Basic Information

Full Name: August Ricksecker

Title of Project: Life in informal Sri Lankan settlements
Thematic Areas: Global Studies and Community Engagement
Expected Start Date: March 18th, 2016
Expected End Date: March 26th, 2016

1) Abstract
For this trip, myself as well as 2-3 other students in UHP would go to Colombo, Sri Lanka to
study and experience slum culture in a unique developing country. I would stay with a friend
who is from Sri Lanka and attends the University of Cincinnati to reduce costs of living as well
as act as a translator when necessary. During our trip, I will visit the inner city as well as
surrounding slums and observe lifestyle and cultural patterns.
This trip is personally meaningful because it will be my first true international experience.
Having lived in middle class America all my life, I know that I will experience things abroad that
will completely open my eyes and change my perspective on the world. Additionally, having an
urban studies background it will go great lengths to be able to experience some of the conditions
Ive studied so intensely but have little to relate with. Above all, this experience will give me
global perspective and understanding of cultural differences firsthand, an incredibly valuable
experience I havent yet had a chance to have.
The goals for this project is to gain an understanding of slum life and culture through
interviews, observation, and firsthand experience. By the end, I plan to have a collection of
pictures, interviews, videos, and personal journal notes that I can compile into a blog. Through
this, I plan to not only heighten my personal awareness, but also be able to articulate and use this
knowledge in conversation and potentially my future job.
The tentative itinerary is as follows:
March 18th: Flight from Cincinnati (CVG) to Colombo (CMB) with layover in Chicago and
Abu Dhabi
March 19th: Settle in to home and explore neighborhood directly around where I will be
staying.
March 20th: Visit Sri Lanka National Museum and walk around downtown interviewing,
taking pictures and notes.
March 21st: Go to a working-class factory that my friends family operates. Here I can talk to
some of the people through interviews and take note of the working conditions.
March 22nd: Take trip to Wanathamulla, a slum of Colombo.

March 23rd: Visit Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple and experience a worship/meditation.

March 24th: Walk the streets, go to Galle Face Green park and beach.
March 25th: Free day to experience any ideas/places I think of throughout the week.
March 26th: Return flight from Colombo (CMB) to Cincinnati (CVG)
Depending on weather and timing this is subject to minor changes. I have left a day open to
do anything that I discover while there. Additionally, a major cultural center internationally is
their sporting events, so upon arrival I will search to see if there are any soccer or cricket
matches being hosted there that I can attend. The reason for that is because I believe that
sporting/ social events are the largest place for cultural expression outside of the religious
realm.
2) Experience Advisor

ChrisAuffrey

chris.auffrey@uc.edu
Professor Auffrey is one of my professors with a great amount of experience both
internationally and in planning. I took his Economics of Planning class fall of my first year.
Because he has experience abroad, I can ask him advice for potential points to reflect on or
interesting questions to ask people during our interviews. If I have any questions, his
expertise should be a major help in making sure there is not as much confusion and chaos
during my first true trip abroad.
It will be easy to meet with Professor Auffrey during office hours or via appointment at any
given time. I plan to have this meeting the week of November 16th because I do not have any
current commitments and he has available office hours. During this meeting, I can use a
conference room where Ill ask him questions about his international experiences and what
suggestions he would have for me.

3) Connection to Learning Outcomes

A) As I mentioned previously, I have not yet taken a true trip abroad. Most people are
able to do this for the first time with their families, but mine will be totally
independently aside from a few other students. My first learning objective to develop
practical travel skills that promote safe, stimulating, and productive travel throughout
my life. This learning objective is fairly easy and will be achieved from the
experience itself. The first specific thing that I will have to do is be well-prepared. I
will order my ticket far in advance, and do a little research on the places I will be
visiting, and ask my friend and advisor about potential safety concerns that may arise.
Practicing this now will build good habits so that I do the same in my future travels.
The preparation phase for this trip should take about 30-40 hours of research.
Secondly, writing the mistakes or difficulties in my daily blog will be a resource I can

