April 13, 2011: Learning Journal 13

Finals are here.  Papers are due.  IRB is in.  Marathon Meeting is on the horizon.  I guess that means that this whole India thing really is happening after all?

I have less than a month before leave for India.  This week is hard to write a journal about because I feel like my feelings and general level of preparedness has fluctuated so much.  For right now though, I feel good.

We talked about a lot of important things in the field facilitator training meeting.  This was the meeting we attended to get on track for wrapping up the end of the semester and preparing for the last minute details before going into the field.  It is time for the logistics that we have been not answering all semester to come out with a vengeance.  I could do a 12 page journal on what we talked about alone, but it is all a bit daunting at the moment.  This is a snap shot what it looked like in my head (SAFETY AND SECURITY, FIELD FACILITATOR ROLE, ITINERARIES AND HTH....PRAY PRAY PRAY AND PRAY SOME MORE!).  Lots of good information, but a LOT of it.  Since I have not been to the field, these are the kinds of things that I am most afraid of.  Luckily I have a lot of people in the office, and Melissa, the previous facilitator, helping me out.

April 13, 2011: Time Log

120 min- preparing for final class presentation

60 min- attending class today (April 13th)

120 min- attending marathon meeting field facilitator training

60 min- working on field facilitator duties, writing emails, etc to get ready for the marathon meeting

60 min- getting IRB wrapped up

120 min- working on project proposal

30 min- writing this weeks journal

45 min- reading through and reviewing Overlooking Tibet, a blog

45 min- reading through and reviewing electronic sources on Everyday Exile, an NGO looking to spread stories through words and photographs to raise Tibetan awareness.

Total: 660 minutes

More Electronic Sources: Everyday Exile

Okay, so I hit the jackpot.  After following a blog trail, one of the comments on a Overlooking Tibet post was from a Non-Profit in Mcleod Ganj.  Everyday Exile was founded in 2010 and is platform that allows Tibetans in exile anywhere in the world to share their personal stories, in words and in images, with an online readership.  Could I possibly find a more perfect blog to stumble upon?  My whole project is about collecting these stories!

Everyday Exile was founded by Tammy, who came to Mcleod Ganj in 2009 volunteering as an English conversation teacher, helping to plan events to broaden awareness of the Tibetan situation.  The person stories moved her deeply, and upon returning to the US she was surprised by how many people were clueless about the Tibetan situation.  I have not yet been able to gather if she is still in Mcleod Ganj, but I cannot think of a better contact in the field for the field study project I am doing.

I am a little unclear if the blog is where this process is taking place, or if the blog simply works as a companion to the cause.  The great thing about these electronic sources is that I can ask!  So far, there are two parts to Everday Exile I have tapped into.  The main blog, which provides news updates and local happenings, and a Photojournalism blog.  Being both a creative writer and a photographer, I could not be more excited.  The photographs really do have a way of telling a story, and it is my hope to take similar pictures as a companion to the creative project I am developing.

I cannot wait to connect with this organization.  Suddenly accessing the community and tapping into these stories does not feel near as daunting as it did a week ago.

Electronic Source: Overlooking Tibet

After browsing some of the blogs Kangpa follows from his blog about his experiences in Dharamsala, I found another blog I am interested in following.  It is called "Overlooking Tibet: Ways outsiders dismiss and disempower Tibet and Tibetans...from outsiders trying not to."  With a title like that, I was very curious to see what this blog had to say.

I cannot find any information about the author, but form his blog posts I can gather bits and pieces.  The author has been to Tibet several times, even during politically sensitive periods, and speaks Tibetan.  Based on my less than perfect experience learning Tibet myself, I think that is great.

This seems to be a fairly new blog and is not posted on very regularly, but the things that are posted are very useful.  One article, "Restless Endangerment," in particular I thought was useful as a new field facilitator taking a group of seven other students to India for the first time.  Of course, it is not Tibet, but I think some of the basic safety precautions mentioned here can be very applicable.

The authors advice?  Register with your countries embassy (going to do that, Ashley said that I register with Delhi), and also to not distribute anything widely  or not put yourself in the middle of a crowd.

I did not really understand the first safety tip, but the author explains that a lot of people want to distribute pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the people in Tibet, but in large groups of Tibetans there is usually at least one spy among them.  It would be a bad move for a tourist to facilitate this by distributing these images inside of Tibet.  I have never even heard of this being a problem, but this is really serious.  The author ends the article saying that "as a tourist, we can go home after your few weeks in Tibet are up.  After we are no longer watching, how many people will go to jail?"

Another great thing about this blog is that the most recent comments are posted along the side (I have not yet seen that feature, and am considering putting it into my own blog), and there are other links to follow.  The chase for more great electronic sources never ends!  I am excited to be a new follower to this blog.  Though the posts might be few and far between, they are interesting and and well thought out.  I think a lot of what the author talks about with cultural sensitivity goes hand in hand with field study goals. 

