Trav'lin' Light: The Slovenian Appendix

In the middle of my time in England, I went to Slovenia's capital city, Ljubljana, to present my research at the European Association of Social Anthropologists biennial conference. The theme for the conference was "Experiencing Diversity and Mutuality", fitting considering my Masters is in Diversity Studies. At any rate, it was a great four days. I met many amazing scholars and developed a further interest in anthropological enterprise. There was even someone who showed up at my presentation because they specifically wanted to hear about my research. Turns out she is also doing work on bone marrow transplantation! Her angle is more about pain experienced by donors and recipients. But how cool is that to make such a fortuitous connection! Glorious to know I'm not the only person looking at those issues from a social science perspective.

Thankfully, I made sure I had time to check out Ljubljana. The sunshine was out in full force and perfect for late afternoon strolls and warm riverbank dinners. There were winding cobbled streets, gorgeous architecture, buildings stained by graffiti, and bike lanes on the sidewalk that were certainly put to good use.

Slovenia, as my native Balkan (Bosnian) friend Slaven points out, is the Balkan country that wants to think it's not Balkan. It fancies itself more Central European. Given its borders with Austria and Italy, this does make sense. Indeed, the food certainly reflected the nature of this continental crossroads, as did the demeanor of its citizens, fluent in Slovenian, English, and usually German and/or Italian. Gregarious folk, too. I remember that on the flight from London to Ljubljana, the passengers were gabbing merrily the whole way there, and applauded loudly when the plane landed.

Oh my god. Slovenia honey is the bomb. I bought a jar of coconut creamed honey and it was magnificent. Apparently Slovenia is known for its beekeeping. The place where I procured this elixir was a shop downtown, and the salesgirl said that the owner keeps his bees and produces the honey some distance away and comes in regularly to the shop to re-stock its shelves. I brought the honey back to London, and within three weeks I used up the whole damn jar. I really should've bought back more. If anyone plans on going there, please bring me back a caseload.

Anyway, here's a set of piccies from my walks around Ljubljana. Sadly, my digital camera was busted so these are from a disposable camera. Forgive the quality and lighting issues.


This is the castle perched atop the hill in the city. They have art exhibits and a cafe there too. The hill has some pretty views, but the light was going when I hiked up there, and the duskiness didn't allow for any shots worth posting.

This is the old athletic building near my hostel: if you enlarge it you'll see cool building detail

The backside of one of the dragons flanking the town bridge: if you look closely in the background you'll see they do have Chinese restaurants everywhere!



Yes I am a nerd and I went to the train museum. Vintage transport is mesmerizing to me. Don't hate. Look how neato toledo this old engine is!


The city center

A city church

If you'd like to catch up with the other parts of the journey, here ya go:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

To close out the Trav'lin Light series here's its namesake tune once again:

Madagascar: Far from Vanilla

For all of you who thought that Madagascar was just a peaceful island teeming with lemurs and high quality vanilla, think again. There's been some serious stuff going on there.

I figured if I have time to blog about American Idol, I have time to clue folks in on what has been transpiring under the radar of most Americanos.

Hello, there has been a MILITARY COUP!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, so maybe I am living in a cave, but I always get the sense that the U.S. is an incredibly insular place. Certainly introspection is important, and domestic issues must also be a part of consciousness. It's common political science knowledge that in American elections voters never cast their ballot based on candidates' foreign policy. But this is no excuse for ignorance about international affairs. American provincialism is a seriously scary ethos that already has unleashed serious repercussions.

Does anyone remember when General Musharraf seized power in a coup in Pakistan? No one batted an eyelash here, but now it's supposedly a FP priority, given it's a Muslim nation and potential nuclear threat. How could people so easily forget that when a reporter asked W. who the leader of Pakistan was, among other foreign executives, he was stumped? Thank god there is a new administration. In the spirit of this new administration, let's renew our pledge to make an effort to increase our knowledge of happenings outside our immediate sphere.

Don't get me wrong, I still love lemurs too. In fact, I wonder how the political situation is affecting biodiversity policies and research.

Booker: Turning the page on race?

One of my academic heroes, Vijay Prashad, doesn't think so. Read his great review of Gwen Ifill's book The Breakthrough in ColorLines magazine. I've not read her book, but now will very likely pick it up.

He makes some really great points about black men and electoral politics, for example, scratching beneath the surface of Obama as a symbol.

