I'm almost two weeks into my summer internship at Centro Pedro Claver. Admittedly, until now, things have been rather slow. Mostly I've just been planning--the survey, the interviews, etc. Many hours logged at the office in anticipation of many more hours to be spent on site or in the editing suite.
Today, though, I got out of the office for a little guided tour of the vicinity. The neighborhood is actually EasternNorth Philly, an area with a heavy Latino representation and a very high rate of violence, the latter being the subject of the summer youth program and survey. I scoured an eight block radius with two members of the center, a young woman from a neighboring community, and an elderly Puerto Rican man who loves to brag that he's circled the world seventeen times. (He was a sailor for much of his youth.) We walked around the streets, past people sitting on stoops, kids running through fire hydrants, and the ice cream truck making rounds and making noise.
We spoke with perhaps a dozen different clusters of people and told them our plans for the summer. Most were wary of the three-man crew (which later grew to five as a couple of kids latched onto the march) especially the camera-toting girl with the not-so-local accent. I started to recognize the drug dealers really quickly as the ones who covered their faces with their hands, their shirts, or even the bodies of whoever was standing closest. While not everyone was friendly, most people were opinionated and shared incredible stories about violence they had either witnessed, or experienced in some way. Though today was just the beginning, I can tell it's going to be an interesting summer.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Summer University, Budapest Style
Greetings from Budapest! As a student of CEU's Summer University program, I've taken part in a two-week course centered around the theme of media, democratization, and civil society, co-sponsored by the CGCS at ASC, of which I am now halfway through.
Upon orientation I was thrilled to discover that I'd be part of a class of 35 students representing at least 20 countries, most of which are from Central and Eastern Europe and some from Latin America and Asia. Aside from being great company, some of their own shared stories have since placed my own rather abstract and piecemealed understanding of foreign histories and politics in mcuh more meaningful contexts. My peers at CEU also represent a variety of fields and occupations, including law, journalism and NGO advocacy work, bringing valuable insights to the course discussions and prompting me to consider very seriously the challenges of global and comparative communication studies.
Here are some highlights of the course thus far:
-Dr. Hakan Seckinelgin from the London School of Economics visited us on Tuesday, where he provided a detailed outline of the prevailing contemporary liberal theories of "civil society" and underlined some of their major criticisms and shortcomings. We then discussed the ambiguity of the concept of civil society, including the various interpretations of social relations denoted by the term as well as obstacles to operationalizing the concept due to its intangibility. Most debated were the prevailing definitions of civil society-- the class attempted to tackle questions such as the inclusion of violence as a potentially legitimate force in civil society, as well as the applicability of the concept outside of western contexts.
-On Thursday we took a field trip to the Open Society Archives where we viewed some original pieces of the Samizdat collection, the work of those who independently published and distributed materials using innovative technologies through clandestine networks in resistance to censorship under repressive Communist regimes throughout Central and Eastern Europe. My favorite part of the collection (probably in large part due to my inability to read Russian or Hungarian) were the stamps that were produced and distributed by groups such as the trade union Solidarnost, and, due to the popularity of the movements in Hungary and Poland, regularly accepted by the postal service.
Samizdat works is just one example used in our ongoing discussion of the role of alternative and radical media in the public sphere and civil society. Since the introduction of this topic it has also been hotly debated whether there exists of parallel forms of underground grassroots communication anywhere in the world today.
-We've had the pleasure of a two-day appearance by none other than ASC Dean Dr. Michael X. Delli Carpini during the week, who gave lectures on media effects on political and civic participation and the impact of entertainment media on news and 'civic cultures.' He offered us a historical overview of the changing notions of communicating information to publics, effectively suggesting that news and entertainment, as far back as the 17th and 18th centuries, were not inherently strictly delineated categories of media content. We also considered the possible risks and advantages of the breakdown of this "new" trend of 'entertaining politics.'
Later in the day we engaged in productive (and by that I mean frustrating) deliberation of how to best ensure that the ethical norms of journalism can be applied to entertainment media, which is clearly much the same as news media in its potential consequences (both beneficial and detrimental) for democratic discourse. We essentially concluded that in cases where the right to freedom of expression exercised in entertainment media may be at odds with the norms of democratic media-- such as verisimilitude (my favorite example of such a case being the television series "24")-- the most feasible and effective response is that of critical discourse that perhaps may provide an additional or counter narrative to those posed.
-Finally, the last three days of the curriculum have included student presentations of completed, current, or future research related to the course's theme. They have spanned a wide range of fields and subjects, including media coverage of the Zapatista movement, graffitti in Buenos Aires, online alternative media in China, blogging politics in Romania, and children's media literacy initiatives in Croatia.
On Friday I presented my most recent project, in which I explored the underlying normative and ideological assumptions behind prevailing academic and civic models of global and comparative media systems analysis. I examined Hallin and Mancini's model (2004) categorizing media systems in Western and Southern Europe and William Rugh's (2004) typology of Arab media alongside the annual global press freedom rankings published by international NGO's Reporters without Borders and Freedom House.
