Andrew Overseas

New Project

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:33:00 +0000

Aperture & Organization

I'm currently spending a lot of time organizing and backing up my photo library via Aperture 3 and my sweet new 4TB external HD, and will have some new photos to share soon. So, if that's what you plan on checking in here for, bear with me - they're coming! As I said long ago, they're nothing professional, but I like to think I take some interesting shots and am happy to share them for personal use with permission.

Flickr is a real pain - any suggestions on a better, web-based photo service? Picasa is also a bit cumbersome. Will look into ZenFolio more after this blog post.

In other news...

I think I'm going to launch a simple news aggregation website sometime soon

I love reading the news, love sharing what I find with others, and then love discussing it with people who are also in the know. However, I've found that a lot of people are interested in current events but don't have time to scour the web AND interpret what they find. So, I'm going to try my hand at doing it for them. Odds are this project won't gain much popularity but, since I think I'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it, I'm going to give it a shot at doing it right. This means finding a good web hosting service, doing a little bit of graphical design, and trying to get some advertising going.

I'm only in the planning phase, and this could very well fizzle out here if I can't find a good way to make my idea happen in an accessible, aesthetically good, way. So, we'll see. Just thought I'd throw that out there and, with any luck, I'll get some feedback.

Back to the drawing board.

Cheers,

Andrew

Guess who's back

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:15:00 +0000

..back again, Andrew's back, tell a friend.

Or something like that.

Long story short, I did indeed make it back from Taiwan after that last, rather melancholy post (it was an awesome, awesome trip). Then, I started my Senior year, met some awesome people and further locked some friendships in stone - sorry, some of you ladies and gents are stuck with me for the long haul now - and then eventually graduated.

Right now, I'm unemployed following a wonderful summer working for Davidson Outdoors as an Assistant Director, a training session with North Carolina Outward Bound that silence tells me didn't amount to anything (even though I was guaranteed some coursework next Spring), and time working in Cashiers at the magnificent High Hampton Inn & Country Club for the equally magnificent McKee Family.

Now that I'm at home, I'm spending lots of time researching and applying for jobs. But. When I have the time, I do escape out into my lawn, the surrounding community, and exotic/faraway lands like Davidson, Asheville, and most recently Chattanooga, where I try to take some pictures.

I'm editing some to post now, in fact. While I know this site has little to no frequent readership, if you happen to stumble by, post-overhaul, your comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated.

Thanks to those who followed me in the past - I look forward to jumping back on it.

Tough day.

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:54:00 +0000

Well, I have a whole bunch of notes I was going to transcribe into journal entries with my free time, but I just read that a guy I knew in high school passed away. He wasn't someone that I hung out with all the time, but we hung out in band class and I enjoyed many a good conversation with him. So, here's to the inquisitive and caring life of David Miller. He sent me a message once saying he liked me photography. So, this next batch of uploads if for him.

These photos include photos from the visit of the President of the Republic of China, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), adventures at a Chinese tourist trap, making ski lanterns, huge spiders, a farm, and BBQ. And, of course, more good food.

Here's a link to the album: http://picasaweb.google.com/anwilkins22/Taiwan2010#

Enjoy the photos, keep sharing this blog with your friends (thanks for all the feedback!) and I'll try and get some travel stories up soon. I realize they're not as fun when they're not real time, but I'm trying! Take care, and safe travels.

AW

GIS Day 1 - Conferences, Posters, and Some Serious Heat

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:58:00 +0000

If I had to sum up day one in just a few words, I'd choose hot, tiring, and mind blowing.

At 06:40 I picked up the phone closest to my bed (there are three in the room, including one next to the toilet): "This is morning call!" the female, Asian computer announced. I tried to hang up the phone but missed the receiver, so the phone dangled by the bed while I reached for my cell phone to confirm the horrible reality. I've since gotten used to these wake-up calls.

After the most ridiculously awesome breakfast buffet you could imagine, which I'm yet to take a picture of, we boarded another Chinatown Express-like bus for National Taiwan University at 8:00AM. I'm not kidding when I say that every single bus has a karaoke machine on it. I'm also not kidding when I say that karaoke, to Mandarin pop songs no less, is the worst possible thing when you are trying to snooze for 30 minutes before starting a 12 hour day of walking around a city so humid you could swim from place to place.

