Yasmeena

Contemporary China has a fascinating relationship with spirituality: as a country with historically deeply rooted traditions and practices which spread throughout the region, it is also accelerating in modernity at lightning speed. When you are here, it is hard to reconcile China’s historical traditions with its current society. I think the Jing’an Temple (photographed below) is a perfect example of the dichotomy between rich cultural practices and modernization. Though there are a number of religions in China, including Taoism, Confucianism, and Islam consisting about 10% of the population, this blog post will be focusing on Buddhism, which is the country’s most practiced religion (15% of the population). However, it must be prefaced that the vast majority (over 70%) of mainland Chinese are non-religious, which makes it the world’s largest non-religious population. That is a mind-... read more

December 20, 2019 Somewhere over Russia Season’s Greetings! I hope everyone is having a wonderful December, no matter where in the world you may find yourself. I am writing to you on a flight to Beijing, where I will continue on to my final destination of Shanghai, China. Shanghai has always captured my imagination since youth, and a little bit of research into the city proves to me that it is a jewel of Eastern Asia. My hero Anthony Bourdain once said Shanghai makes New York City look like a third world country, and from there my fascination exploded. From what I know so far, it is a juxtaposition of the absolute modern with classical Western art deco architecture. It has former European style neighborhoods, which is in contrast to what Cheryl and I experienced in ... read more

4th and King Street, San Francisco– Several months ago (although it feels like yesterday... time really does stand still when the seasons blend together) I found myself at the 4thand King Street train station waiting for our ride back to the Salinas Valley, which I have accepted as my home now. As we were waiting, I had flash backs to the last few times I was at that station waiting for a train, and how much my life had changed each time. The first time was my first visit to San Francisco since childhood. It was in November of 2017, and I was interviewing all over the United States for a new job. I had an interview in a little suburb north of San Jose, and decided to (finally) take my old college roommate and darling ... read more

Virginia is for lovers. So goes their state motto. And so captures the essence for one of my most magical friendships. Last weekend, my very best good friend Felicia took me down to Shenandoah Valley from Washington, D.C. and we had the opportunity to hike along one of my most beloved trails in America - the Appalachian Trail. I felt like we were living Bill Bryson's and Stephen Katz's adventure in the hilarious classic, A Walk in the Woods. Only we had company with our other best good friend, dog. Let me state right here and right now that it has been my dream for ages to hike along the AT in Virginia. Shenandoah is dubbed one of the most beautiful parks in the United States, and with good reason: I was absolutely astounded at how ... read more

To my family, and all of the amazing people I met during my travels and adventures... Happy New Year!! You have taught me that the world truly is a beautiful place ... read more