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6 Things the World Can Learn From France

The Huffington Post is launching a series showcasing wisdom from around the world — traditions, daily rituals, philosophies, and lessons of history particular to each country — featuring a post each day, translated into English, from one of its international editors. I loved the first in the series, on how the French can inspire us to love life. For instance:

“In 2010, the French gastronomic meal was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, which honors cultural traditions.”

I can totally believe it!!

“In 1982, France’s Culture ministry had the crazy, brilliant idea to tell everyone in the country to go out, play music and dance for one night. Happening every first night of summer, the “Fête de la Musique” is now one of the greatest nights of the year.”

 

Food, music, and dancing. The French really do have it right. Read about the other 4 cultural and philosophical tidbits here!

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Asian Food Porn 4.0

This past weekend, Chuck and I tried a new restaurant with a some neighbors. Ruriiro is actually in a small private residence just 5 minutes up the road, run by a single gentleman named Kaz and his fluffy canine friend, Justin. I was amazed at how quickly (and simultaneously!) he prepared all 4 meals. Typically, homemade meals from short-staffed establishments are brought out one by one, creating an awkward situation where no one can really eat at the same time – but Kaz single handedly managed to prepare and deliver each delicious meal all at once. He did not disappoint! It’s one of our favorite establishments to date 🙂 I only wish I had snapped a pic of the pooch!

An endlessly changing horizon
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An endlessly changing horizon

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Check out my friend’s new blog about her experiences as a marine biologist, fitness instructor, surfer, and world traveler! You won’t regret it 🙂

carolynkovacs's avatarNothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm

“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” – C. McCandless

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Alice in Neverland

IMG_2802For as long as I can remember, Alice in Wonderland has been one of my favorite novels. I’m not even sure why, since it’s made of pure stuff and nonsense, but maybe that is part of its whimsical appeal for me. Mostly I think it’s the Cheshire Cat and Alice’s own Dinah, so it could be some secret understanding I have with a fellow silly blonde who likes cats… but who knows. My bridal shower was Wonderland Tea Party themed, I’ve dressed up as Alice for Halloween, and one of my favorite spots in Oxford is Alice’s Shop (the story itself was written by an Oxford man, so I loved her obvious legacy while I was there.) She is definitely a presence in my life, with all her curiousities.

Anyway, I “liked” Alice in Wonderland on Facebook, so occasionally little updates pop up on my newsfeed. The page recently posted this article, about Lewis Carroll (aka Charles Dodgson) and his real life inspiration for Alice, named Alice Liddell.

The article was written in a very matter-of-fact manner, with no agenda to speak of except for the reason the book came into existence at all. But I felt kind of uncomfortable by the end of it. It seems Mr. Dodgson had quite the interest in little girls, especially Ms. Liddell. He even went so far as to take photographs of them, including the slightly suggestive image of Alice below:

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There was nothing implicit in the article to suggest anything blatantly suspicious, but I Googled Alice Liddell and Charles Dodgson afterwards and found a plethora of material validating my instincts: there is evidence to suggest that Mr. Dodgson had inappropriate affections for little girls. There is no evidence that he acted on it, but he did write on various occasions about his affection for them, and how he liked to take partially nude photos of them. At one point, he even had a mysterious falling out with Alice’s family, with whom he had been friendly for many years. The relationship never fully recovered…

Critics of the pedophile theory argue that it was very common for celibate bachelors to be fond of young children during that time, and that child nudity was not the taboo back then in the way that it is now. It is possible that I am projecting my 21st century sensitivities onto the situation.

Still… it sounds like the Victorian era’s version of Michael Jackson, Neverland, and unproven-but-sketchy relationships with little boys. I still love Alice in Wonderland, but I am a little bit bummed!

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Pearl of the Orient: Weekend in Manila!

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This past weekend, I met Chuck in Manila for a few days of exploration. It’s a strange city full of contradictions, without as much to offer as many other cities in the region, but it was fun to visit. I wouldn’t recommend anyone go out of their way to see it necessarily, but I’m glad we went since we are more or less in the area. I didn’t bring the fancy camera (woops), so all my pics are iPhone shots, but you should get an idea of what it was like. 🙂

First off, I was really surprised that English was the default/primary language over there. While I was waiting at airports, I did all this research on some basic Tagalog phrases, and ended up using zero. All the signage, food menus, and advertising are in English. The live band we saw sang in English, too. I know the Philippines has a long history of occupation from European/American forces, but I think I was surprised because no one really speaks English on Okinawa, so I expected the native languages would be more prominent elsewhere, too. I’m not complaining, since it made for a much easier experience in many ways.

Anyway! I spent my first full day in Manila being a pampered poodle, since Chuck was still working. I relaxed poolside in the morning, then treated myself to a massage at the gorgeous, Thai-themed Devarana Spa. After lunching with Chuck, I ventured on my own for some truly high risk shopping.

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In my defense, Chuck has done nothing but brag about the amazing shopping in Manila (specifically the uber-trendy Makati District), AND the Jimmy Choo’s were on sale. Still… I am mildly ashamed of this embarrassing display of conspicuous consumption.