I somewhat forcefully insinuated that these academic models are just as normative as the rankings of press freedom, to which some responded with an expected and healthy dose of skepticism. Yet interestingly, and much to my excitement, some students explained their doubts that any of these models could agree with not only the structure of media and political systems in their regions, but also with the views of the people within them as to whether democracy itself is even the ultimate end goal. We then had a fruitful back-and-forth as a class on the feasbility as well as potential benefits and limitations and of bridging the gap between scholarly analysis and civil society.
Pursuing a daily itinerary packed with guest lectures, presentations, and field trips, and of course using the relatively little time left for sightseeing and fun-having, it is no wonder I've squashed my naively optimistic expectations of blogging on a fairly regular basis while here. I've had an awesome time exploring Budapest and learning about its history and culture, sampling its food, and going out with new friends in the evenings to wonderful open-air bars and clubs. The weather is hot but thankfully not as muggy as Philly, and the city has a few great outdoor baths, some of which are even open late-night. In fact, it's a lovely Sunday-- my only one here-- so I better get out now and enjoy it! Ciao!
Upon orientation I was thrilled to discover that I'd be part of a class of 35 students representing at least 20 countries, most of which are from Central and Eastern Europe and some from Latin America and Asia. Aside from being great company, some of their own shared stories have since placed my own rather abstract and piecemealed understanding of foreign histories and politics in mcuh more meaningful contexts. My peers at CEU also represent a variety of fields and occupations, including law, journalism and NGO advocacy work, bringing valuable insights to the course discussions and prompting me to consider very seriously the challenges of global and comparative communication studies.
Here are some highlights of the course thus far:
-Dr. Hakan Seckinelgin from the London School of Economics visited us on Tuesday, where he provided a detailed outline of the prevailing contemporary liberal theories of "civil society" and underlined some of their major criticisms and shortcomings. We then discussed the ambiguity of the concept of civil society, including the various interpretations of social relations denoted by the term as well as obstacles to operationalizing the concept due to its intangibility. Most debated were the prevailing definitions of civil society-- the class attempted to tackle questions such as the inclusion of violence as a potentially legitimate force in civil society, as well as the applicability of the concept outside of western contexts.
-On Thursday we took a field trip to the Open Society Archives where we viewed some original pieces of the Samizdat collection, the work of those who independently published and distributed materials using innovative technologies through clandestine networks in resistance to censorship under repressive Communist regimes throughout Central and Eastern Europe. My favorite part of the collection (probably in large part due to my inability to read Russian or Hungarian) were the stamps that were produced and distributed by groups such as the trade union Solidarnost, and, due to the popularity of the movements in Hungary and Poland, regularly accepted by the postal service.
Samizdat works is just one example used in our ongoing discussion of the role of alternative and radical media in the public sphere and civil society. Since the introduction of this topic it has also been hotly debated whether there exists of parallel forms of underground grassroots communication anywhere in the world today.
-We've had the pleasure of a two-day appearance by none other than ASC Dean Dr. Michael X. Delli Carpini during the week, who gave lectures on media effects on political and civic participation and the impact of entertainment media on news and 'civic cultures.' He offered us a historical overview of the changing notions of communicating information to publics, effectively suggesting that news and entertainment, as far back as the 17th and 18th centuries, were not inherently strictly delineated categories of media content. We also considered the possible risks and advantages of the breakdown of this "new" trend of 'entertaining politics.'
Later in the day we engaged in productive (and by that I mean frustrating) deliberation of how to best ensure that the ethical norms of journalism can be applied to entertainment media, which is clearly much the same as news media in its potential consequences (both beneficial and detrimental) for democratic discourse. We essentially concluded that in cases where the right to freedom of expression exercised in entertainment media may be at odds with the norms of democratic media-- such as verisimilitude (my favorite example of such a case being the television series "24")-- the most feasible and effective response is that of critical discourse that perhaps may provide an additional or counter narrative to those posed.
-Finally, the last three days of the curriculum have included student presentations of completed, current, or future research related to the course's theme. They have spanned a wide range of fields and subjects, including media coverage of the Zapatista movement, graffitti in Buenos Aires, online alternative media in China, blogging politics in Romania, and children's media literacy initiatives in Croatia.
On Friday I presented my most recent project, in which I explored the underlying normative and ideological assumptions behind prevailing academic and civic models of global and comparative media systems analysis. I examined Hallin and Mancini's model (2004) categorizing media systems in Western and Southern Europe and William Rugh's (2004) typology of Arab media alongside the annual global press freedom rankings published by international NGO's Reporters without Borders and Freedom House.