And he talks about Cory Booker, who I have been fascinated with ever since I saw the film Street Fight a few years back on POV. He is one of the most engrossing political figures I have ever seen. While Prashad is critical of him, he also does point out Booker's redeeming qualities. If you can get your hands on it, please watch Street Fight--don't read any of the Cory Booker links I have here because they will give away the ending. Not knowing the outcome is part of what makes the documentary riveting.

Here's a convo with the director/excepts from the film:

Part 1




Part 2 (don't watch the last minute, it gives it away)



Sorry, Part 3 might not work.



Oh well, you get the message. Should be enough for you to put that in your netflix queue straightaway! This is film is so relevant for our political landscape, take a gander.

Trav'lin' Light--Part Three: The Massachusetts Pictorial Supplement

After hustling in NYC, it was time for some respite. Sarah, a prominent figure in my travels, once again re-entered the picture. I trekked on the Chinatown bus to Boston to meet up with her. She's doing a film program there. We (snore) spent a day working our butts off on our respective academic efforts, but in the next evening we went to one of her friend's houses where there was a lively Thanksgiving feast along with a charades-like game. It was topped off with dessert, a Danish dream cake--there were a lot of Danish people there--and a name-that-tune competition.

We went to a liquor store to pick up some stuff to make mulled wine for Sarah's roommate Rico who was cooking for us. While browsing we saw the cutest beer bottle labels ever. Don't know if the brew inside was any good though:

Owls!!!!!!

Then, the real fun began. Jones and I rose early in the morning and took the bus to Hyannis. I had my SF, CA playlist blaring in my ears making me all homesick for the coastal wonder of beloved California. It was the first time I felt home's memories tugging at my heartstrings.

But, in way, home is where your heart is. Indeed, some of my heart was left in Cape Town. I have been so lucky to have people in my life who have traversed the world to cross paths in many places. A communion of geographic memories is holy. It is so special to be able to share multiples places/times in common with people, and I know how rare that is. Already to have journeyed and been with Sarah in Cape Town, London, and Boston was overwhelmingly grand. Jennie and Mpho, who were also friends in Cape Town were waiting for us at the Hyannis bus station. They both reside in Cape Town, and since they had gotten married weren't able to visit the U.S. They tied the knot in Soweto (Mpho's hometown). Jennie's family is from Cape Cod, and finally they were making the trek stateside as legalized partners. Jubilant times to be reunited!

After driving to Jennie's aunt's house, we met her family, sat and had some rooibos (how South African!) and cookies. Then we set off for the Cape beaches and Jennie treated us to a tour of her childhood haunts. Seeing the ocean again, after such a long absence, inahling that salt-kissed air, my love of the coast was reawakened.

Whoa, there's a Cape Town here too!

Jennie and Mpho: Awwwwww



Who's that Inuit grinning on the beach?



Just us gals



A tangle of seaweed

After our tour of the Cape we retuned to the Hutchinson homestead for a lavish Thanksgiving feast. The second of the week! Jennie's uncle stopped by and shared his considerable horseshoe crabshell collection with us. I brought a couple back to NYC for Simone's ever-growing wunderkammer.

Jennie's dad donning a horseshoe crab hat



Eeek! Get it off!



Attack of the killer horseshoe crabs!

As the evening wound down, the Cape to Cape crew piled in a car and headed back Bostonward. Back at Sarah's abode we sat down and looked at Jennie and Mpho's wedding pictures. I wasn't able to attend as I had to leave South Africa days before. It was marvelous to see the photos from the ceremony and celebration. The joy and ebullience was transmitted through those images. Still exhausted from jetlag (They had only arrived in the U.S. a day before) J & M crashed and Sarah and I respectively hit the sack too. The next day we all went to Boston's chinatown for some dim sum. We met up with Rico and his son Morris (Mr. Mo for short). After a stroll through Boston Common Sarah led us to the Imperial Garden, and old theater refurbished and repurposed to serve up some delectable Chinese delights. The interior was entirely preserved. We ascended a staircase and were a bit bewildered to find a majestic decor inside. After a little walk around downtown Boston, we capped off the day sipping piping hot chocolate in Cambridge. Bidding adieu to J & M, Sarah and I turned in to watch "Madagascar". And the next day I said farewell and headed back to the Big Apple.

The gang at Boston Common


Sipping hot chocolate


Mr. Mo's first Dim Sum



Mpho digs into some gai lan


Mo likes it! Particularly the fried stuff


Sarah and Rico chowing down



Check out the decor in this place!


The Cape to Cape Crew

Trav'lin' Light --Part Two: NYC condensed soup

Please add one cup of job hunting, researching, and writing to dilute.

After a month in England and Slovenia, I found myself in another heaving metropolis with its own delights to tickle the taste buds, jam the ear canal, pique the olfactory.