Saturday was devoted to historical and cultural exploration. We focused on Intramuros, the oldest district and historic core of Manila. It was mostly destroyed during World War II, and hasn’t fully recovered since. Because the Philippines was a colony for so long, the architecture and ambiance is very old Spanish and Roman Catholic. We visited Fort Santiago (the old citadel), walked in the footsteps of Filipino national hero Jose Rizal, and explored the rather morose San Augustin Church. We saw a lot, learned a lot, and sweated a whole lot, and we had a great time doing it (hover and click on an image to view caption.)

Gardens in Intramuros
The old theater. I love flowers and old architecture 🙂
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Fort Santiago, the citadel
You may be able to make out the figure of Filipino revolutionary Jose Rizal. He was kept here before his execution by Spanish authorities in 1896.
Posing in the San Augustin courtyard
San Augustin, oldest church in the Philippines (16th century)
Interior of San Augustin (most was rather depressing, but this was beautiful)

Our evenings, in contrast, were spent indulging our love of food, cocktails, and socializing. Both nights we walked to Makati and enjoyed a Thai meal the first night, and a Filipino meal the second. We sampled tinapa rolls, baked tahong with cheese, sisig, duck basil fried rice, garlic chicken, and I even tried coconut milk, straight out of the nut! Both meals were great, but ultimately not that memorable. I’m not sure if that means we aren’t particularly Filipino/Thai food people, or if we just didn’t get the best samples of it…

One evening, we stayed for live entertainment at a bar called NUVO, where the band sang mostly American and Western songs and we were served colorful marshmallows as a free bar snack (rather than peanuts!) I thought that was adorable.

Food porn: duck basil fried rice, baked tahong with cheese, sigarillas, tinapa rolls, and my very first coconut milk!
Dolled up for a night in Makati
Trendy fountain in Makati
Happy marshmallows at NUVO!

The most striking thing about Manila, however, is the incredible wealth disparity on constant display. Most cities have their rich sections and their poor sections, but in Manila, both are jumbled all together in a rather disarming way. I took the following picture from a perch in Intramuros. You can see the high rises and nice apartment buildings – looks like your standard city!

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I glided my iPhone lens mere inches to the left, and snapped a shot of the shacks in the very same neighborhood, and then captured another shot of the street nearby in touristy Intramuros:

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Of course, as some of the only white/American individuals in Intramuros that day, we were easy targets for the beggars and panhandlers. We do have that in the U.S. as well, but it felt different ignoring and walking away from those in Manila. It’s a unique brand of poverty all its own, and very sad indeed.

In sum… Manila is both beautiful and dirty, rich and poor, trendy and traditional, all at the same time. Compared to other places I have visited in my life, it certainly provided a different window into the world around us.

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Okinawa: Love to Hate It

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The view from my 5th floor balcony: Crazy skies over the village of Uruma

I have such mixed feelings about Okinawa.

It is beautiful and exotic, but heavily peppered with ugly and distracting architecture.

The skies are striking and waver between extremes at the blink of an eye, but the congested island itself simmers and festers in its own oppressively hot and sticky steam… featuring smells you can’t quite eliminate from your walls, linens, and furniture.

You step outside and even if you are perfectly still, you will quite literally melt within 30 seconds – glistening wet on every square inch of your surface. It’s unlike any humidity I experienced in the American south, and there’s simply no escaping it…

… But the water is blue, placid, and refreshing. There’s always, always that 🙂

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Courtney Beach

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DINK Livin’

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*DINK = Dual Income, No Kids!

Chuck and I purchased these hilarious decals from Etsy for Daisy and the Rabbit. We certainly don’t mean to offend any of the many young families that live in our Tower (and we’re by no means all that rich), but we just couldn’t resist plastering our cars with DINK* family stickers! The only thing missing is my baby fur Bean… who is significantly less expensive than a human baby, that’s for sure.

In other news, life is moving at its standard time-warpy pace. I have readjusted to life back in Japan after my 2-week visit to the U.S., and my job is not demanding in the slightest so far. In fact, most of my days are spent at home, since my primary colleague has been in the States and there is no need for me to sit and do nothing in our mostly nonexistent office with crappy, intermittent internet. I guess we’ll start sitting at little desks more regularly when she returns, but I don’t anticipate much goes on during the average day. The good news is that means it should be easier to keep up with class assignments (which start in about 6 weeks). I just registered for my Fall courses and I am getting really excited! But we’ll see how long it takes before I start grumbling about homework and due dates 🙂

In a couple of weeks, I will meet Chuck in Manila for a weekend. Even though I know very little about the Philippines, I am getting excited to check it out. It’s not a destination that was ever on my bucket list, but that could make for a more novel and unique experience in some ways. Since Chuck will already be there for work, we will only have to pay for my half of the trip, which is kind of awesome. I am not one to turn down an opportunity for more stamps in my passport, and in the meantime, I will research Manila attractions. If there is anything cool to do there, I will surely find it!

Education, travel, and adventures… oh the life of a DINK couple 🙂