Mekong Photos - Spring 2010

These Mekong Semester photos by Michael Woodard make me miss Cambodia and Laos, big-time.

Mekong Semester Fall '09 - Still Going Strong!

Students from the inaugural Mekong Semester are posting some fantastic essays on the Where There Be Dragons homepage.

Read Anna Mack's story of her trip to a Hmong church in Providence.

Read Jake Teton-Landis' manifesto on his return to China.

Read Stew Motta's tale of a bike ride to Kunming.

Read Chris Megrue's impassioned attack on xenophobia.

I'm so proud of these brave new travelers!

Dragons on the Nam Tha River, Laos

Learning to Listen in Laos

Anna Mack, a Mekong Semester student, has published a terrific reflective essay on Matador Abroad.

Here's my favorite line:

“It must be hard in America,” he said. “There is so much noise.”

Check out Learning to Listen in Laos.

On the way to the Yi village, near Lijiang, China

Who knew that a dance party was waiting for us in the Yi village? Here's Mara Karell's description of the cultural exchange...

Dragons Mekong Semester: Fall 2009

Three months ago I was on a night-bus to Tibet with 13 young men and women I barely knew. Now, I'm alone in Phnom Penh, soaking up the memories, wondering how those same 13 students are doing as they transition home to America.

Cue the Celine Dion, 'cause my middle name is Corny, but - gosh - I miss the Mekong Manatees with all my heart.



A full semester of rugged travel down one of the most powerful and remote rivers in Asia is an epic life experience any way you cut it, but in the company of intellectually and spiritually engaged gap-year students, the journey became even deeper, even more profound.

We did SO much. We learned SO much. We grew SO much.

And we made connections.

Connections between friends on the program, for sure. Connections between cultures and communities, definitely. Connections between students and home-stay families, yes.

But we also made connections between mollusks and the moon, between American consumerism and Chinese dams, between Afghanistan and Laos, between stillness and peace.


Our students now emerge into the world as young adults who are empowered and aware.

We need them. I'm proud of them. And I can't wait to see what they do.

....

Here's a link to more information on the Dragons Mekong Semester.

Mekong Semester Photo Essay

Home in Cambodia now, and realizing the depth of my love for this country. Here are some photos from the Dragons journey down the Mekong:


Bathing in the Mekong, Koh Preah island, Stung Treng Province, Cambodia.



Playing in a lagoon mid-way through a trek, Khammoune Province, Laos.



Hanging with elephants, Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia.




Boating to Don Daeng island, Champasak Province, Laos.




Cooling off in Kuang Si waterfall, Luang Prabang, Laos.

Photos from the inaugural Where There Be Dragons Mekong Semester.

Late Afternoon Light on the Mekong

Every day we cross the river between Luang Prabang and the student home-stays in Ban Xieng Mene. This is what the light on the water looks like at the end of the day.



photo by Jake Teton-Landis

Trekking in Luang Namtha

On the advice of Steven Schipani, a former Dragons instructor who lives in Laos, we went trekking in the Nam Ha National Protected Area with the Jungle Tour company.

Many students point to this trek as the high-point of the Mekong Semester.

Here's contact info. for Jungle Tour - send an e-mail in English.

Mr. Chittaphong Chanthakoune
Tel/Fax: +856-86-212025
Mobile: +856-20-2990355
PO Box: 046, Luang Namtha 03000, Laos

Email: chttphng@yahoo.com.au

Photo by Jake Teton-Landis.

On the Mekong...

We're approaching the midpoint of the Mekong Semester and the students are settled into home-stays in Ban Xieng Mene village, across the Mekong from Luang Prabang.

Here's a shot of students studying on the veranda of the Dragons program house...



We leave Luang Prabang around the end of October, head south through Laos to Cambodia and fly back to the States from Phnom Penh in mid December. I'll be home in Vermont for Christmas and then out to Colorado to start a full-time job in the Dragons Boulder office.

You can read student perspectives on the trip on the Yak Board....

Update From Laos

Coming at you from Luang Prabang, Laos. I'm currently designing the itinerary and curriculum for the Mekong River Semester Program that Where There Be Dragons will offer this fall. I've been in Laos for about a month now, following short visits to established Dragons semester programs in Kathmandu, Nepal and Varanasi, India.

Soon, though, I'll be home in Vermont, breaking ground on my cabin.

Here are some links to my recent articles:

10 Travel Jobs Within Your Reach

Put Some Damn Clothes On

Christians Gird For War In Myanmar