Hi Fish..........Well, basically I was just trying to see if the naysayers would acknowledge that if so many so called teachers had bothered to do a little research, they wouldn't have fallen into some of the traps that have been expertly set for the naive. But you're right, what information they could find here in this forum generally leans to the negative side. On the other hand, if one were to navigate their way past all the negatives, they could find a lot of valuable advise-not just advise on how to avoid the pitfalls but also advise on how to hone their cultural sensitivity. Maybe I'm being a bit of an idealist in that regard.

On another note, I hope you're still relaxing under the sun in a gentle breeze - perhaps sittin' on a river bank with your feet danglin' in the water. Or maybe gently trolling your way to a fine catch for the nights repast. I'll be there soon myself. A little less than two weeks of finals and marking and a ton of paperwork and I'll be on my way.

My favorite fishing holes can be found in Oregon. My favorite of all is a place called Ten Mile Lakes on the south coast. Two lakes joined by a natural canal. They have 200 miles of shore line, so lots of beautiful little coves that you can pull your boat into and enjoy the most incredible scenery you can imagine while dropping a worm into the water without even caring if you get a nibble. Or you can get out into the open water where trolling with a good lure will net you a limit of rainbows in no time.
If you tire of the freshwater scene, it's just a matter of a few minutes drive to the ocean where you can sit up on the rocks and catch sea perch with very little effort. Or, if you're a little more enterprising, you can cast further out with the hope of pulling in some big ones.

So, that's where I'll be doing my lollygaggin' when I'm not catching up on family doins. And if I'm not fishing, I'll be walking the beaches at sunset, gathering up energy for my next foray to this fascinating place. When I return, much to the delight of the naysayers here in this forum, I'll probably just do my own thing and keep my opinions to myself. Just a few more terms at this university and I'll be off to a better life in a quiet town in the west of China where hopefully the locals will teach me the ins and out of fishing the local streams and lakes.

Meanwhile, hope your enjoying your vacation Fish.