Tibetan Troubles

I have been reading about the crackdown by the Chinese government on the protestors in Tibet. I am saddened by the loss of close to 100 demonstrators in the violent actions used to address the protest. I am glad to see that Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown is meeting with the Dalai Lama. I was also happy when the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the United States President George Bush met with the Dalai Lama. These meetings lend legitimacy to the work to which the Dalai Lama has been dedicating his life. There are some unsubstantiated rumors that the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao may meet with the Dalai Lama. I personally hope this rumour turns out to be true as it would be a small step in building bridges between these two cultures. When the dialogue is opened as the first step, we can then hope that eventually there will be a peaceful solution found and the Tibetans in exile can return home.

This is what World Neighbor is really all about – building bridges between cultures.
We work with a group of exiled Tibetans who are living in Nepal and creating wonderful Tibetan spiritual items (meditation singing bowls, bells, chimes, prayer wheels, ritual daggers and more). Please come by and pick up some great quality Tibetan goods and support these artisans. The more World Neighbor sells the more we will buy from these accomplished artisans. Who knows, maybe one day they will be able to return to a free Tibet. We sincerely wish them the best of luck!
http://www.phayul.com/
http://www.world-neighbor.com/store

World Neighbor Walks on the Wild Side in the Big Easy

Demetria (my wife) and I went to New Orleans one month before Katrina hit. It was kind of eerie that the local news stations were talking about hurricane preparedness and the designated escape routes while we were there. Little did anyone know that a month later those plans would be needed and how woefully inadequate they would turn out to be.

We spent a good amount of time in the French Quarter and on Bourbon street as well as some of the other area tourist traps. It wasn’t too crowded at that time of year since it was very hot and sticky. We decided to go out and have some extra fun and drinks one night so we started hopping from bar to bar. We saw the multiple tranny shows hawking their night’s entertainment. Demetria and I were curious so we stepped inside one for a laugh. When we walked into the dark bar there were two people sitting at a table smoking and talking, and a few she-males walking around. They all turned to look at us since we were obviously the first customers of the night. Needless to say it wasn’t the most comfortable situation so Demetria and I chickened out and did a 180 out the door. I did stop long enough to take a picture of one of the “ladies”. He/She was very nice about the whole thing saying something to the effect of “ Come back and see us later when you’re ready honey!”.

World Neighbor Does Deutschland

My friends and I hopped on the ferry from Denmark to Germany. We were going to stay for a few nights in East Berlin and we were excited about getting into town to down our first stein of beer. As soon as we got into the city we saw some police cars and a big crowd gathering. We ran into a big “techno-parade” with loud blaring techno and people dressed in lively costumes prancing about. We finally found our way around the spectacle and saw our first glimpse of the Berlin Wall along the river.

We made our way to our hostel in East Berlin in a seedier part of town. It was the right price and we heard that it was a diamond in the rough. When we arrived night was falling and we cautiously made our way inside what appeared to be an abandoned building. Once we got through the courtyard however, we were pleasantly surprised by the reception area. We was a number of backpackers hanging out playing cards, guitars and talking. We scored a room with a toilet and went to settle in. We hunkered down for the night to get ready for our next long day.

(Lovely view from our hotel room)

The next day we headed out to the Brandenburg gate and off to some shopping and eating. I ignorantly order a wiener schnitzel expecting a sausage and instead got a thin slice of veal. I laughed and ordered another weiss beer to wash it down. Just then my married friends decided to have a little lover’s quarrel. He went off to pout and she was just mad and wanted to keep touring. Being the third wheel at this point was not all that much fun. I played the “Three’s Company” routine on them and ran out after him to let him know that she wanted to make up. Once he came back in I put my arms around them, shoved a beer in their faces and shouted “Prost!”. Some other folks in the restaurant followed suit and my friends started to laugh…crisis averted! You have to love a country that serves beer at McDonalds!

World Neighbor Puerto Rico Day 1

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After our adventure and late night on the way in, Demetria and I woke up late and hit Old San Juan. We saw several interesting sites. Aside from the standards like El Morro fort and the beautiful waterfront we spied some cool graffiti art.














I was lovin’ the rice and beans. The rice was a shorter grain and had a much better taste to it than the rice I typically eat at home. The food was great everywhere we went. I went for the spicy stuff. It’s not good unless it makes you sweat. For obvious reasons the seafood was fresh and fantastic. We toured the big El Morro fort and checked out the period weaponry. There were cannons and cannonballs on display. The kids would have loved this stuff.


