Lawks, 2 weeks since the last post here. Sorry, swine flu returned to blog towers. Very dull.

Anyway, it’s christmas, so here’s your traditional festive reminder to get the hell off the internet and go and have fun with real people!

Happy christmas one and all…

just in time for Christmas

"Broad Abroad ในประเทศไทย" สัญญาเป็นหนังสือที่ฉันอาจเกี่ยวข้องกับในหลาย. เป็น expat ฉันฉันมักจะค้นหาสิ่งที่ expats อื่นๆได้กล่าวเกี่ยวกับประเทศใหม่ของเสน่ห์; ฉันได้พิจารณาตัวเองเสมอกว้างและฉันอย่างรักประเทศไทย. เพื่อให้ได้อย่างรวดเร็วก่อนที่ฉันพบมันยากที่จะคิดว่าหนังสือจะอยู่ถึงความคาดหวังของฉัน …

ต้องอ่านหมายเลขยุติธรรมของหนังสือเกี่ยวกับชีวิต expat และประสบการณ์ผมส่วนใหญ่พบว่าพวกเขาค่อนข้าง imbalanced และไม่สำคัญ. ได้รับส่วนใหญ่ผู้เขียนจึงค่อนข้างอ่อนแต่ในกรณีส่วนใหญ่ของฉันถูกเพียงไม่ประทับใจสุดฤทธิ์โดยพวกเขา. Dodie Cross ' "Broad Abroad ในประเทศไทย" แน่นอนยกเว้น. ผู้เขียนไม่พยายามปิดบังข้อเท็จจริงที่ว่าเธอเป็นไก่ตาไม่เมื่อเธอโกงไปดินแดนแห่งรอยยิ้มที่แน่นอนให้หมุนให้ข้อสังเกตที่น่าสนใจของเธอ. เราไปเรียนรู้เพิ่มเติมเกี่ยว orphanages และแพทย์กว่าที่เราทำเกี่ยวกับบุคคลที่ชายหาดและบาร์ซึ่งในความคิดของฉันที่ดีปรับปรุง. นางสาว Cross ยังอย่างยอดตลก-to-misadventures เฮฮากับปัญหาร้ายแรงมากขึ้นและเธอ 'ผู้-ได้-เคยเข้าใจ-ผู้-สักนิสัย' มีความยินดีอย่างเห็นได้ชัดของเธอและเคารพแห่งประเทศไทยวัฒนธรรมและคนของมัน.

Memoir นาง Cross 'เริ่มต้นด้วยการแต่งงานไตร่ตรองการสอนกอล์ฟที่จำเป็นเพื่อให้เธอที่จะมากับเขาในตำแหน่งใหม่ของเขาในประเทศไทย. แม้ว่าเธอไม่แน่ใจทั้งหมดที่ marrying กระดอ (และโธ่สิ่งที่เหมาะสมชื่อของเขา) เป็นเช่นความคิดที่ดีที่เธอตัดสินใจเดินหน้ากับ. ย้ายเขาไปยังประเทศใหม่อย่างเป็นเหตุการณ์สำคัญ – เป็นย้ายที่มักจะถูก … เร็วเธอ battling ไม่เพียงสมรสไม่ดีแตกไปติดเพศแต่อนันต์ยังกฎและระเบียบบังคับโดยภรรยาของหัวหน้าลึงค์ของผู้ที่เอาชนะ Anorexia นาง. นางสาว Cross ค่อนข้างจะได้รับรู้ประเทศใหม่ของเธอและพบคนแต่ทั้งหมดถือว่าเป็นความพยายามดังกล่าวโดยนางสาว Anorexia เป็นต่อกฎ. แล้วตามมาใกล้-อุบัติเหตุร้ายแรงที่เลวสุขุมวิท Highway – ที่แท้จริงอย่างน้อยเป็นร้ายตามที่อธิบายโดยนางสาว Cross ตลอดจนการผ่าตัดถุงที่มีผลที่ไม่คาดหมาย. กระดอไม่น่าตื่นตาตื่นใจโดยบริสุทธิ์กลับ Dodie ของพี่ไม่น่าตื่นตาตื่นใจโดยกระเจี๊ยวและนาง Anorexia เพียงทั่วไปไม่น่าตื่นตาตื่นใจกับสิ่งใดโดยเฉพาะไม่ได้กับ Dodie. นั่นคือรัฐเสียใจของกิจการโดยรวมซึ่งจะนำไปสู่ปัญหา more. คุณจะได้แต่ต้องอ่านหนังสือด้วยตัวคุณเองเพื่อเรียนรู้วิธีDodie แก้สถานการณ์.

