Surf’s Up in Cali!

by Iva Skoch on

Californians, Oregonians, and Washingtonians had a brief tsunami scare this morning, if anyone was awake and noticed. Yes, the National Weather Service actually posted a tsunami advisory at 6:05 AM PST, before canceling it.

This was because of tsunami activity at multiple sites in Japan and even Shemya, Alaska. Now, granted, the wave height noticed was only 20cm (.65 ft.) above mean sea level in Alaska, but that, apparently, qualified as a tsunami. It was no joke in Japan, however, as some areas were evacuated.

We’re not sure how long the wave activity lasted, but it was probably not long enough to get out your board, and it was certainly not long enough for anybody to get through any TSA line.

A Piqniq in Japan

by Erik Olsen on

Living in a foreign country as an expat can be rough. There’s the language, of course, but then, depending on where you live, there are also a host of other cultural issues with which you must become familiar so as to not offend the local population. To wit: when I lived in Thailand, I was unaware that it was offensive to Thais to show people the bottom of my feet. It is also offensive to touch people on the head. Never mind the cultural reasons behind these two customs, suffice it to say I violated both of them in short order, the first with my boss, who was Thai and who politely reprimanded me and explained the issue, thus saving me from subsequent vocational calamity.

Well, of all countries across the globe, Japan is perhaps one of the most culturally sensitive and cultural complex. Making it there as an expat, and being successful, can be a very difficult experience. Emotional turmoil, in the words of a friend of mine who lived there for several years with her husband.

Well, for those considering or actually living in Japan, Piqniq is a social network for English-speaking families that would like to use the internet to help themselves get along. The goal of the site “is to create a Japan-specific online community and information resource to help you and your family get things done in a country where simple tasks can easily become complicated.” I did not sign up and have little further idea what Piqniq is about, but I thought it was an interesting site, concept-wise. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s used it what they think.

Best/Worst Airports

by Erik Olsen on

Fodor’s Travel Wire has a nice piece on Airports We Love (and Hate) that gives a break down of the places you would most/least like to be stuck during a layover. Personally, one of the best airports I’ve ever been stuck in was Munich. The terminal was glimmering clean and it just so happens I got to hang out in the executive lounge…which might have helped my attitude a bit since champagne, beer and snacks were free. Munich actually made it on the list here…on the plus side. Another airport that got plaudits was Cincinnati Airport. I’ve been there and even shot a pano inside, but I don’t remember it being particularly wonderful. The piece cites the “huge mosaics of laborers” created by Winold Reiss for the Cincinnati Union Railway Station during the Great Depression and that hang now in the terminal.

On the worst side of things is one of my least favorite airports: JFK. All I can say about JFK is thank goodness for the JetBlue terminal. Without that, JFK sometimes seems positively Third World. Speaking of Third World, another thumbs down goes out to Mumbai International Airport, and again I agree. The airport is a cacophonous nightmare, even though you have to give it some credit, since we are talking about one of the most sprawling cities in the world.

The only thing missing from the list are little airports like John Wayne in Southern California, which would make it big time on the positive side. I love little airports like this and do my best when traveling to take off or end up in them.

Panda Spotting Becomes Easier

by Iva Skoch on

It just got a little bit easier to see Giant Pandas–there are more of them. The Chinese government reports that 2006 has been a banner year for panda cubs. According to China Daily, the government’s official English language newspaper, artificial insemination done at panda breeding centers around China has produced a record 27 healthy cubs, out of 30 born live. Scientists first started breeding them in 1960.

Only 1,590 are thought to live in the wild, while another 180 live in zoos or breeding centers worldwide.

We traveled to the Chengdu’s breeding facility last year, which is just outside the city of Chengdu, right in the center of China. It’s a beautiful park, and well worth the visit. If you choose to travel to see the pandas, be sure to also read up on the much larger Wolong Nature Preserve, further north of Chengdu. And don’t forget to sample the wonderful food of the Sichuan region!

More on the Ugly American

by Erik Olsen on

Borat is far from the first person to make a name for himself by skewering Americans and American culture…but he is one of the best to do so in recent memory. But the whole Borat phenomenon is just comedy, it’s show business, and no one really takes what Hollywood does very seriously. But one thing people DO take seriously in this country is business. The business of America is business said one sage President (if I correctly recall my Roget’s, that is). And so when anti-Americanism starts to affect the country’s bottom line, well, folks start to take notice.

This piece in the Chicago Tribune takes a look at a relatively new movement of business people who are concerned that anti-American attitudes are causing American businesses to lose business overseas .And so they have taken action to try and turn things around. The problem is not just the perception of American businesses as purveyors of obesity-inducing, LCD garbage, the problem too is that Americans who travel abroad help promote stereotypes of Americans as bumbling ignoramuses with pre-Copernican views of self.

And so, to combat these problems, several business-folk founded the Business for Diplomatic Action, a group of educators, executives and citizens working to combat the spread of anti-American sentiment. As mentioned here a while back, the BDA extended its efforts to all Americans traveling abroad via its World Citizens Guide…basically just a series of booklets and pamphlets that offer a crash course in other nations’ histories, religions, traditions, peoples and language.

Personally, I think all you need to be an aware and thoughtful global citizen is an avid desire to travel, a nice book collection and a subscription to the New York Times. A couple of pamphlets are only for the worst off cases, IMHO. But I salute this group’s effort, none the lees, sine any press given to this topic helps make people aware that it’s important. And it is.