Unaware of a Texan presence in San Francisco, we investigated the area to find “Texas on Tour,” a promotional tourism effort resembling an eccentric circus. The cowboy and the sand sculptor pictured above were two of the featured charismatic Texans with assorted talents.
The Texans rode segways with cattle horns to round up the unsuspecting tourists [...]
The tidal pools of Tongue Point Marine Life Sanctuary at Salt Creek Recreation Area are among the best in the Pacific Northwest. When you stand beneath the Douglas firs on the coastal edge at low tide, acres of intertidal pools lie between you and the Straits of Juan de Fuca. If the fog isn’t obscuring [...]
Before heading south, we explored the tidal zones and old growth forests of Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula.
If you wish to find where the 1960s hippies settled down, Vashon Island is supposedly the resting ground. But if you ever wondered where the hippies are still being grown, Olympia is the place. Amplifying the relaxing Seattle cafe attitude, Olympia has an eccentric kick to its culture emanating from the local art and music scene [...]
This summer, Chris Hooper (Webb Class 2011) and I are journeying on a road trip from Olympia, WA to southern California. My objective in blogging is to convey what it is like to travel by RV down the West Coast. I will be posting infrequently due to limited internet access. Above is our 27′ C-class Bravo [...]
My sister, Preeta, is in Xian, China. Visit her blog at www.preetawillemann.com
About a month ago, Ms. Jocelyn Gibbons, the marketing director of Just Eyewear, contacted me requesting data on the cost of prescription eyeglasses in Shanghai. The most relevant statistic I witnessed was this bucket of non-prescription glasses. The going price was 2 RMB (0.30 USD) each in the old markets. I also asked around for [...]
Jonathan Shaller, a fellow traveler from the Red Lantern Hostel in Beijing, rendered this pavilion using Autodesk Maya. Jonathan is a professional 3D Environmental Artist with an impressive background. Notably, he’s worked on the graphics for The Chronicles of Narnia, Madagascar, and Transformers. He modeled this pavilion after visiting the Forbidden City’s Imperial Garden, where [...]
I must admit that I am now back in New York with my parents and Chris. I will continue to post occasionally, as I still have many places, foods, and cultural oddities to share. Above are impaled sparrows being sold in the Qibao marketplace in Shanghai. It was disturbing to watch children ravenously gnaw these [...]
AUDIO
Recital Replay
During the Spring Festival, only one music store near the Shanghai Music Conservatory was open. It had the floorspace of a typical shop window display with about 20 violins crammed inside. A teacher clapped expressionlessly to a practicing student’s rhythm. The student was excellent for a ten-year-old and practiced five hours a day, [...]
The Imperial bedroom was the most popular scene in the Forbidden City. Crowds of tourists pressed their lenses up to the glass and peered in to see where the Emperor slept. The symbol on the far wall is “double happiness,” literally comprised of two happiness characters strung together. Many translations of Chinese into English happen [...]
The Forbidden City served as the Emperor’s Palace in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1644, 1644-1911). It’s the most impressive place I’ve seen in China and happens to be the world’s largest palace complex.
To enter the Forbidden City, you must first cross a 6-meter deep moat.
The southern half of the palace, where the Emperor ruled, [...]
Pictures & videos coming soon. I’ve spent the past two days at The Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, Zhongshan Park, Silk Street Market, and a family music shop.
In addition to the traveling, hostel life is very interesting. I room with a Frenchman who was originally here to study calligraphy, an Englishman in the video game industry, an American w0man who volunteers for the Peace Core as an English teacher in western China, and a Zhōnggúorén (person from China) who speaks no English [...]
I just arrived in Beijing and will be here until Feb 21. The only trouble I had was at security. The airport staff unloaded my backpack while asking me if I had an “organ.” Wondering if they really thought I was carrying animal parts, I watched them curiously go through my possessions until they found [...]
VIDEO
Fireworks From the Street
Fireworks From Apartment
In the first video, note the proximity of the fireworks to us, to the apartment complex, and to the car with the alarm. In the second video, note what’s happening next door. Such chaos and danger is very common during this week, the Spring Festival. The slow trail of cars [...]
To celebrate Spring Festival, our company, Herbert Software Systems Inc, went out to South Beauty, a Sichuan restaurant. We were seated in a private room around a large round table which felt more festive than the formal long rectangular tables at American occasions. Both people and food always filled the foreground and background of your [...]
This post is for Chris Hooper in Seattle. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Valentine’s Day in Shanghai is a copy of the American holiday with a few added quirks. While flowers and chocolate dominate the event, bouquets of little animal heads are also popular. This design is based on a famous Chinese wolf-sheep cartoon.
I started couple-hunting [...]
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