tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17604621195372350362024-03-19T19:14:24.115+10:00Dr. Phelan, I Presume?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.comBlogger266125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-2935082103261110252015-12-16T22:55:00.000+10:002015-12-16T22:55:54.770+10:00My Australian Pet Peeve is Beautiful<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">According to the experts, when one moves abroad they
go through four phases of adaptation to the culture:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">1. Elation-
or the honeymoon phase when “Everything here is so different and exciting!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">2. Resistance-
when expats compare the new environment to what they are accustomed to at home:
“XYZ is better back home than here.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">3. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Transformation-
about nine months after moving abroad, expats begin to see the positive side of
“all those differences”, and</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">4. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Integration-
when the new location becomes “home”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/07/where-in-world-is-dr-phelan-botswana.html">lived overseas</a></i></b> a bit, my transition
to life in Australia has been pretty easy.
I am experiencing resistance to only one aspect of Australian life:
ADJECTIVES. You heard me right…
ADJECTIVES. Actually, just one adjective
in particular.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The first week I arrived in OZ, <i>The Great Australian Spelling Bee</i> was one of the top programs on
television. I kid you not. Being a nerd, I mean, a professor, I thought
it my duty to diligently tune in to channel 10 each evening. I quickly learned we don’t fly in airplanes
in OZ, we fly in aeroplanes. And it’s
not Aitch-R (HR), it’s HAITCH-R. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go
ahead and say your nice, American “H”.
Now, make the “hhhhhhhh” sound and immediately tack the letter “H” onto
the end. If you still can’t figure it out, <b><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkwMLBGj8Fg">watch this</a></i></b>, and try not to feel too
inadequate.) On principle, I still fly
in airplanes and file my employment paperwork at Aitch-R.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you have ever participated in a Spelling Bee- I
did, in the 7<sup>th</sup> grade, and no, I did not win- you know that a
contestant may ask for a definition, or that the word be used in a sentence. <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/05/an-ode-to-dictionary.html">Enter the dictionary</a></i></b>. Australia does not use Webster’s, as is most
common in the U.S. The official
Australian dictionary is the Macquarie Dictionary. I recently became well acquainted with the
Macquarie Dictionary when I felt the need to look up a word which is grossly
overused Down Under: beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My first day on campus a colleague introduced me to
her graduate student, who took me on a little tour. When he returned me to his professor’s office,
she asked me, “Did you like Student X?
Isn’t he just beautiful?” A
puzzled look on my face, I replied, “Uhhhhhhhhhhh… what?” I thought perhaps this professor was either
crazy, or maybe she was just an overly emotional type. She responded, “He’s such a great
person. He’s really beautiful.” I did not respond.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not long after meeting the beautiful graduate
student I was in the lunchroom at work and was offered a strawberry from a
colleague. “Here Kelly, have some
strawberries. I grew them myself. They are beautiful.” They did look quite nice, and they tasted
good. Of course, I still couldn’t figure
out whether designating the strawberry as beautiful was intended to refer to
the outward appearance, or the deliciousness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m convinced that over the last six months I’ve
heard the word beautiful used more times than in the previous 35 years. Meet a new neighbour? The neighbour is beautiful. The park down the road? Beautiful.
How was the night you <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/12/police-report-white-woman-causes.html">spent in jail</a></i></b>? That’s right!
Beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But the tipping point in my newfound hatred of this
word came recently when my roommate returned from the pool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: “Hey roomie.
How was the pool?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Roomie: “Ah!
It was beautiful!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: “Well, was the water cold? Or was it comfortable? Were a lot of people there? What about the chlorine? I don’t like swimming in pools that are over
chlorinated, so, how was it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Roomie: “It was beautiful!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: “WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!?!?!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ok, I didn’t really say that, but I sure wanted to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apparently, there are no other adjectives in
Australian English which convey a positive sentiment. It’s either beautiful, or bust. The problem is that the word is so overused here
that it is completely ruined for me. I
was telling a friend recently that if a man ever told me I was beautiful I
would be forced to dump him immediately because quite frankly, I wouldn’t
believe him. “I’m beautiful? Well, the other day you called the garbage
can beautiful. So, by default you
basically just called me garbage. Is
that what you are saying?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After hearing about the beautiful pool I was forced
to spend some time with Macquarie’s to see if beautiful has a different meaning
here. And lo and behold, it does. Not only does it describe visual appeal, it
can also be used to mean anything pleasant.
In fact Macquarie’s used the example: a beautiful meal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But, I don’t care if it is in the dictionary. I will resist using beautiful until my last
dying breath. And I never thought I
would say this, but, please don’t ever call me beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1cuV20Tx6S1MYTKe30eMISfqBrtrxDWgQdHceyGy4dYMmd4aqwgD4VFZo_ukMQTSDmfooZffRE-COgCVhXyB9B-j2uCuDm2vQiOElfA2Z8SaY9WVnzgnqlnIIb4NLJUR__1QU-jsN50W/s1600/garbage+bin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1cuV20Tx6S1MYTKe30eMISfqBrtrxDWgQdHceyGy4dYMmd4aqwgD4VFZo_ukMQTSDmfooZffRE-COgCVhXyB9B-j2uCuDm2vQiOElfA2Z8SaY9WVnzgnqlnIIb4NLJUR__1QU-jsN50W/s400/garbage+bin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-35761428605288073232015-11-26T07:49:00.003+10:002015-11-26T07:50:15.946+10:00Moving- Part 3: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving… In Australia<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When you are born and raised in the northern
hemisphere, and then move to the southern hemisphere as an adult, it’s hard to
grasp the holiday spirit.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Even when I
lived in Orlando, and wore shorts on Christmas Day while working at Walt Disney
World, it still felt like Christmas.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Then again, it was Disney, so we had fake snow and Christmas carols
playing everywhere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Back May, before making my <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/moving-day.html">permanent move out here to Australia</a></i></b>,
I came out for a one week “get to know you” visit. It was a good thing that trip went well,
seeing as I had already signed a contract and <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/where-in-world-is-dr-phelan-going-next.html">quit my job</a></i></b>. During that trip I went to dinner at my soon-to-be-new
boss’s house with his family. His
nine-year-old twins and I got along quite well, comparing recess games,
favourite foods, and holiday traditions.
They have never seen snow except for in the movies, so the idea of a <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/an-african-christmas.html">white Christmas</a></i></b> was a quite appealing to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last night I happened to notice that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ961y0VKEk"><i><b>A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving</b></i> </a>was scheduled to air on television in the
States. I must confess that this was the
first time I actually thought about Thanksgiving, partially because we don’t
see Thanksgiving commercials or the corresponding accoutrement in the
stores. But probably also due to the
fact that as I sit here writing this blog post at 6am, it is already well above
90 degrees, hence the idea of cooking a turkey and eating pumpkin pie in
traditional Thanksgiving (i.e. <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/the-church-of-america.html">Church of America</a></i></b>) fashion lacks
appeal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But I do have SOME thing- many things, actually- but
ONE thing in particular to be thankful for. My Thanksgiving is being celebrated in style, in my new house,
surrounded by my belongings…. wait for it…. that arrived… from the States! That’s right folks, <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/around-world-in-101-days-and-counting.html">hell hath frozen over and my ship has come in!</a><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last week around 2pm my apartment looked like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMnRhCFNPwGW1kTZXiMCE5iXeKuZQ7O6T2B6TwjI0LGSnl1NRKaeurj4ZphlgII9-3l3sfyqM9WjQUr678Tzj4jBoQKTy4O2yt3IM5giWzRYyRDcePZ5DWKNBNyoBXx0OFHtax24wVvdL/s1600/IMG_0951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMnRhCFNPwGW1kTZXiMCE5iXeKuZQ7O6T2B6TwjI0LGSnl1NRKaeurj4ZphlgII9-3l3sfyqM9WjQUr678Tzj4jBoQKTy4O2yt3IM5giWzRYyRDcePZ5DWKNBNyoBXx0OFHtax24wVvdL/s400/IMG_0951.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By 3pm, my apartment looked like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65W9Hmb8fkl5q2cOlgYVB7KT90No7MCKViY3nZrOW0niaWmbGkXBl_K92nxGWop65NB7w5CxXQMwUxqXlq8LjeW3e5zvzoQS0GHP5Vmu0fXxcQK5Ti_o7afckBO4T7QctBo6jjuO9ah0m/s1600/IMG_1137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65W9Hmb8fkl5q2cOlgYVB7KT90No7MCKViY3nZrOW0niaWmbGkXBl_K92nxGWop65NB7w5CxXQMwUxqXlq8LjeW3e5zvzoQS0GHP5Vmu0fXxcQK5Ti_o7afckBO4T7QctBo6jjuO9ah0m/s400/IMG_1137.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But, here’s the best part of the story. Back in February when I accepted this job I
started watching everything I could on youtube about Australia. I ran across this television series called <b><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coxMi02uTRw">Border Security: Australia’s Front Line</a></i></b>.
And, let me tell you, the front line takes their jobs seriously. But in all honesty, I can understand their tenacity. Australia is very isolated and has an
incredibly delicate environment. By
being vigilant about what comes into the country, they have avoided many of the
diseases which have proven deleterious in other parts of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For instance, if you typically fly with snacks, make
sure you eat your<i><b> </b></i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/obtaining-beef-permit.html"><i><b>beef jerky</b></i> </a>before you arrive otherwise it will be confiscated
due to fear of foot and mouth disease. I
know, I know, it’s a processed food and can’t possibly spread that disease, but
as I said the Australians are cautious, to the point of being almost
paranoid. If you plan to come here for
diving, leave your wetsuit at home. They
don’t want to risk you bringing in any parasites that might be harmful to the
wildlife here. When I climbed
Kilimanjaro two years ago, my <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/climbing-mt-kilimanjaro.html">Australian “buddies” </a></i></b>gave their
hiking boots to our guides and porters because they said they would be
confiscated due to the concern there might be a trace of dirt on them once they
got home. They said they might as well
give them to someone who could use them rather than having them confiscated and
destroyed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, having watched Border Security, read lots and
talked to friends about what I could “get away with”, I was worried that my
bike, golf clubs and wooden giraffe from Africa might meet their demise in
Australian Customs. But it turns out
flattery will get you everywhere. I
wrote the Customs officials little love notes and put them all over my
belongings. And they even wrote me back. Here is the note I put on my golf clubs. And as you can see, they responded by
welcoming me to Australia:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjiESi_gXtdaphriqIsigimERtM7FXcdZ3tEHX7OFnNJIskNdF2ihwYDFDF6LoXeRHiAG2ra7OQeiE84EoM465wUirEfy-KLTOmDWH1P34rVFONIeF8SrFYKDcnUtdxHakrkKjk5vPIcSO/s1600/IMG_1139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjiESi_gXtdaphriqIsigimERtM7FXcdZ3tEHX7OFnNJIskNdF2ihwYDFDF6LoXeRHiAG2ra7OQeiE84EoM465wUirEfy-KLTOmDWH1P34rVFONIeF8SrFYKDcnUtdxHakrkKjk5vPIcSO/s640/IMG_1139.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNJtzWIBz9x_097xVDe6XvvKwtjx-IlGUEVsMuP0p287xbMJ3q7Ng_EzbzciRUdceWXWXXIH0KGA9klCyCU6R2hIzjaVI-QKIquV912PGhAwAG9Vq16dDi3tAOGqQ6R-nX1qFByCApFLJ/s1600/IMG_1140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNJtzWIBz9x_097xVDe6XvvKwtjx-IlGUEVsMuP0p287xbMJ3q7Ng_EzbzciRUdceWXWXXIH0KGA9klCyCU6R2hIzjaVI-QKIquV912PGhAwAG9Vq16dDi3tAOGqQ6R-nX1qFByCApFLJ/s400/IMG_1140.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I’ve said before, I LOVE coming back into the
U.S. after being gone for a long time because the Customs officials always say,
</span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/welcome-home.html">“Welcome home!”</a></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> after stamping my passport.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But, after my recent experience successfully receiving my things, I
think the Australian Customs Department may be my new bestie- at least on this
side of the (other) pond.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com4Brisbane QLD, Australia-27.4710107 153.02344889999995-27.4710107 153.02344889999995 -27.4710107 153.02344889999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-66345689072504658172015-09-20T08:42:00.000+10:002015-09-20T08:42:41.967+10:00Watching THE Footy, While Drinking Fairy Floss on Father’s Day<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Australians go out of their way to confuse us
Americans.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For instance, they drive on
the left.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course, after my </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/ke-ja-lebidi-driving-school-poor-skills.html">excellent driving lessons in Botswana</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> this is not a problem for me.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But I did save the life of a tourist the
other day when he failed to look in the right direction and stepped out into
traffic.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They love using colloquialisms and odd terminology. Recently I saw the following description on a
wine bottle: “…with green apple and
fairy floss characters leaping out of the glass…” In case you were wondering- I certainly hope
you were!- fairy floss is cotton candy.
While I’m not a wine connoisseur, since when does wine taste like cotton
candy?!? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The best “weird Australianism” I’ve found thus far
may be the fact that they love to watch “THE footy”. There is no such thing as just, plain, old,
vanilla, “footy.” It is “THE footy.” The problem with “THE footy” is that there
are FOUR different sports which qualify as “THE footy.” I have watched countless games, done
research, drawn graphics on whiteboards and still cannot describe the
differences between these four sports.
You know that Australian guy on the 49ers, Jarryd Hayne? They’ve been talking about him a lot on the
news here. The other day they showed a
clip from a U.S. news station. The U.S.
news station referred to Hayne as an Australian rugby player. Well, the Australian new anchors got all bent
out of shape, saying, “He’s NOT a rugby player! The Americans don’t know what
they are talking about!” So, what did I do?
I looked it up. Hayne was a
National Rugby League (NRL) player.
Rugby is IN THE TITLE! I am SO
confused.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My most recent experience of the vast conspiracy in
which Australians plot to confuse Americans is that they moved Father’s
Day! Mother’s Day remains the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And I have to say, I’m terribly disappointed by the
Australian version of Father’s Day. This
pretty much sums up Father’s Day in Australia:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBIc4oDK_eiTBBgmlkSxacZk0jDMvZyNODvPW19i5GSfGXQx0fUMeGyXgDfp8UcvEC7JZ-a2wHDIWYy4i99NrZniDe9kXaKpJCxc8vbZcp9klNDUgiCEJVgz75B9ATOUKbmqFf71RlO5N/s1600/FD+meme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBIc4oDK_eiTBBgmlkSxacZk0jDMvZyNODvPW19i5GSfGXQx0fUMeGyXgDfp8UcvEC7JZ-a2wHDIWYy4i99NrZniDe9kXaKpJCxc8vbZcp9klNDUgiCEJVgz75B9ATOUKbmqFf71RlO5N/s400/FD+meme.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After all, the Aussies love their barbeque. This was demonstrated in all the stores as
the Father’s Day section sold only two things:
barbeque supplies:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj00epGnyf1hIHM3-lf8C7-40jO6NpUVisNDGVjlLuRePjHzY-NPVGGRVtptbRYDbUYNHiwn_ghDMnwT3o7YegJCYAMbycxMqAoisezbdeAjXOEUxYywtFCe4s_L09Q4RChTyftWB6YjQug/s1600/bbq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj00epGnyf1hIHM3-lf8C7-40jO6NpUVisNDGVjlLuRePjHzY-NPVGGRVtptbRYDbUYNHiwn_ghDMnwT3o7YegJCYAMbycxMqAoisezbdeAjXOEUxYywtFCe4s_L09Q4RChTyftWB6YjQug/s400/bbq.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT348UPLhkcHIZ8gyCCuR5___zJIFqrZQn3hx5UtKFjbESQeIHWEJDv60sGUAiWkcVXgOtAJYL0pjnSj53PQZ1OmEwIMhpv4bSxSwCKt_a2FmNDjNT4xtjEtSeZWQU_POx-aCMiCEFCAZ-/s1600/bbq+gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT348UPLhkcHIZ8gyCCuR5___zJIFqrZQn3hx5UtKFjbESQeIHWEJDv60sGUAiWkcVXgOtAJYL0pjnSj53PQZ1OmEwIMhpv4bSxSwCKt_a2FmNDjNT4xtjEtSeZWQU_POx-aCMiCEFCAZ-/s1600/bbq+gun.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And books about sports. If you would like to do your own reading
about THE footy, and other sports in Australia, including competitive sheep
shearing, here were some great suggestions, all on sale for Father’s Day!:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPbPBC3UcJRrAB5T_e0b9zRQF-t6IUMOA902zpk4gp64dSOAGOQgmOZzpiKxuF2tjO1FI9KiN9caAtvwr8gNqu-16n-kRMokVXGTmJc-9SplOxE442itoDQEHxnJVoAdvzYGQ6RjvX9V6/s1600/FD+books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPbPBC3UcJRrAB5T_e0b9zRQF-t6IUMOA902zpk4gp64dSOAGOQgmOZzpiKxuF2tjO1FI9KiN9caAtvwr8gNqu-16n-kRMokVXGTmJc-9SplOxE442itoDQEHxnJVoAdvzYGQ6RjvX9V6/s400/FD+books.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But THE WORST part about Father’s Day in Australia
(besides the fact my awesome dad was back in the U.S.) is that these people do
not know how to do greeting cards.
