Pictures from Bangkok, Thailand - Winter 2014/15

Click HERE to see some pictures from my trip to Bangkok

Adventures in New York: Jackson Heights, Queens

This month I've been helping on a DOT project, tracking pedestrian usage of a plaza in Jackson Heights, one of my favorite NY neighborhoods. The bustling immigrant energy fills me with hope. 

For those that don't know, JH is one of the most diverse zip codes in the world. It is an entry point for Latin Americans and South Asians, among others. The area the plaza is in is transitioning from Indian and Pakistani to Tibetan, Nepali and Bangladeshi, as one set of immigrants achieves the American suburban dream and leaves room for newcomers. 

As I arrive home from a day out there, I feel like I have been around the world and back. Magical!

Volunteering and Learning Along the Migrant Trail in Southern Arizona

This past week I visited Southern Arizona to immerse myself in border issues. The US-Mexican border in Arizona crosses the Sonoran Desert, which is hot and inhospitable, but for many it is an important path to economic survival.  Current immigration policies and the border fence erected since 9/11 have made what many longtime Arizona residents told me was a routine crossing into the US for seasonal work into a dangerous activity.  In fact, between 200-400 migrants die each year in the Tucson sector of the border while making this journey.

Arizona/Mexico Border Trip

I had an amazing, eye-opening, moving trip down to Southern Arizona to immerse myself in the migration issues in the border communities in both the US and Mexico.

Click HERE to see pictures from my trip

Volunteering at El Comedor, Nogales, Mexico

In May, I spent a morning serving food to the recently deported at El Comedor in Nogales, Mexico, where I had the chance to hear many stories. El Comedor, run by Jesuit nuns and the Kino Border Initiative, feeds migrants who have just been dropped back into Mexico by US Immigration. Each day American volunteers come across the border and join the nuns to serve breakfast and dinner to up to 100 migrants a day. They also provide medical care and advice on how to re-group and figure out what to do next. They help migrants get bus tickets home, get money wired to them, take testimony of any abuse they may have suffered in the hands of Border Patrol and most importantly offer kindness.

Click HERE to see a few pictures

Visiting South of the US/Mexico Border Fence in Nogales, Mexico

I headed down to Southern Arizona to immerse myself in the migration issues in the border communities in both the US and Mexico.  Since 9/11, efforts have been made to close the border and it is affecting life on both sides.  Before this time there were many border towns that that functioned jointly on both the Mexico and US sides with people working, living and going to school together. When the US decided to put up a wall, families were split, workers were on the opposite sides as their jobs, students were on the opposite side from their schools.  Unfortunately this border fence has sucked the vibrancy out of many communities. One example I explored was Nogales, Arizona, US and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico where many efforts are being made to keep both sides vibrant.

Pictures from Cuba

Click HERE to see photos from my recent trip to Cuba

A Few Thoughts About Cuba

I leave this trip from Cuba with more questions than answers. Everything I thought on my last trip remains true. It's a beautiful country with impressive architecture and rich culture. The people have a warm inner spirit that makes me keep wanting to go back.

On each trip, I scratch a little deeper and since I was there for an NYU grad school class this time, I really dug in. We met with experts who explained the challenges Cuba is currently facing with its economy. They spoke to us about their healthcare system, where they train doctors from around the world and also send 1000s of doctors to work in other countries.  We also learned about their rich creative community, housing policy, work dealing with issues related to race, sexuality and gender issues. We heard about how they are preserving their historical architecture and are trying to develop a tourism industry that benefits and doesn't displace locals.

I continue to admire some of the values of the Revolution and all the efforts to even the economic landscape for everyone, but feel frustrated that even with so many interventions inequality exists on many levels and tourism and the influx of money from it and other outside sources is reopening old scars.

Classic Cars in Cuba

Re-posting from Cuba March 2005

In honor of my recent trip to Cuba I'm re-posting my write-up from after my trip there in 2005

It has been three weeks since I returned from my second trip to Cuba. I’ve been having a hard time putting what I saw onto paper. I know that a few minutes in Plaza Vieja in Old Havana drinking a fresh sweet minty mojito and listening to one of the many Cuban bands that play all over would bring it all rushing back to me. The slow pace, the comfortable feeling, the beauty, the warmth, the history and most importantly those big smiles that radiate out of every person you see.

