May 31
I thought I was going to be able to post my photos
today or yesterday, which is why I had commented about them already, but it
turns out my friend does not have a program on her computer that will allow me
to save my photos to a CD, so I will have to wait. I should say that I will add
one photo to the Ireland pictures, which is of this great-looking guy sitting
at the bus station...and I don't mean great-looking in the sense that I am
attracted to him, but he has one of those faces with character and is one that I
can't wait to paint. I also wanted to comment on my poppy pictures. I noticed
that there are lots of red poppies growing around here, apparently wild. I
think these are the kind that were growing on the graves of Canadian soldiers
buried in Flanders when John McRae wrote that famous poem In Flanders Fields.
Read the poem again even though it is not Remembrance Day. Read it well, not
with the chanting, ill-read version that children do, but as a poem like the
wind through the trees. I hope you will find it as haunting as I do.
May 30
Fruit
gummies and cockroaches. I love these words in German because I think they
sound hilarious.
Well, I've
decided where I want to live. Now I just need the money to buy the place. It's
an old monastery, built in the 1100s or so. I guess I have a thing for relics.
They filmed all the indoor scenes of The Name of the Rose there, which is a
great book, so I imagine the movie will be great as well. It is also a museum,
so it may be difficult to buy this place. Still, I wish I could own it. It has
a chapel that they say is no longer consecrated and is now used mainly for
classical music concerts. It's no wonder either! When Katharina and I were in
it, there was no one else, and I sensed the magnitude of the acoustics in
there. Many of you know that I am always tempted to sing in cathedrals and
churches when I walk in because they are so beautiful and built for these types
of things. Since no one was inside, I decided to sing a little portion of a
Gregorian chant that I know. I did not need much volume, and yet my voice
carried straight down to the back of the building. I could hear it making its
way through the arches long after I had ended my song. It was so great. I want
to live there, just move right in. Only other thing is that it's dead cold.
Mmm...on second thought...It was also nice that a tour guide was free in the
museum part and decided to give us free info about the place. She even spoke a
little English, so she was able to tell us all kinds of interesting things
about the monastery that I could understand.
Germany has
been awesome. I have spent most of my time outside of Frankfurt in places such
as Rüdesheim and Heidelberg, both very beautiful places with more traditional
German atmosphere than what you would find here in Frankfurt, the business
capital. Close to Rüdesheim, we went to a convent where there are still nuns
living there. Usually old convents and monasteries are empty with their
inhabitants taking up residence right within the cities rather than these old
stone buildings up on a hill in some remote area. However, this one is still
living and is not too remote, so they open it to the public. The nuns make and
sell wine because the convent is in Germany's wine region, among other things
they make, but it looks weird to see a nun in a wine shop selling alcohol. Just
not something you would imagine seeing, let alone see in real life. Anyways,
although the first time we went, we arrived too late to check inside the store,
Katharina found that the door to the chapel part was open, so we went in, and
the nuns started singing almost right away. We couldn't see them, but we heard
them. I felt like I was in the Sound of Music when the nuns in the movie start
their religious singing for the day. In reality, they really were chanting
prayers or Bible verses or what, I don't know, so it was a little monotonous,
but they seemed to change between the chants and songs that resembled Gregorian-type
chants. It was pretty cool, and something that I think is probably a rare
glimpse for a regular person into the way they live. They say they still follow
the traditions that go back to 900AD when this convent was founded and is a
Benedictine chapter.
What else?
There are lots and lots of castles here, which is something I hadn't realised.
We were thinking of taking a boat ride down the Rhine to see some of them, but
it's a 4-hour trip, and we had got there too late.
I went to
the Städel museum today and yes, there was a van Gogh. It was too exciting, and
I got a photo of it, so I am happy about that. I took some pictures of some
other paintings as well, although I did not think to write down who painted the
ones I don't know, but I took a photo of two I did not know simply because the
eyes of the people in the portraits really spoke to me. I have also included
another swan picture, just in case you were beginning to miss them. I took that
photo at Schwetzingen castle in the garden. Apparently, the nobility used to
compete with each other just to see who could create the best garden. You will
see pictures of a Turkish-style mosque that was made for style--and not even
correct style--rather than for function. There is also a broken-down looking
tower that was made that way on purpose to symbolise the finiteness of life and
is actually not a building that is so old it is falling apart.
