Owner: Northern Thailand: the Journey of a UW-Madison Student URL:http://www.compassionatebadger.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:02:50 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: I am a Wisconsin kid, born and raised / I was destined to be a Badger--a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison / The year I spend in Thailand will be my first experience outside of North America / Religions--especially the compassionate religion Site statistics:Click here
Luang Prabang--a World Heritage Site Worth Your Time 2008-05-07 08:23:01 I had the incredible delight of spending 2 days and 2 nights in Luang
Prabang (Lao.co.uk, Lao Embassy, UNESCO World
-Heritage
.htm">World Heritage
, Luang Prabang 2 Day, Luang Prabang Travel, Wikipedia, Wikitravel, The New York Times, Travelfish.org). Luang Prabang is a flourishing and small town that is beautifully situated on the banks of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers (they converge in Luang Prabang). Unfortunately, I left not getting to see and do everything that I wanted to. Oh well, this just gives me a reason to came back to Laos (a country I am falling in love with!) in the near future.The first night we arrived in Luang Prabang was pretty casual. Kim, Tyler, Sonja, and I decided to find a place to watch the sunset. We didn't have to look far--we walked to Phou Si (Lao translation: Holy Mountin), which i Read more:Worth
Compassionate Badger: a Blogger's New Direction 2008-05-07 06:06:35 I have spent the last nine months in Northern Thailand--developing this blog during that time. Shortly, I will be returning to Wisconsin and I see a need to change the focus of my blog a bit. For all you Thailand lovers, don't worry, I will continue to blog about this beautiful country.*********blog focues: ~ coffee (shops) ~ photography ~ places i (want to) visit ~ my IDEASbook review, reserach, and opinion & editorial topics: ~ globalization; ~ community empowerment; ~ sustainability and sufficiency; ~ government and politics; ~ economics; ~ history; ~ religion; ~ AND peaceregional areas of interest: ~ Northern Thailand ~ Wisconsin*********Let me know what you think--I am always open to ideas and suggestions. Read more:Direction
, Blogger
Online Photo Exhibition--"An Answerless Search?" 2008-05-11 12:01:02 For the last 9 months, I have called Chiang Mai, Thailand home. Today--May 12th--a sense of anxious accomplishment fills me as I begin my return trip to America. I wouldn't say I am ready to leave this beautiful country nor am I ready to leave the friends and influential people I have had the pleasure to be with; but, I am ready to return to Wisconsin and try and pass on some of what I have gained from Northern Thailand.I have spent second semester at Chiang Mai University studying Introductory Photo
graphy with Ajarn Por. It has been an extremely rewarding experience, and I ended up putting many more hours into it than I had originally anticipated. I am deeply grateful to Ajarn Por for his instruction and encouragement throughout the semester. Through the experience of photography I hav Read more:Exhibition
, Search
Back in the USA--More Importantly, Back in Wisconsin 2008-05-17 19:00:16 May 15th was officially 36 hours long, but 24 hours of airports, plane rides, and waiting in baggage claim areas have finally come to an end for me. I arrived home last night (the 15th) at around 7:30 p.m. It feel great to be back in Wisco and things feel suprisingly normal. Chase, my 100+ lbs. chocolate lab, recognized me when I pulled into the driveway with mom and dad. My dad has a few more Read more:Wisconsin
On My Way to Madison . . . 2008-05-17 18:59:27 I'm heading down to Madison
for a couple of days--its graduation weekend for all you seniors that were able to finish in four years. Let me know if you are around and we'll meet up for a Cheez-It or two.
Congratulations to Wisconsin's New Alice in Dairyland 2008-05-17 17:39:17 It's official, Alice "Kay" Huibregtse--a UW-Madison graduate--has been named the 61st Alice in Dairlyand. Her duties begin on June 2nd, and she will received $40,000 for her services as a public relations professional working for the Wisconsin
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. "I am elated to be selected," Kay said "and look forward to the job."Congratulations
Kay!
