 Jennifer - jawilso | All Comments |
Comments | |
| 12th December 2009 Erin | great blog - From: How did I get There from Here? hello, I came across your blogs while just browsing sites at work. wow, what a trip! I am jealous, my dream is to backpack in another continent eventually. I have been outside the US just never "backpacking" before. What a great trip which you will remember forever!! I didnt get a chance to read through every single blog but I take it that you traveled alone? Was that scary? In a few months I am traveling to Central America for volunteer work alone and I am excited about that!!! Great pics too! |
| 4th December 2009 Insane Itinerary | Welcome home - From: How did I get There from Here? I have enjoyed reading about your experiences. I also experienced the worst culture shock coming home. |
| 4th December 2009 Denise | Welcome home! - From: How did I get There from Here? Now.. how do you top this?? |
| 24th November 2009 bill | - From: Last Stop: Hong Kong thank you for writing back jennifer! i've subscribed to your blog and hope to read about your second trip real soon! you're a true inspiration. thanks again. |
| 19th November 2009 jawilso | Short trip - From: Last Stop: Hong Kong Thanks for your message! There were multiple reasons that I cut my trip short. My original plan was to spend 10 weeks in India, 1 in Hong Kong, 10 weeks in China and then be in Japan for the cherry blossoms in March. Unfortunately when I applied for my India visa in Rome they only gave me a three month visa instead of a 6 month one, and by the time I actually got to India I only had 5 weeks left. I had to miss out on most of southern India and it completely messed up my time table. I could have changed the itinerary and traveled somewhere else or left India and reapplied for another visa, but this way I can spend the holidays with my family and I have a head start saving money for my next trip. I certainly have plans to travel again. :) I think on my next trip I will visit Australia, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and Russia. |
| 18th November 2009 bill | most inspiring. - From: Last Stop: Hong Kong hi jennifer, having just finished reading all 45 entries, i've to say this is one of the very best travel blogs i've ever read. it was especially moving hearing the struggle you had to go through to achieve this dream. you're a true inspiration. i wish it didn't had to end in hong kong after 6 months. just wondering why you cut it short as you said it was to be a 10 months trip? i think you've really inspired alot of budding travellers outhere, myself included. thank you so much. |
| 15th November 2009 jawilso | Thank you! - From: Last Stop: Hong Kong I am so glad that you enjoyed my blog. I am sorry that I didn't post more. I didn't mean to worry anyone! Someday I will travel more so I will let you know. I still need to see China, Russia, Southeast Asia, Australia, South America...! :) |
| 15th November 2009 Aunt Nancy | Wow - From: Last Stop: Hong Kong Jenny, I am just amazed by your travels. What a wonderful experience you have had. I think that you did very well in managing your finances. You look so happy in your pictures!! I, too, enjoyed following your trip through your blog and got worried when you didn't post. I would emailed your dad to check on you. You had so many people following you and praying for your safe return. Enjoy the last few days. Have a safe trip home, and take care, |
| 13th November 2009 doug mckeen | Its over already! - From: Last Stop: Hong Kong Jennifer, I really enjoyed your travel blog. I was always looking foward to your next entry. A couple of times you didnt post for a while i would get worried, but soon enough you would pop back up, and I would be relieved. I especially enjoyed your blog's on egypt and india. Have a safe trip home. |
| 8th November 2009 Denise | enjoy! - From: Hong Kong the Metropolis Mecca After all you went through in India, enjoy the comforts of Hong Kong! What a wonderful journey you've had. I hope that you turn your blog into a book one day. Denise |
| 1st November 2009 Aunt Nancy | Hi - From: Jaipur and the Elephant Ride Jennifer, you look very pretty in the Saree. What is the significant of the Saree? I see some Indian women wearing it here in the US, but others do not. I always wondered about that. I hope you are enjoying yourself!! take care, Aunt Nancy |