Speaking of my dad, we have this tradition where we like to look at
greeting cards together. We don’t
necessarily have to buy any, but we can easily spend an hour in Walmart looking
at cards, laughing and then telling the other person, “The one’s the best, you
have to read it!” Well, I think
Australia has forever ruined greeting card browsing for me. This was the greeting card display for Father’s
Day:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAsLBOK-WcBV39HOsyI7XQKQuceQRWAC_w5_wGeUe6P96FnGaXdI7Mwk6ItPI8wyZdoFILArcnFTWeDNSKPKlK9zOaIdHYDZE-Mljj2Pjd-T6QXh4YAXqRG1fDH8mQSVDi3vFTbsGo7ll/s1600/card2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAsLBOK-WcBV39HOsyI7XQKQuceQRWAC_w5_wGeUe6P96FnGaXdI7Mwk6ItPI8wyZdoFILArcnFTWeDNSKPKlK9zOaIdHYDZE-Mljj2Pjd-T6QXh4YAXqRG1fDH8mQSVDi3vFTbsGo7ll/s400/card2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Yup, that’s it.
I looked at every single one of them and not one made me laugh. The one thing I found curious was that there
was ONE to dad from son card. And ONE to
dad from wife card. There were NO to dad
from daughter cards. Apparently
Australians only have sons. Who would
have guessed?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the end, this was the best card I could find, and
the one I sent my dad:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfF9vU1F1DKttd4UBtnN7J9i_Q-mqJY_Brg130mEEOzOlXVrclQnyodaJr4DVBH_3h4HA_7PLXfqh_bdxOtV076Ud045fk_R_W4Vet4cAB4s2YedAliLAdB_R_b0T6wVbJ2QlHGEsatvnF/s1600/card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfF9vU1F1DKttd4UBtnN7J9i_Q-mqJY_Brg130mEEOzOlXVrclQnyodaJr4DVBH_3h4HA_7PLXfqh_bdxOtV076Ud045fk_R_W4Vet4cAB4s2YedAliLAdB_R_b0T6wVbJ2QlHGEsatvnF/s400/card.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40CekYhPuSQdRH42L1KZxIssNr4JBPLFjlimgh7Q8s1FmMj-xMl4y6yi_o_zTdsQqQ949l1v1kVbvrSoQnYbD6hXs-V9UYy8mnzOMSd66kUtYTeEqt5Fy0J7RKrtM7J7F9coeTD3rsYHu/s1600/card1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40CekYhPuSQdRH42L1KZxIssNr4JBPLFjlimgh7Q8s1FmMj-xMl4y6yi_o_zTdsQqQ949l1v1kVbvrSoQnYbD6hXs-V9UYy8mnzOMSd66kUtYTeEqt5Fy0J7RKrtM7J7F9coeTD3rsYHu/s400/card1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I spent $7.00 on a very boring card which only
resulted in me missing my dad, and then $3.00 to mail it to the U.S. I’m not sure whether Hallmark has considered
investing in the Australian market, but I do believe the sky is the limit here
as the current standard is incredibly low.
In the meantime, here’s a more appropriate father’s day greeting for my
dad:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CJ6kPyaOX3clJPdBI8FwESlupaig9KR_xaLH493lrtZRDj9N3eGa7mEUG3sdG7u1XAQvh8oCE5VBKCzdSr-VagPjMSTs27E1tgWz7FDf3SjlR7wVE39F8OvF_V4DlyL5ZANnRund5VcN/s1600/1+in+a+minion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CJ6kPyaOX3clJPdBI8FwESlupaig9KR_xaLH493lrtZRDj9N3eGa7mEUG3sdG7u1XAQvh8oCE5VBKCzdSr-VagPjMSTs27E1tgWz7FDf3SjlR7wVE39F8OvF_V4DlyL5ZANnRund5VcN/s400/1+in+a+minion.jpg" width="330" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Happy Father’s Day!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-10920814641991153602015-08-26T19:35:00.000+10:002015-08-26T19:35:40.649+10:00Around the World in 101 Days (and counting!)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the classic novel, <i>Around the World in 80 Days</i> by Jules Verne, Phileas Fog wagers a <span style="background: white; color: #252525;">£20,000</span> bet that he can circumnavigate
the globe in 80 days or less. Using a combination
of steamer ships, trains, and alternative modes of transport, such as an
elephant, Fog and his trusted valet battle a herd of bison, a mutiny and
hurricanes until they arrive back in London…. well, I can’t tell you the
end! You will have to read it yourself. </span>But I will say this, if it was up to
me, I would gladly hire Phileas Fog any day to move my belongings from the U.S.
to Australia because… they STILL haven’t arrived.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After 101 days my belongings are “in Singapore
indefinitely.” No joke! The woman from the moving company used those
EXACT words. When I pressed her for more
information she told me she had “no idea” when they would be put on a ship to
Australia. You might be asking yourself,
“Hmmm… I don’t understand. You live in
Australia. So why are your things in Singapore?” Yes! My question exactly. Here’s the best part. I looked it up on a map and the distance from
Brisbane to Singapore is roughly the same distance as from Brisbane to Hawaii. Let me back up and give you the back story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I signed my contract with my moving company in
February I was informed my things would go from Texas to… Actually, let’s take
a show of hands. If you were going to
send my belongings from Texas to the east coast of Australia, how would you do
it? Texas to California and then on to
OZ? Brilliant... Well, that’s what they
told me in February. My shipment would
go overland to LA, then it would take 19 days on a ship from LA DIRECTLY to
Brisbane. Woo-hoo! Sounded like a great deal to me. Ahh, the best laid plans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">May 18<sup>th</sup>: Talk to moving company and find
out my things are bound for Australia. I
am very excited because I figure my things should arrive around the same time
as I will (July 1<sup>st</sup>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">June 11<sup>th</sup>: Follow up with moving company
about shipment. Am informed my
belongings left Texas two days prior and are on their way to New York. New York?!?!?! So they are going the LONG WAY around the
world? Two nasty emails from yours truly
to moving company about how they need to look at a map and 7,100 miles (LA to
Brisbane) (and a straight line!) is WAY shorter than the 21,156 miles from New
York to Brisbane.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">July 3<sup>rd</sup>: Send another obnoxious email to
shipping company asking for the name of the ship which is transporting my
belongings. They refuse to give me the
name until the third email. Finally
discover my belongings are on the YM Maturity.
Do a Google search and discover www.vesselfinder.com online.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">July 19<sup>th</sup>: Despite having tracked my ship
online daily for the past three weeks, the novelty has not worn off. However, today I see the Maturity is off the
coast of Somalia. If this rings some
alarm bells for you, you are correct.
That’s where Captain Phillips was captured by pirates. Check my insurance statement from the moving
company regarding what happens in the even my shipping container is lost at
sea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">July 28<sup>th</sup>: According to vesselfinder.com the Maturity
has stopped in Singapore. Strangely
enough, it is her final destination.
Woa! This is news. What happened to Australia? Promptly contact the shipping company rep who
informs me, “The ship was NEVER supposed to stop in Australia. We knew the whole time it was only going to
Singapore.” Naturally, I asked when my
shipment would leave Singapore, and was told, “We can’t be sure. But it’s two weeks from Singapore here and
then of course, your things will sit in Customs and Quarantine for at least two
weeks.” Kelly: “So, in other words, even
if my things left today they wouldn’t get here before September 1<sup>st</sup>?” Moving company: “That’s right. But just so you know, they won’t leave today.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">August 25<sup>th</sup>: Call moving company again for an update. Am informed my belongings are “in Singapore
indefinitely.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, to recap, this was Phileas Fog’s round the world
trip, which he managed to make in 80 days.
ALL the way around the world mind you:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8R5HHOYtZsDwECxleN0QxikClms9Z9WvFdeKGWEwsny8lGJ3QNppvbRzg_5b3eYeZpFj6H9q3qhP50ZAyW4oltvwguK9OunPVFUDUVpYfQ-zVOFSj7FkryOQnB3wPy_RA41VyXX3_R3y/s1600/780px-Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days_map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8R5HHOYtZsDwECxleN0QxikClms9Z9WvFdeKGWEwsny8lGJ3QNppvbRzg_5b3eYeZpFj6H9q3qhP50ZAyW4oltvwguK9OunPVFUDUVpYfQ-zVOFSj7FkryOQnB3wPy_RA41VyXX3_R3y/s640/780px-Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days_map.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the one-way trip my belongings are making:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim41_jWU18wAnG4QYsx9wF5T0hpMrePOdvJZZrQUZxreXAQyObXoPuqbHl6tU_QU0nDdNVAuYZwc0MjiW_7owrQklaw5flk8aeeYp-YwH2ir74m-l1YD2Uhv6YSHlEyQUqd_4voBxylXVu/s1600/my+map3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim41_jWU18wAnG4QYsx9wF5T0hpMrePOdvJZZrQUZxreXAQyObXoPuqbHl6tU_QU0nDdNVAuYZwc0MjiW_7owrQklaw5flk8aeeYp-YwH2ir74m-l1YD2Uhv6YSHlEyQUqd_4voBxylXVu/s640/my+map3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This would have been the trip if my shipment had
gone the western route.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhco-kgVEgVrXZKyPA2Knbiss_yCc9Q6Etb5Cny9IRUdOywzw6Z-FX1qk7WHom9X-7qO6Ne4xbHEBYN57OPGmqDrxK-CsH5tJpjqd6q_wqW58sG-Cc9LEO-asjywdyfUVa93KItPZx1PXTB/s1600/OZ.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhco-kgVEgVrXZKyPA2Knbiss_yCc9Q6Etb5Cny9IRUdOywzw6Z-FX1qk7WHom9X-7qO6Ne4xbHEBYN57OPGmqDrxK-CsH5tJpjqd6q_wqW58sG-Cc9LEO-asjywdyfUVa93KItPZx1PXTB/s400/OZ.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So, what have I learned?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1. I have a strong dislike for shipping
companies. (I’m not allowed per Phelan
family rules to use the word “hate.”
Hence, this was the best way I could think to express myself.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2. I figure by the time my clothes get here they
will have gone out of fashion and then cycled back around to be trendy
again. Kind of like bellbottoms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3. I can’t live without a slow cooker.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">4. In the event I ever move from Australia I will
sell or give away everything.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I plan to
walk on to the plane with my passport, credit cards and only what I can carry.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-59209352146993551562015-08-21T22:31:00.000+10:002015-08-21T22:38:01.069+10:00I Hereby Challenge the Dallas Cowboys: Why Professional Athletes are Cooler in the Southern Hemisphere<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last weekend, all across the country, my country that is,
Australia, everyone gathered around their televisions to watch the Bledisloe
Cup. The Bledisloe Cup is played
annually by the Australian and New Zealand national rugby teams, the Wallabies
and the All Blacks. Australia lost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you’ve never seen a rugby match in which the All
Blacks (New Zealand’s team) play, I highly recommend you make the effort. And if you don’t want to watch the whole
thing, at least watch the 10 minutes before the game to see the Haka.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0drSHB4e6r0xvNnZiOk6GO5quLTx1GbOcmlYNqSJ0nzcEpkiztDk6Jqr37SlOyoPmXPNjApx63Z2WZThvCFgFyckFEG5FaFd6995wq-P5kc8ac7Lntx3paQayM66mGRTq_I5edCwitMXX/s1600/Haka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0drSHB4e6r0xvNnZiOk6GO5quLTx1GbOcmlYNqSJ0nzcEpkiztDk6Jqr37SlOyoPmXPNjApx63Z2WZThvCFgFyckFEG5FaFd6995wq-P5kc8ac7Lntx3paQayM66mGRTq_I5edCwitMXX/s400/Haka.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Haka is the war cry (and dance) of the Maori people of New Zealand.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When my </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/one-final-safari.html">dad visited me in Africa a couple years ago</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, the South African Springboks had just played the All Blacks.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For several nights afterward, the game was aired and my dad watched it repeatedly in part due to his fascination with the Haka.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When the All Blacks play in international competition, they always take the field before the game begins to perform the Haka and “challenge” their opponents.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Haka is second nature to us down under because we see it so frequently.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you have never seen the Haka, here it is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ujq9sXanYM" width="480"></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Well, the All Blacks are now taking their singing and dancing skills to the next level. The All Blacks recently “starred” in Air New Zealand’s newest safety briefing video. But they didn’t give the typical “in the event of an emergency an oxygen mask will fall…” instructions. They didn’t even go the Southwest Airlines route by being funny. No, no, that would have been too pedantic for them. Instead, they took the </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Men in Black</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"> theme song, reconfigured the lyrics, sang, danced, and included cameos from some of rugby’s biggest names (from Australia and New Zealand). Here’s the video:</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ji65WI5QLZI" width="480"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">So, I hereby challenge the Dallas Cowboys to do it better. Of course, the Houston Texans could also step up to the challenge and offer to record Southwest Airline’s new safety video.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">I’m quite sure no U.S. professional sports team would ever consider lowering themselves to such a menial (and non-paid) task. That’s the difference between the professional athletes here and in the U.S. The highest paid pro rugby player in Australia earns $1.5 million a year. One and a half million is the salary cap and there are only FIVE players which get $1 million or more. And there are limitations regarding endorsements as well. You can’t exceed total compensation (your rugby salary + endorsements) of more than $1 million. So those FIVE million dollar men? Nope, they will never be in a Nike ad or on the side of a Wheaties box.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">However, due to the salary caps and the limitations to endorsement deals, teams (they are called clubs here) lend their famous faces to pro-bono type advertising- as in the case of the All Blacks safety video.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">In case you are curious, the average salary for a National Rugby League player is $200,000 and the minimum is $80,000. This is a significant contrast from the National Football League (American football) where the average salary is $2 million, but ranges between a low of $420,000 and a high of $35.25 million! And there are no limitations to money earned from endorsements in the U.S.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">This is actually an interesting social experiment because here in Australia the average NRL player makes about 1.3 times my salary, but obviously, I make considerably more than the minimum-wage guys. In the U.S., the average NFL player makes 20 times my (U.S.) salary. I take this to mean that educators are more appreciated and therefore better compensated here in Australia. That, and we just don’t believe in paying pro athletes ungodly amounts of money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Until next time, watch an All Blacks game, check out the Haka, and next time you fly suggest to your flight attendant that their airline consider something like Air New Zealand’s epic new safety video.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-60227884697994433242015-08-14T05:16:00.000+10:002015-08-14T05:16:13.520+10:00Happy World Elephant Day!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For the past five years, April 12</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> has
been designated as World Elephant Day in an effort to raise awareness about poaching,
the mistreatment of elephants in some locations (particularly Asia) and the
human-elephant conflict.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The elephant is
my favourite animal, and despite seeing thousands of them during my time in
Africa, I continue to stare in awe whenever I see them in the wild; I don’t
think I will ever go to a zoo again.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In honour
of World Elephant Day I would like to share my favourite facts and stories
about elephants.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">1. In
African elephants, both sexes have tusks, but only males have tusks in the
Asian species.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">2. The
African elephant is the world’s largest animal, averaging over 20,000
pounds.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Asian elephants are about half
that size.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">3. Elephants
are also Number 1 in terms of pregnancy.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">As in, they are pregnant for 22 months.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">That’s almost two years!</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">And when
