186+

2011 is here!

2011-01-06T04:05:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year fellows!

It's amazing how fast the 2010 went by, and how its been already almost 2 years since I last updated this blog.

A whole lot has happened since then...

*Started a Master Program in Sustainability Sciences in Tokyo University, which I ended up quitting last year not feeling satisfied with the structure of the program and the way it was managed, and having not being convinced myself of actually wanting to do more research-based studies when I started it... but anyhow, not something I want to go into detail right now.

*I started living with Kai since August 2009, and after a few months living together we decided to get engaged! (Well it was me who proposed, but we had talked about it for a while :D)

*From April to June, I joined Peace Boat's 69 Cruise around-the-world, as a volunteer "Communication Coordinator", doing translation and interpretation between English, Spanish and Japanese during events, lectures, seminars, workshops, tours, exchange programs, etc, happening on-board and on the ports we visited. An incredible experience!!! that I still have to look back on and reflect upon.

*After coming back from Peace Boat, Kai and I had our wedding in September in Colombia, with all her family and all my family (including my big extended family :p) together having an amazing time. Then, in October we had a wonderful party in Tokyo, Japan, with so many of our special loved friends celebrating with us.

Some things haven't changed though... I still work for IKEA. But mean-while, and having quit the master program and since it is still my dream to have a vegan cafe someday, I decided to look for opportunities to get some experience. And so from this month I started working at a cafe in Omotesando called PURE CAFE. It is really nice, with a great atmosphere and delicious healthy food, although a little bit pricey because of the location.

Today was my first day, and it went much better than I expected. Well, didn't really know what to expect... but I got to learn a lot of things in just one day, and I am really looking forward to learn more, although there is lots of stuff to remember.

That's my update for now, hopefully there will be many things to post about this new year, and if not, there is hundreds of stories to tell about the incredible year we have left behind.

I do hope to keep updating often, so spare a visit when you can.

Cheers, wishing the best for all of you for this 2011.
May you explore new territories and (re)discover dreams/passions that you had, or never knew you had.

Park(ing) Day

2008-05-15T01:08:00.000-07:00

Awesome! Definitely San Francisco is home of the most creative ideas ever!

This year it will be on September 19. Anyone interested?

Masters

2008-04-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

Even when I feel really happy to have the opportunity to study in Japan with a scholarship, Japanese education is based on a very simplistic way of seeing things (at least in public universities) and they divide studies into 理系 (sciences) or 文系 (humanities), and then environmental design somehow stays in between, not really fitting into one or the other, specially a profession like Landscape Architecture. After thinking a lot about this, I have considered that instead of continuing studying LA here in Japan with my scholarship, it would be better for me to study something more scientific so to speak, and then go back to design. Which is why I have almost make up my mind about applying for the Master of Sustainability Sciences in Tokyo University.
Then, as always, I like to dream about the future, so I was just checking out Master programs in Landscape Architecture around the world, (I think I have been doing this since even before I started university :p) and here are some of the options...

CANADA
University of Guelph (I actually applied to the BLA there when I was at high school, but they told me I needed one year of university studies in Colombia since we only study 11 years at uni... but I have always really like this uni for some reason)
University of British Columbia (I love Vancouver, and it looks like an interesting program being under the School of Architecture + LA)

NZ
Lincoln University (Just because I want to go to NZ someday :P plus I find it really interesting how they always have Maori studies over there)

EUROPE
Wageningen University (Netherlands - Just studying in Europe is great reason enough... and it seems to be a very good program)
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (I really like the program description, and after working in IKEA my interest in this otherwise cold, up in the north, expensive country grew)
Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (Germany - but I dont need to learn German before, though I would like to!)

UK & USA -> I guess I am still avoiding the USA as a place to study or live, and for some reason I also lost my interest in UK recently... no personal feelings! I may still consider UC-Berkeley just because there is lots of hippies around. :)

Green 186+

2008-04-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

I just started a new "academic" blog, to post stuff about Landscape Architecture, Ecovillages, Sustainability, and anything I found related to my studies...

http://green186.blogspot.com/

That way I will have a small file of info to look at, and it will probably help me keep info organized for my thesis, research, etc...
I am kind of sleepy now, so not being able to think about a better name, just called it green 186+, pretty typical, but hey! green will always be cool!

IKEA Commercials~

2008-04-17T03:10:00.001-07:00

I was just checking out some IKEA commercials, and then I found quite a few funny ones so I thought I'd share the laughs with everyone~

I wonder if people actually can get this one...

It is quite interesting how googleing around I once again realized how closed American society (and I guess here I include Latin America as well, and just leave our dear Canadians and Californians outside) is to LGBT issues and "non-traditional" families... specially compared to Europeans.

Its just like MIKA says about his song "Billy Brown" in this video...

Immigration...

2008-04-17T03:09:00.001-07:00

I was planning to assist to the Ecocity World Summit taking place in San Francisco next week, and had already pay the registration, the air-ticket, and even made plans to meet other friends, fellow CSers etc... and was so looking forward to it. But!

The Japanese government for some weird reason only gives out student visas that last 2 years, so every 2 years we have to renovate it (as we all in Japan now), plus it is a visa just to stay in the country, so if we want to go out of Japan, we need to get a reentry permit otherwise we cannot come back in. 2 years ago it took less than 2 weeks to renovate the visa, so I figured out if I applied at the end of March by this time (3 weeks later) I should have already got my new visa, and I would just have to go and get the reentry permit and would be ready to go...

but I missed (yeap it was my fault) the fact that since the school year starts in April most people apply for the renovation in March so its the most busy time of the year. Now, that was ok, since yeap I guess it was my fault, but what really really pissed me off, was the fact that when I called to ask if there was something I could do about it (since in the end this summit is something directly related to my studies), the guy actually just told me in a very ironic way: if you really want to go then you can quit school, get a tourist visa, then get a reentry permit, and when you come back you can apply for a student visa again, but probably that will be too troublesome, right? what the f*ck!? yeah, it sounds like a great idea to quit school just because of your stupid paper work. I wouldn't be so pissed off he had just say, sorry there is nothing you can do. I really had to control myself, keep quiet and breath deeply before saying "wakarimashita, arigatougouzaimashita" instead of "what the %&#%%"&'&%#$(&'&&%#$%*>%%$

#" to him.

But anyway, shit happens. And in the end, now I have more time to finish some work that was driving me crazy, can see my friend Flavia more before she goes back, see other friends, and go the CSing gathering in Chigasaki next weekend, as well as the earth day events this weekend here in Tokyo and probably meet people I haven't met for a while, so well, I just want to forget about it anyhow.

Summer is here...

2008-04-03T03:09:00.000-07:00

...here in IKEA. :p

Today I finished my induction training at IKEA which lasted for two days and a half, most of the time just sitting watching powerpoint presentations about IKEA's history, way, structure, different departments, safety & security and so on. Sitting watching the screen was pretty tiring, but it was quite interesting as well, touring the whole store, getting to understand how it all works, and having the chance to meet lots of people (we had the training together with people from different departments, different stores (there will be 3 new stores in Japan this year), and both part and full time workers).

I had already worked for about 2 weeks (5 times) before the training, so it helped me understand much better what I had learned from my coworkers during those days, and specially it gave me a much clearer idea of what the IKEA way and culture is. Which I have to say I really really like.

When I started working I spent lots of time googling about IKEA, because I wanted to be sure I was not working for somekind of Swedish Walmart (sorry but I am sure I am not the only one that have ever consider IKEA like that... just look at that huge building! and those prices), but I was happy not to find anything bad, and to realize low prices do not mean less worker benefits, environmental destruction and so on.

In fact, they seem to be trying to improve constantly in a lots of ways, and after working there for a few days I am sure that at least the IKEA stores are a great place to work. Specially here in Japan! Until now I had all but considered even the idea of working here in Japan (the whole image of the "japanese salary-man" was enough for me) or even at big company anywhere, and I just wanted to work part time in IKEA because I like their products and its not so far from my place, but working there for just a few days has really open my eyes to new possibilities and opportunities, which I will have to think about more...

四年生

2008-03-10T05:11:00.001-07:00

I am at my university studio now and I was just speaking with a friend who is entering the same lab as I will be entering, and it seems to be that we will be pretty much free until May... I was expecting my last year at uni to be pretty free but having heard so much about how some Japanese teachers make you be at the lab even when there is nothing to do I didnt really know what to expect. Now on the other hand not hearing anything at all about what we are supposed to do next year (starting in April) is making me a little bit confused...

Anyway, I am pretty much sure about what I want to research for my thesis, so I guess I just need to talk directly to my teacher about it, and then just do all the research and study by my own, on my own timing, which is just the way I like to do it :) Then I have to see if I can actually do a thesis project about Leticia (a city in the Colombian Amazon), which I would really love to do, but being Colombia so far it may be difficult to find all the necessary information and so on. On the other hand, I am really looking forward for the Ecocity World Summit in San Francisco at the end of April, where I am sure I will learn lots of things, meet wonderful people, and be even more motivated to do my research and project, and who knows if I find some idea that attracts me even more.

Being free then also means that I will have free time to play around, meet friends, and then of course work because otherwise I cannot play around so much :p (oh! and I cant forget to study for the master's entry test... :s haha)

So, today I started one part-time job at a community design office in Tokyo, which means doing all the hand work and computer work left, but its actually a really good way of seeing how such a company works and I actually like cutting stuff and working with photoshop and illustrator (otherwise I wouldnt be able to study design I guess :p) so its all good~
Plus today I also went for a job interview at IKEA, and so if all goes well I will be working at IKEA as well, playing around with nice furniture and stuff~ (<= that's my idea about work haha)

Moving Down

2008-01-31T19:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend I am moving out, or well, in fact, I am just moving downstairs to another room in the same building. So before everyone asks me why I move out to the same place, I thought I'd write about it.

I have been living here for already almost 2 years, I just knew this was the place I wanted to live in when I enter the room and saw the high roof and the window up there that made the room look much more open and clear. Plus the fact that it had a loft (I used to sleep in lofts all the time when I was living in Bucaramanga, and even in Bogota I used to sleep in the upper bed of the bunk bed I used to share with my big brother) and it cost only ¥37000 a month made me choose this place even when it wasn't so close to university (its still only 15 minutes by bike, but of all my classmates who go to university walking or by bike, I am the one who lives the farthest).

Anyway, this semester has been really stressful, with the design studio project, and being so busy working in it, staying at university all night, and so on, my room was getting really messy all the time, and I was getting tired of coming back from uni late at night (or early in the morning should I say). So I just felt like I needed to move out, to just refresh and start again. Its what Japanese call 「気分転換」, or something like starting a new life. Most Japanese will probably just buy a new cellphone when they want to start a new life, but that wouldn't work for me (in fact I have already lose my cellphone twice...), so I just decided I would move out.

First I was looking at rooms near my uni and Matsudo station, and I found one that I thought I liked (those guys at the Agency know how to convince you!), so I fill out the form to reserve the room, and canceled by contract in the room I was (am) living. But after a weekend with more time to think about it, I just realized how much I like this place, and specially how used I am to this neighborhood...

The two indian restaurants with nice and good priced Dal and Vegetable Curry and friendly staff, the small natural bakery that uses 国産小麦 (flour produced in Japan) , its delicious bread (they even have Vegetable Curry Bread!) and where they already know I am vegan and always tell me if a new bread has milk or egg in it, the 2 八百屋 (vegetable stores) where I can buy cheap vegetables and fruits and smile with the 元気 old ladies shouting around, the 手打ちそば restaurant in a very nice traditional house (which I have only been twice to, but I just like to see it on my way back), the nice bar in the corner of the station with the surfing boards and the palm in the entrance (which I have never been to, but I always say I have to go to when someone visits me), the big nice park 25 minutes walking from here where I used to go whenever I had a free day (now I am becoming Japanese and I carry a schedule with me all the time, so not so many free days lately) and so on...

So I just felt really 懐かしい about it, and I figured out it was better just to stay in the same room. But when I went to talk with the agency, they told me they had already rent it to someone else from March... So I asked if they had another room available in the same building, and that's how and why I am moving down. And even the price goes down (well just ¥1000) but that's good. And well the high roof also goes down, but since this room is in one of the corners
I get a really nice window on one of the side walls. So all in all I am happy with the moving out (or down)!

Come and visit me sometime soon~ :)

Un poco de Gandhi para Colombia

2008-01-30T08:43:00.000-08:00

Bueno en estos dias he estado leyendo "The Essential Gandhi. An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas", y hubo un capitulo ("Gandhi's road to jail") que de alguna manera me hizo pensar en la situacion actual de Colombia.
Si, claro que Colombia es un pais ya "independizado", pero definitivamente no es libre, al igual que muchos paises (por no decir casi todos).
Pero no dire mas, y por ahora los invito a leer y sacar sus propias conclusiones...

*****

"...For me patriotism is the same as humanity. I am patriotic because I am human and humane. It is not exclusive."

"...If India makes violence her creed and I have survived I would not care to live in India. She will cease to evoke any pride in me..."
"...If I can have nothing to do with the organized violence of the Government I can have less to do with the unorganized violence of the people"
(y aqui tengo que decir que la violencia empieza por los pensamientos, sigue con las palabras y en ultimas se convierte en accion)

"Firstly, we must acquire greater mastery over ourselves and secure and atmosphere of perfect calm, peace and good will."
"Secondly, we must still further cleanse our hearts, and we Hindus and Moslems must cease to suspect one another's motives."
"Thirdly, we Hindus must call no one unclean or mean or inferior to ourselves."

"Parties may fall and parties may rise; if we are to attain freedom our deep convictions must remain unaffected by such passing changes."
"...We must not resort to social boycott of our opponents"
"The rule of majority, when it becomes coercive is as intolerable as that of a bureaucratic minority."

"Our motto must ever be conversion by gentle persuasion and a constant appeal to the head and heart."

"There is not yet in India that truthful and non-violent atmosphere which and which alone can justify mass disobedience, which can be described as civil which means gentle, truthful, humble, knowing, willful yet loving yet never criminal and hateful"

"Non-violent attainment of self-government presupposes a non-violent control over the violent elements in the country."

"Our capacity for Swaraj (Self-Rule) will be proved by our ability to conduct our activities in spite of the withdrawal even of the originator of the current program"

"It would be a thousand times better for us to be ruled by a military dictator than to have the dictatorship concealed under sham councils and assemblies. (...) There is no such thing as slow freedom. Freedom is like a birth. Till we are fully free we are slaves."

*****

Y ahora si lo digo...
que triste ver como un pais ha terminado por caer en la misma violencia que tanto quiere rechazar, y ha sido polarizado tanto que ni siquiera nos podemos unir por una causa tan simple y noble como lo es la libertad, la paz y la no-violencia, sin estar hablando mal unos de otros.
Lamentablemente Colombia y la mayoria de los Colombianos no estamos listos para pedir y exigir paz.
Y mucho menos si seguimos insistiendo en juzgar a un sector sin mirar y aceptar nuestros propios errores.

"Peace.
It does not mean to be in a place
where there is no noise, trouble,
or hard work. It means to be in
the midst of those things and still
be calm in your heart."

Why not 9?

2008-01-12T04:56:00.000-08:00

"ARTICLE 9.
Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized."

The "Global Article 9 Conference" will be held in Tokyo, Japan, in May 2008. This conference will bring together the voices of the world supporting the existence and principle of Article 9. It will bring together Nobel Peace Laureates, intellectuals, cultural figures and NGO activists, and provide a forum to discuss what the citizens of the world can do to realize the principle of Article 9, through promoting disarmament, demilitarization and a culture of peace. It will aspire to create an international movement for realization of "peace without force." The holding of such a conference will be a concrete step in materializing the aim confirmed at the Hague Appeal for Peace Conference in 1999; "Every Parliament should adopt a resolution prohibiting their government from going to war, like the Japanese article number nine. "The endorsement of Article 9 in the World Peace Forum's final statement, "Vancouver Appeal for Peace 2006: Make Peace" has also greatly encouraged our campaign, supporting our ambition to stage a large scale international conference revolving around Article 9.

If you haven't, VOICE YOUR SUPPORT for Article 9!

Avaaz.org - Stop the Clash of Civilizations

2008-01-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

2008... will it actually bring some change?

2008-01-07T05:39:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you had a great time during the holydays, had a good rest, and are ready for enjoying and making the best of this new year.

This year brings with a really big hope for change for the world because we cant deny the influence the USA president has over so many issues: the environment, economy, human rights, security, terrorism, culture clashes, and so on...

I was quite happy to hear Obama won the Iowa caucus, and is probably winning the NH primary, most probably becoming the nominate for the democratic party, and hopefully president, since well he seems to be able to bring some change to the USA government.
But then I came accross this video of the New Hampshire debate, where the first question is about.... you guess... war, terrorism, Osama bin Laden, and military action.
I dont care how hypothetical the situation is, or how certain your intelligence service is about Osama bin Laden's hide-away. STOP talking about the possibility of yet another military invasion by the USA government on a foreign country!!!
I mean how bad is the hunger for war in the USA politics (or economy/corporartions to make it more clear), that they seem not to be able to stop thinking about military action for one second!?!?
Do they really think that if they kill Osama bin Laden the terrorist threats to the USA will finish? Really, why cant these people get it?

