Vegetarian Option has started a new photo project, Interpret This. The aim of Interpret This is to see the different interpretations behind a chosen concept/idea. The concept/idea is usually something that is open to various interpretations, so there is no “right” or “wrong” photo that can be taken - it’s all in the eye of the beholder, really!

Happiness

May’s theme was “happiness,” and I chose this photo I took of the Eiffel Tower when I was on my France exchange trip. It was a gorgeously sunny day, and the Eiffel Tower is something I had always wanted to see. There were so many highlights of that trip, but I think one of the best photos I took was this one - oh, to be able to go back to France again!

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

The Inebriated Scientist

In June 2007, I did an exchange trip to France. Part of my stay was with a host family in Strasbourg, and one of the many events the host school in Strasbourg organized for us American exchange students was a tour of Colmar, a neighboring town in the Alsace region of France. Colmar was very picturesque, particularly Little Venice, as well as the old town section that was full of quaint little stores¹.

It was on our visit to Colmar that we saw this statue of Gustave-Adolphe Hirn, a famous French scientist, sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who was the same man that did the Statue of Liberty in New York City. Obviously this statue of Hirn was meant to pay tribute to Hirn’s significant contributions in his chosen field of science, yet if you look at the Wikipedia image of Hirn, you’ll see that in my photo, someone decided to supply Hirn with a bottle of vodka. It seems as though even the most brilliant of scientists² enjoy partaking in drinking hard liquor from time to time!

1. One of my friends found a store that sold tea and jam, and proceeded to buy nearly twenty euros worth of tea and jam. I’m not sure what she was planning to do with all that tea and jam. [↩]
2. According to Wikipedia, Hirn was a “physicist, astronomer. mathematician and engineer who made important measurements of the mechanical equivalent of heat and contributions to the early development of thermodynamics. He further applied his science in the practical development of steam engines.” If that’s not a description of someone who’s brilliant at science, I don’t know what is. [↩]

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

Originally published at blog@excuses-untold.org. Please leave any comments there.

Last week, I posted an abbreviated list of some of the places I want to visit. Marieke commented on that post and asked, “Are there places that you’ve been to that you recommend to others?” Yes, there definitely are! I have been lucky enough to travel (and in some cases, live!) to some fantastic places, and here are some (but not all¹) of the places I would love to visit again, in no particular order.

• China
  I had been to mainland China a few times when I was little, but my favorite memory of visiting China was when I went on a two and a half week tour of the mainland in June 2008. I visited Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin, Hangzhou, Wu-Town, Suzhou, and Shanghai, and I loved each and every place. The food, the culture, the atmosphere, the people - it was all amazing, and I really enjoyed my time there. Plus, even though this will sound really corny, it was fantastic to be able to go to the land of my ancestors and get in touch with my Chinese roots as I am half Chinese.
• Tanzania
  In May 2008, I went to Tanzania for two weeks to volunteer at a nursery school. Those two weeks were definitely life-changing, and I will never forget the time I spent in Tanzania. The people were so happy, welcoming, and incredibly friendly. I’ve lived a fairly sheltered life and it was astonishing to see people who had so little be so happy and content with life; my experience in Tanzania made a huge impact on me. In addition to working at the nursery school, I went on a short safari trip and saw the most incredible wildlife - it was just like being in The Lion King!² Tanzania is a fantastic place, and I would love to go live there and work as a volunteer.
• France
  I visited in June 2007 as a participant in my high school’s exchange trip, and I loved it. I stayed in Strasbourg with a host family for two weeks, and then spent a week in Paris, and then a week in the Côte d’Azur region. France is really a beautiful place, and it was fantastic to be able to see all the famous sights of France (think of all the places in Paris alone - the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre…) as well as practice speaking French and interacting with the French teenagers that were our hosts. Hopefully I’ll be able to spend at least one semester studying abroad in Paris!
• England
  In addition to the one to France, I participated in another high school exchange trip to England in November 2007. I did a tour of London and stayed with a host family in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. Despite the bleak weather, I loved England. I saw some amazing things in London (Tower of London, the London Eye, Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus…) and had a great time hanging out with the English teenagers and going to all the places they go hang out at. I had a great time in England; I even managed to squeeze in time to make a day trip to Wales and see Cardiff Castle!
• Hong Kong
  Ah, Hong Kong. Hong Kong, to me, is home. It’s where I was born, and I spent several years living there as well, and I try to go back as often as I possibly can. I have lived in several countries, but no matter what country I currently reside in, I will always consider Hong Kong home. The atmosphere of the city is like no other, and for me, it’s simply the place to be. There’s so much to see, and the juxtaposition of Chinese culture and the long-lasting effects of British rule is evident everywhere in the city. I love the food, the culture, the sights, the shopping… Hong Kong is home, and home is always the best place in the world.

1. Australia was one of the places I didn’t list. I love Australia, and I really enjoyed living there, but about 95% of the reasons why I would go back to Australia are for personal ones, rather than for touristy reasons, so I decided to leave it off today’s list. Still, it’s a place I highly recommend visiting! [↩]
2. I saw every animal in The Lion King, and I was lucky enough to be able to see “the big five” - lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and cape buffalo - on my safari. [↩]

Originally published at blog@excuses-untold.org. Please leave any comments there.

A Heart from the Eiffel Tower

I did an exchange trip to France in June 2007, and once of the many places I was able to visit in France was the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was one of the many highlights of my stay in France, and I plan on sharing some photos of the Eiffel Tower as well as some other things I saw in France in the coming weeks, but this photo is one of my favorite ones out of all of my Eiffel Tower-related photos.

This photo was taken from the view of the first floor of the tower. As I was admiring the Parisian skyline and the fantastic view the Eiffel Tower offered, I noticed that there was a large heart carved into the grass at the Champ de Mars. The heart is a little asymmetrical, a little crooked, and if you look at the photo in its full resolution you can see that there are birds sitting on the left half of the heart, but I think the heart is adorable. Sadly, I never found out why the heart was there, or even if it has always been there and I had simply never known about it before. With Paris being known as the “city of love,” to me, this heart is the perfect symbol of the romance that often idealizes Paris.