Penn Alumni Travel: Explore Exotic Burma Join Penn grad Lisa Niver Rajna (C’89) and her husband George Rajna, founders of We Said Go Travel, for a special inside look at Myanmar travel. Myanmar holds a special place in the hearts of Lisa and George. They met online because Lisa told George, “The Shwedagon Pagoda is my … Continued
Today is my 46th birthday, October 18, 2013. Last year, I donated my birthday to raise money for Solar Cookers. I asked friends in Myanmar to help me have 45 people say Happy Birthday to me in 45 languages! What do I want for my birthday this year? I would love you to BUY OUR BOOK! Traveling … Continued
Nepal: Jubilation and Revelation on the Annapurna Circuit We are hiking up a steep slippery path in early morning darkness when George slips, rolls over and pukes three times. With the light of my torch I see how pale and sick he is. George has been struggling with altitude sickness for the past few days … Continued
Tomorrow is my 46th birthday, October 18, 2013. Last year, I donated my birthday to raise money for Solar Cookers. I asked friends in Myanmar to help me have 45 people say Happy Birthday to me in 45 languages! What do I want for my birthday this year? I would love you to BUY OUR … Continued
Cambodia: Back to the Heart of Youth Work People have asked me “Why? Why teach abroad? You have everything at home. A support system: family, a girlfriend, a job. Why do it?” Nowadays, with company cut-backs and layoffs, seniority is no longer a factor. It’s about the business’s survival not yours. Job security is dead. … Continued
The girls sit in a line in front of me, eagerly watching the instructor as he starts to explain the task. He walks around the open hallway in front of them carrying a handful of items that the girls know well, such as an embroidered scarf, a ceramic round water jug and a metal plate. … Continued
Water-Borne Love in Varanasi Awe. It’s not a three-letter word. More like a three-letter feeling that is known to inject rapid bursts of Faith, Hope and Love, into disillusioned grown-ups and children. Now the story I am about to narrate does not involve ravines, Burning Men or shooting stars. This particular story is simpler, shorter but … Continued
More than a decade after qualifying as a Doctor and having bounced around various jobs in India and the UK, I am now practising in a College in Melaka, Malaysia, charged with sharing my knowledge with budding Doctors and Dentists. Hence, most of the time I spend my days shuttling between classes and clinics dreaming … Continued
Night Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand “Scuba diving is easy! It’s not rocket surgery!” Magnus, our Swedish scuba diving instructor told us with a grin. My fellow PADI classmates looked at one another before I sheepishly asked, “You mean rocket science?” “Ah! Yes! Scuba diving isn’t Rocket Science!” Over the next few days, we learned … Continued
Bhutan a Happier Place With Books (co-authored with Laura Hubber) When Claire Thomsen was 11, her parents pulled the rug out from her comfortable Malibu existence. They sold the family business, rented out the house, and spent the year roving the world, 27 countries in all, with Claire in tow. Instead of entering middle school … Continued