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This section was last updated on February 16, 2010.
Meeting people around the world can be a good way to mirror ourselves. The more cultures we’re exposed to and the more contrast we may find between our way of life and that of the others, the clearer we may get to see ourselves. And the clearer we get to see ourselves, the more common ground we may find between ourselves and the others.
Some societies may accentuate certain sets of human traits, while some other societies may accentuate some other sets of traits. In the long run, however, all human conduct is drawn from one single common pool of human characteristics and there’s no possible human behavior embraced by any individual, tribe or society that may not exist at least in a potential manner in each and everyone of us. In other words, learning about the “others” can be a good way to learn about ourselves.
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Da-Nang & Marble Temple, Vietnam, February 16, 2010. The beaches in the seaside city of Da-Nang are wide and nice. Having lunch and dinner sitting at a table placed right on the sand reminded me of Central America. But the Vietnamese fishing boats are quite different from anything I'd seen before. The Marble Temple is a Buddhist sanctuary worth taking a look at.
Hoi Anh, Vietnam, February 14, 2010. Spring comes down early here in Vietnam. It's barely the middle of February and many of us already go around wearing shorts, T-shirts and sandals. The Lunar New Year is here with us too, so I took a little trip southeast of Hanoi to welcome the new year by the sea.
Loutraki, Greece, November, 2009/January, 2010. What do you do when you have to wait for a few weeks before you move on to your next destination? You go to Greece, where the food is good and the waiting is easy.
California, September/October 2009. California is beautiful and is fun. Being there in the company of good friends makes it even more so.
Najd Restaurant, Riyadh, SA, July 12th, 2009. Najd is the name of a reputable small chain of restaurants in Riyadh. On the afternoon of Sunday, July 12th, my student Shakr took me there for a delicious typical Saudi Arabian lunch.
Camel Market, Riyadh, SA, July 9th, 2009. There are two kinds of Camels in the world, Dromedaries and Bactrians. Arabian Camels are of the one-humped or Dromedary kind. You can find two-humped or Bactrian Camels in Saudi Arabia too, like the one I'm pictured sitting on in the "Riyadh" photo collection below, but they're a small minority. On the afternoon of July 9th I went to Riyadh's Camel Market.
Al Musmak Castle, Dirah Mosque and Gold Market. Riyadh, SA, June 25th, 2009. It is somewhat telling of Saudi Arabia’s contrasts to find a historic castle, a very large place of prayer and an impressive gold market, all of them just a couple of minutes away from each other on foot.
National Museum, Riyadh, SA. June 19th, 2009. The Saudi Arabia that we know today is a young Kingdom. To visit the National Museum in Riyadh is to relive the history of that kingdom and its ancestral origins. I spent a couple of hours there on Friday, June 19th.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. June 2nd, 2009. I've been in this country for just a few weeks, but that has been long enough to feel the unordinary fascination that this land can exert upon westerners.
Hanami Celebration and Zigenji Temple. April 6, 2009. In tune with the local Cherry Blossom celebration, which the Japanese call Hanami, I went to the nearby park of Takinomiya. Then I went to the Zigenji Temple, which is just a couple of blocks away from the park.
Japan. First Impressions. March 31, 2009. My temporary home-city of Niihama is mostly an industrial zone with limited things to do or see, so I've been visiting a couple of other cities in the island of Shikoku, where I've met a number of local people and some other foreigners too. Recently I had a very good surprise from the part of the locals regarding Latin music.
Dubai. February 17, 2009. Dubai Airport is the Emirate Airways' traffic hub. I made a 24-hour stopover in that city on my way to Osaka, Japan. I had a different kind of nice time there.
Gozo, Malta. December 21, 2008. Malta, Gozo and Comino are the three major islands in the small Mediterranean archipelago of Malta, with Gozo being just a 20-minute Ferry ride north-west of the largest island of Malta. I spent a nice day there by the end of December 2008.
