Aaron Chan and Anne-Sophie Samjee

Just 2 hours away from Washington DC is Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, famous for having some of the largest populations of Amish and Mennonites. We spent the weekend there (see photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/aaronka/AmishCountry2009#). Although many of the Amish still live traditional lives, we were surprised to see the amount of modern reforms the Amish have added. Many have left farms for more lucrative businesses to keep up with the world today. They allow houses to have telephones, but they have to be put in a separate outhouse. They use some machinery for their farming now. In addition, the areas around their farms are being sold to chain stores, etc., so the differences between the Amish country and anywhere else in the US are often subtle. Most noticable though, Amish still dress simply and use horse driven buggies to get around. Although interaction with the rest of the world is inevitable, they still require marriage only among their community and practice shunning of those that do not follow their rules. Nonetheless, we learned a lot about the Amish and found them to be quite friendly, but you can’t take their photos, because most believe it’s against their religion. Lastly, I’m also quite fond of their commitment to non-violence and in particular, the Mennonite (the Amish are just a sect of this larger group) commitment to social justice around the world. I have met several Mennonites in the Middle East working for justice and peace there, and they are admirable partners of peace in the world.

PS-Stop by Adamstown, the US capital of antiques, if you like shopping for random old things.

PSS-I have friend working in Antarctica and he has a blog at: http://www.corey-the-ice.blogspot.com/ It’s not an everyday working/travel experience, so I’ll be sure to check it out. Don’t think I can visit though =(.

I took a short trip in Ireland on my way to meet Anne-Sophie in France to visit family and then headed back to the US via Boston and Maine for a wedding. Here are the photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/aaronka/IrelandFranceNewEngland2009#

I called it my Celtic journey, but in fact most Irish and Bretons originated from northern Spain, and were influenced by the arrival of the Celts much later. Still there are many similarities in culture and landscape in all three places I visited. (more…)

From now on, all of our newest photos will be on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/aaronka/

There’s also a link to the right labeled: Our Newest Photos.

PS We no longer live in our Alexandria condo. We now have a place in DC. You’re all still welcome to visit though!

We braved the freezing temperatures to attend the “We are One” Inaugural Concert for Obama at the Lincoln Memorial. No matter what happens or what you think of Obama, his inauguration will always be seen as a historic moment. Perhaps only FDR’s and JFK’s inaugurations have caused so much excitement. After 400 years of struggle, an African-American will hold the highest office in the country. It was quite a scene to see a large portion of the estimated 1-4 millions in town to see Obama’s inauguration on the same steps of where millions have marched for change before. On the day before King’s celebrated birthday, it was an amazing juxtaposition to see Obama speaking at the same place where MLK Jr. gave his “I have a Dream” speech, which helped make Obama’s future presidency a possiblity. The vibe of the crowd, despite the cold, was of anticipation and hope for Obama, and relief from the end of Bush. To make the moment even more special was the number of celebrities speaking and performing at the concert. It was like going to the Oscars or Grammies. It included Denzel Washington, Bruce Springstein, U2, Shakira, Usher, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Tiger Woods, Steve Carrell, Jack Black, Will I Am, Sheryl Crow, Tom Hanks, Garth Brooks, Queen Latifah, Mary J Blige, Jamie Fox, George Lopez, Samuel L. Jackson, Bon Jovi, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, James Taylor, John Mellencamp, Rosario Dawson, and Kal Pen (Kumar from Harold and Kumar). Interestingly, Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal church gave the invocation and Rick Warren, who was very anti-gay marriage in California, will be doing it at the actual inauguration. It was quite an experience, and we’re satisfied enough to skip the actual inauguration on Tuesday for the out of towners to do. It’s too freakin cold and we’ll get a better view on TV. Given the crowds, we had to see most of it from a jumbo screen. Still, I posted a few photos.

