What the Hell New York Times

In an article published in today's Sunday New York Times entitled "The Foreign Legions,"

(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/education/edlife/studyabroad.html?pagewanted=4&ref=edlife)

Laura Pappano takes an in-depth look at the modern day American's study abroad experience. While I applaud her for looking into a more and more important aspect of college life, I wish she'd bothered to actually dive into the topic matter rather than simply pay lip service to both sides of the argument and call it a day.

Ms. Pappano interviews heads of Study Abroad Programs from Yale, Syracuse, and Indiana, students from those schools as well as Chapel Hill, and Loyola Maryland, but does not make anything clear other than these few facts:

1. Schools abroad can be easy or hard. Thanks
2. Some foreign nations' societies might be different from American society. No Shit Sherlock.
3. Schools prepare and aid their students differently during their study abroad experience. That is like being suprised UVA and UCLA have different experiences to offer, REALLY YOU DON'T SAY!!?!?!

My main problem with the article is her gross mishap of not including Middlebury College in her article. Call me a homer, but a college with perhaps the strongest language programs in the country, a world renowned summer language program, and some thirty options for study abroad (both in English and other languages) probably has some good information to offer regarding this subject. Moreover, the majority of the students sound as if they are whining in their responses. Oh Palestine's policies towards women are different from Americans. Who knew? Jeeeze

I agree with her "analysis" that the study abroad experience is one that forces college students to mature, in many ways my experience has been of the "kill or be killed" variety, but that is not a bad thing. Perhaps what Ms. Pappano should have extrapolated from her research was that the modern American twenty year old is actually spoiled by their lifestyles at home, instead of harping poetic about the various qualities of homestays abroad. I don't know, maybe I'm being to cynical, but speaking from my own experience I can say that whenever I've wanted to interact with Chinese culture I've had that option, whenever I wanted to take a break and Westernize an afternoon, I have Starbuck's at arm's reach.

Study abroad is entirely what you make of it. The colleges offer a means out of the States and a program that the students can follow as strictly or loosely as they wish. Ms. Pappano writes, "Being in a place a dozen time zones away, where Internet service and cellphones are unreliable, provides one of the first chances for true and prolonged independence." While that maybe true, it is up to the student to assume the responsibility to lead as independent a life as he or she may wish to.

Talking for My Own Enjoyment

I frequent a variety of websites, Drudge, Take a Report, NYTimes, BBC, Vault, NHL, Askmen, and a few others and appreciate how well these are maintained and updated.

Obviously The New York Times is expected to and does maintain a very professional manner on their website, but what is so enjoyable about the site is their new catering to the blogging community. They have a scroll bar on the right side, which informs the reader, which articles, editorials, and op-eds have been most read and blogged about, which I must admit to stealing many of the leads I put on this blog. Moreover, and this IS why New York is so great, they never let that New York aura wear off. We're New York, get over yourself, you'll never be us.

I sound arrogant and pompous, but I don't really care. There is a reason people come to New York chasing dreams. Despite only being a few hundred years old the City has so much character and has gone through so much that it seems like it has the history of Rome behind it. We've traded the Coliseum for the Garden, the Roman Baths for the high rise apartments and the Senate for the Empire State Building. New York is the capital of the World and I'm damn proud to be a part of it, even if I am only from the suburbs.

Changing Subjects...kinda.

Your home, in my opinion, is such a crucial element to what defines you as person. Obviously parents, teachers, blah blah all have big parts in your development, but what I mean to say is that your hometown is key to this as well. I'm from Rye, its a town of 10,000 odd people, we're all fairly well off (generally speaking), it might be the whitest town in the Union, and hockey certainly still thrives there, while it dies elsewhere. Do we take shit for our proximity to $Greenwich$? Absolutely. Do $Greenwichians$ dish it out for us not being them? Ditto. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

People who deny their hometown, frankly need a good swift kick in the ass. Whether for better or worse, home played a bigger role defining people than many would like to admit.

I, for one am damn proud to call Rye, NY, Middlebury, VT, and perhaps by the time I leave, Hangzhou home.

Trans-Siberian Ballers

If you have ever done something so amazing, so cool, so different, then you know part of the feeling I felt for the majority of this past week.

