October 2012
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Hey, you! Yeah, you. What are you doing here? →
Don’t you know I’ve started something new?
September 2012
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What We Talk About When We Talk About Leaving...
In four days, I’m moving, making my (triumphant?) stateside return and even though I’ve known for quite a while now that Sept. 13 would be my last day in China, I’m not quite sure what to say – or how I feel — about it.
Even before I busked my way (with friends) across Rome, I decided it was time to bid farewell to the place that I’ve called home for nearly the past year.
This isn’t the...
August 2012
29 posts
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Innovative Kenya
A sad state of affairs, including the rather sorry state of our safari vehicle (get it together, Glorious Safaris) left us stranded for about an hour in Emali, a town en route to Lake Nakuru (rhinos!). As the car was worked on, we wandered around the town’s various markets. I realize some people might not want to do this, might be annoyed at possibly missing out on yet another giraffe...
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Kenya and the Big Business of Microlending
As you make your way through the streets of Mombasa, you’ll start to notice billboards advertising loan opportunities about every 20 feet or so. Each ad seems to target a different demographic — women, farmers, small businesses. According to my friend Sarah, even though one of the most famous microfinance organizations is Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, Kenya has a high density of those...
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How to Feel Like an Entitled Asshole in Five Easy...
Step 1: Quit your job and move to China.
Step 2: Start a blog chronicling your exploits around China and in other Asian countries. Hell, in any other country.
Step 3: Secretly complain to friends and family about how “difficult” your life is without a “proper” job and your general feeling of purposelessness.
Step 4: Wallow in your ennui. Add typhoons. Stir.
Step 5:...
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Some Final Words on Busking
Of all the things I have ever attempted (running marathons, cooking a Thanksgiving turkey, spending more than three days with my family without arguments), busking in the streets of Rome, face-to-face with hundreds of tourists on a daily basis, may have been one of the most intense experiences of my life.
It may sound ridiculous, a gross exaggeration (something we all know I’m prone to),...
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Ciao, Roma!
Calloused fingers, check. Gelato at least once a day, check. Old friends and new friends, check.
I think I did this trip right.
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While I Was Out...
While I’ve been slaving on the streets of Italy just trying to make a Euro, every international has been amping up its coverage of all things China. If it’s not the Olympics, then it’s internet memes of beachside ski masks. (Really, New York Times? Seems like you’re trolling for clicks with that one.)
But by far the most interesting coverage (to me, anyway) is of this...
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The Set List (So Far)
The Top Five
1) Lazy John 2) Going Down to Cairo 3) Cold Cold Heart — Hank Williams 4) Valentine — Old 97s 5) Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now — Justin Townes Earle
The Back-Ups
-Delta Mama Blues — Townes Van Zandt -Jackson — Johnny Cash/June Carter -Wildwood Flower — the Carter Family -Cindy Cindy -Black-Eyed Suzy -In the Pines...
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Land of the Lost
At noon on a Friday, the Pantheon is the very definition of a shit show. It’s hot outside — nearly 100 — and the hordes are seeking shelter. This is one of the big Roman sites that doesn’t charge an entry fee. Also, it’s just steps from the Trevi Fountain, so everyone who isn’t making kissy face with a cone of gelato or pretending not to sweat in the shade of...
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Assolutamente!
Since our arrival, I think all three of us, even the two of us who have been here before (me, Anthony), have been thrown by the generosity, friendliness and patience of Italians. There is no length they won’t go to to offer you directions, school you on the different varieties of Italian cured meats or answer your byzantine grammar questions. It’s been truly awe-inspiring; whatever...
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“Ok, Ashley, for 150 for night! Why? Because I love you!”
– A lovely, aging lothario and our new landlord for the next week. Somehow my bargaining skills (translation: my sad Italian and hot pink jeans) got us an amazingly huge place for cheap in a proper location for us and a few friends who are joining us. Score.
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July 2012
22 posts
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Rome (If You Want To)
For the second time in as many months, I find myself reading, writing and thinking my way through a positively stunning setting, surrounded by people I love, people who know all my bad bits and love me anyway.
I’m quietly cocooning here and instead of it feeling like time wasted, like time that would be better spent being “productive,” it feels good, right. This coffee shop...
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“Mr. Edwards added that it was fairly common to find Chinese women who earn...”
– A terrifying statistic floated in a NYT article about luxury fashion ads in Chinese version of Western mags.
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“So while I acknowledge that subpar design choices pervade my country, I also...”
– Jonathan Mak Long, 20-year-old Hong Kong resident and big deal ad design winner, on design sensibilities in China via The New Yorker.
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“There’s a new thing called ‘long Weibo,’ which allows you to paste...”
– Tech ethnographer Tricia Wang discussing her study of technology adoption among young migrant populations in China. Read the full interview here and whatever you do, don’t skip the slideshow.
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WatchMr. Graceless at Musibase. Verdict: tight arrangements, but slightly weak vocals. Still, quite lovely.