I somewhat forcefully insinuated that these academic models are just as normative as the rankings of press freedom, to which some responded with an expected and healthy dose of skepticism. Yet interestingly, and much to my excitement, some students explained their doubts that any of these models could agree with not only the structure of media and political systems in their regions, but also with the views of the people within them as to whether democracy itself is even the ultimate end goal. We then had a fruitful back-and-forth as a class on the feasbility as well as potential benefits and limitations and of bridging the gap between scholarly analysis and civil society.
Pursuing a daily itinerary packed with guest lectures, presentations, and field trips, and of course using the relatively little time left for sightseeing and fun-having, it is no wonder I've squashed my naively optimistic expectations of blogging on a fairly regular basis while here. I've had an awesome time exploring Budapest and learning about its history and culture, sampling its food, and going out with new friends in the evenings to wonderful open-air bars and clubs. The weather is hot but thankfully not as muggy as Philly, and the city has a few great outdoor baths, some of which are even open late-night. In fact, it's a lovely Sunday-- my only one here-- so I better get out now and enjoy it! Ciao!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Public Service Announcement—
Hello? I’m Jasmine, a third year student in the PhD program at the Annenberg School for Communication. This is my first blogging experience, so bear with me. I agreed to try this blog bit out as a way to catalogue some of my summer travel experience—a perk that has come to characterize my time at Annenberg. This year my summer starts in Amsterdam for a two-week summer school course on Black Europe offered through the International School for Humanities and Social Sciences (ISHSS) at the University of Amsterdam.
Experiencing race abroad, punctuated by the study of race, seems especially blog-worthy. When sharing my travel plans with various people before I arrived, I was frequently told something like: “Race in Europe is very different” or “that’s interesting, ‘Black’ is not really the same in Europe as it is in the United States.” I would resound with an internal “hmph!” As the course is underway, I find that my scoff was entirely warranted. Skeptic that I am, I expected “Black” to be both convoluted and problematic in Europe, much as it is in the US. Moreover, in the raised eyebrows and cynical responses I received to my travel/study plans I often sensed the wrongful assumption that anti-Black racism was a problem solved outside of the US—which I then extend to assume (I like to assume) that a preoccupation with Blackness is an especially American preoccupation.
Wrong. Black in Europe is jacked up in all the ways colonialism jacks up everything. The dynamics of its jacked-up-ness are certainly contextual, and different from those of the American landscape, but not unrelated. So far I have learned that the legal system ensures the imbalance of power where race is concerned, and that part of the difficulty some people have in understanding why or how one approaches the idea of “Black” and “Europe” is very much related to language and the formation of the European Union. Interesting stuff.
Course work aside, Amsterdam is very cool. Very green—not just because of the bikes. A little chilly (weather wise), but a rather welcoming place. While in Europe I’ll be visiting a few other countries as well so stay tuned for more ranting.
One
Jasmine
Experiencing race abroad, punctuated by the study of race, seems especially blog-worthy. When sharing my travel plans with various people before I arrived, I was frequently told something like: “Race in Europe is very different” or “that’s interesting, ‘Black’ is not really the same in Europe as it is in the United States.” I would resound with an internal “hmph!” As the course is underway, I find that my scoff was entirely warranted. Skeptic that I am, I expected “Black” to be both convoluted and problematic in Europe, much as it is in the US. Moreover, in the raised eyebrows and cynical responses I received to my travel/study plans I often sensed the wrongful assumption that anti-Black racism was a problem solved outside of the US—which I then extend to assume (I like to assume) that a preoccupation with Blackness is an especially American preoccupation.
Wrong. Black in Europe is jacked up in all the ways colonialism jacks up everything. The dynamics of its jacked-up-ness are certainly contextual, and different from those of the American landscape, but not unrelated. So far I have learned that the legal system ensures the imbalance of power where race is concerned, and that part of the difficulty some people have in understanding why or how one approaches the idea of “Black” and “Europe” is very much related to language and the formation of the European Union. Interesting stuff.
Course work aside, Amsterdam is very cool. Very green—not just because of the bikes. A little chilly (weather wise), but a rather welcoming place. While in Europe I’ll be visiting a few other countries as well so stay tuned for more ranting.
One
Jasmine
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Dispatch 1: Montreal to Philly
Hello anonymous blogospherian reader-
Introductions up front: My name is Mike and I’m a third-year Ph.D. student here at Annenberg. I'm originally from
My academic research and journalistic reporting tends to be about popular and consumer culture (with a dash of religion and politics thrown in). Increasingly, I'm interested in focusing on the intersection of youth and technology - namely, how the character, values and behavior of this nascent "millennial" generation (vis-a-vis their new media and digital technology) is being represented in the press, constructed by media and marketing industries, and experienced by millennials themselves.
