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Tag: Asia

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By tokyostyle101

Minami SanrikuIt`s weird to go from Minami Sanriku to Tokyo. From a place where weeds grow in the cracks of the barren, concrete foundations of buildings gone to a city over-inundated with buildings and flashing lights.

I spent the past four days in Minami Sanriku, Miyagi Prefecture of Northeastern Japan. Minami Sanriku was a coastal town. In fact the whole town center was right on the water or on the river that lead to the ocean. That`s why the town is almost non-existent today.

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck at 2:47 pm. I was told you couldn`t even walk because the ground shook so hard. It only took 20 minutes for the tsunami to reach the coast line of Tohoku (Northeastern Japan). In that 20 minutes students returned home from school, many people were trying to figure out if their family members were ok. The Tsunami warnings were going off, but people didn`t know what to make of them. It just didn`t seem possible that the waves would be so high. But they were. At their highest the tsunami`s waves reached 15 meters. Taller then most buildings in Minami Sanriku. The town is set right between two small mountains, but the sides are steep and only the most nimble could hope to climb them quickly. ...continue reading "Tohoku Ganbatte: Minami Sanriku 11/3-11/6"

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By tierneybb

A few weeks ago I found myself in the middle of an argument on the bus. Two young twenty-something Nepalis had gone from a general pleasant conversation about nothing, looking forward to Dasain, but when I made an offhand comment about the stretch of road we were on I set them off. The boy, a well off construction manager was too jaded to even entertain the notion of discussing politics, he just pointed out that peoples interests were not being served by the government and it was too bad, too entrenched to get any better. The girl was a university student studying politics, who was interested in the advancement of her country, and while she wasn't fond of the current government, how was that supposed to change if dissatisfied young Nepalis didn't get involved? I sat back, I was determined not to get involved, but still they kept most of the argument in English, with passioned bursts of Nepali roughly translated for my benefit. But this isn't the only time I've been caught in such arguments, while interviewing a shopkeeper in Namo Buddha a man walked in off the street already hurling political arguments at her, and the interview took a back seat as the two of them discussed local issues with the government, animatedly pacing and gesticulating with their arguments. There always seems to be an odd dynamic where both parties agree with each other, and are very nice, but then point out that the other just happens to be fundamentally wrong about their proposed action. ...continue reading "Patan, KTM"

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By shivaniinsingapore

Even though I am across the world, I, along with my friends here, will be watching the election results just like we have been doing for each debate. Although we are twelve (now thirteen) hours ahead because of daylight savings time, we all manage to somehow find time and watch the debates together. This coming Wednesday, we all have decided to watch the election results in real time, so that means we will have to meet up in the morning time. ...continue reading "Election Time!"

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By tierneybb

ZZAPP!! With a violent buzz like a miniature thunder clap my eyes jerk up from my work to the window, where the waiter has pinned a fat fly under some sort of electronic tennis racket, and apparently, fried it. While I've never seen such an odd device for pest control that's not what's so jarring, nor the noise disturbing the ambient pulse of music: This is the fist time I have seen a bug killed in public since starting my study abroad. Other than my own furtive swatting when away from prying eyes, I haven't seen any bugs intentionally killed. All sentient beings, even bugs, are part of the chaotic cycle of samsara, and thus good Buddhists and Hindus are not supposed to kill them, and doing so around them is considered insensitive. I've heard a rumor that H.H. the Dalai Lama once disputed the cognizance of mosquitos, that they weren't really sentient and could probably be safely swatted, but I didn't have the guts to test this in public (and prefer to avoid the awkward wipe-off of the guts of insects). Even a cockroach making a steady climb up grandmother's back was knocked off and gently carried to a window. ...continue reading "Gangtok, Sikkim (India)"

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I cannot believe my first semester at NUS is coming to an end! We have about three more weeks of classes, then a reading week, followed by finals (my last final is on the 1st of December). We had midterms about three or four weeks ago, but a majority of my classes have a continuous amount of assignments and papers due throughout the semester.
My only official midterm I had was in Pre-Modern Japanese History. The professor gave us one hour to write three and a half pages answering a discussion topic. However, we were allowed to use three readings and nothing else. I have to admit that it was quite terrifying- I had never had an exam in Singapore, and the last exam I had that had a similar structure was in high school. To prepare for the test, the only thing I could do was read the articles and try to find a common theme. When the test started, I didn't even bother creating an outline or anything of that sort. I just began writing and hoped for the best. Luckily, it worked out in my favor. ...continue reading "FINALS."

