2012 in review

Wow, great year for the blog! Personally, 2012 was a year of tremendous growth and filled with a lot of traveling. I literally went around the world! I encountered many challenges on my global and local adventures, and I couldn’t have made it through without the support of my amazing friends and family. Big thanks to all of my viewers, and stay tuned for more blogging in the new year.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

This blog got about 4,500 views in 2012. In 2012, there were 36 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 47 posts. The busiest day of the year was March 13th with 134 views. The most popular post that day was Kendra, I came to Nepal.

People from 65 different countries around the world have viewed this blog.

Food Blog

If you haven’t done so already, check out my food blog. If you like it, click the “follow” button in the righthand column.

Bon Appétit!

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Belgium: A country of indulgences

There are many reasons why one should visit Belgium:

1. They make the best fries ever (French actually undeservedly received the title as inventors of this tasty snack)

Belgium fries with delicious dips

2. The best waffle I ever had in my life was in Bruges. Be wary of adding toppings, as it takes away from the flavor of the already super-sweet waffle.

Belgium dark chocolate smothered waffle

3. While I am bias and therefore partial to Swiss chocolate, there is no denying that the chocolate in Belgium is exceptional and some of the best in the world.

Olivia enjoying her pralines

4. I am not a big beer drinker, but I have yet to taste a Belgium beer I do not like.

So what are you waiting for?

Around the World and Back to SF

After my nearly 8-month journey around the world, I have finally returned to my beloved city, San Francisco.

I visited 17 countries and consequently have a long list of people to thank for hosting me and giving me the most worthwhile experience of my life. It was amazing to connect with family, a myriad of NGOs doing a wide variety of projects, and some amazing coachsurfer hosts. It was also wonderful to reconnect with my European friends. It’s no mystery why I keep finding excuses to go back to visit them.

The most common question people want to ask me is after hearing about my trip is, “What was your favorite country?” While it is an honest question that any curious person would ask, it is really impossible to answer. Every country exposed me to different cultures, food, people, ways of life, natural landscapes, etc. Some places challenged me more than others, but I loved the whole experience. Here is a small list of “favorites” for those that are itching to know some of the “bests”:

Best street food: Thailand –> clean, cheap, and delicious

how do you like your bananas?

Most surprising country: Malaysia –> super friendly, great food, great beaches, inexpensive, and not as touristy as the other SE Asian countries

I heart KL and Malaysia

Most adventurous country: Nepal –> from the Annapurana range to the Kathmandu Valley, there is plenty of activities for an adventurous spirit that doesn’t mind sporadic road closures, unpredictable weather, and electricity outages every day

chai mustache

Country with the most impressive eating habits: The Philippines –> spoon and fork in hand, there is no shortage of food options at these family style meals; be prepared for a lot of fried and sweet food, and don’t pass up the chicken adobo

Filipino feast

Best country to indulge: Belgium –> chocolate, beer, cheese, waffles, and french fries with creamy dips

Belgium waffle smothered in dark chocolate

Best place for European art and culture: France –> it’s impossible to visit all the art galleries and expos in Paris alone

Too many people trying to catch a glimpse of The Mona Lisa

Country with my favorite food: Japan –> I could eat Japanese food 3 times a day, every day, and not get tired of it

Tokyo sushi

Most International city: London, England during the 2012 Olympic Games –> someone from every recognized country in the world came to the games

London Olympics, 2012

Place with the most amazing World Wonder: Angkor Wat, Cambodia –> tip: get up at 4am to take a tuk tuk over to this ancient site and watch the sun rise and to beat the bus loads of tourists

Angkor Wat wonder

Most tolerant: The Netherlands –> fun fact: this is also the tallest country in the world and the only country were I am just the average height for a woman (I am 5’9″!)

Gay Pride celebration in Amsterdam

Best country to visit from South to North: Vietnam –> take advantage of this country’s long coastline

conical hats are stylin’

Itching to go back and live there once: Berlin, Germany –> keeping it real

Berlin

Overwhelming and awesome: China –> next time I’ll be training East to West from Shanghai to Tibet

GYG visits The Great Wall of China

Country I never want to leave: Switzerland –> cows, cheese, clocks- it’s all too cute!

Swiss life

Best dining out: Singapore –> if you can splurge, then this is the place to do it; you must try the black-pepper crab, a famous Singapore dish

black-peppered crab

Most diverse Asian country: Indonesia (I visited Bali and Java)–> Hindu, Buddhism, Islam and more; this extremely populated country is home to all sorts of wonderful people with different beliefs

Lots of fun volunteering at Bumi Sehat in Ubud

Country I was most worried about, but ended up loving: India –> next time I am going to do a trip in the south; I can taste the dosas already!

lots of color and smiles

Thanks to all of those who followed my blog as I traveled around the world. I hope you continue to follow me on my future adventures at home and abroad.

This is Swiss

Ahhh…Nothing like a breath of fresh Swiss air. After over 5 months in Asia I felt very ready to head back Switzerland to start my tour of Western Europe. It was especially nice starting off in Zürich, which feels like my home away from home. My love for Switerland began when I was 16-years-old through a high school exchange program (SFZH) between San Francisco and Zürich. My second time to Zürich was as a part of the sponsored Biology Undergraduate Summer School (BUSS) program where I worked on a research project at The University of Zürich in the Molecular Biology department. During my three months of intensive research, I reconnected with the students from the SFZH, as well as meet new people in my program from all over the world. Being back in Zürich this summer, I had the opportunity to meet up with SFZH alumni, BUSS alumni, and other friends I had made in previous visits.