I really thought (and still think) Obama becoming president would be a whole much better than another republican, or for that matter, better than Hillary (and probably Edwards -dont really know much about him). But I guess none of them would really bring the deep changes that the whole world needs and is looking for in the USA government.

And it seems to be that the only candidate out there that actually makes some sense, Dennis Kucinich with his "Strength Through Peace" message, is simply unelectable for the press (and corporate America). But really, I am sure I am not the only one who would love to see one-day an environmentalist, pacifist and, on top of that, vegan person leading a country (specially the USA), am I? Is that so "hippie" to even accept that its definitely better than people who would start yet another invasion just for fear?

Oxfam Trailwalker Japan

2007-12-28T06:38:00.000-08:00

I have started to volunteer for Oxfam Japan this year, and now they are starting to make the preparations necessary for next years Trailwalker event, probably one of the biggest fundraising events organized by Oxfam in different parts around the world.

It challenges groups of 4 persons to complete a 100km trail in 48 hours, with the support of many people and companies who donate their money to support Oxfam's various poverty alleviation and emergency relief projects around the world.

I remember I love to watch the Discovery Channel Eco-Challenge (which involved many disciplines to complete a 500km course) and thinking I would like to do that some day (specially the on in NZ, cause the landscapes were amazing!)

Now the Trailwalker is just hiking, but its still 100km, and the best part, is that all the fundraising goes to a great cause. So this year I will be volunteer to organize the event, and who knows maybe next year I can make a team and participate as well.

If anyone is interested in volunteering or participating do check the HP! and let me know if you have any questions~

Next years event will take place in May 16~18, and the course starts in Odawara, going through Hakone, and finishes in the foot of Mt Fuji. The landscape seems to be really beautiful. I found these pics from last years event.

"Oxfam Trailwalker is an event that involves significant commitment, endurance and at the end of it all, a wonderful sense of achievement. Whatever role you play, by participating in this ultimate life changing event, you'll be helping to make a real difference by raising funds for some of the poorest communities in the world"

Amarantine - Enya

2007-12-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

Sunshowers - M.I.A.

2007-12-18T05:51:00.000-08:00

Gano Venezuela

2007-12-03T07:55:00.000-08:00

Despues de haber estado preocupado por Venezuela por las ultimas dos semanas, es dificil creer que Chavez alla aceptado la derrota de su reforma, con tan solo 2% de diferencia. Me alegra poder pensar que por fin Chavez se dio cuenta de que crear mas division no es bueno, pero sobretodo que la opocision en Venezuela por fin parece tener de verdad una idea de lo que quiere, y me alegra que ese cambio sea liderado por los jovenes estudiantes que muchas veces parecerian tan poco interesados en politica y tan alejados de la realidad de su pais.

Segun entiendo esto quiere decir que Chavez no puede ser reelegido mas (a menos que quien sabe que se le ocurra), pero aun lo tendremos por unos largos 5 anhos, que espero la opocision logre usar para crear (junto con los simpatizantes de Chavez) un programa de pais mas igualitario que incluya a todos los Venezolanos.

Me siento extranho diciendo esto cuando ya me siento tan alejado de Venezuela, pero aun asi, sigue siendo el pais donde naci, y sobretodo donde muchos de mis amigos y parte de mi familia viven, y simplemente es triste ver a un pais tan dividido sea donde sea.

Por ahora me podre sentir feliz y tranquilo por Venezuela~

...y volver a mi trabajo de disenho todas las noches sin tener que estar preocupado por lo que podria pasar.

Abrazos a todos mis amigotes en (o de) Venezuela, los quiero mucho! y me alegra que las cosas por ahora se vean un poco mejor~
~Viva Venezuela~

The Idan Raichel Project

2007-11-30T23:50:00.000-08:00

Dennis Kucinich

2007-11-27T05:43:00.000-08:00

I remember 3 years ago, many people around the world saying how since the USA government seems to affect so many people around the world, all the people in the world should be able to have the right to elect it. Well, we may not have the right to vote since we are not USA citizens, but as long as the USA government wants to get involved in every countries' issues, we all have a say in its elections.

But anyway, in this post I dont want to talk about the big ones... (according to the media at least)

I just want to say I find it so relieving to see a candidate in there that seems for once to be embracing peace, within the USA, with other nations, with the environment, and even with animals. Who seems true to his principles and not the corporations' ones. And who gives a voice to so many people that are just disappointed with the way politics is done in the USA and pretty much all around the world.

I dont know how much chance he has to get to win this elections. I just dont think the USA's corporations are willing to accept such a candidate as president, or that the people is mature enough to take a decision based on their own opinions (without getting so influenced by the media), or to elect someone who because of the peace he embraces in all matters of his life (including his eating habits), may not seem "strong" enough to govern the USA.

But just seeing him there, gives me hope that people is actually realizing that politics dont have to be the same as always, and that there is people out there representing the so called "alternative" ideas. Which we are starting to see, more than "alternative" are plain simple and logic, when you think about the people, the environment, and life itself, and not the profits and the big corporations.

*STRENGTH THROUG PEACE*
Dennis Kucinich '08

Venezuela

2007-11-24T05:54:00.000-08:00

It is sad to see how the country I was born, where many friends live, full of beauty and resources, seems to be on its way to be totally controlled by one man hungry of power, and with oil money in his pockets...
Like I was talking with an Irish guy early in the morning after a night of clubbing, an equality of opportunities and justice in the society (or socialism) is obviously something to be pursue by today's society, but not by one man, oppressing any opposition, taking away liberties, and creating division, cause that is quite simply a dictatorship, and no good can come out of it.
I just can but hope that the opposition and rational supporters of socialism have actually a chance to stop the actual government to continue its way, or that I am actually mistaken, and Chavez actually has good intentions, and a clear mind to realize nothing good comes out of division, oppression and insults...

Hoppy Bday to me~

2007-11-18T07:35:00.000-08:00

My bday has already finished here in Japan, but I still have 13 hours left in Colombia :)

This weekend I just got to think, hear, realize, doubt, learn, talk, rethink, notice, feel... so many things right now I am having a very hard time trying to organize my mind.

But I just want to say how happy and thankful I feel for having (so many) so special persons around me. It is just actually overwhelming to realize all the people I have met in this 21 years., all the things I have lived with them, but specially all I mean for them and all they mean for me.
I really wonder if I deserve so much, and if I really can give back (and forward) all what I have received. I really dont think I can even get close.

Thank you so much for everything, every person, every animal I have (and haven't) had a connection with, every moment, every feeling, every smile... all the little details that make life great.

Car vs Bike

2007-11-09T03:31:00.000-08:00

On wednesday, I met with Alisa, Ayaka, and some couchsurfers for dinner. Jasper, from Holland, is travelling around visiting different eco-villages, and learning from the places he visits, for him to go back to Holland (or somewhere else?) and build his own house. Jiji, came to study his PhD in Japan, and is now teaching english, but he is also interested in eco-villages and natural living, and he will be going to NZ next year as well with a working-holiday visa to visit some of the ecovillages there.

Lately I have been thinking about my thesis project, and last time I was talking about it with my sister, we end up talking about a self-sustainable community in Colombia that her Yoga teacher just visited. Which was one of the reasons I was so eager to meet Jasper this time. Since a 2 years ago I got really interested in permaculture, self-sustainability and so on, but as with many other things, I just didn't give it enough time or importance, because it just seems to be an idea that would send me to an alternative living, away from the normal society, which has been something I have been wondering a lot since I came to Japan:
What do I want to do when I go back to Colombia...
Whether to go somewhere and live a more natural life, growing my food, making things by my own, OR stay in the city, working (either a normal job, in my own design office, as a teacher...) and trying to change society itself, but having to live with all the rush and problems of the society.

But lately I have started to realize it doesn't have to be one OR the other, and I have really started to think about the kind of life I would like to have, and the way I can include most of the things I am interested in, and I would like to do in it. And I have even get to think how I could even use my studies right now to bring those two together. I guess that's why I decided to study Landscape Architecture in the first place, but somewhere in between I kind of lost my way, but I am glad I am finding it again, and maybe even more clearly.

I just really need to organize my life (spending less time in facebook and more time learning , thinking and reflecting), study more of those things that most probably you cant learn at uni, and bringing those things into my life.

Well... I just thought I would put up next quote when I started the blog (hence the title) but it kind of got long :) It's an interesting statement I found in the British Permaculture Association site...

"The average American's involvement with their automobile is an astonishing 1600 hours a year. Working in order to buy it, actually driving it, getting it repaired and so on. This means that when all car mileage in a given year is divided by the time spent supporting the car, the average car owner is travelling at an average speed of 5 miles per hour. To attain the speed of a bicycle we are devastating our cities, air, lungs and lives."
Ivan Illich, social commentator

Happi Haro-win!

2007-10-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the best halloween ever! Well being the first time I actually celebrate halloween, dressing up and going out, its pretty understandable, but it was definitely an incredible halloween I'm sure. What can compare to a loop around Tokyo's Yamanote Line, in a train full of people in costumes, having fun, chatting, chanting, and meeting new friends.

Our first plan was to have an outdoor party at Yoyogi Park, and then head to some club for the rest of the night. But a Typhoon decided to visit Tokyo for the weekend, so an outdoor party was out of question. For our luck, Alisa found out about this crazy unofficial mob halloween event held every year in Osaka and Tokyo, so after seeing some videos from previous events, and wondering whether it was safe or right to join or not, I decided to give it a try with some friends,and judge by myself.

So our night started at Alisa's place, where I finished dressing up (putting some leaves around my feet and arms, putting green make up in my face, and getting ready to go~) and then head out to Tokyo! In our first stop, a convenience store for some food and drinks, we couldnt stop smiling to each other seeing the reaction of the people who saw us, or the cashier who avoid to look at my eyes all the time! (though that is actually usual in Japan, but I guess it was reinforced by the fact she wouldnt like to look at my eyes and laugh, cause it would be seen as "shiturei" by japanese standards... but come on! I am wearing a costume, the idea is to make you laugh!)

After that we head to Shibuya to meet other friends, so there we were a tree, a pirate and the devil, in the middle of Tokyo's world famous crossing, under the eyes of all these people. Happily after a short wait, we ran up into another tree! and had a nice chat while waiting for our friends. Meanwhile, Japanese people will simply look at us, and a group of boys actually came to say "otsukaresama desu" to me... (otsukaresama is an expression "used to acknowledge someone's efforts or show your appreciation for the trouble that they have gone though" (I had to google that cause I always have trouble explaining japanese expressions :p) but its an expression that is usually used when you finish work instead of saying "goodbye" or when go back home after doing some work or meeting at the uni or even with some friends) which then again felt weird at the moment, cause "tsukare" actually literally means "tired", but know that I see it as "acknowleding someone's efforts" actually doesnt sound too bad.... :p
anyway, after a while my friend Mone arrived, with her in-pajamas ladies friends, so NOW we were being stared. lol

After going for some drinks in a cafe (inside a bookstore! just imagine 8 people in costume walking along the corridors of a bookstore with people reading books around, and you may understand how funny the whole experience was) we headed to Shinjuku, were the infamous Yamanote Halloween Train Party starts... we were there 10 minutes before the scheduled (by who knows who?) departure time, and there was already around 20 people in costume waiting in the platform. So we made our way to them, met some, then again looking for other friends who were joining us from Shinjuku, and so, in the next 10 minutes the platform went from 20 people in costume, to be completely FULL of people in costume, chatting, drinking, making noise, while waiting for the right train to arrive.

and so, there it was, "densha mairimaaaaaasssss gochui kudasai", the Yamanote Halloween Train welcoming us, for the only time in the year where you actually can totally enjoy a full-train. Remember the famous images of train station staff pushing people so that doors can close during the rush hours? well that's just how full our train was... and the train staff actually was ready to push us all in, in order to let the trains run smoothly on time (though they were already deleted because of the typhoon) which seemed to be their only concern (not the fact that there was around 500 crazy people in costume having a party in the train...).

The leaves in my head appear somewhere around the middle of this video... :p

and so in we went, for the best round-the-loop ride of the year, chanting station names (there is a lot of fans of ikebukuro, akihabara, tokyo (of course!), and even gotanda?), taking pics, going around meeting new people and so on. We actually changed cars (in the same train) once and it was so surprising cause after being in such a crazy full of people one, this one seems so empty, even when there was quite a few people in costume chatting and all... :)

And so after a little bit longer than an hour, we were back in Shinjuku, saying goodbye to our lovely Halloween train, the crowd dispersing (very slowly cause everyone (specially usual commuters waiting for their train) wanted to take pictures with everyone) and heading to clubs around Tokyo for the rest of the night...

now, I know there is a lot of conflicting views on this train party, which was one of the reasons I wanted to go and see it for myself, before bashing it out as some crazy gaijins (infamous foreigners here in Japan) abusing the japanese system. And I can say after living it by myself, that even when a few people might do obviously go too far, the whole event in itself is just a great way of celebrating halloween, creating bounds between Japanese and Foreigner participants (and even non-participants who mostly are either so surprised they cant even react, or who enjoy the surprise in a usually monotonous train ride), thanking Yamanote line, the japanese train system, and Japan in itself for being soooo wonderful! and in the end just having an out of the ordinary fun time (something really necessary in Japan).

and to prove that... here is a video for you to compare...

Gotta be Japan!

2007-10-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

I just got a link from a CSer (read that couchsurfer) friend from NY, about the new Japanese "against crime clothing design." But the first thing that came to my mind when I actually realized that there was someone inside that last vending machine was: Halloween costume... :)

Remember the shower costume from Karate Kid, I think it could actually make a great costume for Halloween! Just imagine a vending machine walking around Tokyo streets... and someone running behind trying to buy a drink :p

Being 20 I feel so funny for being so excited about halloween this year. Since the first time I refused to dress up when I was like 10 years old and didnt want to wear the Peter Pan costume they had for me I havent really like halloween or at least I wasn't too fond of it. But this year, I just have been thinking of halloween party at Yoyogi park, my tree/ent costume (pic to the right is just an image of what I was thinking that I found in the net), and so on, even when I have been really busy with design works and the internship at the NGO.

And it kind of made me realize how much I have changed in the last year, kind of coming out of my shell, being much more extroverted (though I still like to look at things from a distance (or a corner) from time to time) and enjoying so much more partying, meeting new people, and just doing crazy stuff. I do have to thank Hospitality Club and Couchsurfing for that once again, cause meeting new people from all around the world with such an open mind and heart, kind of give me some new impressions about people, and has helped me make wonderful friends who I would have never had the chance to meet in other ways. And, it has helped me know more about myself as well.

Global Festa

2007-10-08T05:55:00.000-07:00

Well, just like I wrote in the last post it would only take a couple of days for me overcome the "back in Japan" crisis, and get back to the fun, and appreciate how much I enjoy it here. School has already started, but last week we didnt really do much, anyhow I am just taking 10 credits
this semester, which means I only have to go there monday, tuesday and (just because 2 days is too few) friday.
On Saturday I went to work as tutor at the science class for kids nearby my university, which is always something I enjoy lots. It was really amazing though that after almost 3 months not going there the kids still remembered us, and this kid who always likes to play with us after the class finish, came to say hi, and the first thing he asks me is "have you buy a TV already?" Yeap, I really didnt know what to say... but it made me feel welcome. :)

After finishing work, I headed to Tokyo to meet Yuri at the Global Festa in Hibiya Park. It was this really nice festival with many NGO's and embassy stands, and food from every corner of the world. I had a really nice time chatting with people from Oxfam which is just starting here in Japan, and I decided I will participate in next year's Trailwalker. And also had a really nice chat with a Canadian Architect working with Habitat for Humanity, who got me really interested in their projects, and made me think about my thesis. Other than that there was so many stands and so many interesting things, so many things I want to get involved, but in the end there is only a small bit that you can do.

From there I headed to Inage, to my old dormitory. I hadnt been there since really long time ago, so it was really great to meet Javier, Jose, Fran, Ahmed, Louay, Angel, Antonio and meet some other people, and had a lots of laughs together. Definitely that's probably what latin-american people do better... joking and laughing.

Sunday I spent the morning cleaning my room, washing clothes, buying food, and then headed to the CouchSurfing gathering at Shibuya. One of the many amazing things about CSing is that everytime you dont really know what to expect from the people you will be meeting. They always have amazing backgrounds, great stories, experiences, and things to share. And they are always so friendly, open-minded, and easy-going. So there I was in Hachiko, meeting great people and starting a great night. After going for some food, and waiting for other members who joined later on, we headed to Shinjuku's Nichome, the gay area in Tokyo, to meet other CSers, have some drinks, and of course for some dancing and fun. After having a "beer blast" (all the beer you want from 7 to 9 pm for 1000 yen) and getting to know more about everyone, some went back, and we headed to Artys for a all-nighter of clubbing~ Definitely Artys is the best club ever, its so small, but the people is so friendly, and the music is great.