The best I can do though is to pop in the cd from my favorite band there and try to gather my thoughts for you…

Cuba is a magical place. It’s both stopped in time and at the same time so very current. It’s got a rainbow multicultural mix of people. Locals could have long blond hair and pale skin, dark black African skin or most commonly dark hair and striking eyes of their Spanish ancestors. The cultural boundaries of racism that keep us separated in the US, seem to be gone there. It’s one of the good byproducts of the Revolution. 

(Unfortunately, I learned in my 2014 trip, that although Cuba is definitely a vibrant rainbow of race, racism exists here too more prominently than I could see on the surface. The ideals of equality in the Revolution came a long way to helping Afro-Cubans achieve equality in economic and educational attainment, but as I saw a prominent intellectual say "Black is still black." so more must be done to promote positive black images in society. The complicated implications of a post-slavery society are hard to erase.  The good news in Cuba though is that an vibrant discussion is finally taking place about this issue.)

The Streets are Lined with Art in Philadelphia!

Somehow I missed this up till now but Philadelphia has an amazing assortment of street art with giant murals covering walls throughout the city. The Mural Arts Program began in 1984 as a component of the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network, an effort spearheaded to eradicate the graffiti crisis plaguing the city. The Anti-Graffiti Network hired muralist Jane Golden to reach out to graffiti writers and to redirect their energies from destructive graffiti writing to constructive mural painting. Now 30 years later there are over 3600 murals throughout the city.  I got a small taste of them by following the City Center walking tour, which is a self guide walk by 14 murals.  Each mural has a plaque and a phone number that you can call to listen to an interview with the artist about the inspiration for the piece and who helped them do it.  A big component of the project is to involve community members in the creation of the work.  It was a touching experience to listen to the stories.  

All in all, I have heard that Philadelphia has made great strides to attract artists by subsidizing housing and rehearsal space and seeing art EVERYWHERE showed they take this seriously.  I have always loved Philly, but I now feel a deeper excitement about its vibrancy. I can't wait to go back when the snow isn't falling and the wind isn't blowing and explore other neighborhoods and see their art.

Click HERE to see an online album of some of the marvelous murals on Philadelphia's streets

Travels in Tennessee

Hello Uncle Sam.  Please show me America.

The more I travel to other countries, the more I realize how hard it is to really understand a culture.  It has makes me want to dig deeper into America, because gosh, at least I should be able to to understand the nuances of my own country a little better! So in January, I set off to explore Eastern Tennessee, which was a great place to go see history, music, vast dramatic landscapes and eat lots of comfort food. I visited Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville.  I honestly didn't stay long enough to get a solid impression of each of the cities, but I enjoyed what I saw. You have to really dig deep to understand the subtle differences in American culture, but I did the best I could.  

Understanding American Tour: Tennessee

Click HERE to see more pictures from my trip to Tennessee

The Extremes of American Tourism: Pigeon Forge and Dollywood

I hadn't planned it but it almost seemed like we were sucked towards Dollywood and Pigeon Forge, Dolly Parton's idea of how to bring prosperity to her home town. Even in the off season, when we had the roads to ourselves and the amusement park was closed, we found magic in the good old American excess: Mount Rushmore pop culture style with Roy Rodgers, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin; a possibly life sized Titanic with a big iceberg, that I guess you could go into and relive the story; a giant upside-down house imaging a crash after a tornado that is called WonderWorks. Anyhow, I doubt I can put accurate words to describe the craziness, but I enjoyed it in the same way that I love Vegas.  Americans are strange tourists!  I can't imagine actually paying to go into any of these places, but they were fun to look at from afar and certainly one part of the American travel experience.

My first trip to the New York State Capital

Yes, I know that it seems unfathomable that a person who has been to 56 countries and 40 states could possibly never have been to her own home state capital when she has lived in the state on and off since she was 7 years old!!! But its true.  So today I expanded a work trip to Albany into a tourist exploration.  I was up there putting on a forum about community college completion.  (Yes, yes, might sound geeky to some of you, but I embrace my geekyness and now get to work focusing on interesting topics like this.)  Anyhow, I digress, it was a chance to come to Albany and started me off on the right foot for any state capitol visit. At the event I made sure legislators and their staff, as well and other government and nonprofit folks learned about an important issue and hopefully were inspired to legislate to improve things.  So, by the time I set off on my Albany exploration I was in a legislative state of mind.