Last year for Christmas, my German grandmother sent me a true story that captures the spirit of the holiday. I reread it again this year, and wanted to share it here. My family’s story is intimately tied to World War II, as my grandfathers fought on opposite sides of the war.
Below is the English edition (source) and the German is here: “Winternacht in den Ardennen“. The story is also available in this book of Christmas stories.
Merry Christmas!
Kai
Over the Chinese New Years, I escaped to Old Europe.
My first stop was to observe Max, James, Chloé, and Priyanka in their native habitat, the quaint island of Great Britain.
Hiking with James and Chloé in the hills of northern England. If you squint into the distance you may just spot King Arthur, or at least that's how I imagine it.
After living together for one year in Shanghai, Max could no longer stand my company and fled to London, where he’s flourishing in his role as a budding shipping tycoon. Shortly before I arrived he closed a 4am deal for shipping thousands of tons of iron ore, and my mind flashes to scenes of Wall Street and Jerry Maguire: “SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!!!” And his Chinese continues to put mine to shame, even though he no longer lives surrounded by 1.3 billion native speakers. Continue reading →
I was home over Christmas. My mother has set a rule that the whole Lukoff family should get together at least once a year, which I wholeheartedly support. We talked, sung Christmas carols, cuddled, and soaked in hot springs–all that belongs to a wholesome family vacation.
At the Facebook Wall!
I also visited Facebook in the Silicon Valley. I’ve been a fanboy for some time, so it was a treat to visit with an all-star Chinese developer there. Here’s my pic at the physical “Facebook Wall.”
Other tech I had a chance to play with? Google’s Cr-48 laptop (cool, but still a prototype) and the Microsoft’s Kinect gaming system (awesome, with surely oodles of cool applications in the making).
Ah, family + friends, Mexican food, clean air, and cutting-edge tech… I’d like to live in the Silicon Valley again someday.
Fireworks and enthusiastic crowds at the opening ceremony of Expo 2010 Shanghai
Adam Minter (@adamminter) criticizes foreign correspondents for missing the story and point of Expo 2010. I largely agree and my commentary follows below. The Shanghai 2010 Expo ends today, October 31.
As an experienced international traveler, the Expo sucked for me (4 visits, mostly for events). I also thought the 2000 Expo in Hannover, Germany sucked (the architecture was less impressive and the U.S. didn’t even bother to participate). The Expo concept is irrelevant to many international travelers (more on this later).
But the Expo was not for me anyway. It was for the ~98% of Chinese who have never left China, and many of whom will never have the opportunity. That’s why I think China is one of the places where the Expo still works well (good luck to 2015 Milan, but I think Europe is a terrible place to hold an Expo, far too many have seen the ‘real’ deal of foreign nations). But I’m glad that hunger to discover the world exists here in China as strongly as anywhere else. Hopefully visitors learned new things about new countries, though I fear that much of the content in the pavilions was of mediocre quality at best. Still, I think many truly enjoyed it. Continue reading →
Field report of our excursion to Gansu province, central China:
James, Chloé, and I had a wonderful trip, filled with adventures and hazards. I found that our wonderful group dynamics persisted from last year, so were always in high spirits. James also published a riveting account at his new blog, www.jamespphoto.com, where his rockstar photography skills are on display. Continue reading →