A Baer Abroad

February 14 - SEX 101 Panel Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you!   Thinking of you all and sending love your way… In honor of the day, our Student Life program was Sex 101.   I had heard from a couple of people that this was a successful event in past voyages so thought we should try it again.   We solicited questions from students in advance.   Dr. Dana (who specializes in adolescent medicine), Diego (a faculty member who is also a marriage counselor), and 3 students were the panelists.   Our program was slated for a room that holds 100.   It was packed by about 10 minutes before the program began so we scrambled to move it to the largest gathering spot.   Our best estimate is that this session drew 350 people!   I was glad that we had compiled the questions in advance and also surprised at how basic some of the questions were.   It is apparently a mistake to assume that in the age of Google, our students can get the answer to the...

(Adventures in China Coming in a Separate Blog Post Soon!) Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam – February 8, 2018 Participating in the SAS Life Along the Mekong River and Cambodia program. Our group is small which will be nice. Last night we spent some time talking about our expectation for the trip which includes guidelines for drinking (drink okay; not drunk), and being on time (on time is 5 minutes early, oh no!) Hopefully, this will lay the groundwork for a good trip. Today we traveled for what seemed like forever by bus from HCMC to Vinh Long, a little town by a tributary of the Mekong River. Lots of small houses and stores along the roadway as we traveled. It reminded of the many long trips we took through Indonesia (without the mosques). It was quite a contrast to HCMC which could be confused for NYC with its large skyscrapers and French architecture. Vinh Long was bustling with activity as they are preparing for the lunar new year, Tet. Chrysanthamums are apparen...

Good morning, all! Just a quick note to let you know that Martha is en route from Vietnam to Myanmar. There is lots going on onboard, including staff/student preparations for the "Sea Olympics," where each floor ("sea") competes. Martha hasn't had a chance to blog about China or Vietnam, but is thinking of one and all.