October 24th, 2013
hey there folks...sorry it has taken me so long to get an update out...but life is way busy this time of the year and the great chinese firewall has been working overtime....not really sure why...but it has been a pain these past two weeks....hopefully i will actually finish this update the same day i start it....but i finally got all of the pictures uploaded and now can write about the amazing trip i took to indonesia at the end of sept/beginning of october....it was amazing....
things with me besides traveling are busy, busy, busy....this week was parent-teacher conferences...and i did about 60 in two afternoons....its good that i am a fast talker and don't really give the parents time to say anything....and its good that i have mostly good kids this year...nothing to say but good stuff....i also am in the busy part of starting the job search....wrote to seven schools this week in africa and have heard some good things/leads back from some of them...which is exciting...nothing is definite by any means, but things may be promising....i am headed to a job fair at the beginning of december in south africa and hopefully something will come of that....
so....on with the trip....this fall break i headed with three friends to borneo (kalimantan) & sulawesi in indonesia....the focus of the trip was animals...specially orangutans, proboscis monkeys and things in the sea we could swim with...tropical fish, sea turtles, nudibranchs, etc.....we lived on a boat for two nights and then went to a resort on the sea and also spent two nights in jakarta....borneo for the orangutans was incredible.....and snorkeling in sulawesi rocked.....so all in all it was terrific trip....below are some pictures from the adventure...
this shot was taken as we were going down the river on the way to camp leakey, where they have been studying orangutans for about 50 years....this is the proboscis money....named for their large noses...the male above was just hanging out, while the rest of the money crew was flying through the air around him....if you look close, you can see his huge nose...
this was one of the female monkeys in the same group....she was still carrying her baby...who is looking at the camera for this shot....they were all over the forest on the way to camp leakey and we went to sleep next to them and had them wake us up the next morning with their shrieking and fighting and jumping through the trees.....we slept on the top part of a wooden two story boat....open air, in mosquito nets....it was incredible to see the stars at night and wake up to the sounds of the forest at sunrise....simply amazing....
on the way to camp leakey, we stopped to see some of the other orangutans found in the forests of borneo....there are feeding platforms in parts of the forest, where workers bring bananas and milk to the orangutans everyday....so we would walk into the forest...the workers would bring the bananas and call to the orangutans and the orangutans would come....this shot is from one of our stops...this was a female, with her baby, trying too grab a few bananas for her meal....i love the expression on her face...
at the same site, this is the male who dominates the group....he allows other males to stay with their mothers, his sons of course, until they reach the age of about 7 or 8....then he chases them away so they can start their own group....there are never two large, older males in one group....some of the baby males in this group were reaching an age where he was definitely bossing them around and keeping them away from "his" bananas....you can see where he may have gotten into a "fight" on his face....again...love the look on his face as well...could put captions with orangutans, as their faces and eyes are so human-like....and so are their hands....
in this shot, its one of the males of another group eating the bananas...he is younger than the other male, as his face pads are not fully developed yet....again, the eyes say everything....and really their hands were incredible....they look just like human hands....and they are so strong....like rock climbers they generally have three points of contact with trees they are moving through...but sometimes they just use one arm or a foot to hang on and swing...simply impressive....
this little guy was hanging around our boat as we got to camp leakey and had lunch...him and his mom really wanted to climb aboard and join us with our meal...his name was mario and his mom's name was moot (or sounded like that)....they are wild orangutans who do not live at camp leakey, but live around it and have gotten quite used to people and all the good and evil they bring with them....including lunch....
mario really did try to come onto our boat...not sure how that would have gone....he also did a bit of showing off for us...look at those arms & legs....so strong....and he's just "hanging around"....our guide, bain, was incredible....he was an amazing photographer and all of the orangutans knew his voice...he used to work at camp leakey helping with research, but now the camp is for tourists....so most of the local workers lost their jobs there and became guides....he was the best one there in my opinion, as all of the other guides kept asking him where to go and which orangutans were which.....he also had an incredible camera and you will see two pictures of his below....we got really lucky....
