I'm currently reading Tales from the Secret Annex, which I bought at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. It's a collection of short stories, fairy tales, personal reminisces, and even an unfinished novel that Anne wrote while in hiding during World War II. Some of them are just okay, some of them are really good, and a couple are pretty WOW. This is one of the WOWs, called Give! It's incredibly deep for someone so young, and it ties into my blog post from a few days ago and pretty much sums up my thoughts on the subject. Here's a link to the full text; ignore the cheesiness of it being read outloud, it's the only one I could find.
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/af/htmlsite/give/flash.html
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Postcards
I've been doing a really great job of sending postcards to friends and family on my travels, better than I have ever done before, but I had this wonderful idea just now of sending my own photos out! It gets expensive constantly buying cards and stamps around Europe, plus it takes up time searching for the perfect postcards at a reasonable price, writing meaningful (or as meaningful as I can get in a few minutes time) and sometimes witty notes, addressing and stamping all of them, and finding a box to put them in. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE writing postcards. It's a new found joy of mine. And then there's the anticipation as I wait for people to tell me they received them and how awesome I am for sending them one. Heh heh...
I 'll admit though, it's getting a bit tiring. In Morocco I wanted to send EVERYONE a camel postcard bragging about what I had done, but I only ended up sending out a few. In Italy I decided to make up for it by sending out as many cards as I could, but I still didn't send one to everyone I wanted. Then on the last day after I bought my 12 stamps to put on my 12 postcards to send out to various friends and a couple family members (I try to send a postcard to everyone in my family from everywhere I go, but I have a BIG fambam and I didn't have enough cards or motivation in Italy) I discovered the HUGE stamps didn't have glue on them! Thus began the massive search for scotch tape at the Venice train station, where I found enough to send out two of my cards. I ended up having to wait until we got to our Milan hotel for our last night in Italy. There, I asked at the front desk if they had any tape, and proceeded to explain what it was because they barely spoke English (I don't blame them, they're Chinese immigrants living in Italy running the "American Hotel"). The guy first tried to give me a giant roll of packing tape until I told him I needed something smaller, like scotch tape. So, I apologize if you receive a rather messy looking postcard, but there is a funny story behind it.
Back to the point of this post:
After getting my awesome idea I googled to see if it was allowed to send photos as postcards, and found this site: http://content.photojojo.com/diy/postcards-from-your-photos/
If you read Method 1 and 2, you'll see it's kinda risky to do this overseas because of potential damage, so I'm wondering if someone could maybe possibly send me one (or a pack) of those handy dandy postcard backings. I'll return the favor by sending you a photo-card from wherever I go next. My address is:
Qiana Wylie
c/o Aymeric Guibert (you can get away with leaving that out)
47 Rue des Douves
33800 Bordeaux, France
Merci beaucoup!
P.S. I could also use a few paper clips.
I 'll admit though, it's getting a bit tiring. In Morocco I wanted to send EVERYONE a camel postcard bragging about what I had done, but I only ended up sending out a few. In Italy I decided to make up for it by sending out as many cards as I could, but I still didn't send one to everyone I wanted. Then on the last day after I bought my 12 stamps to put on my 12 postcards to send out to various friends and a couple family members (I try to send a postcard to everyone in my family from everywhere I go, but I have a BIG fambam and I didn't have enough cards or motivation in Italy) I discovered the HUGE stamps didn't have glue on them! Thus began the massive search for scotch tape at the Venice train station, where I found enough to send out two of my cards. I ended up having to wait until we got to our Milan hotel for our last night in Italy. There, I asked at the front desk if they had any tape, and proceeded to explain what it was because they barely spoke English (I don't blame them, they're Chinese immigrants living in Italy running the "American Hotel"). The guy first tried to give me a giant roll of packing tape until I told him I needed something smaller, like scotch tape. So, I apologize if you receive a rather messy looking postcard, but there is a funny story behind it.
Back to the point of this post:
After getting my awesome idea I googled to see if it was allowed to send photos as postcards, and found this site: http://content.photojojo.com/diy/postcards-from-your-photos/
If you read Method 1 and 2, you'll see it's kinda risky to do this overseas because of potential damage, so I'm wondering if someone could maybe possibly send me one (or a pack) of those handy dandy postcard backings. I'll return the favor by sending you a photo-card from wherever I go next. My address is:
Qiana Wylie
c/o Aymeric Guibert (you can get away with leaving that out)
47 Rue des Douves
33800 Bordeaux, France
Merci beaucoup!
P.S. I could also use a few paper clips.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
A New Friend
It's very common in France, as in the U.S., to see beggars sitting on the streets asking for money. You'll find them sitting at random corners and next to ATMs most commonly. I don't always give change to them, but sometimes if I have something loose in my pocket then I'll pull it out.
