title: konica big mini

i finally got some of the pictures from my konica big mini printed. i love them! the tone they all have, that cool greenish-blue! the glory of analog (well, sort-of analog)! the photo-processing guy couldn't say enough about them, too. but i think he may just have wanted to see some good ratings on the customer service survey. you tell me what you think:the full set is on my flickr photostream (see the link at the side). i forsee a lot more of these film scans in the future. let's hear it for outmoded technology! hieperdiepiep! hoorah!

title: the grounds for sculpture

often when my cousins visit, we find ourselves with a beautiful fall or winter day and nothing to do outside. solution? the grounds for sculpture in hamilton! the landscaping is beautiful and (sometimes) the sculpture is too. but we always have fun.they have peacocks and peahens strutting around the premises. i am sure they are fed up with cameras by now.

i am working on getting my head around florence and san gimignano. there is a lot of beauty to attempt to condense.

title: and so, to ghent!

fortunately, bruges does not speak for all of belgium. ghent is awesome. it's like if bruges and brussels had a brilliant lovechild. it's full of art and medieval charm, just to the right scale, and everything is affordable for a lowly student such as myself. (don't get me wrong, you can go expensive if you want to, but it's not forced like in CERTAIN towns.) plus, the people are friendly here and the oldsters aren't scabs. i had coffee with a woman who has lived in ghent all her life, and had been going to that particular coffee shop (mokabon, where you can go to the best cappucino ever for only 2 euro) since she was nine years old. a cute young couple also sat with us, and spent the entire time pinching each other as they stirred their coffees. and that was only the beautiful beginning to my day.

one more cool thing: there is a street in ghent where you can do graffiti without getting in any trouble. behold.
does it not speak to the innermost happiness of you soul?! they love art in ghent. i also took in the s.m.a.k., where i saw some crappy modern art and some cool modern art. in addition to its exhibits, there is "coming people": the museum displays art students' work, chosen by curators from the museum itself and from international museums (this year it was a person from japan). also, they actually allow you to take (non-flash) photos in the museum, which is an awesome idea. i'm still working out whether or not any of the photos i took are good enough to be worth posting. only photoshop will tell! for now, just enjoy this beautiful image from a junk shop (where, incidentally, i wound up haggling for and buying a melodica):wow.

title: la nourriture

so, i have given up on doing things in any kind of realistic order. the pictures i took on a recent trip to nijmegen accidentally went back to the u.s. with my mom when she left paris this weekend, so instead i'll just skip right forward to paris. all that matters is that i'm updating! i have so many photos from paris that i have decided to split them into several smaller, themed posts. this one is all the photos i have of food. i spent the majority of my time there (4 of the 5 days) staying in an apartment with my mom and aunt on rue mariotte (of which there will be pictures later!). down the street from us was a regional farmers' market which set up every day of the week except monday. the vegetables there were so fresh and beautiful, i've never seen anything like them:
this woman sold roasted beets at her stand, which was such a wonderful idea. the last night's dinner was just 2 big fat beet and a huge hunk of crusty bread.
but with dinner must come dessert, and there is plenty of that in paris. my mom and aunt had heard about this "chocolate exposition" that was going on, so we went to that. you pretty much just pay the €12 admission price and walk around sampling the finest chocolates france (and other countries, like italy and even japan) has to offer. this was fun. i ate so much chocolate, and brought home so much more. as we speak, my dad, brother, cousins, and uncle are probably gorging themselves on the treats my aunt and mom brought back. i was also able to visit laduree bakery, which was one of the only places i had on my mind from the beginning of the trip. it was packed full of tourists, having made a name for itself not only because of its age but because its pastry chefs were responsible for the desserts featured in marie antoinette. the macarons and religeuse (violet flavored, no less!) i got were so out of this world. hooray for the french! coming up next in the paris series is the view from the streets! stay tuned!

... p.s., check this out:it was so good.

title: amsterdam and back again!

this post is loooong overdue. if any of you have been to my flickr, the photos from my weekend in amsterdam (september 25-27) have been there for a while. i can get myself to edit and upload them, but posting is apparently one step too many! as you probably have figured out, getting the feel of a place is not my strongest point. if you want an all-inclusive tour of amsterdam, better to find it on earthalbum. however, if you're here for a hana's-eye-view...
i don't know how i left that city without visiting the FOAM museum! my friend alex and i did get to the van gogh museum, however, which was really cool. i felt a real kinship with van gogh while walking through the exhibits and reading about his life, and this was despite the moderately large crowd milling around the galleries. we also took a trip as a class to the rijksmuseum (where i didn't get to see the famous rembrandt de nachtwacht because my teacher spent so long lecturing about other paintings! gaaaahh!!!) and the amsterdams historisch museum, both of which were really good lessons in dutch art and social culture.

over the past two weeks, how to accurately describe this city has been buzzing around inside my head. judgement aside, i can absolutely say that amsterdam is food for the senses. if you are paying a little attention, you will find yourself soaking in the strangeness of humanity when you visit.

title: sept 6

this seems to be a weekend for fairs. in a true testament to the nature of america, this one is completely different from yesterday's. instead of samosas, funnel cake. instead of traditional dance, freakshows. instead of mehendi, face painting. well, maybe it's not so different after all...
if someone were to ask me to sum up the nature of america, i would point them to a carnival such as this one. this is what it is. just in case any of you were wondering, these photos were taken at the great allentown fair in allentown, pa (where my friend meg goes to muhlenberg college!). the fair will be open until labor day (cripes, that's tomorrow!), so get your butt in gear if you want to visit it.

title: sept 5

today i went to the indo-american fair in west windsor. it was a fascinating cross-section of new jersey's indian population. people apparently come from all over the state to go to this fair in mercer county park. there was a stage with dance performaces, vendors selling saree and chat foods, and fun things like mehendi artists and bouncy castles (an odd combination, i know). thanks to the new lens i got some colorful shots!
the fair continues into tomorrow (sunday, sept. 6th), so if you're in the area i highly reccomend you visit! click the link at the top of this post for more information.

title: "jorb"

this hangs over the head of my bed, because jorb is my favorite word.

title: madame hana's carrot menagerie

hur-ry! hur-ry! step right up! admission is free and the subjects are fascinating! SEE the carrot lovers! GAPE at the carrot that looks like some legs! GAZE IN AWE at the carrot giving a smaller carrot a piggy back ride! not for those with weak constitutions! women and children, look away!