this is the entrance to camp leakey....this particular camp was started by a woman named Dr. Galdikas....she was one of "leakey's girls"...along with dian fossey and jane goodall...they all started their own research stations for different members of the primates family and he, as one of the most famous anthropolgists in the world, help them start their research facilities...she started camp leakey in 1971 in borneo to study orangutans in the wild...and she has done so ever since...orangutans are threatened by poachers (as their hands are ingredients for chinese medicines) and by destruction of habitat...jungle is being cut down for the planting of palm trees to make palm oil...it is said that if the destruction & poaching continue at the current rate, orangutans could be extinct in the next ten years....this camp is one piece of land they are currently safe on because it has become a tourist destination....many of the orangutans have been there for years.....
i love this picture of one of the orangutans in camp leakey....her name is siswei and she has been at camp leakey for quite a long time....she was just hanging out next to the path as we walked in....and really took no notice of us...not angry, not excited, just chillin' and seeming quite content, as you can see from this shot.....
as i said, one of my favorite things about the orangutans besides their eyes, are their hands....so much like human hands....it was amazing also how they used their feet just like hands...in this picture you can see siswei's hands curled...i have so many of these pictures, just because they are amazing to look at....it's like looking at my own hands...okay, maybe they are more hairy and a bit more wrinkly...but really....so similar....
what i also found amazing was how close they came to humans...if you were in their path on the way to the bananas and the milk....they would just push you out of the way...gently, not in a mean way....but humans did not seem to be a threatening factor to them here at the camp or wherever we went that they were fed....we did not go up on the platform with them, and just watched, but they walked among us to get where they wanted to be...incredible....this is one of the females with her child...and you can see how close people are behind her....no zoom here....just a quick hello and she was back up a tree....
as i said before, our guide bain was amazing...he knew where to go and at what moment to see orangutans up close and personal...this was one of the moms we walked with...and he took this shot of the two of us...she wasn't so much into it...but how amazing....this really was an incredible trip....
this is an up-close shot of the female from above - rani - and her baby....i love this shot too, but cannot take credit for it...i actually stopped taking pictures at one point and just watched...this incredible shot was taken by bain....like i said, he had an amazing camera and the ability for us to hang with the orangutans up close and personal....and i love that this little one is just chillin' on his mom...seems to be what they do :)
this is the front of the boat we were on for a few days...and you can see the cool folks i was traveling with, our main guide and the tracker who walked with us as well...we also had a captain of the boat and a cook along who made delicious food...one of the things she cooked with, and i guess it is a main staple in indonesia, was tempeh...who knew it could be made so many ways and taste sooooo good....from left to right - alyssa, the tracker guy, bain, maggie & darby....all-in-all a great group of folks to travel with and explore indonesia with....
this was the top deck of the boat, where we slept and ate and hung out when we were traveling down the river...not too big and not too small...just right...there was a bathroom...but the shower was with river water...so most of us bypassed that aspect of the two days....it was sturdy and safe and lots of fun :) i really do recommend this adventure....but if you plan on going, get in touch so i can put you in touch with our amazing guide...he made it even more amazing than it was and i know would do the same for anyone else who went.....
from borneo/kalimantan we went to sulawesi....a different island of indonesia that is known for its amazing diving and snorkeling....maggie got certified for diving in open water while we were there and the rest of us went snorkeling....it was awesome....and we even swam with a sea turtle....i have decided i need to go diving again soon and get re-certified, as it has been way too long....didn't work out on this trip....but maybe in the spring....
this was our pool overlooking the sea.....it was a great resort, but really the only reason i think folks would go here would be to dive...some of the best in the world...and therefore excellent snorkeling too, but not much else to do but relax...which is just what we needed after a crazy first quarter of school....
this was our sunset the last night in sulawesi....pretty darn spectacular if you ask me :) all-in-all it was a great island-hopping trip and i would recommend the orangutan trip for everyone and sulawesi for all of you who dive....we saw incredible photos from the dives people at our resort were taking....simply amazing what they were seeing under the water....
our last night in town we were in jakarta, where i had the good fortune to meet up with my friend julie again....she was going to do a live-aboard dive trip two weeks later...it was great to see her and to catch up with one of the families i used to teach - the salims.....i love visiting indonesia not only for the eco-aspect, but also because i can see friends and students and people i know when i go :)
i figured i would end this update with a common picture from previous up-dates...me and a beer...this time it's bintang...the indonesian beer...this was a surprise gift from bian....which was difficult to come by in this very muslim country....no alcohol and no pork....so it was very much appreciated....as you can see from the satisfied look on my face...