Although I won't likely find my way to a surfboard off the coast of
It was my first trip to an
This month (June), I’m busy with the first major undertaking of the summer: teaching a “Visual Communication” class offered through CGS at
So that wraps up dispatch one. Hopefully it’s in keeping with the tone and goal of the blog - a mix of formality and informality (much like summer itself, I suppose). Echoing into the cyberspace void is a funny thing (and one I’m new at): The abyss just stares back at you.
Anyhow, on the July horizon there’s further conference travel (
safe travels
-serazio
Friday, June 6, 2008
Hello there!
Nice to blog you. Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Heidi Khaled. I am a doctoral student finishing up my first year here at Annenberg. I received my B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of California, Irvine in 2006, and moved to the East Coast shortly thereafter to begin my exploration into graduate programs. I must say that my experience at ASC and in Philadelphia has been wonderfully enriching and-- dare I say-- a lot of fun.
My research interests currently lie at the intersection between political communication and cultural studies, with a focus on civic engagement among youth via entertainment and music media. Thanks to ASC, I will embark on some heady travails this summer that are guaranteed to be nothing short of amazing.
In exactly a week I will travel to Budapest for a two-week course co-sponsored by our own Center for Global Communication Studies on Media, Democratization, and Civil Society. The course is part of the Summer University series at the Central European University, and I will be staying at their student housing facilities. Aside from myself, Angela Lee, another soon-to-be-second-year colleague of mine, will be there, along with Dr. Monroe Price, Director of CGCS and faculty emeritus at ASC, and Dr. Delli Carpini, the Dean of Annenberg. I am very pleased to be in great company, and of course very excited to see Budapest and enjoy some tourist time there.
Later in August I will fly to Denver and Minneapolis to cover the respective Democratic and Republican National Conventions! We have yet to receive our field assignments, but I will most likely be working for the DNC or RNC, a non-profit organization or media outlet. This is also a great opportunity afforded me by the school, and I feel very fortunate to be a first-hand witness to such momentous events. I also feel that my experiences there will inspire some ideas for interesting research on partisan political behavior and ideology.
In the meanwhile, I will be finishing up some research here in Philadelphia.
I look forward to documenting my adventures for myself as well as for my peers and colleagues, and anyone else interested. More to come once I'm in Budapest!
My research interests currently lie at the intersection between political communication and cultural studies, with a focus on civic engagement among youth via entertainment and music media. Thanks to ASC, I will embark on some heady travails this summer that are guaranteed to be nothing short of amazing.
In exactly a week I will travel to Budapest for a two-week course co-sponsored by our own Center for Global Communication Studies on Media, Democratization, and Civil Society. The course is part of the Summer University series at the Central European University, and I will be staying at their student housing facilities. Aside from myself, Angela Lee, another soon-to-be-second-year colleague of mine, will be there, along with Dr. Monroe Price, Director of CGCS and faculty emeritus at ASC, and Dr. Delli Carpini, the Dean of Annenberg. I am very pleased to be in great company, and of course very excited to see Budapest and enjoy some tourist time there.
Later in August I will fly to Denver and Minneapolis to cover the respective Democratic and Republican National Conventions! We have yet to receive our field assignments, but I will most likely be working for the DNC or RNC, a non-profit organization or media outlet. This is also a great opportunity afforded me by the school, and I feel very fortunate to be a first-hand witness to such momentous events. I also feel that my experiences there will inspire some ideas for interesting research on partisan political behavior and ideology.
In the meanwhile, I will be finishing up some research here in Philadelphia.
I look forward to documenting my adventures for myself as well as for my peers and colleagues, and anyone else interested. More to come once I'm in Budapest!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Welcome to Beijing - Jarrett Stein
My first two days in China consisted of 10 hours of class, 12 hours of sleep, with the rest of the time devoted to inventing hand gestures in unsuccessful attempts to commune with the native Beijingers. In the little research I did before I left, each book or person echoed the same sentiment, “You will experience culture shock”. Talk about your understatements. Beijing offers more than an extraordinary culture; it’s an entirely different planet.
First, to address the issue of the language barrier, it should be noted that barrier is an insufficient term as barriers can be broken. Here, it’s an impenetrable language fortress. We are housed at a fancy international hotel, full of Americans and Europeans alike, yet not one employee has understood a word I’ve said, including the concierge. Exploring outwards in my experiences, the waiters, shop-clerks, peddlers, and even students have had zero understanding of anything I’ve tried to say.
Now, although I’m admittedly an ignorant Westerner, I do know that expecting the Chinese to understand English is naïve and maybe even offensive. If a Tsinghua (the university where we take classes) student came to America with no knowledge of English, of course I’d be just as hopeless a host. Kramer and public speaking coaches alike have expressed that the majority of communication is non-verbal. This maxim was quickly invalidated here. But, even failing to understand anything has its benefits, even if it’s only humor found in or after the moment.