Back in Japan

2007-10-04T04:32:00.000-07:00

Well, finally I have overcome the jetlag, and get ready to life in Japan again. Actually today after finishing the internship at ECOPLUS, I decided to take a walk around, and end up at the temple near Tokyo Tower, were I welcomed the year 2007 with my mum and friends, and somehow it made me realize I was "back in Japan". Not really sure if it was in a simple "wow, I am back in Japan" kind of way, a more cheerful "yay, I am back in Japan" or a more dreadful "what am I doing back in Japan" kind of way, but anyhow, it was a moment that made me think about the fact that I am back in Japan. Back to trains full of people, people avoiding to look at each other, publicity all around me, vegetable sushi and breads that somehow manage to have chicken or pig ingredients in them, back to scheduling one month in advance, talking a language that doesnt allow you to communicate all your feelings and going far from your house just to find a park with some grass and trees in it where to have a peaceful moment.

I guess it will take me sometime, meeting some friends, and going back to some of my favorite places, and eating some nice food, to feel better and happy of being back in Japan. I mean, I guess I am already, but it is just what I was thinking today.

BPE - Switzerland

2007-08-02T07:03:00.000-07:00

Sept 4

After an early start packing our tent, we were ready to start our trip around Switzerland, using the train pass our brother gave us, and our backpackable house to visit some of the most wonderful landscapes in Europe~
On our first day we visited St Gallen and the funny bears around its streets. Everything was still closed, and then we headed to Mainfield, by petition of my sister who couldn't miss visiting Heidi's hometown~ So we visited the house, and went up the mountain just like Heidi did, and there we were surrounded by cows with a spectacular view of the valley before us and the sound of the cow's bells. In such a european landscape there was no other choice but to eat "Bocadillo" Coombiano to gain strenght and start our way down to the train station, from where we headed to St Moritz, our camping site for the day.

BPE - Austria (+ Neuwastein Castle)

2007-07-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

Sept 2

After a night of rest in the hotel, and an early walk around town watching sheep, we met with Libor and Heidi for a one day tour towards Neuwastein Castle. On the way we went up this really crazy road that was kind of carved into the mountain's side with a great view of the valley down below. After going up we stopped at Lech, the royal winter resort town where all the European families spend their winter holydays... A really nice town in summer!
We went our way, ate lunch at an Italian restaurant, watched a caravan of very old trucks, and then arrived to Neuwastein Castle, which is supposed to be the inspiration behing Disney's castle~ so see by yourselves!
After that we went back towards their place and our camping site in Switzerland running at about 180 kmh along german highways... if it wasnt because I could see the car's board, I would never imagine how fast we were running, the ride was so soft, and the few cars around were driving pretty much at the same speed!

BPE - Konstanz

2007-07-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

I'll definitely never finish the BPE (Backpacking Europe) posts... so I'll be very lazy and just paste some pics. cause I still have Taiwan's trip to post about, and soon I'll be back in Colombia and all around North America's west coast (and not so coast...)

Sept 1

After leaving my brother's place at Offenburg we head south to Konstanz to visit the flower garden at Meinau Island full of beautiful flowers, a giant gnome and bird, and some really nice sculptures. After a short walk around the gardens we continue our way to Lindau, were we met Libor, our father's Austrian friend who had invite us for dinner and a day trip around west Austria. We went to his place on the bottom of the alps, with a great view of some of the mountains, and had a very nice veggie dinner prepared by his wife, Heidi, and then had a nice chat in the "winter garden" under the light of candles. They were really special with us, and it definitely didnt feel like it was the first time we met them, its always great to meet people you can feel like that. After dinner we went to the hotel he had book for us, with a spectacular view of the snowy peaks, and really comfortable beds! :)

Hey You! Answer the Call~

2007-07-07T08:51:00.001-07:00

"Hey You" by Madonna (LIVE EARTH THEME)

Fuerza Colombia!

2007-07-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

La Solidaridad Rompe Cadenas

This was Colombia at 12 m on July 5, 2007.
I cannot stop crying seeing this and thinking of all the suffering Colombia has had to endure for so many years just because of a small group of crazy people who care only about I have no idea what. But the one thing that made me cry was seeing all these many people out in the streets claiming for peace and the freedom of all persons kidnapped by the guerrilla right now.
It's sad that 11 lives had to be lost in order to create such a reaction from Colombians, but I really hope that it wont stop here, and we realize that we are the majority, and we cannot let a small group of people cause all that suffering and fear (even when they have drugs as their money maker).
I love Colombia! Viva Colombia! Viva la Paz!

Summer rain

2007-06-29T03:17:00.001-07:00

Summer is here, an so is the rainy season... hot and humid, that's Japanese Summer, and it is just from now that it starts to become really humid. It just got to 30 degrees this week, and it will certainly get higher, and the worst thing is when you go out (in?) to the city it can feel almost like 40 degrees because of the heat island effect (caused by all the cars, air conditioning, buildings, pavement, and lack of greenery and wind). There is actually this thing called something like "summer nights record" that has been going up recently which is the number of nights in Tokyo when the temperature doesnt go below 30 degrees... horrible!

That's probably the reason why I have run away from Japan every summer holydays in August and September, but I still have to bear the heat during the test season in July... at least I can go through it looking forward to going (back?) to Colombia after two years and meeting my family, friends and my dogs! (yeah of course, the dogs are as important as the rest of the family... :p and the most importan thing: I cannot talk with them by phone or by mail)

I was actually planning to spend August in Japan travelling to Hokkaido or something but my sis is getting marry so no way I would miss the wedding (or my sis would forgive me if I do :p). So after going to summersonic on August 11, dancing and jumping to BEP's, Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani, Sum41, etc, and spending the weekend with Yuri (for those not updated, Yuri is my girlfriend since around one month ago - yeah I know what I used to say about Japanese girls, but I always talked about the "typical superficial Japanese girls", and there is always exceptions, specially for someone who is just as environmetalist, pacifist, naturalist and other ist's (idealist?) as I am), anyway, after that I will depart to Colombia, making a 2 nights stop in Caracas to meet some friends and see by myself the probably not so nice reality of Venezuela.

And then back to Colombia. I was reading Andrew's blog about his travel to Malaysia after 2 years without going and it make me realize it will also be 2 years for me, and it does actually feel more like a trip than a going back. At least it will probably help me think about what I want to do after I graduate, wether to continue studying the Master here in Japan, or going back to Colombia. It probably depends on lots of things in the end, but it is kind of confusing not to know where I'll be in 2 years...

Anyway, going to eat now. Wil write later about more recent stuff~

Las de la Intuicion - Shakira

2007-06-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

If she wasnt singing in Spanish I will swear this video is Japanese Pop... what is happening with Shakira?!?!?! haha

Long time~

2007-05-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hadnt post for quite a long time already... busy going around, playing, meeting people, participating in peace walks, meetings, studying and learning lots of things that somehow they dont really teach you in school.
Today I had the design presentation I had been working in during last week, so now I have free time back again. But already with lots of things to do. Yesterday I went to an interview with Conservation International for an internship offered by Sonpo Japan, and tomorrow I'll have another one with Ecoplus (a small environmental NGO working with kids around the world), so hopefully I'll be going there to help out with all the work for 8 months until January. It will be great if I get the opportunity to work with CI, since they are also working in Colombia, and its the kind of NGO I'll like to work/create when I get back to Colombia (among many other things I'll like to do). The woman from CI was really nice, and seem to be interested in what I had to say, so I hope I get accepted. It was funny though cause it was somehow an informal interview, with 4 students, the CI staff, and a woman from Sonpo Japan, and they asked us to talk about our interests, and things we are doing and all... so I end up talking about GOGO project, Candle Night, Capoeira, and even Free Hugs... at least I made them laugh with all the crazy things I was talking about, but I realized I'm being involved in so many things that when someone asks me what I'm interested in, I just dont know where to begin, and probably wont stop talking... :p
I still could talk about Peace Walks, Animal Rights Activism, Couchsurfing, GNH, etc etc...

The good thing is, that thanks to all of these things I have not only learned so many new things, but I've also met great people, and it has even become a good way to become closer to my friends at uni, and see things in a more positive way, cause I've been able to meet people who share my own ideals, and have really understood that in the end change, peace and love starts within us, and lately it really seems to be spreading around.

The young can't wait

2007-05-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

Rio Summit 1992's speech by Severn Suzuki (12 years old at the time)

Article by Severn Suzuki (2002) taken from http://www.time.com/time/2002/greencentury/engeneration.html

”When you are little, it's not hard to believe you can change the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed the delegates at the Rio Earth Summit. "I am only a child," I told them. "Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? You grownups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words."

I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the delegates even cried. I thought that maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur action. Now, a decade from Rio, after I've sat through many more conferences, I'm not sure what has been accomplished. My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual's voice to reach them has been deeply shaken.

Sure, I've seen some improvements since Rio. In my home city of Vancouver, most people put out their recycling boxes. The organic grocery and café on Fourth Avenue is flourishing. Bikes are popular, and there are a few gas-electric hybrid cars gliding around. But as this new century begins, my twentysomething generation is becoming increasingly disconnected from the natural world. We buy our drinking water in bottles. We eat genetically modified organisms. We drive the biggest cars ever. At the same time, we are a generation aware of the world—of poverty and social imbalance, the loss of biodiversity, climate change and the consequences of globalization—but many of us feel we have inherited problems too great to do anything about.

When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I'm learning that as we have to make choices—education, career, lifestyle—life gets more and more complicated. We are beginning to feel pressure to produce and be successful. We are learning a shortsighted way of looking at the future, focusing on four-year government terms and quarterly business reports. We are taught that economic growth is progress, but we aren't taught how to pursue a happy, healthy or sustainable way of living. And we are learning that what we wanted for our future when we were 12 was idealistic and naive.

Today I'm no longer a child, but I'm worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in. In Johannesburg the delegates will discuss the adoption and implementation of documents by governments. Yes, important stuff. But they did that at Rio. What this meeting must really be about is responsibility—not only government responsibility but personal responsibility. We are not cleaning up our own mess. We are not facing up to the price of our lifestyles. In Canada we know we are wiping out the salmon of the West Coast, just as we wiped out cod from the East Coast, but we continue overfishing. We keep driving our SUVs in the city, even though we are starting to feel the effects of climate change—a direct result of burning too much fossil fuel.

Real environmental change depends on us. We can't wait for our leaders. We have to focus on what our own responsibilities are and how we can make the change happen.

Before graduating from college last spring I worked with the Yale Student Environmental Coalition to draft a pledge for young people to sign. Called the Recognition of Responsibility, the pledge is a commitment from our generation to be accountable and a challenge to our elders to help us achieve this goal and to lead by example. It includes a list of ways to live more sustainably—simple but fundamental things like reducing household garbage, consuming less, not relying on cars so much, eating locally grown food, carrying a reusable cup and, most important, getting out into nature. (For the full text, go to www.skyfishproject.org.) Three friends and I will take the Recognition of Responsibility to Johannesburg, where we will meet with South African students and then present the pledge to the World Summit as a demonstration of personal commitment.

But in the 10 years since Rio, I have learned that addressing our leaders is not enough. As Gandhi said many years ago, "We must become the change we want to see." I know change is possible, because I am changing, still figuring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make sustainable choices, we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of change.”

Octavo DIa - Shakira (Mangoose Tour)

2007-05-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Watch this video, listen to her words, and check the video in the backgroung...
5 years later and the world doesn't seem to have changed much...

Down with capitalism, Long live the worms!

2007-04-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

Yeap, just like that... long live the worms, and naturalism~
why? well... simple. Cause if there is no worms, there is no fertile soil, if there is no fertile soil, there is no vegetables, and if there is no vegetables there is no food... and yeap, we cannot eat money, our new jacket, or our new tv, that's why.

So, yesterday I went to this "talk" by Satish Kumar about "Soil and Peace's GNH" Even when I hadnt hear about him before, it was great to hear him talking about how everyone should become an artist, and enjoy their lives without worrying so much about work and money. About how society, by being dominated by the science, technology, money and economy that was supposed to help us find our goal: happiness, has forgotten that end, and lost its true potential. About how we have being pursuing "economy" (management of our home) without trying to actually know, understand and enjoy what nature has to give us, or in other words, without thinking about "ecology" (knowledge of our home/earth). When it is certainly more important to get to know your home if you want to actually manage it without destroying it.

He also talked about the myth of "land ownership", and how because of capitalism we have got to try to "own" everything, but we have forgotten about our actual "relationship" with friends, family, animals, soil, earth. He also talked about "economic growth" (which obviously by itself is not enough, and certainly it doesnt bring justice nor equity) vs "spirtitual growth". He also talked about food and energy security, about Japanese Article 9, Peace among many other things.
He seems to be a really wise person, and i'm really enjoying his autobiography "No Destination", which has also remind me about reading Gandhi's autobiography (among others)... and has made me think about new ideas, and remind of things I had already in my mind. Which I will have to digest during my free time, now that I have lots of it.

And well, for now, I just ask you to think about these things by yourselves, and please go this webpage to show your support for Japanese Article 9 renouncing war as a means of settling disputes, so that it is not the Japanese constitution the one that has to change, but all the other countries the ones that should create a similar article in their own constitution~

Couchsurfing ~ Earth Day

2007-04-23T05:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, I havent updated for almost 2 eventful weeks...
Last weekend I went to my first Couchsurfers' gathering, down south in Chigasaki, a surfer city one hour southwest from Tokyo. I was really wondering if there was actually a surfer city in Japan but just after going out of the station and heading to the beach I was surrounded by surfer shops, and a really peculiar japanese surfer town atmosphere. And then when I got close to the beach there was definitely no doubt it was a surfer beach with all the people carrying their boards, and wearing wetsuits, and even bycycles with a special device to carry surfing boards. And then the beach... it was beautiful (for japanese standards I have to say...), much cleaner than other japanese beaches I've been to, and with an amazing view of Mt Fuji, specially in such a wonderful day. Then I joined other couchsurfers and their friends for a BBQ-picnic next to the beach, chatting with many people, eating nice food, salads, fruits and grilled veggies and tofu! :)
I got to meet really nice people, and then we end up going to karaoke, where a small box became a very lively disco full of gaijin's singing, dancing and drinking all around. I was feeling really comfortable in such a good company, and they asked for spanish songs, so after singing a few latin songs, and english songs everyone was standing on their feet. It was a really great karaoke night, including me singing Avril's new song "Girlfriend", that got completely recorded in my camera, but which I'm just too ashamed to show... :p
Lots of nice people joined, and it was great to meet them and have fun with them. After karaoke we stayed at our hostess place. A really nice surfer's japanese house!

Me, Alice and Kenji

My Chilean new mum: Ines :p

The marshmallows and sunset crowd~ :)

Everyone! Pose for the group picture!!!

Before the sun sets behind Mt Fuji leaving beautiful colors in the sky

Next day, after having breakfast and chatting a little bit more with the people who stayed, I went for the first time to Yokohama to meet Kim, and we had a really nice time eating Indian food, strolling around the Port Area, buying crazy stuff at Lush store, and finally having a long chat over coffee in very comfortables armchairs in Starbucks. We actually tried to catch a boat to anywhere from the International Port of Yokohama... but we didnt see anyplace to ask. :p

This weekend, after getting sick since wednesday with a bit of everything... cold, cough, headache, fever, sore throat, etc... I went to the doctor on sat and got a test for influenza, which was negative, so I have no idea why I got so bad, but well at least I was already feeling a little bit better and I got some medicine. So after going to the doctor, I just didnt want to stay home specially cause I wanted to go to Earth Day's celebration event in Tokyo, so I headed to Tokyo Sat and Sunday, for a great atmosphere, full of hippie energy, love and peace~ but now I got lazy to write about it... :p
In short, it was a great weekend, meeting old friends, not so old friends, and meeting new people, and learning new things about our earth, the way we treat it, and the way we treat each other. It was also great to see how this year there were much more veggie food stands, which means even in Japan people is gaining more conscience on the environmental impacts of animal farming, and on the fact that animals should also be part of our circle of compassion along all other humans and living beings, and earth itself... and which meant I could have yummy veggie food! :D

DIrty Little Secret - The All-American Rejects

2007-04-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

This video shows some postcards from the Post-Secret project (which I had put in my links before). It is a really great idea. I mean really, almost all humans at some time of our lives have secrets, whether about something that happened, something we have in our minds, something we'll like to do, or we did, or we dont feel like doing, that we feel afraid of sharing with other people, afraid of being judged, or not accepted, and even if it is not such a big deal having to keep it inside can become quite a big load. So I really liked the idea of this project when I first found out about it, letting people share their secrets anonymously, and somehow putting it out there so that they dont have to carry it all the time, feeling bad, sad, or something about it... and you can find some interesting, some times funny sometimes not so nice things that people actually do or think. and I guess it is also nice to see it is not only your secret sometimes...

"Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world" from Post-Secret Site

We Believe - Good Charlotte

2007-04-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

I want to go to Good Charlotte's concert next month... but dont want to go by myself to a concert... Laila want to join? :p or anyone else? May 7 Monday at Odaiba~ Now I wonder if they may organize a PETA tabling at their concert since three of them are veggie, and they've done protests against KFC , but i dont think they do it... it would be great though!
maybe I can meet them... just dreaming. :)

Spring Break

2007-04-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

Well now I am formally in Spring Break... yes, according to the University Calendar the Spring Break is only from March 1~8, so I dont know how they call all the holydays we had from February till now... :p

Yes, it has been definitely a long holyday... probably the first long holyday I've actually spent without going to math olympics, travelling, or working, except for the half a year long break I took after graduating from high school before coming to Japan. So I cannot say it hasn't been great to have free time, sleep until late, go out or just stay at my room all day long, but somehow I feel I've lost the impulse and the motivation to do things, I had like this long list of things I wanted to do during my free four weeks (studying german, portuguese, doing some vegan advocacy leafleting, working out, reading some books, etc etc...) but in the end the four weeks went by without me even noticing and I end up doing nothing, which doesnt make me feel very good... hummmm. Definitely not good.

