Lovin' China #2

The program took us on a day-trip of Suzhou, only 2 hours away from

Shanghai by bus. We tasted a bit of history with a boat tour of the

Grand Canal, and saw the xiaoqiaoliushui (quaint houses and scenic

views) depicted by famous paintings and newspaper articles we’ve read

in Chinese class. We strolled through the Suzhou Museum, a design of

I.M. Pei, and from there walked to the Humble Administrator’s Garden.

What I loved more than anything else was the visit to a silk factory

(it’s a little nerdy, I know, but you’re talking to the person who went

to Japan to see the Toyota plant and was awed by the efficiency of

conveyor sushi restaurants). The factory conducted a tour showing us

first the silk worms on their mulberry leaves, then their silk cocoons,

followed by the boiling process and finally the method by which

machines, with the aid of workers, plaited 8 silk stands to make silk

thread. Reflecting on the trip later, I was amazed that we are still

able to drift on a canal that has been functional for over a millennium

and witness the silk production, a process that has been continuously

refined since the BC’s.

Lovin' China #1

East China Normal University is absolutely gorgeous! There are two small creeks, inundated with lotus flowers in full blossom, that across campus with trees and benches lining both banks. Students often climb the low bush trees to pick waxberries that are just beginning to ripen.

There’s something about the university that is identifiably Chinese, that is, aside from the 20 feet statue of Chairman Mao keeping watch at the center of campus. It could be the stone bridges and stone tables, or the badminton players and the elderly practicing Taichi. The back gate comes alive at night. Both sides of the street is filled up with food vendors selling fried noodles, Chinese style BBQ and crawfish along with xiaotans (excuse the Chinglish) of sunglasses, hats and clothes. On weekends, the park that is close by also fills up with children flying kites, Chinese opera singers accompanied by erhu players and students attending all sorts of dance classes. Amidst the business and international atmosphere that stereotypes Shanghai, there is in fact, still many aspects of traditional culture that can be found.

'Ciao for Now!'

Spring 2009

March 13 2009

Before I came to Perugia, Italy, I had found the blog of an American student who wrote about getting ready to come here. He stopped writing after he left. I tried to keep a blog as well, but have last updated it a few days after arriving.

I now understand what happened to him. He was sucked in by the city. Everyday after classes, Perugia offers the chance to meet and hang out with hundreds of students from all around the world. I study at the University for Foreigners, known for its Italian language courses, but here there’s also the Università Degli Studi, where Italian and foreign students study together, as well as the Umbria Institute, an American University. These three, along with a few private language schools, make the experience truly unique. I know this is true: I have talked to students who have spent a month here and gone to Florence and Rome, but many miss this small city and say elsewhere it’s not the same.

The views here are breathtaking. From my window I can see the rest of Perugia’s hillside, dotted by colorful buildings, churches, and green plazas. Walking around the city (which is quite steep for the average Dallasite) I can see Etruscan arches, built thousands of years ago around the city’s walls, leading me into the city’s historic center. Now that the weather has gotten much warmer, many students spend their afternoons chatting on the steps of the duomo, the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, watching as the people walk on the main street, Corso Vannucci.

But, enough of showing off this beautiful city. I’d like to tell you a bit about what I’ve been doing. I spend about 20 hours a week in Italian language classes – all of them conducted entirely in Italian. With my Spanish and the little Italian I studied before arriving, I somehow managed to get into an intermediate-level class. At first I had to study in order to catch up with what I was supposed to have learned in the basic course, but after about a month I was up to par with everybody. My grammar classes are 4 hours long, including a 15 minute break between each period, where we usually go to the bar (the school’s café) and have some coffee and pastries. Delicious. Coffee here comes much smaller than your average-size Starbuck’s cup, but is cheaper and much better too. I also have some verbal practice classes where we practice talking and a listening and writing class.

