Day 311 - Woman at Cafe

Thought of the day: I observed a bunch of outlandishly dressed people on west end Pearl today. It's not uncommon to see colorfully dressed people in this segment of downtown, but I can't recall another time when I saw a man dressed in a bright pink ballet dress with tutus. Something is going on. Sure enough, it's the weekend of tbe Boulder Fringe Festival!  The festival not only brings eccentric artists in town, it also brings out the fringe elements in the local populace. Other than that, it also brings in comedians to do family friendly shows. It’s one of the quaint events that makes up the cultural fabric of Boulder - an event not to be missed if you're ready for something that is not so mainstream.


Photo of the day:

A very nice woman in Trident Cafe and Bookstore.  I was there with Jasmine for one of our regular Saturday afternoon outings and we had the fortune of sitting at the table next to her and her husband.  I talked with them a bit - both were long term Boulder residents concerned about the rapid speed of change in Boulder. Small cafes and local shops were being gradually bought up and refitted into more luxurious and trendy restaurants and stores.  That's a concern for long term residents and newcomers like me alike. We sure hope that the city will keep its character and charm and be welcoming to people of all backgrounds. An old cafe like Trident and a festival like the Fringe Festival will hopefully both be part of the vibrant local scenes for a long time to come.

Day 253 - Lila

Thought of the day: I was out and about in town with Jasmine and Lila today. People, including strangers, were shockingly friendly. The Swiss are by no means unfriendly. They are often kind and helpful. In particular, if they know you well, they tend to treat you like their own family. However, they certainly don't express their kindness in a way as open and cheerful as the Americans do. They expressed it in a much more quiet and reserved manner. And they certainly don't make a fuss over kids, unless they get too unruly for them. It takes some time to become an outsider to observe and appreciate some of things that you have taken for granted. Yes, it's good to be home again.

Photo of the day:

Lila alternated between over-excitement and drowsiness all day, probably a result of the jet lag. So when our minds are struggling to get used to a "new" place, our bodies are struggling to get used to a "new" time. In a week's time, everything will surely be back to "normal" again.

Day 249 - Ice Cream

Thought of the day: It was the warmest day we had so far with the temperature measured at 34c/93f around noon. So, naturally, we headed for the pools in the afternoon. On the way, we were passed by several groups of kids of Jasmine's age who were biking to the pools on their own without any adult supervision. The pools don't have lifeguards, not even for the deep water pool with diving boards. The Swiss are really encouraging their kids to be independent by showing them respect and trust at an early age. On the way back, my mother-in-law bought a bag of cherries from a fruit stand next to a farmhouse. It was an unattended stand operating on the honor system - when you take a bag of fruits, you're expected to check the pricing sheet and deposit the right amount of cash in a metal container. People seem to be putting a lot of trust in passerbys and strangers, otherwise they would not have left a fruit stand unattended or allowed their youngsters to go to the swimming pool or school on their own. I believe that our quality of life can be greatly affected by the degree of trust in the community that we live in. If that's true, the Swiss people, at least those belonging to small towns and villages, are living in the right place.

Photo of the day:

Lila having ice cream at the pool. As it was a hot day, the swimming structure was swamped with hundreds of people from Niederweningen and nearby villages.  Luckily, the area was large enough to accommodate everybody comfortably, even though the line for ice cream was really long when the girls took their ice cream break.

Day 245 - Window

Thought of the day: We are leaving Lugano today. I will miss the place, and I will miss the people even more. They are warm, open and outgoing. They talk in a beautiful Italian. The sunshine and soft air in this region seem to have effected a sunny disposition in its people. A beaming smile for no reason, a gesture that's as kind as it's spontaneous, a generous compliment...they can brighten up your day in ways that you wouldn't have thought possible. In the German speaking part of Switzerland, sometimes I have this odd feeling that I need to stay within certain boundaries and demonstrate proper behaviors. If I do something beyond what's customary, I feel that I will always be reminded in a subtle way. I don't feel that at all in Ticino. It's a bit strange. Perhaps it has more to do with my own mindset than the environment, or perhaps it has something to do with both.

Photo of the day:

Last look from the hotel window.  It was drizzling when we left - so it does rain here too! Maybe it's not too surprising because everything is so green here.

Day 242 - Green

Thought of the day: Manicured lawns don't seem to be very popular in Switzerland. Most of the homes we visited have small yards that blend into the natural environment, complete with pots of flowers, berry bushes, fruit trees, vegetable gardens and the like. Families with kids often have trampolines, tree swings, and sometimes even a zip line installed in the yard. It's also not uncommon for people to keep bunnies and chickens there. For Jasmine and Lila, it's always fascinating to explore and play in a yard. Actually, writing this reminds me of my dad's yard which is taking shape in a very similar fashion - flower pots, fruit trees, vegetable gardens, bunnies, and more importantly, the general feeling of being one with the nature. Despite the outward differences, there may be more similarities between the Chinese and Swiss cultures running deep within than one would imagine.