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By shivaniinsingapore

I had the opportunity to hear the song Gangnam Style in August. It was extremely popular amongst some of the local students at NUS. I heard it while in my theatre class and was taught the dance. I personally like the song because of its beat and fun dance moves.While this song is not sung by a Singaporean, it still is played numerous times throughout the day on the radio. Gangnam style, for those not familiar with the song, is written by a Korean rapper who goes by the name Psy. It is accompanied by a distinct set of dance moves. The lyrics of the song basically are talking about the Gangnam district of South Korea, where apparently people who live there have lavish lifestyles. The video to this song can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0 ...continue reading "Oppan Gangnam Style!"

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By tierneybb

Oh dear. With the realization that this week marks the point at which I am exactly halfway through my time here in Nepal, and just past halfway through the semester, I guess this means I've settled in to life as a student in Nepal. This mostly mean's I've found my niche and accepted my identity here: I hang out at the mid-level integrated Western cafes, where it's mostly white people and monks but you order the lemon ginger honey tea to go with your spinach crepes and no one's using the wifi. I say I'm studying here for a semester and try not to claim that I live in Kathmandu, as it's rather obvious I'm not from around here and don't have the cultural capital of the long-term ex-pats. It's a nice balance as some of the truly local joints are beyond my abilities both linguistically and in terms of limits on my dhal consumption. I take public transit if there's a direct line, but as soon as transfers get involved I know to give up and grab a cab. I've bought local traditional fabrics to have tailored into an outfit, but it'll be western style not a chupa because... there are many things I just can't pull off. ...continue reading "Around Kathmandu"

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By tierneybb

Nepal TrekWhen you tell the locals of Kathmandu that you're going on trek, they nod politely and ask where, but they won't recognize the name "Tsum." Few people do, despite its proximity to the popular Manaslu circuit. However, protected from the nosing bustle of tourism by both the government and sheer remoteness, Tsum is one of the "untouched Shangri-las" of the Himalayas. ...continue reading "Tsum Valley, Nepal’s Northern Border"

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By shivaniinsingapore

Hawker CentresEveryone always jokes that there are only two favorite hobbies of Singaporeans: eating and shopping. It comes as no surprise then that Singapore has a very unique culinary culture.
Food in Singapore can range from very expensive ($20+ Singapore) to extremely cheap ($3-$4 Singapore). The cheaper places tend to be located in these places called Hawker Centres. Hawker Centres are known for serving very traditional foods of Singapore, along with other local Southeast Asian dishes. They serve anything from Singapore's very own specialties  such as Chicken Rice and Chili Crab, to authentic Indian food, all for a mere $3-$4 per dish. Some of these Hawker Centres are even open 24 hours! The way a hawker centre works is that you simply walk up to a stall that seems to offer what you are looking for, order your food, and wait a couple of minutes for them to prepare it. If you'd like a drink or even dessert, you would have to go to a different stall that is especially for either drinks or desserts. ...continue reading "Food in Singapore: The brief synopsis"

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By shivaniinsingapore

This past week, I had the opportunity to visit the 800 + year old temples of Angkor Wat, situated near Siem Reap, Cambodia.

My friend and I arrived in Siem Reap on a Tuesday night and took a cab to the hotel; after we put our bags down, we headed straight back outside to go visit the Night Market. We got a Tuk-CambodiaTuk driver (tuk-tuks are this form of transportation that has a motorcycle or moped attached to a type of carriage in which passengers can sit). In Cambodia, there are no meters- you have to negotiate the price before you travel. Our tuk tuk cost us about $2 US for four people to go to the Night Market. I also should probably mention that the unofficial currency in Cambodia is the US dollar, and that there are ATM machines that dispense US currency (they do not, however, accept change!) The Night Market was intense; there were tons of small shops selling almost identical merchandise: cotton printed pants, Cambodian silk scarves, jade Buddhas, and temple artwork. The market was packed, and each shopkeeper would try to grab our attention by saying, "Hello lady!" We decided to hold off on the shopping until Thursday, and kept walking. We got dinner on a well-known street called Pub Street; my friends got a traditional Khmer barbeque, in which the waiters placed a makeshift grill on the center of our table and provided them with 5 different types of raw meat: beef, snake, crocodile, kangaroo and shrimp. It was up to my friends to cook everything properly and eat it. I, on the other hand, had Cambodian rice, which was very good! Our meal was very cheap too (I paid about $3 for everything)!

...continue reading "Chum reap suor Cambodia!"

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