Now, I’m in Japan!
It’s odd to say, but it’s actually taken me quite a while to realize that I am actually in Japan. Perhaps it was the week long orientation with the other foreign students and being shielded from awkwardness by my Chinese labmates here. Or, perhaps I hadn’t tried hard enough yet. But, recently, it’s dawned on … Read more
Kaho, Riho, Maho
I believe that the cutest thing in the world to a father are his daughters. I’ve finally arrived in Japan for my 2.5-month research exchange trip as part of the JSPS Summer Program for foreign fellows. As part of the orientation program, I was fortunate enough to be placed with a family of 6 (Dad, … Read more
Gone with the Wind in Atlanta!
As some of you may know, my graduate studies are currently supported by a grant connected to the National Wind Energy Center at UH, so part of my research deals directly with the design of functional material systems for wind turbine blades. As a result of that, I recently received a fellowship to attend the … Read more
Back in Action – Washington D.C.
A new year and a new season of travel! This travelogue has taken over a half a year break, but I’m happy to announce that activities are back on! Originally, the plan was to go to New York this weekend for the L’arc~en~Ciel world tour stop at Madison Square Garden (I’m still crying about that … Read more
Sights of Shanghai
Shanghai is a dazzling city. Though Shanghai lacks the ancient history of Beijing, it’s unique history as a Sphere of Influence port and commercial center of China has resulted in fantastic synergy of western influence and Chinese modernism. Along the Huangpu River, which cuts through the city like its main artery, lies the Bund on … Read more
Accidently Beijing
So, I didn’t make it to my destination today. As I hinted before, I am currently on travel in China again to attend a conference in Dalian and a 3 week engineering work shop in Shanghai. I was pretty excited, despite the long first section of travel I would have to take to get to … Read more
The Big Buddha – Finding Peace from the City
Hong Kong is a place with a lot of places to see, so you need to plan carefully if you want to get the best sights and you’re on a tight schedule. So, with only 4 full days in Hong Kong and really only time for one day trip, what did my travel companions say … Read more
Hong Kong Food Journey – Part Two – Taking it to the Street
Perhaps the single most amazing thing I find in Hong Kong is how much food there is in such a small place. Houston has stuff to eat everywhere, but Hong Kong has stuff to eat EVERYWHERE – the kind of everywhere which means whenever you walk out of your building you’re either staring fresh fruit, … Read more
Hong Kong Food Journey – Part One – Dim Sum
Cantonese people really know how to eat. I’m not talking about culinary technique or exotic ingredients, either. I’m talking about the institution known as 早茶 <Early Tea>, better known as “Dim Sum.” Not really breakfast and not really lunch, “Dim Sum” usually gets described as something like “Chinese Tapas”, although I’m of the mind that … Read more
A Night at the Races!
It’s surprising how much our Hong Kong trip was inspired by all the movies that my siblings and I had seen as kids! For some reason, we were particularly fixated on the horse racing scene from All for the Winner (A.K.A. – Saint of Gamblers, see 3:26 of the clip) this time around and made … Read more