| 28th October 2009 HIMANSHU | - From: Varanasi and the River of Death IT IS INTERESTING TO READ BUT YOU SHOULD ALSO EXPLORE WHOLE OF VARANASI FROM INDIAN ANGEL .IT IS TRUE THAT REBIRTH IS THERE ,I WAS A GERMAN LONG BACK AND NOW I AM A HINDU. I AGREE CASTE SYSTEM WAS NOT ORIGINALLY THERE IN INDIA BUT IT WAS VARNA SYSTEM OF FOUR SOCIAL DIVISION POINTED BY YOU.THERE WAS LOT OF SOCIAL MOBILITY IN ANCIENT INDIA VALMIKI WAS SUDRA WHO WROTE FAMOUS HINDU WORSHIP BOOK RAMAYANA |
| 21st October 2009 jawilso | India - From: Varanasi and the River of Death I am very glad that I did not visit Malabar Hill while I was in Mumbai. India is a tough place to travel in, particularly by yourself. I try to think of it as a learning experience and as a lesson on the things I take for granted at home. Like wild animals not wandering into restaurants. And walking down the street without getting 200 demands for money. |
| 21st October 2009 Bob Carlsen | My impressions of India - From: Varanasi and the River of Death When I was 8 years old, in1958, the ship on which I was traveling from Singapore to Naples docked in Bombay (Mumbai). I remember visting Malabar Hill where they place dead bodies for the vultures to consume. It was so gross, reinforced by your own recent description of Varanesi, that I never wanted to visit India again. Even stop overs in various Indian airports since then have been unpleasant experiences. I remember a stop over in New Delhi where they fumigated the plane before we could disembark to the transit lounge. They should have fumigated the plane after we boarded! There hasn't been any travel blog on India that has convinced me to change my mind. Nevertheless, I hope you have an interesting, if not pleasant, visit to India. |
| 12th October 2009 Denise | Yuck. - From: Welcome to India: watch out for the monkees India looks terrible. This is where we are outsourcing our jobs to? I hope you are traveling with a group. Is the hotel clean at least? |
| 11th October 2009 Tom | Genesh - From: Welcome to India: watch out for the monkees The man with the head of an elephant is Genesh, the elephant-headed son of Shiva. The story goes something like this: Shiva's wife, Parvati, tells Genesh to guard their house. Then Shiva comes home, but Genesh won't let him in, so Shiva cuts off his head. This makes Parvati sad. Shiva promises to restore Genesh's head, and goes out to find one. The first thing Shiva comes across is an elephant so he cuts off its head and attaches it to Genesh... The End. |
| 4th October 2009 jawilso | - From: Egypt: a whirlwind adventure I have mailed home some souviners and I am keeping some with me. I will probably be home in November sometime, but nothing is definate yet. There was some wifi in Egypt at the resort, but it was a satelite connection like we have in Waltham, so not very impressive. I hope you are enjoying my blog. -Jennifer |
| 4th October 2009 Denise | beautiful photos - From: Egypt: a whirlwind adventure Jen, It is hard to believe you are still gone on this trip! When do you return? I applaud you for trying so many new foods - I am reluctant to eat anything I havent tasted before. Are you lugging all your souvieners with, or do you ship them home? Any wi-fi in Egypt? Denise |
| 23rd September 2009 jennys mom | next entry - From: Istanbul: A city at the center of the world why did they pull the beard off the sphinx? to prove it was fake? so he wouldn't have to shave anymore? hmmmm |
| 23rd September 2009 jennys mom | sphinx... - From: Egypt and the story of 1000 camels the sphinx isn't doing a very good job. is that why they had to hire guards? what would you do with the other 999 camels? i like the jewelry shop best. whos the golden girl with the bunny ears? are you halfway thru your list yet? |
| 22nd September 2009 jenny's dad | nice camel - From: Egypt and the story of 1000 camels I don't think that we have room for the camel, so don't go sending it home. By the way, is it as hot as it looks? |
| 18th September 2009 jawilso | - From: Istanbul: A city at the center of the world Thanks for the message! Greece was beautiful, though i think Rome was my favorite city so far. There was so much to do and see there. |
| 18th September 2009 jawilso | - From: Istanbul: A city at the center of the world Do you think everyone is interested in cat pictures? Cause i have a dozen at least. But lets face it turkish cats look just like American cats. Except they purr in Turkish. |
| 18th September 2009 Becky Donnelly | AWESOME! - From: Istanbul: A city at the center of the world Jenny, Thanks again for sharing this wonderful trip with us. I think so far Greece is the most beautiful, I would love to go there. Looking forward to your next blog. Have fun and be safe. |