So as part of the Penn Abroad program, we take 2 Communications classes, each 2.5 hours, 4 days a week. One class focuses on Media Events with the upcoming Olympics in particular, and the other on Intellectual Property and Piracy (not the Black Beard kind, unfortunate I know). But I didn’t travel to another planet to take class, I came to hop out of my spaceship and explore, seeing, doing, tasting, touching things I’ve never experienced before.
One of the first things I do when I get to a new place is find the neighborhood supermarket and stock up my room. A block from our hotel is a huge department store called Lotus. I don’t know what’s the bigger trip, navigating to the shop or walking the aisles inside. Although it’s only 100 yards or so away from our hotel, to enter Lotus one must cross a 6-lane street, dodging buses, cars, motorcycles, scooters, and bikes. There really is no way to express how scary crossing the street is; in 48 hours I’ve almost died I’d say a dozen or so times. I’ve adapted however, adopting the strategy of finding a larger local shadowing their every move as they cross the street, careful to situate myself on the inside so I won’t be the first killed, but maybe the second who escapes only maimed and injured. Reaching the safe harbor of the sidewalk is an accomplishment but more so a relief.
Lotus itself is massive, and I’ve only probably seen a small fraction of all the wares it offers. The first floor consists of multiple small shops, ranging from the legitimate (Nike Outlet) to the absurd (The Vento Race = The North Face). The second floor is similar to a Wal-Mart, and the third is a supermarket. What would cost upwards of $300 in the U.S. cost my roommate and I around 30 bucks each. When a can of beer costs 10 cents, you know you’ve found a good place to be. It’s really too difficult to describe the ludicrousness of some of the available foods and wares, so I’ll try to include pictures in a later post.
I have so much more to talk about, but am too lazy to write about it now. I’d say the moral of this post is just the pure joy embedded in spontaneous, uninhibited exploration. Joy isn’t even the right word; it’s the natural humor that expresses itself in times of perceived hopelessness, downright shock, and finally unexpected triumph. Beijing is one nutty place.
First, to address the issue of the language barrier, it should be noted that barrier is an insufficient term as barriers can be broken. Here, it’s an impenetrable language fortress. We are housed at a fancy international hotel, full of Americans and Europeans alike, yet not one employee has understood a word I’ve said, including the concierge. Exploring outwards in my experiences, the waiters, shop-clerks, peddlers, and even students have had zero understanding of anything I’ve tried to say.
Now, although I’m admittedly an ignorant Westerner, I do know that expecting the Chinese to understand English is naïve and maybe even offensive. If a Tsinghua (the university where we take classes) student came to America with no knowledge of English, of course I’d be just as hopeless a host. Kramer and public speaking coaches alike have expressed that the majority of communication is non-verbal. This maxim was quickly invalidated here. But, even failing to understand anything has its benefits, even if it’s only humor found in or after the moment.
So as part of the Penn Abroad program, we take 2 Communications classes, each 2.5 hours, 4 days a week. One class focuses on Media Events with the upcoming Olympics in particular, and the other on Intellectual Property and Piracy (not the Black Beard kind, unfortunate I know). But I didn’t travel to another planet to take class, I came to hop out of my spaceship and explore, seeing, doing, tasting, touching things I’ve never experienced before.
One of the first things I do when I get to a new place is find the neighborhood supermarket and stock up my room. A block from our hotel is a huge department store called Lotus. I don’t know what’s the bigger trip, navigating to the shop or walking the aisles inside. Although it’s only 100 yards or so away from our hotel, to enter Lotus one must cross a 6-lane street, dodging buses, cars, motorcycles, scooters, and bikes. There really is no way to express how scary crossing the street is; in 48 hours I’ve almost died I’d say a dozen or so times. I’ve adapted however, adopting the strategy of finding a larger local shadowing their every move as they cross the street, careful to situate myself on the inside so I won’t be the first killed, but maybe the second who escapes only maimed and injured. Reaching the safe harbor of the sidewalk is an accomplishment but more so a relief.
Lotus itself is massive, and I’ve only probably seen a small fraction of all the wares it offers. The first floor consists of multiple small shops, ranging from the legitimate (Nike Outlet) to the absurd (The Vento Race = The North Face). The second floor is similar to a Wal-Mart, and the third is a supermarket. What would cost upwards of $300 in the U.S. cost my roommate and I around 30 bucks each. When a can of beer costs 10 cents, you know you’ve found a good place to be. It’s really too difficult to describe the ludicrousness of some of the available foods and wares, so I’ll try to include pictures in a later post.
I have so much more to talk about, but am too lazy to write about it now. I’d say the moral of this post is just the pure joy embedded in spontaneous, uninhibited exploration. Joy isn’t even the right word; it’s the natural humor that expresses itself in times of perceived hopelessness, downright shock, and finally unexpected triumph. Beijing is one nutty place.