this trip overall was amazing and again, i would recommend it to anyone....its a difficult place to get to and from, but totally worth the time and effort to do so....the orangutans with melt your heart and you will be amazed how much they are like us....if you want to know more about the organization at camp leakey, the one Dr. Galdikas is part of...check out this link....www.orangutan.org
thanks again as always for reading....and i apologize for taking so long to get this out...but i hope you understand...also, i hope you keep your fingers crossed for me and my job search....the goal is africa, but you never really know what a job search in the international world of teaching will bring...feel free to get in touch and have a fab day :)
dani
August 25th, 2013
I am back in shanghai....and man is it hot!!!!! it hasn't really gone below 90 deg F/32 deg C....and we have had tons of humidity....and no typhoons in this part of china....china itself has been hit with 12 this summer....but none here....which means this heat wave could last a long time....the chinese in shanghai say we have to have three typhoons before the heat and humidity break....i hope that is not true this year.....
so i am back for my third and final year....i am teaching 7th & 8th grade this year with a teaching partner, who is a very nice guy....and i have a whole new department to share science with....which seems to be going well....my schedule is not an easy one and i am not very excited by that aspect of the year...but everything else seems to be going swimmingly....which is a great sign....
my job search has already begun....i have my portfolio on-line with a head hunting company for international teachers and have even created a website that showcases me...feel free to check it out if you wish....danidipietro.weebly.com....i am searching for a teaching job in africa this time around....and have quite a few schools on the list....so if you know people working/living/teaching there, please get in touch and put me in touch with those you know....in the end it's not what you know, it's who you know that gets the ball rolling...i promise to let people know what is up and hopefully i won't have to go to a job fair this time around.....but enough about that....
in this update i am focusing a small bit on my summer trip to the states and more on shanghai and it's quirks...i have been giggling a lot and making a bucket list for must-do's before i am on my way....below are some of my favorite "chinglish" signs and some of my favorite pieces of art here in the city and just things that make me smile....so on with the pictures....
one of my favorite places i went this summer with my folks was to cape may, nj....the sunset you see above is from there and it is the only spot on the east coast of the united states where you can actually see the sun go down over a large body of salt water...sure you can see it set in a lake or a river...but not salt water....and this specifically has to do with the way nj is shaped....we caught a stunning sunset two nights while we were there....they were spectacular....
one of the other places i went this summer was the air and space museum in virginia...yes, that does say virginia, because i did not go to the one on the washington dc mall...we went to the one out by dulles airport....it's housed in an airplane hangar....and in the picture above, you can see me with the REAL space shuttle discovery....doing my best asian girl pose....this museum was amazing...it had a whole space exploration wing and hundreds of real airplanes and helicopters in the hangar itself....plus, i got to go with my friend laurie and her kids and we had an amazing docent....who helped build one of the very first passenger boeing planes....it was awesome....and i highly recommend going there....
this is what it looks like as you walk into the space portion of the hangar...it's awesome and just verifies for me that someday i still really want to go into space...as a tourist or a teacher or a scientist or even a trash collector...i just want to go....
i figured i would include a picture of me and my family....we take one of these every year...and this year we were all in gray and black...my mom and my brother tony even smiled....well, sort of, for this shot....you really can't misplace any of the four of us....but the left side of the picture shows who is okay with smiling in pictures....and the right shows you who is not....ha!
at the moment this is how shanghai feels to me a lot...hot and humid....and look at all of the pollution...it actually has not been so bad of recent....we have had a couple of "blue-sky" days....which last year were rather rare in this part of the world....when we first got back though, that was not the case....this shot is taken from the flair bar on the top of the ritz-carlton (68th floor)...it was where our welcome back to school party was held....a good time was had by all i think....except for the haze and the heat....but it's still a nice view....
i figured i would include this picture too for all the folks who know the watts....we are still all together...heather & brad too, from the bucharest days....this is later in the evening at the flair bar and our friend jenn is included too :) as i said before....a good time was had by all....
