Tag: vacation

Summer is the Memories of Discontents

There is only one good thing about the summer, and it's that it is followed by the most pleasant season of the year.

I was born in August, right in the smack of the summer, no doubt on a hot, humid and miserable day. My mom always wonders why I hate so much the season in

Why I Hate Running but Care for Hiking

I hate running.

A couple years ago, I tried to follow the regiment set out in Cool Running to go from a couch potato to a decent runner. I was committed enough to wake up at a god-awful hour of five in the morning to do a thrice weekly run for about six weeks before I

Great Food But Portions, Not So Much

The food is great in Tokyo.   By that I mean the taste, not the portions.

Compared to America--where they feed you like a horse--the portions at Japanese restaurants are ridiculously small. It's pretty much assured that whatever dishes the restaurant trots out as a full-course meal is insufficient to satisfy your hunger. That's why I

A Taste of the South

Being

My Southern friend occasionally forwards me "You know you're a Southerner if..." e-mails.   For me, many of these are list of aspirations, things I wish and hope to one day become.

My trip to Tennessee was partly to discover whether I'm cut out to be a Dixie, wearing shirts with confederate flags, speaking with a

Straddling Individualism and Communalism: Which Am I?

I have a great story that explains how societal norms greatly differs between Asians and Westerners.

The summer after I graduated from college, I went to China on a two week trip composed of college students mostly studying or interested in government. The student composition was geographically diverse, with students from colleges all over the United

Stream of Consciousness on My Trip to Japan

A two and a half week absence from my blog has left me with mixed feelings: the gratification in knowing  people follow my blog but resignation in knowing they're only interested in my politics. For those who kindly encouraged me to break my silence as Ted Kennedy died and Japan went through an Obama-esque "change,"
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