Here's a concentrated wallop of NYC sensory snapshots in no particular order:

• Emily K. and Christopher as Lucy and Ricky for Halloween!
  
• Too much champagne poured at Tout Va Bien dinner for Ms. Meltesen's birthday.
• Decadent dessert before dinner at Cafe Lalo with Cynthia. And then eating bomb-ass Mexican mole chicken. The tacos there are good too.
  
• Watching the Cho Show for the first time. Super hilarious...Margaret Cho went back to Lowell High School to speak!
• Farmer's Markets: magenta ribbons running through green chard, tart orchard apples and homemade apple cider, hefty slices of stringy squash, long Chinese eggplant, rollie pollie brussels sprouts
  
• 2046: watched twice in a month. It doesn't get much better or more painful.
  
• Ashes of Time redux: Cheesy but stunning. The closest you will see Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung get to death metal hair.
  
• E.J.'s luncheonette (OMG homemade corned beef hash, sweet potato fries, formica and chrome--retro classique!) Em Kenney had a milkshake here even after her mondo breakfast cuz it was so righteous.
  
• 53rd & 6th: Meat and Rice at 2am, smelled from block away. Devoured while sitting curbside.
  
• Central Park promenade and vibrant autumnal gold
  
• Pan ya bakery: green tea lattes and curry buns
• Washington Square Park asylum: singers and music til midnight with the crazies. Who knew an overworked culinary student and a homeless guitar player with perfect pitch could create such sonic beauty?
  
• An economics camp reunion with Ryan, where we recalled a certain special mix tape. After all this time, he still thinks the Les Paul and Mary Ford duet is cool. We listened to Yann Tiersen's gorgeous score from Amelie and gushed about Jean Pierre Jeunet's films. Man, nine years pass and some things never change...
  
• Coziness in a borrowed oversized lambswool sweater whilst eating breakfast the morning after a strange jaunt to a futuristic bar in Koreatown.
  
• Hong Kong supermarket: 2 floors of Asian goodness. Cheaper than anywhere else!
  
• The wonderful drippiness of soup filled dumplings at Joe's Shanghai shared with a long lost friend from childhood.
• Looking at the bridges from DUMBO and eating gourmet chocolate with Simone, while the trains rattle by.
  
• Creating a confetti party in the subway with my Trader Joe's trail mix--accidentally!
• Reunion with Erica after 3 years. Hooray for our federal government which paid for the exquisite dinner at Public--it was like a private eye's office in a film noir. Clerking for a federal judge with a deep expense account has its perks it would seem. And so fun convincing her of the virtues of a terrific little purple dress.
• Kojo and me, a sequel to the London meet-up: pondering the pursuit of the PhD and just being happy we can hang out in twice on different continents after a 3 year absence post-college.
• Slurping ramen at Ippudo with Cynthia just to celebrate our respective fabulousness.
• Catching a sweet little jazz show at Smoke. Gotta show the love for Yosvany and Ambrose. Stanford Jazz, represent!
• First time playing Rock Band, talking interdisciplinarity, playing apples to apples, eating lamb burgers, and listening to the genius of Purple Rain with a bunch of cool, smart dudes.
  
• Congee Village with Ryan, and discovering the bakery with sponge cake wrapped in green tea pancake.
• Hagi with Mary and Simone. If it's good enough for Anthony Bourdain, it's good enough for us.
  
• Twirling in the season's first snows with Cynthia. In fancy dress, no less!
  
• I ran away from the NYC madness and spent a week in New Haven with Erica. Slumber party madness! We made green tea mochi, dumplings, and knitting projects.
  
• Spotting the cute guy from Lipstick Jungle at Dean and Delucca on Broadway. He's from Claremont!

Here are some pictures from my friends copied off facebook from my time in NYC (thanks guys!):

Cynthia and me at Zum Schneider beer garden

Em and Em on Halloween: She was Lucy, I was a washed up music prodigy

Erica and Me: rockin' the side part

Christopher, Emily, Jean-Francois, and me: Celebrating Em K's b-day at Sway

In Central Park

For the Thanksgiving trip to Boston and Cape Cod, please see Trav'lin' Light Part Three. Sorry for the messy chronology. Part Four will have Slovenia pics.

After nearly three months in New York, the holidays were fast approaching, I had ridden my last wave of couch surfing, and there was no reason to stick around as my bank account dwindled. So I headed back to home to San Francisco, where the warmth of the sun shone unseasonably, family was abundant, and the Christmas feast (with goose no less) was bountiful. And here I remain. For now...