| 18th September 2009 Tom | - From: Istanbul: A city at the center of the world I see no pictures of cats |
| 11th September 2009 Aunt Nancy | hi - From: Paradise and the Traveler's network Jenny, I hope you have enjoyed your trip to Europe. On to Istanbul. Your pictures of Greece are beautiful!! take care |
| 3rd September 2009 jawilso | - From: Athens and the Parthenon What Lord Elgin took was what was left over AFTER the Christians destroyed most of the sculptures. They destroyed the sculptures around the 600s and Lord Elgin didn't take the rest of them until the 1800s. |
| 3rd September 2009 jennys mom | but if... - From: Athens and the Parthenon but if Lord what's his name hadn't taken the artifacts, wouldn't they have also been destroyed by the Christians during the revolt before it became a church? so in a way he helped preserve them. |
| 30th August 2009 jennys mom | venice - From: Venice do people actually use the steps to walk down into the canals? it didn't look like anyone was swimming or anything in any canal pics. or are they just to get into the gondolas? do they say why only men can be gondoliers? do people really 'live and work ' in venice? or is it mainly just a tourist island...? I think you should take your parents there sometime... |
| 28th August 2009 jenny's dad | prada aliens - From: The Deserted Streets of Milan I think you are on to something, the fashion industry is operated by aliens from another planet. This explains everything! |
| 27th August 2009 jawilso | - From: Neuschawnstein: putting Versailles to shame for sure! That is definitely on my list of things to do. |
| 27th August 2009 jennys mom | istanbul to come - From: Neuschawnstein: putting Versailles to shame Marlene wants to know if you are goin to go see the Hagia Sophia Church when you get to Istanbul? she said please send post card. ha |
| 20th August 2009 jennys mom | can u...? - From: Florence and Italian Passion can u learn to make gelato while yer over there so you can make us some when u get home? or you can take me over there for some...mmmm very entertaining. enjoyed the comments on david n the lady stomping on the man. |
| 18th August 2009 jawilso | naked statues - From: Florence and Italian Passion It is amazing although there was the infamous fig leaf campaign that insisted on covering all the naked statues with fig leaves. In the Vatican museum a lot of the statues still have them. The sistine chapel ceiling was painted over by another artist in order to clothe the figures. When they cleaned the painting several years ago the removed most of the clothes so it could go back to its original state, but they did leave some of them on. I saw a picture of David from 1990 and he was wearing the ridiculous fig leaf. Censorship is an insult to art. If an artist intended for a sculpture to be naked then it was for a reason. If someone doesn't like or understand that, fine. But they shouldn't get to decide what is appropriate for other people to see or appreciate. I admit that the idea of David fighting Goliath without any clothes on is kind of silly, but that's what Michelangelo sculpted so that's what I want to see. |
| 18th August 2009 Denise | naked statues in America - From: Florence and Italian Passion Jen, I'm amazed at the number of nude sculptures in the public areas and no conservative groups complaining of indecency or pornography. Another reason to love Italy! Denise |
| 18th August 2009 Aunt Nancy | hi - From: Florence and Italian Passion Jenny, Sounds like you are really enjoying Florence. good for you. Stay safe. |
| 17th August 2009 Bob Carlsen | Creative Inspiration - From: Florence and Italian Passion I agree with much of what you have said about the environment for artistic inspiration. However, recently before going to China I read two books by Gavin Menzies titled "1421" and "1434." The first presented compeling evidence of Chinese fleets discovering most of the world in 1421. The second presented equallly compeling evidence of a final journey of one fleet to Venice, and then overland to Florence where the Chinese admiral presented 11000 documents containing 4000 years of Chinese knowledge. The author's premise is that this infusion of knowledge started the Renaissance...that Leonardo was just copying Chinese inventions. So maybe Michelangelo's god was Chinese! So much of our history is Eurocentric (and as a female you might add male centric), so it's interesting to get a different spin. You don't have to believe it, but it's a very interesting read...when you are bored on long flights or train rides. My son flies to Rome next Tuesday for his last two years of university...I envy him! |
