I realize that culture is objective, and I am not at liberty to judge a culture that is not my own. However, when I perceive animal abuse, I am quick to feel ill initially, and quick to judge after the fact. Case in point... about a month ago, … [Continue reading]
Día de los Toros WARNING: GRAPHIC
I am not here to condone or to condemn. I was simply witness, of my own accord, to the bullfights in Trujillo, Peru during Peru's National Day on July 28. I can't say that I enjoyed it, but I am very glad that I went. It's a dying cultural spectacle … [Continue reading]
El Mercado
Ahhhh, food, glorious food. There's love, there's hate, there's desire bordering on the sexual, just for food. But how well do you know your food? Where does it come from? Whose hands have touched it? Or, for that matter, have hands touched it at … [Continue reading]
Mae Hong Son Loop
I wrote this poem for a class a few years ago.... it ended up being a "down to the wire" kind of assignment, as I sat down to write the night before the assignment was due. It came to me in what I can only refer to as a miracle, as I don't know that … [Continue reading]
Homesick
Everything comes with a price, does it not? Here I am, living what is certainly an enviable life, on the beach in Huanchaco, Peru and I am homesick. The problem with this problem is where am I homesick for? Where my friends are... all over the world. … [Continue reading]
Little Reed Horses
Huanchaco Beach is a collection of many things. Many things that you would expect a tourist beach to be populated with; tourists, locals selling things to tourists, surfers, girls following surfers and the like. You'll also find the fishermen, doing … [Continue reading]
Huaca de la Luna
South American culture is one that is probably the most uniquely foreign to me. My US grade school education tended to focus more on the period after the Spaniards made their way onto the continent, and not really making mention of the fact that said … [Continue reading]
Holiday in Cambodia
Ahhhhh, Cambodia, the “Wild East” at its finest, in my opinion. Thousands of tourists flock there every year for pretty much two things... the booming sex trade and Angkor Wat. I, of course, prefer the latter. Angkor Wat has been a requisite stop … [Continue reading]
My First Root Canal
Ahhh, yes... the joys of dental work. I wondered if it was much different in Taiwan as compared to the US, so I decided it was time to find out more. Plus, I had a horrible toothache, so it seemed like perfect timing. I arrived at the hospital, … [Continue reading]
Puertas Rusticas
Think about photography for a moment... Remember the little Kodak Instamatics, with the tiny film cartridges that I never seemed to have enough allowance money to buy. And then there was the trip to the FotoMat, which took even more allowance. … [Continue reading]