2011 Program Schedule
August 24, Wednesday. Depart Narita and Taipei airports for flight to Bangkok. Transfer to Bangkok hotel.
August 25, Thursday. Introductory meeting and planning session. Briefing by Larry Jagan, former BBC correspondent and now independent journalist. Lunch with Larry Jagan. To Chulalongkorn University for lecture by Prof. Thitinan Pondsudhirak on Myanmar’s relations with ASEAN and Thailand. Late-afternoon meeting with staff of Burma Issues, an NGO focusing on human rights issues. B, L
August 26, Friday. Morning meeting with Emma Larkin, author of Finding George Orwell in Burma and Everything is Lost. Reflection session. Lunch. Hotel check-out and transfer to Bangkok Airport for flight to Yangon. Transfer by chartered bus to Panorama Hotel. B, L, D
August 27-30, Saturday-Tuesday These days will be led mostly by the Myanmar students who will guide our entry into their society, whether through exploring the huge Shwedagon Pagoda which dominates the city, examining the colonial architecture, talking in one of the many sidewalk teashops and having dinner one evening in their homes. The emphasis is on building personal relationships as well as observing daily life. A briefing by UNICEF staff and a visit to a local NGO will introduce some of the nation’s social challenges. Japanese and Thai students will meet with embassy officials; Taiwan students will explore Yangon’s Chinese community with Pre-Collegiate Program students. B, L, D
August 31, Wednesday . Morning flight to Mandalay, the historic capital and the country’s second largest city. After settling into our hotel and having lunch, we’ll visit Golden Palace Monastery and a nearby pagoda with the world’s largest stone books. Shortly before sunset, we travel to Mandalay Hill which overlooks the city, the Irrawaddy river and the far hills. B, L, D
September 1, Thursday. We visit Phaung Daw Oo School, started by a Buddhist priest to serve those children who are too poor to attend public schools; we’ll meet with the priest, with teachers and with students. In the afternoon, we visit a girls’ orphanage and, later, will have extended discussions with students at an English school. B, L, D
September 2, Friday. The group visits one of the area’s largest monasteries where thousands of young monks study. We then return to an English school where students welcome us to their homes or monasteries for dinner. B, L, D
September 3, Saturday. We float down the Irrawaddy river on a ten-hour boat trip to reach the fabled plains of Bagan, dotted by thousands of 800-year-old temples, pagodas and stupas. B, L, D
September 4-5, Sunday-Monday. With our local guide, we visit some of the most interesting of Bagan’s fabled sites, whether the huge Ananda Pahto temple or the small stupas found in the fields. We’ll also explore the local marketplace, a village-based toddy-palm enterprise and have dinner with local people, including an artist and puppeteer. On the late afternoon of Monday, we fly back to Yangon. B, L, D
September 6, Tuesday. After a morning group reflection session, the rest of the day is free for a final, personal look at Yangon (with Pre-Collegiate students). That evening, we join these students for a farewell dinner. B, L, D
September 7, Wednesday. Morning: free. Early-afternoon transfer to airport for flight to Bangkok. Japanese students depart in late evening for overnight flight to Narita. Taiwan students stay overnight at hotel near airport. B, L.
September 8, Thursday. Japanese students arrive Narita. Taiwanese students fly Bangkok-Taipei. B, L
B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner