Ride an Electric Bike

A couple years back I wrote an article about electric cars. As an added bonus, I got to take an electric car for a test drive.

Now, though, I'm writing about electric bikes. And, again, as an added bonus, I got to take an electric bike for a ride!

Granted, I didn't take it outside. It's still winter in Minnesota after all. I rode it around inside of a mall, which was a treat. I've never ridden a bike through a mall before.

And I'd never ridden an electric bike before either. Truthfully, I was a tiny bit concerned about hopping on and revving the motor. Would it speed off, make me loose my balance and leave me floundering on the floor?

No. It was just like riding a bike! Only faster. And more fun!

If you'd like to check out the resulting article, here it is:

No Peddling Required

Sisters from Kerala, India

I interviewed a nun. Er, a Sister, actually. Until recently, I didn't know the difference between a Sister and a nun. Now I know that a nun is cloistered and doesn't go out in public while a Sister is out and about in the community.

The woman I met is a teacher at a local Catholic school. She is originally from Kerala, India, but has been living in a Minneapolis suburb for the past 37 years.

She had such an aura about her and when I found out that one of her greatest joys is teaching geography, well, I just wanted to plop myself down in her classroom for a bit and soak up whatever knowledge about the world she had to share.

If you'd like to read my story about the Sisters involved in my local area, you can read the article here:

Sisters in Service at St Therese School

Blind Hiker on the Appalachian Trail

Last week I got to interview a man who is about to do an amazing thing.

He is blind and he is going to hike the Appalachian Trail without a guide or a guide dog. His name is Michael Hanson and he is the Blind Hiker.

He is kicking off his hike in Georgia in March and hoping to finish the hike by arriving in Maine in September. He'll be blogging about his journey along the way whenever he reaches available Internet.

He's going to be carrying technology downloaded onto his cell phone that will guide him on the route.

A documentary film maker will be following him. Even though the film maker can see, he plans to stay out of the hiker's way. In our interview he joked that the worse the hike goes, the better his material will be.

I was really inspired by my meeting with Michael Hanson, the blind hiker. I'll be following his journey on Facebook, too.

If you'd like to learn more about him, you can read my article:


Blind Hiker to Tackle the Appalachian Trail


Photo by Mark Trockman.

House Hunters International -- I'm Addicted!

I have a new TV addiction. I'm hooked on a show called House Hunters International on HGTV.

The premise of the show is this: They find a person or coulple who is looking to move overseas and follow them as they tour three homes in another land. By the end of the show, the person/couple who wants to move has to choose one of the three homes toured.

I love the show because you get to see what apartments or homes in other countries look like.

Recently, I watched an episode that took place in Hong Kong. It was amazing too see how tiny apartments are there! And how expensive they are for such a small amount of space.

Another episode I really liked that aired recently featured a New Yorker looking to move to Buenos Aires. During the show, the real estate agent who was touring the New Yorker around told the viewers something unique about Buenos Aires real estate.

He said there is no such thing as a mortgage, that when you buy a property, you show up to the closing with cash. Cash! And count out all your hundred dollar bills on the table!

It's tidbits like this that make me keep watching this show. It's just another way to get a scoop on how people live in other places, and a reminder that not everyone lives the way we do.

Of Ganesh and Sagacity

One of my good friends recently returned from a trip through India and Nepal. We got together for lunch so she could fill me in with all the details. And of course, she brought me some souvenirs.

Among the stack of goodies she had accumulated for me was a postcard of the elephant-headed god, Ganesh.

I knew that Ganesh was "the remover of obstacles," which made him a common symbol of good luck.

Beyond that, however, according to the back of my Ganesh postcard: "His elephant head is believed to be an emblem of wisdom and his mouth am emblem of sagacity."

Sagacity?

This was a word I had never seen or heard before, but I was suddenly very curious as to its meaning. I suspected it was a spin on wisdom, but couldn't be sure.

Upon looking it up in Merriam-Webster online, I found this frustrating definition:

"the quality of being sagacious"

With flashbacks of seventh grade English class in my mind, I searched next for "sagacious" and found my suspicion confirmed with this definition: "of keen and farsighted penetration and judgment: discerning"

I also discovered sagaciously and sagaciousness. What a wonderful grouping of words I must now figure out how to use!

And another thing I must now figure out is what to do with my Ganesh postcard because besides my search for the meaning of sagacity, I also did a Google search of Ganesh.

As it says on Wikipedia (and who knows if this is correct):

"He is honoured at the beginning of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions."

Hmmmm. If Ganesh is the remover of obstacles and the Patron of Letters, does that mean he can demolish writer's bloc?

And if so, perhaps I should be tacking his photo next to my keyboard.

James Sewell Ballet in Minneapolis

Last weekend, I attended a performance of the James Sewell Ballet, a dance company based here in Minneapolis.

It was awesome.

The performance was at the Southern Theater, a hundred year-old theater in the city that showcases a lot of dance acts.

I'd been in the theater before for another dance performance and was struck by the ruined and rescued look of the space and the intimacy it provided (it only has...20 rows of seats?).

That did not change in my second trip there. Our seats gave us a close-up view of ballerinas on pointe, which was totally cool. I've never been that close to a ballerina showing off serious tip-toe work and it was amazing.