มีเห็นว่านาง Cross อาศัยอยู่ด้วยในเมืองออเลียนสใหม่ในสถานที่อื่นๆฉันมั่นเหมาะจะจับตาออกหนังสือเกี่ยวกับประสบการณ์เหล่า. ตามบทเสริมน้อยเธออยู่ทำงานในหนึ่งเกี่ยวกับชีวิตของเธอในอิหร่านดังนั้นฉันสามารถหวังว่าใหม่เมืองออเลียนสหนึ่งจะไป. ส่วน "Broad Abroad ในประเทศไทย" ฉันพบว่าเขียนได้ดีและสนุกมาก. หากคุณต้องการสิ่งที่สีสันวันของคุณเพียงอ่านหนึ่งบท funnier ที่อาจหนึ่งเกี่ยวกับการเรียนรู้การใช้ห้องน้ำ ไทย หรือ joys ของการซื้อชุดชั้นในประเทศแปลก. ดังนั้นคุณจะรู้สึกขอบคุณที่คุณไม่ต้องจัดการกับใดๆนี้ว่าวันของคุณทันทีจะปรับปรุง. Great อ่านสำหรับ expats, expats-to-จะ, wanna-ถูก-expats นักเดินทางและใครเพียงเกี่ยวกับอื่นด้วยความเรื่องตลก.

Saturday Morning saw a journey to the Beverly Centre in Beverly Hills, a magnificent shopping mall with wonderful stores, prices and even The Wave (a bar in the middle) where I enjoyed a sparkling Moulin Rouge in between shopping. Another festive delight which was fantastic was the performance of “Hunky Santa and The Candy Cane Girls” Twas the middle of the day and Santa came down the stairs, balconies full of shoppers stopped in their tracks and an arial l acrobatic performance took place, now Santa has been to the gym as Hunky Santa was a sight for all, no sack of presents but a nicely ripped 6 pack to compensate…Only in Beverly Hills.

After the shopping a few of us headed to The Open Fist Theatre to see the closing night performance of “Where is My Money” by John Patrick Shanley, the performance was wonderful and quite memorable due to the fact that 10 minutes into the first act we saw a nice big black dangerous looking spider stream down from the roof right in front of us and land of the audience member in front of us, now you try holding hysterical laughter during a production whilst you see a spider crawling around, after 3 minutes of fear the partner of the man let out a quiet yelp and smacked it away…ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!

After this; no, it was not bedtime but a trip to Universal City Walk, dinner and a film Ninja Asassian which was fabulous! Then a round of soccer in the apartment until 4:30 am, what a marvellous day and more to come…

Until then…

Miss D

No I’m not talking about purses, but in fact the gorgeous Gucci Bags under my eyes, you know what I am talking about, those big black circles ohhh yes. When we last spoke we where heading to the Hollywood Sign, now on this journey we took a wrong turn but my goodness what a fabulous mistake it turned out to be. We ended up getting as close as you possibly could to it, the sight was amazing and inspiring.

Over the last few days sleep has not existed lol, there has been no bedtime before 4am and no it is not because of partying or raging, but just spending time with friends and living LA…An update soon about the weekends adventures

Until then…

Miss D

Ronaldo was the only Portuguese player to score a goal this weekend. Many of the bigger names(Deco, Paulo Ferriera, Nani) were nowhere to be seen for their respective clubs.

1. Real Madrid 6-0 Real Zaragoza: Pepe still out injured, Ronaldo played all game and scored Madrid’s fifth goal.

2. Real Valladolid 2-1 Sporting Gijon: Pele played the whole game for Vaalladolid

3. Malaga 2-1 Mallorca: Duda played all game with Edinho nowhere to be sen for Malaga. Jose Nunes played whole game, with Bruno China nowhere to be seen for Mallorca.

4. Tenerife 1-1 Atletico Madrid: Simao played the whole match for Atletico.

5. Deportivo 0-0 Valencia: Ze Castro nowhere to be seen for Deportivo. Miguel played the whole match for Valencia, with Manuel Fernandes playing the last couple minutes.

France

1. Valenciennes 0-0 Lens: Marco Ramos played the whole match for Lens.

2. Auxerre 1-1 Toulouse: Paulo Machado nowhere to be seen for Toulouse.

3. Lille 3-0 Le Mans: Joao Paulo played the whole match for Le Mans.

England

1. Fulham 3-0 Manchester United: Nani nowhere to be seen for United, probably due to the feud between him and Sir Alex Ferguson.

2. West Ham 1-1 Chelsea: da Costa and Boa Morte nowhere to be seen for West Ham. Ricardo Carvalho played a full match for Chelsea, with Bosingwa still out injured, and Deco and Paulo Ferreira nowhere to be seen.

3. Wigan Bolton Wanderers:

Germany

1. Koln 3-0 Nurnburg: Petit payed the whole game, with Maniche nowhere to be seen.

2. Hamburger SV 2-1 Werder Bremen: Hugo Ameida played the last five minutes for Werder Bremen.

3. Frankfurt 2-2 Wolfsburg: Ricardo Costa nowhere to be seen for Wolfsburg.

4. Hannover 2-3 Bochum: Sergio Pinto played the first 68 minutes for Hannover. Daniel Fernandes nowhere to be seen for Bochum.