Taiwan National University, or NTU, is beautiful. Palm trees line all the streets, and tropical sequoia-like trees that have air-roots are placed in huge beds. The cool thing about these trees is that the air-roots, which are intended to absorb moisture, become another extension of the tree when they make contact of the ground. The trees then begin to take on the appearance of those that you see in movies growing around Asian temples. Truly beautiful, and very commonplace. Gotta love the tropical climates.

From Taiwan 2010

Here's a shot of the group under one of those cool trees I was talking about.

From Taiwan 2010

One element of the campus tour was visiting the major academic departments, to include a zoology museum. We listened to a presentation on different animal sounds, and then a student casually produced a box containing foam/caulk stuffed rats. Their tails served nicely as handles.

From Taiwan 2010

We also saw a presentation on the history of their physics department, which included one of the first particle accelerators in Asia (pictured below). Clearly, NTU has been at the forefront of education in East Asia for quite some time.

From Taiwan 2010

After the campus tour, we traveled to the National Palace Museum. This is the place where the retreated Republican forces, who were fleeing the Communists following successive defeats in the Chinese Civil War (post WWII), stored a large majority of the treasures from mainland China. They saved thousands of artifacts and pieces of art that represented the entire span of the regions history from the Communists. This turned out to be a huge save later on: during Mao's Cultural Revolution, young Maoists destroyed ancient temples and treasures in their fervor to shun the old and welcome in progress. In a way, the existence of the museum is sad. It was founded by the exiled Republic of China government to store the treasures until they could return to the mainland. They're still there today, representing both the care of the Republicans and the irreverence of the Communists. Pictures weren't allowed inside the museum.

From Taiwan 2010

After the walkthrough of the museum, which was quite long, we headed back to our hotel. I quickly donned my complimentary bathrobe, flipped on Animal Planet and listened to a documentary on meerkats interspersed with incredibly loud and raucous Taiwanese commercials (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGxgmwCuKN4).

Hard sleep followed. Life is good.

From Taiwan 2010

Photo Blog Update

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:52:00 +0000

I've updated my online album, and will be posting journal entries shortly!

Sorry for the delay - the schedule here has been incredibly full, beginning around 7:30AM and ending around 9:30-10PM. I've been falling asleep just by looking at my bed (and by listening to the terrible, terrible acting on HBO).

Anyways, here's a link to the photo album: Taiwan 2010

Journals to come soon!

Taipei Touchdown

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Post Edited 7/11/2010

I made it. Finally. After a twelve hour flight, which consisted of Chinese action movies and a lot of sleeping, I'm finally checked into the Miramar Garden Hotel, Taipei.

From Taiwan 2010

I'll wake up tomorrow morning to write about the journey a little bit more, but here are some pictures that are a taste of travels and the hotel. Tomorrow, which is a free day, looks like it'll consist of breakfast, a bit of workout time in the ridiculously nice fitness center to include a sauna stop, and then roaming around the city to hunt for food.

The hotel itself is incredibly nice. My favorite touch of flair are the bathroom speakers that are connected to the TV so you don't miss anything you were watching, and the room's power supply which can only be turned on by putting in your room key. Leaving the room means no power, which means to power waste. I think they're on to something here.

From Taiwan 2010

Also, the exchange rate isn't that bad, either.

It's hard to remember that I'm here for a PoliSci conference, which begins on Monday, but I am. Definitely excited for that.

Before then, though, I need some time change adjustment.

Added 7/11
Okay, now that I've gotten a full night's sleep, with the exception of a fully animated and illuminated beer billboard that featured two giant toasting hands with pints that went "HWAAAA!" all night, I can sit down and add some of the things I wrote in my notebook while flying. Here goes, with other things added in as well.

"Ladies and gentermen, we will be arriving in Taipei shortly."

The announcement on the China Airlines 747-400 was loud enough to stir me from a bizarre dream about taking a tugboat from North Carolina to South Africa to protest bad calls in the World Cup. The flight had been, well, bearable, and it remained as such until we landed. I opted to try the "Chinese Breakfast" when given the choice between a cheese omelette and the more cultural plate. A Chinese Breakfast, at least China Airlines' Chinese Breakfast, was a sort of porridge with ground pork, peas, and carrots. On the side was a roll, some sort of candied pork thing, fruit, and a cup of tea. As much as I tried, I could not finish the Chinese Breakfast. The sticky, white porridge with assorted veggies didn't settle too well with me. So, naturally, I turned back to the movie I had chosen for that particular moment (I watched two in between sleeping periods), Fourteen Blades.

