October 31st, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Other | No Comments »

A blog entry about unusual souvenirs from LandLopers inspired me to share my exotic treasures.  I can do without keychains, t-shirts, models of tourist sites such as Big Ben, Parthenon, or Eiffel Tower, and all the junk.  Although, I am not going to deny that I am the world’s biggest snow globe collector as I purchase snow globes from every destination I visit.  To hear my reasons for collecting snow globes will have to wait as it’s a whole another entry.

However, that does not mean that I only come back from trips with same old clothes, toiletries, a camera and some snow globes.  Shopping is an integral part of my traveling experiences as materials open me up to greater knowledge about the cultures of the countries.  Every country has its own unique products that cannot be found or are very rare to find in the US.  When I examine products in shops or on streets or even in homes of host families, I am learning about the culture of the country.  For example, when I was in Peru, I saw a ton of brightly colored woven cloth not only in shops, but also on the streets as I saw women utilizing them to carry children or items behind their backs like backpacks.  I also saw them in restaurants being used as table clothes.  When I was in China, I saw many beautiful tea sets with unique designs in shops and through staying with a Chinese friend, I learned that tea is an integral part of the Chinese life as they drink tea everyday.

Cloth from Peru

Tea set from China

Because I rarely purchase household items back home in the States as I rather save my money to purchase goods abroad, I find that bringing back exotic souvenirs and placing them in my home provide me with memories to cherish.  Every product has a story.  When I look at the beautifully sculpted driedel from Israel, I remember the joys of going to the arts and crafts fair in Tel Aviv and enjoying observing all the artwork and talking with artists.  When I wear flats from China, I remember the moment when I brought it in Zhujiajiao, an ancient town near Shanghai, where I was enjoying the sunny day by the river, observing the architecture and sailing on a boat.

Driedel from Israel

Flats from China

I want my home to serve as a place not only for comfort, but also for memories of my travels.

A Boomerang from Australia with Aboriginal Painting

Embroidery Wall Art from an ethnic minority group in China

Towel from Provence, France

October 30th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Other | No Comments »

In a history of photography course, I learned a very valuable quote by a photographer named, Robert Capa, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”

I value this quote because because I relate to it not only as a photographer, but also as a traveler who truly wants to experience the culture up close.  We can learn about the cultures of other places from our home through reading and watching the news, reading books, watching documentaries, and talking with friends and families.  However, we truly do not understand the culture until we are “close enough” and by this means, we are experiencing the culture in person.

For instance, I often hear in the media that France is a beautiful country with vineyards providing rich wine, beautiful architecture, and delicious cheese, croissants and tarts.  Prior going to France and staying with a host family, I knew that many French people loved cooking and went home from work or school for two hours for lunch everyday.

After several trips to France and staying with many host families, I learned a valuable lesson that I did not learn while living in my country and that is family gatherings are truly important in the French culture.  I often saw in all homes that all families came together for lunch and dinner and discussed about the day, news and issues.  By sitting with the family and enjoying the scrumptious French food, I experienced discussing various topics with them and observing families bonding with each other.

Prior to my trip to Peru, I read that Peru is not only rich in the history of Incas, but also it is a developing country where infrastructure is lacking.  However, when I lived there with a Peruvian host family, I learned that in spite of economic and infrastructure issues, the country presents a rich culture that includes art, music and cuisine.  The textile which includes table clothes, sweaters, purses, and scarves are stunning and fashionable.  Peruvians happily chant and play musical instruments on the streets while beautiful paintings are displayed in galleries throughout the city of Cusco.  People are living to the fullest.

Prior to my visit to China, I often heard in the media that Chinese are suffering from lack of freedom speech and a number of websites being banned, they’re constantly being watched by the government and living in the life of communist is very unpleasant.  When I traveled to China, I learned that this is not always the case.  While Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are banned, there are still a huge number of websites, which Chinese can access.  In fact, Chinese have their own version of Facebook and YouTube, which are named differently, that they can access.  Chinese people are free to discuss political issues in the public with their friends including speaking about issues which they disagree with the government.  They are not constantly being watched by the government at all times, and in fact, the US government do watch us, the Americans, on the internet as they have arrested people for downloading music illegally, have asked Google to take certain sites down, and the US State Department followed me on Twitter at one point .

A mother is playing with a child at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia.

