting,” as it is commonly referred to, for the Notre Dame game was not nearly as big of a deal as tenting is for the Duke vs. UNC game. (I didn’t know this at the time, but Duke and UNC are the biggest rivals in college sports history, so they despise each other.) The Duke vs. UNC game was scheduled for February 18^th, 2015, and students began tenting on January 8^th, 2015...PEOPLE HAD BEEN WAITING IN LINE FOR OVER 40 DAYS, JUST FOR A BASKETBALL GAME. I couldn’t believe the extent to which some people would go for a sporting event. The fact that they even have line monitors in the first place, as well as a whole set of formal rules and regulations for “tenting,” along with different levels of tenting (black, dirty black, blue, dirty blue, and white tenting, which are all different levels of “difficulty, per sé) just goes to show how different cultures value different things; I know back home, I wouldn’t even turn on the tv to watch a basketball game. But here, they wait outside for weeks on end for a chance to get into the student section of the basketball game.

In the student section at the Duke vs. Notre Dame
men's basketball game

My wonderful view from the student section at the Duke vs. Notre Dame game. I probably only got to see about 10% of the game because of how many people were in front of me.

Tenting that began on January 8th, 2015 for the Duke vs. UNC 
men's basketball game on February 18th, 2015. There are 
around 100 tents, varying in occupancy from 2-12 people.

A crowd of Duke students burning benches after winning the Duke vs. UNC men's basketball game in OT. Surprisingly, this is allowed by the school. In fact, the school even gets a permit for the burning of the bench(es). Appropriate personnel are on-site throughout the duration of this traditional post-game event.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Landscape on the bus to Chefchaouen

Morocco is a beautiful country with diverse landscapes. Even though the country is nearly the size of California I have experienced snow, beaches, flat lands, mountains and desert. The first picture shows a casual Moroccan landscape on my bus ride to a small town called Chefchaouen. It was probably the most beautiful drive I've ever been on.

Kelby

Chefchaouen has been becoming a more popular tourist destination because it is known as the "blue city" and for its hiking trails. My favorite part about this visit was the unique relaxing aura of the city. My friend and I still received catcalling from Moroccan men as normal, but none of that mattered much there because we were able to escape into solitude to experience the real beauty of Morocco and the world. The biggest adjustment for me was experiencing the objectification of women first hand, but the other aspects of Morocco out weigh the negative aspects I feel.

The next picture is of a dog from Chefchaouen that I named Kelby (because it means my dog in Arabic and sounds like Colby in English). There are many stray dogs and cats in the country. Many of these dogs usually stay far from people because they are treated poorly by people, so they usually are wild and travel in packs. However, this dog stayed in the city and wanted the attention of my friend and I; he was the sweetest dog and he warmed our hearts. I have noticed that Morocco can be a surprising and amazing place even with the little things.

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

Myself with some friends who are locals attending a soirée (dance)

     During my stay in Angers, France, I am proud to say that I have successfully become more of an ‘insider’. This alone, instead of just being a tourist, gives me a different perspective of the country. This allows me to learn different aspects of the culture as I implement them into my life, and as I feel more and more at home in France. In addition, I have made friendships here that connect me to most of the other continents.

     I chose to share the picture above for a few reasons. This month my friends encouraged me to attend my university’s gala, which is a formal dance in France. At this gala, we first ate a very traditional French dinner. At the end of the night we ended up in another room where we could dance. This picture means a lot to me because it illustrates how I spent my night having a good time with the friends I have made here. By going to this gala, I felt like I belonged to the French society just like my French friends do. Most importantly, I was lucky enough to share their time at their last gala – since they graduate after this year’s studies – and I was able to see a chapter of their lives come to an end. For these reasons, the story behind this picture is a memory I will never forget.

     Nights like these have taught me how locals interact in social situations such as a gala. I also was able to see how the event was a very special, important night for most students. And I am proud to say that I can look from the inside out.

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words ~

This is a picture taken during a class
about linking indigenous studies.
The class invited an Australian native
to come and talk about things that
are original to Australia.

 
Here in Australia, they are constantly looking towards the future. The people are focused on taking care of the Earth by recycling, using public transportation instead of personal vehicles, keeping the environment clean (through cleaning projects coordinated by volunteers) and much more. However, even though people keep their sights on the horizon, they do not forget their roots. People make sure to remember and respect the places that they came from. Such visits are common in a lot of the classes, regardless of the subject. For many people here, their background and their ancestry is very important.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

Sometimes it gets so easy to be lost in the tourism of a new place that it becomes easy to intrude on the lives of the people living there without meaning to. England is a country that expects, and welcomes, visitors. Cathedrals, libraries, and other culturally significant sites are often equipped with tour manuals in different languages and a person at the door inviting you to look around. However, regardless of the acceptance of tourism by the country,  not everyone feels the same way towards people intruding on their space. Walking with a group of friends in Manchester we entered a cathedral planning on taking a few photos and looking around only to discover that there were locals in the church having some kind of gathering. Although we still received permission to look around , it was a rude awakening that we were interfering with a routine these people had, a private moment they looked forward to. The above photo is the front of the cathedral in a quiet moment, a place for members of the community to worship.

Resetting our goals? : Due on Apr. 15, 2015

Resetting our goals? :  Due on Apr. 15, 2015

(Please read “Development as a Buzz Word”)

At the start of his piece, Gilbert Rist observes, “Despite its widespread usage, the meaning of the term ‘development’ remains vague, tending to refer to a set of beliefs and assumptions about the nature of social progress rather than to anything more precise (485).”

As you have spent considerable time immersing yourself in the culture of your host destination and benefitting from experiential learning, how would you answer the question posed by the piece that suggests ‘development’ means different things in various contexts? Please select a specific experience you have had, or something you may have witnessed to make your case.

Please keep the subject header of the post: "Resetting our goals?" Thank you.