Official posts?

You may have noticed that a number of the earlier posts have the term Official Post attached to them (and several that don't really should have).  That term is being used to designate those posts that students write as part of the requirements of the course.  Each student is required to blog four times, once as an introduction, which they have already done, twice while we are traveling, and then once in reflection at the end of our journey. The term has no impact on our readers, but lets the professor know which posts to grade.  As we travel, students will be describing our experiences and teaching you a bit about what we have learned and what we have seen.  Students are also free to use the blog to communicate with friends and family in a public way and to post stories and other material appropriate to the course.  We leave in three days and the excitement is building.