United Statesian

Coffee break during our 15km walk along the coast Dear Citizens of the World, Although less exciting than my last post about seeing rockets and long-range missile tests, I think that these photos of a November walk along our beach in Tel Aviv are worth a post. I try to highlight the positive side of living in Tel Aviv as an expat. One advantage is the weather. Not many people can say they walk along the beach in mid-November and still see tons of people in bikini - not me though... not my style. Leaving Tel Aviv going North you not only have the beach. There are lots of other sights. You can wait at the bottom of the runway and let the plains buzz you as they land. Enjoy the Boardwalk around the Old North Port of Tel Aviv A cool, long-green, hair-like algae on the rocks at low tide The advertising for ice-cream leaves a lot to be desired...the least being ice-cream. These haggared costumes did not make me think of food... Sunset over the old port with fisherman in the background The S...

Cool styles on Tel Aviv's trendy Rothschild BLVD Dear Citizens of the World! When visiting a country like Israel your first thought would be of fashion being dictated by the religions. It is common to see religious attire, but most people in Tel Aviv wear European style clothes and they dress quite informally most of the time. Note: The two pictured above are the more snazzy/stylish types I have seen. Most wear jeans and short-sleave shirts. On the same day, I walked by some fashion outlets on a trendy street and found these people: A chorus of Zombie Mannequins! The oddest thing I have seen so far are these Zombie Mannequins. The freak me out! The armless-zombie mannequin boy with a damaged face! Ohhh look! An armless zombie mannequin boy with his face bashed in! Oh..and it looks like he is levitating! I'm sold in this. It's the perfect outfit for my son. Yikes! At least these two are smiling!.. After living and working ...

Pigeons in Tel Aviv go on strike! Dear Citizens of the World! I will have to admit that I do not understand why...but the pigeons in Tel Aviv have decided to go on strike. Any ideas? After taking the picture above, I walked down to the beach and found this guy: Hanging out on Tel Aviv's Beach soft-sand beach He obviously stopped off at the hair-dresser to get the puffy-hair look. Then he decided to spend his "strike" sinking his feet in the super-fine sand. His blood-red, beady little eyes make him look quite scary -- despite the hairdo. Note: The sand on the beach in Tel Aviv is the finest, softest sand I have ever seen. It is actually quite nice. I have only walked by part of the beach...still haven't had time to chill out on the beach yet...one day maybe...when I get a job...then go on strike to join the pigeons in their fight. The United Statesian

Dear citizens of the world! The tumultuous events of the past month have kept me away from my blog. Most notably, the earthquake in Japan kept me glued to the screens. Seeing the videos and hearing people's accounts of the quake brought back memories of the 7.6 earthquake I experienced in Taiwan; the feeling of fear that comes from "surfing" a strong earthquake that suddenly grows violent, the 30 seconds that turn into weeks and months, the stories of people surviving after eight days.... What most don't realize is that the tremors continue for weeks and months. After three months of motions sickness from 3,000 aftershocks I was happy to "get off of" Taiwan and onto solid ground. Naturally, the Japanese quake lead me to think of my summer vacation in Norway. What? You say. I don't have any close friends in Japan, but I immediately thought of this very nice, retired Japanese man I met in Flom, Norway. He only spoke Japanese, not a word of English and he ...

Postcard that made it from Egypt...despite being in the middle of a revolution... Dear Citizens of the World, E-mails, instant messages, mobile phones and free calls on Skype and other services have made the art of communicating much easier and enjoyable for me. However, traditional letters are still relevant. I argue that they are even more relevant now than they have been in a long time. The art of postcard writing has been almost lost, but thanks to a few thoughtful friends it is staying alive! It used to be a treat to get hand-written letters in the mail, but it was not uncommon. Now, I usually only gets bills and junk-mail -- this is even dwindling because many of my bills come to me by email and advertising is becoming more directed (fewer "blanket" campaigns). Those days that I do find a rare postcard from a friend in a distant land... it is such a treat! This last postcard arrived this week in Madrid after a three-week long journey from Egypt. My friends who wrote the...

Mountains above the sea... a good mix. Dear citizens of the world, How things can change in just one week. One Saturday we was hiking over an ice-wind swept mountain , and the next we were on the Mediteranian coast, at 700m, a balmy 30 degrees Celsius and a cool sea breeze coming from the beach below. Natural frame in the Desierto de las Palmas, Marina D'or This weekend, will be another wedding in the pueblo ... Hasta pronto! The United Statesian

Dear Citizens of the world! The winter has ended in Madrid. The sun is shining! My last post from my hike on Saturday might be the final dregs of winter. But you never know. Spanish people have a saying: "H asta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo ." Which in United Statesian means: "Don't store your winter clothes until the 40th of may (June 10th)." Because winter can always come back and surprise you, even in June. The other good news I have to share with you is rocking sound of Fractal. My coworker Ryk, a musician from the Canary Islands, is preparing to put out his first album. I went to the FNAC on Sunday for a cool concert. A good way to start Spring. Check it out if you want to know what Spanish rock sounds like. Some of the songs are in English. Hasta pronto, The United Statesian