the </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/a-visit-to-david-sheldrick-wildlife.html">baby ele is born it weighs about 250 pounds</a>.</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">4.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Throughout
their lifetime, elephants have six sets of teeth. Each set lasts about 10 years, so if an
elephant lives past 60 or so they end up <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/cecil-lion.html">dying from malnutrition and/or starvation</a></i></b>. As they get older, they can only eat soft
food (grasses that are waterlogged) and have to break their food down before
they eat it, otherwise they can’t chew and digest it. Here is an example of how they do this:</span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ddvv9uiwkf8" width="480"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">5. Elephant poop is huge! Like, bigger than my foot!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbuYuIC1PZDbzxKcfNPjh0GJ64h3sPGwLB3Zr8zjBh3FZndisrY6vC2SL9Av0YkPfpo94sspq7DW3GSHTFuZ4xG-PagRQs7dXCZbmIihvh8tV5KkzNSCxG4QIKqDEjGwCiZQWVLCEG-Wd/s1600/elephant+poop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbuYuIC1PZDbzxKcfNPjh0GJ64h3sPGwLB3Zr8zjBh3FZndisrY6vC2SL9Av0YkPfpo94sspq7DW3GSHTFuZ4xG-PagRQs7dXCZbmIihvh8tV5KkzNSCxG4QIKqDEjGwCiZQWVLCEG-Wd/s400/elephant+poop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">6.<span style="color: red;"> </span>Elephants are nocturnal animals. Yes, you often see them during the day, but for every one you see during daytime there are 10 more than come out at night. Also, their</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/the-perils-of-night-driving.html">eyes do not reflect light</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">, so it is incredibly difficult to see them. I know what you are thinking, “How can you NOT see a 10 ton animal?” Trust me, I tell you this from experience. More than once I’ve come</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/visitors.html">face to face (within a couple of meters) with an elephant</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">because it was night time and there was no advance warning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">7. They are a matriarchal society.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">This means if you see a lone elephant, it is probably a male.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">After the males hit puberty they are kicked out of the herd.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">A herd is anywhere from 10 to 100 elephants, which consist of the mommies, the babies, and pre-pubescent males.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">8. Elephants are incredibly intelligent.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">When I lived in Botswana, every other day I heard about how elephants would “break into” people’s gardens and steal their produce.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">One of my students told me his father spent a week building a fence around their property to keep the elephants from destroying his tomato plants.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">During the time it took to build the fence the elephants never entered the garden (they would normally do this at night, of course).</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">My student’s father went to bed the night he finished the fence, only to wake up the next morning and find the fence missing!</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">The elephants had patiently waited and watched him build the fence.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">As soon as the project was finished, the elephants uprooted the entire fence, seemingly making it disappear without a trace.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">The dad found the fence later that morning three miles down the road.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">9. Even though they are really smart, I’m not sure that they necessarily read the elephant warning signs:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ23oqvxvBg6Gwhim0_1PBbqid-7oVAUU3ApQJZS3XMVm8eYFy-f-BpncBw-jwPNakfM14q7AYI04rOT4AQxt2rweOUBwjLekJpHbRuvKb7nd7IABNLs0zgfosX7QtwGGo73BfFdVtJe0r/s1600/elephant+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ23oqvxvBg6Gwhim0_1PBbqid-7oVAUU3ApQJZS3XMVm8eYFy-f-BpncBw-jwPNakfM14q7AYI04rOT4AQxt2rweOUBwjLekJpHbRuvKb7nd7IABNLs0zgfosX7QtwGGo73BfFdVtJe0r/s400/elephant+sign.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px; text-indent: -18pt;">10.<span style="color: red;"> </span>Or maybe they do read the signs and try to be considerate, like this elephant here who, instead of walking through the fence, actually stepped over it:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-_5XwkdDB_aQn_72iLoV5cPPmlYDYMvOKz7ZGN4g8HU7WdRUx_Y9kcmsZK1lbR9ZJB_dt8DJKW3ejx8KQtI8J9R0NfxI9ICeG4MY_u5Ueoq_mvlEzThPj-IbmJYkBccwjk7OBBdyEi9Z/s1600/elephant+fence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-_5XwkdDB_aQn_72iLoV5cPPmlYDYMvOKz7ZGN4g8HU7WdRUx_Y9kcmsZK1lbR9ZJB_dt8DJKW3ejx8KQtI8J9R0NfxI9ICeG4MY_u5Ueoq_mvlEzThPj-IbmJYkBccwjk7OBBdyEi9Z/s400/elephant+fence.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">I like to think of myself as a “pseudo” park ranger, at least when it comes to elephants. I could go on all day with stories, videos and pictures of my elephant encounters, but I think that should suffice for now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Happy World Elephant Day to one and all!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-89901059723071101942015-08-09T20:25:00.000+10:002015-08-09T20:25:41.512+10:00Things That Make You Go WHAAAAAAAAAT?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I’ve mentioned before, whenever I travel I
particularly enjoy </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/the-ben-jerrys-human-development-index.html">visiting the supermarket</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> because I always see products we don’t
have back home.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When I move overseas it always
takes me a while to get used to shopping because they don’t organize their
stores the same way, or they use different names for certain products, or I can’t
find that one thing I’m looking for.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Or
I spent a lot of time looking at products I’ve never seen before.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As per usual, today’s trip to the grocery store took
over two hours and I only purchased 31 items.
Part of the reason for the prolonged trip is that I had to look at
EVERYTHING. As I was wandering down the
potato chip aisle I saw something which made me go:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MfylJy_nMbM" width="480"></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">I don’t eat potato chips often because I don’t really eat sandwiches. But I think of potato chips as a side dish to either lunch food (like a sandwich) or bar-be-que food. But the point is, you normally eat potato chips WITH some sort of meat. Well here, it appears potato chips are intended to emulate meat. Let me give you an example. Normally you might eat potato chips with a burger. But, it seems a little redundant to have burger flavoured potato chips AND a burger:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvbipI5JrJGyXmUyYj9kuc2dvzBd-gw8ij_4QYybfTndjkiLT2KjcdSBYoi3RYDGQwDZjVoLeA_AYiYRqY9I83AwWAP45lHv_0HklSfiVxkalsMpaLUgLtCbUsMQhQWPT8d8KDykwALJ3/s1600/burger+pc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvbipI5JrJGyXmUyYj9kuc2dvzBd-gw8ij_4QYybfTndjkiLT2KjcdSBYoi3RYDGQwDZjVoLeA_AYiYRqY9I83AwWAP45lHv_0HklSfiVxkalsMpaLUgLtCbUsMQhQWPT8d8KDykwALJ3/s400/burger+pc.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Hungry for a hot dog? </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Should you eat a hot dog potato chips AND a hot dog?:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxm68i3k8B3vApLLY09FFrB7cGlQRcnTZKxy9wt-VHLI-GnAZ2zkO1MgrDZJ2J5Rju6PN08O9kdw092WPsgc4PSjWRkw8kiD7se4szBQB3g2fMEb7sA2HqakP4p2eGYPf3YUGWd3i22yc/s1600/hot+dog+pc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxm68i3k8B3vApLLY09FFrB7cGlQRcnTZKxy9wt-VHLI-GnAZ2zkO1MgrDZJ2J5Rju6PN08O9kdw092WPsgc4PSjWRkw8kiD7se4szBQB3g2fMEb7sA2HqakP4p2eGYPf3YUGWd3i22yc/s400/hot+dog+pc.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Or maybe you should pair your hot dog with chicken potato chips?:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoW4EXsUtTTquRi6kMMR5w6hq-vYKYTp3NJ_BcEsQqrJzlHsz0AC3_f_F1lVlprdafsZM-VkmOKRqURO-NxodAXgKx2vEVzPJ8h6hKmZMVZHkZfHz4jXTroP2cEPKu5lWQ3j7w36GZ3rE/s1600/chicken+potato+chips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoW4EXsUtTTquRi6kMMR5w6hq-vYKYTp3NJ_BcEsQqrJzlHsz0AC3_f_F1lVlprdafsZM-VkmOKRqURO-NxodAXgKx2vEVzPJ8h6hKmZMVZHkZfHz4jXTroP2cEPKu5lWQ3j7w36GZ3rE/s400/chicken+potato+chips.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">But, would that be a faux pas because they aren’t complementary proteins? I don’t know the answer!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Then again, you know how whenever you eat a meat no one is familiar with, like crocodile, and someone asks you what it tastes like, the answer always seems to be, “tastes just like chicken?” By the way, in case you are curious, crocodile kind of does taste like chicken. But now, that saying applies to potato chips too I suppose. “Chicken potato chips? What’s that taste like?” “As a matter of fact, it tastes just like chicken… and potato chips.” The truth of the matter is; we will never know what they taste like because I did not buy any of the meaty potato chips. Maybe next time. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-49842392637591510042015-08-07T03:11:00.000+10:002015-08-07T03:11:02.419+10:00UGG-ly Americans<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“PLEASE!</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tell
your American friends they are doing it all wrong!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And with that exclamation, I bring you today’s blog
post.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At my previous university, I used to take
my students to New York City each November for the Hotel Show. During those trips we stayed at The
Wellington Hotel on 7th Ave, just south of Central Park. Directly across the street from the hotel was
an UGG store. The first year I took
students on this trip UGGs were becoming all the rage in the U.S. My students went to the store, eager to make
their overpriced purchases, and exited with their boots and the decision that
is was “unfortunate that UGGs only come in two colours. They should have more variety.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s the secret: there is a
WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE variety of UGGs available here in Australia. Purples and electric green. Leopard prints and Swarovski crystals. Open sling-back versions and knee high boots. And everything in between. However, they apparently don’t release all
those styles overseas, particularly in the U.S., because as my colleagues
proclaimed at dinner last night, “Americans are doing it all wrong!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Shortly after arriving at my friend’s house for
dinner, I realized the entire family had removed their shoes
and were all wearing UGGs. I didn’t
mention it at first, but started to think about it, and soon realized that I
had never seen anyone wearing UGGs outside or in public here in Australia. I explained that in the U.S. people wear UGGs
outside, to the store, or to class. It’s
not atypical to see young Americans wearing them in bad weather, sometimes even
in the snow (often with short shorts).
You would have thought I had cursed in church! “Oh no!
You don’t wear them in public!
They are house shoes! Only bogans
(the Australian form of rednecks) and uneducated foreigners wear UGGs outside
the house! PLEASE! Tell your American friends they are doing it
all wrong!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And there we have it. From the experts themselves. So, to recap, this is wrong. Kim Kardashian, you should know better!:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVQGd4r2qJIcdFwVAM3PzXwHW3l-flUuo27e5XVBKwJ_UVXoG5af9YGtVqoWusXSy2ML0KHFUtcRfNUBB0t_F_Xzo8t2DHoItoCEYqelU2XJH1PzMvPNDc5HIPGwSvhY607dGd7nl05WK/s1600/kim-kardashian-and-ugg-australia-classic-tall-boots-gallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVQGd4r2qJIcdFwVAM3PzXwHW3l-flUuo27e5XVBKwJ_UVXoG5af9YGtVqoWusXSy2ML0KHFUtcRfNUBB0t_F_Xzo8t2DHoItoCEYqelU2XJH1PzMvPNDc5HIPGwSvhY607dGd7nl05WK/s400/kim-kardashian-and-ugg-australia-classic-tall-boots-gallery.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the correct way to wear your UGGs:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zTcaReOycXowEzdeAd2ZmHQr_dDyPgSCOsdxx5MI0zeiqQLGfXoLiTdgX_luoqOsixs16etDHxCR8gadoOoMgmvJZK2P33jPPk-O2Ndjx4QKfMfXmirWASgfLZLBXu90PDCMLO9vQSof/s1600/uggs+at+home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zTcaReOycXowEzdeAd2ZmHQr_dDyPgSCOsdxx5MI0zeiqQLGfXoLiTdgX_luoqOsixs16etDHxCR8gadoOoMgmvJZK2P33jPPk-O2Ndjx4QKfMfXmirWASgfLZLBXu90PDCMLO9vQSof/s400/uggs+at+home.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here are the UGGs sold in the tourist shops:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXxQSyTAg0928s6N1c04TQam7pqcdFxUeflrWptqi_Qlu-WfhBHwFqBj6PBWENW220B4y3WVKY3wHlvnycJUUguNnr9bazdCDEo3qARfDQJKGvQBMmvZ8oEUT5fGYOXXdorD3fBK75-45N/s1600/Uggs+for+tourists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXxQSyTAg0928s6N1c04TQam7pqcdFxUeflrWptqi_Qlu-WfhBHwFqBj6PBWENW220B4y3WVKY3wHlvnycJUUguNnr9bazdCDEo3qARfDQJKGvQBMmvZ8oEUT5fGYOXXdorD3fBK75-45N/s400/Uggs+for+tourists.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And the UGGs sold in stores where only the locals shop:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAnAlz0eM02koxYJVIGXGeolHdkjgS5jlbPXJ57zQzFsyFXI8fn0ucQZSMfrUiq0fyoMO9gIQy8WjrAN9XVFb28qZDSmQU5mljthymYZhx_ty_GyS-IFLplp9IJlp_VH10pzEkDi3Ut8xt/s1600/OZ+Uggs+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAnAlz0eM02koxYJVIGXGeolHdkjgS5jlbPXJ57zQzFsyFXI8fn0ucQZSMfrUiq0fyoMO9gIQy8WjrAN9XVFb28qZDSmQU5mljthymYZhx_ty_GyS-IFLplp9IJlp_VH10pzEkDi3Ut8xt/s400/OZ+Uggs+1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdg4k80UamUJGDC92gN5ksXYN97bEe-h4To-xtHmSyf1G3dNx_ZOUWzGOqC2kvUiQmna1GxjZfp4fgYDmvTZIUo1aDUKvdw9L0qn_WvUjH3o817b_1KmlQwvG9mp03cNyT6cEGPMOu23o/s1600/OZ+Uggs+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdg4k80UamUJGDC92gN5ksXYN97bEe-h4To-xtHmSyf1G3dNx_ZOUWzGOqC2kvUiQmna1GxjZfp4fgYDmvTZIUo1aDUKvdw9L0qn_WvUjH3o817b_1KmlQwvG9mp03cNyT6cEGPMOu23o/s400/OZ+Uggs+2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhod8_m3roCkLNX8QTYTO4jlljvYMMibhuOUv5kabCn19nJLCosCwI5sKyMw6VyMFStkiB_HW7ORk7_KM75MpI3e4bpOtm35Ede0tamXoFI5DJJC70yCGEi2dPjEbSwt0kEW7cEEzCCbWse/s1600/OZ+Uggs+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhod8_m3roCkLNX8QTYTO4jlljvYMMibhuOUv5kabCn19nJLCosCwI5sKyMw6VyMFStkiB_HW7ORk7_KM75MpI3e4bpOtm35Ede0tamXoFI5DJJC70yCGEi2dPjEbSwt0kEW7cEEzCCbWse/s1600/OZ+Uggs+3.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In fact, I almost think it’s a super-secret club of
some sort because the saleswoman in the “real” UGG shop told me I shouldn’t
show any other Americans the “real” UGGs. </span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-53480321752850702112015-08-02T15:55:00.001+10:002015-08-02T15:55:39.663+10:00Cecil the Lion<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Similar to a DJ, I love to take requests for blog
topics.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And this week I had several
messages from loyal blog followers asking that I address “Cecil the Lion.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, first I had to figure out who Cecil the
Lion was.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cecil the Lion did not make the news here in
Australia. However, it was the second
most popular Google search topic in the U.S. last week. I read the newspaper articles, watched the YouTube
clips of all the late night hosts, and I have some information you need to know
if you are going to speak intelligently about this situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The first thing you need to be familiar with is
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora). If you want to know whether
a fish, bird, animal or plant is in danger and needs protection, you can find
out on the CITES website. CITES
categorizes living fauna or flora into one of three “appendices.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Appendix 1 is for animals needing the most
protection because they are in danger of becoming extinct. There are about 1,200 species in appendix 1,
including the <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/gorilla-tracking-part-2.html">mountain gorilla</a></i></b>, the Asian elephant, and all <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/tracking-rhinos-and-pythons.html">rhinos</a></i></b>. In short, it is illegal to trade in Appendix
1 animals without a licensed permit.
