I love the Philippines. Is it a country free of political/environmental/socio-economic problems? Like everywhere else in the world, no. But something about the simultaneous cultural pluralism and pride in that culture, sanguine and tolerant population and overall impression of genuineness really appealed to me. Of course the beach, sunshine and fresh mangoes didn't hurt either! I began my week-long trip in Manila with two friends from Suzhou. Manila is known as a rough city but is also incredibly vibrant and has some very beautiful sites. Most people hate it, I loved it, although I was only there for a day. We went to Intramuros, the walled city from the period of Spanish colonization, the Jose Rizon memorial/museum, Rizon Park, and some fantastic art galleries. The Philippines has a very energetic modern art scene and I enjoyed ... read more

Happy late Thanksgiving and an early Merry Christmas to everyone! I am especially missing you all during these months. Luckily celebrating the holidays here in China has been pretty amusing and distracting. I was able to enjoy two days of Thanksgiving dinner at various friends' houses, complete with real turkey and pumpkin pie! The Chinese word for turkey is "fire chicken," which kind of cracks me up. It was a great week and I am reminded how much I have to be thankful for all year long. Christmas is my most favorite time of the year, and I am surprisingly seeing a lot of lights and decorations everywhere. Also, the Avril Lavigne that is constantly playing at the supermarket (they seriously loop like 5 of her songs all day every day) has been replaced by jingle ... read more

Even if you are a meat-atarian, you might want to proceed with caution with the pictures at the bottom. I will try anything once. You have been warned! Aside my traditional Chinese banquet adventure (a special treat from my principal,) I haven't had too much excitement. China continues to be challenging, sometimes I love it and sometimes I hate it. But I did get my work visa, so it looks like I'll be staying. The kids continue being their adorable selves and learning lots everyday. The other teachers are amused by my strange Western habits, like drinking water with lunch (here they say you shouldn't because it will "dilute your stomach acid," but I like to stay hydrated!), and my curly hair (which they don't believe is natural.) I'm happy to have met some wonderful people ... read more

Mexico after Belize and Guatemala felt like an entirely different world, though not in the way you might expect. It was easier to get around than in Guatemala, and had so much more going on than in laid-back Belize. The three are so diverse it is hard to believe how close they are to each other geographically. Our first stop was a small town in Chiapas called San Cristobal de las Casas. San Cristobal is known as a home to large percent of Mexico's indigenous peoples, as well as a center of Zapatista activism (the city was taken over for a short period in 1994 by the rebel group). After some interesting conversations with our hostel owner Fernando, I highly suspect that he was a Zapatista (he told me he is against all federal government and ... read more

Hi everyone, A few weeks ago my friend Jenn and I embarked on a 2 week Central America adventure. We visited Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico, and we had an INCREDIBLE time. Mom suggested using travelblog like I did in Argentina to share our adventures with all of you, so here it goes!! After nearly 24 hours of travel time we arrived in Guatemala City. It's not all that far away, but the cheapest flight included us taking the train to LA, a bus to LAX, and a 5 hour layover in North Carolina. But hey, we saved 100 bucks! After arriving we immediately left the city for Antigua, a small colonial town to the southwest. Antigua is small but beautiful, with cobblestone roads, brightly painted buildings, and dozens of churches. We ended up staying at the ... read more