But this was more than a typical ballet performance of say, the Nutcracker. These dancers did incredible stuff that was interpretive, funny, heart-felt and avant garde. And that required control and power.

Am I going on too long? Well, considered me totally impressed. The James Sewell Ballet is one act I'd love to catch a second time.

Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert

Of course I read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

It was such a big hit a few years back. Plus, it was a woman-penned travel memoir, and I'm a big fan of that genre.

I'm also a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert. She is a great essayist--smart, witty and insightful--so I was looking forward to her new book.

It's called Committed and it is about the institution of marriage. In it, Gilbert is struggling with the idea of getting married. She's already been married once, which didn't go well, and now she is planning to get married a second time. In order to help herself feel more prepared and educated this time around, she decides to research the history of marriage.

For those who are expecting another travel tale -- don't. While most of the book does take place somewhere other than the U.S., she mentions being in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Bali, really this is a book about her marriage research and her own thoughts on marriage. There are some travel bits, which keep the narrative lively, but this isn't a travel memoir.

However, I loved the book. I read it straight through in one weekend. Gilbert's writing style makes it so easy to keep humming along.

I loved reading about the history of marriage. I found it very interesting, and as a married woman myself, and as a woman who has worked for a feminist newspaper and has written about women's issues, I agreed with much of what Gilbert had to say.

If you've got what we'd call here in the U.S. "traditional" views of marriage, your ideas will be challenged reading this book. But I wouldn't let that stop you. Gilbert is a great writer and by the end of the book, she does make peace with marriage.

Now that I've turned the last page, I'd be very curious about a man's point of view on this book. Gilbert, because she is a woman, spends most of the book musing on the meaning of marriage for women. I can't help but think this title will end up being required reading somewhere down the line in women's studies classes.

I'm wondering what the chances are that I can convince my own hubby to give this a read . . .

Westhoff Coffee and Tea

It's that time of year again -- winter. Invariably, this means I'm stuck inside for long periods of time. And invariably, this means that sooner or later I get around to cleaning out my office.

This year in my office cleaning, I found an envelope full of souvenirs I'd collected on a trip through Europe back in 1997. (Yikes what a long time ago!) The envelope contained mostly maps and ticket stubs.

Among these, though, I also came across a tea bag and the top of a coffee creamer cup. Both were "Westhoff" brand. Obviously, I'd saved these because of the name connection, Westhoff being my name and all.

It's not the most common name here in the U.S., so I remember it was a thrill to have discovered my name boldly labeled on products in restaurants and cafes.

On that same trip, we also landed ourselves in a small town called Westhoffen, but that's--I suppose--a blog post for another time.

After going through all the papers I'd saved from that long ago trip, I ended up tossing most in the recycling bin. Did I really need a metro stub from Berlin? Probably not.

But I am going to keep my Westhoff tea bag and coffee creamer.

Getting Ripped off In Flight

GoNomad recently posted a story about travelers Getting Ripped Off in Flight.

The story was contributed by traveler Brian Peters who writes the popular blog, No Debt World Travel, which is all about how you can travel the world without spending a lot of cash.

The article was a quick read, and cautionary too, about travelers who have gotten up to go to the bathroom while on a flight, only to come back and find that money, credit cards (and even their passports!) have been stolen from their carry-on bags while they were away.

I was shocked that flight attendants didn't really provide much help at all in trying to recover the goods. And I was also shocked that other nearby passengers didn't speak up and say anything about having seen so-and-so reaching for a bag.

On the other hand...when I'm in the air, am I watching everyone else's bags? No...

Reading this article was a wake up call. I like to think of myself as a pretty savvy traveler, but I know I am guilty of leaving my bag under my seat and going to the bathroom.

Especially if I'm traveling with my laptop. Airplane bathrooms are so small to being with. How am I supposed to bring my laptop bag along with me?

Obviously I need to be a little more vigilant when I'm on the airplane. Maybe we all need to be, for each other's sake.

Wayzata Students Bridging the Ocean

I interviewed a group of area high school students who are in the process of starting a nonprofit organization to collect money and build schools in Vietnam.

Most of the kids involved are high school juniors, and I was impressed with their vision and drive. They are calling their group Wayzata Students Bridging the Ocean.

As I was interviewing the group, one of students said something that really stood out for me. She said: "I've always been told that I can make a difference and finally I am."

Yes, I thought. When I was growing up, adults also said the same to me. Even now, as an adult, the message still circulates that each and every one of us can reach out and help others. We can all make a change, even if its small, in the way the world operates for another person.

But how often do we really seize this opportunity and actually do something about it?

After that interview was finished, what this one student said continued to linger in my mind. I am proud of these students for having carved out an opportunity for themselves in which they can feel they are making a difference.

It doesn't really matter if their organization turns out to be a smashing success that continues for years or a one-time mission trip. What matters, I think, is that these teens are empowered.

Having had this experience so early in their lives, who knows what else they'll be able to image for their futures, and for the futures of others.

If you'd like to read the article, here it is:

Wayzata Students Work to Build Schools in Vietnam

Photo (c) Mark Trockman.