| 15th August 2009 Tom | - From: Florence and the artistic touch Finally, a road that actually leads to Rome. |
| 15th August 2009 Denise | Beautiful photos - From: Florence and the artistic touch Wow, Jen. What a trip you are having!! I appreciate the decapitated head David photo... Denise |
| 15th August 2009 John | Elgin Marbles - From: British Museum I'm glad the British Musuem preserved this historical artifact but I wish the Greeks could have a piece of their history back. |
| 15th August 2009 James Wilson | Jeepers - From: Florence and the artistic touch Man, those venetians really love a naked David. He must have gone to Venice high school or something. Is it weird that my favorite picture is the big road? |
| 13th August 2009 jennys mom | rome has... - From: A Walk in Rome it sounds like Rome still has nuns, which are a dying breed in the west. we have a few elderly ones left @home in the u.s. does milan have wifi? |
| 1st August 2009 jennys mom | - From: Vienna in 10 minutes or less U start out with a few pics of Hundertwasser house...Who were the Hundertwassers and why did they have such a big house? this site is much history lessons. thanks! |
| 1st August 2009 Randy | Vienna - From: Vienna in 10 minutes or less Hi Jawilso, as a Viennese I am happy that you enjoyed your stay in Vienna. According to your pictures you had not only perfect weather but you did also handle a comprehenisve sightseeing program. Nice, that you visited (and enjoyed) the Donauinsel. A truly asset of Vienna. A beach right in the vicinity of the inner city. However, the ultimate purpose of the Donauinsel is to protect the city from flooding by the Danube river (which occured several times in the past). Best wishes for your travel adventures. Take care. Randy |
| 28th July 2009 Aunt Nancy | Happy birthday! - From: Michelangelo in Rome Jenny, what a way to spend your birthday---IN ROME!! I guess you will always remember this one. Enjoy! |
| 28th July 2009 Denise Bockwoldt | Yet another great day - From: Michelangelo in Rome Jenn, How interesting about Peter being crucified and buried in Rome. I had no idea about that. It makes sense now. Amazing how beautiful the artwork and scuptures are considering the times when they were created. Sorry about the heat. Yikes! I don't think I could handle that myself. Denise |
| 28th July 2009 Bob Carlsen | A new subscriber - From: Michelangelo in Rome I was looking at blogs about Rome...my son is going to university there for two years starting one month from now. I read your previous entries and your plans for your trip around the world all from earnings from Walmart. Good for you! I can't think of a better way to spend your money...better than a new car! I like the way you write, with occasional philosophizing about te travel experience. I lived 18 years in Asia and 18 years in Europe and am a travelholic, so will enjoy traveling vicariously until my next trip. |
| 23rd July 2009 Nancy | Aunt Nancy - From: Vienna and the famous horses Jenny, Sorry you missed the real Spanish Horses. but you did get to see a special show that most people have never seen nor heard of. Stay safe, and take care, n |
| 16th July 2009 Tom | - From: Prague: the land of Irony I think that's Franz Kafka |
| 13th July 2009 Dan Dougherty | Dachau survivors - From: Munich, Dachau, and the rise of the Third Reich Dachua was liberated 29Apr45 by rifle and weapons companies of the 45th and 42 Divisions, both Seventh Army. The following list of those liberated that day is from the WW II history of the 157th Infantry Regiment (45th Division) : Poles (including 96 women) 9,082; Russians (9 women) 4,258; French 3,918; Slovenes 2,907; Jews (225 women) 2,539; Italians 2,184; Czechs 1,632; German nationals (6 women) 1,173; Belgians 848; Hungarians (34 women) 670; Dutch 558; Austrians 253; Greeks 195; Spaniards 194; Luxembourgers 133; Croats 103; Norwegians 79; Serbs 79; Rumanians 50; Slovaks 44; Lithuanians 39; Alsace Loraines 36; Americans 6; Miscellaneous 127. Total 31, 462. |
| 11th July 2009 Aunt Nancy | beautiful - From: Neuschawnstein: putting Versailles to shame Jenny, the castle is beatiful!! However, the bridge you had to cross to get to the castle look very scary!!! I am alittle afraid of heights I guess. Good thing that you are not. take care, |
| 9th July 2009 jennys mom | maydays - From: Munich Day 1: WWII and Beer the maypole looks elaborate. Could u get one for the neighbors? We can go swipe it and get a free party for ourselves! why is the title WW11 and Beer? Where's the beer part? |