If you have ever spent a significant amount of time just enjoying yourself, just being around friends, just being totally relaxed you, then you know the other part of that feeling.

My experiences on the Trans-Siberian Railroad and the stops in Beijing, P.R.C. and Ulaanbataar, Mongolia were without a doubt the coolest travel experience of my life. Between the amazing locales we visited (the Mongolian Steppe, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Mongolian National Museum of History), to the awe-inspiring views (Yangtze River, Great Wall, Mongolian Nomadic Families on the Move), to the ways we past the time (Hearts, Spades, Reading {Atlas Shrugged does not disappoint}) and of course the food and drink (Mongolian Traditional Soup, wow!) The trip was everything you could ask of it.

When Middleburians (because I now hate the term Midd Kid) talk about their study abroad experiences this is the sort of trip they rave about. Now on to the good stuff. Lists!

The Good:
1) Beijing's Far East International Youth Hostel: great stay, cheap as all hell, right next to Tiananmen and a dope night market, and a major plus the hostel bar had free wifi and a great selection of free movies for screening, plus good cheap beer.
2) Yi Ningsen: Nate Evans if ya nasty. The boy is a baller and Beijing has brought that to light more than Middlebury could've. Can't wait to kick it with him down in the Hangzhou in a couple weeks.
3) Ayn Rand: So far "Atlas" is enjoyable, but a little bit too much of the sex talk, how about getting back to that famous story huh?
4) Nomad Tours: Gana, our tour guide? Balla. The Ger Camp? Balla. The Mongolian Horses? Balla. The Price? Balla.
5. The Trans-Siberian Railroad: Great way to see the sights of Mongolia and northern China as well as relax. I've always liked trains, the little engine that could, the metro-north with my Pops, the Amtrak with Jessiman, all great experiences, and despite the somewhat cramped conditions of the Trans-Siberian, the sleeper car was great and we met some really interesting people along the way.
6. Mongolia: Great Food, Fun People, Good Beer, Beautiful Women, only knock was the bars close wayyy too early.

The Bad:
1. Drunken MacDonald's: gotta stop that.
2. The Person who Stole my Camera in Beijing: Asshole
3. Beijing Taxi Drivers: If the Olympics are going to be a success, the Government has got to get these guys under control, 80 kuai for a 5 minute cab ride, I'm starting to think these are the guys that stole my camera...
4. Food Car on the train in China: Come on, you can put in a little more effort than that. I've realized Chinese people are the most apathetic people on the face of the planet. Not a good quality!

The Ugly:
1. My Beard: Still not capable of growing one. Damn
2. Mongolia's Drinking Problem: They get drunk and fall off walls (onto their heads, I might add) get in fights with each other and are generally ridiculous. Oh well, its where Genghis Khan is from, should I be suprised?
3. 14 hour standing room only return ticket from Beijing to Hangzhou: Dammit that was rough.

That's all for now! keep on keepin' on.

Ireland. Gotta Love It!

New article from "the Guardian" a British paper. Damn its good to be Irish.

Welcome to Ireland - but don't stay long

Manchán Magan
Thursday October 18, 2007
The Guardian

Hearing that Ireland has topped the list of the world's friendliest countries in the Lonely Planet's Bluelist 2008, on account of the "deliciously dark sense of humour and ... welcoming attitude towards strangers", this Irishman's first thought is: "Ha, ha, we've managed to hoodwink them again, the gullible amadáin [fools]!"

Lest there be any misunderstanding, it's important to make clear that the Irish distrust and dislike all foreigners. It's a national trait. We will use a bit of charm when you stop us for directions or waylay us in a pub, but that's often because we just want your money. Although our booming economy means we have more money now than we know what to do with, we still want more and if getting at yours means asking you how the weather is and how you're getting on, we'll do it. Just don't go thinking we like you. It's nothing personal; we're a tribal nation.

Article continues

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The fact that the people who serve us pints are now nuclear physicists from Latvia and our gardeners are university lecturers from the Philippines makes us deeply uncomfortable, but what can we do? We're simply too rich to do it ourselves. We no longer need to look back to the distant past for a golden era - we're living it. Ireland is like a birthday boy gleefully opening all his presents and keen to show them off. We want you here long enough to revel in our abundance - but don't ask us to share any of it, and make sure you leave soon.