Italy

1. Juventus 1-2 Catania: Tiago played the first 66 minutes for Juventus.

2. Palermo 1-0 Siena: Goncalo Brandao played the whole match for Siena

3. Roma 2-0 Parma: Antunes nowhere to be seen.

4. Inter 1-0 Lazio: Quaresma nowhere to be seen for Inter, with Eliseu nowhere to be seen for Lazio.

“The Prez in Denmark,” The Root, 17 December 2009.

Obama’s trip to the climate conference in Denmark could end in failure.

When President Barack Obama touches down in Copenhagen, Denmark, tomorrow, he will be entering a hornet’s nest of urgent, competing priorities that will test his negotiating skills like never before. Far from the kumbaya conference that one might expect for a gathering devoted to saving the planet, the two weeks of United Nations-sponsored climate talks have been a pitched battle—a literal street fight, at times—to balance the economic interests of the diverse nations in attendance. Poor, industrializing countries are demanding climate aid; rich nations are wary of overpromising both financial assistance and emissions cuts; while island nations and global hot spots seek some assurance that they will not be left to drown or burn.

Since stepping into the national spotlight, Obama’s political image has been that of a master negotiator: As a legislator in Illinois, he helped to broker a deal between Republicans, Democrats, civil liberties advocates and the police regarding the interrogation of suspects. On the campaign trail, he sold himself as a sensible liberal who could “disagree without being disagreeable.” But in Washington, conventional politics have trumped his attempts at good-faith negotiation on issues such as health care reform. In the Middle East, his team of dedicated diplomats has not been particularly successful in promoting the American position. And the last time Obama tried to turn on the charm in Copenhagen—in support of Chicago’s failed bid to host the Olympic Games—was hardly encouraging.

The climate conference is the first test of the political goodwill that flipped American favorability ratings abroad from 17 to 71 percent since George W. Bush left office. While Obama’s major foreign policy addresses in Berlin, Cairo, and most recently, Oslo, have won plaudits from international observers, the Copenhagen crowd will be a tough one.

The White House upped the stakes significantly when it made the choice to bring Obama to the end of the climate talks rather than the beginning. “Based on his conversations with other leaders and the progress that has already been made … the president believes that continued U.S. leadership can be most productive through his participation at the end,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. That decision, said Andrew Light of the liberal Center for American Progress, “may well have prevented the meeting from ending in a dangerous stalemate.” The president also seems to have faith in his ability to close a deal. But will the Obama treatment—a speech and a handshake—really make a difference?

Chief among Obama’s challenges is the nation he is representing. The United States, with or without a smart, black president, has been an outsized contributor to the problem climate activists have been trying to solve for decades. Mindful that the previous American administration was openly derisive of environmental issues, Obama has stacked his Copenhagen team with seven key cabinet secretaries, a domestic climate czar in Carol Browner, a foreign climate envoy in Todd Stern, former Vice President Al Gore and, in a surprise development, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “We have come to Copenhagen ready to take the steps necessary to achieve a comprehensive and operational new agreement that will provide a foundation for long-term, sustainable economic growth,” said Clinton in Denmark Thursday.

But flooding the zone with American officials may not be enough to convince doubtful factions that the United States means business. After all, it was Obama’s Democratic predecessor, Bill Clinton, who helped neuter the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the last binding global agreement to stop climate change. More than 10 years later, the debate is over how much developed nations should a) cut their emissions and b) provide funds to prevent poor countries from experiencing catastrophic climate change. Despite the efforts of American lawmakers such as Sens. John Kerry and Barbara Boxer, Congress remains opposed to a federal program of curbing emissions. And the president is still, as Peter Brown wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “the leader of the ‘haves’” in a dispute over climate aid.

Obama did his best to strengthen the United States’ hand before hitting Copenhagen, touting the energy-efficiency provisions contained in the February American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, and stooping to call home insulation “sexy” at an event earlier this week. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that the United States will contribute $85 million over five years to a $350 million pot that will promote clean-energy technology. Clinton announced U.S. support for $100 billion in funding for poor nations in Denmark Thursday. But Stern, as Obama’s mouthpiece at the conference, has been playing the bad cop, demanding strict accountability standards for nations that do receive assistance, and denying that rich nations have any sort of “climate debt or reparations” for their century of pollution. “Reparations to me convey a sense of culpability, guilt,” Stern said at a briefing. “I don’t think that’s a legitimate way to look at it.”

Poorer nations, especially in Africa, beg to differ with Stern—and by association, their adopted son, the half-Kenyan Obama. The G77, representing Sub-Saharan Africa, India and China, boycotted negotiations for half a day this week, blaming rich countries like the United States for weak targets and aid commitments that amount to a tenth of what developing nations would prefer. Several African climate negotiators took the occasion of Obama’s attendance as an opportunity to take some shots across his bow. “The world cannot afford to give [Obama] any more time,” Nnimmo Bassey, the Nigerian chair of Friends of The Earth, told reporters in Denmark. “Whether you’re in a white house or a black house, nobody has any more time.”