I'm not a movie reviewer so I'll spare you a poor attempt, nor do I speak Chinese. However, I had a hell of a hard time following the plot, even with what seemed to be pretty good English subtitles. Set in what I gathered was a post Qin-dynasty China, the film was about a guy who commanded the Emperor's personal assassination team. They weren't a secret team or anything, so everyone knew who he was, which is quite a departure from our Western style films. Since this guy was out in the open everyone respected him, feared him, loved him, wanted to buy him drinks, yadda yadda yadda. He was then betrayed by some prince who wanted to be emperor and the guards turned against him, so it was basically a "good guy trying to complete his mission while avoiding death at the hand of his friends" type film. The "Fourteen Blades" mentioned in the title where kept in a tidy box by the protagonist, and he chose from them depending on the type of bad guy he was killing (each stood for different virtues, all of them related to filial piety and respect for the government) and they could do cool things like fly through the air, explode, and still remain perfectly intact.

Anyways, after that I fell asleep again. Cool. No dreams this time. About an hour later I was stirred by the flight attendant to turn off my iPod because we were getting ready to land. If anyone knows why things like iPods have to be turned off before landing, please enlighten me. I always comply, but I have a hard time figuring out how the smooth sounds of Ben Folds could bring the whole plane down. Anyway. I silenced Ben and looked out the window, and I experienced a rare, breath-taking moment. Either we were staring at the night sky in the middle of a cool, welcome-to-Taiwan barrel roll courtesy of the pilot, or the ocean was covered in little tiny lights. I looked closer, and I could discern hundreds of little fishing boats with their yellow, blue, and white lights tinkling and bobbing on the Taiwanese coast. This was the sort of thing you imagine when reading about Imperial China and the fishing communities of Eastern Asia, and I'm guessing the images created by the authors, poets, and directors were spot on. It was absolutely beautiful. I was transfixed by this simple light show until the wing flaps went up to slow us down. I sat back in my seat and did not dare look out the window again - I hate landing in planes.

Thankfully, it was one of the gentler touchdowns I've experienced and the de-planing process went very quickly. The fourteen hour flight was rather empty, and everyone had an empty seat next to them, so that helped. Since I had nothing to declare (for some reason, that makes me feel inadequate) the customs process was easy and we were greeted on the other side of the one-way doors out of the sterile zone by incredibly excited National Taiwan University students. Note: There were signs all over the airport for "The Beagle Brigade," which are their bad-person detecting dogs. I did not see one, and was incredibly disappointed. Hopefully the airport will read this before my flight out and have some hanging around the concourse before I get on their plane and eat their breakfast porridge again. The posters were the cutest thing: little beagles, almost smiling, standing next to pictures of guns, meat, plants, and drugs saying "Declare or be fined!" I can't think of a better way to threaten someone with the book.

We rode to the hotel on a bus that was the realization of my imagination's version of the United States' East Coast Chinatown Express. There were avocado green curtains with little tassels hanging in the windows, flat screen TVs that were probably added to the roof of the bus by the driver, a shiny faux chrome ceiling, and little lacy things on the head rests. I loved it. After a delightful welcome to Taipei by the Taiwanese students/program directors, I stared out the window at the tide of scooters that dominates the highway 24/7 (so I'm told). I then made it to the hotel, was blown away by the luxury (Have I mentioned the tiny micro-garden in the corner by the door? There's a little ceramic dish with pebbles, water, and a few plants growing in it.), enjoyed a pre-bed snack in the restaurant with two other Davidson guys who are here for the conference, and went to bed.

This entry was a little long, partly because I had a lot to say and partly because I woke up too early and had a hard time falling back to sleep. This seemed like an appropriate way to fill the time. Next on the schedule: get breakfast, check out the sauna at some point, and explore the city. I can't wait to see what lies beyond the HWAAA! board.

On The Road Again

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:13:00 +0000

Last time I used this blog, I left it a little incomplete. My trip to Switzerland ended wonderfully, and I had memories that I probably will never forget. At least, I hope not. But, in case I do, I've got lots of photos that I will upload once I return from my next trip to my web album, located here, on Picasa.

However, the resurrection of this blog is not just to tell you that I made it back safely from Switzerland: it's to provide a new place for me to write about my two-week adventure to Taipei, Taiwan! While there, I will participate in a Political Science conference of sorts called The Global Initiatives Symposium 2010 in Taipei, hosted by the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the National University (NTU). I'm really excited about it. I'll get to listen to lectures and collaborate with other students on important issues such as green energy policy and East Asian Development. Cool stuff!