After classes, I often hang out with my friends. As you can imagine, I haven’t had much trouble meeting students here. In fact, you often meet too many people and have a hard time keeping track of names, especially when students come and leave often, sometimes on a monthly basis. It also helps that I live in an apartment with none less than 9 other people. I have many Dutch and English friends, but I know people here from just about every country in the globe.

We like to organize big dinners in my apartment and then go out together. The nightlife is superb, and most students live within the center, so it takes at most 10 minutes to walk anywhere. Just about everything you need is around the corner.

Of course the food is amazing. (It’s Italy, what can you expect?) Yet one thing most students complain about is the bread, since the one produced here is usually saltless and white. Apparently many Italians stopped putting salt in their bread when one of the popes decided to tax it, and they haven’t put it back since. Dark rye bread is hard, if not impossible to come by. However, the olive oil or the balsamic vinegar makes up for it all.

The rest is amazing. I’ve made it a point of trying new cheeses and meats, and one can make a meal just out of these and some bread. The supermarkets and small shops in the center don’t tend to carry a great variety of products as they do back in the states, but what they do have is local and of great quality.

One weekend I went snowboarding in Terminillo, a mountain between Perugia and Rome, and had a great time. I also went to some hot baths about an hour away from here, and visited Rome and Florence on two separate weekends. In Rome I loved the Colloseum; in Florence the Piazzale Michelangelo, which has a great view to the rest of the city, and the magnificent Boboli gardens. Soon I am going to visit many more Italian cities, as the weather is getting warmer and warmer by the day.

I would love to write more but Italy is calling me. So, ciao for now!

Becoming a Jedi Knight pt. 2

Summer 2008

June 29, 2008 – Syria


In addition to Arabic, I have also decided to pursue studies in Jedi Knightism. Actually, this photo was taken at the Umayyaed Mosque, one of the holiest and largest in the world, and particularly breathtaking for a structure finished in the seventh century.

I have to say, I was a little nervous starting this trip (wasn’t Syria an original member of the Axis of evil?) but, once there, was relieved to find it totally safe. My hotel – get this – actually has air conditioning. The nice man running a pastry shop across the street from my hotel gave me a free kanafa when I said I was American. And the local wine is delightful.

Damascus is reminiscent of Cairo, particularly in the Souq El-Hamidiyeh. It’s crowded here, and the exchange rate actually works in my favor (1 dollar to roughly 50 Syrian pounds). There is, however, one important variation from Cairo: the food here is incredible, and (knock on wood) hasn’t made me sick. For my first meal, I had chicken fattah at Leila’s rooftop terrace in the Old City. This was perhaps one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten, until dinner when I had my first taste of mohammerah (think salsa, but creamy, served with fry bread.)

Today, I spent a relaxing day wandering around the crowded markets and steaming in a Turkish bath. Meanwhile, my travel partner was off an hour outside Damascus visiting Sayida Zeinab, a shrine to the daughter of the founder of Shia Islam, where he stumbled upon a funeral for a Shia imam attended by literally thousands of Iranian and Iraqi pilgrims. While this wasn’t the most welcoming environment in Syria, he was allowed to take several pictures of the shrine and go inside to view the body. Later, he slightly rattled, and me relaxed to the core, we finished the day with dinner on a rooftop terrace overlooking the Old City. I feel somewhat silly for being nervous about coming here; Damascus is a bustling city where I feel entirely safe. More exploring tomorrow….

July 10, 2008 – Petra and Aqaba


This is the hotel where I stayed in Aqaba. No, I’m not kidding. Really. Five to a room. No door, no electricity. Great view, though. Aqaba was unbelievable; from the water, there is a view of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel. Under the water are miles of reefs and exotic fish. I snorkeled for five hours, and could have done more, if I wasn’t completely exhausted from hiking through Petra the day before. Petra was beautiful, but after five hours of hiking through the Jordanian desert, I was ready to hit the beach.