Photo of the day:

Jasmine playing with a friend's boy in a farmland abutting their house. We spent a fun afternoon with his family and everybody got a delicious fill of the berries, vegetables and fruits grown in their yard. In the background of the photo is Niederweningen.

Day 241 - Dessert

Thought of the day: We hosted a young visitor for lunch today. My in-laws prepared a simple yet elaborate meal for her. I am always amazed at how much care Swiss people take in preparing a meal or even just an apero (finger food and drinks) for guests. From the warm plates, table clothes and decorations to delicious home cooked food, they really go the extra length to make the guests feel welcome and pampered. The meals, usually taken at a leisurely pace and sometimes even with a walk or other such excursions before the dessert, can often last an entire afternoon or evening. I don't really mind - I think when it comes to food, meals and spending time with friends, one can enjoy it better slow than fast.

Photo of the day:

Dessert after lunch: cake, strawberries and ice cream with Kirsch (Swiss brandy).  Yum!

Day 233 - Port

Thought of the day: Today we walked down to the port and had lunch at a popular tavern called Ammoudi. We met the restaurant's owner, a friendly Canadian woman who came here for vacation 23 years ago and never left. After settling down on the island, she fell in love with a cook called Dimitris. They got married and opened the restaurant together. Judging from their reputation and the size of the lunch crowd, they must be doing just fine. The owners of another local favorite, Atlantis Bookstore, are an American and a British who came as tourists 9 years ago and decided to open a multilingual used-book store for tourists. They have a good, tasty collection of English books and the bookstore feels more like a cozy college library than your normal run-of-the-mill bookstore. On a pedestrian street filled with glittering, colorful souvenir shops, this bookstore was a rare find. I spent a good hour there this afternoon browsing the books and took home a few with me. Oia is primarily a tourist town but the tourists are not merely the source of income here, they contribute to the local culture as well, as amply demonstrated by the owners of Ammoudi and Atlantis.

Photo of the day:

The village of Oia is built on top of the cliff.  At the bottom, it's the port which is accessible by a path with a lot of steps and a paved road for cars and tour buses.  We walked, of course.  It was fun to walk and the view was spectacular along the way.

Day 215 - Girls

Thought of the day: Today I met a woman who was going to spend some 2-3 years in China.  She was excited but also nervous at the same time.  It's more than a few people's dream to travel and live in a foreign culture for an extended period of time. However, when you are lucky and the dream is actually turning into the reality, it's not uncommon that you may be facing some daunting challenges and logistics and feeling some level of uncertainty and anxiety.  That's particularly true when there're children or babies involved. It takes a lot of courage to leave your comfort zone and plunge yourself into the unknown. However, if you just let yourself go and keep a keen and open mind, in return you may be rewarded with a special period of your life when you are most alert and alive, an enriching experience that will broaden your perspective, and a precious memory that will last a lifetime.  Yes, I must admit that I am a bit envious of her.  And I wish her a happy adventure.

Photo of the day:

Lila and her friend on Pearl St.  These girls are lucky to grow up in Boulder.  And I think they will be even luckier if they get a chance to experience life in a different culture at some point in the future.

Day 178 - Baby Zoe

Thought of the day: We attended a kid's birthday party in a park today.  It was a beautiful day to have an outdoor party.  Adults talked while the kids played and everybody had a blast.  The only problem was that the wind made it challenging to light the birthday candles!  A birthday party provides a nice opportunity for the parents to socialize, especially since the same group of parents tend to meet in several birthday parties in a year and sometimes year after year.  Unfortunately as the kids get older, these parties  turn more and more into kids only parties and most parents would just drop off the kids and come back when the party is almost over.  It's a pity when a party morphs from a social event into a free day care.  If you have been to a packaged birthday party, you'll find that the hosting facility doesn't usually try very hard to accommodate the adults - oftentimes the parents are just expected to stand around when the kids sit down to have cake and such.  It often feels awkward to be there as an adult and maybe that's why most parents decide not to stay.  I wonder if this is a common way of doing things in all cultures or if it's just another symptom of our kid-centric society.

Photo of the day:

Meet baby Zoe - this birthday party gave us the opportunity to finally meet her.

Day 177 - Izzy

Thought of the day:  Borders Bookstore on 29th St. Mall is closing.  It's one of the 200 stores that are closing after Borders' bankruptcy filing.  We went in the store today to take a last look and it was a sad scene - only very few books were left on the shelves as most of them had been liquidated or perhaps shipped away during the past two months.  We visited the store many times in the past and I always made a point of buying something before I left.  A bookstore is a bookstore, whether it's in a chain or not, and it's worthy of our support.  However, I must admit that I am a lot less attached to it as I am to my local bookstore.  It would be a really sad day if something would happen to the local bookstore.  In the era of Amazon and e-books, it's challenging for any bookstore to stay in business.  A bookstore has to be creative, embrace the local population and somehow keep them coming back often.  I think a local, independent store is much better positioned for doing that than a national/international chain.  Our local store is doing pretty well and hopefully it will remain so in the foreseeable future and continue to contribute to the cultural vibrance of Boulder.