Right now, I need to hit the hay. It's about 11:11PM EST, and my flight leaves at 8:00AM tomorrow. After that, I've got a lot of traveling to do - approximately two days of it, to be exact! That includes a delightful, 12+ hour flight from Los Angeles to Taipei. Here's to hoping the inflight movie selection is more rousing than other carriers (I'm calling you out, American Airlines - no more of that "How I Met Your Mother" crap for me).

Now that I'm packed and ready to go, it's time for bed. If you'd like to contact me while I'm gone (or give me some travel suggestions), my address is anwilkins@davidson.edu. As always, all photos are clickable and link to a larger version and to my main photo album. If you like any pictures and would like to reuse them, please contact me first. Images may not be legally copied with out my explicit, written permission. Respect, yo.

From Taiwan 2010

Ciao!

AW

Another Starting Point

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:25:00 +0000

As I sit in Annia's illuminated living room with 3 of the 4 Advent candles slowly burning in the corner and a black cat snoozing on the arm of a chair, I realize that this is almost exactly where I found myself four months ago. Landing in Switzerland with a whirlwind of activity around me, I sat down on this very couch and exhaled, both physically and emotionally, and happily realized this is where I would be for the coming semester.

Now, as I go through my bags and carefully balance their weights (23 kilograms each), I find myself once again on the verge of something new and wonderful. I am so thankful for the time I have had here in Switzerland, and I do not know who to begin to thank. My parents, certainly, for the sacrifices they have made and for the encouragement they have provided to help me realize all of my goals. This is just but one case of them supporting me in my pursuit of both living life to the fullest and learning along the way. My grandparents have also been so supportive to me all of my life, and for that I'm thankful. Claire Margaret, my little sister, is happy for me too, despite her having so many other things (like applying to college - good luck!) to worry about. What a wonderful family I have, and what a blessing that is in its own right.

My friends, too, of all types and degrees of relationships, have been there for me when I needed them, and even when I haven't. Among these friends are the Haselbachs, long time family friends to whom I owe so much.Daniel took me under his wing the first weeks I was here, including me in activities like paddleboarding on Lake Geneva and a trip to Luzern. All of the Haselbachs have so graciously included me in their lives even when that means speaking in English when they normally wouldn't, since my French is so poor. And then, there is Annia. Annia has been a Swiss mother to me this entire journey, providing her home and its resources to me on weekends when I just needed to get away or I just felt like being around a second family. I can't express how wonderful it has been to wake up in the morning at Annia's and share breakfast with her, talking about life and the happenings of the day. These moments, such as talking with Annia over breakfast or paddling down the lake shore with Daniel, are the sorts of things that have defined my time here in Switzerland.

I like to think that I have lived life to its fullest while I am here, traveling to numerous countries and seeing so many things that had previously been confined to my imagination. The beaches of Normandy are real to me now, as is the Berlin Wall, the Swiss Alps, the Roman Forum, and the Eiffel Tower. But, just as real and perhaps more memorable are the little cafés and kind souls who offer to point you in the right direction, patiently listening to my broken French or offering their help in their best English, then disappearing back into their daily routines. These experiences are so important in our lives; they remind us that, even though our passports are different and we have such different cultures, we're all human. There is so much peace in knowing that their are so many good people in the world that you could never possibly meet them all.

So, as I sit once again on Annia's couch, watching the first snow of the year fall outside, there is nothing I can do but smile and enjoy the profound sense of contentment I have for what I have lived over the past four months. Tomorrow night I will be home, with my family in North Carolina, and I am incredibly excited. I'll visit friends at Davidson, at home, and even make a short trip to Kentucky. All of those things, as well as the entirety of my life for that matter, will be illuminated by the warm afterglow of this experience. And that is something to be thankful for.

Angry Mob + Fire = Burning Cars

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:31:00 +0000

So, today started out really nice and lazy. I woke up nice and slow, read for a little while in bed, then decided to go into town for lunch. After a quick lunch, the plan was to go ride the cable car up the mountain and enjoy a nice vista of the Jura. However, things changed once a dozen, blue police vans whizzed past. The police maintain a very, very low profile in Geneva (and in Switzerland, in general) so the odds of going for weeks without seeing any are high. Needless to say, seeing SWAT vans fly by was a bit unusual. I look down the street and see a protest making its way down Rue de Mont-Blanc, and then I remembered what was going on: there was protest of the WTO Ministerial Meeting. The World Trade Organization is headquartered in Geneva, just like many other major international organizations, though it's easy to forget they're there sometimes.