look back on in the future to help remember what the best practices were when
traveling on similar trips. This will only take about 1 hour every day Im there to
reflect and write down my thoughts.
B) The second learning outcome I plan to achieve is to summarize the
interconnectedness of geography, history, cultural traits and world issues. This will
happen in a couple stages. The first will be reading up on the history of Sri Lanka
using the academic resources I listed below. This will give me the background to be
able to accurately associate what I see while on the trip to the countrys history.
Reading about the history is a one-time event and will probably take somewhere from
10-20 hours to get good information I can use. Another method I will use is the
interviews I will conduct while there. These will give me a better understanding of
cultural traits and world perceptions of the citizens there. This will be the major part
of the experience and should consume most of my time and energy when on the
streets. Lastly, not just visiting the wealthy but also the slum areas of Colombo will
give me the total picture and a better understanding of the greater trends and
relationships globally, as Sri Lanka is a good representation of a developing country.
C) The third and final learning outcome that I plan to achieve is to develop a thorough
understanding of the world view, beliefs, experiences, self-consciousness, or history
of community members through collaboration. The collaborative interviews will do
this very well, but also the trips to a Buddhist temple and Sri Lankan National
Museum will greatly help formally educate me. Here there is knowledge and history
that dates back hundreds of years and will help develop a deeper understanding of
historical culture as well as current cultural practices. These two visits in combination
with the interviews will either complement or contrast each other, and the discovery
of which it is will be part of the learning experience. The two trips to the museum and
temple will take about 3-4 hours each. The final activity that will aid in achieving this
learning objective is the visit to the factory. Observing the working class in class is a
huge cultural element that many reports leave out. Thus, without interrupting the
workday of the people there, I plan to observe people in their working environment,
also helping gain a wider breadth of knowledge towards the culture as a whole. This
will take about 4-5 hours of one of the days I am there.

4) Academic Resources Connected to the Learning Outcomes

A) Sri Lanka: Current Issues and Historical Background, Walter Nubin
This resource does a good job of explaining not only historical events of the country,
which are extremely important in gaining an understanding of the context, but also gives
a modern viewpoint on the state of the country. The book is from 2002, so it will be
interesting to see what still holds true and what doesnt since the book was published.
Regardless, reading this will give a good idea of what I can look out for when taking
notes, conducting interviews, and taking pictures. This connects to the learning outcomes
because it will help me gain a deeper understanding of a different culture through another
medium. While immersing myself in culture will teach a lot, there are aspects of Sri
Lanka that I will have to learn through literature. Above all, having this resource will help

answer many of the questions I may have in my reflections and guide the experience in
the right direction.
B) -A documentary on Urban Poverty in Sri Lanka by 'RRSF,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSzHXHPLgIo
- Area Code - A look through the urban slums of Sri Lanka,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g5-RerXzy0
- Inside Sri Lanka,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQaCZDwUnfM
I will watch a series of documentaries on YouTube to help gain an understanding of poor
urban and slum life before visiting those places. This relates to the learning outcomes
because it will give me a new perspective of life to draw off of. Understanding this will
be important in order to collaborate when conducting my interviews. I will mostly be
interviewing people living in such conditions, so having a solid background is necessary
to be able to ask the right questions. Also, having this background should better inform
my reflections and give focal points for my research.

5) On-going Reflection
Throughout the experience there are several ways that I will reflect upon everything
happening around me. The first way is I will set up a blog that I can post my
experiences to. On the blog, I will have a journal of the significant daily occurrences
and a short reflection on whatever I learned or came across. Secondly, with the
camera and microphone, I will conduct interviews with citizens at various points of
the trip, using my friend as a translator when necessary. Lastly, I will be taking
pictures of some of the different settings I encounter and taking some notes in the
daily log about.
Daily log questions:
How do some of the places compare to what I have experienced back home?
How do the peoples lives and routines differ from in America and between the
classes in Sri Lanka?
What were your favorite/least favorite parts of the day?

Interview Questions:
Briefly describe your average day.
Where do you work?
How do you feel about the current housing situation for people of varying incomes in
the city?
Do you feel there are opportunities for you if you are not born into wealth?
If you could change one thing, what would it be?
What are your favorite things to do in the city?
What are your opinions of America?

6) Sharing Your Learning

I will keep an active blog and post the link on my personal portfolio. I would like
this to be able to be used as a resource for current and future planning students, as well as
anyone who is interested in slum development or life in Sri Lanka. To do this, Ill have to
make my blog easily accessible online for college students to use.
In order to achieve that level of accessibility, I will advertise by posting flyers
around the DAAP building as well as spread the blog through word of mouth. My family
has people working in city planning like departments in 3 different cities, so giving it to
them will allow it to find someone who can use it. Additionally, it will be able to be
searched on google for someone doing research or looking to know more about Sri
Lanka.

7) Budget
Food:
1. I will have a daily food budget of $25 for a grand total of $175. This is a loose
budget and will be greater or less depending on where I are each day to eat.
Transportation Costs:
1. Through CheapoAir, I was able to find round trip plane tickets for $1,130 from
the Cincinnati airport to Colombo, Sri Lanka
2. My friend has a personal driver to transport us once inside the city, but a public
transit budget will be set at $25 as a backup
Sites:
1. National Museum - $4.25 admission
2. Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple - $1.25 admission
Equipment:
1. Microphone and Transmitter (Interviews) - $35 on Amazon
2. Camcorder - $50
The total budget is $1,430. I will be getting a student workers position in the spring to
help gain personal funds for this trip. Especially for flight costs, however, it would help
greatly to have an Honors Grant. I also currently have some money saved that I will be
able to use for daily expenses.