My two weeks were scattered with various excursions, including The St. Gallen Open-Air Festival, which consisted of three solid days of great music, camping, and good company. For my last evening in Switzerland, which happened to be the fourth of July, my dear friend, Nina (also a “BUSSer”) hosted a fondue dinner party, complete with good wine and her famous chocolate mousse.

To me, Switzerland is more than a land of chocolate, clocks, and cheese (although I do greatly appreciate these three “c’s”). Whether it is chilling by the river, BBQing with friends, hiking in the Alps, or riding my bike along the lake, here I feel at ease. It is good to be back and it is always so hard to leave.

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Toky-OH!

Gwen Stefani got is right when she sang about Tokyo. Harajuku girls definitely “got some wicked style”. Tokyo fashion is like no other, and the wacky, fun creativity that people express seems appropriate for this colossal city where buildings such as Sky Tree (the largest tower in the world) touch the top of the sky. I may be tall in Japan, but in a city of over 8 million people- making Tokyo the largest metropolitan city in the world- with buildings of this magnitude, everyone feels small.
During the daytime I wandered around different parts of the city and walked an average of 6 miles a day. My timing in Japan was impeccable because I came right before monsoon (i.e. typhoon) season, so I enjoyed phenomenal weather. Tokyo’s buildings are not only impressive because of their sheer size, but also because of the array of unique architectural pieces. Two examples are Fuji headquarters and Rainbow Bridge, which I walked across. I was also every impressed with Sensoji temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo, and the five-story pagoda beside it which is built from wood. I enjoyed sauntering through the surrounding markets and seeing the different Japanese rice-based products sold such as mochi, rice crackers, and sake. In Asia, rice is life!
In Tokyo I had the best sushi of my life. They don’t serve “California rolls” at true sushi bars- just nagiri (fish on rice). Nagiri may be simple, but the extreme freshness of the fish and crafty presentation allows for the recognition of the true flavors. Alas, now I am spoiled; Sushi will never be the same again.

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The world of anime and manga comes alive in Tokyo. In the Akihabara district, everything is flashy and cartoonish. I found countless costume stores, arcade arenas, and pachinko slot buildings. This area is deliberately noisy, which allows people to get caught up in the action that surrounds them and escape from reality.
With an extremely elaborate and efficient public transit system, Tokyo is very easy to get around in. Trains are often crowded, but I never had a problem getting on, and oftentimes, I even got a seat. One thing to keep in mind though is that the trains are NOT cheap. I guess nothing is cheap in Tokyo though, which gives it a deserved reputation for being one of the most expensive cities in the world. Especially coming from China, where a metro ride cost $0.30, I had to cringe every time I paid (on average) $5 for a one way journey in Tokyo. During my stay in Japan I saw almost no tourists my age backpacking around, and now I know why.

I am very grateful for the amazing hosts I had in Japan who showed me around Japan, and taught me so much about Japanese culture. I discovered that I love Japan. The people are so friendly and polite, the food is my favorite out of all international cuisines, and the landscapes are diverse and serene. My perception of Japan has changed for the better, and hopefully I will return to this beautiful country some day in the future.

Yuki’s Yokohama

My true intent on coming to Japan was to see a Japanese family living in Yokohama, a city 30 minutes outside of Tokyo. I never met this family in person, yet I felt an extremely close bond to them having suffered a similar loss. The Hayashi’s 19-year-old son, Yuki, was on the same plane as my sister which crashed in Nepal. Kendra was just three days from her 19th birthday, making her nearly the same age as Yuki. They both had an adventurous spirit and were excited for their trekking journey to Mount Everest’s base camp which they would have completed together.
When I first arrived to the Hayashi’s household, I initially felt uneasy sitting at the dining room table because I felt like Kendra should have been sitting there instead of me. I could not help but think of the bizarre and unfair series of events which brought me to Japan.

However, like a daughter, the Hayashi’s immediately made me feel like an integral family member. I think I must have been Japanese in a past life because I felt so comfortable and easily embraced this new culture. Granted, I still felt very foreign. I do not speak Japanese, and I certainly stood out, receiving my fair share of extra-long glances. Japan is a very homogenous society and there certainly are not many tall, white, Western girls hanging out in the suburbs.

During my stay, I got the privilege of meeting Misa’s mother, who flew up from the South of Japan to spend a week with me and the family. A language barrier existed, but that didn’t matter too much as we found alternative, creative ways to communicate and express ourselves. One of the highlights was when we went to Hakone. The mountainous landscape is saturated with greenery, natural hot springs called onsen, and lakes. I even got to see Mount Fuji! We stayed in a traditional Japanese guesthouse, complete with tatami mats, green tea and a kotatsu. The weekend was a fun, meditative experience that showed me a glimpse of Japan’s nature.

Staying with The Hayashi’s I not only had an incredible time, but I also learned a lot about Japanese culture, cuisine, and work ethics. I also had the opportunity to learn about Yuki, and to share Kendra’s story. Thinking about the accident still leaves me shocked and confused. Time can help the healing process but it will never take away the pain for such a loss. Spending time with the Hayashi’s helped me to recognize that I am not alone with this feeling. We are able to grieve together, to comfort each other, and will try live each new day as best as we can.

I went to Japan in Kendra’s memory, because if she were still alive, I know she would have done the same.

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