It's important to point out that most of the protesters opted for peaceful means to demonstrate for their cause, and that it was a select few (few meaning probably around 100-200 out of the supposed 2,000+ people) who caused problems. That being said, the problems were definitely there. The Geneva police force seemed well prepared for it though I, of course, was not.

From Geneva Protests 28 November 2009

I walked down the street to take a look at the noise and saw what looked to be over a 1,000, later confirmed to have been over 2,000, people marching across the bridge and into the northern part of the city. I saw about 4 tractors pulling floats and effigies of figures I didn't recognize, as well as numerous flags and banners airing grievances against the WTO and the general, global community. After the tractors passed, things got out of hand. I heard a car alarm go off, then began to smell something burning. Black smoke began billowing from behind a large crowd and, by this time, I had positioned myself behind the police barricade that had formed to keep the protest from getting into the square I was eating lunch. Bright red flames began to billow out of a brand new Mercedes-Benz, and three other cars were ignited next to it. Soon, riot police were running towards the location and I was backing away. That was a little much for me, really. Sirens could be heard converging on our location from all over the city. I took a few pictures with my phone (it was all I had on me, because my point and shoot is broken, sorry for the poor photo quality) and then moved on to a safer, less chaotic and smoke filled, place.

From Geneva Protests 28 November 2009

For the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, the public transit was out of whack and police were out in full force. I have never seen anyone in full riot gear before, much less an angry mob burning cars, so it was a spectacle. I can't say I understand either ways of manifesting (the French word for protest is "manifestation," by the way) their frustrations with the WTO, though. The peaceful protesters banners said all sorts of constructive things, ranging from "The WTO is Bad" to "Stop the violence in Darfur!" While I certainly agree that the violence in Darfur is bad, the WTO doesn't have much to do with that. A lot of the things being yelled and protested about weren't related to the WTO at all...it just seems as though some people live for a good protest. The violent protesters are a little easier to criticize. Burning up people's cars and smashing the storefronts of innocent people doesn't seem like the best way to further an agenda of progress, though the "black bloc" activists are supposedly anarchists. So I guess they don't really care.

From Geneva Protests 28 November 2009

The Swiss were very prompt in their deployment of street sweepers to clean up the mess, though. Once night fell, most of the trash had been picked up. Unfortunately, store owners and four car owners will be beginning the clean up process tomorrow.

From Geneva Protests 28 November 2009

Needless to say, all of this was a lot of excitement. I met up with some friends and watched a bit of football (European football) before heading back to the John Knox Center. The transportation was all out of whack, but we made it safe and sound. Thank goodness, because I've been looking forward to cleaning my room.

Homage

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:07:00 +0000

Before I continue, I will finish updating the rest of my blog and will make another post with links to the corresponding days. Thanks for reading, friends and family (and strangers, too).

On the shores of Normandy, where the hedgerows still stand and the wind bites to the core, there stands a tribute to the valor of our soldiers during D-Day and World War II.

I don't really know how to appropriately begin writing on my visit to Normandy, in particular Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. On the train ride from Geneva to Bayeux, I could feel my gut twisting up inside of me as the kilometers passed by outside the windows of the TGV and regional trains. Soon, mountains gave way to fields, fields gave way to Paris, and Paris gave way to the rolling and hilly countryside. Another Davidson student on the program, Hubie, and myself made our way to a hotel (our original one was inexplicably closed early) and went to bed. That night, before going to sleep, I read online about the shootings at Fort Hood. That night, prayers for the soldiers who were killed in Texas were said along with a little one of preparation. A heavy day lay in wait.

We caught the bus shortly before lunch time (which we skipped, oblivious to time and hunger) and rode through the countryside to Colleville-sur-Mer. Hedgerows and pastures welcomed us to the Norman countryside and, in all seriousness, I could almost picture the US soldiers fighting and crawling in the mud in their attempts to breach the rows of trees and German soldiers.

The friendly bus driver, who knew we didn't speak the best French, beckoned for us when we reached the gates of the American cemetery. He smiled and told is when to get off, and then wished us a good day. Sometimes, when you interact with someone even on the smallest of levels, you can tell that they are genuine and nice person. We stepped off the bus, and I was immediately overwhelmed with emotion.