I dont know, I guess the last months I have been trying to figure out myself too much and I kind of forgot to figure out my life as well... I guess I need to have a balance of both. Have to have more control over my time and the things I do. But then it all starts with having somewhere I want to go, which I guess I've lost while I've been here in Japan. I really need more motivation for my career, my studies, I remember how enthusiastic I was about it when I was back in Colombia, going to help out at seminars, reading things by myself and stuff, but I guess being in Japan makes me feel so far from what I want to do that all those dreams started to feel too far away as well. I really want classes to start again, maybe that way I'll get some more motivation to think about my goals again. Cause it will be only two years till I graduate and I kind of have to figure out what I want to do after that... stay in Japan for the Master degree, go somewhere else to study (probably NZ?), or going back to Colombia... well I guess I kind of know what I want to do... but at the same time there is so many things I'll like to do back in Colombia that I really dont think I can figure it out by myself. It does depend on other things as well I guess.

Anyway I think like they say "too much play..." I have just kind of lost my destination during this four weeks holydays. And I guess I should start writing again all my thoughts, it really helps (not in the blog of course...).
It is not like I regret this last 4 weeks, I've really enjoyed them, going out with friends, meeting new people, thinking more about myself, experiencing and feeling new things, talking with old friends and all, I really needed to enjoy each moment more and be more open, but like I said I guess I also need balance, and need to remember what my dreams and goals are. And I definitely need to go back to be more active because I really feel I'm not doing anything for the causes I believe in. Go out and do some free-hugging, some vegan advocacy leafleting, do some environmental work, I really need to feel I'm using my life to help a cause, I guess it's the best way to make you enjoy every day even more.

One thing I have learned during this four weeks I guess is the value and importance of friendship and being there for each other, and I really have to thank my friends for being who they are, and being there for me, listening to me, understanding me, making me feel more comfortable and be more open, for trusting me, sharing their life with me, sharing experiences, moments and making me laugh. It is kind of sad to think that all of my friends are or will be all around the world, far away, and it will be difficult to see each other, so once again I feel the importance of enjoying every moment I can share with them, and try not to think so much about how our roads will propably go different ways in the future... It is really hard to study abroad when you think about this, but then I wouldnt have met all this great people or experience all the things I have, so it is in the end a great opportunity we have to take out the most of, not letting the distance or the lack of motivation forget why we end up coming here, and where do we want to go...

Shakespeare - Susan Cagle

2007-04-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

Say It's Possible - Terra Naomi

2007-04-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

Random questionaries

2007-04-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

You Are 56% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded.
Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints.
But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line.
You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

You Are 4% Republican

If you have anything in common with the Republican party, it's by sheer chance.
You're a staunch liberal, and nothing is going to change that!

How Republican Are You?

Your Birth Month is November

Tolerant and inspirational, you are wise beyond your years.
You are universally sympathetic and a great humanitarian.

Your soul reflects: Compassion, friendship, and secret love

Your gemstone: Citrine

Your flower: Chrysanthemum

Your colors: Dark blue, red, and yellow

What Does Your Birth Month Mean?

Your World View

You are a fairly broadminded romantic and reasonably content.
You value kindness and try to live by your ideals.
You have strong need for security, which may be either emotional or material.

You respect truth and are flexible.
You like people, and they can readily make friends with you.
You are not very adventurous, but this does not bother you.

What Is Your World View?

Franco un-american - NOFX

2007-03-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got an email from a friend asking me again if I could help out at a punk concert handing out PETA leaflets this Sunday cause NOFX a PETA supporter band is coming. Unluckily, I am joining other Capeoristas for hanami so I cannot go, but I was checking the band's music and I found this video I thought was interesting so I just thought I would post it. I've got to say I like USA as a country, I like American TV, many of its products, and I've met many Americans who are really great people, so no, I'm not anti-American. But there is plenty of things I dont like about the government or the society, and well, sadly about "the majority" of Americans that are pretty much ignorant about everything that happens outside their lives, that voted for Bush and support war in Iraq, creating a wall between Mexico and USA, not supporting any ecological measures, creating laws that make peace and animal rights activist be considered terrorist (the so-called Patriot act), while they are out there looking for oil, killing innocent people, and creating more conflicts between different cultures and religions, among other things... so I thought this was an interesting and somehow funny video made by an American Punk band.
I realized since the last time I went to help out at Frenzal Rhomb's concert that there is a really interesting philisophy behind Punk culture, and even when I dont like most of the punk songs because they are just too loud, there is many ideas which I kind of share.
There is this other song of NOFX called "You're wrong" that even when I think it goes a little too far, by saying simply "you're wrong" which I guess it was just the short way of saying "I think it's not right and you should think about it" and making it fit into a song, and even when I definitely dont share all the ideas they have there I do agree with many of what they say (I feel more close to straight-edge ideals I guess, so I still dont know whether legalizing drugs is really a good option... for now I just know that by using cocaine you are supporting the war and the guerrilla in Colombia and all the suffering it causes to families living in the countryside. And I dont agree with denying all religions, but then they do have a point) Specially when you see all these extremist Christians in the TV talking all this crazy things against evolution, against other religions, against LGBT's, that is just amazing that they can be so convinced about their interpretation of the bible, and have so much hate for other humans. And the fact that they seem to be becoming the leading force inside the Republican party is just scary~ (and yeah I really wonder why I know so much about USA politics, but hey, it is the country that turns the whole world around, so yeah I think it is important to know more about it, and I'm not sure all the info I know is correct so please correct me if I'm wrong...)

BPE - Offenburg & Black Forest

2007-03-28T02:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, I had forgotten about my BPE (Backpacking Europe) posts... So now I have to go back 6 months in time, and start off from Offenburg, Germany, where we went after meeting my brother and my cousin in Heidelberg.

Aug 28~31
Offenburg is a really nice city (town?), with nice pedestrian streets, a nice market, and beautiful countryside at a walk distance. The best attraction is probably all the wineries where you can go for a walk and eat all the grapes you want (you are just not allowed to take them back with you, but if you eat them while you are there... no prob! (at least that was what our brother told us... :p)).
We stayed here in Offenburg for around 4 days, at our brother's apartment, taking a holyday from our travel holyday, sleeping in a nice bed, cooking and eating nice warm food, walking around, and preparing ourselves for the rest of our trip heading south to Switzerland, Italy and Spain. Also while being here, we got an email from my dad telling us about an Austrian friend who wanted to meet us, and show us around, so even when we had no plans to go to Austria we were able to go to Austria's western region as well! :) and we also got in touch with an Italian friend who invited us to stay with his family. Yay! :D

Offenburg's pets... these were lovely crows, you can turn them around and all. Not like the noisy messy ones here in Japan. :>

Even in such a small city (town?) they had a vegetarian, organic supermarket with a fridge full of tofu, soy cheese, soy yogurt, vegan raviolis!!!, fake meats, burgers, sausages... wonderful! :p and even now many people think vegetarians can only it salads!?!?
I want to have a supermarket like this wherever I go! :p But for now fresh vegetables and fruits will do it~

Open air museum showing old houses from all around the Black Forest in the same place. Below, a town famous for its cuckoo clocks~ Lots of them!

Taking a walk around the countryside... there were apple trees everywhere, lots of grapes, and other crops
=
free food and free dinner :p including 2 delicious sheaves of corn. (is this the right way of counting corn in english?)

Flying Elephants

2007-03-23T22:53:00.000-07:00

"In the beginning of time, the skies were filled with flying elephants. Too heavy for their wings, they sometimes crashed through the trees and frightened other animals.

All the flying grey elephants migrated to the source of the Ganges. They agreed to renounce their wings and settle on the earth. When they molted, millions of wings fell to the earth, the snow covered them, and the Himalayas were born.

The blue elephants landed in the see and their wings became fins. They are whales, the trunkless elephants of the oceans. Their cousins are the manatees, the trunkless elephants of the rivers.

The chameleon elephants kept their wings but agreed never again to land on the earth. When they go to sleep, the elephants always lie down in the same place in the sky with one eye open.

The stars you see at night are the unblinking eyes of sleeping elephants, who sleep with one eye open to best keep watch over us"

Yesterday I went to watch what is probably the most spectacular and touching exhibition I've ever seen. "Ashes & Snow" at the Nomadic Museum in Odaiba, Tokyo. It is just amazing the way Gregory Colbert shows us through his camera lenses the sentimental world of animals, and how humans relate to them. Being in a period of time where everything seems to be explained by science, where we are so disconnected to nature, and where most people look down on animals, it is incredible the way this pictures and videos connect us to what we all have inside, our feelings, our emotional world, and our nature. It connects us back to where we belong, with nature, and with all the animals that share this world with us. Seeing how peacefully humans could share the world with nature is so touching, seeing directly to the eyes of an elephant, a chimpanzee, an eagle, and realizing how much they've got to tell us, how much we can learn from them, but specially how full of live and wonder they are, made me feel so overwhelmed, so vulnerable somehow, but so alive at the same time. It almost brought tears to my eyes (actually a few came out). But it also gave me hope that little by little more people start to connect back again to our roots, to nature, to animals, to eachother, to ourselves... our feelings.

I loved it so much in there that I stayed and watch the 60 minutes movie twice. And even then I really didnt wanted to leave. It was as a whole a really wonderful day, full of discoveries, feelings, emotions and thoughts. (Thanks Jarrod! :)
I ended up buying this book full of pics (its so beautiful! Its printed in Japanese paper, and covered in paper made in Nepal, its just amazing! (of course it was expensive... :p) but they told me they'll give me the DVD for free if I bought it, so it was kind of a good deal :p), and I guess it will become one of the most valuable books and DVD I ever have. I just think I'll have to put in a very special place and take so much care of it... :s
I really hope you all go and see this exhibition if it ever goes close to your place. Or you can come an visit me someday and watch the DVD :)
I really think that together with Earthlings (which in contrast to the peaceful animals-human-nature relationship shown in Ashes&Snow shows the reality animals have to endure in the hands of humans), this is one of the things everyone should watch at least once in their life.

And now that I think about it, this exhibition really makes me feel more connected to one of the quotes I heard in Earthlings, and that I've always found so meaningful. It goes like this...

"We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilisation surveys the creatures through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronise them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, we greatly err. For the animals shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings. They are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth. "
~Henry Beston, The Outermost House, 1928

*Love & Peace*

Pop Avril

2007-03-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

"Girlfriend" (English version)

I love this video so much, cant stop laughing! Avril is awsome! Love her! Looking forward to her new album~

Spanish version (her spanish is so funny! :p)
Chinese version (even if I dont understand anything, its great)
Portuguese version
French version
Japanese version (I dont get the beginning)

"Keep Holding On" (Eragon)

Okinawan Sounds

2007-03-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

By 琉球国祭り太鼓

Kansai trip~

2007-03-14T05:51:00.000-07:00

...once again by myself in my room. A little bit lonely but still I really like my room a lot. The sun coming in through the window in the mornings, my bed up in the loft, sitting out in the small terrace to take the sun and hear the birds (not very nice view though :s haha), my fridge with the "I'm not a nugget" poster in it, and the nice food I cook in my small kitchen... and its much nicer now with all the things my mom brought with her, and with a comfortable chair to sit down and write in the computer (that she made me buy... :p). Its a good place to be myself, to receive visits, to eat, or just to sleep. Not the same as the dorm with people around you, but still good enough! (and bigger... :p) soon it will be already one year since I moved in here. Time definitely goes by so fast...

Here you have some pics from my trip to Kansai with my mom~My first real ride in Shinkansen (well actually my second, but the first one was just for one station so it doesnt count :p) Its way too expensive, but its just wonderful to be in Nagoya in a little longer than an hour. Below, my mom trying a Noh's mask in a the Noh Theatre in Nagoya.

Eiga-mura in Kyoto, a replica of an Edo period Japanese city, where they film most of the historical dramas, or commercials of Japan. A nice place to have fun... it was a shame it was raining that day.

Arashiyama. I had only been there in the fall my first year when I was studying in Osaka. Nice memories~ and new places to see.

Kinkakuji (Up - Golden Temple), Ginkakuji (Below - Silver Temple) and Kiyomizudera (Further down - It's actually nominated for the new 7 wonders of the world...). The Golden Temple is much more famous, but I loved the view from the top of the Silver Temple, and the Philosopher's path on the foot of the mountain, its a great place for a walk! I end up really liking Kyoto after this trip.

Nice veggie food...

More nice veggie food (Vegan 生春巻き & Vegan Hamburger Set)...

And what better than nice vegan cake~

...and vegan strawberry Ice-cream!!!

I really loved this place! "Hoping that someday all Creatures can live in Peace!" By Peace Cafe in Kyoto!!!
(and hoping someday I can have my own vegan restaurant!!! :p)

We entered the Old Imperial Palace in Kyoto (Japanese people need to book like one month before but foreigners can go the same day and book the free tour! :) and walked along Kyoto's river, and surfed with the turtles~ :p

We stayed two nights in Kyoto at the Japanese Environmental Exchange office~ A wonderful experience, it was a pity I didn't had chance to talk more with the people working there, but I'l certainly go to visit again~ Thanks Michi! and Jane for telling me about it~

Mix feelings

2007-03-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

Isn't it just strange when you have so many mix feelings that you dont really know how you feel?

My mom has been staying in Japan with me for almost three months now, and I have get to think and feel so many things during this time, not only about she being here, but mostly about myself, and me being here in Japan. I havent really had that much time to clearly think about this, but somehow her stay with me has make me realize how much I've got used to living in Japan, the changes I've had, in my life, my way of thinking, of looking at the world, of living, etc... It made me realize the fact that I'm living my own life here, and not anymore my family's life or the one they want me or I'm suppose to live. I dont mean this in a bad way, but it's just that I got to realize the independence and freedom that I have living by my own here in Japan. And the fact that now I'm responsible for myself, for what I do, the decisions I take, etc.

I guess I still have a lot to think about, and have March to clear my head up, but I feel good that somehow I've get to think about stuff that was in my head but didn't really ever stop to think about. Still I just feel strange right now, feeling sad that my mom is going back, knowing that I'll feel lonely after she goes back, but also looking forward to doing things more freely than when my mom was here, looking forward to meet with friends, to think about stuff, and seeing how I feel about living by my own after staying with my mom for so long. It will be definitely sad to come back from university to a lonely apt, not having anyone at night telling me to turn off the computer and go to sleep, and well, having my mom here with me, and I just got to think about that today seeing my mom packing. Until now somehow I was enjoying my time with her, travelling, showing her around, but honestly sometimes I was looking forward to being by myself as well.

I guess with family its probably like that, and guess not only with family but with other people as well, if you stay to long with them you'll want to be by your own, or with other persons, but in the end you will still miss being with them and having someone there waiting for you.

Well, all for now I guess... I'll enjoy my last days with my mom, and see how I feel being by my own again, definitely I will feel sad, but I just want to think more about it now that I've actualy noticed what living by your own means. Sometimes I guess I just think too much about thinks there is no need to think about but anyway... for now I'll go to sleep...

Sorry for the complicated post, but will like to have your comments... just wondering how other people feel...

I'll have to read it again later with a more clear, and awake head I guess. :p

Frenzal Rhomb

2007-02-06T02:23:00.000-08:00

Well, finally out of classes! (^-^)/
Today I handed out the last reports and now I have two months of freedom~
I'll be spending February with my mom, going to Sapporo's Snow Festival this thursday~friday, going to Taiwan during the Chinese New Year, and finally going to Kansai to show my mom around Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe... Before she goes back to Colombia at the beginning of March.

But then, back to the subject of the blog...
Last week a friend got an email from PETA to help out handing out leaflets at a Frenzal Rhomb (an Australian Punk Band whose members are all veggie!) concert here in Tokyo, so I end up going there Friday night. I could meet the band which was great (they are such great wonderful people, specially Lindsay (he looks really different to this pic now :p) and Tom who we talked more with). I have to say the place was so small, and it was so crowded and full of smoke that I didnt enjoyed it that much, but it was fun to talk with the band, go around handing leaflets, talking to people who knew the band and where willing to know more about Factory Farms and Animal-Right Issues, and even a Japanese band talking against Fur while at stage, and then talking to us to get some leaflets to hand out at their other shows. Frenzal Rhomb's show was quite good as well (though I guess I dont like screaming music :p), except for the naked guy in the audience... :s

The best thing was, that Lindsay end up arranging things so that we could go Saturday to the Independence D, where many bands where playing, at a bigger more open place (so not so crowded, and no smoke :). And well, Saturday we were not handing out leaflets around, but just next to the merchandise table, so we had more free time to go around, see the bands playing, and it was really great. Could only hear like three bands but kind of liked two of them... Good4Nothing, and LoveDrug. And the people at these concerts is definitely so much more receptive than people walking along the street! Definitely people need to be more open about the way they see the world, and not take everything just like it is~

And I should continue helping out PETA more... who know maybe someday they'll ask me to help them out at an Avril Lavigne (who is veg), Simple Plan (who already did a no-fur campaign with them), Pink, Moby, etc... concert! :p Yeah I know, not probable but anyway, anyhow just keep up the work/fun for the animals! and a more compassionate world! :)

"Meet Moby" - by HSUS

Religion

2007-01-24T04:12:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot lately... about a lot of things... kind of thinking about all the things I have thinked until now, and putting them in order. Just figuring out me, life and the world, which is probably the one thing my head uses most of the time doing...