May 24
OK, so I just uploaded some new photo
albums here, 3 to be exact. I'm sure you will enjoy them. For the London ones,
more photos should be coming as I will spend some more time here. You may
notice that I like flowers a lot and take many pictures of them. The Ireland
ones, I have to find the names of them, and then I can give the proper titles
to the pictures, but colours suffice for now. Some pictures, like one of the
Santana ones, I need to edit and so will probably have a few more pictures in
my albums once I return to Edmonton. But as I always say, at least this gives
you an idea as you where I am. Also, you may wonder about the kid and the
fountain. It seems this fountain is activated by these little foot pads. You
need to step on them to get the fountain to work in different ways and for
different lights to light up. This fountain is just outside Wembley Arena where
we saw Santana. It seems that MSN does not let me put video clips up, so if you
are interested in the one of Santana, please let me know, and I will email it
to you when I get a chance. I also have clips of early music in Galway, and one
of the rushing Corrib River in Galway.
I also forgot to mention last time about
the Cliffs of Moher, that David tells me it's the cleanest air in Europe.
Apparently this is the place they use to measure all the air quality in Europe
against. I thought that was kind of neat.
May 22
Today is my last full day in Ireland. I return to
England tomorrow. And how, you may ask, am I spending my day? By writing on my
blog, what else? Tee hee...well, I won't make this a really long one as I do
want to take advantage of the fact that the sun is out today, or sort of out.
At least it's not raining profusely like it was yesterday. Ireland is really
pretty. I don't know how else to describe it. My friends David and Virgina took
me out to see the Cliffs of Moher on Saturday, which were simply amazing. I
think we would have got a better sense of their sheer massiveness had we
thought to take the boat tour of them, but even being on top of them, the birds
lining them all over the middle part of the cliffs looked like mostly dots
until you realise that birds you can see flying toward them are landing there
and become dots themselves. They're quite high! The sun was indeed out that day
for most of it, so we enjoyed a picnic at the top of the cliffs of bread,
smoked salmon, cheese, tomatoes, and strawberries. I loving picnicking on yummy
stuff like that! We drove through Doolin on our way back and made a pit stop at
Fanore where a friendly dolphin used to live. David and Virginia wanted to go
swimming there. While we were there, it started showering a bit, but it wasn't
too bad. It made the rocks very slippery, though. By the time we headed back to
the car, the pasture land we had walked through to get to the beach had
attracted its cows back, for whatever reason, so there was lots of fresh cow
pie to try to avoid while also trying not to get too muddy from the rain-soaked
soil. It was a bit of a challenge, and I tripped a couple of times while doing
so. Fortunately, I was able to grab on a raspberry bush at one point to keep my
balance. That hurt a lot, but fortunately, the thorns didn't pierce deeply
enough to cause any bleeding! Back at the road, a huge rainbow formed--a
rainbow in Ireland over the seashore and verdant landscape. It was so vibrant
that it had 2 reflections. Just spectacular. One more stop before Galway landed
us in Moran for oysters and seafood chowder. Historically, I haven't been a fan
of oysters, but I was game to try them since I think the only ones I had were
in Edmonton. Well, freshness appears to be the key as not only the cooked ones,
but even the raw oysters were savoury. My tastebuds were happy. The chowder was
also excellent, just the thing after being out in the rain. Well, so much for
my short entry. I must add that the scenery here is almost too beautiful. Were
it just one scene each day, I perchance would have 3 poems written about each
by now, but as it is, there are too many words jumbled in my head that I
couldn't begin to romance about nature as the old romantics did. I don't know
how they rhymed as much as they did. Some distance might give me some clarity once
I leave Ireland tomorrow. It's just that one is struck by the beauty of one
scene, and when trying to come up with some way to decribe it, suddenly there
is another beautiful scene, and then one is hit by a dozen more in such
succession. It's just not fair.
May 19
I've been in Galway, Ireland for 5 days now, and it
has pretty much rained every day that I've been here. Fortunately, there have
been breaks long enough for me to go out for a bit and enjoy the city. No
wonder it's called the Emerald Isle here. With all this rain, the land can't
help but be lush! I flew into Shannon from London and then took a 1.75 hour bus
ride into Galway. Not only is it more economical, I figured a little road trip
like that should prove to be picturesque. To my satisfaction, it was indeed,
but unfortunately, I could get the bus driver to stop to take pictures--not
that I tried, but usually that's the case. I mean, there was this one scene
where there was this little stream running through some very green grass, and
what did I see there but two swans gliding through the water. That was a Kodak
moment I had to miss. I was reminded much of my grandfather as I saw farmers in
their fields with their Border Collies at their sides. Border Collies are a
popular sheepherding dog in Scotland, and apparently they are in Ireland too.