If you meet us in the evening or first thing in the morning and we seem particularly friendly, we may be drunk. We're fortunate in that we become exuberant with drink. You wouldn't want to meet us next day when we're hungover and laughing at you behind your back. But please keep coming. Being an island nation, we're like a dysfunctional family, and it's a relief now and then to see a new face.

The Journey is the Experience

I take off tomorrow for Beijing and Mongolia and frankly don't remember what I've been doing or where I've been as everything has flown by so fast. Its kinda like riding a 30 hour train, you know where you left from and where you're going but the journey in between just whizzes by. In the words of the 1980's greatest philosopher, "Life moves pretty fast sometimes, if you don't stop to look around every now and then, you might miss it." Thank you Ferris Bueller.

So that 30 hour train ride I have ahead of me can't be too bad, I have my iPod, two books, one package of Oreo's, one package of M&M's, and one awesome package of Mom's Homemade Cookies, which I still think are the best tasting cookies on the planet (certainly in China).

In anticipation of this insane journey (I'm not saying Mongolia because that's only part of it) Clary and I went and got tattoos earlier in the week (sorry Mom!), I got a spin on what my father and all my uncles have, the Shamrock, by putting it on my shoulder and adding four Chinese characters to the underside. 视死如归, which translates to "See death as a return home," which although a little morbid, I think does those who have already passed justice. After all the destination is only half the story, the fun is in the journey. Wish me luck over the next week and I'll check in upon my return from outside the wall.

-MD

Hangzhou or Seattle? Hard to Say

Everyone knows that image of the cool hipsters sitting in a cafe on a rainy Seattle afternoon, typing away at e-mails and listening to really cool music (for this example we'll use Sufjan Stevens), well that is the vibe I get from this cafe I'm in now. Its not raining and our cool music isn't nearly as obscure (Red Hot Chili Peppers), but good company makes for good times.

YoYo, Li Fang, and Dan Lin, have come with me to relax and enjoy a nice day by the lake, which is something we haven't done nearly enough of to be honest. I've really jumped head on into this blogging thing, I find it to be the best way to A) keep up on modern life (read Western life) B) Find interesting reads and info that otherwise would be next to impossible to do, and so on and so forth.

Next week is the week of our midterms and I'm interested to see how that goes as none of the tests, save for Newspaper are written tests. What's more, the idea of us already having reached the mid-point of the semester is somewhat mind-boggling. Really? We've been in China for six weeks already? How is that possible, I need to take more advantage of this place as it is so gorgeous, so fun, and still so new to me. Here's to hoping that I'm back here this summer.

With the idea of taking advantage of my experience here on my mind, I set out this morning to find some activities for myself upon my return from Mongolia (the week after midterms). I've found an art show from Oct. 30th until Nov. 5th, which is only featuring work of the students of Hangzhou Art Academy, and it is all for sale, both prints and the originals. How cool is that?!?

My family friends, the Goldmans, have some of the coolest houses I've ever seen, one in the Poconos, one in Doylestown, and one in good ole' Midd, but their location is only part of the reason they're so spectacular (and that word is not an understatement). The best reason is that everything from their houses has its own story. I hope I can have something similar. I want to be able to say, "Yea, interesting story behind that painting, it was done by a student at the Hangzhou Art Academy, and I bought it there on my study abroad experience."

Life is what you make of it, and I want to make it really interesting.

Hey, quick links, a couple new articles I find interesting
1)http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/opinion/11zizek.html?em&ex=1192334400&en=c7419da773843f10&ei=5087%0A
2)http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/opinion/09brooks.html THIS ONE IS PARTICULARLY INTERESTING
3)http://kissmesuzy.blogspot.com, Referencing the infamous Joe Namath trying to kiss Suzy Kolber, moreover a great blog.
4)http://rononmiddlebury.wordpress.com/ This is Ron Liebowitz's (Middlebury President) blog, really good insight.

Until next time!

Shanghaied in Shanghai

Lame title, I know and I don't care, because I'm pretty sure I left part of my soul in the gorgeous paradise that is Shanghai, China.