Now, among all the things I have thinked about there is religion, and so I remembered a post by Moby, which goes like this...

i was talking with a friend today about how most of the worlds religions are all pretty similar as long as they're talking about how to comport yourself while you're alive.
they go their seperate ways, however, when it comes to life after death and divinity. simply(very simply)- christians believe that life after death is a choice between heaven and hell, and those who are saved go to heaven and those who are not go to hell.
buddhists believe that unless we become buddha's(enlightened beings)we are stuck in the wheel and doomed to live in samsarra.
muslims believe that martyrs are met in a date-palm filled heaven and waited on by doe eyed virgins.
and so on.
but as different as their after-life scenarios are they all kind of agree on how we should live while we're alive.
to generalize: they all state that we should be humble and decent and kind and treat our fellow people as we would like to be treated.
so why not start a new religion that states as its credo: 'while you're alive you should be humble and decent and kind and treat people as you'd like to be treated, ok? and after you die?
well, who knows? we sure don't. the universe is vast and nuanced and complicted beyond our imaginings so it seems like the height of absurdity to make specific claims about what might/might not happen after we die. also, lots of enlightened beings who might or might not have been divine have walked(or sat)around on earth. there might be one true god and one true path, or there might not. so how about we focus on the good things upon which we agree and leave the rest to later?'
i know that sounds blasphemous to some, but wouldn't that be a good place to start?
cos right now all of the religions kind of smugly think that they've discovered the one-true-path to salvation/enlightenment/etc. maybe, as the universe is complicated, they're all right?
maybe, but doubtful.
can you imagine a world without any post-life guarantees?
no more suicide bombers?
no more celibate priests?
seems like it might be worth considering, no?
maybe a religion that has a big question-mark on the last page of it's holy text, preceded by the question: 'what happens after we die?'
i'm going to have a long winded p.s in case anyone wants to read it.
-moby

long winded p.s-
see, here's what bugs me. humans have over time proven that they love systems. humans have also over time proven that they love to be on the winning team. 250,000 years ago this made sense. if you had a system to find food in times of hardship you increased your chances of survival. and if you were on the winning team you lived(often at the expense of the losers)to perpetuate your genetic line. but these two things: systems and, for lack of a better word, tribalism, don't really seem to make much sense when applied to religions.
most religions are based around some good ideas. but rather than have the entire credo of a religion be: 'be nice, be humble, treat others as you'd like to be treated, and we have no idea what happens after we die', every religion eventually builds up layers and layers of beaurocracy and minutiae and hierarchy.
so when a religion purports to have the winning system it makes me ask the simple questions:
1-don't all religions purport to have the winning system?
2-aren't humans innately pre-disposed towards system creation?
3-aren't humans tribal and innately pre-disposed to see their group as right and all other groups as wrong?
so i then want to ask the devout practitioners of different religions: doesn't your system say more about human nature/inclination than it does about the validity of your system?
no true believers ever want to answer that question, be they muslims, christians, buddhists, alcoholics anonymous members, punk rockers, etc.
people love systems because sytems are clear and orderly and exclusive.
but life is not clear and orderly, and trying to establish the primacy of one system over another is not just impossible, but also incredibly dangerous in that it leads to wars and discrimination and prejudice and suppression of thought/inquiry.

It is certainly interesting to get to know about different religions, and it would be a strange world if different groups of people didn't had different beliefs, but I mean it really makes you think when you see the world situation. And I mean it is difficult for me, being raised a Catholic in a mostly Catholic country and with a Catholic family to figure out myself and my view of the world, when I have being raised all my life believing in Jesus, Mary and all, because even if when I'm asked I'd usually say I have no religion, it is difficult to throw away the image of Jesus or Mary. But I guess it is just because Jesus, just as Buddha, etc, is the image of "be humble and decent and kind and treat our fellow people (and fellow living things I'd have to add) as we would like to be treated", and I guess you always need that image, or something that reminds you of it. But when religion (or not even religion but society) comes together with all those rules, I cannot stop thinking that being people so different one from another, how is it that we are all supposed to live life in the same way, and find happiness in the same way... I guess each person needs to go around their life exploring themselves and the world, free of being judged (just because they go out of the normal) as long as they are not doing (unneccesary) harm to other creatures.

But then humans like to judge other people... so I guess you just have to figure out that yourself, and search for your own happiness. But it would be a good start if we try not to judge other things just because they are not "normal" or accepted, that will probably make things better...

Minority - Green Day

2007-01-24T04:11:00.001-08:00

Coming Clean - Green Day

2007-01-20T23:20:00.001-08:00

Seventeen and strung out on confusion
Trapped inside a roll of disillusion
I found out what it takes to be a man
Well, Mom and Dad will never understand

Secrets collecting dust but never forget
Skeletons come to life in my closet

I found out what it takes to be a man
Well, Mom and Dad will never understand
What's happening to me

Seventeen and coming clean for the first time
I finally figured out myself for the first time
I found out what it takes to be a man
Mom and Dad will never understand
What's happening to me

Perfect - Simple Plan

2007-01-20T21:18:00.000-08:00

Amazon: Forest to Farms

2007-01-03T04:57:00.000-08:00

"In the name of Progress: How Soya is destroying the Amazon"

I had saw this video from Greenpeace last year, and I just remembered it a few weeks ago when I went to a bookstore and I was looking at the last National Geographic issue with this pic on its cover. Its quite amazing how long can it take for a recognized magazine take a issue that an NGO has already research so much about, and a issue of such importance for the people who live in the Amazon, for the whole environment it holds, for all the people who live around it, and has live for thousands of years in harmony with it, and in the end to all of the world, taking into account how close to the point of no return we are heading... you know, in the Global Warming issue.

I guess its the same with a lot of stuff, in the end all this recognized newspapers, magazines, and the whole media, is more concerned on the money they can receive from publicity (and the companies paying it) than in showing all of the facts. It's also something you can see with Factory Farm and Animal Right issues, the way they just show activists as extremists (though I have to accept sometimes they are) without going into the issues at all. But then what can you expect when even the government is being bought by the companies ("lobbying") in order to create laws which will make it illegal to go inside a factory farm and take pictures (even for newspapers...).

Something I also thought just now while watching "Constant Gardener" which by the way I have to recommend! I know its a fiction story but quoting John le Carre, the author of the book it is based on, "By comparison with the reality, my story [is] as tame as a holiday postcard."

I know it may sound a far away story. You know, Africa, that mysterious country we hear so much about, but which we we know pretty much nothing about, and then the Amazon, that even as a Colombian, I really dont know much about it, but after being there last year (2005) for just a week, and seeing the way things are, I could feel much closer to that, specially when you think that all this issues are connected, isn't that why we call it globalization after all?

Anyway, just if you have any interest, check this video, the last issue (January 2007) of National Geographic, and watch "The Constant Gardener"...

Felices Fiestas!

2006-12-23T19:27:00.000-08:00

Long time without posting... good reason is my mother has arrived! So I have really enjoyed this year's holydays!!! It has been so great to have my mom here, after one year and a half since I went back to Colombia last summer, and share so many things with her, talking, laughing, hugging, walking, etc... It is so different when you live by yourself... and I had actually forgotten how close was I with my mom, so it is really really great to have this almost three months she will stay here to be together. I have to plan a lot of things, and start studying for the tests and final works in January so that I can go around with her. We plan to go to Taiwan in February and to Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara) after that... by the time March arrives I think I will be so used to hung with my mom all the time that it will feel really lonely after she leaves... But for now I dont want to think about it, just enjoy everyday I have!

My mother brought lots of nice Colombian things for my room, and as gifts for my friends, but for now she just made my teddy-dog become hippie with all the bracelets and things :p and the one below is a really nice puppet of an Arhuaco indian.

Hallacas!!! from Venezuela! I was really worried about whether they would be able to make it all the way to Japan, or some of the police in America will end up eating it :p Below, Candle Night at my Campus the next night after my mom came.

Around Ueno Park

Christmas (Vegan) Chocolate Cake! cooked using the rice-cooker.

Long weekends = long post

2006-12-11T03:23:00.000-08:00

This semester I dont have classes on friday, so I have three days weekend every week... :D But I hadn't do so many things in just one weekend as this one. Thursday night I did a presentation about Colombia in the Universal Festival at my university, dancing included. :p I was really nervous of dancing alone in front of everyone but there was not so many people and I just followed the music... Dancing is definitely great!

After finishing the presentation we had some cultural exchange with the people who had come to see the festival, and I was asked by two or three cultural exchange group if I would be willing to talk about my country in an event organized by them... so, you cannot say no just like that, so just gave them my email, and hopefully they won't write me, or I'll have to get busy for the time they tell me to do it... jaja just kidding, but yeah, it is not so nice if you have to talk about your country all by yourself.

After that we waited for everyone to finish changing and all, and after a long wait and hungry, we went with Madoka, Andrew, Hui (You? Andrew wrote "you" but I call him Hui... so dont know :s), and an Indonesian (Dera), to an Indian restaurant next to the university. It was my second time there, my first time being the first or second day I was here in Chiba... How many time has passed since I came here... ... ... so many people has come, and go... not really getting to know all of them very well, but anyhow, missing them. I had this Curry rice, or something like that, really nice with nuts, uvas pasas, and vegetables in it, and had a really nice time chatting. It is definitely nice to eat with someone, enjoying your food, chatting, and laughing. I guess I dont usually do it here in Matsudo with my classmates, so its really nice when I get the chance to.

Anyway... this will be a long post I guess.
On Friday, I was meeting Jane, an Australian girl I met through "Hospitality Club" and who is travelling around Japan during this holydays. We had have some nice chats by email, and I was really looking forward to meet her and talk to her. We walked from Nippori, all through Yanak-reien (a really nice and quiet cemetery), and then to Ueno park (I just figured out most foreigners will visit Shibuya, Shinjuku, etc... so wanted to show her some quiets places in Tokyo), and then we went to Kinshicho to "It's Vegetable", one of my favorite restaurants here ('cause it has Taiwanese veggie food buffet lunch for ¥980). After that we went to Ginza, to see some Kabuki, because she had seen it on TV and kind of liked her, so we bought some tickets for just two scenes. It was much more interesting than I thought it would be, not so slow as they show it in the TV, and pretty much a normal theather play, but with Japanese "jokes", and dances. After that we just scroll around, not really knowing where to go. End up going to a Cafe, then entered this small Rice museum they had, with a nice display of pics in a room in the middle where we chat for a while, before going to have dinner at Bagel&Bagel (one of my favorite shops as well... cause, well they have Bagels! :p), and they had vegetarian sandwich! yeah! with chick-peas cream (humus), really nice, and Jane had brought some Vegemite (an Australian spread) that she wanted me to try, and even brought a small jar for me! thanks! she told me many people didnt like it, but its not that bad... its better than natto anyway, and I can eat natto already, so.

It was such a great day, we talked about so many things, from simple things, up to global warming, people, being veg, free hugs, people disconnection to each other and to earth, Japan, commerce, life experiences, it was just amazing how much I could talk with someone I just met. Probably so much more than I have talked with people I have know for many years. And just felt so comfortable talking to her, sharing thoughs, experiences, and even secrets... It made me feel so relaxed, and happy at the end of the day. I hope I can meet her again when she comes back to Tokyo, before going back to Australia.

... my fingers are getting tired... so I think I will just write about my weekend shortly...

On Saturday, after remembering the night before that I had "baito" (part-time work), I woke up, and under the rain ride to the school where I'm working as a tutor in a science experiment class for kids.
After finishing there at 12' I headed to Kinshicho to meet Madoka and Andrew, to have lunch at "It's Vegetable" (again! :p), who wanted to try it after hearing about it on Thursday night. We had a really nice lunch, chatting with the owners (a really nice couple who already know me :p) and a Chinese lady sitting beside us. After Lunch we went walking around a shopping center, playing with the furniture, kids clothes, accesories, toys, etc... at different stores. :D that's what I love about shopping centers when having good company, that you can just go around "window shopping", having fun, laughing, chatting, with no need to spend your money, or hearing people screaming "iraccccchaiimasseeeeee!!!!!" everytime you enter somewhere. ;)
Something I also realized last week as well when I went to Lalaport in Toyosu with Johana and Javier, after the Colombian Christmas party, and we where trying to explain Javier what we ment when we said there is not many shopping centers here in Japan.

On Sunday! yeah! free hugs again :p (more on that later... I just have to say it was a really incredible, amazing, and happy day)
so... here it goes: We met around 12 with Arina (a girl who we had hug the first day we went out giving free-hugs, and who decided to try it with some friends), her friends, and two other guys who had joined. And then we met with Tomoko and Tatsuya (my free-hugger fellow friends :p they are so nice, I am really happy I met them!), and we went around Yoyogi park, first hugging a young woman with her child who told us she had seen the video, then we hug a group of Japanese people who were eating and drinking in the grass, and who were ashame to hug us at the beginning but after we hug them they were so happy and hugging each other! :p
We went after that to a flea market that was being held in the park, so there was lots of people, and though most just looked at us with strange eyes, there was quite a few people who came closer for a hug! and there was this man who stayed for sometime taking pics, and talking to us.

Then we went to Harajuku, which is probably the perfect spot for free-hugging (at least in the quantity level), because most foreigners will come here to take pics of the crazy dressing people (who I've realized are so nice people as well!). So there we hugged with a lot of foreigners, japanese young people who doubt before hugging us, this human-statue guy also came for a hug in his break :p, and we end up being around 20 persons giving out free-hugs. There was even a group of four japanese dressed up who had "free hugs" written in their hands (see the pic) who joined us, they were so funny!
There was also this lady who saw us, and was so touched that she started crying while she was hugging us... it was really touching, she just kept saying "ganbatte! ganbatte!". Now, that i think about it, I should have tried to talk to her, actually I asked her if she wanted to talk, but she just said thank you, and "ganbatte"... It is so nice to know that there is people that really feel moved by this kind of free acts of love, peace and connection.

An Inconvenient TRUTH Trailer (you can see the whole movie in Youtube)

Love...

2006-12-11T00:05:00.000-08:00

Love Sees No Color by Nassiri

BPE - Heidelberg

2006-12-06T04:18:00.000-08:00

Aug 27...
After an eventful morning, we got to Heidelberg where we were going to meet my brother and cousin... it's really incredible to meet your family out there somewhere you dont even know. :p
Heidelberg is a really nice town, with a big castle next to a river, and a really nice view!
I think I'm becoming too lazy to write a lot about the trip now... :)

Shelter (Sarah McLachlan)

2006-11-29T04:59:00.000-08:00

Crowded into the smallest spaces
While outside all of nature cries
It’s known to be cruel and unfair but there is no place to hide
I’ve seen a part of people that I ever really wanna share
Oh I’ve seen a part of people that I never knew was there

Shelter
(Give them shelter from the coming storm)
Give them shelter
(Give them shelter from the coming storm)

I can’t sleep I’m haunted by their faces
The sadness in their eyes
It hurts so much to see them helpless
It makes me want to cry
But still there is so much left unanswered
For so many innocent lives
But close the door and I’ll let in nobody
And only the strong will survive

Shelter
(Give them shelter from the coming sstorm)
Give them shelter
(Give them shelter from the coming storm)

I’ve seen the anger and I’ve seen all the dreams
Watched their existence torn apart at the seams
Though I may seem helpless I will do all that I can do
I’ve seen a part of people that I ever really wanna share
Oh I’ve seen a part of people that I never knew was there

Shelter
(Give them shelter from the coming storm)
Give them shelter
(Give them shelter from the coming storm)

Embrace the World~

2006-11-29T03:58:00.000-08:00

Tiger

2006-11-25T20:45:00.000-08:00

I was looking around about the Chinese New Year, because I still dont know if I should go to Taiwan during that season, or after that, but anyway, I ended up looking about my Chinese zodiac and I found this...
I would like to have your comments about it...
maybe I should become a travel writer??? :p or a explorer? or a restaurant manager? no, animal/social activist is ok for me... :)
you see, I guess thats what they mean by "reluctance to make up their minds"~
jaja

Years of the Tiger
1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022

Tiger personality traits
One of the most dynamic signs in the Chinese zodiac, Tigers are by turns fascinating, commanding, and exasperating.

They are patient but short-tempered, calm but rebellious, petty but noble, fearsome but affectionate, free spirits but fiercely territorial.

With their many & various personality traits, Tigers are also - not surprisingly - noted for a marked reluctance to make up their minds.

What makes them magnetic and commanding figures is the absolute loyalty and affection they show for those they love. With a natural air of authority, Tigers easily earn the respect and admiration of those who love them in return.