July 20, 2008 – Israel and Palestine

My friend Rachel is studying Hebrew at the aptly titled Hebrew University in Jerusalem, so thankfully I could crash her couch this weekend instead of getting an Israeli hostel. The exchange rate is not my friend right now – especially not in Israel, where a falafel sandwich (around 50 cents in Jordan) is 25 sheq, or 8 (8!) dollars. The first night, Rachel took me to a wine tasting on a hilltop overlooking the city – amazing! This goes right up there with climbing Mt. Sinai on my “coolest experiences ever” list. (This was also the perfect end to a long day of being detained at the Israeli border for six hours… a quick word about the Israel-Jordan border: it’s operated almost entirely by young women just out of high school. They have no sense of humor, and were none too pleased with my Syrian visa. I asked that they not stamp my passport, as many countries deny entries to anyone who has visited Israel, and they grudgingly obliged.)

Friday, Rachel and I walked all over the city, visiting the Wailing Wall, the Church of Mary Magdalene, the garden where Jesus was betrayed, and the gate where, according to some, Jesus will descend to the earth upon his return. That evening, we went to a Shabbat dinner held by an organization that serves free Shabbat dinners to students and visitors. I was a little unprepared for this experience. I’ve attended a number of Shabbat dinners, but this was by far the least welcoming. A number of people, Israeli citizens and others told me they hated America. Also, they believed all other countries in the region to be subject to Sharia, or Islamic Law, a huge misconception. I wondered how they could be so ill-informed about places just miles away. Also, of the now five countries I’ve visited in the Middle East, how is it that I’ve only seen anti-Americanism in Israel?

Surprisingly, the next day, my sixth country was a friendlier experience. On Saturday, I ventured to the Palestinian territory. For less than a dollar, I took an bus (clearly labeled “Arab Bus”) into Ramallah. First stop: Yasser Arafat’s grave, where a number of women were grieving. Later, I did what I always do in new cities: just wandered around with my camera. On the streets of Ramallah, a number of people implored me to take pictures of the area. “Show your friends,” they said. So I will.

July 23, 2008 – Syria, revisited

Not wanting my Syrian visa to go to waste, I decided to venture back this weekend, this time to see a little more of the countryside. On Thursday morning, my boyfriend, my best Jordanian friend, and two friends from Yale set off to Deir Mar Musa (the Monastery of Saint Moses). This required a taxi from Amman to the border, from the border to Damascus, from Damascus to Nebek, and from Nebek to the Monestary, where we then trekked up a quarter-mile of sandy stairs through the Syrian mountainside to finally reach the Monestary. I can say with complete sincerity that this is the most beautiful place I have ever been; the mountains are miles from “civilization,” and the night sky is clear enough to allow a clear view of the Milky Way. We stayed for two nights, and I had so much fun hiking and stargazing that I didn’t mind the absence of electricity or clean water, or even having to scrub dishes for two hours on Saturday (the Monastery doesn’t charge so guests must work for their stay). After my stint in the kitchen, I listened to Father Paolo, the head of Deir Mar Musa, deliver a lecture on Middle Eastern politics, focusing on Israeli-Palestinian relations and western involvement.

I’m really glad that I took this trip because I feel that you have to get out of the big cities to get a real feel for a country. I enjoyed Damascus for the food and the shopping and the cites, but had no idea how breathtakingly beautiful the rest of the country was.


August 15, 2008 – Amman

I finished my last final yesterday, and can’t believe my summer is almost over. I finished the semester with a 97, which hopefully serves as a testament to the fact that, between travels, I did a lot of studying.

I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to return to the Middle East, to explore more of the region, to improve my Arabic, and to grow up a little more. Another scholar once told me that you can learn a lot about yourself by plunging into a totally unfamiliar culture. That’s not what happened this summer; Amman no longer feels unfamiliar, it actually feels a little like home now. Granted, I’m thrilled to come back to Dallas and see my family and friends. At the same time, I feel like this summer was just the beginning, and I’ll be back as soon as possible. Until then….

“Pinch, me please!”

