1. Always post things for this class in the class room blog. To do so navigate to our classroom, then click on blogs under “My Classroom,” and then click on “post a blog” on the right side of the “Blog Post” banner.

2. Pay attention to privacy settings. If you post so only the teacher can see, no one will comment.

3. If you are submitting for an assignment (posts and comments) use the “Submit for an assignment” drop down menu to select your assignment.

4. Be respectful

5. Interact! Read, Ask questions, give feedback. You will only get something out of the experience if you invest something in it.   

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Automatically translated into German thanks to WorldLingo

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The sun was slowly dipping behind the cliff faces of Wadi Rum. As I stood in the golden light of this foreign land the sand trapped in my shoes reminded me of walking on the beach back home. While I was remembering making elaborate sandcastles just a few summers before my friend turned to me and said, “Will you make a sand castle with me?”
“Of course!” I said and we quickly dropped down in the fine red sand and set to work.

This photo means a lot of things to me. It reminds me to always be childish, it reminds me of the lesson I learned study abroad, it reminds me of amazing friends and amazing travels, but it also reminds me of a collective identity to which I belong, American middle-class. As a member of the American middle-class I have a collective identity of privilege. I have been able to attend more school then most the globe can even dream of. It means I have the opportunity to travel to far off places like Wadi Rum Jordan, and while a boy much younger then me drove our jeep around the desert, I made a sand castle.
Many perceive the American middle-class, while highly educated in books, quite ignorant. We fly off to other cultures in attempts to “discover ourselves” and in doing so often commodify the lives of others. This is a stereotype that troubles me, partly because it is so true. I do not like being associated with this abuse and am constantly trying to defy it. I do not know how successful I am at it, but I do hope that actually spending time getting to know the people of Jordan and finding the commonality of our lives and worlds, has helped in this endeavor.

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