While domesticated Tigers are quite happy among familiar surroundings, they are just as apt to fly off on an adventure at a moment's notice. Unpredictable and emotional, they can become quite fearless when standing up for themselves or others, and often hold definitive views on how to right the wrongs of society.

At work, Tigers show natural leadership ability, but prefer to work alone. They usually excel as business managers, social activists, explorers, or travel writers.

BPE - Bremen

2006-11-24T05:46:00.000-08:00

Aug 25~26...
The musicians of Bremen! It is one of those images that had been in my mind since I was a child and I saw the pictures of the time when my family lived in Germany for two years before I was born... really!

So, after leaving Amsterdam... by train (we actually tried hitching for around an hour, but we were in the center of the city, and it started to rain, so not good conditions for getting a lift...), we got to Bremen, where we stayed at the Galleti's place where my sister had stayed for a month to study German...
We got there around 10 pm but no one was there... the mother and the kids were travelling, and the father was still working... :s we waited for some time, went to eat at a Turkish restaurant a falafel roll :p , and went back and still no-one there... so, we decided to stay in the back of the house as it was cold, and then my sister remembered about some key they keeped in somewhere, and when we looked for it, it was there... we were in another person's house, no-one inside, but we had the keys, and it was cold and late... so, even when my sister didnt really want to, we entered the house, and went to sleep at the room my sister had been sleeping at... and wake up next morning to say hi to Angelo! :p ok, he knew we were coming so he wasnt so shock, but we had forgotten to close the back door, so he kind of suspected something had happened during the night... :s :p

Next day, we went around Bremen, the Schnoor (a really nice place with small streets), visited the musicians, asked for a wish, and then went around the city (town?) by bike... They had this island in the middle of the city where they divided the land into small "gardens" were people grow vegetables, fruits, or simply spend their free time... that was quite peculiar...

this is a really nice fountain... bottom~dogs, middle~horses, top~birds

Earthlings

2006-11-23T07:45:00.002-08:00

Please watch the first 10 minutes of this movie (until the 1st Part - Pets)... and when you have time please watch all of it (90 minutes)...

So, yesterday I watched part of this movie, I hadn't see videos about Factory farms, or fur, since quite a long time ago (maybe 6 months), and I was thinking that I didnt really want to see it anymore, but yesterday I just felt that I needed to...

I guess after going travelling, having fun, and all, I could see why so many people just tend to ignore cruelty towards animals... I mean you dont see anything like that when you go out... you dont need to go to a slaughterhouse when you buy meat, and you dont need to go pass factory farms on your way to school, or watch how animals are raised and kill for fur before you buy a fur jacket or anything... and even when you can imagine that it must be terrible and cruel, you just dont want to know... why bother?

I guess I needed to understand this, because after watching this things for the first time I was so shocked, and felt so sad and mad with the whole system that sometimes I forgot the most important thing... people dont know this, and havent seen it. They dont continue to eat meat because they dont care and they want to torture animals, we simply were raised doing this, and thinking of it as normal, and somehow we think it cant be so bad, and it is necessary so there is nothing we can do about it. and more than anything, we think it is troublesome and difficult to do something to stop this cruelty, either eating less animal products, or becominng veg.

Watching this movie again made me realize many things, and the importance of people watching by themselves the way animals are treated... and question their own prejudices.

BPE - Holland

2006-11-16T06:32:00.000-08:00

Aug 24...
After going around Amsterdam, we wanted to see Holland's countryside, typical landscapes, and of course, its windmills!!!
the best way to do that in Holland is, of course, by bike! it is amazing the road network system they have for bikes all around the country! they even have signs for the bikes telling you which direction to take and how far is it till next town... they have numbers for each road and all... even without a map, we could make it all the way to Alkmaar and back home!
So we rented our bikes in the camping site, and we headed north... the landscapes were amazing, the birds, the water canals around the fields, the cows and sheep eating grass happily, the power windmills in the background... saying hi to other fellow bike travelers, and the people who lived in the towns we passed through...

Free Hugging!

2006-11-12T22:20:00.000-08:00

Wow! I think Hugs are addictive... :p I have been watching at videos of Free Hugs Campaign all around the world (from Argentina to Japan, from China to Turkey, but there is no Colombia...), and feel like going out-there and hug someone!!! :p

So, yesterday I did my first Free Hugging in Shinjuku! It was so great, see the people's smile when they got a hug, people running after us, joining us to give free hugs... even in Japan, there was more people than I thought getting hugs from us, and more than half of them were not foreigners but Japanese!

We started doing it in Shinjuku Park with two friends, and then we went out to the streets of Shinjuku (Tokyo), were there was lots of people but most of them just ignored us, or looked us like "what is that???", or just took pictures of us... I mean, in Japan people almost never hug eachother (maybe only with their boy/girlfriends and not in public places...), the people is so closed-up to themselves, and pretty much everyone is considered a stranger, so yeah, its difficult to do it here, but there is always people that need a hug, and are really happy to get one!

but there is something I thought while doing it... if you really want to change such a closed society as the Japanese one, make people notice that all those other strangers are people just like them, and make someone happy, what better way than by giving free hugs to strangers?

Something really funny about doing it in Japan is the fact that there is no good translation for "FREE HUGS"... first of all there is no word for "HUGS", well, there is "抱擁" which is to formal, and there is "抱きしめる" which is used mostly by couples... so the only way to say it is "ハグ" or in english... so we have to be very creative to make people understand... the ones we used were...
"FREE HUGS"
"気ままにハグ"
"今日はハグの日" (this means "today it is Hug's day" and then to those who asked us wether it was really the Hug's day, we answered "everyday is Hug's day" :p)
and an explanation of what "FREE HUGS" means...

Once again, Thanks Juan Mann for inspiring so many people to go out there, make someone happy, and change the world one hug at a time! :p

pd: the video doesnt have so many "hugs moments" because well, I was giving hugs so I couldn't take video... but I will put more pics when my friend sends them to me.

and dont forget... Hug a stranger!

Fast Food Nation

2006-11-09T22:48:00.000-08:00

Wow! I am really looking forward to see this movie after watching some of the behind the scenes... and I will actually try to read the book as well (if I find it in English in some library...), actually I would like to read about the situation in Japan as well, but reading in Japanese is not something I really like, so...
I just know that here in Japan the term for slaughterhouse (屠殺場) is actually considered discriminatory (I still cant really understand why, but it has to do something with the people who works there I think), and so they cannot use it in TV or broadcasts... kind of weird isn't it?

This movie seems to be not actually a documentary (like Super size me which I also liked a lot), but more of a narrative, but still it is really good that they put this up in the cinemas for people to think more about where their food is coming from, and all what it involves... in this movie they focus a lot on other aspects other than animal cruelty, like workers rights, marketing, environment, etc... have to see it before saying anything else about it...
Oh, and Avril Lavigne, and Catalina Sandino (a Colombian actress) act in this film as well... :)

Another movie I really want to see is An Inconvenient Truth, guess I'll rent it when it comes out in dvd...

BPE - Amsterdam

2006-11-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

Aug 23...
After packing our tent, we had to wait for a long time before someone gave us a lift... He was a really nice Holland guy, heading to work, but he had some time left, so he actually tried to take us to see some windmills, but he got lost so he end up taking us to a river to look around... we had a really nice chat with him, and then he dropped us close to Rotterdam, where a man who worked in Amsterdam airport picked us up, and took us to the airport from where we could take the train to the center of the city. And from there we went to the camping site by tram, pitched our tent and went back to visit the city...

Amsterdam was a place I really wanted to know, I mean it is the capital of Holland, famous for its landscapes, windmills, flowers, etc... but more than that it is so "open-minded" to say it someway... it's the only country were marihuana is legal, and it is famous for its red light district. Neither of these two things are something I actually agree with, I havent really think about it anyway, but somehow I wanted to actually see it... just like the guy who gave us a lift told us, it is something you have to see to think by yourself about these things.

One of the things I really wondered after seeing all the "Coffee shops" around Amsterdam, was about where did the marijuana they sell comes from... I mean coming from a country that is "famous" for producing cocaine and other drugs, I actually had no idea of the difference between marijuana, cannabis, coca, cocaine, amapola, etc... and with my sister we kind of wondered wether the pot that is "legally" consumed in Amsterdam (mostly by tourists btw) is "illegally" imported from other countries... I am still wondering about that...

And then we kind of try to think of wether legalizing drugs in Colombia will be good or bad for the country... and wether it is actually possible (having the USA on top of us...) but didnt got a conclusion about that, its just too complicated... but for now, I still think that all the people who use drugs and think of Colombia as the drug paradise should first stop to think of the real consequences drug traffic has in Colombia's society, in the people who live in the countryside, that are either forced to join the guerrilla or paramilitaries, forced to leave their home and run-away to the cities, or otherwise killed... of all the poor people that end up working as "mulas" trying to take drugs into America and Europe, and well, all the problems that Colombia is facing because there is people willing to pay for the drugs, and support a business that gives money to the guerrilla and the paramilitaries to continue doing what they do, and all the war we have in Colombia.

Famours for its flowers... and its leaves??? well, as long as they grow it themselves I guess I have no problem with that...

After walking around the city, we were thinking of going back to the campsite... we kind of wanted to see the "Red Light District", but we didnt know where it was, and we didnt want to see it that much... but then on our way back, we first saw some bars, with "dancing-girls" signs, and then some roads ahead we started seeing the Neon-lighted windows... Seeing women behind a glass trying to "sell" themselves was completely weird... and I actually wondered wether people would actually go there to get their "services" (or as Sue calls it, "window shopping" :p), but then as my sis told me, I guess they dont really care about people looking at them. So, the only thing I have to say is it is probably much better this way thant the usual dark, dangerous, illegal way of doing it in other countries, as long as they are doing it willingly, but still not something I can really understand, or think as normal... (I was just reading, and it seems that even in Amsterdam, it is not really controlled, and there is a lot of human trafficking as well... :s)

sorry, I've got no pics of the neon girls... I was kind of scared of wether I could actually take pics or no...

BPE - Belgium

2006-11-08T05:11:00.000-08:00

Aug 21-22...
After a lot of rain during our stay in Paris, we had to wake up really early (still dark), clean the tent, pack our things, and head to the terminal to take the bus to Brussels. Where the weather was still not helping us... we had a really nice lunch after buying a just baked Moroccan bread with corn in it (yummy!), and (canned) stuffed tomatoes (from UAE).
We continued our way to the center of the city and the plaza, but we were completely wet by the time we reach the plaza, We were planning of going on our way that day, but we decided to stay at a hostel, and let our clothes and things dry.

The next day we took the train toward the north of Brussels to see the Atom building, take capoeristic pictures, and then take our way (hitching) towards Netherlands...
We got a ride from a man from Yugoslavia who couldnt speak English... :s he tooks us to Antwerp, but then he dropped us in the middle of the highway... where the cars and trucks went really fast and would never stop... :s so we had to walk up to the road, and then start walking through parks for quite a long time, until we got to a road that lead to Holland, and after some time waiting a woman picked us up, and dropped us at Breda, in the south of Holland (it so amazing that you can go from one country to another and not even notice the border!!!) where we decided to pitch our tent in a small park... and be part of the neighborhood for one night. ;)

BPE - Paris III

2006-11-05T02:55:00.000-08:00

Aug 20...
After washing and drying, we had a late start on our third day in Paris... We started close to the Mouling Rouge, which well... wasnt that great as I thought it would be... it looked fake... well it is fake, but I mean, when you go up the hill you actually get to see two of the old windmills, and those are really nice, so they should try to make the Moulin Rouge nicer... but yeah, I guess the show is the most important (if you have the money to pay for it...)... ok, now that I think about it, I havent see the movie, so I guess thats the problem. :p

Anyway... we continued our way up the hill of Montmartre, where you can find nice streets, cafes, shops, and lots of people... We had lunch in a small park next to the Sacre Coeur, with a great view of the city, the Eiffel Tower in the background, and pigeons trying to take our food... :p among who there was a really selfish pigeon who was fighting with all the birds that try to eat from his big piece of bread... but at the end, after watching him fighting so much we decided to take his pieces of bread, divide in really small pieces, and give it to all the birds... while the selfish pigeon was still trying to look for his big piece of bread...

After that we visited the church, my sister took Ameliestic picture, and then we tried to look out for Amelie's cafe but we couldnt so we decide to walk around under Paris showers (yeah, it wasnt rain... it just went on and off all the time... :s)

A strange example of "public art"??? The red line is actually taped in the buildings, signs, etc... so, it only looks like a line from where we were standing...

Miniature Earth

2006-11-01T03:28:00.000-08:00

If the world's population was reduced to 100, it would look something like this...

If one person of each country came together to talk about different topics every week, it would look something like this...

One-at-all Project

This is a project I have just joined, it looks really interesting! I have yet to do my first post, but I'm looking forward to talk about my country , and get to know more about other countries! (I really wonder whether I can represent all Colombia (and Colombians)... I am pretty sure I cannot, but I will do my best to be as neutral as I can... :p)
If your country is still not represented why not join? and even if it is already represented feel free to participate!

Friends, Veggie Food, Earth Garden, Free Hugs = :D:D:D

2006-10-29T05:51:00.000-08:00

After an amusing hiking around Tokyo on Saturday, Sunday couldn't stay behind!
Definitely not when I had friend's company, veggie food, many things to see, free hugs to receive and more friends to meet! and many other great things!

I met with Erika (a new foreign student from USA (with Japanese parents) who is veggie - it seems weird to write about someone knowing that the person will read it... ハローエリカ！:p) at kinshicho, for lunch at "It's vegetable", a really nice and delicious Taiwanese vegan restaurant I really enjoy recommending to everyone I know :). After lunch we decided to go to Earth Garden, and so we headed to Harajuku station.
As every Sunday, the first thing you see in Harajuku (other than lots of people) is (lots of) funny and crazy dressing people... but this time there was more people than usual, and I was feeling more like a curious tourist than someone living in Japan, so it was really fun to look at all the crazy people, taking them pics, and actually taking pics together. Its funny how shy they can be when you actually try to talk to them... :p

Before heading to Yoyogi Park (where the Earth Garden was being held) we entered Meiji Shrine, a place I really like in Tokyo because of all the trees, the quietness, the sound of birds, and the feeling of traditional Japanese culture... which this time included a wedding ceremony, another ceremony inside the shrine, many flowers and gifts from different places around Japan, and kids wearing Kimono.

on our way to Yoyogi Park we saw the famous Elvis' dancers, who meet every weekend to dance...

we also saw some of the street musicians, and a crazy super star... :s?

When we got to Earth Garden (an event like Earth Day to promote ecological, organic, compassionate lifestyle), I had a really nice surprise!!! Just when I saw the "Free Hugs" sign, I didnt need to think it even once, before going to hug them!!! I was so happy!
I had actually show the video to many friends, and I had ask a Japanese friend how could you say "free hugs" in Japanese (not finding a good translation), and had actually spoken with a friend of how much we wanted to try doing it in Japan (not really sure about how Japanese people would react...), so seeing Japanese doing it was the best!!! and now I will definitely join them some day to hug people and brighten up someone's day! Thanks Juan Mann for starting this! and all you people for being out there!

Events like Earth Day, Earth Garden, and all this are really really great, it is so nice to feel surrounded by people who share your way of thinking, meetings friends, seeing how little by little more and more people decide to live a compassionate and ecological life, is really great! there is still many things to learn, and many things to do...
After going around the festival, talking to some of the people, buying some veggie curry, and eggless mayonnaise, enjoying the atmosphere, it was time to go to meet with my friends from Osaka at Shinjuku. But before taking the train... one last pic with the Pokemon (Pikachu) girls! :p
Thanks Erika for a great day! you may probably think I'm crazy hugging strange people and all... jaja :D

some random pictures at Shinjuku station, there is too too many people!!!

At Shinjuku I met Bihong, Stephanie and Kim, for a nice chat under the sky outside Starbucks... it is always so nice to meet friends, who even when we cannot meet often, after having spent one year together are pretty much my family here in Japan! and then after Fanny went, Sue joined us, and we had dinner before Bihong and Sue went back to Osaka... hope to see you guys soon! (at my place... jaja :p) and dont forget about Karaoke... Kim and Fanny!

so that you know who is who... up: Stephanie (Fanny), Bi Hong, and me
below: Sue, Bi Hong and me (in the mirror :p), Kim

Tokyo Hiking

2006-10-29T05:03:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we had a class excursion around Tokyo. After being out of Japan for two months, I guess now I can see Japan with different eyes... not the usual, "too many people, too many buildings" kind of way, but the "so many different and new things, so strange, so curious" kind of way!
And, well I think I really like this new way of looking at Tokyo! but, as it seems to be that I write too much, this time I will let the pictures talk... (even when I feel like writing a lot... but lets leave that for the blog about Sunday :p)
Now that I think about it, I think the happy face (which was the first picture of the weekend when I was going to the meeting point for the excursion) may have helped with the different way of looking at things...

BPE - Paris II

2006-10-28T06:22:00.000-07:00

Aug 19...