According to CITES regulations, Mozambique is permitted to export 60 <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/lions-and-leopards-and-cheetahs-oh-my.html">lions</a></b></i> (as wild-taken trophies) annually so long as the required permits are
obtained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most species (about 21,000) are listed in Appendix 2. They aren’t necessarily likely to become
extinct, but may become so in the future if trade in these animals becomes more
popular. Import permits are not required
from CITES for Appendix 2 species, but individual countries may prohibit these
items from being permitted. For
instance, Australia prohibits importation of almost any animal product
regardless of CITES or anything else because we like to control our borders
like Fort Knox. The great white shark
and the American black bear are Appendix 2 species.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are only about 170 species on Appendix 3. An animal can be listed on Appendix 3 at the
request of any CITES member country because that one country is having trouble
controlling the species. Costa Rica has
placed the two-toed sloth on the CITES Appendix 3 list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now that you have some background, let’s talk about
<i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/a-visit-to-david-sheldrick-wildlife.html">elephants</a></b></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx44RpHx7WmEcsQ2aqzvqbH3uJA1iq5WMU9V64YaVwTzPsdGmEFiYl7T-rQWbxkKXL4DC-OvPO09SyhEMbmx0nXh8TLlmuoBBSdunU1DMByYHwKNTeAyd58zJNB_JFm1cdGnDy0gqaM_F6/s1600/eles1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx44RpHx7WmEcsQ2aqzvqbH3uJA1iq5WMU9V64YaVwTzPsdGmEFiYl7T-rQWbxkKXL4DC-OvPO09SyhEMbmx0nXh8TLlmuoBBSdunU1DMByYHwKNTeAyd58zJNB_JFm1cdGnDy0gqaM_F6/s400/eles1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/ch-ch-ch-chobe.html">Botswana</a></b></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, elephants are a CITES Appendix 2 animal.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That means they are NOT in
danger of extinction.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This means that
Botswana has every right to allow </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/where-in-world-is-dr-phelan-botswana.html">hunting</a></b></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> of elephants.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">However, because Botswana likes to play Big
Brother to Africa, and rightfully so, they’ve earned that honour, Botswana
decided to banish elephant hunting 18 months ago.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And Botswana is REALLY regretting that decision
right now.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Botswana figured if it got
rid of hunting other countries would follow suit.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Other countries have not necessarily followed
Botswana’s lead, and there have been some negative repercussions for Botswana
because the elephant population is now exceeding carrying capacity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Botswana has half the elephant population in Africa,
and one-third of the entire elephant population in the world. Previously, when elephant hunting in Botswana
was allowed it was strictly limited. I
think they only sold about 100 permits a year.
At $100,000 a piece. That’s $10 million
dollars in permits only. Then they also
had to hire guides, hunters, pay for accommodation, transportation, and plenty
of other services while in country. At a
conservative estimate let’s call that $25-30 million in economic impact from
hunters ONLY.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, here’s the deal. You can’t just kill one elephant. Elephants understand when one of their herd
dies from natural causes or from an attack by a predator. They do NOT understand when a family member
is killed by a human. Herds are
typically about 30-50 elephants. When
one is killed by a human the rest of the herd goes rogue and can’t deal with
the depression. So, one hunter kills one
elephant (for the permit he purchased) and then the village that is responsible
for that permit kills the rest of the herd.
This is called culling a herd.
This may sound cruel, but it isn’t.
The elephant which the hunter killed, and the rest of the herd, is used
to feed the village for the year. So,
while this is generating a lot of money for the government and the village, it
is also a form of subsistence living.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Back to today.
We have over 200,000 elephants in Botswana. When we used to hunt, we used to eliminate
about 5,000 elephants each year, which helped to control the elephant
population. The population continued to
grow, but not at the fast rate which it grows today because there is no
external method of controlling it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Adult elephants eat about 300-400 pounds of food a
DAY! And they are herbivores. That means they eat grass. What else in Africa eats grass? Giraffes, zebras, rhinos, impala, and the
vast majority of African wildlife.
Elephants also live to be about 70 and they eventually starve to death
because their teeth wear out and they can’t actually get enough nutrients to
survive. So, in truth, I think killing a
60 year old elephant is actually very humane.
But, back to the food issue. As a
result of the growing elephant population in Botswana other species have
actually decreased in number because they are competing for the same food.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">OK, now let’s talk about Cecil. In truth, I find it rather difficult to talk
about the Cecil situation because there has been so much media coverage, and media
is there to sell a story. I’ve read and
hear a lot of conflicting reports, so I think it’s a bit difficult to know the
truth from the fanaticism about this story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I will say is that there is a HUGE difference
between poaching and hunting. I actually
just wrote a research article on this topic.
Perhaps I should write a blog post summarising that academic article. The poaching you hear about is normally of
elephants in <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/a-few-days-with-maasai_1.html">Kenya</a></b></i> and <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/climb-evry-mountain.html">Tanzania</a></b></i>. The
poaching that occurs there is truly unfortunate and in most cases the money
earned from these illegal activities is used to support extremist, terrorist
groups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hunting in Africa is closely regulated. There are permits that must be obtained,
particular rules that must be followed, and the legal repercussions are worse
than any social ostracism you could possibly experience in the U.S. The locations which permit hunting are highly
dependent on that income and there are strict requirements regarding how the
meat must be utilized. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In short, if the hunt was TRULY illegal then I’m
against it. However, <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/who-wants-to-be-millionaire-no-one-here.html">Zimbabwe</a></i></b>
is no saint. Mugabe’s government has
been corrupt from the beginning, he has been guilty of human rights violations
for years, and <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/less-talk-and-more-pictures-from-unwto.html">he’s starving his people</a></b></i>.
The hunters involved in the Cecil situation were thrown in jail, and Zimbabwe’s
call to extradite the dentist is likely an attempt to sensationalize this and
drag the U.S. into negotiations for something.
If the U.S. elects to extradite the American dentist to Zimbabwe it will
be his death sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you are unfamiliar with Mugabe, this </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Nando’s </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(a popular South African fast
food chain) commercial depicts him with Kim Jun Un, </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/heading-to-pearl-of-africa.html">Idi Amin</a></b></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, Gaddafi, Saddam
Hussain, and all the other 20</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> century dictators.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The commercial is pretty accurate as Mugabe IS
the last one standing:</span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PYnL5oUePM8" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-65532726786656561032015-07-30T17:49:00.002+10:002015-07-30T17:49:39.630+10:00The Ben & Jerry’s Human Development Index<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When I travel I love to visit grocery stores.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I think this is an excellent way of
determining the cost of living, the local tastes and it’s an interesting
opportunity for people watching and seeing how people interact with one another
and the level of customer service.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Africa, the <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/one-by-one.html">grocery stores were a bit unusual</a></i></b>. If you found something you
liked you bought it immediately because you never knew if you would see it
again. I saw lots of unusual products,
like <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/the-late-show-from-botswana-top-ten.html">eland, kudu and warthog</a></i></b>. And it was
always fun to try and explain a product you desired and have the salesperson
give up and <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/here-have-condom.html">offer you a condom</a></i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Italy I remember seeing baby food made from
horsemeat. In India, we drank <i>Thumbs Up!</i> soda. And in China I tried durian, which kind of
looks like a spiky watermelon and smells like feet. But in the end, after trying whatever exotic
and strange food (zebra testicles anyone?) is available I navigate myself towards
the ice cream selection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Each year the United Nations publishes the Human
Development Index. Using three statistical
indices: life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, and per capita
income, the UN rates each country in terms of “development.” Some countries, such as North Korea and
Somalia are not rated due to the lack of information. All other countries are rated from low to
medium to high to very high development.
Most western countries (Australia, the US, Germany, etc.) are considered
very high, while <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/to-hellholes-and-back.html">most of Africa is low</a></b></i>.
<a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/applying-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs.html"><i><b>Botswana</b></i></a>, <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/soweto-south-africas-largest-and-most.html">South Africa</a></b></i> and <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/the-himba-people-of-namibia.html">Namibia</a></b></i> are medium.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While the UN Human Development Index is all well and
good, I prefer my method of measuring human development: Ben & Jerry’s ice
cream. Obviously, in countries where Ben
& Jerry’s is absent, there is low (or maybe medium) development. Countries which sell Ben & Jerry’s are
naturally high or very highly developed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, I take my analysis one step further. I like to examine the price point of Ben
& Jerry’s to determine the cost of living.
In the U.S. the price of a pint of Ben & Jerry’s is roughly $4. Four years ago, when I took my students to
Switzerland, a pint was €11.90, which is about US$13.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvx3u8uYnlr6Fj2il2_dCXX77sENqtGV6LTWo0ORAVlinUTV89u_0vgMRFVY23MIuWHEzW70UXXw9nzsoqvZeyjdYtZLfTNj2nDiplnppt69yqws9R8lmYw6TT7P5Ew79I01t6jZreb-mz/s1600/Swiss+BJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvx3u8uYnlr6Fj2il2_dCXX77sENqtGV6LTWo0ORAVlinUTV89u_0vgMRFVY23MIuWHEzW70UXXw9nzsoqvZeyjdYtZLfTNj2nDiplnppt69yqws9R8lmYw6TT7P5Ew79I01t6jZreb-mz/s400/Swiss+BJ.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here in Australia, we are looking at AUD$12.50, which
is equivalent to US$9.15:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrQ-CjVHgSK9UN_Mm5uQQa6-ql4qzym5FG3_ua7a1rorNq9KW-zRSAhRA04_KHnKxvII2loNljpn9H6x3N1feqfqHa40MxDv3Hv9ixx6Jnm-yPZn8sYiqTTfbcswDZj8qGGJ8OqkWkZZW/s1600/Australia+BJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrQ-CjVHgSK9UN_Mm5uQQa6-ql4qzym5FG3_ua7a1rorNq9KW-zRSAhRA04_KHnKxvII2loNljpn9H6x3N1feqfqHa40MxDv3Hv9ixx6Jnm-yPZn8sYiqTTfbcswDZj8qGGJ8OqkWkZZW/s320/Australia+BJ.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In conclusion, according to the Ben & Jerry’s
Human Development Index, the U.S., Australia and Switzerland are all very highly
developed since they all sell Ben & Jerry’s.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">However, it is evident that the cost of
living is higher in Australia, and still higher in Switzerland, than the U.S.
as demonstrated by Ben & Jerry’s being more than twice as expensive in
Australia and more than three times as expensive in Switzerland than in the
U.S.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My academic superhero is Hans Rosling, a Swedish
academic who conducts research on human development statistics.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am going to tell him about my Ben &
Jerry’s Human Development Index and see what he thinks.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Maybe my </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/citation-nation.html">1,000 citations</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> are right around the
corner!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-43275797149259656742015-07-26T17:30:00.000+10:002015-07-26T17:30:02.171+10:00The Big Book of Baby Names<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve decided not to buy a car here in Brisbane.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Public transportation is good, parking and
petrol are expensive, and I can’t imagine I would really need a car that
often.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I figure if I need to make a trip
in a car I will just rent one for the weekend.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But I’ve ridden in cars as a passenger a few times
since my arrival. There are a few things
I’ve noticed during these outings:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1. Everyone has a GPS. And the GPS isn’t always that useful. There is a giant river running through
Brisbane, there are only a few bridges open to vehicles, and most of the
streets are either one way, or two lanes, one running in each direction. So one wrong turn, or getting stuck behind an
accident can easily delay your commute for an hour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2. I often feel as if we are driving too close to
the medians and that we are about to jump a curb. Throughout most of my time in Africa I lived
in countries where they drove on the left.
In fact, I even took <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/ke-ja-lebidi-driving-school-poor-skills.html">driving lessons</a> </i></b>and got my <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/learning-to-drive-again-african-style.html">Botswana driver’s license</a></b></i>. But there are lots of very
tight roundabouts and traffic calming measures which often make me feel like we
are about to crash at any moment, and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3. Everyone <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/why-not-trythings-whats-in-name.html">names</a></i></b> their cars. In fact, some people
not only name their cars, they also name their portable GPS. In the last few days I have met Pearl (a
beautiful Subaru BRZ sports car), Sheryl (a portable GPS who got us lost downtown in the middle of Friday night rush hour), and Belinda (which it seems
is not only a very popular car name, but the <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/why-not-trythings-whats-in-name.html">most common female name</a></i></b> here).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Funny enough, I was just noticing the car/GPS naming
prevalence, and then last night on the news they were talking about the most
popular car names in Australia.
Approximately half of all Australians name their cars and if the names
aren’t related to the car make, model or colour (Suzy- for a Suzuki or Getzy-
for the Hyundai Getz), then movie characters seem to be popular. Some of the top choices were Kermit and Bumblebee
(from Transformers).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The number 1 car name? That’s right. Dory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn08LdD5jt2wBsT7eZ-qwRytRVPaiXTNMSoY-gdOYOi2kB8ivVjasWJ6oFJUVWMSHmRoYqVp_jlNEj7iMfEVdEBLXjHCn7HPmQmSxFUzmr5eGD353Wlks_6W25In2r97jcnNTXzV4E1UR9/s1600/dory.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn08LdD5jt2wBsT7eZ-qwRytRVPaiXTNMSoY-gdOYOi2kB8ivVjasWJ6oFJUVWMSHmRoYqVp_jlNEj7iMfEVdEBLXjHCn7HPmQmSxFUzmr5eGD353Wlks_6W25In2r97jcnNTXzV4E1UR9/s320/dory.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But my favourite part of the news story was the
comparison the newscasters made between car names in Australia and baby names
in the U.S.: “Dory and Kermit may be a little cartoonish, but they are more practical
than what Hollywood celebrities name their kids: Summer Rain? Buzz Michelangelo?
North West?</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Is this a kid or a compass?”</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-19301945120491282422015-07-23T22:47:00.000+10:002015-07-23T22:47:08.651+10:00Call Me Maybe, But Probably Not: The Sim Card Blues<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A couple years ago my father and I went to see the
movie </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jack Reacher</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tom Cruise was in the movie and there were
lots of explosions.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the take-away
for me was that Tom Cruise’s character lived “off the grid.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He didn’t have a phone or a credit card.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And the government agencies weren’t exactly
sure who he was because he didn’t have a driver’s license or any legal photo identification
to match his name.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Until this week I
didn’t believe it was possible to live like Jack Reacher, that is, until I
realized I don’t really exist in Australia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most people cannot survive a day without their
smartphone. For me, I gave up my iPhone
when I went to<b><i> <a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/where-in-world-is-dr-phelan-botswana.html" target="_blank">Africa</a></i></b> and haven’t had one since. When I got to Australia, UQ bought me a new
iPhone; however, it’s my responsibility to get a sim card and pay the bill. The good thing is, phone plans are super
cheap here compared to in the U.S. The bad news is that it’s practically
impossible to get a phone plan if you aren’t a natural born Australian. For a week now I’ve been trying to obtain
service and am no closer to success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Several days ago I tried to order a sim card online
through one of the major phone companies.
I was having trouble with the ordering itself because I didn’t have a
lot of the information, so I used the “chat with customer service”
feature. Talking to a real person?
Good. Getting the real person to
understand I’m new to Australia and don’t have basic, everyday things like most
others? Not so easy. I won’t recount the full hour long (actually,
almost 90 minute) conversation, but here are the highlights:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Phone company rep: What’s your address?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: I don’t have an address yet. I don’t move into my permanent home for two
weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">PCR: Ok, well,
what’s your last address?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: The U.S., so I don’t think that really helps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">PCR: Hmmm… well I need to run a credit check. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: I don’t have an Australian credit card. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">PCR: Ok,
well, if you don’t have an address or an Australian credit card, give me your
phone number and I can use that to run your credit check.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: I don’t have a phone number. That’s why I’m contacting you to get a sim
card and phone number.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">PCR: Do you have a utility bill that shows your
address?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: No, I don’t.
