marie-reine-du-monde
one of my favourite buildings in montreal.
philosophers do not make good writers
amazing how incomprehensible one can be even when using relatively simple language. I’m reading Hegel’s the Philosophy of Right for my sustainable development class (don’t ask), and am currently in possession of two translations–I thought that somehow if I didn’t understand one, the other could help (hmm, sort of like civil code translations?). ahem. kinda getting stuck on Morality. Knox … Read More
how I miss the king
…and seeing his face in every waking moment.
montréal, c’est toi ma ville
arrived ten minutes early to my 8.30 class (hooray for jetlag), and I suddenly have the urge to smoke. it’s not enough time to do anything substantive + it would be incredible to do something quick to relax. hence my thoughts turn to smoking. QED. too much social conditioning I guess (damn you smokers around me). so I’m back to … Read More
montreal street food?
the stuffed moose are a nice touch.
yunnanese food
红烧 naxi fish. naxi smoked ham (火腿). fried naxi cheese. naxi baba. lijiang white snow tea (白雪茶). lijiang ricecakes. tibetan sweet tea. tibetan tendlik. fresh Pu’er tea. across-the-bridge noodles (过桥米线). spicy dou-hua.
hk-taipei-anchorage-nyc-mtl
surprised to be happy to pass through the US (customs aside, of course): unexpected layover in alaska with its gorgeous mountains, black people at JFK yelling 行李 to direct the passengers from our taiwanese flight… spent most of 20ish hours in transit in a semi-stupor (like usual, I barely slept the night before–and had a great weekend in HK), but … Read More
shut out yet unable to leave
looks like I’ll have to come back to 丽江. I got a bus yesterday morning out to Tiger Leaping Gorge, only to discover police at the entrance, barring anyone from entering. a huge landslide occurred in the past few days, killing a local–a young man who had just gotten married last year. word from an australian couple leaving the gorge … Read More
letters from lijiang
yesterday was spent wandering the alleys of old lijiang, examining the calligraphy and brush paintings outside of people’s homes, with their mix of local pictograms and chinese characters. coming here I’m elated not only about being able to speak to people, but also about being able to read signs–at least enough to get around. traveling is so much easier without … Read More
parachuting into yunnan
my last few weeks in bangkok have been a whirlwind, so I find myself confusedly and quite suddenly back in China. I’m both appalled and amazed to be conversing in putonghua again. amazed that despite disuse there is still a certain facility, and that these words spilling out of my mouth actually sound right, and yes, I am being understood. … Read More