From Normandy

Walking towards the visitors center, I could see two large flagpoles with American flags flapping in the strong, Norman winds. I could also catch a glimpse of the large statue through the trees, but I waited to visit that until after the main center. Walking inside and through security, we were met by a very friendly team of French security guards and memorial guides, as well as an American man managing the site. Before going downstairs and entering the main exhibit, I noticed a computer in the corner that allows you to view the records of all who have perished in American wars and where they are interned, if they are buried in an American military cemetery. I paused and looked up my great grandfather's citation, and it is pictured below.

From Normandy

After watching a beautiful and moving film about the lives of soldiers who were killed storming Omaha Beach, I visited the rest of the exhibit. It highlighted all the preparations, the incredibly and near insurmountable odds the soldiers were to face, and individual stories of heroism and sacrifice. Then, at the end of the timeline, I passed through a simple hallway. What a picture cannot capture are two things: the emotionless recording of every name of every soldier killed in the D-Day landings echoing through the hallway and the chills that move to your very core as you here each man's name reverberating off the cold, concrete walls.

From Normandy

The exhibit then changed dramatically, consisting of two large and plain, white rooms with glass placards that shared more stories of sacrifice and valor during the battle. A weapon and helmet stand alone amongst a patch of stones from the beach, and the exhibit ends with a pathway leading out to the hills over the beach. Before you leave, there is a guest book that is filled with messages of peace and remembrance by visitors from all over the world.

From Normandy

This reads: "We do not forget, we will never forget, the infinite debt of gratitude we owe those who gave everything for our liberation." - René Coty, President of the French Republic from 1954 - 1959.

An informative tour with a wonderful, French tour guide followed (in English) that consisted of Hubie, the tour guide, the head American guide, and myself. It was hard to focus at times, because the scene and everything that surrounded me was overwhelming. To my right were the waves gently breaking on the shore, and to my left were thousands of crosses and thousands of bodies of thousands of men who, fighting not just for their own liberty but for that of everyone, died on the very soil upon which I was standing. My words cannot do justice to everything that I was privileged to see, so I hope these pictures can make up for my lack of description.

From Normandy

The memorial chapel, with America and France represented.

From Normandy

After walking amongst the headstones I approached the memorial statue and the wall of the missing. Inscribed on the wall are the names of 1,557 servicemen (and a few women) who lots there lives but their remains were never found. There are 307 unknown soldiers buried in the cemetery as well. One of my favorite things about this site is the inscription around the base of the statue, which I tried to photograph: "Mine eyes have seen the Glory of the coming of the Lord."

From Normandy

After the memorial statue and wall, I walked down to the beach. Walking down the hill and onto the same beach that our soldiers ran, crawled, fought and died on amongst the sea and the sand and the blood was one of the single most moving moments for me this semester.

From Normandy

The beach is different now than it was then. Paths of the trenches still remain, as do remains of the bunkers. Now, though, we have polished stone footpaths and boardwalks to get out to the beach that thousands fought and died to capture. There are benches for us to sit on and think about the literal uphill struggle they all endured.

From Normandy

My Dad wrote this to me in an email he sent while I was in Normandy:

"When you look across the beach think of those thousands of Americans who stormed across the beach when the landing craft ramps dropped. Many were rural folk who, before the war, had never left their home-place or town. Some could barely read or write. Few knew anything about Europe and couldn't find Normandy on a map. Our friend from Clarksville, TN came in with 1st Division on D-day. He told me he never had a pair shoes year round 'til he joined the Army. On the other hand, Pres T. Roosevelt's son was there as assistant division commander of 4th Division at Omaha. He was technically too old to serve but used his family influence early on to go. As a Brigadier General he was the first general officer to land at Omaha Beach and was awarded the Medal of Honor for personally rallying the early assault waves that were pinned down by German fire."

Those thoughts and more were racing through my mind as I stood on the beach, the waves breaking gently just meters away from me. I don't know if there is a better word for how I felt - humbled, quiet, moved, at peace - than "proud." Proud of those who died in Normandy, in Europe, in the Pacific, and proud of those who gave their lives later in our nation's history and proud of all who have served.

On the shores of Normandy, where the hedgerows still stand and the wind bites to the core, there is a cross standing testimony to the courage and spirit exemplified by each young man and woman who died to secure not just a beachhead, but freedom from tyranny and injustice. I'm lucky that I could go and pay my respects and give my thanks, but I consider myself even luckier to be a part of our great nation.

Catching up.

