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Auggies in Thailand

Posts from the road: Summer travel 2012

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By Wendi Wheeler ’06

Auggies in ThailandThe Augsburg students teaching English in Thailand pose outside of the Wat Benchamabophit, a temple in Bangkok.

The Augsburg Choir U.S. Tour

The Augsburg Choir, under the direction of Peter Hendrickson ’76, toured the Midwest in May. With stops in Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming, the choir performed nine concerts and had opportunities to connect with potential Auggies and their families as well as alumni and friends of the College.

Teaching English in Thailand

This was the fifth year that English professor Kathy Swanson and her husband, Jack, took students to teach English in Thailand as part of a short-term study abroad course through the Center for Global Education. In addition to teaching for 10 days in the village of Prachuap Khirikhan, the students learned about Thai culture and history, sailed on the Gulf of Siam, rode elephants, and tried to stay cool in the 120-degree heat. Photos from the 2012 Thailand course

International Management and Finance in Germany

For four weeks in May and June, a group of German students and professors from Karlsruhe, Germany, paired with Augsburg students and assistant business professor Marc McIntosh to study international business practices.

The group met for two weeks in Europe, visiting the European Parliament in Strasbourg and witnessing firsthand the financial crisis that was occurring in Europe at that time. They also went to the Frankfurt stock exchange and experienced the volatility in the financial market as a result of the crisis, McIntosh said.

Then, back in the U.S., the students visited three companies with strong ties to Germany and gained insights into how to do business in overseas markets. Finally, the students participated in an intensive business simulation game with teams competing to maximize shareholder value through the launches of multiple product offerings.

Political and Civic Engagement in Egypt

Political science professor Joe Underhill and Mohamed Sallam, director of Pan-Afrikan student services at Augsburg, led students to Egypt in May to study youth movements and social change. The group visited cultural sites, villages, an ecotourism resort, and a Bedouin camp, observed the historic presidential election, and examined ongoing efforts to rebuild the country in the wake of the 2011 revolution. The combined political science and history course, Political and Civic Engagement in Egypt, was a faculty-led study abroad program coordinated through Augsburg’s Center for Global Education.

An excerpt from Underhill’s blog:

Election day is notable for its calm. Everyone is voting and waiting; my sense is that people are still feeling that they are in a dream, not sure that this can really be happening, and wondering if they will wake up in the morning to find the military back in power, or in fact with a leader they have chosen. The city is quieter than usual, less traffic and crowds, with people staying home to vote.

Read more of the Egypt 2012 blog for more about the elections, the extreme traffic in Cairo, and sharing a plane ride with former President Jimmy Carter.

Social Service in a Global Context: Namibia and the U.S.

During July, a group of 25 Master of Social Work (MSW) students studied in Namibia and South Africa accompanied by Lois Bosch, professor and MSW program director, and Nancy Rodenborg, associate professor and chair of the Social Work Department. The group visited social service agencies, hospitals, schools, and other venues.

Auggies abroad in 2012-13 (including summer 2012)

  • 28 students participated in summer programs in Austria, Ecuador, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Namibia, Norway, Jamaica, Jordan, Spain, and the United Kingdom
  • 41 students took part in summer short-term faculty-led programs including programs in Egypt, Germany, and Thailand
  • 27 students will study abroad in fall semester
  • 6 students will study abroad for the full 2012-13 academic year
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