Kids-eye view of the Olympics

by Abha Malpani on

Scouring through what the blogosphere is saying about the Olympics, I came across a blog written by a 12-year old in Beijing. His name is David and he is National Geographic Kid’s correspondent for the Olympics.

He’s an American child who has been living in China since he was two; he moved to Beijing last year from Suzhou.

The blog is straightforward and has that wonderful child-innocence about it. He writes clearly and does a great job being informative. His posts so far break the Olympics down to basics where he talks about things like: The different cities where the games are being held and why, the mascots, and getting around in the city during the games.

What makes his posts interesting is what he chooses to share, and of course, that they are written from the perspective of a child thrilled to be at the Games. Certainly a novelty in the blogosphere and worth keeping a tab on.

Blogging fearlessly from Havana. How?!

by Abha Malpani on

One of my favorite country blogs of all time is that of Yoani Sanchez, the 32 year old blogging secretly from Havana. To write on her blog, she has to pretend to be a tourist and go to a hotel to access the Internet.

Of the 11 million people who live on the island, only about 200,000 have open access to the web — they are mainly government employees, researchers and academics, to whom the government has given permission. The rest of the Cubans can access email and a few Cuban sites from certain public spots (for example the post office), but everything else is blocked.

I first found out about Yoani on the IHT last year, and have been reading her ever since. She reports beautifully (both in Spanish and English) on happenings in Cuba — she is probably one of the only authentic sources of information coming out of the island without censorship, and she always sounds fearless.

A couple of weeks ago she was chosen by Madrid’s El Pais newspaper to get the Ortega y Gasset Journalism Prize, but she was not allowed to leave Cuba to receive her award in Spain. To add to this, I read that she made the Time Top 100 list of influential people, which is phenomenal and much deserved.

But, what I fail to understand is that, with all the international exposure she has been getting — certainly magnified by being featured in Time Magazine alongside the likes of Obama, Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong and Oprah Winfrey — how on earth is she still getting away with her secret blogging? Does the Cuban government have any idea? She must really disguise herself well, and her German must be flawless to be able to get away with this for almost a year. Surely authorities must know — why aren’t they stopping her?

I don’t wish they catch her, I just don’t see how in such a tight regime she has been getting away with this for so long. It almost makes it questionable, no?

Blogger Jeremy Kressmann

by Jeremy Kressmann on
Introducing Gadling’s newest blogger, Jeremy Kressmann…

Where was your photo taken? After a long, bumpy camel ride in Morocco. The camel looks just as relieved as I was to be done with the whole thing.

Where do you live now? New York City

Scariest airline flown? TAP Portugal. My short flight from Madrid to Lisbon was uneventful until the landing, when the plane literally made a 90 degree turn and nose-dived straight onto the runway. It was an unorthodox way to land a plane, I’ll give them that. It took me a few minutes to get my heart out of my mouth once we got to our gate.

Favorite city? Barcelona. My favorite city in my favorite country. Barcelona positively explodes with creative energy. They can’t just have a “bench” in Barcelona. It has to be a bench covered in brightly colored mosaic tiles and inlays of stone lizards. Throw in a world class culinary scene, thriving art galleries and party-till-dawn nightlife and you’ve got a one-of-a-kind city and my favorite place.

Most remote corner of the globe visited? Montevideo, Uruguay. I can’t really claim to have been to the “ends of the earth,” but Montevideo felt a long way from home.

Favorite guidebook series? TimeOut. I find it has a nice blend of the more touristy stuff you need alongside well-researched reviews of good places to eat, drink and soak up the local culture.

How did you get started traveling? As a teenager, I spent a few weeks living with a family in Costa Rica. It opened my eyes to the possibility of strange far-away places. After that I was pretty much hooked.

Favorite foreign dish? The taco stands in Mexico City. They shave the meat off one of those huge metal skewers and serve it to you sizzling-hot on a plate, with fresh tortillas on the side. Add in your chosen mix of cheese, freshly sliced avocados, limes, and one of several kinds of mouth-burning salsa. Top it off with the pungent scent of diesel fumes from taxis whizzing by your face as you eat it alfresco. Delicious.

Next trip? I’m headed to Japan for the first time in May. It’s the first of what I hope will be many more trips to Asia.

Favorite foreign film? Cidade de Deus (City of God). A highly-stylized drama about the citizens in Rio de Janeiro’s poorest neighborhoods during the 1960’s. It really gave me a renewed appreciation for the culture and history of Brazil.