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:56:00 +0000

Update 2 completed. Added another post from Italy, and will finish Italy and London this weekend. School work and other business here has delayed even further the updates, so I apologize!

Additionally, all my photos can be viewed at this site. I'll have all the captions complete by tomorrow, if anything.

Thanks for reading!

Roma: Da Una Parte

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:15:00 +0000

After a nice night of sleep in the bed and breakfast, it was time to wake up and visit some of Rome's more iconic sights. Today's goal: the Colosseum and Palatine Hill.

Getting to the Colosseum was fairly easy and, after a nice lunch of spaghetti carbonara, we walked to the Colosseum. The lines weren't bad at all and we were quickly inside. A temporary exhibit giving the history of the Roman Colosseum, particularly that regarding the Emperor who commissioned it, Vespasian, was the first thing we toured.

From 3 Rome

After learning about how expensive it was, how everyone gambled, and about how Mussolini ruined any chances for a unified historic district in Rome, we were able to walk outside and around the inside of the Colosseum. The weather was a little bit dreary, with misty rain dominating most of the day, but it didn't diminish the experience at all.

From 3 Rome

As part of the ticket deal for the Colosseum, you also get access to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Good deal! After marveling at the Roman ingenuity that is the Colosseum, we walked a little west and were soon on Palatine Hill. As I walked up the old, brick stairs, I couldn't help but imagine Roman Senators in their togas walking up those same steps or the sound of Legionnaires running down the stairs, attempting to make a last stand against the Germanic hordes. Hundreds of years of history were passing beneath my feet with every step.

The ruins on the hill were very well preserved, and excavation projects are ongoing. Piles of artifacts and marble are scattered around the site, and every once in awhile a university student would walk out to remove or replace something from them.

From 3 Rome

Scenes of the Classical era were interrupted by an alien structure: Mussolini's villa. Egotism at its best, Mussolini constructed a home for himself upon the site which the Roman empire was ruled from.

From 3 Rome

The thorough combing of the hill complete, it was time for the Roman forum. It, too, is nicely preserved, though I can't help but think they could've done better. If I have time and remember to do it, I'm going to try to do a little bit of research into the conservation attempts at the site. Any other info would be appreciated. Anyways. Lots of interesting things were there, but my favorite were the remains of the Roman Senate. Nothing is left standing but a row of columns and the foundation, but it still has a monolithic presence. Lasting from 753BC - 476AD, the Roman Senate has the distinction of being the longest serving representative institution.

From 3 Rome

When leaving the forum, the Italian government buildings are right in front of you, so a quick look at the Italian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was in order.

From 3 Rome

After yet another pleasant dinner, it's time for bed once again. Tomorrow's goal is Vatican City and The Pantheon - I'm excited.

Ruins and the Arrival in Rome

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:00:00 +0000

While trying to write this post, I've realized there isn't much I can do other than summarize how we traveled to Pompeii, provide some captions for the pictures I took, and then tell you that I made it safely to Rome. So, that's just what I'll do.

We checked out of our nice little Bed and Breakfast around 8:30AM, then left out belonging there to be picked up that afternoon, after our return from Pompeii. After a breakfast of plastic wrapped croissants and espresso, we once again boarded the Cirumvesuviano, this time getting off at the stop called Pompeii.

It was a little pricey to get in, somewhere around 20-30€, but definitely worth it. The archaeological site is huge and, even though most of it is roped of for excavation and minor restoration projects, one would be hard pressed to visit the entire site in a day. To compensate, I put on my running shoes and some good socks and walked my feet into the ground. I'll let the pictures do the talking from here. To view more, go here. You can also get to my other albums from the trip there as well.

From 2 Pompeii

Again, for more photos go to the aforementioned link.

After returning to Naples we walked around for a little bit, and then took our train to Rome. When staying in a bed and breakfast, be sure you nail down the address of the bed and breakfast itself...not that of the owners. They were very nice, though, and their son (an astronomy student) showed us to our big, spacious room for the night. We then walked around and found some quick food, and sleep time is to follow.

Tomorrow's objectives: The Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill.

"Limoncello? Ho, ho, my boy!"

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:30:00 +0000

Unfortunately, other than the pizza and nice bed and breakfast, there really wasn't much to do or see in Naples. It is crippled by crime and corruption, and a rather dirty place.

But. It is a great launching point for other adventures around the area. Our first adventure? The Amalfi Coast.

