Travel


   I really enjoy traveling, since it means getting out of Milledgeville, at least for a while. I think it's especially important for students to visit other countries to learn about other cultures. It's not all that expensive to travel to Europe, so if you have the chance, you should go! GC&SU has some great exchange programs. If you're interested, visit the International Education Office in 223 Lanier Hall.
   My recent travel is listed on this page. I went out of the US for the first time only in 2000 (with the exception of short trips to Canada, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands, previously). At some point, I hope to supplement this page with pictures from trips, at least since 2003.
   In the future, I hope to go back to India and Turkey, to Cyprus, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and somewhere in South America. I am hoping to teach abroad somewhere soon. I had an opportunity to teach on Semester at Sea (spring 2006), but scheduling issues preventing me from doing this.
 

International Travel
Year Place Description

2008

Montreal Canada
Rome, Venice, ITALY; Nova Gorica, Bled, SLOVENIA; Vienna, AUSTRIA
 
2007    
   
   
2006 Tilburg, NETHERLANDS;
Brussels, BELGIUM (11/06)
Conference presentation and drinking some Belgian beers.
Banff, CANADA (4/06) Conference presentation and a day of snow skiing. Should be good.
2005
Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS (2/05) Went to drink some beer for the weekend.
2004 Monterrey, MEXICO (7/04) Friends' wedding...
Cancun, MEXICO (3/04) There was a "conference" there, but I didn't attend it. Instead, saw the sites of Cancun. Interesting, but not much different from your Florida beach, pero hablan Espanol.
2003 Istanbul, TURKEY; Athens, GREECE (8/03) This was my second 3-week trip to Turkey. We spent most of the time in Istanbul, but I took a short excursion to Greece. I was investigating the possibility of an exchange program there.
Vancouver, CANADA (5/03) This was a conference on gambling. I also did some research on the legal status on drugs and prostitution in Canada. Just prior to my visit, there was a shake-up in the drug laws. Now small amounts of marijuana are punishable only by a fine. I think the law isn't settled yet, though, so things may change still. 
Heidelburg, GERMANY;
Lake Geneva, SWITZERLAND;
Port du Soleil, FRANCE/SWITZERLAND (2/03)
This was a great weekend ski trip. I flew to Frankfurt, where my cousin picked me up at the airport. We went down to Heidelburg, then got on a bus to Montraux, Switzerland (on Lake Geneva). We skied three days at Port du Soleil. The place is pretty cool: you start the day in Switzerland, and ski right over to France. Back and forth is easy. After skiing the third day, we got on the bus up to Heidelburg, and stayed the night there. The next morning, my cousin drove me to the airport. The autobahn is pretty cool. Back to Milledgeville by evening. Tired as hell!
2002 Istanbul, Ankara, and Kemer, TURKEY (5/02) This was a great 3-week trip with my girlfriend, Esenc. She's Turkish, so the language wasn't a problem for me. We spent 2 weeks in Istanbul (a great city), a few days on the south coast (Kemer), and two days in the capital (Ankara). My cousin came down from Germany to visit for a weekend.
2001 Heidelburg, Berlin, and Magdeburg, GERMANY (11/01) I visited my cousin, who has lived there for about 10 years, and a friend & former student. Fascinating place, but the beer's not as great as everyone thinks! It was damn cold when I was there. Also dark and depressing.
Mumbai and Dehli, INDIA (5-6/01) This was a 3-week University sponsored & paid seminar on Indian culture. Very interesting. For some great pictures, see Giles' site.
2000 Rome, Florence, and Pisa, ITALY (12/00-1/01) Italy is wonderful! I want to go back as soon as I can. I bought a new camera (my first) for this trip. I got some decent pictures, but they'll never be posted here because they're not digital.
Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS (12/00) I went back to Amsterdam with another friend. It wasn't as fun this time. Still, this is an interesting place to see and be.
Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS (10/00) This was my first trip to Europe, and my first 9-hour flight! As long as you sleep, these long flights aren't too bad.
Whistler, CANADA (9/00) This was for an academic conference. Whistler's a ski resort, but there was no snow in September.
Domestic Travel
2007 Chigago, IL (1/07) American Economic Association meeting, but mainly going to visit Chicago.
2006 Kansas City, KS (12/06) Visiting family for an early Christmas.
Charleston, SC (11/06) Conference and interview at College of Charleston. A great city!
Las Vegas, NV (11/06) Two conference presentations at the Rio.
Pensacola, FL, and New Orleans, LA (8/06) Vacation. New Orleans hasn't recovered outside the French Quarter. I'm not convinced the city should be rebuilt.
Los Angeles, GA, and Lake Tahoe, NV (5/06) To LA to visit a friend, then to Lake Tahoe to present some papers at a conference. Did a day of (snow/slush) skiing at Squaw Valley.
2005 Las Vegas, NV (12/05) Another conference. There's one each year out there.
Las Vegas, NV (8/05)  
Kansas City, KS (8/05)  
New Orleans, LA (6/05)  
Philadelphia, PA (1/05) American Economic Association conference...to interview candidates for a new economist at GC&SU. Not going to be fun...
2004 Kansas City, KS (12/04) Home for Christmas.
Los Angeles, CA, and Las Vegas, NV (12/04) Out to LA to visit a friend, then to Vegas to gamble a bit, and to attend a conference. Cold as hell!
New Orleans, LA (11/04) The Southern Economic Association conference is definitely worth going to when it's in Nawlins. Presenting a paper. Some ECON students are attending too.
Dallas, TX (11/04) The Dallas Fed puts on a damn good conference. This one's on "Myths of Free Trade," and should be very good.
Los Angeles, CA (4/04) Visiting a friend from high school/graduate school, who used to teach with me at LSU. A quick weekend trip before final exams.
New York, NY (3/04) I've never been to NY before. Went with my girlfriend, and stayed with some friends who live there. They've got a great apartment in Brooklyn, two blocks from the water, 18th floor, with a perfect view of Manhattan.
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX (2/04) Went to visit a friend, with some friends.
Kansas City, KS (2/04) Visiting family.
Beaver Creek/Vail, CO (1/04) Skiing for the first time in a year! Great trip.
San Diego, CA (1/04) I went to the American Economic Association's conference. While I was there, I saw a friend of mine from high school. San Diego seems like a nice place, but I didn't get to stay too long.
2003 Kansas City, KS (12/04) This was the annual Christmas visit to the family in Kansas. It's always nice to go home for a few days.
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX (10/03) I went to a conference honoring economist Milton Friedman, at the Dallas Fed. Doug Butler lives there now, so I saw him too. Two other friends from Atlanta came for the weekend too. It was fun for all.
2002 Kansas City, MO (12/02) Visiting family again.
Las Vegas, NV (12/02) Conference on addiction medicine.
New Orleans, LA (11/02) Back to New Orleans for the SEA meeting. The Economics & Investment Club took a few members. It was fun, I think.
Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA (8/02) I taught at LSU in 1997-98. A friend of mine has been teaching there since '97. We went to visit him before he moves to LA. Went and had a bunch of good food, tried to avoid West Nile virus and the serial killer.
Boca Grande, FL (4/02) Visited my father. He lives on a boat there.
Kansas City, KS (1/02) Visited family again.
2001 Las Vegas, NV (12/01) Conference on the diagnosis of gambling disorders.
Kansas City, KS (10/01) Saw the Auburn-Florida game in KC with a friend of mine from graduate school. Great game!
Kansas City, KS (8/01) Visiting family again.
New Orleans, LA (7/01) Went back to N.O. to eat some dinner.
Kansas City, KS (2/01) You gotta visit family at least once a year, I guess. So I did.
New Orleans, LA (1/01) A conference, but these are always fun in N.O. We had to interview candidates for our department chair, who will begin August 2001.


Last updated 6/9/6.