Our second day in Paris was about visiting the famous places... walking (once again a lot) and taking the funny pictures! enjoy...Notredame... its completely amazing... how could they build something so great, without using all the technology we have now a days (with which we dont usually do such great things)? All the arcs, stones, bricks in the ceiling, the walls, the windows... guess there is really no way to describe it. It must have been so dark at that time... with no electricity and only the light coming in from the stained glasses...

After going to Notredame and walking around the river, with the sand, and the volleyballs field trying to make it look like a summer beach, we went to the Latin Quarter, where we had a really nice lunch at Maoz... and then with "barriga llena, corazon contento" we continued our way through the Luxembourg Gardens, the observatory, many streets, and then heading towards the Eiffel tower.

Peace 平和 Paz

And here they are... the funny pictures! First: capoeristic picture! (sorry I didnt find a famous monument in Ireland... :s) Below... ok, this took us so much time!!! and so much energy!!! we had to try almost 10 times before the two of us were actually in the air! but it was worth it! and we gave some good reason to laugh to a couple who were sitting and looking at us with a big smile in their faces... :p

And then after going across the Champ de Mars, to the Palais de Challot, we found another demonstration against Israel invasion of Lebanon. This time most of them were Lebanese, and they were dancing and having a good time I think. The one thing that I found really strange was... the Venezuelan flag in the wall! and a woman carrying a picture of Chavez! really... now I wonder if that flag had 7 or 8 stars... oh yeah... he actually changed the flag! probably including Cuba... (anyway thats a different topic...) and elections are coming... (not that i expect things will actually change, but there is always hope)
oh, and the other strange thing was... the yellow flags... there is actually a gun in the flag... so, like my sister said... how can they be hoping for peace, with a gun in their flag? I usually tend to blame Bush about all the wars, but yeah, things like this make you actually wonder...

BPE - Paris I

2006-10-25T04:28:00.000-07:00

Aug 18...
After sleeping during our flight from Dublin to Paris, we were ready for Paris! except for the fact that we couldnt speak a word in French... :p
We took the bus from the airport to Porte Malliot from we were supposed to take another bus to go to the camping site... oh yeah, even in Paris we camped! they say Paris is a city of parks so why not stay in one of its parks??? :D after we got down the bus we tried to ask the driver where to take the other bus, but he couldnt understand English... :s luckily there was a Venezuelan girl who translated for us, but still the bus driver didnt really now where we were going... I guess most people dont really think there is a camping site in the middle of Paris... but hey there is! After looking at the map at the bus station we kind of knew where we were, and so we finally got to the Camping du Bois de Boulogne and after waiting in line for quite a long time, we pitched our tent and we were ready for going out to make the most of the rest of the day...

After buying our first authentic Baguette at the minimarket of the camping site, we ate lunch in the park, and we started our long walk all across the park, toward the Arc de Triomphe and then all along the Champs-Élysées and all the way to the Louvre... long long way.... :p

On our way across the park we saw a wonderful, educating, and touching photo exposition called "Vivants" created to educate people about Biodiversity, its fragility, and the impact humans have on the planet and on themselves... it was organized by WWF and goodplanet.org (if you go to this page and then to "vivants" you can see all of the pictures and the messages that were written behind the pics (in French... :s)).

I really found it a wonderful way to make people think about the problems humanity and the planet are facing, while at the same time seeing how wonderful and amazing the planet we were given as home is...
(the pics below of the expo were not taken by me... I took them from the internet)

Here you have some of the messages written behind the pictures... (and a translation by me :s did you read the first sentence up there about my french?? :p but hey it is very close to spanish so...)

*Dans le monde, l'agriculture biologique ne concerne que 2 % de la surface agricole totale
->The amount of land used for organic agriculture around the world is only 2% of the total agricultural land. (this means 98% of the agricultural land is not-organically cultivated = they put lots of chemicals, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides... etc... that then go to the rivers, and to the soil)

*Aujourd'hui, les habitants des pays développés (20 % de la population mondiale) détiennent 80 % de la richesse de la planète.
->Today, the habitants of developed countries (20% of the world population) have 80% of the wealth ot the planet. (another one said that in the same proportion 20% of the world population consumes 80% of the energy produced)

*En France, 80 % des déchets sont recyclables. Seuls 12 % sont recyclés.
->In France (and I guess in other countries is probably the same or worst) 80% of the wastes are recyclable. Only 12% are actually recycled.

*En 2005, les dépenses militaires dans le monde se sont élevées à plus de 1000 milliards de $, alors que l'aide au développement des pays pauvres n'a représenté que 60 milliards de $.
->In 2005, the military expenses around the world were more than 1000 million dolars, the money used for helping poor developing countries was less than 60 million dolars.

*Les victimes des guerres actuelles sont à 90 % des civils.
->The victims of (today's) wars are 90% civilians.

*1 être humain sur 2 a moins de 25 ans. Plus de 90 % des enfants et adolescents du globe vivent dans un pays en développement.
->Half of the human population is 25 years or younger. More than 90% of infants and adolescents live in developing countries.

*Avec les techniques actuelles de production agricole, la Terre pourrait nourrir 12 milliards d'habitants. Or, 800 millions de personnes souffrent de la faim dans le monde, alors que nous ne sommes que 6 milliards.
->With the agricultural technology we have today, the Earth could nourish 12 million habitants. Today, 800 million persons suffer from starvation around the world, even when we are not more than 6 millions.

*Il faut plus de 1000 litres d'eau pour fabriquer 1 kg d'aluminium, 8000 litres d'eau pour une paire de chaussures et environ 15 000 litres d'eau pour 1 kg de viande de b'uf.
->(I used a free-translator for this one...) It is necessary more than 1000 liters of water to make 1 kg of aluminum, 8000 liters of water for a pair of shoes and about 15 000 liters of water for 1 kg of beef meat.

Even when all of these are global problems, and probably there is not much we can do about them, we can start by realizing and thinking the way our life affects the earth, the environment we live in, and so many people around the world. And even just as one person, our voice and our actions do matter...

And now back to Paris...

Arc de Triomphe

Champ Elysses

Puzzle Art

2006-10-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

こんにちは！ This art video is amazing!!! RinpaEshidan (輪派絵師団) is a Japanese art crew I just found at youtube... check the one below as well...

BPE - Ireland/Dublin

2006-10-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

Aug 16-17...
From Galway, we took our way toward the east (Dublin)... Even at 8~9 am, when most of the people are driving to their jobs, John who was going to a job meeting on another town gave us a lift. A trucker gave as a short lift to another small town, from there we started to walk towards Clomacnoise (the ruins of an old christian settlement)... It was a really small road and not very transited road, so we end up walking hour and a half with our backpacks, until a lady took pity of us and gave as a lift for the one mile left...

We had lunch (our usual bread and canned beans) there, and we went around the place, with all the crosses, churches, and a really nice view of the countryside around. We didnt want to walk back again, so we asked two women who were leaving if they could give as a ride... They were two really nice and funny sisters, who made jokes of each other, and of the times they were young and went backpacking, hitching, and travelling around just like we were doing... :D They left us in the same town John had. There were some road works in the way, so there was only one way traffic at a time, which was really good for us, as many cars passed slowly and could see us... so in less than 10 minutes we were heading towards Dublin with two Nigerian guys. We were not planning to go to Dublin that day, because then we wouldnt be able to camp, so we stay in a town before, and pitched our tent in a big field after checking there were no cows (and bulls) in it... :p

Next day we went to Dublin, walked around the small city center, Trinity College, some parks, the Irish history museum, churches, etc... the usual things you see in cities... (yeah, we did definitely liked countryside much more than cities!!!) and at night we headed to the airport were we spent the night before taking the flight to Paris early in the morning.

BPE - West of Ireland

2006-10-18T04:16:00.000-07:00

Aug 13~15...
Where to start...? well as I said in the first post about Ireland, it was great! The people was so kind and so nice, the landscapes were beautiful, and the weather was there to help us...

We went from Northern Ireland to Donegal, Enya's hometown (but I didnt know that at that time... :s), after getting a lift from a woman, a cooker, and a very kind old couple. In Donegal we pitched in the garden of a hostel, so we were able to cook some couscous we had left, play with the hostel's dog, and had a nice chat with other travelers (Europeans who were surprised to meet people from as far as Colombia (and Japan?) backpacking around Europe :p well in Ireland everyone was surprise and told us we were the first Colombians they met... :D) - (Hi Jasmin!)

Next day we went south to Galway, we had to wait a long time that morning, but in the end it became an unforgettable day, after we were picked up by Mary, who became our angel for the next two days... she was with her son, Bren, and they were going back to their house south of Galway, two hours drive from Sligo (where she picked us up). We talked a lot on our way there, and when we told her we were planning to camp in Galway, she told us we could pitch our tent on her garden, and eat dinner together at her house... :D :D :D
When we arrived at her place she told there was no need for making our tent because they had beds left so we end up sleeping there, after spending a lovely evening eating and talking with them.

Donegal's castle

When we went for a walk at night with Mary we saw many fires in the background and she told us it probably meant that the local team had won the futbol? match, so they were welcoming them with bonfires! even when many people says Ireland has lost a lot of its mystic, what else could we ask for??? and on top of that in the bay you can see in the pic there were seals (that we only recognized as dark things moving in the sea)

Mary!!! our angel! and Sandy, her funny dog...

The next day we were planning to head further south (either to the cliffs of Moher, or to the Aran islands) but the weather had other plans for us... we decided to stay another night at Mary's place, and went for a walk under the rain (without our backpacks) around the Burren... we were walking along the road, when a car slowed down and asked us if we wanted a lift... we were not even raising our fingers, but he just stopped to ask! :) we wanted to walk so we told him we were just walking... but after 15 minutes or so another man stopped and told us to jump in... and well this time we didnt say no. :p He was really nice and went out of the road looking for the start of the walking trail Mary had told us about. Thanks Belly! (that wasnt his name... we forgot it by the time we were writing about it, but he was from Belfast so we decided to call him Belly... :p)

Under the rain...

The sky clearing for us...

Some friends along the way... (and of course my sister taking many many pictures of a small but beautiful snail)

After some time walking along the road, the sky cleared up and we had a great view of the coast and the countryside... we had our lunch up there, and by the time we went back to the road it was still 3 o'clock...

what to do next?... it is still early... and the weather is really nice... we really want to go to Moher's cliffs, right?... how far do you think it is?... one~two hours?... maybe we are lucky?... lets just see how far can we go?... really?... yeah, lets just try until 5 and then we see what to do... humm, ok!...

so we decided to try our luck, and head to the cliffs of Moher... we got a lift to the next town, and what would be our surprise when the car that stopped was... Belly!!! He had just have lunch, and he was going south (with no destination), so he decided to go a little bit out of his way (well, actually he had no destination, so he didnt had something to call "his way" :p anyway), and bring us all the way to the Cliffs! Thank you so much Belly!!!

where to go now???!!!

The Cliffs were amazing... they are so high, and there is no protection whatsoever between the trail and the cliffs. The tallest one is 200 meters tall... 200 meters straight down from the top of the cliff to the ocean... its so spectacular to be up there feeling so small (and so scared), with a great view of the cliffs, the ocean, the Aran islands, and all the birds that live in the walls of the cliffs.

photographer: dont you want to get closer to the border?
answer: No thanks!!!

After walking along the trail, admiring the view, and trying to get as far as we could from the border, it was time to go back... first a farmer gave us a lift, then a pair of young gypsies (something we definitely didnt expect! they were just married, and she was asking us so much about our country, about other places we had been to, our lives, my sister's boyfriend, etc... really funny... and they had no idea where they were going to, it was strange, and sometimes we couldnt understand their english at all! :p it was such a bizarre and incredible experience...). After that a Brazilian who had just arrived to Ireland a week ago picked us up, and after he dropped us, another Brazilian brought us to the road where Mary lived. (Mary had told us there was a town full of Brazilians close by, but we didnt really expect to meet some of them in the road...) When we were going down the road to Mary's place she was coming our way with her car, as it was already getting dark so she was worried and was going to look for us!!!

It was in short such a great, incredible, amazing, bizarre and definitely unique day! even scary to think about, with ALL what happened in just one day! I guess it is days like these the ones that make you realize how your life depends so much on different factors, other people, and that God, nature, the universe, destiny, or whatever you want to call it, somehow must be there looking after you. Looking after you and giving you so much, I guess those are the miracles that we talk so much about but always overlook... the miracles of nature, of the world we live in, of the people who are willing to help, of love and kindness... the miracles we ourselves should protect and can do for other people (and other creatures)...

BPE - Northern Ireland

2006-10-16T04:24:00.000-07:00

Aug 12...Ireland... It just sounds so mystical... Even more so than Scotland... And even when it has had so much "development" in the last few years it still keeps its mystical atmosphere, its secrets, and the kindness of its people...

We arrived to Belfast by ferry and the next day we went around for a walk around the small city center... It was really quiet and not really knowing what we should see, we just headed to the riverfront, and had fun with the sculptures, fountains, and buildings. We then headed to the market, and after buying organic couscous, beans, and some vegetables (in UK and in all Europe you can find organic food pretty much everywhere, and it costs almost the same as non-organic food... :D), we went back to the hostel to prepare our lunch, before heading out to the north of Ireland...

Even when we thought it wouldn't be easy, we tried our luck inside the city, and we didn't need to wait long before a guy stopped and gave us a lift for 40 minutes to a roundabout where the road to the north started. There we didn't wait more than 10 minutes before Ian picked us up, and took us all the way to the entrance of Giant's Causeway, our destination. It was his first time picking someone up, and when he called his brother and his wife (who were waiting for him) he was really happy to tell them he was with two hitchhikers from Colombia... And then telling us they were kind of shocked when he told them... :p

Giant's Causeway has an amazing geographical features, and landscapes, it really seems to have been done by Giants, but that is just how great nature is...
There was a lot of people there so we just dropped our bags next to the entrance of the information center, (and after that two other backpackers left their bags next to ours... :p) and we went to walk around for an hour...

After having walked around we started going west, walking by the road, and just when we were looking at some nice cows next to the road, a car stopped and gave us a lift. It was Alan, a really nice guy, really funny, and who looked liked and talked like the actor who played Pippin in LotR... :p we actually search for the last name but they are not relatives... jiji :)

after some more lifts we decided to make our tent behind some trees next to the road and these sheep who looked at us as if we were two strange creatures carrying our house in our backs... (and who had disappear by the time we wake up next morning :s)

La grua y la jirafa

2006-10-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

A really cute hand-made animation by Vladimir Bellini

富士急

2006-10-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

Fuji-Q!!! Last thursday just when I heard my friends at Capoeira talked about going there I decided to join right away! Last semester we wanted so much to go with some friends from the dorm, but at the end we never found the right date to go... so I couldn't miss this chance!

Sunday started really early, as we wanted to get there before the opening time (9am), and it takes more than 2 hours by car... I slept on the way but when we got there I couldn't be more happy. There was this huge roller coaster just on the entrance (King of Coasters Fujiyama), but just after buying our tickets and taking the picture that is printed in each persons ticket we headed to the new roller coaster "ええじゃないか" (Eejanaika)... I though at first it was an inverted rolling coaster, but when I looked at the rail there was something strange about it. It seemed to be a normal roller coaster in some parts and inverted in others...?? then the train came... I had never seen a train like that... it was so wide... when I looked better at it I could see the sits where kind of hanging on both sides of the central part of the train, and then it started to go down... what???? the sits were moving!!! rotating!!! while the train went really fast along the rails...!!! This wouldn't be a normal roller coaster ride!

After a two hours wait, we were in the platform... Ai-chan was really scared, but even so she went up... just after going out of the platform the sits rotated, leaving us looking at the sky for the whole way up... this is going way too high!!! and I had no idea when I was going to go down... but, just before the fall started the sits rotated making us face down! all the way to the floor for half of the vertical fall after which I just cannot remember what happen... it was so scary... and I had no idea what would come next or even where I was facing...! I couldnt even scream... it was rough, but at the end we were back at the platform alive!
Even when I was so scared the first time, I had the impression it could be actually a really great ride if you knew what to expect... which was actually true, as my second ride (just before leaving the park) was great!!! and I could even remember where the camera was... but still couldnt take my hands away from the handles... maybe the next time...?

Ai-chan, Hana-chan and me lining up for Eejanaika (you can see the train with the sits facing up on the back), and below is the ceiling of the platform... ええ〜！

After going to Eejanika, we went to this giant "frisbee pendulum" (Tondemina) that rotates while it goes from one side to the other. It actually feels great! you can feel so light, and have such a great view of the sky (not so nice when you go down heading the floor though... :p).

Then it was Fujiyama! At the time of its building it was the tallest, faster roller coaster in the world. And it is long!!! On the way up the 70 meters drop we had such a great view, with a clear sky and the Mount Fuji in the back (without snow though)... Then it began... it was really fun going down and up so many times... and I could go all the way with my hands up, but actually not completely up because sometimes the poles just seem to be too close so I put my hands half the way up for the rest of the ride... :p as you can see below... :p

The rest of the day (which wasnt much because of the long wait time for the roller coasters) we went to other small attractions, being the one for kids the more fun. While we were making the line for the second ride on Eejanaika, we took turns to go to small attractions, and I went with Ai-chan and Hana-chan to this ride with small boats, and we were so scared of getting wet that it was so fun! Hana-chan was scared by a fake bear making noise on the side of the ride, and at the end of the way up before the fall there was this really funny looking ogre that we couldnt stop laughing at, before trying to squeeze ourselves in the boat not to get wet!

