Studying is part of studying abroad? Who says?

Monday May 11th, 2009

Unfortunately after such a great weekend in London, it was time for me to buckle down and get some work done for school. For my classes we have been working on several books we had to read. Among them were In the Hot Zone, A Sense of Place, The House on Sugar Beach, A Travelers Tale, and France Travel Stories. For class we were required to write and evaluate our thoughts on the books. My favorite was In the Hot Zone because it outlines the voyages of Kevin Sikes who is an NBC Correspondent during the Iraqi War. He witnessed an event in a Mosque where a soldier violated a Geneva Convention Mandate by shooting an insurgent that had already been injured. Sikes was faced with the decision whether to release the tape to the pool of reporters or to destroy it. Journalists are constantly being tested in these types of situations to make ethical decisions.

The other books outlined different stories of journalist who report from other countries. I agree with journalist Sarah Wheeler when she says that the reporter should focus on the people instead of the place you are at. Being human is what is interesting to me. Looking at people going about their daily lives is very interesting and that is what drives journalist. Instead of talking about the Eiffel Tower itself, one should look at why it was built and how it represents the people of the area of Paris. Wheeler is right and I feel it’s something journalist should write about and observe when reporting stories.

Being in travel reporting is teaching me how to work in a different setting that I am not familiar with. One of the hardest things when being in an unfamiliar place is dealing with the language barrier. It has been difficult to find people who speak English and not giving off the impression that you are soliciting them for money. Many times when I would approach someone, I was turned away or they did not understand English. This is just something I will keep working on and hopefully have luck with.