INTAG 499B (Inspired Post 1)

Tonight, I attended a Distinguished Honors Faculty Dinner with Mark Brennan for about Community and Leadership Development in Vietnam. I was lucky to have gotten a spot on this dinner--they fill up so quickly. I think it is the combination of free food, interesting topics, and iPhones that get e-mail immediately. Unfortunately for me, I have a phone that is internet-less.

This is not exactly my phone...but close.

I was initially going to say that I have a regular phone that doesn't have internet. Yet in this day and age, it is actually irregular that I don't have a phone with internet. Oh technology, how you change the way of life so quickly... I am at a huge disadvantage in terms of signing up for these things because of my phone (along with a bunch of other disadvantages as well).

Anyway, this dinner was a really interesting opportunity because we were able to hear about Dr. Brennan's experiences in Vietnam. He had a graduate student in the past that was from Vietnam and they worked a lot together at Penn State. After the student graduated, Dr. Brennan decided he wanted to go to Vietnam and learn about his student's culture. He has spent a great deal of time in Vietnam and has traveled around much of Southeast Asia. His work has been particularly focused on international development efforts. He is most interested in the rebuilding efforts of Vietnam and Cambodia because they are so distinct in how they have occurred, but so similar as well. Dr. Brennan is actually hosting a class next semester that takes a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia after learning about the community development efforts that have evolved from the grassroots up in both of these countries. I am planning to apply to this class because this seems like an exceptional opportunity. I really hope I get in because ever since coming back from Europe, I have wanted to go abroad again--anywhere where I can learn about and explore another culture!

Throughout this entire dinner, I was constantly reflecting on how prevalent globalization is in our world today. The fact that we can learn so much about other cultures and then get the opportunity to actually visit these countries shows that the borders are blurring and the world is flattening as we speak. It may not be as flat as Thomas Friedman claims, but we are definitely entering a world full of globalization.

The ease of travel is one thing, but the ease of the transfer of information is another totally separate thing. The amount of information I was able to find out about Vietnam and Cambodia by doing a simple Google search was incredible. I could sit in my own bedroom and learn so much about the world. It is astounding to see the power of the Internet. But then again, nothing compares to actually going to a country and experiencing the life there first hand. I certainly am crossing my fingers that I get into his class...