Shanghai is everything you hear New York is supposed to be, but being from the New York area, I've yet to find. Beautiful Women, Fast Cars, and Out of this World Bars. Bootleg Products, Crazy People, and a Skyline that would stop the Heart of anyone over the age of 50 (or on hard drugs, think Johnny Depp in Blow, which I looked up on-line, has never happened in Shanghai, so its good to know that I won't be running into coke heads like you do in New York). Needless to say, I think I've found my new favorite city.

We arrived on Friday evening with the plan of meeting up with the rest of our crew (we were three at the time meeting up with a group totaling twelve). That plan only held itself together for maybe ten minutes at most. When going out to bars in groups its never a good idea to bombard a bouncer with a group of twelve people, even if they all are really good looking, which we were. So after splitting the group up buying some beers on the street at a market and making our way (now totaling six) to Attica, led by our Shanghai specialist, Charles Patrick Evans (now calling himself the City, btw) I was given the best view of a city, I've ever seen.

This place had every view in Vegas, any view from the bridges surrounding The City (New York still holds this name in my heart), and the only view that comes even relatively close is the one from Sky Bar in LA, which I experienced last year with my uncle Kevin and my Pops.
But even that is a stretch. This has a perfect view of the Shanghai television tower and the surrounding skyscrapers which are some of the most interesting architecture in the world.

If it just had that it would be a pretty cool place, but there was more to it, mainly three dance floors, indoors (main), indoors (dome), and outdoors (patio) all with their own djs and style. The dome was actually almost a full circle, with the floor slanted towards the middle to get everyone as close as possible.

We spent the night dancing, partying and eventually around 3:00 I made my way to the door, with Gao Li Fang. Gao and I then made it to MacDonald's where we discovered that not only is it also a late night destination for Chinese partiers, but they actually sleep there! Apparently it is more comfortable or convenient than home, (most homes don't have A/C, Micky D's does). After getting some girl advice from Gao, we took off for the hostel and were the first of our group back (which is saying something as we got back in at about 4:40).

The second day, Dan Lin, myself and Muzzy, aka Mike West, aka Wei Ran, made our way to the knock off market to do some shopping, where we spent three hours bargaining, fighting off salespeople and actually running from one after we ruined a sale (she was trying to rip off another guy for 10 shirts at 80 kuai a pop, when we got them for 30 kuai a pop). This actually resulted in her waiting outside the giant market for us and eventually hitting Muzzy, aka Mike West, aka Wei Ran, two or three times for spoiling her sale.

Saturday night resulted in similar shenanigans as Friday, except at a different bar (Muse) and with me sporting a fedora as opposed to my normal baseball hat. It also resulted in my first make out session of the trip (I attribute the hat for my luck) as well as the discovery on my return home that my new knock-off Hugo Boss button down actually gave me a huge allergic reaction. All in all a great weekend though.

Quick Recap: Shanghai: Amazing City; Bars in Shanghai: Also Spectacular; Girls: Always a Plus; Knock Off Clothes: Be Wary

Also last thing for this post as its getting long, I am going with three friends by train to Beijing and then Mongolia from October 19th to the 28th with the itinerary as follows.
19th: Hop on twelve hour sleeper train to Beijing
20th: Arrive in Beijing
20th-22nd: In Beijing, during which time we will be making ourselves to the only shooting range in China, where you A) Pay by the Bullet, and B) Have the option of Driving and Shooting a Tank (HELL YES)
22nd: Leave on 30 hours sleeper train for Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia
23rd: Evening, Arrive in Ulaan Bataar
23rd-26th: Spend at least one night out on the Mongolian Steppe with the hopes of seeing both the Northern Lights and the most gorgeous stars ever.

Also during this time my friend Pancake plans on entering into one of Mongolia's world famous drinking contests, which will be entertaining as all hell.

26th: Begin trip back to Hangzhou

We've all started play-off beards in anticipation of mid-terms next week as well as the already below freezing temperatures of Mongolia. We are also in the process of buying/renting a video camera so that we can record as much of the adventure as possible and create a cool story to bring back for the rest of y'all.

I thought China was wild, I can't wait to find out what Mongolia is like!