Baby Jesus has a booboo... or in Spanish....Tiene pupa! Dear Citizens of the world, This Baby Jesus or Niño Jesús – pronounced /NEENyo HayZUS/ in Spanish – is a traditional part of Christmas decorations in Spain, but with a makeover. This photo is from a Spanish hospital that made Niño Jesús look more like the patients so that they would laugh a bit and relate better. Although, you could say that the Niño Jesús got caught up in a fight between Santa and the Three Kings ( Los Tres Reyes Magos ). In Spain, the Three “Magic” Kings are the ones that have always brought the gifts to the good little boys and girls. Since they were the ones bringing gifts to Baby Jesus it only makes sense that they give to all children. A more traditional look at the Niño Jesus . Kings Day ( Reyes ) is on January 6th, which means that kids and teachers get an extra week off over the holidays. However, it also means that children didn't get their gifts until the 6th of January... after two weeks of vaca...

Fresh tomatoes and Mushrooms the size of a baby's head! ..................... Dear citizens of the world, Wine is definitely important in the Rioja region... and the pilgrimage. But it is only part of the balanced diet. Food from this part of Spain is important as well. We were lucky to see the end of the wine harvest ( see last blog ), but it was also mushroom season. The hills and forests are infested with mushroom pickers. I don't collect shrooms since I can't tell a delicious boletus edulis from a poisonous Boletus reticulatus ! I just enjoy eating them, especially when they are sauteed with olive oil and garlic. Yummy! "Tortilla" Spanish egg and potato omlette We did have some Spanish Tortilla - probably the most common cooked dish that you can find all around Spain, but we did try many other local delights: Blood Sausage from Burgos with bell pepper garnishing I highly recomend the blood sausage. The variation from Burgos is made with rice. This specifi...

Man squatting outside the Big Goose Pagoda -- Xian, China Dear citizens of the world, This post is about one of those cultural tidbits. Countries are beginning to look similar with the same shops (Walmart), cafes (Starbucks), fast food joints (McDonalds). However, there are still many things that can differenciate cultures or even shock while traveling. My travel companion was astounded to see so many people squatting in China. Chinese people squat to rest, read a newspaper, talk on mobile phones, take pictures, and to use the WC but Westerners only associate squatting with bowl movements. Researching the topic I found another post on squatting with a link to a page with the benefits of squatting . A fellow United Statesian posted (a technical) " Seven reasons to squat ." I have to admit that I am not so good at squating (lack of practice); however, it is an important skill for travelers. Lack of knowledge can even lead to injury! My "squat story" happened on my re...

Dear citizens of the world, I am now trying to send photos to participate in as many photo contests as possible. It is a great way to learn and an incentive to improve. The hard part is choosing the photos. The art of photography is so subjective; each contest has so many possible winners. It is also very personal. Many pictures I take mean something to me, but I don't know how others see them...or what they see. Even if two people agree that they like a photo, they probably don't like it for the same reasons. The above picture is from a bridge over the Bosphorus, outside of Istanbul: it is taken in winter, the weather is cold and crisp, the shot is taken in Europe, but the far shore is Asia, the massive bridge dwarfs the container ship, the mosque in the foreground is plain, elegant, clean, double minarets are complimented by the double supports of the bridge, smaller boats at the bottom help balance the picture and reinforce the contrasts, both modern and new... Many more a...

Citizens of the world, Today, the topic is the Spanish " Pueblo " (Village). El Pueblo is a very important part of Spanish culture - almost everyone has one, but nobody seems to actually live there. Most Spaniards live in big or medium sized cities, but that was not always the case. Urban areas have expanded greatly over the past two generations, but there is still a strong link to the pueblo. The average age of some pueblos is over 60 - a few smaller villages have died out completely. However, there are still thousands of Pueblos that survive, in most part, thanks to the strong family and cultural bonds. When we are not climbing mountains or traveling, we go to Torrico, our pueblo. The main reason is to visit family, but it is also a way to get away from the pollution and stress of the big city, relax, disconnect, and to get your hands dirty in the fields. El pueblo also survives for practical reasons. For many families the pueblo and the extended family serve as a cheap ba...

Dear citizens of the world, My second blog post continues along the same topic of signs in China. This sign which can be found at the entrance to Tian'anmen square in Beijing has no translation problems. The problem is cultural. The same as Chris's last post , this sign clearly prohibits exploding vehicles...but it also has many other regulations: When cycling towards the "Peaceful Heavenly Gate" square I decided to stop to read the sign and make sure I was not breaking any laws that would get me thrown into the Beijing slammer. The square is surrounded by hundreds or thousands of uniformed police, military, plain-clothed police, video cameras, communist lasers of death, etc... The sign prohibited buses, but there were many buses full of locals and tourists alike. The sign prohibited bikes pulling large amounts of cargo, but lots of them rode by as I was decifering the sign. In the end, I decided to push ahead, sure that I was not breaking any rules and that many othe...