April 6, 2011: Learning Journal 12

This week we read one of my favorite readings that we do in the Field Study Preparation Course.  It is an article by Gary Ferraro called "Coping with Culture Shock."  While it focuses specifically on business men and women going abroad, there are some great lessons to be learned about what happens when we encounter culture shock.  This is definitely one of the readings that I want with me in the field, and no better way than keeping that on file that writing a learning journal about it.

One of the best things about this article is that it treats culture shock for what it is, being much more complex that merely what we experience when we first get off the plane and realize that things are bit different than we are used to.  He says that culture shock comes in four stages.

1. The Honeymoon- Everything is different, but there is something fun and romantic about it all
2. Irritation and Hostility- Here is what comes after the honeymoon.  A small number of problems become huge really fast, and all of the sudden all of those little differences from the honeymoon are frustrating. 
3. Gradual Adjustment- This is the passing of the crisis and a move towards "gradual recovery" (163).
4. Biculturism- The last stage represents full or near full recovery, and means that you have the ability to function in both cultures effectively.   

April 6, 2011: Time Log

45 min- preparing for class presentation portion of our final grade

45 min- reading and reviewing electronic source, a blog on the Tibetan Plateau

60 min- reading through and reviewing blog, "My Thoughts and Feelings in Dharamsala."  Looking at other sources to link to.

60 min- writing this weeks learning journal on culture shock

30 min- reviewing the article on culture shock that the journal is based on

120 min- drafting and revising IRB and final project proposal

30 min- meeting with honors coordinator to figure out how to turn this project into my final honors thesis

Total: 390 minutes

Electronic Source: The Tibetan Plateau Blog

In searching for good electronic sources, I found a great blog, The Tibetan Plateau, that keeps on recent news and events going on in Tibet.  From what I have gathered, it is a hub for all kinds of interesting topics that people can look further into with helpful links and videos.  I know that we often struggled to find sources to read in the prep class on current issues, and this looks like a great place to start.

So far, this source has taught me that the nomad culture of Tibet is vanishing, there are a lot of environmental issues going on with China wanting to mine, etc. that is being monitored by Google Earth, and some of the responses of India to Chinese particular Chinese officials.

More than anything, this blog is very informational.  The labels show that there are two authors posting, but no other links or labels are given.  There is, however, a search box, which is nice.  It has a lot of helpful links to other blog posts, news reports, and academic sources that give the reader the choice to follow up on.  There are 113 people following this blog, and it can be translated in 11 different languages.  While it is not posted on incredibly regularly, the posting is consistent.  There is a lot to be learned from this blog, and I am excited to be the 114th follower. 

Electronic Sources: Another Dharamsala Blog!

I know that this is called a bibliography assignment, but more than anything it is supposed to be for me to find sources that will help me continue and learn about my project.  After meeting with my faculty mentor, Dr. Burton, I realized that finding electronic realms of communication was really important for my blog.

In the field, I am taking a Digital Culture course contract with Dr. Burton.  I will flesh this out later, but the three themes I need to tackle in this proposed course are how my digital media can be used to Consume, Create, and Connect.  Based on my  last field experience, my Ghana blog did a lot of consuming and creating, but I seriously lacked on the connecting part.  With this second round through, I am going to tackle that last "C."

So for one of this weeks sources, I found a block called "My Thoughts and Activities in Dharamsala."  It is a blog by Kangpa Tasapo.  He was born in Brooklyn, grew up partially in Panama, and lived in Florida after middle school.  My favorite part?  He dropped out of high school to live on the streets and hitchhiked around the US.  Eventually he ended up in Berea as a transient and went to Berea College, got a B.A. in Asian studies, and is now living in Dharamsala studying Buddhist Philosophy at Sarah College for Higher Tibetan Studies.  I love biographies like this.  Hitchhiking across the country was always a bit of a dream for me.  I only ended up doing it seriously when I lived in Hawaii though.  Anyways, I think we would be good friends, or at least have good conversations.

He blogs very regularly, and his posts are thoughtful and well done.  He refers to books he has read, things he is studying, and is an entertaining writer.  I wish that he had labels somewhere so that I could navigate through his experience though.  At the moment it seems a little daunting.  I am excited to follow his blog learn about some of the things he has experienced and get a little more acquainted with the place I will be living in for three months. 

So yes, this source assignment was technically in the realm of "Consume," but I think it is great that it also has the potential to get me connected.  Another great thing about Kangpa's blog is that he has a lot of followers and also follows other blogs that will link me to similar people interested in things that I am also interested in!  I am really excited to follow this blog.