Wednesday, February 18th, 2015

Francis Parker Exploring Southeast Asia

Saturday, Feb.14: Witnessing the Realities of Cambodia Our group awoke at around 6:30 to have our first breakfast at the Metta Karuna Center. We shared a buffet-style meal, with baguettes, assorted jams, bannanas and packaged ramen soup. After we all stuffed ourselves with food, we hopped on a bus headed for Banteay Srei, an old temple of almost a thousand… [Read Full Article]

Wednesday, February 18th, 2015

Francis Parker Exploring Southeast Asia

Wednesday, Feb. 11: A Country of Opposites Vietnam is a country of opposites. From order to chaos, from communism to captialism, and from old to new. Today, we explored these seemingly incompatible worlds. Walking in a single-file line through the covered corridor at Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, it seemed as if we faced a new guard at every step. Despite… [Read Full Article]

Wednesday, February 18th, 2015

Francis Parker Exploring Southeast Asia

Tuesday, Feb. 10: The Road to Recovery As we piled onto the familiar red bus after another delicious breakfast, Mr. Long, our guide, began to prepare us for our first destination with a little history. Agent Orange: accounting for nearly twelve of the estimated seventeen million gallons sprayed over Vietnam, the herbicide was one of eleven used by the United… [Read Full Article]

Tuesday, February 10th, 2015

Francis Parker Exploring Southeast Asia

Monday, Feb. 9: Getting Outside the Comfort Zone On the morning of our second day, we awoke to the sounds of the many horns from the busy, motor bike-filled streets of Hanoi. After enjoying a Vietnamese version of a continental breakfast, we made our way onto the bus, where we met Mr. Long, our tour guide for the remainder of… [Read Full Article]

Monday, February 09th, 2015

Francis Parker Exploring Southeast Asia

Sunday, Feb. 8: Into the Organized Chaos of Hanoi A car in front of you. A bus behind you. A rickshaw to your left. Twenty-five clamoring people walking directly in your path as you begin to move, slowly and surely, towards your destination. As one of four million scooters in Hanoi, you are not alone in this daily struggle for… [Read Full Article]