one of the things i feel shanghai does right is flowers....the plants and flowers on the roadside and on buildings and for sale are simply incredible....we even have a guy who is at our school campus every friday afternoon selling cut flowers like these....from his bike....they definitely brighten up the room....although i don't like how they wrap each flower individually with plastic....not really necessary in my opinion....but they still are beautiful to look at and have in your house....
i also am a big fan of shanghai art....this is one of my favorites and i think i might have used it before...but i just find it so cute...i love the elephant with wings....this sculpture is located on one of the best restaurant streets in the city.....so i know i will probably be having a tatsy meal when i see it ;)
this is a picture i took last spring but never got the chance to share...the chinese love their family pet dogs....they dress them up...like the ones above...they put them in strollers....they turn them different colors...they give them different outfits....they give them raincoats and rain boots when it is raining out...it is just hilarious to see how they pamper and treat the family pet...when i took this picture, the lady was beside herself with happiness...she asked if i wanted her to be in the picture and when i said no...she totally understood....hahahahaha.....
here is another one of my favorite sculptures in shanghai....the "flower" tree....now to give you an idea of size...there is a person in the foreground of this picture...behind the white sign...its actually really big....this one just makes me smile....no matter what the weather...its also very close to my apartment....so i get to see it quite a lot....
the picture above was taken because i was a bit freaked out one day when i saw some folks working with this tree....if you look really close at the tree, you will see it has been split open....and the dark grey stuff you see in the center is actually cement....why do they do this??? i have no idea....but i started paying attention to the trees where i walk in this city and have come to find they do this filling in the center of the tree with cement quite often....i have walked past this tree this school year...and it is still growing...it still has leaves, they are green....i am just very confused by this...how does the tree get nutrients???? where are the xylem and phloem???? ahhhhhhh...how does this work and why do they do it???? just another one of those "chinese things", i guess....
this picture was taken in one of my favorite sculpture parks int he entire city....called Red Town....can you tell that one of the clowns on the bike is real....hahahaha....all laowai (expats - foreigners) seem to have this picture....and while i was on the bike, at least three other chinese people were talking my picture too...i have been in hundreds of photos here with my "closest" chinese friends....i know, i know...its because i am stunning and the chinese know it....i know ;)
here's another one of my favorites at the sculpture park....me and einstein....i'm not really sure what the one on the right side of the picture is behind albert and i....but i think its awesome that i have a picture of me and him in china....i have no idea if he even ever made it to shanghai....he probably would have loved it like i do :)
okay....above is one of those horrible "chinglish" signs you see everywhere in china....there are even websites dedicated to these types of signs....they make me giggle everytime i find one....i have to say that i really have no idea what this one is trying to say...as i have no idea what "virescence" actually means....and transmitting the civilization....okay....whatever....
on one of my first days back at school, we had an amazing race planned....me and my van of colleagues decided to head to the bund and have a drink at the captain's bar...it is one of my favorite places in the entire city....and in this picture you can see the super-tall building that is being built next to the one that looks like a bottle cap opener...that's what we call it....the earlier picture above with all of the smog, was taken on top of the pointy building to the left of the bottle cap opener....no one really knows how tall that new building will be...as the chinese are keeping it a secret....it's amazing how fast it has gone up though and they work on it 24-7....i heard it is supposed to be done at the beginning of 2014...i hope so...cuz i want to go to the top :)
one more "chinglish" sign that i saw in the grocery store (carrefour) last week....as you and i know, that is a sign for red cabbage....but i guess in chinese red cabbage is referred to as "European fall the earth"....i hope it tastes the same....to give you an idea of prices...500g of this stuff costs 8 rmb, which equals $1.33....
and one more of the cool sculptures from Red Town...the legs walking down the hill....they are painted with "flags" of different countries and are just really cool....i was so happy this picture turned out...as i took it into the sun on my phone....its amazing how good phone pictures can be....
and here i am with the "american" leg going down the hill....this gives you an idea of size of the legs...they even have good musculature.....love them....
