Europe here we come!

On May 11th, 22 students and three professors from the Department of Communication and Journalism at Missouri Western State University will take off from Kansas City International. Their destination,  a 19 day applied learning experience through Europe. Starting in Athens, the group will participate in the 12th Annual International Conference on Communication and Mass Media. From there, the group will then journey to London, visiting William Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre as well as diving into the sights and sounds of London and the surrounding area.

From London, the group will split into two with the Journalism students heading to Venice, Italy and the Public Relation students heading to Rome. From there it gets complicated! The Journalism students travel then to Rome via rail, then on to Dubrovnik, Croatia via rail and ferry and finally to Dublin before heading back to Kansas CIty. The PR students journey from Rome via rail and bus to Morgana, Switzerland. From there, they move on to Milan, Italy and then to Malta. From Malta they travel to Dublin and finally board the plane for Kansas City.

Throughout this 19-day journey, this blog will present daily posts as well as pictures from the trip. So… check back with us on the 12th of May and vicariously join us as we wind through the European cities and countryside, presenting at conferences, enjoying the local foods and customs and soaking up the best that Europe has to offer.

#Europe #MissouriWesternStateUniversity #TheDepartmentofCommunicationandJournalism

Day 7 We sit and watch the parade of planes coming to and leaving Belize.

Ours will soon be here and another adventure in this quaint and picturesque Central American country will be once again be nothing but a memory. This is my third time to Belize. The last was more than ten years ago. In the past decade I see a country that is striding forward. San Pedro on Ambergris Caye has exploded with development and rivals other major tourist attractions in the Caribbean. This is both a good and bad thing. Yes it is good for the tourism trade yet the sleepy little town is no more. Another major change in the past decade is the health of the reef. We visited a number of places I saw a decade ago and the reef life, in size, abundance and diversity has increased tremendously. What a great experience for our students to see vibrant healthy reefs and abundant aquatic life. The change was quite dramatic.

So once again we journey back to the home of the Pony Express. Another fantastic journey with the biology students in Dr. David Ashley’s amazing Field Natural History of Belize course.

Dr. Robert G. Nulph (resident photographer/videographer and overall techno geek)