I don’t have a utility bill yet because I don’t have a house to live in
yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If this conversation reminds you of another blog post I wrote about <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/if-at-first-you-dont-succeed-lower-your.html"><span id="goog_28485495"></span>African efficiency <span id="goog_28485496"></span></a></b></i>you are correct! I'm pretty sure the people I dealt with in Africa when I was <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/the-id-saga-continues.html" target="_blank">trying to get a UB ID card </a></b></i>and <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/the-terminal-2-coming-soon.html">extend my residence permit </a></b></i>may be related to the phone company people here in Australia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can’t be sure exactly what happened, but after 90
minutes of back and forth, sending them copies of my permanent residency visa,
giving them my employment information, and a whole bunch of other information,
I was approved for a phone number and sim card.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fast forward to today. Since I don’t have a permanent address where
I live yet they couldn’t send the sim card to me directly. Instead they sent the card to the post office
and told me where to pick it up. I went
to the post office and we played the same game:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Post Office Clerk: Ok, I’ll need a passport and two
other forms of ID.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: Here’s my passport, my U.S. license and my
permanent residency visa. Will that
work?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">POC: No, I’m afraid not. The passport is good, but the other two aren’t. Ok, do you have a medicare card yet?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: No.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">POC: Utility bill?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: No, I haven’t moved into my house yet so I
don’t have a utility bill. That’s why I’m picking this up at the post office.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">POC: Ok, what’s
your phone number?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly: I don’t have one. That’s why I’m buying a sim card.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">POC: So, I
guess that means you don’t have a copy of a phone bill to give me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kelly:
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s right.
I started to cry! And the post
office clerk began to panic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m typically not much of a crier. Most of my students reading this are probably
laughing because I am normally the person who MAKES OTHER PEOPLE CRY! It’s not a hobby for me; I don’t go out of my
way to make others cry. But it
definitely happens. And it is normally
related to grades.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But as I was saying, I cried because I didn’t have
enough identifying information to get my mail, so I could get my sim card, so I
could use my phone to talk to friends that I don’t even have! Ridiculous, I know. But, sometimes, when you move abroad it’s the
little things that make you want to tear your hair out. You know that song, “Call Me Maybe?” Well, if I ever get a sim card to put in my
fancy new phone, that’s going to be my ringtone. Or perhaps I will record my own version, “Call
Me Maybe, But Probably Not.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bSn0uFhaqxpOl-bNoEaWUDagw1Dk5Ywe6ER_CqAFeE6A2VQxCexZdx_WYHWM3Fx8giv-QJdVTCuI2BLX5Y1kgagG6A0L27WWQkfH_wIcte-iNIb_7rPS38K5-T5vPO-0PS-pd6VxhY3H/s1600/crying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bSn0uFhaqxpOl-bNoEaWUDagw1Dk5Ywe6ER_CqAFeE6A2VQxCexZdx_WYHWM3Fx8giv-QJdVTCuI2BLX5Y1kgagG6A0L27WWQkfH_wIcte-iNIb_7rPS38K5-T5vPO-0PS-pd6VxhY3H/s400/crying.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-78204803793305226042015-07-19T21:32:00.000+10:002015-07-19T21:32:14.437+10:00Citation Nation<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
As an
undergrad, I didn’t fully understand what professors did. I would like to say that now that I am a
professor I comprehend this better, but I still can’t be sure.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
At
Hopkins, where I did my undergrad, to a certain extent the professors had a
poor reputation amongst the undergrads.
That’s not entirely true. We
loved them. But at times we also loved
to hate them. I remember having a conversation
with some peers which equated to, “What does that guy do anyway? He teaches one class a semester. He lectures two hours a week, his TAs do all
his grading, and he’s never on campus.
How do they justify paying him six figures?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
You know
what obnoxious undergrads who say those nasty things become when they grow
up? That’s right. They become THAT GUY! And so, almost twenty years later I am THAT
GUY.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
If you
aren’t an academic, or closely related to one, chances are you don’t fully
understand what professors do. Let me give you a quick overview. In theory we teach, but not really. If a professor works at a community college,
liberal arts college or “teaching” university, chances are they teach four
classes a semester and don’t get paid particularly well for the massive amount
of work they do. When a professor is
employed by a research-focused university, they teach less (perhaps only one or
two classes a semester) and are expected to publish. The more research intensive a university is, such
as Johns Hopkins, the less they teach and the more they research.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
The University
of Queensland, where I recently began working, is one of Australia’s “Group of
8” universities. Basically, it’s an Australian
Ivy League school. It is also ranked among
the top 50 universities in the world. Suffice to say, they expect us to do a
lot of research here. I’m excited for
the challenge of being a faculty member in a very research intensive
university. However, with that challenge
comes a new set of expectations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Those
higher expectations affect our long-term careers in terms of promotions and
tenure. Tenure is when an institution grants a faculty member job security for
life for attaining a certain level of achievement. Tenure at each university is a little
different. For instance, at a teaching
institution, tenure is based primarily upon teaching scores. At research institutions, your publication
record is more heavily weighted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
I
received tenure at my previous (U.S.) institution a few years ago. When I chose to leave and come to Australia
my tenure was not honoured (which is pretty typical), particularly because I
was moving up to a more highly ranked and competitive university. I don’t start from scratch, but I have a few
more boxes to tick before I get tenure here.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
At my
previous institution (1<sup>st</sup> U), tenure was straightforward. We had to have about 10 journal articles
published within five years of our start date.
We could publish in any good journal we wanted related to hospitality and
tourism. There are roughly 100 decent hospitality
and tourism journals.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Last year
when I was doing interviews, I was at university X (a research university)
where I was told to publish in their list of required journals. If I published outside university X’s list
(which consisted of about 18 journals) then my articles wouldn’t count toward
tenure. I was also told half of my
publications needed to be in SSCI rated journals. There are 11 SSCI journals in my field. In case you are curious, I was offered the job at university X but elected to come to UQ instead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Now that
I’m in Australia, I’m expected to publish in journals ranked by the Australian
Business Dean’s College (ABDC). Ideally,
I should be publishing in A and A* ranked ABDC journals. Incidentally, there are about eight ABDC A
and A* journals (which are also SSCI journals).
Do you see how this field has shrunk from 100 journals to fewer than a
dozen?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
However,
now there is an additional hoop to jump through: citations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
A few
years ago a grad student asked me how important I thought citations were. I told him I had never heard anyone mention
them as being important. 1<sup>st</sup> U
didn’t care about citations. University
X never said anything about citations; they were focused on their own list and
SSCI journals. It now appears that
citations are what separates the men from the boys.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Citations
are when someone writes a journal article and they refer (cite, reference) to an article which I
wrote earlier. The point is, you can’t
just do research and publish it anywhere.
You have to publish in good journals.
And now, you can’t just publish in good journals. Now you have to publish in good journals AND
get people to talk about your work in their articles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
And now
for the burning question:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
How many
citations do you need for tenure Kelly?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Excellent
question. Drum roll please…. ONE
THOUSAND!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Oh
wow. Kelly, that’s a lot. How many do you have?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Not that
many!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
I basically
have to increase my current number of citations five-fold.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
So, to
all those aspiring future professors out there, may I offer you a piece of
advice? Pay attention to your
citations. Every year the job market
becomes more competitive and the requirements for tenure become more
rigorous. I can’t possibly imagine what
the next benchmark will be for tenure and promotion, but chances are they will
be even greater. Since Ron Burgandy (Anchorman) makes everything better:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVEApEk8L9UtTYP3ciQxzfHyeEuN2c1uscLzTkffc0-9FJ8W9ZNU7KkDUyNV8UE1_r9A-ZRP3j6Etmk7zEL2BzQ81F2wk6rc7K31hqWNp-1EYUjKr80_-g3mriuuiElrcUGlUz85xf-27i/s1600/RON1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVEApEk8L9UtTYP3ciQxzfHyeEuN2c1uscLzTkffc0-9FJ8W9ZNU7KkDUyNV8UE1_r9A-ZRP3j6Etmk7zEL2BzQ81F2wk6rc7K31hqWNp-1EYUjKr80_-g3mriuuiElrcUGlUz85xf-27i/s400/RON1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-66460742009046208292015-07-16T19:00:00.000+10:002015-07-16T19:00:02.092+10:00Neighbours<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s right, Neighb</span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">OU</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">rs.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We are in Australia now.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We have to spell like them, even if we- the
royal “we” that is- don’t talk like them, yet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Neighbours</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
is the longest running soap opera in Australia.
It’s like <i>General Hospital</i>
Down Under. The main difference is that <i>Neighbours </i>is actually believable. No one ever got in a car accident, was in a
coma for 10 years, then woke up, had amnesia, was mauled by a bear, then
decapitated, had his body frozen and was cloned and is now his own brother in <i>Neighbours</i>. I’m not sure if that exact plot line was used
in <i>General Hospital</i>, but I believe
bits and pieces were in there. Then
again, I don’t watch American soap operas, so I am basing this off of what Joey
talked about as a soap opera star when <i>Friends
</i>was still on the air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course, this blog post has nothing to do with <i>Neighbours</i> or any other soap opera. This has to do with MY neighbours. Want to see my neighbours?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The other day I was walking through the park and
there were three kangaroos just hanging out.
Literately, they just laid there. They were not nearly as exciting as I
hoped they would be. After waiting
around for a good 20 minutes for them to do something interesting I got bored
and walked off. Here they are just chillin’:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvUEbm_59EgHxfOaR1G90iZJEV4WeL42p-Ss1BOV3gUP6Ivd03LOwJMsNfcLUhqBU91d5qKfRZnWOmTkjTHGAc6vJ1LUkmykMAD1U_ShlUelfSm7QVQdQ9RY4K3ImIu3EZs_njBE3peIt/s1600/6-7-15+misc+054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvUEbm_59EgHxfOaR1G90iZJEV4WeL42p-Ss1BOV3gUP6Ivd03LOwJMsNfcLUhqBU91d5qKfRZnWOmTkjTHGAc6vJ1LUkmykMAD1U_ShlUelfSm7QVQdQ9RY4K3ImIu3EZs_njBE3peIt/s400/6-7-15+misc+054.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Later on I saw a wombat.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wombats are marsupials, and like the
kangaroo, are native to Australia.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Marsupials are mammals which carry their offspring in a pouch.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Koalas, possums and the Tasmanian devil are
also marsupials:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggneNZQEA10r9Ol_EDjvSFJoXAl71U1APo164lmC2ktlyYlVHMztXApKSGiwXjQwug9NsSsrv9GYJE9hV6vrJLZaINikuAy_xCNqVHOaaCbjnDy9MdA__0I3Q8R9z6JY7DXxoW8DGEJ0Ea/s1600/6-7-15+misc+055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggneNZQEA10r9Ol_EDjvSFJoXAl71U1APo164lmC2ktlyYlVHMztXApKSGiwXjQwug9NsSsrv9GYJE9hV6vrJLZaINikuAy_xCNqVHOaaCbjnDy9MdA__0I3Q8R9z6JY7DXxoW8DGEJ0Ea/s400/6-7-15+misc+055.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unlike my other neighbours, the </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/welcome-to-jurassic-oz.html" target="_blank">Laughing Kookaburra and Koel</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">,
the wombat and kangaroos were quiet as could be.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-35268194452185990342015-07-12T20:30:00.000+10:002015-07-12T20:30:34.618+10:00The National Passport Center: "No Hope for the Desperate”<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
At my
previous university, I had a reputation for being particularly tough on my students. In fact, I was once told I was “heartless.” Many of my undergrads fondly recall the day
when I kicked one of their peers out of class for texting. Of course, my graduate students would
probably argue you haven’t felt pain until you’ve experienced the <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/the-late-show-from-botswana-top-ten.html" target="_blank">“Mighty Red Pen of Phelan”</a></i></b>. Then again,
I tend to receive emails from them after graduation telling me how they miss
the “Mighty Red Pen;” perhaps they are all masochists.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Nevertheless,
I’ve never been known for being particularly…. I’m not sure. How should I say this?....Warm and
fuzzy? I’ve never seen a semester go by
without a student- a grown man student that is- coming into the office and
telling me I’m intimidating and then grovelling for something. Given my alleged lack of compassion,
bargaining for grades, “rounding up” (ha! Insert eye-roll here), and offering
extra credit or make-up assignments are of no interest to me. I’m told none of those things occur here at
UQ, but stay tuned as I will let you know when I find out if this is true.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
While I
don’t believe in extra credit, I used to offer my students “extra effort”
opportunities. There was never a
specific number of points they could earn to boost their grades, but I told
them they could present a relevant current event article which related to the
class in which they were enrolled. Last
semester, one of the girls in my Tourism class told us that the U.S. government
was going to stop allowing people to add extra pages to their passports. This was the most useful extra effort
presentation I’ve ever seen… because it related directly to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
For most
people, extra <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/proud-to-be-american.html" target="_blank">passport </a></b></i>pages are a non-issue issue. For me, they are a big issue. When you get your passport you have about 50
pages. If you fill up all those pages
you can send in your passport to the State Department and add another 50
pages. If you fill those up, you can go through
the same process a second time. My passport
was issued in 2011. Before I went to
Africa I had pages added. After Africa I
had four blank pages, which I knew would never last me until my passport
expires in six years. Given my move to
Australia, and after finding out after December of this year new pages can no
longer be added, I decided to apply for new pages now. (After December 2015 if you run out of pages
before your passport expires you have to get a whole new passport. This is a bigger deal for me since I’m living
outside the U.S. and my Australian visa is tied to my current passport number.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
I came
out to Australia to visit the first week of May. The day after I arrived back in the U.S. I
sent in my passport so I could get my new pages. According to the State Department website, it
takes 4-6 weeks to process a passport.
At 5 ½ weeks I hadn’t received the passport and the online tracking site
was “down” and directed me to call the National Passport Center.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
It took
six attempts before my call finally went through. During the first five calls I was either
disconnected while going through the automatic messaging system or the call never
connected in the first place. On the
sixth attempt I was put into the queue and forced to listen to the same
dreadful music continuously for 49 minutes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
At minute
49 Evelyn picked up and told me she couldn’t give me any information at all,
aside from saying the passport had been received. I did find out however that more than 500
people work at the National Passport Center answering the phones (apparently
none of them are able to answer your questions about your passport either, so
don’t bother asking), the passports are indeed processed in the United States,
not outsourced to India or Mexico, and even if you call at the start of the
business day Evelyn does not have a sense of humour (I would hate to call at
4pm, eh!). That led me to ask for her
supervisor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Twenty-six
minutes later Nathan answered. My first
question to him was, “What is the name of that song I’ve been listening to for
the last hour? Oh? You don’t know? I’m pretty sure I know the name. I believe it is ‘No Hope for the Desperate’.”
Nathan thought that was hilarious by the
way. He must be the token person at NPC
with a sense of humour. While I enjoyed
my conversation with Nathan (we have the same birthdate by the way) the
conversation ended with, “Well, you can pay an extra $60 to have the passport
rushed, but to be honest, they won’t guarantee it will be processed within two
weeks (when I needed to depart for OZ).”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
In the
end I received my passport in time. In
fact, “rushing” works! I actually had
the passport in three days. Not too bad.
Here is my advice for you:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->If you travel a lot,
don’t have many empty passport pages, and your passport doesn’t expire for a
while, get your extra pages now. After
December you won’t have this option.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->If you need to renew
your passport (or get extra pages) give yourself at least two months between
when you send in your passport and your next trip.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->If you can’t comfortably
be without your passport for two months, pay the rush fee up front so you don’t
have to worry about it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->If you have a question
about your passport, don’t bother calling NPC.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->If you refuse to
listen to #4 and insist on calling NPC and Evelyn answers tell her I said
hi. Then immediately ask to talk to
Nathan. When Nathan answers ask him the
name of the song played while you were waiting.
If he doesn’t know the name, tell him you believe it is called, ‘No Hope
for the Desperate.” Then tell Nathan I
said ‘Hi.’”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
In case
you were curious what an extra-large passport looks like here you go. On the left is my passport which now nears
the size of a phone book, and on the right is an original passport without any
extra pages added.:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatnnyGtx0Bc4fhaNBpWxByZYahbX9uQ99C5vmbaEZvBFt5G07YgbwzZQ7OKaUPQ7wKvN8DjOwXwEUebPGwLlAxP_U7OmKGN5q8UED8PeqfN_o6U_OZfqAGenCuHZp6-V6phuH1nIJO6L2/s1600/6-7-15+misc+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatnnyGtx0Bc4fhaNBpWxByZYahbX9uQ99C5vmbaEZvBFt5G07YgbwzZQ7OKaUPQ7wKvN8DjOwXwEUebPGwLlAxP_U7OmKGN5q8UED8PeqfN_o6U_OZfqAGenCuHZp6-V6phuH1nIJO6L2/s400/6-7-15+misc+029.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoP4_5Dr0F9Ts0IVKggPZbMFc8JfWe_hN5Hvb2743Wiq6k0w-LCC27t_dlUvMWmNCfdE2-aReNV0xWQsPmSaxZil005hovmysUpVCJqbRbJ2MDm7qlaV_EIr1ENOgSrFG5hA4YRcJVOe66/s1600/6-7-15+misc+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoP4_5Dr0F9Ts0IVKggPZbMFc8JfWe_hN5Hvb2743Wiq6k0w-LCC27t_dlUvMWmNCfdE2-aReNV0xWQsPmSaxZil005hovmysUpVCJqbRbJ2MDm7qlaV_EIr1ENOgSrFG5hA4YRcJVOe66/s400/6-7-15+misc+031.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Happy
Travelling!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-52538202909307692232015-07-09T20:35:00.000+10:002015-07-09T20:35:24.103+10:00Welcome to Jurassic Oz!<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
About a
week before I departed for Australia I went to the movies with my family to see
the new “Jurassic World” movie. If you
haven’t seen it yet, I don’t want to ruin it for you. But I will say that in one scene dozens of giant,
flying dinosaurs escape their cage and attack visitors to the theme park. (Side note: If you have ever worked, or even
visited, a Disney park you will undoubtedly recognize that Jurassic World looks
eerily similar. Throughout the entire movie I kept reminiscing about my time
working at Disney and thinking, “Wow, that job was interesting, but nothing
THIS dramatic ever happened.”)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
As I was
saying, in the movie, giant, flying dinosaurs attack the theme park guests. During
this scene, the flying dinos were making a lot of noise; something between the
roar of the t-rex (courtesy of Hollywood imagineers) and the squawk of an
oversized bird of some sort.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
At 5am
every morning I wake up in Brisbane, believing I am about to be carried off by
a flock of loud, airborne monsters. Welcome
to Jurassic Oz!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/06/one-final-safari.html" target="_blank"><b><i>One of my favourite things about living in Africa was the animals</i></b></a>. Of course, now I’m exposed to a whole host of
different animals, which is exciting.
The difference is, for the most part, the animals in Africa were pretty
quiet. Here, they never shut up. I was actually in a meeting the other day and
the Koels were so loud we could barely hear one another. Here are the two birds which have made the
most significant impression on me thus far:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Here’s the
Laughing Kookaburra. It is actually a
very pretty bird, but as you hear, it laughs constantly:</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S0ZbykXlg6Q" width="459"></iframe><br />
And then here is the Koel. Keep in mind, in Brisbane these are the most common bird, so you never see just one, you normally see big groups of them (50+):<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GoBlkaGJk4s" width="480"></iframe><br />
That’s today’s news for you from Down Under. I’ll write about some of our other wildlife soon, you know, the kind that can kill you- sharks, jellyfish, spiders, etc.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-78004892234080960272015-07-06T07:10:00.000+10:002015-07-06T07:10:00.267+10:00Moving Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
In all
honesty, I’m already in Australia; I arrived a week ago. Moving day actually occurred
back in mid-April, however, many people have asked me, “How’s the move going?,”
so I thought it best to take a step back and record those details. Also, during my last few weeks on campus in Texas, a
few colleagues approached me to say they were thinking, “Moving abroad sounds
like fun! I think I’ll do it too. Tell
me what I need to know.” Well, you asked
and I have answered. May this (and the
next few posts) be your guide.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
The first
thing to know about moving abroad is: Moving abroad SUCKS! If your first major move is a move overseas I
highly advise against this. You need to
start small and build up your tolerance to frustration, irritation, impatience
and disappointment. First you need to
(1) move across town, then (2) move somewhere else in your state, if you can
stomach that (3) move to another state, then (4) move cross country, and
finally (5) do a “test” international move by doing a one-year sabbatical overseas,
such as a <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/how-to-write-successful-fulbright.html" target="_blank">Fulbright</a></i></b>. There is
actually more information related to step #5, but I’ll get to that in a future
post.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Once you’ve
completed steps 1-5 and you’re confident you want to go all in and “permanently”
move overseas, there are a few things you need to do. First you need to get a job, a sponsorship,
and a visa of some sort. Then you have to decide what you want to do with all
your stuff. This is where living a
minimalist lifestyle is helpful. The
funny thing is, a few years ago there was a flood in my house, and all the
furniture was destroyed along with plenty of other personal belongings. I never replaced those things because I knew
I was going to be in Africa for over a year.
And then I still didn’t replace them when I returned to the U.S., so in
all reality, I don’t really have much to my name. Nevertheless, I still culled a large portion of
my belongings for this move.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Whether
you are a minimalist or not you have to find a company to ship your
things. This is where the headache
really begins. UQ required me to obtain three official quotes. The problem was no one wanted to do a “small”
international move, so it took over a month of emails to more than two dozen
companies to finally find three which would actually give me quotes. In general, companies want you to do a full
container shipment for an overseas move, which costs approximately $30,000 (to
Australia). Half container shipments are
also possible, but less preferred. A
full container (see below) can pretty much fit all the contents of a normal
four bedroom-house. If you can’t fill a full (or half) container you can in ship
smaller cartons called lift vans.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTmSdjYwYadMS8XE5jS66E0a1C5hrm6Cl5elcnLGCj5IrO1vMd07f_NQU6NHDEE-fC9svCRIyg-B4wANUsQPciOzI-AfFIDxfveKES_tk54hyBrsoHpMbdJ1trBPqDmBsCUrRcr6hEHzI/s1600/container.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTmSdjYwYadMS8XE5jS66E0a1C5hrm6Cl5elcnLGCj5IrO1vMd07f_NQU6NHDEE-fC9svCRIyg-B4wANUsQPciOzI-AfFIDxfveKES_tk54hyBrsoHpMbdJ1trBPqDmBsCUrRcr6hEHzI/s400/container.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
The
contract you sign with the moving company is only the beginning. After you do that you have to apply for an
Employer Identification Number (EIN) through the IRS. An EIN classifies you as a business entity,
which of course you don’t need. But it is
the only way you are allowed you to export things overseas.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
You also
have to fill out an Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement. This is an inventory of everything being
shipped. You also have to sign all kinds
of statements swearing you haven’t sent prohibited items. Some items prohibited from being shipped to
Australia include: drugs of any kind (Ok, that doesn’t seem so bad), weapons
including martial arts equipment (What if I’m a pro MMA fighter?), articles
manufactured from wildlife (What about my cheetah skin rug? Apparently that is a no.), and “material
which may be cause offence to a reasonable adult” (which includes a VERY long
list of things ranging from child porn to bestiality. Yes, those were all listed on the form.).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Other fun
forms you have to fill out include your power of attorney, client contact form,
transit protection application, and proof of insurance. In case you weren’t keeping track that’s nine
different documents before the movers have even set the appointment to come to
your house to pick up your stuff.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
I will
give myself a little pat on the back because apparently I am a “master mover”
as claimed by both my friends who stopped by on moving day for emotional
support and the movers themselves.
Oh! One more thing… when moving
abroad, you can’t pack your belongings yourself. I’m not 100% sure I understand the logic of that
rule, but that is the policy. Despite
knowing this I did pack my things before moving day and then the movers
promptly took everything out of my boxes and repacked them in their boxes. But, because I was already organized my
moving day took… drum roll please… two hours and 43 minutes. That’s right folks! Record time.
It may have been due to this:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Blue
signs with red tape which meant “Do NOT move!”:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7nK4GAtcvYltydUgsFg3h70mEK_TNmTpujBMxvQwLIc9ih9cWd9gEL47DOCI6xUDgucoA3SvEFO10tZ__aiR_etlQJt868JnZlEEYEveCrdYF3cbjhEEU7FEn4qUOmkG2ISfeoEPwrBfd/s1600/6-7-15+misc+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7nK4GAtcvYltydUgsFg3h70mEK_TNmTpujBMxvQwLIc9ih9cWd9gEL47DOCI6xUDgucoA3SvEFO10tZ__aiR_etlQJt868JnZlEEYEveCrdYF3cbjhEEU7FEn4qUOmkG2ISfeoEPwrBfd/s400/6-7-15+misc+011.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Pink
signs grouped like items together (books on left, clothes on right) to be
moved:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3xVV727UOMFx9EDyf49RAuPStYWQofWeeUuv5KUsF3LoB8Zdkoz805aFGa9IBoCKsIO6OnPWOyWsoZMTGfcN8FNTkdnJzhmiOelW9M1tXNmeHda2MWvTQPgX9SMYFuCJ4qEIZGU7Pxuy/s1600/6-7-15+misc+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3xVV727UOMFx9EDyf49RAuPStYWQofWeeUuv5KUsF3LoB8Zdkoz805aFGa9IBoCKsIO6OnPWOyWsoZMTGfcN8FNTkdnJzhmiOelW9M1tXNmeHda2MWvTQPgX9SMYFuCJ4qEIZGU7Pxuy/s400/6-7-15+misc+013.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Here’s
some of the professional packing in progress:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoEW6aAXP7sOYkqmUJRbJkKLYzLZGfhgCqvvZRiT5YDBDKc0mbEv5pOjE35FY5FOvGbADmLJ_4E5N26kO8eyTE-0-xyFTIcrMTeTlCXFidxpVJET-QMCjKbXjta9fNW-Ip1P9xe5GML2b/s1600/6-7-15+misc+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoEW6aAXP7sOYkqmUJRbJkKLYzLZGfhgCqvvZRiT5YDBDKc0mbEv5pOjE35FY5FOvGbADmLJ_4E5N26kO8eyTE-0-xyFTIcrMTeTlCXFidxpVJET-QMCjKbXjta9fNW-Ip1P9xe5GML2b/s400/6-7-15+misc+018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFtwVA3qWJG9KVzEV_Su4yqVh9cBRraW2HaiZk2XHIhdHDcU-RXt0smpMAXmEHxTC89W7D3sDfzPMiLLyDpCDGniEPQdtLvVGhH_CjkZgOR2NMnxk-FNUMbzVwJ5z2kqSdurJkvKPfoLV/s1600/6-7-15+misc+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFtwVA3qWJG9KVzEV_Su4yqVh9cBRraW2HaiZk2XHIhdHDcU-RXt0smpMAXmEHxTC89W7D3sDfzPMiLLyDpCDGniEPQdtLvVGhH_CjkZgOR2NMnxk-FNUMbzVwJ5z2kqSdurJkvKPfoLV/s400/6-7-15+misc+019.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
One full
lift van on the right and one lift van being loaded on the left:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxQxrKiDppfA0DQBk-GZYO0c9YxWNXhuaKvC3pa5PQWzNs06PJ-Loabh8KTXpsGS5KvtiZLKEIVsFsyTSecWC6jB2Le4CDRNGAU_35KB2qocH_5Oes4JMY8sdLZk2Zm-eKmvsejcw869O/s1600/6-7-15+misc+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxQxrKiDppfA0DQBk-GZYO0c9YxWNXhuaKvC3pa5PQWzNs06PJ-Loabh8KTXpsGS5KvtiZLKEIVsFsyTSecWC6jB2Le4CDRNGAU_35KB2qocH_5Oes4JMY8sdLZk2Zm-eKmvsejcw869O/s400/6-7-15+misc+022.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Almost
done:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52wDgWSh0Gpb1_YankDQffeyFKSK0ZRZuThu__VY_shGoH2Ofs8o5ym0RnaJ2ymvjwvF0MmwGn_BhINhyphenhyphenWVtIGJH3ciLB-kndr0gAuvPDgKhjKKgMaI9goQ74oBhkirOLdQ6Jrvf8_8SY/s1600/6-7-15+misc+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52wDgWSh0Gpb1_YankDQffeyFKSK0ZRZuThu__VY_shGoH2Ofs8o5ym0RnaJ2ymvjwvF0MmwGn_BhINhyphenhyphenWVtIGJH3ciLB-kndr0gAuvPDgKhjKKgMaI9goQ74oBhkirOLdQ6Jrvf8_8SY/s400/6-7-15+misc+024.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
And… boarding
up the second lift van:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WIojfPCQvHlgnJpwihJgfN5DjJv3Fgpsu5tDcYaHcoShMvSUv3udrcc2r6hiJAIR4mhd5qdkHYIiI8Af80anUlFArWA3wFcluTz6CaSUGd0mZKNG8rAolxornaVEPGxCGnsEGebB_Yxh/s400/6-7-15+misc+028.JPG" width="400" /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
At the
end of moving day I breathed a sigh of relief thinking I had one major hurdle
toward immigration checked off. Little
did I know it would not be that easy. Of
course, the mishap that was to follow will have to be saved for another post.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
I do hope
this little vignette has been helpful if you are considering an international
move. Of course, you might want to wait
for Moving-Part 2 before booking your own adventure!<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-79661817637336513502015-04-02T01:18:00.000+10:002015-04-02T01:18:52.949+10:00Where in the World is Dr. Phelan (Going Next)?<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt;">When
I first began my blog nearly 18 months ago, my very first blog post was titled:
</span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/07/where-in-world-is-dr-phelan-botswana.html" target="_blank">Where in the World is Dr. Phelan? Botswana!</a></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Well,
in memory of that first post, I decided to borrow, but also alter, the
title. Rather than asking Where in the
World is Dr. Phelan?, the more appropriate question is Where in the World is
Dr. Phelan Going Next? And so we have it….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
will be moving overseas again in a few weeks. However, this is not a short-term sabbatical
move like Botswana. Instead, this is a
more permanent position. Granted,
nothing is really permanent, but this is a full-time position without any
pre-determined end date. Hence, it is
considered a permanent move.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Though
my future home will be quite different from Africa, and the U.S., there is a
lot I’m looking forward to. Unlike
Africa, I’m not <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/03/applying-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs.html" target="_blank">expecting excessive power cuts</a></i></b>.