sorry no drinking picture this time around....but i don't have a good one i can share...something to work on for the next update....this year is shaping into some excellent travel and the first place i am headed is back to indonesia, specifically borneo and sulawesi....borneo to see orangutans and sulawesi to re-cert for diving at the marine park there....or at least get in some snorkeling....i am also headed to israel and jordan with my good friend cat for the winter break....and may have to go to johannesburg, south africa for a job fair in early december....so really lots of excellent travel, even before 2013 comes to an end....
and that's my life at the moment....i hope everyone is doing well and feel to comment or ask questions or whatever....it was nice to reconnect with folks this summer and to hear that people are still reading the blog...although some of you only check out the pictures....and that is okay....i know there are lots of words to get through....but because it is so enjoyed, i will continue to take you around the world with me if you wish and here's to another year filled with safe and amazing travels and adventures...remember to keep me updated about you and your adventures too.....
and finally, if you are headed to china or want to visit, the countdown for me has started and i will no longer be living in this amazing city after june 2014....so come on down if you can, there doesn't seem to be another town in the world quite like it :)
have a fab day and peace out.....dani
May 26, 2013
Hey there folks....well, it's officially the end of the year here for me in shanghai....i have three weeks left of school and then i am done...its been a crazy end of the year and really, it's time for me to have it be over....the kids are fine, i am fine, i just want it to be finished....6 classes of only 8th grade has almost been the death of me....the kids who have me during the 5th and 6th class of something now know it, as i am not so excited when i get to them...which i know is not fair, but its the way the cookie crumbles.....at least we are studying human body now which means we have a bunch of dissections to break things up....just last week we dissected pig hearts....next up....rats....should be interesting.....but really...i would like this year to end.....
for this update coming from china it will be about two places i have been in the past two months...indonesia and suzhou - a water town, in china...most of my time in indonesia was spent on the island of lombok, and really i did much of nothing....i needed a relaxing, no running around kind of vacation, and i got it....i also was in jakarta visiting friends, as you will see from the pictures....and then last weekend i was in suzhou with three friends for girls weekend out of shanghai....we had a blast....so on with the pictures....
this first shot is the beach just in front of the place i stayed....it was great because you could catch a ride to the gili islands with one of the boats like the one you see in the top part of the shot, and you could watch the kids play...and their relatives were surfers....so whenever it was high tide, they would be out there catching waves.....plus, they ran two local cafes on either side of where i stayed that had tasty food and cold, cold beer....it rocked....
as the sun went down, the beach vendors would start their walks home....just like in many countries i have been to, the ladies carried their wares on their heads....i am always amazed by this ability...as i cannot carry anything for a long period of time on my head...i know some places they use a ring of fabric or rubber to help things stay up....but i did not see them here in lombok.....
one of the cafes i had traditional indonesian food in had these license plates on the wall as decoration...i came to find out that the owner was an american from california....i was so excited to see the pennsylvania plate :)
early morning view of the black sand beach....i know it looks grey, but really it was black...and there was a reef just off the beach about 30 feet (10 meters) away that i snorkeled over.....it was such a relaxing vacation after a year of busy vacations and busy school time....i loved it.....
in indonesia, there are quite a lot of chinese....many immigrated there to get away from the craziness of the cultural revolution....so of course there are quite a few chinese graveyards....these tombstones were huge and very, very colorful....height-wise they were about as tall as me....and wider than me stretching out my arms....they were covered with dragon and whatever chinese horscope animal was for the person who died and lots of chinese writing.....they were really cool.....i have never seen them like this in china....but really, i have not looked for them.....
the first afternoon i was in lombok there was a HUGE commotion on the street....i came to find it was a wedding....a buddhist wedding...in the picture above, the groom is the dude in the peach colored shirt and sunglasses, under the umbrella....his bride was about 20 feet (7 meters) in front of him....also under an umbrella....and everyone was celebrating....
at the end of the parade was the band...all dressed in red, and keeping the beat....i asked if all weddings were like this, and was given the answer of only the buddhist weddings....lombok is mostly muslim with its religion....but the place i stayed at was buddhist....an interesting mix in my opinion....but you definitely heard "call to prayer" five times a day....the wedding was just an added bonus....
i figured i needed to end this post from lombok with a beauty of a sunset....taken from my lounge chair overlooking the "adults only" pool and the beach....nope, it doesn't get any better than this....