Introduction - Jarrett Stein
Introduction
Ni-hao! Right there, that’s it, the extent of my Chinese vocabulary, and I’m off to Beijing for a month to eat, travel, and study. Why Beijing? I’ve never been to China, studied abroad, or eaten turtle, snake, and bullfrog, all activities I’m thoroughly looking forward too. I’m a rising senior at Penn, so in my mind, it’s now or never. My hopes are this blog will both educate and amuse, and once I learn how to use my digital camera and transfer photos, it may even captivate and shock. In interest of full disclosure, I’m not sure how often I’ll be able/inclined to grind out quality blog entries whilst chilling in China, but I’ll do my best.
Blog 1: Preperation
Just a little background in my psyche and situation, this is how my last month played out. The last week in April I had 2 finals and 3 final papers (all 15+ pages (with mad footnotes and endnotes (and cited quotes, and clever margin and wordspace modifications so in total equaling about 500 words of original text))). May 7th and 8th meant more finals, made especially sweet since the latter was my 21st birthday. In an unforeseen but welcome twist, my depleted fun expectations were crushed and surpassed by an amazing birthday in which I was awake the full 24 hours of the day, thanks to a 12- 11am all-nighter/exam victory. From 11am till bedtime early May 9th I commemorated the 21st anniversary of my beginning by beginning my career as a wine connoisseur. I dined and imbibed at a stellar Philadelphia restaurant, Ansill. See more at my soon to be created food blog (details later), but here’s an abstract:
Quickly becoming one of Philly’s best places to eat, modern- regionless but refined cuisine highlights the best of both local and exotic ingredients. A dish misses on occasion, but any imperfections are quickly forgiven thanks to a wait staff whose warmth and friendliness made me think I was back in Nashville.
Returning to my month, following my birthday came two more final papers, closely followed by freedom. Well, freedom as defined by a week at home in Nashville with my parents and dog, so some might think otherwise. Luckily for me, home really is freedom, including freedom to use my car, my mom’s credit card, etc etc. Credit cart + legal wine purchasing = initially surprised, quickly angry mother. After 7 days down South, I went back to Philly for a deuce for some final packing, and now I’m on the train to NYC. Tomorrow morning, I have an 11am JFK to Tokyo, a 4-hour layover, culminating with a touchdown in Beijing Sunday at 10pm FTW.
People keep asking me, “You must be so excited, are you ready to go?” Well, I’m flying to Beijing tomorrow with no knowledge of the language, culture, or (possibly important) the laws. All I’ve got is nervous parents and two duffle bags filled with half the pharmacy section at Target.
Blog 2: Travel
Here’s a detailed account of my long and perilous journey from Nashville to Beijing, comprised of stops in Philadelphia, New York, and Tokyo in between.
Nashville to Philly involved a joyous flight on the Cadillac of airlines; of course I refer to the esteemed Southwest. 24-hours in advance, I furiously clicked online in hopes of obtaining a good line placement, and was rewarded with line number A-23, almost guaranteeing me first dibs on seats. But, arriving at the gate, dismayed I saw at least 10 large men ahead of me, knowing only minimal exit row seats are available. My worst hopes were realized as I entered the plane, and begrudgingly chose a seat with my knees firmly against the tray-tables. In conclusion, Southwest is the bane of airlines for us the long-legged community.
From Philly to NYC, Amtrak was my mode of transport. Well, first a cab to the train- station. The cabbies name was Vikram Singh, humorous because of the 20 or so Indian people I know by name, three are named Vikram Singh. Anyway, always eager for taxi conversation, I asked Vikram, “I’m off to Beijing, I don’t know the language, any advice.” I asked because I thought there was a decent chance that Vikram too once traveled to a country in which he wasn’t totally familiar with the language, and could offer some tips on how to get by. He turned angrily shaking his head and uttered muffled grunts, but none I could decipher as words. Off to a bad start, I somehow mistakenly offended the first stranger I met on my trip. Either that, or like the soon-to-be me, perhaps simpy Vikram’s communicative ability was diminished by a lack of knowledge of the accepted language of the place he’s in. Luckly, Vik’s deficient vocabulary was inversely related to his driving ability, and I made it to the station with time to spare.
Armed with a backpack and two enormous duffle bags, I decided to lose my Redcap virginity and make the trip a bit easier. Unfortunately, I was clueless how to pay/tip the guy lugging my bags, and in hindsight, 10 bucks per bag seems a bit excessive. However, as I normally take the Septa/NJT route, the Amtrak with Redcap seriously felt like celebrity status.
Now to the bulk of my expedition, the 13-hour trip from JFK to Narita Airport in Tokyo. Flying on JAL, even in coach, was a pleasure. Again, probably a case of depleted expectations. In hopes of gaining a legroom advantage, I requested bulkheads seats, which I happily received. Upon taking said seats, it quickly became known that on JAL, bulkhead is the section for early families. A young Japanese couple, their 7-month old twins, and myself occupied my four-seat row. To those keeping score, that’s five breathing bodies for four seats. As a braced for 13 hours of hell, the babies quickly fell asleep, cute stewardess’ dispensed warm towels and green tea, followed by plum wine on the rocks, followed by plum wine, then more plum wine. This sweet nectar tasted like delicious juice, and had the beneficial effect of muffling the babies once they awoke, and even made the in-flight movies, Jumper and The Bucket List almost watchable. Good times.