These divergent negotiating positions, even among the broad categories of developed and developing nations, add to Obama’s burden. The European Union has pledged larger emissions cuts and a firm amount for climate aid, for example, but has had a system of cap and trade in place for years. The United States, on the other hand, has signaled it will make smaller reductions and pledge less money, and has no significant structure in place to reduce emissions. Actors like China, which is a major economy, a major polluter, and also a developing nation, scramble this dynamic further. While India, another big polluter, is demanding to see draft text as early as Tuesday, China has been cagey about enumerating its domestic efforts. “I have to say the parties are quite far apart on a fair number of issues,” Stern admitted at a briefing earlier in the week.

The rich-poor rift closed somewhat this week, when several developing nations agreed to protect and replant decimated forests in exchange for up to $37 billion in climate aid. Clinton stressed unity in her remarks to delegates in Copenhagen. “It can no longer be about us versus them — this group of nations pitted against that group,” she said. “We all face the same challenge together.”

But Obama’s personal diplomacy will take center stage Friday when he addresses the body. In preparation for the endgame, Obama made a series of calls to world leaders from rich and poor nations alike, including Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, which faces climate-related flooding, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, which had led the African Union preparations for Copenhagen, and G20 partners like Lula Da Silva of Brazil, Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Angela Merkel of Germany. He won’t, however, have much to say that he hasn’t already said before. In fact, his September speech on climate change before the United Nations in New York was respectfully, but not enthusiastically, received. Barring some late-breaking agreements on the thorniest climate-related issues, even Obama’s 11th hour drama may not save the day.

Dayo Olopade

while boston is getting pelted with many inches (feet?) of snow, my longtime partner in crime kelsey is traveling half the circumference of the globe to return from new zealand, where she studied abroad for back-to-back semesters. except for a 10-day trip to massachusetts at the end of june (a requirement to keep her visa), she’s been on the other side of the earth since january. i am pumped to see her, and although she can’t peruse the interwebs to read this right now, i’m sending her any last drops of good karma i may have as she makes the huge trip home.

oh, yeah, also: that’s a postcard of kels jumping off a cliff in new zealand with a rope tied around her feet. i found it in the mail yesterday. preeeeetty rad, ehhhh?

in honor of the snowstorm and kelsey’s return, here’s a video i made just about six months ago. it was my first shot at flip-camming, and documented a shin-dig we threw for kels at my last apartment, around the corner here on mission hill, when it was still warm enough to do this:

I have a few hours before I leave for home! So right now, I’m pretty much passing some time until 3pm when my taxi picks me up to drop me off to the train station.

I am the last one out of my friends to leave and the most commonly used phrase the past two days was “Wow, I can’t believe it has already been four months!” This phrase pretty much perfectly explains my emotions right now. On Friday, DIS had a closing ceremony for us, but I, along with everyone, could still vividly remember the craziness and anticipation of the opening ceremony. Its been a whirlwind, and this has definitely been the “best semester of my life.” I never expected to love Copenhagen so much or to enjoy studying abroad as much as I did, but man, was I wrong. I was doing last minute gift shopping yesterday and caught myself thinking, “This is the last time I’ll be walking down Stroget,” “This is my last time seeing street performers in Copenhagen,”This is my last time I’ll see this building” “This is my last time…This is my last time.” It was even more sad saying goodbye to people, because we will all go to our respective corners of the States, and I know a good amount of the people I met, I won’t see again. It’s much different than college at home, because when I say bye at the end of the semester, I know I’ll run into them next semester..but not here. The people I have met here have been amazing and without them my time in Copenhagen would not have been the same or as much fun. I hope to keep in touch with some of them and meet up for a few reunions=)

On a happier note, I am GOING HOME. After more than 4 months, I am leaving my “home away from home” and I couldn’t be more excited! Family (and also,my brother flies in a few days after me!), friends, food, and sleep are among the top things I am looking forward to! Ive had a great semester here, but now, I am ready to have a great semester back at home!

And now to discuss the future of this blogs life: I do plan on continuing blogging. I still have to blog about my travel break, which is 5 more blog posts and about Berlin when I went over the summer. And I am planning on doing one more wrap up Copenhagen/study abroad blog. But after that, it will mainly be about random things I have done, seen, want to do, etc. Pretty much everything. Thank you to everyone who read my previous blog posts and also to those who commented, and I hope you continue reading! Lots of love.

We are offering a new volunteer abroad program in Uganda! Click here to see the listing, or read below.

Highlights:  Uganda Children’s Hope foundation (UCHF) is a non-profit organization with a core focus on AIDS/HIV, dedicated to providing orphaned and needy children with food, shelter, medical treatment and education in a safe and loving environment.
Requirements and Qualifications: Volunteers typically share common characteristics such as flexibility, compassion, a sense of adventure, and most important, the desire to work with and learn from local people in the host community. Volunteers are drawn from all occupations and backgrounds, and from throughout the world. Each volunteer selects a service program that best employs their experience and interests, and a program where the volunteer feels engaged in a community project of lasting benefit. Volunteers must be in good health and have the mental and physical capability to function as a team member.