Today, I walked to the ATM near my place and like usual there was someone sitting next to it. The person always changes, sometimes being someone worn down looking with a large backpack to the side of them, or wreaking slightly/strongly of alcohol. This afternoon, the woman was rather homely looking and I decided to give her a euro and a twenty cent piece. She was very nice and smiled at me, said thank you, and when I turned to leave we exchanged "Bonne journée"s ("good day", a common farewell) and she said "merci" once again.
On my walk home there is a muslim woman who sits on a corner all day; I see her every time I walk by unless it's late. The first few times I didn't give her anything, but after I saw her crying one time it broke my heart a little. I've only been back from my travels a few days but I try to give her a little bit every time I see her. She's very nice and even when I don't have anything she doesn't pressure me, and I've witnessed the same thing with others. While walking back today I pulled ten cents out of my coin purse to give her and when she saw Autumn and me she greeted us so enthusiastically it shocked me. Before she even saw I was going to give her money she reached her arms out to embrace us each in a hug (which is uncommon in France) and to bisous us. I think part of it was that right before we walked up there were two guys that said something I didn't catch to her, but I know it wasn't nice. I'm going to try to give her a little something each time I see her, and maybe strike up a conversation with her. Maybe I can integrate her into my academic project even...
All this reminds me of the breakfast distributions I helped organize in Sacramento, which I've really missed going to. I'm hoping this semester I can find some sort of community service where I can work with the homeless and less fortunate again.
A song for you:
Today, I walked to the ATM near my place and like usual there was someone sitting next to it. The person always changes, sometimes being someone worn down looking with a large backpack to the side of them, or wreaking slightly/strongly of alcohol. This afternoon, the woman was rather homely looking and I decided to give her a euro and a twenty cent piece. She was very nice and smiled at me, said thank you, and when I turned to leave we exchanged "Bonne journée"s ("good day", a common farewell) and she said "merci" once again.
On my walk home there is a muslim woman who sits on a corner all day; I see her every time I walk by unless it's late. The first few times I didn't give her anything, but after I saw her crying one time it broke my heart a little. I've only been back from my travels a few days but I try to give her a little bit every time I see her. She's very nice and even when I don't have anything she doesn't pressure me, and I've witnessed the same thing with others. While walking back today I pulled ten cents out of my coin purse to give her and when she saw Autumn and me she greeted us so enthusiastically it shocked me. Before she even saw I was going to give her money she reached her arms out to embrace us each in a hug (which is uncommon in France) and to bisous us. I think part of it was that right before we walked up there were two guys that said something I didn't catch to her, but I know it wasn't nice. I'm going to try to give her a little something each time I see her, and maybe strike up a conversation with her. Maybe I can integrate her into my academic project even...
All this reminds me of the breakfast distributions I helped organize in Sacramento, which I've really missed going to. I'm hoping this semester I can find some sort of community service where I can work with the homeless and less fortunate again.
A song for you:
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Day 4 back in Bordeaux
A very good day--
I'll start off by saying that I had a really amazing time in Morocco and Italy over the holidays. I met some cool people in Morocco, got to ride a couple camels, and was acquainted with a very different culture that I came to love. In Italy, I saw some incredible sites, including many ancient Roman ruins and the excavated city of Pompeii--where Mount Vesuvius erupted rather spontaneously and buried a whole town alive within hours. I also visited Florence/Firenze (same town, different names in Italian and English) and got to see A LOT of art, and Venice, where I wandered the misty canals and tried not to get lost. Christmas was nothing special, just another day of travel (although a really good one). We went to mass which was really interesting; it was hard to figure out where the only church in Marrakech is, since Morocco is a muslim country, but the service was beautiful and full of a lot of spirit. New Year's Eve I spent in Rome. It was so crazy! I didn't expect there to be THAT many people, but there were thousands crowding the streets of Rome until well past midnight. There were so many bangs and shouts going off from random fireworks and people that it was hard to know where to direct my attention. Overall the trip was incredible, as I said. But I learned that three weeks is a very long time to be away traveling, constantly busy, and surviving off of what little you brought in your backpack, not too mention it's EXPENSIVE (Italy anyway, Morocco was surprisingly cheap!).
I'm back in Bdx now, all moved into my new apartment (which I love!), unpacking, cleaning, organizing, and preparing for the new semester starting on Monday. Time flies... My semester friends have left, but I'm making new friends already; I've been hanging out with people pretty much nonstop, from shopping to cooking dinner to hanging out in cafés and bars.
Today was pretty great :)
I started off the day going to the St. Michel flea market, which is now about a seven minute walk from my home (used to take over half an hour on the tram), walked around and got a baguette to eat with some paté and clementines. After eating I walked around more looking at all the booths of fabric, clothes, and food and ended up buying a pair of tights from one of the booths.
Afterwards my friends and I went to check out the French sales at H&M, and let me tell you those sales are intense! Instead of having sales for a short period after the holidays, it seems they have them throughout all of January, making the streets of Bordeaux packed with people. The sales are really great too, I ended up getting a shirt, pair of shorts, and a sweater jacket for 25€, saving me 28€ if I had bought them not on sale! Quite awesome :) After looking at a couple other stores and almost buying a pair of boots, my new housemate Autumn and I went to Auchan, the European equivalent of Target and Wal Mart, to buy some things for our place, including a wok and a cutting board.
