More Reading Material :)

This has been a great week for receiving and sharing articles related to South East Asia and traveling. One of the most positive parts of my year abroad is that I have developed a love for reading!!! Here are a few of my favorites:

This article below is called "10 Things Most Americans Don't Know About America." The author fascinatingly describes his relationship with America as one similar to having an "alcoholic brother." It is smartly written, poignant, and definitely worth reading.

http://postmasculine.com/america

This NPR article (always interesting reads!) called "'Globals' generation focuses on experience"explores the shifting definitions of the American Dream, and how more and more young people are choosing to spend parts of their lives outside of the United States. I definitely related to this article :)

http://www.npr.org/2012/07/10/156463825/globals-generation-focuses-on-experience

This next article is called "Why You Should Travel Young." It discusses the importance, or rather necessity, of being a traveler and not a tourist, and the positive outcomes that can grow from being "clumsy, inexpert, and even a bit lonely."

http://convergemagazine.com/featured/travel-young/

This New York Times opinion piece called "Reclaiming Travel" relates to the above article, and romantically explores why human beings feel compelled to travel, and the humility that comes along with traveling (and not tourism). It is beautifully, mystically written!

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/07/reclaiming-travel/?smid=tw-NYTOpinionator&seid=auto

Finally, this last New York Times article is called "Vietnam War's Legacy is Vivid as Clinton Visits Laos." The article discusses Hilary Clinton's recent trip to Laos last week, and I definitely was humbled reading it- as I had no idea how badly Laos was affected, and still is affected, by the Vietnam War. It's definitely worth reading.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/world/asia/on-visit-to-laos-clinton-is-reminded-of-vietnam-war.html?_r=1&hp


Happy Reading! (Feel free to share any article you've read that you think is relevant as well...I would love to check it out)

On a sidenote, I wrote Nok Air (the airline that I flew last week where I lost my camera and one of the staff members turned it in!) a thank you note. The response made me feel warm and fuzzy inside! (I bet that companies get exponentially more negative feedback than positive feedback...you should try it sometime ;))