Experience: None

Languages: English

Age: At least 18

Restrictions: No Drugs or Alcohol

Pay/Compensation: None

Cost: $15 per day per person

Cost Included:

• Meals
• Housing
• Transportation

Cost not included:

• Insurance
• Personal Expenses

Living Specifications: Hostel or Host Family

Service provider: We realized the children’s plight and other disadvantaged people in the community who needed an urgent attention and we could not just stand aloof and pity or sympathize with them, but must be helped in attaining their full human dignity.

Additional Comments: UCHF strive to provide a better future for some of the people living with HIV and the most vulnerable children and their Households in Uganda. The need is expensive, and long-term, so your opportunity to make a significant difference through service is likewise immeasurable

To receive more information about this program please fill out “Request More Info” form. (featured on Link to Diversity site)

(for more information on Link to Diversity, visit our website here.  For more volunteer abroad opportunities, visit here)

We are offering a new study abroad program in London! Click here to see the listing, or read below.

University: Middlesex University

Organization: World Endeavors

Description: Thousands of international students study in London every year because the quality of education is high and the location is incredible. You can do the same by joining World Endeavors for an unforgettable semester or full-academic year abroad. Earn academic credit from any of 4,000 courses from one of the largest universities, Middlesex University, in the UK.

Highlights: Students will receive a free Students’ Union card which serves as a passport to countless discounts to cultural and sporting events, entertainment, dining and other services. London’s attractions are easily accessible to students and you can enjoy life here without having to spend a lot of money. All students are based at one of the seven major campuses, depending on their study program. The campuses range in style form modern centers to period buildings. While its size and diversity make the university one of the largest higher education institutions in the country, each of the campuses is small enough to be friendly and welcoming. There are first-rate sports and leisure facilities on every campus with activities ranging from frisbee to football and table-tennis to Tae Kwon Do. All are taught at varying levels of ability in modern venues, including sports halls, indoor tennis courts, swimming pools, fitness rooms, local sports clubs and playing fields. Courses (called modules) are credit rated and fully transferable and are taught in two semesters. The academic calendar is fully aligned with the North American academic calendar. Academic credit and transcripts will be issued by Middlesex University after the successful completion of course requirements for the semester or academic year program. It is the student’s responsibility to contact their academic advisor prior to the semester to ensure that courses taken while abroad are transferable to their home institution. Students can choose courses from a wide range of disciplines from a pre-selected course catalog. Please download the PDF on the World Endeavors website for a full course listing. For course descriptions, please contact World Endeavors.

Program degree level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Experience: None

Languages: English

Fields of Study:

• Creative and Media Writing
• Criminology
• Dance
• Development
• Drama and Theatre
• English Language
• English Language and Teaching
• English Literary Studies
• Modern Languages (French, German, Italian and Spanish)
• Philosophy
• Sociology
• Translation
• Politics
• Business

Restrictions: None

Cost Includes:

• Tuition (3 courses per semester)
• Transcript from Middlesex University
• Various student services and learning support services
• Housing with no meals
• Orientation
• Airport pick-up
• Free cell phone rental and free incoming calls
• Travel medical insurance

Cost not included:

• Round-Trip airfare to the UK
• Textbooks
• Visa expenses
• Personal expenses
• Housing deposit (refundable)

Living Specifications: Contact us for more information

To receive more information about this program please fill out “Request More Info” form (featured on Link to Diversity site)

(for more information on Link to Diversity, visit our website here.  For more study abroad opportunities, visit here)

god and I met at the nape of her neck
but I have not seen him since then.

I was on holiday for the summer.
The semester’s end had not come soon enough
and I was beginning to show the signs of a professor turning ripe;
grey hairs, weak grin, and tired eyes.
She was on vacation from the States.
The semester’s end had not come soon enough
and she was hell-bent on becoming her own woman while abroad;
insightful, enlightened, and strong.

These are the things of human beings:
Two strangers meet by chance and choose to play their cards.
They do not think too far ahead.
They do not picture cracks being carved through their flesh like lines in the sand, or envision their mouths becoming soft and gummy again.
They do not use contractions in their speech,
for though they are finite in their skin, they are infinite within,
and so they do not worry about the shortening of words
as a means to save a millisecond.
 

She proposed we spend the rest of the season together.
I proposed we spend the rest of our lives
in open defiance of the notion of time,
which left us with no other choice but to fall in love.

Against my better judgment,
I assisted her with the clasp of a necklace one night.
She held her hair above her head and turned away,
as if to say, ‘This is your appointed task, do not ask’
The moment my fingers rested on the convex-forward fashion
of her spine, the secret of salvation was mine.
I swallowed, breathed, then sighed.
“This is my appointed task” I said, accidentally speaking my mind
“What was that darling? I missed what you sa-”
She turned to find my lips suddenly upon hers.

“Let’s do this forever” I whispered.
and with grammatical abandonment she replied,
“Let’s”

god and I met at the nape of her neck
and left me to find him again.

Spending the Holidays Abroad?  No matter how prepared you are for your working abroad adventure, it’s common to feel some homesickness or culture shock during the holidays. Here are a few things you can do to help keep the season bright, even when you’re in unfamiliar surroundings, far from home. 