I’m posting some photos of our New Orleans trip in the short trips album. We had a good time overall. New Orleans is certainly rebuilding and is as lively as ever. However, the crime and poverty have also returned which I experienced first hand by being mugged-hopefully a once in a lifetime experience. I blame the travel channel for getting me all hyped to get the “best fried chicken” in the country which caused me to wander off the touristy areas and getting jumped 2 blocks away before reaching the restaurant. Still, you should go and support its revival by having fun, eating well (you got southern, cajun, and creole food), and enjoying the beautiful architecture. It’s sort of like Vegas with a history and without the cheesiness of the fake famous sites. We came at the beginning of Carnaval, so we saw some mini-parades, but of course it will be much more exciting when Carnaval snowballs into Mardi Gras in a month.

We’re back in DC and I’ve posted highlights of our almost 500 photos (Colombia and Venezuela Album) to give you an idea of what our trip was like. Both are gorgeous countries with amazing cultures and friendly people, but face challenging political problems. (more…)

I know we don’t blog very often anymore, especially with Facebook to update our travel status, but there are so many interesting things about Colombia that cannot only be shown through photos or one liners. I was going to wait until we got back, but I’m stuck somewhere in Bogota in the rain without any umbrella and the taxis all occupied, so I need something to do. As some of you may know, I’ve been traveling in Colombia for over a week now, and Anne-Sophie is coming tonight and we’ll continue to the north of Colombia and then to Venezuela returning January 4th. Sorry to all the friends and family for missing Christmas and New Years. (more…)

We had a great weekend in the Shenandoah and at a friend’s farm at the border of Virginia and West Virginia. It was nice to get away from the city and get a taste of country life. We rode horses, relaxed and got pampered at nice Bed and Breakfast with massages, hot-tubs, wine, cheese, and a gourmet breakdast. We got celebrate the local community, crafts, food, and history at the county festival. The local Luray caverns were spectacular and so were the colors of Fall at the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains on Skyline Dr. Then we went to visit my friend Bob, who I met in Palestine in 2003. He and his family have a farm along the George Washington National Forest. We picked wild growing apples and pears up the hill and ate good old country food. It was a great experience to get a taste of rural America, which in many ways is like visiting a different country in comparison to life in DC. It was also great to enjoy the season, which is not as pronounced in California. Meanwhile, we have boxes of apples to share with you all. Come by and get some. See photos in our DC album.

We haven’t blogged in a while, but there have been some recent changes/events. I’m starting my internship teaching sixth grade US history. It’s been fun so far even though I really want to teach high school (btw, just found out that the high school in Alexandria, TC Williams, is the high school from the movie “Remember the Titans"). What I like most about Alexandria schools is the diversity. There’s an equal amount of African-Americans, Hispanics, and Caucasians and also diversity in social-economic class as well. 6th graders are still very childish, but for the most part they behave.

Most recently, Samar Ghattas, my friend from Palestine stayed with us for her opening night exhibition at the Palestine Center in DC. Her paintings will be there until mid-November if you weren’t able to come. I have a couple photos of the paintings we bought in our DC album, but if you want to see the rest, go visit the Palestine Center. Despite the debate and rain, we still got a good turnout and luckily had a former translator for General Petraeus in Anbar help out. It’s funny hanging out with an artist. Suddenly we were VIP’s for a week, being invited to dinner parties and events. Too bad she’s going back home.

In case we don’t write again soon, don’t forget to vote!!! Things are going crazy in the markets and it’s even more crazy to think Sarah Palin could be president.

Although DC is an important metropolitan area, it’s not a real city like New York. Plus there’s no good Chinese restaurants in DC, so we had to go all the way to NY to have some Dim Sum. We checked a show on Broadway and watched one of the last games to be played in Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won in typical fashion with Rivera closing it out in the ninth. It was interesting being on the other side and hearing New Yorkers yapping it up. We also ventured into Brooklyn for the first time, and it may be the last year to visit Coney Island before it becomes another Six Flags. Only a 4 hour bus ride away, NY is the place to go when we miss city life. See some photos here.