-W mw WedesayFeruay , 00O Magazine Editor: Jessica Vosgerchian Editor in Chief: Gary Graca ManagingEditor: Courtney Ratkowiak Photo Editor: Sam Wolson Multimedia Editor: David Azad Merian Junk Drawer: Brian Tengel Center spread design: Hillary Ruffe Cover photo: Chanel Von Habsburg- Lothringen The Statement is The Michigan Daily's news magazine, distributed every Wednesday during the academic year. new rules rule 179: It's acceptable to keep your socks on during sex in this weather. rule 180: Throwing all your plastic bottles in a bin labeled "newspaper only" doesn't make you a good environ- mentalist. rule 181: It's fine to have your guilty pleasure TV shows. It's not OK to watch the same epi- sode of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" more than once. - E-mail rule submissions to TheStatement@umich.edu jr the beaten pathB But tempted by cheaper trav- el costs and better exchange rates, more students are getting adventurous or creative with their study abroad experiences. The 2008 Open Doors study, an annual report on study abroad trends published by the Insti- tute of International Education, found that the overall popular- ity of "non-traditional" destina- tions like Asia, Africa and Latin American surged last year. From 2007 to 2008, the numbers of American students studying in China, South Africa and India all grew by more than 20 percent. Below are just a few of the more unconventional options offered by the University, from study "abroad" trips you won't need a passport for to remote locations on the other side of the globe. v Kelly Fraser kE ABROAD Lakota territories in the Quebec, Canada Khon Kaen, Thailand Through a program administered by the Council on International Edu- cational Exchange, University stu- dents can spend a semester studying the Thai language and national issues including political and envi- ronmental tensions- fieldwork that has certainly grown more intense given the country's recent political turmoil. Khon Kaen, in central Thai- land, wasn't a part of the eruptions of sometimes-violent anti-government demonstrations this summer and fall that, at one point, forced the closure of both of Bangkok's airports and portions of the capital's government district. When a court banned Thai Prime Minster Somchai Wongsawat from politics in early December, the protests dissolved and the airports were re-opened. Tibet In past years, the University's Department of Asian Languages and Cultures occasionally organized summer tours of the region, but the program is currently postponed indefi- nitely until the political climate of the region calms down. The autonomy of region has long been contested - Tibet's spiritual leader, the DalaiLama, has lived in exile since1959. These ten- sions most recently boiled over last March when protests turned devolved into a riot violent and ended with the Chinese government instating martial law in the region. The last University trip was in 2007 when students and faculty toured monasteries and the countryside on tourist visas, said Nicole Baker, the department's graduate program coor- dinator. Walpole Island, home of the Bke- jwanong First Nation, a community of a few thousand native people, is just a two-hour drive from Ann Arbor. Located on the opposite shore of Lake St. Clair, Walpole Island is practically shouting dis- tance from metro Detroit. The trip, which is sponsored through the tn i- versity's Global Intercultural Experi- ence for Undergraduates Program, is now in the planning stages for this May. During their four-week stay on the island, students will work primarily with Bkejwanong youth, learning about Ojibwe culture and the island's ecology. Dakotas Similar to the Bkejwanong First Nation trip, GIEU students will also have the opportunity to spend a month this summer on the Lakota reservation - 1,000 square miles of unrecognized territory covering parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. Under the direction of Engineering Prof. Kim Kearfott, students will work witfh area nonprofit organizations to measure and assess the dan- gers of radiation levels caused by a long history of uranium mining in the region. The University's five-week sum- mer program with Universite Laval is a popular choice with French students who don't have an entire summer to spend abroad or stu- dents who don't want to shell out the big bucks to cover the high cost of living in Paris. And although a plane ticket is probably the most practical, if you always longed to take a road trip through Ontario, here's your chance. The campus in Quebec City is just a short 12.5- hour drive away. That's closer than Orlando, Fla. 4 COLDER THAN MICHIGAN Trade in your CARHART and NORTH FACE for UNGLASSES Yand. more classes? In response to increased student demand, the COLLEGE OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND THE ARTs has expanded its 2009 spring/summer course offerings. Sign-up for these new classes when registration begins in March.A Read more, including the list of new options, at www.lsa.umich.edu/lsa/newcourses. TELL HOW TO LIVE Submit new rules to vosgerchian@michigandaily.com ABROAD ABOARD Semester at Sea voyages earn students between 12 Who says studying abroad and 15 credits and dock at about a requiresalocationonlandSemester dozen ports across the globe. The at Sea, a study abroad program with Spring 2010 cruise includes stops in a reputation for luxury, is run from a Ensenada, Mexico; Chennai, India; state-of-the-art cruise ship complete Naples, Italy; and Southampton, with air conditioning, a England. But the piano bar and program comes a swimming with a big price l. The -- tag - cabins approxi- , -on the Spring matelythree- - .voyage begin at month-long $22,395. o IN- 20 .., is r' { L Wwp Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl or Irkutsk) The University has paired up with several other colleges to offer stu- dents multiple study abroad loca- tions in Russia, including universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg. But if you're looking for a change of cli- mate from grey Ann Arbor, kseep searching. With high temperatures hovering somewhere in the mid-20s Fahrenheit during the winter months in every single city is likely to be just as chilly as Ann Arbor during a bad week in February. Scandinavia (Sweden, Finland) The University participates in three different programs in the region, including partnerships with