But there will be <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/05/ch-ch-ch-chobe.html" target="_blank">lots of wildlife</a></i></b>. I won’t be the token white person, so I won’t
get in trouble for <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/12/police-report-white-woman-causes.html" target="_blank">walking with the intent of causing a car accident</a>. </i></b>But, there will be a <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/11/lost-in-translation.html" target="_blank">slight language barrier</a></i></b> I will need to overcome. I will need to get a <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/10/learning-to-drive-again-african-style.html" target="_blank">new driver’s license</a></i></b>,
though since I more or less know how to drive on the “other” side of the road
now, I should be able to forego <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/11/ke-ja-lebidi-driving-school-poor-skills.html" target="_blank">driving lessons</a></i></b>. There is a <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/08/little-america.html" target="_blank">Little America</a></i></b> in my new
country, but the <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/01/wear-sunscreen.html" target="_blank">necessity of sunscreen</a> </i></b>will still be strong as ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Any
guess yet where I might be going?....</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Want
a hint?....</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkE62YzXtPE4LdkLzwTpjkXOJWfJffKJ43TRWpRsnxR26rGRd10j0RpDgTXnB3aumxS1mi7oXy30qD3oOgulZDan_ZHGywPT9wBSGVQ4yERP19wyM8yiGJ-CMyQPtuXVHuHXn4-_nOsyOW/s1600/just-keep-swimming.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkE62YzXtPE4LdkLzwTpjkXOJWfJffKJ43TRWpRsnxR26rGRd10j0RpDgTXnB3aumxS1mi7oXy30qD3oOgulZDan_ZHGywPT9wBSGVQ4yERP19wyM8yiGJ-CMyQPtuXVHuHXn4-_nOsyOW/s1600/just-keep-swimming.png" height="310" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
case you didn’t get it the first time, how you could forget? There are two addresses EVERYONE in the world
knows, YOUR address, and…..</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUg3aNQtn1eWYT6lRm6tvFmjfoyc4UzKp1hOp8Ak9y7v12mRy8QnZ_2VtpLIfc-ViSupEES6XZ3Xhsq9sKIRcY4TZuxi9cUDl_tEXnbtVGO3pRj_ZLCWDcJh_HdqRhMJob5aP1s1aCwFer/s1600/wallaby+way.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUg3aNQtn1eWYT6lRm6tvFmjfoyc4UzKp1hOp8Ak9y7v12mRy8QnZ_2VtpLIfc-ViSupEES6XZ3Xhsq9sKIRcY4TZuxi9cUDl_tEXnbtVGO3pRj_ZLCWDcJh_HdqRhMJob5aP1s1aCwFer/s1600/wallaby+way.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now,
this isn’t entirely accurate. I’m not
moving to Sydney. But I am moving to
Australia! I recently accepted a
position at the University of Queensland, which is in Brisbane, which is here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilzvca2wuA3EiHl_tqMTMitt_dLg3am206PKaklbjSkwSO1IZDGg7YlfrBGFxQXOnko1bBjV-8YHdCr0JVP6QA_JCqkhaRgz6Lo4KVmbD8CXAO3rbloUx9OmZSE76XXFc7Rbh0o_9IIQst/s1600/Brisbane+map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilzvca2wuA3EiHl_tqMTMitt_dLg3am206PKaklbjSkwSO1IZDGg7YlfrBGFxQXOnko1bBjV-8YHdCr0JVP6QA_JCqkhaRgz6Lo4KVmbD8CXAO3rbloUx9OmZSE76XXFc7Rbh0o_9IIQst/s1600/Brisbane+map.gif" height="280" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt;">I
know I said this when I moved to Africa, and only a handful of people took me
up on my offer, but I REALLY HOPE YOU’LL COME VISIT ME!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-13990979862783497532015-03-21T08:22:00.000+10:002015-03-21T08:22:53.723+10:00What to do (and not do) When In… Botswana<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since I returned to the United States in September, I
took a new position as the Fulbright Grant Administrator at Texas Tech. Over the past six months I’ve been busy
<a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-to-write-successful-fulbright.html" target="_blank">helping professors write their grant applications</a>, and more recently, I’ve been
assisting Fulbright fellowship award winners to prepare for their sabbaticals
in their host countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Just last week I was speaking to the woman who
received a Fulbright grant to Botswana.
We spent over an hour on Skype discussing how to get a research
permit, what to expect when it comes to <a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/09/six-hours-and-four-fingerprints-my-trip.html" target="_blank">trying to obtain a residency visa</a> or</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> when you <a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/08/its-official-i-am-not-idiot-and-i-have.html" target="_blank">go to the doctor’s office for a check-up</a>, </span><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-terminal-2-coming-soon.html" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">how not to get deported</a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, the </span><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/05/packing-your-african-bug-out-bag.html" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">importance of the headlamp</a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, <a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/10/are-you-shopping-for-real-estate-or.html" target="_blank">dating, mating and shopping for real estate</a>, and </span><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-trip-to-dead-muzungu-market.html" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">high-end designer duds at the Dead Muzungu Market</a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> (it’s not <a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/01/louis-vuitton-in-africa.html" target="_blank">Louis Vuitton</a>, but it IS an
experience).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition to aspiring Fulbrighters recognizing my wealth
of knowledge about travel in Africa, <i>The
Economist</i> recently commissioned me to write an article for inclusion in
their lifestyle and culture magazine, <i>Intelligent
Life</i>. Take a look at my article,
which recounts what to do (and not do) when visiting Botswana. If you understand each of these statements it
means you read the corresponding blog posts, so thank you for your
attention! Enjoy:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/places/kelly-phelan/when-botswana">http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/places/kelly-phelan/when-botswana</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<img src="http://moreintelligentlife.com/sites/default/files/article-images/Botswanaweb2.jpg" /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-77635316015195149352014-12-02T12:09:00.000+10:002014-12-02T12:09:57.820+10:00World AIDS Day<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m not sure if you have been reading the news, but
today, December 1</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">st</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, is World AIDS Day.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">According to one news article I read, the
intention of </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-fourth-hivaids-test.html" target="_blank">World AIDS Day</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> is to raise awareness and money for research and
medical care with the intention of eliminating the disease by 2030.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While an admirable goal, I think it will be
difficult to obtain.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s why:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I was in <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/04/to-hellholes-and-back.html" target="_blank">Congo eight months ago</a></i></b> one of the
men I met told me that Congolese are more concerned about Ebola than AIDS. Given our current predicament in Africa with
Ebola, this seems poetic. Back in April when
I heard this I thought that was rather foolish.
Now, seeing how quickly Ebola spreads and how difficult it is to contain
in Africa, where sanitation is grossly lacking, I understand his reasoning. Nevertheless, I was surprised by his
laissez-faire attitude toward the risk of HIV/AIDS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another man I met in Congo told me how AIDS was not a
problem because, “we use the condom.” Well,
not long after that I learned what that meant.
The government and NGOs in Congo- Congo reportedly has more NGOs and UN
Peacekeepers that anywhere else on earth- have launched nationwide campaigns to
“condomize.” That’s right, it’s so
important we made it a verb! While <a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/08/malaria-medication-hivaids-testing-with.html" target="_blank"><i><b>safe sex propaganda</b></i> </a>is everywhere in Africa it turns out there is a problem
with the marketing message. As someone
who teaches Marketing, perhaps we need to be a little more direct. Olivier went on to explain that in order to
please their government, they wear condoms.
But, the whole point of sex is to join together bodily fluids. So in order to achieve both goals, they wear
condoms, but first cut they tip off so that bodily fluids may be exchanged.
WHAT THE #&$*????? Yes, that was my
reaction too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As I was telling my class last week, the good thing is
that no one actually dies from AIDS in Africa.
Before I moved to Africa I had to take a <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/08/its-official-i-am-not-idiot-and-i-have.html" target="_blank">physical</a></b></i>. As mandated by the Botswana government, I was
required to have a TB test to enter the country. Without the test I could not become a
resident. Sitting in the doctor’s office
in Lubbock my doctor thought this was ludicrous. “I can’t imagine they care if you bring this
into the country, if anything, shouldn’t we be concerned about you being
exposed to it while you are there?” she asked.
My doctor couldn’t even remember the last time she had administered the
test, and as a result, filled out the form incorrectly. I ended up having to
return a second time to get retested. But as I was saying no one in Africa dies
from AIDS. No, not at all. But TONS of people die from TB.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You know, “The first rule of Fight Club is you don’t
talk about Fight Club?” Well, it’s kind
of the same deal. We talk endlessly
about HIV/AIDS- go to this workshop, get tested, read this brochure, tell your
friends. Yet no one actually has it and
no one dies from it. I can’t tell you
how many <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/03/when-i-die.html" target="_blank">funerals</a></i></b> I have been invited to (in Africa), where someone has
died from TB. Answer: A LOT. People willingly talk about and show
evidence if they DON’T have it, but AIDS patients in Africa are like unicorns,
everyone has heard about it, but never actually seen one before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As I was saying, I think the desire to eradicate AIDS
in the next 15 years is admirable. However,
I have little hope that this can be achieved because I think there are a number
of cultural barriers which make this a serious challenge. I should also mention that perhaps the most
significant explanation for why I think this will fail is because this is a <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/09/preaching-to-converted.html" target="_blank">“preaching to the choir”</a></i></b> sort of situation.
In Botswana there is at least one newspaper article every week about
HIV/AIDS. Guess how many newspapers in
Botswana ran front page articles about World AIDS Day? Not one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In case you were interested, here are some of the
medical PR campaigns I’ve seen around Africa.
Sleep under a mosquito net to avoid malaria:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDdiA_6rwrr2ldx8NZVkVn7k5IN2iEdvQHnZ2J16fo-YoJ7JILUOxnJJiiSR94u5jK888Bs81W8R2aPLHxbx1uM2utPpgBcLTjLrPXi8zsu5BN1cyEnSgz9O3eLuG_nlbVcAgBlbozWze/s1600/malaria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDdiA_6rwrr2ldx8NZVkVn7k5IN2iEdvQHnZ2J16fo-YoJ7JILUOxnJJiiSR94u5jK888Bs81W8R2aPLHxbx1uM2utPpgBcLTjLrPXi8zsu5BN1cyEnSgz9O3eLuG_nlbVcAgBlbozWze/s1600/malaria.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Get your Yellow Fever vaccination:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvr58F8MwRc3pbs_L-c_5Q9zCw4GbcDFTCV_9m28kFGLWfqk79cW2Ffd5yo1tQWFNbqFZ9M23Hl3VZa3b2Z1L8TTGMDjawls-mXWeL_WrR4IGIlNjM5bKVj3UKHT2A1A1FL1dHyrltLdUN/s1600/yellow+fever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvr58F8MwRc3pbs_L-c_5Q9zCw4GbcDFTCV_9m28kFGLWfqk79cW2Ffd5yo1tQWFNbqFZ9M23Hl3VZa3b2Z1L8TTGMDjawls-mXWeL_WrR4IGIlNjM5bKVj3UKHT2A1A1FL1dHyrltLdUN/s1600/yellow+fever.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Use a condom:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAFokO2Y_kNpWXRuj650yIfLaEnNM87WKycmbucRQ8-BkbvdAkxliJm9eZG0TdezXeFSTJuTzuWGg_gxG0TuM1TsIxkA81HzqzwgU-Ileh8oe6pmBsXJr8VFniFvwFDp8fs2L9OU5Po2C/s1600/condom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAFokO2Y_kNpWXRuj650yIfLaEnNM87WKycmbucRQ8-BkbvdAkxliJm9eZG0TdezXeFSTJuTzuWGg_gxG0TuM1TsIxkA81HzqzwgU-Ileh8oe6pmBsXJr8VFniFvwFDp8fs2L9OU5Po2C/s1600/condom.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And this is also related to HIV/AIDS and methods to
prevent the transfer of the disease from mother to baby during birth:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiunjie8cK-N_S5YNWbIV2Basj882Rz1dtIclM_B_GYknO6BOF5k-7tUpcKedjsOoqQYGTMoK-CtbJbwsM3ddPThCiJ_2_wsGejRfKxKOaY03bNezC0b-etuDoJMVqNnd5zKbyY1biEhFYH/s1600/mom-baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiunjie8cK-N_S5YNWbIV2Basj882Rz1dtIclM_B_GYknO6BOF5k-7tUpcKedjsOoqQYGTMoK-CtbJbwsM3ddPThCiJ_2_wsGejRfKxKOaY03bNezC0b-etuDoJMVqNnd5zKbyY1biEhFYH/s1600/mom-baby.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-4361148704269004122014-11-27T10:38:00.000+10:002014-11-27T10:38:11.261+10:00The Church of AMERICA!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Late last night I wrote a message on someone’s
Facebook wall: “It’s almost Thanksgiving!</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I think that means it’s the beginning of the festive season (at least
for us Americans). Compliments!”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you
are unaware of the meaning of </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/01/compliments.html" target="_blank">“Compliments!” read this blog post</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s right, tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the
U.S. The Canadians began their festive
season REALLY early, because they celebrated Thanksgiving almost six weeks
ago. Good for them- they beat us at
something. Oh yeah, of course, there is
hockey too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today I was speaking with one of my Motswana
friends in <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/11/i-would-like-to-buy-hamburger.html" target="_blank">Setswana</a></i></b> about Thanksgiving.
Here’s the English translation of what I said, “One day, a long time ago
some Englishmen wanted to be free from the church. They got into a boat, and were at sea for
many months. One day they saw
shore. They got out of the boat and
there were Americans looking at them.
The Englishmen were very hungry.
Then the Americans gave them a cow.
Thanksgiving!” The funny thing is…
I know those of you who know me can imagine me telling this story.... That face you are making right now, and that
laugh… apparently that part translates REALLY well! My friend Topo thought this story was
hysterical.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m not sure we have turkeys in Botswana and I couldn’t
remember the word for large chicken. And
in Botswana a cow is the best present you could possibly give someone. That’s why when you get married the <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/10/first-comes-love-then-comes-bride-price.html" target="_blank">bride price</a></i></b> is paid in cattle. And if
you give the new couple a cow as a wedding present you will likely get one of
their offspring named after you. Hence, the Americans giving the hungry
Englishmen a cow was quite generous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last year I remember using Thanksgiving to get out of
a faculty meeting at UB.
In all reality, I really did have plans.
(Side note- If you ever become an expat become really good friends with
someone who works at the U.S. embassy in your country because they throw the
best parties.) I apologized to my dean and asked to be excused from the faculty
meeting because it was Thanksgiving and I had plans. Also, the faculty meeting was scheduled at
5pm, so it’s not like I was really skipping work. Not to mention it <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/12/dont-call-meeting-schedule-tea-time.html" target="_blank">probably started late</a></i></b>,
and then they <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/12/dont-call-meeting-schedule-tea-time.html" target="_blank">paused for tea</a></i></b>, etc, etc. I probably got back from my party
before the faculty meeting ended anyway. After I mentioned Thanksgiving my dean
turned to two or three other faculty members with a confused look, then back to
me and said, “What church is that?” I
couldn’t help myself, “The Church of AMERICA!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sadly, not all Thanksgiving traditions translate as
well as my narrative above. I have tried
countless times to show pictures and explain the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
to my <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/09/stump-chump.html" target="_blank">Batswana students</a></i></b>. They
like the pictures, but they don’t get it.
One thing I have learned is that there is no such thing as a parade in
Africa. There are processions, such as
when <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/12/what-does-africa-really-think-about.html" target="_blank">Nelson Mandela died</a></i></b>. They understand
that. But the victory parade or holiday
parade doesn’t exist in Botswana. Of
course, this is a first world problem.
Perhaps once the <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/02/this-is-your-life.html" target="_blank">electricity</a> </i></b>and <a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/02/dont-tell-anyone-this-but.html" target="_blank"><b><i>water</i></b> </a>become more
consistent we can consider marching around with 40 foot Snoopy balloons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOmimL2FyIGD7kxzOMstZjD28HjKP1TPo2MOSwalPdsuG3j3DjflNsp4rhLFC4B-zHg8spKLCLeW9Y80v0r7a-mJbY_DnB8j94PD_kiyOBJ9eWEcFYXk3a3BX31-M0f85ZEDiy7BPyHBE/s1600/Snoopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOmimL2FyIGD7kxzOMstZjD28HjKP1TPo2MOSwalPdsuG3j3DjflNsp4rhLFC4B-zHg8spKLCLeW9Y80v0r7a-mJbY_DnB8j94PD_kiyOBJ9eWEcFYXk3a3BX31-M0f85ZEDiy7BPyHBE/s1600/Snoopy.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-33099117593857176672014-10-04T03:02:00.000+10:002014-10-04T03:02:56.689+10:00Ebola in the U.S.: MINOR PROBLEM<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you had to choose, which would you rather have:
access to the Internet? Or access to a toilet (i.e. indoor plumbing)?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yesterday the Washington Post published an article
stating that<b><i> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/02/4-4-billion-people-around-the-world-still-dont-have-internet-heres-where-they-live/" target="_blank">4.4 billion people around the world still don’t have Internet</a></i></b>. The thing about living abroad is that your
perspective changes, without you putting in any effort at all. Upon reading
that headline I immediately thought to myself: So what?! Several billion people
don’t have access to toilets! If I had
to choose one, I would opt for sanitation and hygiene over a virtual update of
Kimye’s most recent scandals any day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I admit the Internet is useful. I no longer own a bound dictionary because I can
use dictionary.com. When I was learning
to drive a manual on the left side of the road, I watched youtube videos for
practice. And naturally, as a professor, I use the Internet every day before I teach
to see if there are any current events related to my class which I should
discuss with my students. Yes, the
Internet is great. But I don’t think the
fact that two-thirds of the world population is sans Internet is all that unfortunate. According to The World Bank,<a href="http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/0,,contentMDK:21935594~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:258644,00.html" target="_blank"> <i><b>only 24% of Sub-Saharan Africa has electricity</b></i></a>. You can’t have Internet without at least some
access to electricity. But Obama’s <b><i><a href="http://www.usaid.gov/powerafrica" target="_blank">Power Africa initiative</a></i></b> is a foolish endeavor (read: DISASTER) which I will
save to address a different day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://worldtoiletday.org/" target="_blank">World Toilet Day</a></span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is celebrated annually on November 19<sup>th</sup>
aimed at bringing attention to the need for behavior change and policy
implementation “to end open-air defecation.”