My grandpa loved them, in any case. There were also just tons of sheep
everywhere too, sheep and cows, but mostly sheep. The good news is that there
are a bunch of swans at the docks, so I got several pictures of them and will
see which ones turn out the best. Without much sunlight outside, many of my
pictures appear to be dark, but I'll see what they look like once I get them
off my camera. What else have I been doing? I went to the theatre the other
night put on by the local Galway Theatre Company to see John B Keane's
"The Year of the Hiker." I really enjoyed it. A man loses his pride
after his wife finds more comfort in her spinster sister than in her husband,
so he takes off, and she loses her pride because she becomes a laughingstock of
sorts in the community at her inability to keep her husband. That's it in a
nutshell, but it's more complicated than that. Then last night I went to an
Irish Early Music concert, which was also really good. The music came from the
16th and 17th centuries and was performed by traditional Celtic instruments,
such as flutes, harps, and bagpipes, as well as ones we see more commonly such
as trumpets and other brass. There was also a choir. I thoroughly enjoyed
myself. A note on my newest photo albums...the Mexico ones are a little bare. I
kept forgetting to take photos of people I visited despite the fact that I had
my camera with me all the time. Shame on me I know, and sorry to those of you I
didn't capture!
10:45 AM | Permalink | English Language
May 15
Oh my
goodness...the coolest thing happened on Friday. Well, two cool things. The
first one is that I was able to meet my cousin Harpal and meet her husband for
the first time that evening. I hadn't seen her in 10 years, so it was awesome
to see her again.
Then, my friend
Carmel that I'm staying with called me to ask if I wanted to go see Carlos
Santana as she had got some free tickets from her cousin, as he wasn't able to
use them. We saw him at Wembley Arena, and we didn't really know where the
seats were until we asked the usher at the doors, and she told they were front
seat. We basically had front centre stage seats. It was unbelievable!!!!! The
concert was a blast, as could be expected. Santana is still popular for a
reason, of course. He did a good mix of old and new songs. I got a number of
great photos a couple of video clips from the concert, but it seems that most
Internet cafes in London don't like to include the usage of any drives (floppy
disk and otherwise) in their service, so I haven't had any opportunity to
upload any photos anywhere. I still need to put up my Monterrey ones. Anyways,
it was an amazing experience to be in the front row for Santana--and for free
to boot!
Yesterday was
also very cool as Carmel, Mauricio (her husband) and I went to Temple Church to
see her cousin (twice removed, I think) in this choir that sings there every
week. What I didn't know is that this is the church that's mentioned in the Da
Vinci Code, and the church was builts by the Knights Templar back in the
1100's, I think it was. A very old structure indeed! Of course, these places
were built for excellent acoustics, and the choir sounded professional. At
home, you would have to pay to see a choir of that calibre. It was really
beautiful. It seems that in this church--and I don't know if this is true of
high Anglican services in general being that choirs play a larger role in
church here in general--classical music tends to be more incorporated in their
services. The organist yesterday began with a Brahms piece, and the singing
rivalled that of any classical choir concerts I've ever seen. Looking through
their program of events for the next couple of months, they do list other
classical music pieces that will be played at upcoming services and concerts,
so I thought that was interesting because we really don't see stuff like that
at home as a general rule. I didn't get any pictures of the church because it
was kind of difficult to get a nice one from outside as the church is
surrounded by all sorts of other buildings, and from the inside, I felt like it
would be have been wrong to take pictures during the service as they actually
open up for tourists in the afternoon. I didn't want anyone to think I had come
there as a tourist rather than to actually partake in the service. So, sorry
folks, but it's just one place you'll have to visit yourself one day.
Today I leave for
Ireland, and I'm really looking forward to that.
May 12
I've
been in London for a few days now. I can't say that I've done anything really
exciting, but I haven't really come here for that purpose. Visiting my friends
here is what excites me the most. And today I will meet up with my cousin
Harpal. I haven't seen her in 10 years, so it will be good to see her at last.
My first day here, I did spend around the London Bridge area as my friend
Carmel works near there, and I am staying with her. I was sitting along the
bank of the Thames behind her building watching people on their lunch hour
walking by. I have to say that men here, even when dressed casually, dress
really well on the whole. Pink and lilac-coloured dress shirts are quite
popular here this season, and not just for metrozexual types. It's quite
refreshing!