Photo of the day:

Lila had a play date with Izzy before heading to Borders with me and saying good-bye to a store that she had visited so many times in the past.

Day 162 - Clapping

Thought of the day: I helped Jasmine's class make dumplings today.  It was a bit stressful to prepare, demonstrate, rush home to cook and then rush back to serve warm dumplings before the school was over.  The kids had lots of fun making dumplings and loved the tastes so it was well worth the effort.  I have noticed that if you are a Chinese, somehow everybody expects you to be an expert dumpling maker.  However, I have never made dumplings before coming to the US.  It is a northern China tradition and is just not done much in the south.  A friend's excellent recipe for making dumpling fillings and a few handy YouTube videos demonstrating dumpling wrapping and cooking techniques saved my day.  Yes, cultural stereotypes can surely be frustrating and sometimes self-fulfilling, but when it comes to dumplings, I really don't mind!

Photo of the day:

This kids adored their teacher!  And perhaps the dumplings gave them extra energy to be so enthusiastic at the end of a school day.

Day 160 - Sisters

Thought of the day: Tonight I watched "Courage Under Fire" the n-th time.  It was a very well-made movie about a courageous female commander who was accused of being a coward by one of the soldiers.  She eventually had her name cleared and received the Medal of Honor posthumously.  Co-incidently, there was also a news segment on TV about the ongoing class action suit in the Supreme Court against Walmart for gender-based discrimination.  Even in this day and age, discrimination and abuse against women are still rampant around the globe.  According to statistics released by the Department of Labor, women in the US are suffering from unequal pay.  However, the discrimination here is often subtle as the law and public opinions are against it.  Subtle discrimination is hard to fight and can be very frustrating, but around the world, women suffer from far more blatant abuses that deprive them the right to work, to vote, to decide where to go, who to marry, among other things.  In some countries, the discrimination is sponsored, or at least condoned, by the government.  In others, it could be a cultural "thing" that has been going on for millenniums.  Unless something is actively being done against it, inequality won't just go away on its own as it's unlikely for anyone to give up power voluntarily to a disadvantaged group.  However, there is hope.  I heard that women in Northern Europe, especially in Sweden, enjoy more equal rights than their counterparts elsewhere.  I would be curious to find out what they did to get there.

Photo of the day:

Sisters playing on a toy truck - Lila adores her big sister.  I sure wish that they would not have to endure gender based inequality when they grow up.

Day 143 - Rolling

Thought of the day: My in-laws are here to visit for a month.  They come twice a year and we always have a good time together.  They have the vitality and open-mindedness that are enviable traits for people of any age.  And they are completely comfortable with who they are, wherever they are.  I recently read on a book called "Geography of Bliss" that the Swiss people are among the happiest on the earth.  It has less to do with their material wealth - Americans are not poor in comparison but Americans are not among the happiest in the world - and has more to do with their connection to the earth, the nature, and the community.  My father-in-law hikes a couple of hours every day regardless of the weather.  The public transportation in Switzerland is superb and it takes them to visit many beautiful areas whenever they want to.  They live in the same community for many years and have developed friendships that last for a life time.  The majority of their relatives also live close by or are within a train hop or two. What's a better place for people to retire and grow old than in their own well-beloved close-knit community? Another reason for the Swiss to be happy may be that they are less obsessed in fame, money, or any other worldly possessions.  For them, it's a lot less important to have a bigger car, bigger house, bigger yacht, bigger plane than to have a happier family and a happier life.  All these factors combined make them a more grounded, and thus, happier people.  Perhaps for similar reasons, I feel more grounded and happier in Boulder too than in the Silicon Valley.  The valley is great for ambitious people as one can practically feel the vibe and creative synergy in the air which make the valley an extraordinary place but at the same time also make one feel restless, unfulfilled and a constant need to "do" something.  In Boulder, I feel comfortable just to "be" who I am and enjoy day-to-day life and my family.  At the end, it's probably just a matter of balance between the "do" and "be".  If you don't let your drive to succeed overrun your pursuit of happiness, you will much more likely to be a happy person.  My in-laws are good examples of that.  I admire them for who they are, I am happy for them, and I am happy that they are staying with us.

Photo of the day:

Lila playing inside a tube.  She was rolling around all over the floor and was as happy as happy can be.  I can't help thinking that the little beings are more connected to the secret source of happiness than the rest of us.