1. Keep a journal, or video diary, of how (and if) your secular or religious holidays are celebrated in your new temporary home. This will help you not only remember your working abroad adventure later, but will give you a daily appreciation of the small cultural differences. Post your video journal online, or start a blog to share your experiences with friends back home. They’ll feel closer to you, and you’ll be spreading cultural awareness.

2. Ask questions. Start a conversation with other volunteers or participants on what they do during the holidays, and what they miss about being home. Socializing and being thankful for friendships is a big part of how Americans celebrate the holidays. Try to create some opportunities for all the participants on your program to socialize and have fun.

3. Create some new traditions with other volunteers or participants who are also away from home. Share your recipe for a favorite holiday treat, or start a “Secret Santa” tradition with the other participants. You may even combine everyone’s ideas and start a new multi-cultural tradition that you can share with your friends and family back home!

4. Ask if you can participate in local holiday festivals, special events and even religious observations. Volunteer some of your free time to help prepare for a local festival, decorate, or help cook a special meal. If you can, ask others to explain the history or meaning behind their holiday traditions. They will appreciate your interest in their customs, and you will come away with valuable insight into what the holidays mean in your community.

5. Remember to stay positive. It’s easy to get homesick during the holidays, but keeping an open mind and a spirit of adventure will go a long way. International travel is all about new experiences, new challenges, and being willing to step outside of your comfort zone.

Greeting from Cherry Tec!

Cherrytec Intelisove Limited (formerly Cherrytec Solutions Limited(CSL) is a well-organized and fast growing Information Technology Company, which has been providing high quality and easily affordable customized Business Software Solutions to Corporate and MNC’s within India and abroad. Cherrytec is an Enterprise Solutions firm headquartered in Chennai, India for last 10 years.

Currently we are looking for PHP developer for on ONSITE assignment for 3 Months @ KUWAIT.

Designation: Developer
Experience: 2.5 – 4 years
Location: KUWAIT
Education UG – Any Graduate
Key skills PHP 5, Ajax, MYSQL
Contact Duration: 3 Months and extendable
No of positions: 4 Positions

Desired Profile

• Ideal candidate should have experience in web based application development.
• The candidate should have complete SDLC experience on at least 2 live web projects.
• Should have experience in web development languages like PHP, PERL.
• Should be able to effectively communicate with his or her peers, managers and clients.
• The Candidate should also have strong leadership and time management skills.

If you are interested in the above mentioned position, kindly send us your updated profile along with the below mentioned details.

Current CTC:
EXPECTED CTC:
Notice Period:
Date of Birth:
Present Location:
Passport status:
Languages known:

We are expecting your support to reach more professionals for the above-mentioned position. Kindly forward our requirement to your friends and allow us to share our exciting opening with them.

Regards,
Prakash

Cherrytec Intelisolve Limited
#4,MAC House, 3rd Floor, Sardar Patel Road,
Guindy,Chennai-32,
e-Mail : pnameprakash@cherrytec.in
www.cherrytec.com

27267 de români trăiesc în Zaragoza.

E al doilea mare oras din Spania, după Madrid, cu atît de mulți imigranți români, Zaragoza fiind totuși al cincilea mare oraș din Spania (ca să nu ne zăpăcim).

am șters din greșeală ultima însemnare și nu-mi mai aduc aminte ce-am scris acolo, semn că nici nu am gîndit-o. probabil am vrut să scap de un gind rău. nu-mi place să le înmagazinez.

it must be something in the Univers, căci tot aseară Popîndăul Șef venise cu chef de scris, un lucru rar, și s-a apucat de treabă, iar eu am stat vreo două ore ca un copil tîmpit așteptînd să termine. cînd să dea publică i-au zburat și lui gîndurile, din nu știu ce motiv de administrare. scrisese mult și năvalnic – am apucat să trag cu ochiul, iar el m-a trimis înapoi la corecturile mele. așa că nu mi-a mai rămas decît să aștept bomboana pentru că am fost cuminte și nu l-am deranjat.

asociez treaba asta cu singurele prăjiturele bune pe care le-am descoperit la spanioli și care, din păcate, apar numai de sărbătorile de Crăciun, așa că degeaba îmi voi face cîteva provizii, ele nu pot dura mai mult de o săptămînă. deci va trebui să le ronțăi la Crăciunul următor, cînd probabil îi va mai veni chef de scris popîndăului.

timpul ăsta e cel mai mare canibal. înghite gînduri, oameni, idei și nu se lasă pînă nu mai rămîn nici oasele din toate astea. am numărat în lista mea de ignore 157 de persoane, dintre care cel puțin 3 mi-au fost prieteni. ceilalti nu știu cine sînt, dar procedînd astfel, timpul acordat cui îmi face plăcere să-l știu și să-l aflu prin preajmă s-a triplat, iar timpul acordat lucrărilor mele s-a dublat. și asta se întîmplă de luni bune.

acum nu mai am oroare să deschid anumite ferestre. închipuie-ți 157 de oameni care se trezesc toți în aceeași zi să te bombardeze cu problemele sau revelațiile lor.

ellaida, sorry că n-am mai apucat să-ți răspund, dar lasă că e mai bine fără atîta gălăgie. să sune tobele alea în capul altora.

gata, am zburat la o conferință.

