Frank Cardenas
Hi all! Frankardenas
Well, after so many seconds, minutes, hours, months and years of procrastination...-but highly encouraged by a most beloved friend-, I have finally got round to creating my own blog. Wow, I can't believe I'm actually doing it this time! It will be a nice opportunity to get in touch with so many friends that I've luckily gained in my entire '21' years' existence (we all know that's a lie but somehow it makes me feel younger, never you mind, sorry:); I'll be able to share some of the most precious memories of my travel as well as my day-to-day adventures. Let's just hope that my steadfastness, together with my desire to write, keep my blog going...and you, keep your fingers crossed, bon courage!!!
My blog will start in the enigmatic China, which by the way, was my next destination after my life in Europe. Yes! after having spent 7 years in 'la belle France', I knew it was high time for me to face a new challenge.
And... when it comes to difficult ventures, a country whose language you've got no clue and, which -by the way- is supposed to be the most difficult language to learn, (characters, pinying? what's that?!!!OOPS), China then stands out to be that challenging destination; therefore, here I am, after 1 and a half years and...without speaking a word of Chinese (sniff), working and trying to enjoy this amazing experience; yet, there are reasons for my tremendous lack of proficiency, or should I say excuses? well, the latter is more kind of honest, but still, you must know that I'm living in a building with many other foreigners, no chance to practise or learn; on top of that, you know that Chinese is not a language you're supposed to pick up just like that.
Am I forgiven and understood? Yes! that's the reason why you are all still considered to be my friends and have actually access to my blog; no, it's not called blackmail, it's just you being compassionate and very, very sympathetic! So, without any further ado, let's get to work, I hope you enjoy my photos.
Travel Blog Posts
February 18th 2012
Here, another good party to show to the world, especially now that our worldwide image is about to change, thanks Shakira, you have lots to do with it. Not for nothing has this huge party got the attention of UNESCO and it was indeed declared as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. That was done in November, 2003. Not as huge as the Rio Carnival, you can say, but hey, all in all, it is really worth coming and seeing it by yourself. Here I'll say it again: It is indeed the second largest carnival in the world only second to Rio’s. So, what's the Carnival then? The Carnival from the latin “Carrus Navalis” and according to some random internet site, the word in Italian means “”put the meat away””. ... read more
Mesa de los Santos, Bucaramanga, Colombia
Published: December 27th 2010South America » Colombia » Santander » Bucaramanga
December 5th 2010
Hi, Friends, This weekend had us enjoy some rural tourism, which kept me fairly happy as I had been having the unchanged work weekends for such a long time; hence, off we went to La Mesa de los Santos, a popular place near Bucaramanga where you can relax, pray, contemplate nature, go walking or cycling and even paragliding. Although we didn't do everything -there's no way to do it in one single day- here you will find a full account of our adventure and I hope that I might convince you to visit the place ín the future. Not that we do this every single weekend; as foreigners come to our region, we are acknowledged to make their visit pleasant, that's what we think, at least; so, with this excuse in mind -and such a compelling ... read more
November 15th 2010
Esta entrada la haré con mi pequeño sobrino Miguelon, quien esta muy contento de poder contribuir con este blog pues es la primera vez que escribe aqui, asi que de los dos, con mucho cariño para todos. SAN GIL, LA PERLA DEL FONCE Este fin de semana fue muy agradable pues viajamos a la capital de la provincia Guanentina (donde nacieron los indios Guanes, con su cacique que, en tiemplos de la conquista, prefirio suicidarse en vez de entregarse al enemigo Español, asi como yo :), si, nada mas y nada menos que la ciudad de San Gil, un lugar colonial a una altura de 1114 msnm, una temperatura que oscila entre 16 y 32 grados centigrados y con un área de 145 kilómetros cuadrados. El pueblo se encuentra rodeado de municipios tambien turisticos como Cabrera ... read more
April 6th 2010
Hola mis queridos amigos, tenia tiempo ya que no escribia, casi un año para ser preciso, bueno, digamos que he estado ocupado en otras cosas que me han tenido corriendo de un lado a otro. Ahora afortunadamente llega una semana de descanso, perdon... de recogimiento, y es asi como aprovecho para escribir algunas lineas y publicar algunas fotos de la Semana Santa, la cual tuve la dicha de pasarla en la ciudad universitaria que me inspira muchos sentimientos de admiracion y sobre todo me trae muchisimos recuerdos de mis queridos companeros, amigos y profesores. Entonces, hablemos de Pamplona... Un poquitico de Historia Fundada el 1 de Noviembre de 1549 por Pedro de Ursua, Pamplona se ha convertido en una bella ciudad archirequeteconocida por su ambiente espiritual y estudiantil. La ciudad se ubica a 74 kilometros de ... read more