| 9th July 2009 jawilso | illegal - From: Munich Day 1: WWII and Beer My tour guide said today that it is illegal to do the Hitler salute. If you are in Germany on a visa, you can be instantly deported and denied future entrance to Germany. Although no one looked at my passport when I got to Germany. The last time anyone checked my passport was on the France/England border. |
| 9th July 2009 Tom | - From: Munich Day 1: WWII and Beer Holocaust denial falls under German Criminal Code Section 130 "Agitation of the People". Subsection 1 reads: Whoever, in a manner that is capable of disturbing the public peace: 1. incites hatred against segments of the population or calls for violent or arbitrary measures against them; or 2. assaults the human dignity of others by insulting, maliciously maligning, or defaming segments of the population, shall be punished with imprisonment from three months to five years. |
| 8th July 2009 Jimmy | - From: Munich Day 1: WWII and Beer I heard somewhere its a crime in Germany to deny the holocaust happened, so watch what you say over there. (At least in German) |
| 8th July 2009 Denise | - From: Munich Day 1: WWII and Beer Ironic that beer money was used to re-build churches. So Catholic!! Dee |
| 7th July 2009 jennys mom | wow...lots to see - From: Munich Day 1: WWII and Beer wow, there's lots to see over there. what kind of 'toys' did hitler play with, besides guns and clubs.? How can there be enuf toys for a museum... i'm glad they rebuilt the original historical city. it's beautiful. Why are the leaning houses called leaning houses? they don't appear to be leaning... |
| 6th July 2009 Becky Donnelly | AWESOME! - From: Amsterdam: Living on the Edge Hi Jennifer, I am a freind of your fathers and I work here at Spartan Tool. Just wanted to say how great of an experience this must be for you and wanted to thank you for sharing it with all of us. I sure am glad your dad forwared your blog to a few of us here. I will be looking forward to see what you will experience next. Have fun and be careful. Becky |
| 5th July 2009 jenny's mom | It's a bird...its a plane! - From: Rotterdam: off the Backpacker Track right above the central library, is that an actual huge bird in the sky? or a kite maybe? a small plane? judging by their trees for buildings (cube houses) and a pencil building with sunglasses, maybe their planes are birds? |
| 4th July 2009 Denise (McKeen) Bockwoldt | Wonderful - From: Amsterdam: Living on the Edge Jenny, Your photos and commentary are so wonderful, I feel like I am on vacation with you! Looks like you are having fantastic weather as well... so many sunny days. Thanks for sharing your adventure. Dee (your dad's cousin) |
| 29th June 2009 jennys mom | bruges - From: Bruges the last days Bruges is brugifull! (can u fit a few chocolate waffles in your back pack?..when will you be home again?) Can they still grow their own money? if so, could you bring a few plants home too? Can't wait to see pics from the netherlands! lol, luv, mom |
| 24th June 2009 jawilso | Bruges - From: Bruges Day 2: Belfrys, Windmills, Religion, and Lace I guess they were leaving for financial considerations? That is the usual reason. They thought they could have a better standard of living? People must live on top of each other here. Even if it is beautiful. |
| 24th June 2009 jenny's dad | what force made people leave - From: Bruges Day 2: Belfrys, Windmills, Religion, and Lace My visit to Ghent in the 90s made me wonder what conditions were at that time that induce people to leave for north america, and did they have any notion of what they were leaving behind and giving up to live in the wilderness. |
| 23rd June 2009 jawilso | Waffles - From: Bruges and the Art of Traveling So far I have only had a waffle with Chocolate. It was delicious, but I definately need to have a waffle with strawberries, chocolate, and whipped cream. I don't care if it makes me a tourist. I have decided to rebel! |
| 23rd June 2009 other Jen | yum! - From: Bruges and the Art of Traveling I think you should go ahead and eat the darn waffle with all of the trimmings. It sounds delicious! And frites are fries (which originated in Belgium, apparently). Bruges looks gorgeous; I hope you're enjoying yourself! |
| 23rd June 2009 jennys mom | eiffel lights - From: Paris: the last day you can put videos on this website too. so can we see the Eiffel tower light show? My favorite is 'yummy pastry'. Will it fit in your backpack? How will it ever make it home for me? |