A job offer from malaysia came when I was about to be regularized with my previous job as a Supervisor.  Despite of that fact and also with the hesitations of my family,  I still grabbed that opportunity wanting to have a higher salary.  My would be employer offered a pay that doubles my current salary that time, a free visa, free 2 way airfare, free accommodation, etc… meaning a lot of good things are being offered to me.

So to cut the story short, I went there in Subang, paid for my airfare (since the employer promised a refund) but only to find out that he can’t afford to give me all those things and benefits he promised.

Good thing I didn’t give him my passport. After talking to him and realizing that nothing good will happen I decided to leave. Rushed to reschedule my flight, cutting my 3weeks would be stay to just 1week.  Unfortunately I found out that it was very expensive to reschedule a flight and rather not that easy. Well, I had to wait for my sister to reschedule my flight and waited for another day…

The catch is… I have to stay in LCCT. Literally slept there, ate and stayed to wait for the flight sched. I stayed there for almost 2 days, without taking a bath but had managed to changed clothes hehehe, me CR naman po.

No everyone I am not talking about an apple! The core about what drives us to make the choices we make, what made the people I spend everyday with decide to spend their holidays learning and studying, why do you choose to read this, someone sitting at their laptop writing about whatever really comes into my mind hehehe, or why you chose to wear that today, not your best choice lol joking…

In acting we learn what our core is in our characters and then we develop this with the choices we make to create the cover for this, what a strange but intriguing industry where we learn how to be human for our craft.

Please note I must now formally write a retraction to one of my previous blogs where I stated my best friend wrote a list, I have now become aware that this list had a co-author, of My best friends Mum, a joint collaboration I am continuing to tick off!

Today was a looooong and intense day, teachers are making us focus more, more work, more study, expecting more. We performed our scenes today and even after all the rehearsal the time it worked best was when we forgot all about the rehearsal and just went for it. We were given two more scripts to study and learn over the holidays. For myself I had a progression today where I stood up and presented myself, committing hundred percent to Deanna, that won’t make sense to anyone but all I know is today was the day I knew I am here in this business to stay

Last night was a wonderful night, after class a few of us hit BIG BOY BOB’s Burger joint, fantastic atmosphere, onion rings, ice tea and banana sunday. The best moments in life are the ones you share with people you are comfortable with and can chow down on a good meal, with good friends and feel fabulous!

Tomorrow we embark on a Journey to Europe….Yes everyone it is Universal Studios Backlot again and I can not wait;

Until then…

Miss D

“Copenhagen’s Class Divisions,” The Root, 8 December 2009.

Developing countries at the United Nations Climate Conference want to be heard—and compensated.

It isn’t often that Russians climb in bed with Rwandans. Yet, as the much-hyped United Nations climate summit convenes in Copenhagen this week, 56 world newspapers united against the growing threat of catastrophic climate change. An editorial urging global action to deflect the worst effects of fossil fuel dependence appeared in major news outlets, including ones in Moscow and Kigali—and in 10 other newspapers published from the African continent. “This should not be a fight between the rich world and the poor world, or between east and west,” the text, originally drafted by the Guardian UK, read. “Climate change affects everyone, and must be solved by everyone.”

The pre-Copenhagen coordination is significant for several reasons. For months, the dialogue on climate policy has largely focused on the actions of China and of the United States—powerful and dynamic economies that are the two largest global polluters. Their electricity production, transportation and manufacturing industries account for the lion’s share of world pollution—with populous India not far behind. But these actions have grave consequences for smaller countries. Water wars between Burkina Faso and Ghana, or Pakistan and India, food shortages in Niger or oil shocks in American cities are all destabilizing to the global economy and political order. As the stakes mount and the conversation deepens, a new alliance among nations from the global south is asserting a voice in the debate.

The primary instigator of this new diplomatic dynamic is the African Union. The federation of 51 African states, formed in 2002, along with the G77—representing 130 developing countries—has made a strong push for financial support as it tries to participate in the new, green world order. Chief among its requests, developed in Accra in 2008 and hammered out at a recent AU conference on the environment in Addis Ababa, is the creation of a climate fund to support the greening of emerging markets, via subsidies for alternative energy production, reforestation, drought and flood-preparedness infrastructure, and technology transfer. The precise amount of funding—rumored to be between $50 and $70 billion over several years—has not been determined, but “it carries a lot of weight that the AU is saying something,” says Mwiza Munthale, director of public outreach for TransAfrica Forum. “You’re trying to get the attention of the most powerful countries of the world that do not always look out for the developing world.”