Frank's Australia
Published: January 9th 2011Oceania » Australia » Australian Capital Territory » Canberra
August 4th 2009
Hello, all, long time no writing... No, I haven't disappeared just yet, I think I told you last time, it was hard to find the time to write my next entry as I have been both working and travelling which are the most interesting parts of my empty life. But hey, I'm here again, inching toward keeping my promise of keeping you updated, and now here's a brand new one: Let me give you some background first... For some time, I had been too burdened with a rush of guilt running through me since I had left China, you see, do you remember I mentioned somewhere in one of my entries how tardy I was in doing some specific travel? well, I decided then not to have any regrets about putting off the visit to one ... read more
Frank's Holy Week in B/manga
Published: April 16th 2010South America » Colombia » Santander » Bucaramanga
April 16th 2009
Ok, Chantal, here it goes, although I cannot promise anything. You see, my so-called passive life leaves me no choice but spend days with little going on in my life. As usual, you, my friend, are absolutely right and I must write some lines about that very little... well, these days we or should I say, they, are celebrating the Holy Week. What a sinner I am... But before, some of the background... Contrary to your multicultural societies, we Colombians grow Roman catholic, not much choice there, though :) and due to the Spanish evangelisation in South America, most countries are big in this week's celebration. The event goes from the Palm Sunday to the Easter Sunday, whose spotlights are Christ's cruxifiction and his return from death. Therefore, these days, which are an opportunity for catholics ... read more
December 26th 2008
Hello, my friends, First and foremost, thanks to my dear friend Chantal for her wisdom to push me to write again, you are absolutely right, I haven´t done it for such a long time, so I will endeavour to type again and you might eventually find my stories here again, I said eventually... as I am being a bit too lazy now and, as some of you know, too many things have happened since last time. Anyway, for the time being, I am here to fill you in about the recent Christmas spent at home, which has been one of the best Christmases ever. I will always keep lovely memories of past Christmases which for me, it is the best time of the year; I will always be thankful to Peter, Anne, Elisabeth, Lydie, Telva, Hanson, ... read more
August 9th 2008
Yeah, I was on the news, on China Daily, a Chinese newspaper published in English. Proud to be Colombian!!! http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2008-07/21/content_6863083.htm 24-hour party people By Alice Xiang (China Daily) Updated: 2008-07-21 10:12 Colombians (clockwise from top) Valeria Nicholls, Ricardo Restrepo and Frank Cardenas are all caught up in the frenzy of the Beijing Olympics. Be gentle on Colombians Ricardo Restrepo and Frank Cardenas today. They are probably recovering from a huge weekend of all-night parties, for yesterday was their national Independence Day. Restrepo, 23, has called Beijing home since 2006, while Cardenas, 38, has just completed a three-year teaching stint in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. Restrepo wistfully describes the myriad parades, performances and general merriment that overflow on Colombia's streets during the occasion. Comp... read more
May 24th 2008
Guangzhou The name Guangzhou comes from a very old legend -that you will learn a bit later on this entry, you see, that's the motivation for you to keep reading, if you want to be in the know, that is-. Anyway, the word Guangzhou means the city of Rams or the City of Goats, others will customarily call it the flower city, Guangzhou is the capital of the province of Guangdong, where I am currently working. A metropolitan capital full of history, Guangzhou was known as the only trading port chosen by the Qing Emperor to deal with foreign merchants. This way, from the very beginning, the city has brought progress to China and it should be always remembered as the origin of contact between the West and the East and for being the largest coastal ... read more
May 24th 2008
Well, guess what? I have a question for you in the IELTS format, please do forgive me if my blog is not interactive yet, I am working on it :-) Would a Colombian, having lived in China for three years, refuse to attend the Olympic Games if he had the opportunity? a. Yes, he would. b. I don't know. c. Whatever. d. No, he wouldn't. For those who chose 'a' or 'b', let me tell you that you don't know me just yet. Those who chose 'c', no offence but you might be too self involved. On the other hand, if you have chosen 'd', you are absolutely right. I cannot overlook this important event, you see, I love sport and we, Colombians, consider the games far too imortant to just say no. Even my adorable ... read more
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