Currently, more than <b><i><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/19/travel/world-toilet-day/" target="_blank">2.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to toilets</a></i></b>. This means
they have to relieve themselves in the open.
For those living in rural areas, individuals can try to find somewhere
secluded, but this is a security risk.
If you remember that <b><i><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/toilets-unveiled-at-indian-village-where-two-girls-were-gangraped-and-hanged-9703833.html" target="_blank">rash of rapes and murders in India recently</a></i></b>,
many of those occurred because girls had no access to latrines, forcing them to
go out into fields to relieve themselves, and there they were easy prey for violent
attacks. However, many of these people without access to toilet facilities don’t
live strictly in rural areas; many live in incredibly crowded slums in the
inner-cities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I was in Sierra Leone a few years ago I visited
Kroo Bay, one of the largest slums in Freetown, the nation’s capital. In one Kroo Bay neighborhood 15,000 people live
in very cramped quarters with access to <b><i><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/freetowns-slums-ill-prepared-ebola-spread-025026981.html" target="_blank">four, FOUR (4!) toilets</a></i></b>. Also, it should be noted these are long
drops, not toilets with running water.
If you are unfamiliar with a <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-potty-follies.html" target="_blank">long drop please read my previous post here</a></i></b>. If you would like to see some photos of the
Kroo Bay neighborhood, <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/africa_sierra_leone_slum/html/1.stm" target="_blank">check out this BBC article</a> </i>(be sure to click through the pictures).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The lack of toilets, running water and sanitation is
why Africa has an Ebola problem. When I
was in Kroo Bay there was an outbreak of cholera, leprosy was rampant, and the
life expectancy was, and still is, 35 years.
Everyone is concerned about Ebola coming to America. The simple truth is, this should not be a
problem here and it should be halted immediately without significant concern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As Americans we are fortunate. We have access to running water, thus we can
use flush toilets and wash our hands. We
wear shoes, therefore we don’t have to worry about walking around barefoot and
potentially stepping in someone’s bodily fluids and contracting a disease. And for the most part, we live in reasonable accommodations,
not cramped living quarters where we are subject to others’ illnesses due to
close proximity and the inability to quarantine ourselves (or others) when we
are sick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, back to the original question: Would you rather
have access to the Internet or to a toilet?
I know this may be a tough one for some of you, but try to consider the
facts I mentioned above.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here is a picture I took when I was in Kroo Bay,
Sierra Leone. On the left side you can
see a child wearing a blue and white shirt squatting and going to the “toilet.” Also on the left you can see a woman standing
up (there is a man in jeans and a white and gray shirt behind her) who is doing
laundry in this creek. And then if you
look on the right side, there is a boy with a bag next to a set of stairs. Next to that boy you can see the back end of
a pig (black and white, or pink? legs and tail):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55-1tcTbxm61hxQKY_vyFh9BP7KRxDHgXxkly8lo9wYX4FfYg_mBIKQxBfLOE8XK3zX9Dt75EYj84yFaY4QcD-fPRPRFMgvVeTCHcFzJbHaeqopVPcZ7ELrrq46HGYAH8uIAuzS-6-8vd/s1600/Sierra+leone+slum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55-1tcTbxm61hxQKY_vyFh9BP7KRxDHgXxkly8lo9wYX4FfYg_mBIKQxBfLOE8XK3zX9Dt75EYj84yFaY4QcD-fPRPRFMgvVeTCHcFzJbHaeqopVPcZ7ELrrq46HGYAH8uIAuzS-6-8vd/s1600/Sierra+leone+slum.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-30394837538395656112014-09-20T04:45:00.000+10:002014-09-20T04:45:23.826+10:00Four Weeks Down… Eleven to GoI’m NOT counting down the days until the end of the semester. Really! I promise! It’s just that this is right about the time when I realize I am starting to get behind in teaching and if I don’t speed things up a bit (read: discourage my students from asking questions about topics they are interested in which are related to the class) then I won’t get to cover everything I want. And the truth is, there is no chance I will tell my students to stop asking questions, because hey, at least they are interested and taking an active role in their learning. So I’m not going to fault them for that. The truth is, there really needs to be two tourism classes in order to cover everything to the level I would prefer.<br />
<br />
Yesterday I gave my students index cards and asked them for feedback about my class. These were anonymous comments, so they could say anything they liked, good or bad. But I specifically asked them to tell me if there was a destination or topic they wanted me to cover. I figured if I asked them for feedback now there was enough time in the semester for me to work these areas into my class. Apparently I need to talk more about Australia. Mention of tourism in Area 51 would also be appreciated (by someONE). That’s the first time I ever got that request. I just hope that area 51 person is present the day we talk about it.<br />
<br />
There is a little bit of concern over the impending map quiz they will receive. At the beginning of the semester I asked my students to draw a map of the world and name whatever they could. Some were quite impressive. Others were…. Creative. According to a recent poll by the Washington Post one in six Americans can locate Ukraine on a map. Granted, that’s a weird one. After all, until the recent argument with Russia over Crimea, and then the Malaysian airlines crash in Ukraine, what would make Ukraine stand out? Ok, bad example. Let’s talk Iraq. We should know Iraq, right? We’ve only been AT WAR with/in that country for over a decade. Apparently our geographic literacy is even worse than we think. Six in ten Americans canNOT find Iraq on a map. That makes me sad. One more shot…. CHINA! The Olympics, they are taking over the world with their ever-growing population, they are responsible for more pollution that anywhere else and most importantly ALL THINGS ARE MADE IN CHINA! Survey says, 70% of Americans can point out China. Ok, that’s better.<br />
<br />
I’m not worried though. I am confident my students will ace their map quiz in a few weeks. In the meantime, here are a few maps we discussed in class:<br />
<br />
There is one thing we know. That is where Ebola comes from. Of course, Ebola is only in five countries in Africa. The other 49 are chugging along just fine. So, the spread of Ebola seems to be overstated here. Then again, the Panama Canal is also overstated here as it is HUGE!:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvl_5ukPOzO6-vkUO2d6fxR3-DMYEABPbiOp3gzbduES5xuroAbbDcvsS8gt0kiX1noZnf6k7YlceS2Jd44RW3SwmjuTJu50ISQ05Lnn6lzfqR25OFWN2yPwWW-YX5dkIlYhydRHmzxAK/s1600/How+American+view+the+rest+of+the+world.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvl_5ukPOzO6-vkUO2d6fxR3-DMYEABPbiOp3gzbduES5xuroAbbDcvsS8gt0kiX1noZnf6k7YlceS2Jd44RW3SwmjuTJu50ISQ05Lnn6lzfqR25OFWN2yPwWW-YX5dkIlYhydRHmzxAK/s1600/How+American+view+the+rest+of+the+world.jpg" height="348" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Now, we do have some Americans at the opposite end of the spectrum. This is probably similar to how my map would look if I was asked to draw it, smart-ass comments and all:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_6JJLn6OoCnUG0ILtSwiPdOfEYtRl6Vsc9AjyLRbBf1zNFZuYXCbdCMW4WCFEVH_EEQVNEUZ-qS4nDNga3rvic8UxcOGAHGMKF8HdnfWBA3ei7qTGa_fTGJH7dKwp7rQwhIIdR7Qyrw9/s1600/smart+american+map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_6JJLn6OoCnUG0ILtSwiPdOfEYtRl6Vsc9AjyLRbBf1zNFZuYXCbdCMW4WCFEVH_EEQVNEUZ-qS4nDNga3rvic8UxcOGAHGMKF8HdnfWBA3ei7qTGa_fTGJH7dKwp7rQwhIIdR7Qyrw9/s1600/smart+american+map.png" height="491" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
In case you were curious how Europeans view the U.S. here you go:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheddkKwF1TJ5HKq53d3rdzAHNRzyYcMKFII883ntdjD69xaR4Dd6i2Cg-S8NkQ6BPvO1-cdSFAy31NjsGoOC_Qlxk1wBay1V0v_CDS5-BH6yKMfrSIACMizrxTTroVsGqClE96dWGWJ_IK/s1600/how+Europeans+view+US.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheddkKwF1TJ5HKq53d3rdzAHNRzyYcMKFII883ntdjD69xaR4Dd6i2Cg-S8NkQ6BPvO1-cdSFAy31NjsGoOC_Qlxk1wBay1V0v_CDS5-BH6yKMfrSIACMizrxTTroVsGqClE96dWGWJ_IK/s1600/how+Europeans+view+US.gif" height="416" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I’m pretty sure this is exactly how Texans view America as well. I will give them one thing. More than half my class identified the U.S. on their maps, and then specifically added Texas to demonstrate they knew exactly where it was. Apparently, no other states are all that important.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-40480533114880444572014-09-12T21:22:00.004+10:002014-09-12T21:28:43.106+10:00That is Sedition!... That is the Truth!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of my favorite movies growing up was </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Last of the Mohicans</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. If you are unfamiliar, it is based on the historical novel of the same name about the French and Indian War and the use of Native Americans by the French and British Armies.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you are not up on your history, here’s the Cliff Notes: the French and the British fought each other from 1754 to 1763 for control of North America.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since neither the French nor the British knew the continent all that well they used American Indians as informants in an effort to outmaneuver each another. Obviously the British won which is why we don’t speak French. Moving on…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As I was saying my favorite movie was <i>The Last of the Mohicans</i>. My brother’s favorite movie is equally cerebral, thus proving we are related: <i>Dumb and Dumber</i>. In <i>The Last of the Mohicans</i> there is a scene where one of the Native American informants is arguing with a British army officer. The British officer didn’t like that the Mohican was questioning his judgment and shouted, “That is Sedition!” The Mohican responded, “That is the Truth!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sedition is a word which is seldom, if ever heard in developed, western countries. Sedition involves speaking out against a political ruler (or nation) and encouraging others to rebel as well. In the U.S. we have freedom of speech (or freedom of expression), so we can voice our opinions regardless of whether they are in opposition to authority figures. We have freedom of assembly, so people can gather together and protest. We have freedom of the press, so the media can report without fear of legal repercussions. There are countless examples every day of acts which could be considered seditious, but in reality they aren’t. That is the benefit of being American.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Botswana is different. Botswana recently arrested a newspaper editor and charged him with sedition. The paper ran a story stating that <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/08/lady-khama-family-fun-day.html" target="_blank">President Khama</a></i></b> had been involved in a car accident and apparently compensated the other driver by giving him a new Jeep. And what is seditious about this? I don’t know either. <b><i><a href="http://www.sundaystandard.info/article.php?NewsID=20913&GroupID=1" target="_blank">Here is the article if you would like to read it</a></i></b>. Seems pretty straightforward if you ask me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I will say the one thing I found curious about the article is that, “…while someone is holding the office of president and during his tenure, no civil or criminal proceedings can be instituted against them.” Hmmm… that is unsettling. And it reminds me a lot of our evil dictator to the north, <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/08/who-wants-to-be-millionaire-no-one-here.html" target="_blank">President Mugabe of Zimbabwe</a></i></b>. At 90, you would think Mugabe would have retired by now, particularly since he’s been at the helm 34 years. Of course, that will never happen. He must die in office. If he retires he will either be tried by The Hague for human rights violations or his own people will kill him for all the suffering he’s put them through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Back to Botswana, I have to say, I am disappointed. <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/07/where-in-world-is-dr-phelan-botswana.html" target="_blank">Botswana has been the shining beacon of hope for Africa for decades</a></i></b>. It is the only consistently stable democracy which has never had any major problems, aside from <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/08/malaria-medication-hivaids-testing-with.html" target="_blank">HIV/AIDs</a></i></b> and <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-poverty-weather-suicide-correlation.html" target="_blank">poverty, but then again, you can’t change the weather</a></i></b>. Of course</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, there was that issue with the </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/05/learning-bad-habits-early-ub-student.html" target="_blank">student elections which demonstrated the government is more corrupt than people give them credit for</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I do hope this sedition situation is an outlier and not a sign that Botswana is moving the way of many of the other African countries (i.e. dictatorships). This is yet one more thing that reminds me <b><i><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/05/proud-to-be-american.html" target="_blank">why I am proud to be an American</a></i></b>.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1760462119537235036.post-15099637177748935772014-09-06T01:48:00.000+10:002014-09-06T01:48:10.269+10:00Requiem for a Suitcase<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Another one bites the dust.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Actually, another one, two, three bites the dust.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Remember how when I <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/07/hopefully-your-bags-wont-be-completely.html" target="_blank">first arrived in Botswana one of my bags had a giant hole</a></b></i> in it?</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, there is something to be said for duct tape and shrink wrap.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I didn’t want to buy another piece of luggage while in Africa, so I saved it, duct taped it back together, filled it with a bunch of stuff, and then had it plastic wrapped at the Joburg airport.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">TA-DA!</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It actually made it all the way home.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And then there was my luggage that was forever lost. First in <i><b><a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2013/11/my-24-hour-unintentional-visit-to.html" target="_blank">Ethiopia for several weeks</a></b></i>. Then it went MIA when they <a href="http://drphelanipresume.blogspot.com/2014/01/back-to-square-one.html" target="_blank"><b><i>forgot to put it on the plane from Joburg to Gabs</i></b></a>. I used that one most of the time I was travelling around Africa for the past year. But by May the zipper had broken, so I could only half unzip it. By June it had deteriorated to not opening at all. So, yet again, I duct taped it together and then had it wrapped at the airport. Thankfully, that one made it all the way back to the U.S. as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then there was my rolling carry-on. The wheels on that broke months ago. So by Christmas it no longer rolled. It was simply a “drag it all over the place and explain to porters, bellmen and anyone else who tried to help me with my bag not to worry because it was already broken” kind of bag.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, today I finally made the move to bury (in the dumpster) my three pieces of luggage, taken to Africa, only to meet their maker and return lifeless. I suppose this is just one of the steps to moving forward and saying good-bye to my time in Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the bright side, I got new luggage! I highly recommend my new TravelPro roller bags. They are lighter and seem to have more room than my old luggage (which by the way lasted me a record 239 passport stamps!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Out with the old….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5IJzrGvgeNb1oJnBEKzJJQmEggxaZiqyO0P0Hw2hU5mATE3iqlGrSVMm37prknN1zrvx5ywWHiQw-saDO8B0yRF6l1NpK1KPvmKUvnhg-7G4ivorw2R9jp4JHt-inZpD6LPY8clOmY1F/s1600/luggage+141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5IJzrGvgeNb1oJnBEKzJJQmEggxaZiqyO0P0Hw2hU5mATE3iqlGrSVMm37prknN1zrvx5ywWHiQw-saDO8B0yRF6l1NpK1KPvmKUvnhg-7G4ivorw2R9jp4JHt-inZpD6LPY8clOmY1F/s1600/luggage+141.JPG" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In with the new….</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XVFj9wLCD3jB9Ku2PNVEfEIKbsiIkEk9x_eYssjOusmn8FyjspSXJpRgCvBCjqWGBmPaAaiNvU-LyfybVGF8OtsM6E9twXWc9P-eEI36XsVqrXsLWM4h-hzMyfJqDeNFaaW6mUdbjVUx/s1600/luggage+144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XVFj9wLCD3jB9Ku2PNVEfEIKbsiIkEk9x_eYssjOusmn8FyjspSXJpRgCvBCjqWGBmPaAaiNvU-LyfybVGF8OtsM6E9twXWc9P-eEI36XsVqrXsLWM4h-hzMyfJqDeNFaaW6mUdbjVUx/s1600/luggage+144.JPG" height="400" width="308" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course, that being said, I wouldn’t be terribly heartbroken if I didn’t take an international trip for a while. Then again, you never know.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626553230004484256noreply@blogger.com0