Growing up I have had the privilege to spend Christmas in a “whirled” of places.  The contrast could not be much more drastic from Hutchinson, Kansas to Tandala, Democratic Republic of Congo, or from Albertville, France, to Bangkok, Thailand.

1.  Albertville, France- 1991
By far my whitest Christmas was spent in Albertville, situated at the base of the Alps in France.  I vaguely remember the white cap of flakes on our medium sized hill outdoors and sledding or sliding down it in any possible manner.  The Christmas was my families first away …

A three day break from teaching English in Thailand was clearly a justifying claim for a brief excursion to Hong Kong from Bangkok.  I arrived mid afternoon to the very friendly and high tech airport.  The airport link train located literally inside of the airport was an easy ride to Hong Kong train station.
Through the green forested mountains we traveled.  For a jiffy I thought I might come face to face with an Orangutan, when abruptly the green dissolved and transformed into monstrous fabricated structures of engineering impossibility.
That evening we …

This is the Part 2 of Voluntouring in the Bicol Region of the Philippines: Part 1

In July 2009, I ventured to the Bicol Region in the Philippines to check out some Gawad Kalinga villages (Building Houses with Hope), see some local attractions, eat some chili peppers and bicol express, meet some people, and have more valuable adventures with Gawad Kalinga.  I was on assignment as a volunteer with Gawad Kalinga and the newly developed voluntourism program for students from Ateneo de Manila University.  GK builds homes in the Philippines, aiming …

To follow Thanksgiving, I thought it might be appropriate to introduce a small nameless store I stumbled upon in the heart of Quezon City, Novaliches area in Manila, the Philippines.
Ironically, I had just taken a jog in Manila, when my wonderful couchsurfing friend and I decided to invest in some “treats.”  Little did I know we were about to enter a stuffed cavern of highly creative and very processed nibbler’s paradise.
On the side of Quirino highway, we crouched on hands and knees into a tiny cave opening.  I tried to …