Enjoy Drinking Coffee?--Buy a Travel Mug and REUSE It! 2008-05-17 17:17:04 I was amazed at the numbers when I came across this article recently. I enjoy drinking coffee as much as...well, I don't know who...but I like drinking coffee! But rest assured, I will be investing in a premium travel mug to do my small part.Imagine...North Americans us 60% of the world's paper cups (130 billion a year!). And where do they end up after your cup of joe is gone?...the garbage, eh? T Read more:Drinking
, Coffee
, Travel
Poll Results! 2008-05-17 16:21:49 Poll Question: What will you do next time you see Brad in live flesh?I like the looks of this! I will be receiving 7 kisses, 12 hugs, 4 home-cooked meals, and 4 date offers. Only 5 of you expect a gift from Thailand, 5 of you would like to tell me about Wisconsin's hellish winter, and 5 of you have something else that you'd like to do when you see me (like what?!?!?). I'll be showing off my Tha
Cyclone Nargis--Burma's Natural & Political Disaster 2008-05-19 14:49:01 Burma and its citizens suffered from a catastrophic natural disaster when Cyclone Nargis made landfall on May 2, 2008. However, the poltical disaster that has followed the storm has only compounded the loss of life and suffering. It has been more than 2 weeks since the initial onslaught of the storm, and NPR reports that children are most in danger as aid workers continue to fight to be allowed to Read more:Burma
, Natural
, Disaster
Back from Madison 2008-05-19 12:04:26 I got to spend a couple of nights in Madison
visiting with a few friends. The weather was pretty chilly--relative to what I am used to in Thailand. When I was driving into Madison, just seeing the State Capitol put a smile on my face. Once again, congratulations to all the recent graduates.Enjoy this photograph--"Blooming Capitol"--from the Isthmus.
Henry Aaron--a Baseball Player Worth Honoring 2008-05-20 19:47:32 Last Saturday, Henry
"Hank" Aaron
(BaseballLibrary.com, Wikipedia, Biography.com) delivered a commencement address at Concordia University. This was only the second commencement address he could remember giving--the other was at Harvard University. When asked by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel why he had decided to give an address at Concordia University, he replied, "It is Wisconsin. It is Milwauk Read more:Worth
Crop Progress in the Chippewa Valley is behind the rest of the state 2008-05-20 19:46:47 The Capital Times reports:"The Wisconsin Crop Progress report released Monday said corn planting is 56 percent complete, soybean planting is 22 percent complete and oats planting is 83 percent complete."Spring tillage is progressing at full force with 66 percent complete, but some counties are still slow because of excessively wet soils."Counties in the Chippewa Valley
region are some of those tha Read more:behind
Menominee becomes 18th Wisconsin city to agree to a Climate Protection Agreement 2008-05-20 19:46:09 The Capital Times reports that Menominee is joining 17 other Wisconsin
municipalities to fight global warming. The other cities that have already signed on to the U.S. Conference of Mayors ClimateProtectionAgreement
are Ashland, Bayfield, Greenfield, Kenosha, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, New Berlin, Oshkosh, Racine, River Falls, Stevens Point, Superior, Washburn, Waukesha, Wauwatosa and West A
Cyclone Nargis--a "Grotesque" Disaster 2008-05-20 19:43:05 Yesterday, I wrote about Cyclone Nargis (Blog Post: Cyclone Nargis--Natural & Political Disaster
), and ended my post will little resolved in my mind. This article from The Washington Post summons up my feelings on the recent natural disaster (turned political disaster) in Burma."THE STORY of Cyclone Nargis, which devastated much of Burma more than two weeks ago, long ago moved from the tragic
Low Gas Prices--Are They Worth Remembering? 2008-05-20 19:42:24 WEUA asks a silly question: do you remember when gas was 99 cents? I do. I'm not that old, and I remember when it was 87 cents a gallon. But lets be honest with ourselves--gas prices will NEVER be low again. There are a first reasons for this. First, oil prices are continuing to hit unprecedented highes along with gas prices. Therefore, oil companies are passing along the price increase to consume Read more:Worth
, Prices
, Remembering
On Vacation . . . don't expect any posts ;) 2008-05-22 06:39:36 I will be in the Birchwood area (BirchwoodWI.com, Birchwood Area Chamber of Commerce, AnythingWisconsin.com, Wikipedia) until Saturday. I am staying at Janetski's Big Chetac Resort with my family.I'll fill you on all the details when I return. Read more:Vacation
, posts
Senator Kreitlow--a Freshman Fighting for Wisconsinites 2008-05-22 06:22:32 Last night, I had a chance to attend Wisconsin State Senator
Kreitlow's listening session at L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire. A number of topics were brought up by constituents--gas prices, railway transportation, higher education, healthcare, the Iraq War, farming, etc.I left the session knowing that Senator Kreitlow is the right person to represent the Chippewa Valley. He is Read more:Freshman
, Fighting