It was in the end a really great day!!! So much fun!
Looking forward for my next ride at Eejanaika, and hopefully that time I will be able to ride Dodonpa as well... oh, and enter the scary house (actually it seems to be a Hospital so I cannot imagine how scary it must be), but then I should wait for Laila to come with me... :p

BPE - Scotland Highlands

2006-10-14T01:40:00.000-07:00

Aug 10...
The Highlands... the last time I came to England I could only go a little bit northern than Edinburgh, so I (and my sis as well) wanted so much to go all the way up to Loch Ness, and enjoy the Scottish landscape. So, we decided to take a one day tour all the way up taking us to Glencoe, Fort William, going along the Loch Ness when we visit the ruins of a castle and of course we got the chance to meet Nessie (and its family and friends as well...), and then up to Inverness to head south towards Edinburgh... It was a long journey, mostly in the bus, but we got the chance to see great landscapes, deers, highland cows, small towns, etc... The Highlands are so broad and there is so few people living there! Along the way we could see people walking along paths with their backpacks, just taking their time to enjoy the countryside... I hope someday I can do the same all around Colombia...

Hamish!!! (<--that was his name) A beautiful, big hairy Highland cow (bull?)!

Loch Ness... Nessie's house!!! Below we have one of Nessie's cousins... visiting from far away lands. :)

This is Nessie's little brother! He is really proud of being Scottish! :p

And of course... Nessie!!! running (well, actually floating) away from all the tourists :p

A beautiful garden, before taking the road back to Edinburgh...

BPE - Edinburgh

2006-10-12T23:39:00.000-07:00

Aug 9...
Edinburgh is a really nice city! Its castle on the top of the mountain, the old town along the Royal Mile, the new town with its shops and the Princes Street Garden down the valley, the view from the Arthur's seat... it all creates such a wonderful atmosphere.

Just when we first walked up the street into the old town my sister said "I think I'd like Edinburgh!", thats just how welcoming and cozy Edinburgh feels. It has this medieval atmosphere with old houses, narrow streets and stairs going up and down the hill, it is also so mysterious, with all the ghost and dungeon stories, and on top of that it was so lively (thanks to the Edinburgh Festival) with street performers, people strolling around, and music everywhere...

It takes a lot of work to keep cities and parks nice and tidy for people to enjoy...

Edinburgh Castle on the back...

Authentic Scottish atmosphere... Scottish music, bagpipes, and kilts (skirts)

view of Edinburgh on the way up Arthur's Seat

Edinburgh's Festival is one of the biggest art festivals in the world, it is actually many festivals together including art festival (the Fringe), film festival, the military tatoo, etc... We were lucky to experience the atmosphere of the city when its population almost doubles, and enjoy the street performers, and artists promoting their plays along the royal mile and all around the city.

The pic above is from a hand-made cosmetics' store call Lush (which have stores in many countries) with some really strange looking things (creams, soaps, shampoos, etc), some of which do smell really nice!!! But what I liked the most about it was that in all the stores in UK they had the windows "decorated" with "stop animal testing" messages, and they had boxes where you could cast your vote against animal testing.

a mobil flower shop with a great collage of photos and messages in the back...

BPE - York~Edinburgh

2006-10-10T01:50:00.000-07:00

Aug 7...
Our way from York to Edinburgh was quite long, you cannot always get a straight lift, and you cannot always choose the right way. And so it was...

It took us two days to reach Edinburgh. Going out of York was quite difficult, because even when the town center is very small, there is a lot of houses around it, and there is no highway coming out from York to the north. We tried our luck towards the north by country roads, and after quite a few lifts we ended up in the entrance to the highway towards the north. We were just where we wanted to be, but we had to wait for someone to pick us up... and not many cars passed by. After almost an hour waiting, a guy from ?????ztan gave us a lift, but he dropped us in the middle of a small city where many highways meet and with buildings everywhere... what to do next? we didnt want to try our luck in the middle of the city, so we decided to take a bus towards a town in the north were there was a campingsite (according to a pamphlet).

It was nice to take the bus for a long ride across small towns, and countryside, but when we got to Durham (a small town with a big castle) and we asked for the camping site, they were not so sure, and at the end they sent us in a bus, and told the driver to tell us how to get there... we got down of the bus, followed the driver's intructions, but couldnt see signs of a camping site anywhere... just a park at one side of the road, and bushes at the other. When we realized we wouldnt find the camping site, we just went into the bushes, and found our floor for the night... :)

Aug 8...
Trucker's day!
After waiting for the tent to get dry, we took our bags and went to look out for a lift. We were just in the entrance to the highway but most of the cars were going south and we had a "NORTH PLEASE :)" sign in our hands... we had waited for quite long, when just when I sitted to rest for a while, I was surprised by the sound of a truck stopping and my sister calling at me, running towards me and making me signs to pick up my bag... We were just before a corner, and the truck stopped suddenly just in the middle of the corner blocking the way... We just ran towards the cabin, and try to open the truck's very high door to jump in with our backpacks. Today was going to be a nice day on the road...

After settling down in the big truck's cabin, we started talking to Tim, who was always looking at me looking at the map to see where we were, and where were we going to... At the end, he kept our map (not because we gave it to him, but because I forgot it... :( at least I hope it will become a good memory for him as well!). He was a really good guide, slowing down for us to take pics, telling us where to go, and what to see, showing us maps (while he was driving... :s), and all. At the end he dropped us after Newcastle in a rest area on the side of the road where there was a mobile kiosk selling food.

Here we met our good friend Alan (the kiosk's owner), and spent a nice time talking to him...

He asked us where we were heading, and then he told us he would help us get a lift by asking his customers... :D but it was a quiet day, and no many people stopped by... which let us more time to speak to him. After midday it was really quiet and in one moment he went to his kiosk and brought some food for us... we were really worried with my sister, because, well, he was selling burgers... but we were so surprised when he put hot baked beans and tomatoes in the table, and brought us bread to eat with that!! :p I guess that's just the way things are supposed to be...

It was going to turn 2 pm, and Alan was already going back home so we tried our luck and went out to the highway to see if any car saw us and stopped... just when we were thinking of going back with Alan to Newcastle and come back tomorrow, a truck stopped. And he was going all the way north to Edinburgh!

He was also very nice and even stopped for us to take pics, bought chocolate for us, and told us a lot of history about places in the way.

Welcome to Scotland!!! We were joking about how they say it always rains in Scotland, and then, just when we were crossing the border it began to rain... :p

Free Hugs!

2006-10-09T05:36:00.000-07:00

First of all, a hug to you all!

Someone sent me this great video I'll like to share with everyone...
and use this chance to...

Thank you all for being there, for helping me out, for listening to me, letting me know what you think, for all the great moments, experiences, memories which are the ones that matter! Thanks for brighting my days, my life!

Sometimes we forget about all the other people around us, with all the hurry and things to do, etc... and we forget how much a small but magical thing, such as a smile, some laughs, or a hug can mean to someone out there...

"Sometimes, a hug is all what we need. Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whos sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.

In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal.

As this symbol of human hope spread accross the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign BANNED. What we then witness is the true spirit of humanity come together in what can only be described as awe inspiring.

In the Spirit of the free hugs campaign, PASS THIS TO A FRIEND and HUG A STRANGER! After all, If you can reach just one person..."

BPE - London~York

2006-10-09T02:35:00.000-07:00

Aug 6...
After a night in the middle of a service area we woke up quite early, put our things back in the bags, and began our hitching... It took us quite a while, asking the truckers (most of them were still sleeping inside their big cabins, and the ones we asked to, either told us it was forbidden, or that they were not leaving yet), letting a long line of teens with their "racing cars" making noise, looking at people in their cars passing by making as if they dont see us, smiling at us, or even raising their thumbs back... (something we got quite used to after some days :p)

After some time a really nice guy, who had just arrived to London Airport that morning from Southeast Asia (where he was visiting his Indonesian wife's relatives) and was going back to his home in Leeds, gave us a lift. We had a really nice chat with him, telling him about our plans, hearing him tell us about his trip to Indonesia and Thailand, and his children, and many other things.

We told him about the demostration we had seen in London and then he start telling us about how at the time of the bombing in London most of the people had been shocked rather than angry, and how the first thing he thought at the moment was... what have we done wrong so that these guys decided to do that? rather than calling for revenge, rather than insulting them, many people in London were asking themselves in which way they hadnt make this people feel accepted; what they themselves had done wrong. He also told us how after the bombings there were demonstrations all around London asking people not to create a prejudice against other cultures, other religions, other races, because of the bombings but rather to create a more open and welcoming society... (something tells me the ones in "power" were (are) not thinking exactly the same...)

We had a really nice chat with him, and he end up taking us almost half and hour pass Leeds (his destination), to the "Park&Ride" of York, from where we took the bus to the center of York... Thanks Steve!!! there, after building our tent and leaving our bags at the campsite we went to walk around the center of town.

York is a really nice city surrounded by walls, with very old houses, narrow streets and with a very impressive cathedral...

close to the York cathedral (which you can see below from the walls around the city) there is this park with the ruins of a big church, but this is all what is left... ^there is really old houses, that look like if they were going to break in two at any minute, and in there is this narrow street where the houses on either side bend towards the center and come very close from eachother.Here in York we had our first dining-out, because we knew most of the time we will be buying our food (lots of canned beans, bread and fruits) so we wanted to treat ourselves a the beginning of our trip. We asked for a veggie-friendly restaurant and they sent us to "El Piano" a really picturesque, colourful restaurant, with a unique menu (they actually explained it to us after asking us if it was our first time there... :p) and really nice food. All the food vegetarian, and most of it vegan... o(^_^)o
below... our food: lentils curry with coconuts milk (and rice crackers) and vegetables with bitter chocolate. Unique combination isnt it? yummy!!! And our dessert: vegan carrot cake with orange sauce (we were too happy about it so there is no picture :p)after a long day... back to the campsite for our first night in what would become our "home" along the way.

BPE - London

2006-10-08T02:33:00.000-07:00

Aug 4...
I arrived to London at 8 pm, really looking forward to meet my sister after one year and happy to be back in London, after... 4 years, when I first travelled by myself (not with my family, or with math olympics) and where I had my first backpacking experience going by bus around England.

After going out of the airport, I took the train to Trafalgar Square, where I will meet my sister in front of the National Gallery. We had actually talked by phone some days before that, and I we had decided to meet between 9 and 10 pm in the entrance of the Nat. Gallery... how incredible it is to make an appointment to meet someone in a city on the other side of the world where you have only been once... that's the great thing about travelling I guess!

Anyway, after meeting my sister, hugging each other, we went happily to the hostel where we would stay the first night. After leaving our bags we went to see a friend (where I had stayed the last time I came) at the bar he used to work at. After walking a long time through London streets, we got there, a small bar full of people, crazy london people, and a few latin americans. We stayed there for a while talking to him and his friends, and then already very tired we went back to the hostel to sleep.

Aug 5...

We had decided with my sister that we will depart from London the next day, because she had already have time to go around and I had already been there, so we just had one day to go around. We decided to go to Greenwich where the observatory is, and where you get a really nice view of London.

This pic was taken by a Scottish who was wearing a really nice skirt :p

After Greenwich, we went to Nothing Hill, went out of the station and just walked toward one street with lot of people, colourful houses, and a really nice street market. Wether that was Nothing Hill I am not sure... :p

lots of people...

lots of breads...

lots of vegetables, fruits, grains and...

o(^ワ^)0 ...vegetarian food! 0(^_^)0

and colourful shopping bags you can use as many time as you want!
(in Europe pretty much everywhere if you want a plastic bag you have to pay for it...)

After walking all along this street we end up in the middle of nowhere, so we looked for a station and we head towards Hyde Park (one of the things I like the most about London are obviously its parks, so I definitely wanted to walk around them this time as well!). Just when we went out of the station there was a demonstrarion, we stopped to look at it for a while. There was so many people walking, and you could see there was people from all around the world, all kind of people, from different religions, all walking to protest the bombing of Lebanon, and the no-reaction from the English Government.

We decided to go on, across the parks, where there again all people was resting, playing, taking the sun, talking... people from everywhere, all races, all countries, all clothes... there was a group of muslim women all dressed in black, my sister wanted to take a pic (but at the end we didnt) telling me that they looked so peaceful, in the middle of a park in London... they didn't look like if they were out of place, that's the great thing about London! There is people from pretty much every country in the world living together, in such a wonderful city, and all of them seem to fit there peacefully and in harmony...

After walking across the parks we went to the Big Ben, and there we met the demonstration again...

many people sitted next to the parliament.
Below... the real truth?

After going through the Big Ben, we continued our way toward the hostel along the river and the Bankside...

Capoeiristic picture... I promised my friends from Capoeira I would take a pic doing Capoeira in front of famous places around Europe, so here it begins...

London Eye

I guess after being so long in Japan where everything is so strict, I was happy to see a place for skaters and bikers along the riverfront where they could just do what they like and not be pushed out as in other places...
The pic below is a tree next to this place where they hang broken boards, shoes, etc... a really nice piece of city art I must say. (^_^)

We got to the hostel and picked up our backpacks, and got the subway to the north of London, to start our hitchhiking experience around UK....
after we went out of the station we walked for a long time trying to reach the beginning of the highway, but it was still far away, and we were in the middle of the city so even when we asked for a lift noone will stop... after it began to get dark we asked how to get to the highway, took a bus and got down at a roundabout before the highway started. It was already dark, and we weren't so sure about what to do, but we were already there so... put out our fingers!
In less than 15 minutes I think a car stopped and told us to get in... not a bad start! He was from Pakistan and he was getting off the highway in the next exit, just before the first service area but at the end he drop us at the service area, even when he seem very tired and would have to drive to the next exit to go back... :)
It was already quite late, and we were already IN the M1 highway, so we decided to spend the night there... it was not going to rain, and we didnt want to call so much attetion so we just went behind a sign, put the plastic in the floor, and went to sleep in our sleeping bags... at the beginning we kind of looked at each car that passed by, not sure if it was actually ok to sleep just there in the service area, but then just fell sleep with the sky us our roof.

BPE - Tokyo~London

2006-10-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

August 3...
Leaving towards London, I had to endure such a long trip to get there...
I had bought the cheapest ticket I found for the time I was going, so it stopped everywhere. First I had to go from Narita to Taiwan, spend one night in Taipei's airport (luckily just when you go out there is this big hall with lots of sofas, and some people with their bags next to them, some of them already sleeping... so I just put my backpack behind my legs, and slept in one of the sofas), next morning I took the plane towards London, but it went to Bangkok first, and we actually had to go down of the airplane, walk a long way through the corridors and then go back to board (not at all bad, because I had the chance to check some of the stores, and end up buying some banana chips and dried fruit (I dont remember whether it was litchi or rambutan but anyway) to eat with my sister, and the best, a Thai dessert of mango with rice and coconuts milk! yummy! (sorry I forgot to take a picture...)) after I finished eating the dessert I board the airplane, this time for a long time all the way to London (10 hours).

There is one thing I though during the flight... or well actually two, that I think I'd like to say...
I was going to go from Thailand to England, flying all over Asia, Middle East, going over Afganisthan, flying north of Iraq, Israel, Palestine... flying over all this countries that are so messed up because of ??? a lot of things actually. Oil, money, hate, but the one that came to my attention at that time was religion. Just during that time Israel was invading Palestine, bombing cities, killing innocent people, kids, families, all because they had a different religion, had a different nationality, or simply because of being at the wrong place the wrong time. While all this was happening so many people were just going on with their lives, and I was flying all over this mess without any trouble, watching movies, and looking forward to meet my sister. It is strange how even when the world has become so connected, you can go pretty much anywhere, and call your friends on the other side of the world, so many people have to endure wars, watching their houses destroyed, families killed, without understanding why. This whole thing of hate between west and muslim society, is so crazy and so messed up, and that would become something I thinked a lot during my trip...

Now the other thing I thought about (which now sounds stupid after writing what I just wrote) was that when I reach London I will have "completed" a circle around the world, taking into account that I had already been to London from Colombia going over the atlantic ocean, I came to Japan over the pacific, and I was flying from Japan to London all over Asia. Something really great for someone who likes to travel so much, and has dream of going all around the world, getting to know as much as I can, about other people, landscapes, countries, cultures, religions, and about myself.

But this fly was just the start of a whole great experience, that has give me even more "ganas" of travelling all around, and has give me a lot to think about...

Welcome...

2006-10-07T01:58:00.000-07:00

My first blog... well, I just came back to Japan after backpacking around Europe, and have spend too much time surfing internet, looking at friends blogs, wasting time, etc.. so I end up creating my own blog! something I had already seen coming long time ago, but I guess I hand't enough time to do during last semester. Luckily this semester seems to be much more relaxed, and well I have a lot to write about my two months backpacking around Europe, and many other things to come I hope. So here it is...

I will start by writing about my whole backpacking experience, there is so many things to tell, that I hope I can recall most of them. I havent really have time to think about all of it, so I hope this will also help me remember and learn from all of it... I really hope it wont get boring or a simple narration, but well who knows... just have to write and see.