Landing in Tokyo, I was eager to take advantage of my 4-hour layover and explore Japanese culture. Well, the expression of Japanese culture at Narita was bizarrely similar to the materialism of 5th avenue, instead of tea houses and sushi bars I found Louis Vuitton and Hermes. Disenchanted but still famished (the food on JAL paled in comparison to the plum wine) I set out to find some food. Finally, I settled on a delicious bowl of Ramen noodles, and picked a drink with a label only in Japanese, adding a little adventure to my experience. The brew turned out to be cheap sake, tasted beyond appalling, and was quickly disposed of in the nearest water fountain.
Finally, it was time to board the final plane of my journey for the flight from Tokyo to Beijing. No good stories produced by this voyage, as once I took my seat (continuing the theme of cramped coach and crumpled knees) I somehow fell asleep on my tray table. Not exactly comfortable, but it got the job done.
After 24+ straight hours in either a plane or airport, once I arrived at my hotel tracking down a bed became my top priority. The Beijing Unisplendor Happiness Hotel is actually really nice (photos later, I promise), and I managed to fall asleep around midnight (noon in Philadelphia) knowing I’d be awake 8-hours later to attend my first summer class and experience the city.
Ni-hao! Right there, that’s it, the extent of my Chinese vocabulary, and I’m off to Beijing for a month to eat, travel, and study. Why Beijing? I’ve never been to China, studied abroad, or eaten turtle, snake, and bullfrog, all activities I’m thoroughly looking forward too. I’m a rising senior at Penn, so in my mind, it’s now or never. My hopes are this blog will both educate and amuse, and once I learn how to use my digital camera and transfer photos, it may even captivate and shock. In interest of full disclosure, I’m not sure how often I’ll be able/inclined to grind out quality blog entries whilst chilling in China, but I’ll do my best.
Blog 1: Preperation
Just a little background in my psyche and situation, this is how my last month played out. The last week in April I had 2 finals and 3 final papers (all 15+ pages (with mad footnotes and endnotes (and cited quotes, and clever margin and wordspace modifications so in total equaling about 500 words of original text))). May 7th and 8th meant more finals, made especially sweet since the latter was my 21st birthday. In an unforeseen but welcome twist, my depleted fun expectations were crushed and surpassed by an amazing birthday in which I was awake the full 24 hours of the day, thanks to a 12- 11am all-nighter/exam victory. From 11am till bedtime early May 9th I commemorated the 21st anniversary of my beginning by beginning my career as a wine connoisseur. I dined and imbibed at a stellar Philadelphia restaurant, Ansill. See more at my soon to be created food blog (details later), but here’s an abstract:
Quickly becoming one of Philly’s best places to eat, modern- regionless but refined cuisine highlights the best of both local and exotic ingredients. A dish misses on occasion, but any imperfections are quickly forgiven thanks to a wait staff whose warmth and friendliness made me think I was back in Nashville.
Returning to my month, following my birthday came two more final papers, closely followed by freedom. Well, freedom as defined by a week at home in Nashville with my parents and dog, so some might think otherwise. Luckily for me, home really is freedom, including freedom to use my car, my mom’s credit card, etc etc. Credit cart + legal wine purchasing = initially surprised, quickly angry mother. After 7 days down South, I went back to Philly for a deuce for some final packing, and now I’m on the train to NYC. Tomorrow morning, I have an 11am JFK to Tokyo, a 4-hour layover, culminating with a touchdown in Beijing Sunday at 10pm FTW.
People keep asking me, “You must be so excited, are you ready to go?” Well, I’m flying to Beijing tomorrow with no knowledge of the language, culture, or (possibly important) the laws. All I’ve got is nervous parents and two duffle bags filled with half the pharmacy section at Target.
Blog 2: Travel
Here’s a detailed account of my long and perilous journey from Nashville to Beijing, comprised of stops in Philadelphia, New York, and Tokyo in between.
Nashville to Philly involved a joyous flight on the Cadillac of airlines; of course I refer to the esteemed Southwest. 24-hours in advance, I furiously clicked online in hopes of obtaining a good line placement, and was rewarded with line number A-23, almost guaranteeing me first dibs on seats. But, arriving at the gate, dismayed I saw at least 10 large men ahead of me, knowing only minimal exit row seats are available. My worst hopes were realized as I entered the plane, and begrudgingly chose a seat with my knees firmly against the tray-tables. In conclusion, Southwest is the bane of airlines for us the long-legged community.