Cyclone Nargis--a Digest of Web Postings 2008-05-21 21:21:34 A List of Recent Postings from the Web on the Aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Burma:"Interview with Charm Tong and Hseng Noung: The Burmese junta and the Politics of Cyclone Nargis" posted by Prachatai"Aid Coordinator Says Situation Is Dire in Myanmar" posted by NPR"Burmese dodge junta to supply aid" and "Ban to meet Burma's top general" "UN head to urge more aid in Burma" posted by BBC"UN chief ur Read more:Digest
Prasat Phanom Rung Historical Ruins Damaged By Vandals! :( 2008-05-21 21:20:00 I was devestated when I read the following news from the Bangkok Post ("Countrywide, vandals damage ancient monuments"):"Ancient statues at the Phanom Rung stone temple ruins in Buri Ram have been badly damaged and the Shiva Linga stone has been moved off its plinth."Dusit Thummaporn, chief of the Phanom Rung Historical
Park in Chalerm Phrakiat district, said the heads of eleven statues of Nagas, Read more:Ruins
WEEKLY DIGEST--May 19, 2008 to May 25, 2008 2008-05-25 16:59:01 Posts of Interest from Other Blogs and News Sources:~Environmental Awareness~"Wisconsin River Clean-Up" posted by WEAU"British lessons for Wisconsin" posted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal"Great Lakes water holds key to survival, expansion" posted by the Fond du Lac Reporter"US carbon dioxide emissions up 1.6 percent in 2007" posted by Yahoo! News"EU agrees to outlaw 'green' crimes" posted by th
Cyclone Nargis--a (2nd) Digest of Web Postings 2008-05-25 11:54:18 A List of Recent Postings from the Web on the Aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Burma:"Myanmar junta stance on foreign aid a crime - monks" posted by The Buddhist Channel"Junta Agrees to Let All Aid Workers into Myanmar" and "Aid Agencies Careful Not to Push Myanmar Too Hard" posted by NPR"Burmese murmurs of anger at junta", "Trauma risk for Burma aid workers", and "Cautious response to Burma pledge" Read more:Digest
Memorial Day 2008 2008-05-26 11:59:21 The blog-o-sphere is full of citizens honoring the ultimate sacrifice that so many our country's soldiers have made. It is extremely difficult to put the deep sense of gratitude I feel into words (and, truthfully, it seems a bit nonsensical to try). But, I would just like to express my disappointment with the politicization and partisanship that I have seen across the internet so far this mornin Read more:Memorial
, Memorial Day
Thailand is the "Wolrd Center of Buddhism" 2008-05-27 23:57:44 The Buddhist Channel reports that the "[United Nation] declares Thailand
as 'world centre of Buddhism
'". This is a truly great honor for Thailand; but with it comes responsibility. The people of Thailand embrace their religious history fully. However, our globalizing world places the future of Buddhism into a realm of uncertainty. How will Buddhism evolve as it continues to spread in the West? Is Read more:Center
Open Air Festival of the Arts and Taste of Eau Claire to be held at Phoenix Park 2008-05-27 15:31:55 On June 14th, the Open Air Festival
of the Arts will be held in downtown Eau Claire
at Phoenix
Park. The event will be held in conjunction with the Eau Claire
Downtown Farmers Market and 40 local and regional artists will be displaying and selling their works. The event should be fun for the whole family and you can expect to see myself in attendance.Also of interest, on June 1st the Groundbreak
A Night on the Town Ends with Respect 2008-05-29 14:03:20 I went down to Water Street with my cousin last night, and we made our way to a few popular spots. At our last stop I ran into an old friend who I used to play basketball with during our younger days. My friend has recently returned from a 14 month tour in Iraq. Now, granted, there is much we don't agree on politically. However, we were able to sit down and have a wonderful conversation on topics Read more:Night
May 29, 1848 2008-05-29 13:44:21 On this day--in 1848--Wisconsin became the 30th state to join the Union. As the Wisconsin Historical Society reports, "Its nickname, the 'Badger State,' was not in reference to the fierce animal but miners who spent their winters in the state, living in dugouts and burrowing much like a badger."Voters in Wisconsin initially rejected a 1846 Constitution. Therefore, a second convention was held in 1
Cyclone Nargis--a (3rd) Digest of Web Postings 2008-05-28 14:45:02 A List of Recent Postings from the Web on the Aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Burma:"At donors' meeting, Ban Ki-moon says Myanmar relief effort to last at least six months", "Myanmar: UN agency moves ahead with assessing how to help cyclone-impacted children", "Myanmar: UN says aid reaches one million victims of cyclone", "Myanmar: Ban Ki-moon ‘regrets’ continued detention of Daw Aung San Suu K Read more:Digest
First Day at the YMCA 2008-05-28 08:07:13 Today will be my first day at the Eau Claire YMCA. I will be in the Bear Room and Jungle Room taking care of 2, 3, and 4 year olds. This summer I will be a Site Director for the Y-Leaders Program, but I am picking up some hours before that program begins on June 9th. I am really looking forward to my job this summer--more than can be said say when I worked for John Menard. Read more:First
, First Day
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