We dropped our stuff off at our apartment, then headed to the tram to go to a free classical music concert, but after waiting a few minutes we realized there was a strike (gotta love them...) and the tram wasn't running to that stop, meaning we had to walk all the way down Rue St. Catherine (the longest shopping street in EUROPE) to get to our destination. Twenty or so minutes later after tackling the crowds swarming around all the sales we reached the other side and made our way to the concert. It was very beautiful and soothing; therefore, I couldn't help but fall asleep for most of it. I've become so great at sleeping in the most random places and in the most uncomfortable positions! I blame the traveling.
After stopping for a chai tea at a café, Autumn, Kim, and I went back to our place to cook dinner. Kim ended up doing most of it while Autumn and I cleaned (the apartment wasn't very clean when we moved in, but it's getting a lot better with some work). It was delicious!! Kim wanted potatoes, I suggested steak, we added some zuchini and a salad, bread, chèvre, and wine to the table and voilà! French meal.
Classes are starting Monday and I still don't know exactly what I'm taking. I love the disorganization and last minute-ness of France -_-
I'll post more on Morocco and Italy soon! Until next time!
A song for you:
I'll start off by saying that I had a really amazing time in Morocco and Italy over the holidays. I met some cool people in Morocco, got to ride a couple camels, and was acquainted with a very different culture that I came to love. In Italy, I saw some incredible sites, including many ancient Roman ruins and the excavated city of Pompeii--where Mount Vesuvius erupted rather spontaneously and buried a whole town alive within hours. I also visited Florence/Firenze (same town, different names in Italian and English) and got to see A LOT of art, and Venice, where I wandered the misty canals and tried not to get lost. Christmas was nothing special, just another day of travel (although a really good one). We went to mass which was really interesting; it was hard to figure out where the only church in Marrakech is, since Morocco is a muslim country, but the service was beautiful and full of a lot of spirit. New Year's Eve I spent in Rome. It was so crazy! I didn't expect there to be THAT many people, but there were thousands crowding the streets of Rome until well past midnight. There were so many bangs and shouts going off from random fireworks and people that it was hard to know where to direct my attention. Overall the trip was incredible, as I said. But I learned that three weeks is a very long time to be away traveling, constantly busy, and surviving off of what little you brought in your backpack, not too mention it's EXPENSIVE (Italy anyway, Morocco was surprisingly cheap!).
I'm back in Bdx now, all moved into my new apartment (which I love!), unpacking, cleaning, organizing, and preparing for the new semester starting on Monday. Time flies... My semester friends have left, but I'm making new friends already; I've been hanging out with people pretty much nonstop, from shopping to cooking dinner to hanging out in cafés and bars.
Today was pretty great :)
I started off the day going to the St. Michel flea market, which is now about a seven minute walk from my home (used to take over half an hour on the tram), walked around and got a baguette to eat with some paté and clementines. After eating I walked around more looking at all the booths of fabric, clothes, and food and ended up buying a pair of tights from one of the booths.
Afterwards my friends and I went to check out the French sales at H&M, and let me tell you those sales are intense! Instead of having sales for a short period after the holidays, it seems they have them throughout all of January, making the streets of Bordeaux packed with people. The sales are really great too, I ended up getting a shirt, pair of shorts, and a sweater jacket for 25€, saving me 28€ if I had bought them not on sale! Quite awesome :) After looking at a couple other stores and almost buying a pair of boots, my new housemate Autumn and I went to Auchan, the European equivalent of Target and Wal Mart, to buy some things for our place, including a wok and a cutting board.
We dropped our stuff off at our apartment, then headed to the tram to go to a free classical music concert, but after waiting a few minutes we realized there was a strike (gotta love them...) and the tram wasn't running to that stop, meaning we had to walk all the way down Rue St. Catherine (the longest shopping street in EUROPE) to get to our destination. Twenty or so minutes later after tackling the crowds swarming around all the sales we reached the other side and made our way to the concert. It was very beautiful and soothing; therefore, I couldn't help but fall asleep for most of it. I've become so great at sleeping in the most random places and in the most uncomfortable positions! I blame the traveling.
After stopping for a chai tea at a café, Autumn, Kim, and I went back to our place to cook dinner. Kim ended up doing most of it while Autumn and I cleaned (the apartment wasn't very clean when we moved in, but it's getting a lot better with some work). It was delicious!! Kim wanted potatoes, I suggested steak, we added some zuchini and a salad, bread, chèvre, and wine to the table and voilà! French meal.
Classes are starting Monday and I still don't know exactly what I'm taking. I love the disorganization and last minute-ness of France -_-
I'll post more on Morocco and Italy soon! Until next time!
A song for you:
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