from lombok i went to jakarta to see friends of mine who teach there....this is julie....who can FINALLY walk....woot!!!! i saw her in china over her october break, so it was fun to check in and say hi on my break....
and i got to hang with dana....we realized it had been almost 5 years since we had last seen each other in romania....man, how time flies.....it was a fun visit with them both and now they have become friends and diving buddies as well....love it when that happens....
i have to say i was not a huge fan of jakarta, as the traffic was literally insane....but indonesia is a terrific place...bali, lombok - i recommend them both....you also have to love a place where you can use a 100,000 note and it is equivalent to approximately 10 USD....crazy that....
the second set of pictures were taken in china....i went to suzhou for a weekend with three friends of mine here as a girls weekend away....plus, one of the three is headed to a new country next year, so we wanted some quality time together....so we left the city in style....we took the bullet train (40 minutes) and reserved first class....little did we know we would be the only four people in our car and have these lazy-boy styled seats....they reclined and had reading lamps...it was nicer than most flights i have been on this year....it was incredible and very executive-like.....
suzhou of course has some shopping available, just like everywhere in china and i just couldn't pass up the chance to shoot the fine "chinglish" translations on these shirts...."playkiss - blayboy" and "Junp! get your wish" - what????
suzhou is a water and garden town located just outside of shanghai....so many people go there as tourists and walk the canals and take in the different gardens...we kept it simple and mellow...we walked the historic canal at night and then did one of the top 8 gardens in the morning....but one that was not crowded...which is a very hard thing to find in touristy places in china....there are always crowds....this was a place along the canal we stopped for a drink....
suzhou is also known for dumplings, just like shanghai....but i have to say the ones they were selling on the streets were much more creative than the ones in shanghai....in the picture above you can see the shark dumplings, the canoe styled dumplings and my favorites - the little pig dumplings....i usually cannot eat many of these because they are filled with meat, but i definitely could appreciate the artistry of these particular dumplings....they also had little apples and oranges dumplings...and just so you know....the cost - 3 kuai - or 50 cents....love it!!!!
i got a nice shot of the canal and one of the stone houses along it at night....the reflection turned out well and shows what type of houses you find along the canals....they are well lit and very quaint....
gardens, as i am sure many of you know, are quite important to the chinese and their living spaces...it has to do with feng shui....so this was the garden we visited...it was amazing in that it had all of the important elements featured - water, wind, plants, stone - and was small and beautiful....this was the main water pond with coy fish as you came into the front of the garden and house....
they usually have very cool stones in these styled gardens...they look kind of like lava rocks with their crazy shapes and random holes....i liked this shot.....
the gardens are free to visit for the locals of suzhou....so we wandered into the midst of this intense card game being played....there were also some families there having a picnic....it was peaceful and green and breezy and the air was sooooooo clean and easy to breathe....so very different from shanghai....a perfect spot for activities such as these....
in this shot you see the three friends i was traveling with - tina, julia and sandy....they make me laugh when i hang with them and do not teach at the same place as me, so rarely do we talk about work...i have had a great year having dinner with them....thanks ladies for the awesome time :)
i realize this is not my traditional last shot with a drink, but i really liked the way this turned out...this is a doorway in the garden we visited....it kind of reminded me of a cartoon character's head....but i just liked that i could get off the ground and be in the middle....suzhou was a great short trip from shanghai and i had a wonderful time away laughing and talking with the three women i went with....what a weekend away :)
so i am going to try and get one more update out about shanghai before i take a break for the summer...it should be out sometime in the next three weeks, fingers crossed....i have a bunch of funny pictures i would like to share from the past few months...like a pair of dogs in a baby carriage wearing baby outfits - the chinese and their dogs.....so keep your eyes open for the next one....
i hope that everyone is well and happy and enjoying their starts to summer or winter, dependent of course on your hemisphere.....things here in china are cooler than normal, for which i am appreciative....and things are moving like a speeding bullet train towards the end of the year....this summer for me will be an east coast one....i will mostly be in the philly area, and hopefully will be visiting NJ, NYC, DC, pittsburgh and possibly boston....so if you live in one of these places i will be in touch....feel free to contact me if you wanna hang and know my schedule....all the best.....
