Pre-Trip Education

I'm a couple more days away from Portland and I'm stoked! In my goal to use this blog as an education tool to describe Alternative Break programs, I'll chronicle my experience every step of the way. I haven't had the opportunity to play the role of "journalist" in a while and have forgotten how fun it is to assume to this role. So I'll be your faithful Portland ABCs reporter for the next ten days "keeping it real" as best I can.

There are three ABCs conferences this summer that UC San Diego students will be attending. My friend Jack Korpob chronicled his experience in Biloxi, Mississippi through the following blog: http://abcs2008biloxims.blogspot.com/. Please check it out to learn more about Rebuilding Democracy and what it means to participate in Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts. I'm also excited for Ashley Nall, who will be attending the Cincinnati, Ohio ABCs the week after I do. Her trip will focus on Urban Poverty and Renewal.

What's so great about the ABCs is that they are in themselves set up like a true Alternative Break trip. There is a pre-trip education component where students investigate relevant social issues prior to volunteering at the site. I mentioned earlier that the theme being dealt with at Portland will be Environmental Stewardship. Here are a few of the articles, video, and podcasts I've been receiving as part of our pre-trip education materials:

1. www.storyofstuff.com This is a well-made video that is actually pretty popular and widespread. Several of my friends have seen it before, and even I've heard of a biology professor who played the video in class. I like how it's informative but doesn't take on a fatalistic tone that I've seen in other environmental sustainability videos.
   
2. NPR Debate on "Global Warming is Not a Crisis" WOW. Before this debate I had never known any of the arguments and evidence for the opposition; the final vote is surprising! NPR brings together a panel of environmental experts, one of them a Scripps professor. More meaningful if you read more about Richard Lindzen.
3. "What's Wrong with What we Eat" Talk By Mark Brittman. An interesting talk about the history behind modern day eating habits.
4. Warren Buffet's Seven Secrets for living a Simple Life. So this is definitely not part of the pre-trip education materials I received, but it's a great article that I learned about from a friend. I'll end this blog with some of the passages I liked the most.
   

"In reality, productivity comes from within. It comes from doing what we love and loving what we do. When we start trading time between our professional and personal life, we wage war in our own mind to justify our passion in terms of a personal benefit. In my business I have felt more stress and angst when I haven’t given all of my talent, hard work and passion to help others on a given day. The myth of working hard to make more money to buy more things throws us in the vicious circle of hallucination. Our happiness always remains imprisoned when we do work that we abhor yet justify doing it to pay bills for those things that we don’t need..."

"I was lucky to have the right heroes. Tell me who your heroes are and I'll tell you how you'll turn out to be."