By getting up close experiences of different cultures, I learn to gain greater appreciation rather than fear them.  As a photographer, I love going up to people and asking them to take pictures of themselves rather than using a zoom lens and taking pictures of them from distance.  As a result, my pictures are better when I am close them because they depict my close encounter with humans who provided me invaluable lessons about their culture and lifestyle.

October 29th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Other | No Comments »

October 13th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Other | No Comments »

October 10th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Other | No Comments »

October 1st, 2011 by Rachel | Country: China | No Comments »

I’ve been pondering on what to write about my trip to Shanghai.  It’s hard for me to sum up my thoughts of the city.  It is certainly a very westernized city, but it has its own Chinese flair.  What amazed me about Shanghai and even in China as a whole, as I also encountered this in the Hainan province, is the amount of cranes and construction I saw.  I have never seen so many cranes in my life.  Since my return to the US, I’ve seen only one crane in Boston.  In China, I encountered tens of them!  Probably about 50?

When people talk about how China is developing at a very fast pace, I can now totally understand and envision what they are saying.  If I come back to Shanghai in five years, I probably will not recognize many of the buildings.

Travel along with me to view the city of Shanghai!

October 1st, 2011 by Rachel | Country: China | No Comments »

Venturing in a big city can be exciting and fun, especially seeing all the neon lights, but sometimes I need a break and enjoy the small town life.  Nestled in middle of a landscape of construction, there is a small town about 40 minutes by taxi from the city center of Shanghai call Zhujiajiao.  It is the Venice of China.  Boats roam through the town as Chinese people paddle them in the river.

A Chinese woman can be found to be washing her clothes by the river.  Chinese people are cooking in front of people.  Lots of Chinese handicrafts can be found throughout the town, including silk qipao, shoes, pillow cases, musical instruments, fans, etc.  I purchased a pair of beautiful flats for only 60 RMB which is equivalent of 10 US dollars.

Best of all, I had the boat to myself to enjoy the ride through the canals!  Gazing at the architecture and people was an enjoyable experience.

October 1st, 2011 by Rachel | Country: China | No Comments »

Yu Yuan Garden is an ancient area in Shanghai, but it is very touristy as it is filled with shops catering to tourists.  If one wants to find souvenirs or Chinese crafts, this is the place to go!  I will let the photos speak for themselves.

I encountered a doggie wearing a dress!

September 22nd, 2011 by Rachel | Country: China | 1 Comment »

Here are my custom-made clothes I picked up this morning!

I will write details on the rest of the trip on the plane or when I get back to the States tomorrow.

September 18th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: China | 1 Comment »

If I ever want custom-made clothes done in the States, well, I can dream on until I die.  That will never happen unless I become super-rich.  That is not the case in China as an American.  My friend took me to a “tailor market” where we can pick fabrics out and have a custom-made dress, jacket, shirt, pants and anything done for a ridiculously cheap price.  I came across a Kate Spade style dress that was hanging on a wall that has a HUGE bow.  I’ve been very crazy about bows since I started watching the TV show, Glee, as one of the characters wears a lot of bows on her clothes.  Kate Spade is known for creating clothes with bows and also for being very expensive…too expensive for me to be able to afford.  I said, “This is MY dress!”  So, I went to the lady who could make this dress and had her measure me.  It will be made of wool in blue and white with bottons coming down in the middle along with two pockets and a BIG bow in the front!  I paid 50 bucks!  I’m so excited!  I can’t wait to see the finished result!

But, the real reason I came to this place was to get a nice real high quality silk custom-made Chinese dress called Qipao.  I scoured through hundreds of fabrics at the market for the right fabric that made me say, “Ooooooo!  I gotta have that!”  I finally found the right fabric that made me drool – it’s royal blue with cherry blossom flowers.  I bargained with the sales and  “tailor” woman until I got it down to as low as I could make it.  Remember, high quality silk dresses in the States go for hundreds to thousands of dollars.  I got it, all custom-made, for USD$100.  The woman measured me and then asked me how I want the dress to look like in terms of where it should be buttoned and whether or not if I want a zipper.  It was a totally fun experience, especially for someone who is crazy about fashion.

We will be able to see the final results of both dresses on Wednesday, the day before I head out!  These two dresses will have wonderful stories to tell for years to come.  When people ask me where I got the dress, I can tell them about the experience of choosing the fabric to being measured to deciding the placement of the buttons to negotiating.

Next time, when I come back to Shanghai, I am going to bring a picture of a Valentino dress or jacket and have it copied!  LOL!