From Philly to NYC, Amtrak was my mode of transport. Well, first a cab to the train- station. The cabbies name was Vikram Singh, humorous because of the 20 or so Indian people I know by name, three are named Vikram Singh. Anyway, always eager for taxi conversation, I asked Vikram, “I’m off to Beijing, I don’t know the language, any advice.” I asked because I thought there was a decent chance that Vikram too once traveled to a country in which he wasn’t totally familiar with the language, and could offer some tips on how to get by. He turned angrily shaking his head and uttered muffled grunts, but none I could decipher as words. Off to a bad start, I somehow mistakenly offended the first stranger I met on my trip. Either that, or like the soon-to-be me, perhaps simpy Vikram’s communicative ability was diminished by a lack of knowledge of the accepted language of the place he’s in. Luckly, Vik’s deficient vocabulary was inversely related to his driving ability, and I made it to the station with time to spare.
Armed with a backpack and two enormous duffle bags, I decided to lose my Redcap virginity and make the trip a bit easier. Unfortunately, I was clueless how to pay/tip the guy lugging my bags, and in hindsight, 10 bucks per bag seems a bit excessive. However, as I normally take the Septa/NJT route, the Amtrak with Redcap seriously felt like celebrity status.
Now to the bulk of my expedition, the 13-hour trip from JFK to Narita Airport in Tokyo. Flying on JAL, even in coach, was a pleasure. Again, probably a case of depleted expectations. In hopes of gaining a legroom advantage, I requested bulkheads seats, which I happily received. Upon taking said seats, it quickly became known that on JAL, bulkhead is the section for early families. A young Japanese couple, their 7-month old twins, and myself occupied my four-seat row. To those keeping score, that’s five breathing bodies for four seats. As a braced for 13 hours of hell, the babies quickly fell asleep, cute stewardess’ dispensed warm towels and green tea, followed by plum wine on the rocks, followed by plum wine, then more plum wine. This sweet nectar tasted like delicious juice, and had the beneficial effect of muffling the babies once they awoke, and even made the in-flight movies, Jumper and The Bucket List almost watchable. Good times.
Landing in Tokyo, I was eager to take advantage of my 4-hour layover and explore Japanese culture. Well, the expression of Japanese culture at Narita was bizarrely similar to the materialism of 5th avenue, instead of tea houses and sushi bars I found Louis Vuitton and Hermes. Disenchanted but still famished (the food on JAL paled in comparison to the plum wine) I set out to find some food. Finally, I settled on a delicious bowl of Ramen noodles, and picked a drink with a label only in Japanese, adding a little adventure to my experience. The brew turned out to be cheap sake, tasted beyond appalling, and was quickly disposed of in the nearest water fountain.
Finally, it was time to board the final plane of my journey for the flight from Tokyo to Beijing. No good stories produced by this voyage, as once I took my seat (continuing the theme of cramped coach and crumpled knees) I somehow fell asleep on my tray table. Not exactly comfortable, but it got the job done.
After 24+ straight hours in either a plane or airport, once I arrived at my hotel tracking down a bed became my top priority. The Beijing Unisplendor Happiness Hotel is actually really nice (photos later, I promise), and I managed to fall asleep around midnight (noon in Philadelphia) knowing I’d be awake 8-hours later to attend my first summer class and experience the city.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Summer in DC
Hi all! My name is Beth Sussman, and I'm a rising senior in the College double majoring in Communications and Public Service and Political Science.
This summer, I'll be spending my second summer in a row in Washington, DC. I had a great time last summer interning at USA Today and enjoying the nation's capital, and I'm looking forward to exploring the city even more this go around.
Last week I started my internship at The Hill, a political newspaper that focuses on congressional happenings, but also covers the White House, lobbyists, and the campaign. Most of the paper's circulation is to members of Congress and their staffers on Capitol Hill, but the Web site is read by people interested in politics all over the country.
Over the course of the summer, I will be working on The Hill's Congress Blog, which solicits blog posts from senators, congressmen, and organizations on the hot political issue of the day. Yesterday, I went to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing to speak with some congressmen about the hearing, and I'll be putting those interviews up on the blog tomorrow. I'll also be writing stories for the print edition of the paper.
This summer, I'll be spending my second summer in a row in Washington, DC. I had a great time last summer interning at USA Today and enjoying the nation's capital, and I'm looking forward to exploring the city even more this go around.
Last week I started my internship at The Hill, a political newspaper that focuses on congressional happenings, but also covers the White House, lobbyists, and the campaign. Most of the paper's circulation is to members of Congress and their staffers on Capitol Hill, but the Web site is read by people interested in politics all over the country.
Over the course of the summer, I will be working on The Hill's Congress Blog, which solicits blog posts from senators, congressmen, and organizations on the hot political issue of the day. Yesterday, I went to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing to speak with some congressmen about the hearing, and I'll be putting those interviews up on the blog tomorrow. I'll also be writing stories for the print edition of the paper.
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