What
I will try to take advantage of the most while I'm here is the theatre. There
are all kinds of shows on right now, Mary Poppins, Chicago, Guys and Dolls, Les
Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Sunday in the Park with George (a Stephen
Sondheim play, and I love his musicals), Billy Elliot. What isn't playing that
I want to see? So many musicals, and so little time!
I
loved London the last time I was here, and I still love it. There are
apparently lots of job opportunities here, so i will grab a paper to see what i
can find, but my friend Kelly that lives here and is moving back to Canada
fairly soon was working for an NGO-type organisation and has some contacts as
well. Ang, i know this prospect doesn't excite you, but I have to go where the
jobs are. It's pretty racist here in fairly outright way, or at least it seems
to me. Like in the paper the other day, they were blaming poor service in the
restaurant industry on Eastern Europeans, as though they are the cause of poor
service. The person featured in the article was suggesting that minimum wage be
thrown out to force servers to rely on tips for their wages, which would force
them to provide good service. How well does that work in the US? Anyways, it's
interesting to observe these kinds of things here. I'm not saying that this
doesn't happen in Canada, but I find it's simply less blatant.
My
interesting sight of the day today, actually, was seeing hordes of people
coming out of the St John's Wood tube stop for a cricket match. I couldn't even
get into the stop at first because of all the crowds. I could understand if it
was a soccer match or something, but cricket? Being 1/2 Indian and 1/4
Scottish, you'd think i would have inherited some love for the game, but that
didn't happen. I just don't get it!
Springtime
is really lovely, though. There are lilacs in bloom, yet the air smells of
something less delicately sweet than lilacs, and I'm not sure what it is. I've
mostly taken photos of flowers since I've been here, actually. Unfortunately, I
haven't had much success finding a computer where I can upload pictures onto
the blog yet, so I'll have to post those at my earliest convenience. Hoping you
are not dying of anticipation in the meantime 
May 04
Today
is my last day in Monterrey as I leave bright and early at 6:55am from the city
Friday morning, which happens to be Cinco de Mayo. I hate early morning
flights. At least these kind. Usually I don't mind them because then I have
time to enjoy the afternoon wherever I am going, but in this case, I have a
7-hour layover in Mexico City, to which I'm not looking forward.
Anyways,
I've been trying to eat tacos and yummy stuff here in Mexico as much as I can
before I go and just spend time with as many people as possible, or at least
spend quality time with as many people as possible. People and food (and in
that order) are the most exciting things about everywhere in the world for me.
They are what I seek when I travel, not to see gallieries, monuments, countless
statues and museums. All the paintings merge together for me unless they happen
to be the Impressionist ones, especially van Gogh!
As
I suspected, many people have moved on in their lives. I ran into one student
that I taught the first semester I was here. He was pretty lazy in my class and
hung out with the goofballs. He was in my class of Sweathogs (google Welcome
Back Kotter if you don't know who these are). I always knew he was a smart guy
but never applied himself. Well, now he is finding his university too easy and
is annoyed with his classmates that are into partying. He seriously states that
he is just there to learn, nothing else. He says the guys from my class are
exactly the people he doesn't talk to anymore, that they were just classmates,
not friends. It makes my heart glad in ways I can't describe to see him
appreciating learning so much more and to have these mature attitudes to his
education and to some aspects in life in general. He became the person I always
knew he was.
In
any case, I knew that my era here was over, but it was good to come back and
re-connect with as many people as I did. My life here had a significant impact
on me, mostly for the positive, and of course, the people I knew here are as
gold to me--and if you know how much I love gold, you'll know what I mean by
this!
I
return to Pittsburgh for a couple of days to recuperate, and my next stop is
London, England.
May 01
I have been in Mexico for a week now, and I have to
say that there are a lot of things I miss. One thing I totally forgot about was
freshly squeezed lemonade everywhere, but not just the regular kind, the one
made with mineral water, rightly called limonada mineral. It's sooooo yummy!
Mostly I've been visiting with people, eating, and
shopping. These are my favourite things to do in any country. In all my
attempts to try to show people that I don't run into people I know everywhere,
I have been failing miserably. Now it's not so surprising that I should see
people I know in Monterrey, but to run into them about 1am at a random taco
joint, that's not normal. But it was good because I otherwise wouldn't have had
a chance to see those people I should think.
The weather here has been good, closer to the seasonal
30. There are flowers and flowering trees in bloom everywhere here, and my
favourites, the bougainville are in full bloom. I'll be able to post some
pictures of those.
Not much else happening that's worth mentioning. Hope
all of you at home are doing well!
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