There was a bunch of people flying kites in the big field in front of the fort. The location was perfect with steady gusty winds. It was a great way to just hang out and gel with the locals. Everyone that we encountered was very nice. I could get used to the island life! We took the bus back and forth to Old San Juan since it was regularly scheduled and convenient. I tried my first Mojito…with my low blood sugar this sucker got me revving! Of course I usually crash as soon as I get spastic from the sugar high so I don’t often partake in sugary drinks. But since rum is the national drink I had to…really it’s like a law that I did not want to break. I was also able to enjoy a few Puerto Rican brews (Medalla) so I balanced the load.

World Neighbor Store

World Neighbor and the Bountiful Greek Gifts

My wife, Demetria, is Greek so we decided to go to Greece and Italy for our honeymoon. We got off our plane in Athens before transferring to the to another plane to the island of Mykonos. While we were taking the tram to the terminal Demetria got a nice face full of hairy armpit. Demetria is a bit shorter than me so she was perfect nose level with a few folks that were holding onto the overhead straps. She just stood there looking a little defeated and braved it out. I winked and smiled at her ;-)

Later that day night after an Olympic Airways twin prop flight from hell, we slid into our room in Mykonos. The next morning we awoke to the beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea from our hotel window. We enjoyed a continental breakfast on the sunny patio and got ready for our day. We headed down to the marina so that we could take in all the artisans painting and selling their crafts. We came away with a few fantastic paintings depicting scenery on the Greek islands. We also purchased a number of worry beads to give as gifts to our friends. This is the trip that inspired me to find and import ethnographic art and cultural crafts. I always have such a great time searching out the unique one of a kind items and talking with the creators. Demetria and I took our new treasures back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day on the beach. The topless ladies were having a great time but Demetria wasn’t having it. She was quite happy with her great little bikini …as was I !

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World Neighbor Italian Style - The Venetian Vex

We traveled from Rome up to Venice on a tour bus with an interesting and diverse group of folks. One couple in particular was funny in a sad, tragic kind of way. Their names were Dave and Martha from Connecticut, USA. Dave was a sales executive at some large corporate joint. Martha was, as her name may suggest, a homemaker. I’m guessing they were in their mid 50’s and they were both very nice to chat with initially. We sat with them at dinner and it soon became clear that Mr. Dave was the ruler of the roost. He was very demeaning to his wife (and here we are on our honeymoon!). I remember one exchange that Mr. Dave and Martha had in particular about a dishwasher. Martha offered my new wife Demetria a helpful hint on getting some gunk off of a plate by using the dishwasher. Mr. Dave scolded her and let her know that us newlyweds probably didn’t have the high-end model dishwasher that they had so the suggestion was no good. Wow…slammed his wife and us all in one fell swoop!

I felt sort of sorry for Martha as she would just take Mr. Dave’s venom and move on to more “pleasant” discussion. She was clearly co-dependant and in need of a getting out of this life she had become accustomed to. I found it sad to think about the fact that there are probably so many dysfunctional marriages (and hence the high divorce rates). But at the same time it made me appreciate Demetria even more. Demetria isn’t having any of that nonsense! …On to the gondolas and St. Mark’s square to pay $25 US dollars for a cup of coffee!! (Seriously, do NOT order a cup of coffee in St. Mark’s square because they automatically tack on an “entertainment” fee onto your bill – even if the “entertainment” is on a “break”).

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World Neighbor Italian Adventure - A Close Shave

While we were in Sorrento and making day trips to Capri I needed to get a haircut. We stopped by the local barber shop (candy stripe spinning pole and all). The friendly barber greeted us in Italian and had me step right up. Some neighborhood friends of his were hanging out reading the newspaper and talking. I just opted for the straight shave of the head. The Italian peanut gallery were all interested in the American guy that was about to get his head shaved down. Instead of the barber breaking out the electric shaver he started sharpening his straight razor on the leather belt hanging from the chair. I looked into the mirror and gulped! The barber laughed with the blade up and pointed to it and said something in Italian. I just motioned that it was no problem and he should go for it.

He lathered me up with the old-fashioned mortal and pestle lather and got down to business. His hand was as steady as a surgeon as he drew the sharp blade across my scalp. My new bride, Demetria, was hanging out with the Italian peanut gallery drinking coffee while my new shaving cream ‘fro was being removed by the skilled hands of the barber. The barber completed with some finishing touches and placed a warm towel, scented with lemon no less, on my head. The pièce de résistance was the manly smelling aftershave that the barber applied which made my scalp tingle with pleasure. This was one of the most enjoyable head shavings that I have ever had. The only thing that would have made it even more perfect would be a neck and head message from my gorgeous new bride at the same time! I guess there are some things that don’t get better with technological and process “improvements”….