Paceville & Harbor Cruise, Malta. Sept. 20, 2008. Paceville is the party town for most foreign English students who live in the residential schools in my area. It's also the town with the biggest sand beach in my general vicinity. The Grand Harbor is where Valletta and other historical cities are located. I recently took a 2-hour cruise around that harbor.
My Street Corner's Party, Malta. Sep. 7, 2008. The Maltese people like to party in the streets. They send out their local marching bands and everybody joins them in the fun. This past weekend was my town's turn to celebrate and they did so right up my street.
Malta. First Impressions. Aug./Sep., 2008. Thus far I didn't get any surprises here in Malta. Most things seem more or less the way I had envisioned them when I first started looking into these islands with the idea of coming here. Everything is just as pleasant as I thought it would be.
Paris, August 2008. Paris can be a very magical city, but it can be even more so when viewed through the lens of some good memories. I spent one week over there by the end of August and I had a good time.
Jeju Island, May 2008. In Korea there are many holidays throughout the year. This time around, parents' day fell on Thursday, May 8th and Buddha's birthday fell on Monday the 12th. This confluence of holidays allowed for a nice 5-day weekend that many of us took advantage of to get out of town. I booked myself a very convenient airfare-hotel-car-rental package to the Korean Island of Jeju.
Phuket, Thailand, February 2008. The island of Phuket is a coveted destination for people from all over the world. After a few fruitless attempts to book a comfortable single hotel room there during the first half of February, I finally found something nice available for the third week of that month. So there I went.
California, August 2007. I spent three weeks in California in August of 2007. I had been away for some 16 months and it felt really good to be back.
The Vedanta Center in Olema, California. I went to many of my favorite places during my visit to California in August of 2007 and at the top of my list was the Vedanta Center in Olema.
Napolia. On Monday, March 26, my colleague Mi Ra and I had dinner at "Napolia," a western-style restaurant located a few miles south of Gangsung. I had been to that restaurant once before, so I was glad I had my camera with me, as I knew there were a few pieces of Americana in that place.
An Evening at Gaejin Beach. After school, on Friday, March 9, my colleague Mi Ra drove my colleague Bop-Jung and me to Gajin beach where the three of us had some delicious seafood. Once at the restaurant I befriended a couple of kids that were having dinner there with their Mom & grandmother and we all had some fun enjoying each other's company. The following day, I went to Sokcho to do some shopping at E-Mart, the biggest and most westernized department store in that city.
A Beautiful Cove. In the afternoon of Thursday, February 15th, 2007, I decided to take a bike ride around the empty rice fields in the vicinity of my apartment complex. It was a beautiful day, so I just rode my bike until I inadvertently came across the little harbor-town of Gaejin, a community of some 500 people. That discovery was a very, very happy event.
New Year 2007. Around 10:00 am on January 1st, 2007, my friend Ki came knocking on my door asking whether I would like to go have lunch later on with him and his family. I accepted his invitation and around 1:00 pm we all went to the nearby small harbor of Hayajin. That was a nice way to start the New Year.
Korean Doors. One of the nice things I noticed in the Korean streets almost since the day I arrived here is the elaborated kinds of doors and gates that they adorn many of their houses with. I took these photos on Dec. 29, 2006.
Christmas 2006. On December 24th, 2006, I drove on Hwy 7 down to the town of Samcheok. Most of that Hwy runs alongside the Korean Pacific Coast, so I took pictures of some beaches.
Cheolwon. On December 11 - 12, 2006 all English teachers in the Kangwon EPIK (English Program In Korea) Program attended a demonstration class at a girl's Middle School in the town of Cheolwon.
English Camp. On November 17-18 and 24-25, we held an English Camp for some of the Elementary and Middle School kids in our district.
The Ports of Busan & Tongyeong. The islands of Yokji and Hansan.
Changing Landscapes. How the beautiful view from my apartment has changed since I got here.
Goseong & Doonsan. The vicinity of my apartment complex in Goseong Dong, Kangwon Province. English Teachers Orientation Retreat, Doonsan Resort, Chuncheon, Kangwon Province.
Goyang, etc. Three months living and teaching in Goyang Dong, near Seoul.
