Semester at Sea Fall 2006 Voyage

• Home Page
• My bio
• Transnational Ethnography: Issues of Vernacular Preservation: Migrants in Hong Kong and Spain

• Japan: Vernacular Atmosphere
  
• Hong Kong: A Family Abroad
  
• Vietnam: The Numbing Effects of War Tourism
  
• Burma:Doctored Perceptions of Rangoon
  
• India: A Source of Contrasts
  
• Spain: Spain's Identity Crisis
  
• Open Letter

Dear Future Semester at Sea Voyagers,
 

            On of the most distinct images that you will remember from you trip around the world are visuals that you have already been exposed to.  Transnational images ranging from global corporations like McDonalds, KFC, Microsoft and the like will pollute any authentic image you may have created of a country.  It is important to recognize that we live in a world where shared ideas are becoming more commonplace and differences are beginning to fade.  This is not to say that each port you will visit will be the same, but there will be similarities.  I have actually found these similarities to be more interesting then the exoticised images that I had preconceived.  My advice is to study both these vernacular localized qualities and transnational influences and see the way in which they affect each other.  I came on this trip completely against globalization, and for the most part that has not changed.  However, this voyage will make anyone realize that globalization is already here and is no longer a force that we should try to prevent, because it has already happened. 

            Even if you aren’t studying global cities and vernacular and transnational flows, these images are hard to ignore.   As you travel from port to port, take notice of these global forces.  They are the present and most likely going to be the future.