Blogs
A Failed Map
VietnamOnce again, technology has kicked my ass. After spending the last hour trying to create a successful Google Map, I give up. Instead, I printed a map of Tanzania and a map of Vietnam and spent five minutes locating my points and connecting the dots. I will bring my maps in on Tuesday. On a positive note, it was great to sit down and really see where exactly I'm going. Visualizing these places and seeing their location in relation really helped. Here is a brief version of my itinerary.
Washington D.C. (10 Days) - No map needed. In fact, I'm in D.C. right now.
Dar es Salem (2 weeks) - This is the capital of Tanzania and is located on Africa's Eastern Coast.
Ifakara (1 week) - Ifakara is the main transport route to Zambia.
Dar es Salem (1 week)-
Spring Break (1 week) - I can go wherever I want to, perhaps into a National Park or to Zanzibar.
Ha Noi (4 weeks)-Located in Northern Vietnam.
Ha Long Bay- While staying in Ha Noi I'll take excursions to Ha Long Bay.
Mekong Delta (1 week) - The Mekong Delta is in southern Vietnam. We'll take a train from Hanoi to the Delta.
Ho Chi Minh City (2 weeks) - Formally Saigon.
Hue (4 days) - The program ends in Hue for a short retreat and reflection.
Wow, looking into each place I'm going to is exciting. I've also been doing a bit of research about the different schools, NGOs, and government agencies we're going to be studying with. More on this later.
On a side note, today I went to the Tanzanian Embassy to apply for my visa. The Embassy is about four blocks away from my Dad's house, so I figured that rather than mail in my application, I would just pop in. People at the embassy were very kind; I talked to a woman about my trip, I asked a few questions. Overall, a great experience.
Oh no!
Reading the title of this blog made me so unhappy. "A failed map" haha, I disagree. I think this does a really great job of showing your path through the region, especially given what is commonly known of the region by American standards. The low-tech approach (that I think you've highlighted in other blog posts) is refreshing and easy to read and, naturally, benefits you in the long run by (a) reducing your tech-stress and (b) by actually being able to use the markers on any given political map that you happen to come across to your advantage. I feel that I might've lost the obvious points of Berlin/Germany by making a map that only speaks to my personal interests!