After reading the articles this week, the issue related to urbanization that I am most interested in learning about in Ho Chi Minh City is traffic, especially the increasing number of motor bikes and how that impacts the daily experience and safety of the people who drive them. According to the reading, the number of […]
From Common Lands to Highland
As I write this post I am sitting on a bench surrounded by excited children, massive golden cat sculptures, and a giant blue roller coaster with cars shaped like a ukulele-playing hamster riding on a cloud. In the distance there is a hazy but still majestic Mt. Fuji. Immersed in these sights and sounds, it is […]
Culture, Consumerism, and the Cult of Mt. Fuji: Reflections on Overseas Scholarship in Japan
Looking around, I had a strange feeling at the Sendagaya Fuji-zuka shrine in Tokyo. Utilitarian scaffolding and other metallic construction equipment were strewn about the grounds at the Fuji-zuka (“Fuji mound”)–a religious miniature replica of Mt. Fuji, of which there are many and which are often constructed from actual stones taken from Fuji herself. A typical […]
Portland, LA, Beijing …next stop: Tokyo. Expanding horizons and finding connections
Sunday, July 13th, 2014 Today marks week one in Tokyo. Despite what the calendar says, my time in Tokyo has been so teeming with new culture, outings, readings, and people that I feel as if I have been here for several weeks already. After studying abroad at Peking University last fall, I expected to […]
Navigating Foreign Landscapes and Ambiguous Terminology
Exploring the three themes nature/culture, global/local, and stasis/change is foremost an experiment in the power of terminology. It’s difficult to even begin looking at representations of “nature” in Japan, for example, without first discussing the infinite understandings of what it means to be natural. That being said, my goal is to base my analysis of […]
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