a blog for students going to ecuador with ASB 2006

Hello!

Here is our wonderful quote we made on Sunday night:

"The highest of distinctions is to weave a life with the best of others, so that smooth seas will take you home again; because only if you've been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain."

(smiley faces are the extent of my computer savvy :-)

Hello!
I'm Sheeva, and it has been just a pleasure getting to know you all and I'm looking forward to more excitement as our trip nears!! This is a picture of me when I went to New York this past winter break to visit my brother, as I was wandering the city. New York is one of my favorite places because it holds all the things I love, theatre, music, art, different kinds of people, good food, public transportation, my brother, and many other things I'm probably forgetting. I'm a third year psychology major doing minors in music and Asian American Studies. My free time generally involves reading, watching movies, pondering things, and eating good food. The last good book I read was Freakonomics and the last good movie I saw was Monsoon Wedding. If you all have good recommendations let me know!! I guess I'll bid farewell with my quote from our ASB meeting:

"Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors," African proverb

Not quite as amazing as the quote we made up together at the meeting, but I hope still adds some enjoyment. I can't wait to learn more about you all, and until we meet again...
Best Wishes,
Sheeva

WOW! This blogging thing is simply amazing! :)

I'm Andrew - a 3rd year theatre major and a VERY EXCITED co-trip leader for the ASB trip to Ecuador this Spring Break.
hmmm...how much should i reveal...?

well, i'm a theatre fanatic. and am planning on making sure that, by the end of trip, whenever i sing a showtune, all of you will not only be able to name the show it is from but also be able to sing along. :)
other than that, i love board games, being a Buckeye, artichokes, and Bob Dog (my stuffed animal from when i was little)

The picture I have up (and yes, that is me with a buzz haircut and facial hair) is from last year's ASB trip to Oklahoma where we volunteered at a Head Start program on the Cherokee Nation - an amazing and eye-opening experience. The little girl I am holding is named Emily - and let's just say it was hard to leave her. ;)

That's all for now. I hope all of you know how thrilled I am for this trip...I promise that Dhriti and I will do all we can to make this a wonderful experience for all of us.
I already heart all of you!

YAY for service!
-Andrew

My stats:

• Major: Biology/Pre-Dentistry
• Rank: 3rd yrear Junior of course :-)
• Hometown: Brookville, OH
• Birthday: 10-19-1984
• Favorits Foods: Sweedish Fish (red), Homemade Tacos, Papa Johns, and Cheese and Crackers
• Hobbies: Playing instruments (haven't in a while though), fixing computers, digital imaging, and whistling at inappropriate times..

If you like what you have read... and I know you did, you can IM me - BCrush84 on AIM.

The End
B

hi folks........thanks to dhriti for being the first one to post to the blog!! i think this can be a great space to share information about the trip. feel free to share this blog address with your family and friends, so they can see the students [and leaders] you will be traveling with, and feel like they are part of the adventure too. in fact, they [and anyone else] can leave comments after each post. finally, we can write as much as we want on this blog, even when we are in ecuador, to update anyone in the "audience"...and when we return, it will be very easy to share photos this way, and stay in touch.

okay, to introduce myself.....here is a photo of me and a nice guy who worked at the hotel i stayed at last summer in beijing. i really liked his hat and he let me wear it. ha! anyway, i teach in the college of education. since 1993, i have mainly taught english 110...i sometimes taught 109 or 367, but mostly first-year composition. for the last 3 years though, i have also started teaching English as a Second Language and now that is almost exclusively what i teach. sometimes i teach to undergraduate international students, but most of the time i teach international graduate students. i teach both composition and spoken english, which means i teach your international teaching assistants [ITAs] how to have better pronunciation and how to relate to you in the classroom!! any help you can give me in this regard would be greatly appreciated. we will have plenty of time over spring break to talk and i'd love to hear any stories you have about ITAs and any [constructive!!] suggestions you have for making your experience as a student in their class, and their experience as a teacher, more rewarding.

that's all for now. i'll look forward to reading your introductions as well!!
sincerely, bob

Hello Everyone,

This blog business is very exciting. I feel we should change the title to "Bob's Blog for Students Going to Ecuador with ASB 2006."

Anywho, I am Dhriti Pandhi and I am one of the student leaders for the Ecuador trip. I am an Economics, Finance, and Spanish major. I enjoy good movies, Arrested Development, and ice cream.

Oh, I already have an interested professor who wants to come in and talk to us about Ecuador -- and he is free on the weekend of Feb 25!

I hope you all remembered to pay at least 1/3 of your ASB payment this past Tuesday - if not, do it ASAP.

I guess that's enough from me for right now!

PS - If you look closely at my picture, I am sitting underneath Rodin's The Thinker trying to imitate him, but the position of my left and right arm are inverted -- how ironic.

Dhriti

hi folks...here is the blog!! i hope you like it. you should like it, because each of us will be able to make it into whatever we want it to be. i think the first thing we should do on it is write an introduction of ourselves. how does that sound? something simple, really...just the basics and then maybe a few thoughts about the ecuador trip. are you excited? nervous? leaving the country for the first time? eager to test your 5 years of classroom spanish? ha ha!

i think you'll find the blogger interface very intuitive and easy-to-use. just login with the following information and click on New Post to write your introduction. you know what else might be nice, include a picture of yourself--maybe your favorite picture--and tell us a little about it. it's really easy to add photos on blogger--just click on the little "photo" button in the editor [next to the spell-checker] and browse to find a photo on your computer or flash-drive!!

go to www.blogger.com and login:

username: asbecuador
password: asbstudent

take care and let me know [eckhart.5@osu.edu] if you have any problems!!
sincerely, bob