| 23rd June 2009 jennys mom | tourist waffle eating - From: Bruges and the Art of Traveling If you've gone on at least one tour, then maybe you are a tourist after all! lol Go ahead and have a real Belgian waffle with strawberries and chocolate, and have one for me too! they even have a chocolate factory. ooooohh next to the town hall photo you said theres also a chocolate factory and a frites factory. What is a 'frites' factory? is that a belgium word? |
| 22nd June 2009 Aunt Nancy | waffles - From: Bruges and the Art of Traveling ITA, so did you have a strawberry and chocolate waffle? I would of, probably I would of had two. Enjoy, Enjoy, enjoy!! :) |
| 22nd June 2009 jenny's dad | Bruges - From: Bruges and the Art of Traveling When I was on a business trip to Gent years ago, the fellow that took me around (who was from Gent) told me that in his opinion, Bruges was the best looking city in the whole of Europe. I didn't get a chance to find out, but sounds like he may have it right. |
| 21st June 2009 GRAM MARY | - From: Paris: the last day HI JEN, IAM COPYING YOUR BLOG AND KEEPING A SCRAPBOOK FOR YOU. SOUNDS AND LOOKS LIKE A GREAT TIME SO FAR. STAY SAFE AND ENJOY, LOVE YOU |
| 19th June 2009 Kari Bray | Wow - From: Paris Day 3: Art, Art, and more Art! I'm totally with you on the whole art thing. My idea of good art is pretty, or at least emotionally stimulating. Still, there is so much history behind the art, and that's what seems the most beautiful to me is the centuries of culture and history those pieces have survived. Anyways, I hope you are having a ton of fun. I can't wait to see you! |
| 19th June 2009 Aunt Ruth Ann | - From: Paris Day 3: Art, Art, and more Art! Did you get to see the Mona Lisa ?We did a school project this year on Da Vinici |
| 18th June 2009 Aunt Ruth Ann | - From: Paris Day 2: Do the French like Napoleon? What a trip I think what you are doing is fantastic! Have fun and be safe |
| 17th June 2009 jawilso | - From: Paris Day 1 Our poor high school trip was a joke. I found the cafe yesterday that charged us 10 dollars for a coke. |
| 16th June 2009 Glen | - From: Paris Day 1 "...it seems to me that Christianity teaches simplicity and anti-materialism." Yes Jen, it does approach idolatry. The whole crux of religious tradition in the form of congregations and denominations smacks of idolatry. My sense is that when tradition is honored for the sake of tradition it becomes, by definition idolatry. But congregations tend to always think they are the exception... We could go on and on about this sometime... |
| 16th June 2009 Glen | Hey...Jennifer - From: Paris Day 2: Do the French like Napoleon? Hi Jen, I'm enjoying your blog. Great work! Great adventure! More later. |
| 16th June 2009 Georgena | - From: Paris Day 1 Hey! I remember that from our highschool trip to Paris. would have been nice if someone had told us it was a church. Or let us go inside. would have made it a bit more interesting |
| 16th June 2009 Tom | Art - From: Paris Day 1 I'm guessing that churches commissioned and paid for most of the art, so add that to the pile of irony. |
| 15th June 2009 Cindi B | Amazing! - From: London Day 5 I'm loving your updates. It's like traveling without moving. Keep it up girl. And be safe! I can't wait to see Paris! |
| 14th June 2009 sprasadoz | Europe holiday - From: London Day 5 Hope you enjoy your holiday. I was in London late Feb and late March 2009. Fell in love with the city. I have created a site on our europe hoilday from Feb 2009 to Mar 2009. Have a read may give you some other attractions/ideas you may wanna see:- http://www.europein3weeks.com |
| 14th June 2009 Andrea and Phil | one more thing... - From: London Day 4 Phil had an idea for you... you should sign up for a SmugMug (http://www.smugmug.com/) account, which is basically a way for you to upload your photos to their online memory storage. Their storage is unlimited, so you can upload as many photos as you want and they will always be accessible. It would be good to do in case your laptop or camera do get stolen or something. Then, you would at least still have all your photos. Just a suggestion! |
| 14th June 2009 Andrea | Yay! - From: London Day 4 Hey girl! Great photos! You do NOT look crazy in front of Stone Henge! Don't you just love the deception involved with those tours?? I'm glad you got to go though! What an experience :) |
| 14th June 2009 ellen | awesome - From: London Day 4 That is all so awesome. From the states, it feels like you've been gone more than four days too! The Lord bless you and keep you! Can't wait to see what's next! |