The Obama administration’s final position on American emissions reduction targets is not yet known, though a 17 percent cut (below 2005 levels, by 2020) has been its working number. The White House has also suggested that developed nations provide some $10 billion annually by 2012 to help the global south adapt to climate change—but the G77 and AU, along with China, India, Brazil and South Africa, are pushing for more action on both fronts. “We cannot agree to [halving emissions by 2050] because it implies that … the remaining (cuts) must be done by developing countries,” said Alf Willis, chief climate negotiator for South Africa. African states boycotted a preliminary diplomatic conference in Barcelona in November based on a similar complaint. And the same bloc of nations is insisting that climate aid be a central part of any deal in Copenhagen. “These are the new shifts in global decisionmaking,” says Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. “Having one common platform has strengthened the hand of the region.”

The concern of poorer nations is well-founded. Dozens of smaller, still-industrializing nations—particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa—are poised to experience significant hardships as a result of the catastrophic climate change predicted by the vast majority of world scientists. Caribbean islands like the Bahamas, St. Kitts, Martinique or Dominica might sink under rising sea levels. Bangladesh may submerge entirely—sending a population larger than Russia’s scrambling for solid ground in a geostrategic hotspot. In Tanzania, the legendary snows of Kilimanjaro may soon be no more.

These plausible, if worst-case, scenarios demonstrate a marked difference in preparedness between the richest and the poorest countries of the world. In the last decade, advanced democracies—the type that perch atop the U.N.’s annual development rankings—have braced for climate change. The Netherlands has pioneered floating houses; the British government plans to spend $500 million on a flood defense system for the Thames River; and the United States, despite its reputation as a foot-dragger on green issues, has invested, via the February economic stimulus package, more money in alternative fuel production and energy-saving infrastructure than ever before. And this week, Environmental Protection Agency head Lisa Jackson formally announced that carbon dioxide will be classified as a dangerous pollutant, a move that could result in sweeping new regulatory authority for the EPA.

Poor nations, however, still shoulder the biggest risks. “Africa has not contributed significantly to global warming, and yet Africa is paying the highest price,” says Woods. “If you are an African country, you have much more at stake than a rich country,” adds Saleemul Huq, head of climate change at the British International Institute for Environment and Development. “Poor people in particular depend on natural resources for their livelihoods,” said Julia Martin-Lefevre, president of the World Conservation Union, after a meeting with the African Development Bank this fall. “Managing and conserving these resources in a sustainable way can contribute to building resilience against the effects of climate change.”

Brazil has been a good example of leadership in this new development paradigm. Despite being populous and poor, conservation and reforestation of the Amazon rainforest has long been part of the national conversation on the environment, and ethanol production from its sugar cane reserves could be a future source of trade revenue. Much of its success, however, has come as a result of public will. In a recent HSBC-sponsored poll, some 90 percent of Brazilians favored their government committing to “meet or significantly exceed” a 50–80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050. In the United States and in many less developed countries, this kind of awareness is still lacking.

Another factor in the preparedness gap comes from the vastly different economic conditions between the relevant groups. Many developing nations, including parts of rural China and India, are not yet fully electrified, and heavy manufacturing is a less significant factor in their carbon footprints. The introduction of an economy-wide “cap and trade” system of curbing emissions, as has been proposed in the U.S. Congress, is less realistic in such emerging markets.

President Barack Obama, who will attend the Copenhagen summit next week, has sought to partner with smaller states and nontraditional powers on the issue of climate change. Still, when it comes to forging the kind of global treaty necessary to stave off the worst effects of global warming, “the divide between developed and developing countries … is still alive and well,” said Todd Stern, chief climate negotiator for the United States, when testifying before Congress last month.

// The funding plan on the table at Copenhagen is a potential game changer: Such a fund “will help countries leapfrog, from importing essential green technology, to helping to promote green jobs, to a broader swath of issues that will not only help mitigate the impacts of climate change, but help African and other countries in the global south transition to a new green economy,” says Woods. What’s more, this could be a mutually beneficial arrangement, says Naveen Nayak, director of global warming for the League of Conservation Voters. “A lot of the developed nations see it as not only important to a final deal but an opportunity to create the markets that they are trying to attract as they develop green technology. It’s very central to the whole conversation.”

But in the midst of a global recession, the question of how to raise the money is still unresolved. The United Nations is estimating that some $170 billion per year might be needed to realistically prepare the developing world for climate change. And climate aid is not the primary aim of the conference. “We’re not going to build a deal around aid,” says Nayak, who is in Copenhagen for the week. “But if we are going to build a deal around reducing emissions targets, we need to make sure it’s fair and equitable.”

UPDATE 12/9: A leaked document (the so-called “Danish text”), outlining negotiating terms for several rich nations—that include weak emissions reduction targets for wealthy countries and more stringent terms for poor nations—hit the conference like a bomb early this week, prompting Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, G77 chairman, to declare such terms a “suicide pact.” If established science is correct, unprepared developing nations would, under the terms suggested by the draft proposal (from which no country claims to be negotiating), experience levels of warming that put millions of lives at risk. Di-Aping later called it “certain death for Africa.”

The impact of this new development on a final deal in Copenhagen is unclear. A strong, unified voice from the global south could prove decisive during what will be a tense fortnight spent balancing the economic, cultural and political interests of nearly 200 nations attending the summit.

Dayo Olopade