November 2008

The Archer Program in Washington, DC: An Unbelievable Experience


That thought has been running through my mind on a periodic basis for about two months now. It ran through my mind when I drove up to the Archer House on Constitution Avenue, one block away from where I work—at the Supreme Court of the United States. It ran through my mind the first day I walked into the courtroom of “the Highest Court in the Land,” a place I would later enter at least once a day to give lectures about the Court to the public. It ran through my mind on October 6, when I got to sit in on the first oral argument of the 2008 Term, and when I got to see the Robing Room where all the Justices pass before court sessions. It ran through my mind when I brushed past Justice Kennedy in the hallway; when I met and spoke to Chief Justice Roberts for a few brief minutes; when I met my role model, retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor; when I gave a tour to Supreme Court Justices from Guanajuato, Mexico (and spoke a little Spanish with them!); when I got to meet Supreme Court Justices from Ireland; and when I spent some after-hours time giving a tour for Renee Fleming, one of the premier opera singers of our time.

It seems that in this city that phrase will not stop running through my mind—ever! Whether I am awed at my proximity to the fascinating dealings of the Supreme Court, or the President of the United States is holding an event a few blocks away, or legislation like the Bailout Bill is being debated just across the street, or it is Election Day for a hugely historic race for which I am present in the capital of our country, I keep wondering whether I really might be having a very long and involved dream after all.

As you can probably tell, I love my life in Washington, DC as an Archer Fellow. As an Archer, I get to live in one of two houses with other students from all over Texas, take classes with those Fellows, and pursue the internship of my choice for four months.

The internship of my choice is in the Office of the Curator in the Supreme Court of the United States. It is absolutely stunning to go to work everyday in a building where the
most paramount judicial work in the nation is taking place constantly. As part of my job, I get to give private tours to guests of the Justices or employees of the Court (including foreign dignitaries that come to be briefed on our judicial system by the Supreme Court Fellow). I also get to speak to groups of up to 200 members of the public about the history and structure of the Court in the very courtroom where it all takes place. Of course there are some phone and information desk responsibilities involved, but those are minimal and my boss tries very hard to decrease the amount of typical intern responsibilities I have. The perks of my job include roaming around the marble hallways and red-carpeted floors of the Supreme Court, occasionally interacting with Justices, and getting to sit in on oral arguments pretty frequently, among other things.

Two nights a week after work I go to classes where I get to meet leaders of Washington who explain the political process in a way I would never get to experience elsewhere. I am challenged on my views of politics and democracy by my instructors and my peers, who all thankfully have a wide range of viewpoints. Needless to say, political discussion never gets boring among the Archers! They are kind, fun, smart people who truly care about the welfare of America and give me a lot of hope for the future of our nation. By some fluke of nature, we all get along wonderfully! I am certain I will make some lifetime friends here.

When I’m not in class or at work, I get to roam about and explore DC and the surrounding area. I saw my first real autumn in the leaves of the Shenandoah Valley when other Archers and I rented a car and drove to small-town Virginia for a day. I got to campaign in Virginia for the presidential election. I took a trip to New York and saw Broadway, Times Square, and the sweeping view of a breathtaking city from the Empire State Building at night. Life is certainly good here!

Although DC itself is a whirlwind of activity, my favorite experience thus far was meeting Sandra Day O’Connor. As I said, she’s basically my idol. I met her while giving a tour to some friends of hers from Arizona. She made me feel right at home. Her manner was all courtesy and warmth as she put her hand on my shoulder and showed her friends and me some pictures and paintings from Arizona. I sensed the Southwestern, down-to-earth, no nonsense personality in her that I know so well from my childhood in El Paso, Texas. I even got to tell her about my origins, to which she said, "Oh, I was born and raised in El Paso! Did you know that?" And I said, "Actually, yes I did! I wrote an essay about you for a scholarship I received." (The McDermott Scholarship, by the way!)

It was a mind-boggling encounter. I was wandering in a dream for the rest of the day! But that’s just DC. The nation’s capital is exciting, thriving, almost psychotically driven, and exploding with culture. Overall, it is a wonderful place to spend a semester!