A quick train ride via the Circumvesuviano will deposit you in Sorrento, a place of excellent pasta, huge lemons, and all sorts of lemon products - including the infamous limoncello. This is a trip I highly recommend, and if I could do it again I would just skip staying in Naples and pay the extra Euro cent to stay somewhere on the Amalfi Coast. Before I go any further, the Amalfi Coast is a region in Southern Italy comprised of five towns, two of which we visited (Sorrento and Positano).

Since we didn't have much of a plan for Sorrento other than going and having a wonderful time, there were plenty of opportunities to wander and take some nice pictures. Here are a few:

From 1 Amalfi Coast

During our wandering, we enjoyed lunch at a nice little pasta place tucked in the wall of one of the many narrow streets. Nearby was another road that was home to all the limoncellerias. Limoncello is a thick liquor made from lemon zest, and it is...well, incredibly zesty. We all sampled a little bit of it (not too much, because it really didn't taste all that great) and along the way bumped into a group of old, British tourists. They found the idea of a street filled with people offering you free alcohol heavenly, and took full advantage. As we walked away, one of them explained "be careful or you'll have jelly legs like me!" as he struggled to stay standing. Noted.

An advantage to the Amalfi coast is that everything is relatively close by. For 5€ you can purchase a round trip bus ticket that will take you to the other towns, so we decided to go to Positano. The bus rise itself was harrowing: the bus driver whipped the tour bus around sharp curbs overlooking very steep cliffs on narrow roads, and I'm pretty sure he was well over the speed limit the entire time.

From 1 Amalfi Coast

However, when we leveled out from our last major curb, the view that awaited us was well worth it.

From 1 Amalfi Coast

Positano is a little more off the beaten path, which means instead of an abundance of British travelers, you have American students and Navy personnel (from the nearby base). It is perched on the side of a hill and, accordingly, instead of sidewalks there are staircases. The staircases go up and down, side to side, and sometimes around things in no logical order. Clearly, the whimsical and laid back nature of the people who live there influenced their architecture. Positano is known more for its seafood, which I enjoyed for dinner, and its beautiful beach. The experience of walking through its winding roads and peaking in the little boutiques was well worth it. If you've got the time, I've heard taking the boat to Capri is worth it, and its already on my list of things to do when I come back someday. And yeah, you better believe I'm going to.

From 1 Amalfi Coast

After another harrowing bus ride back to Sorrento and an hour long train ride back into Naples, it was time to call it a night. Operation Amalfi Coast: Successful.

Next Mission: Pompeii

A Napoli Night

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:38:00 +0000

Tonight marks the first night of our Fall break, and I am spending it with two friends, Cheri and Eli, in Italy. Well, at least until next Wednesday when I fly to London to meet up with Marshall and Matt. Pretty exciting.

Tonight we're in Naples and, since Naples is not exactly the most refined place, I did not take out my camera to take any pictures and will instead be doing so tomorrow during the day when Moroccan people in purple track suits are not offering to show me shortcuts around the city (didn't accept, no worries). We ate at the perfect Italian pizzeria tonight, Pizzeria Da Michele, which served up classic Napolitano pizzas. There were only two options: margherita and marinera. I elected for the marinera, which was a wonderfully simple pizza made from freshly pureed tomatoes, garlic, and oregano. That's it. And it was perfect.

Street view:

View Larger Map

Later on in our meal we were joined by a man named Francesco since we had an open, fourth seat. He works in the biometrics industry in Torino and was in Naples on a business trip. Very nice guy. He gave us a few travel tips, such as stay in after 10PM if you can help it and don't display any jewelry or expensive things at all. I figured as much already, but it reinforced my camera and cell phone's shared desire of staying in my pockets.

Now we're back in our room at the B&B Firenze 32 (no picture or good website that I can find, other than the booking website - B&Bs are very different overseas, though, and are quite a deal for such a nice room!), and we're looking forward to both breakfast in our rooms and a day in Sorrento and possibly Amalfi tomorrow. I'm super excited, because the Amalfi coast has been on the top of my "Must-go-before-I-die" travel list for quite some time, and my my friend Matt (not the one I'm meeting in London) hooked me up with some good travel tips.

Well, we may watch a movie before we all bed down. It's about 9PM right now, and I'm totally okay with an early bedtime. Our train this morning from Geneva left at 5:45AM, and we got here at around 4:30PM. I had a lot of trouble sleeping on the train because it was both really exciting and because the seats do not recline. I listened to music and read the whole time instead.

I don't normally give travel advice unsolicited, but I totally recommend asking the owner of places you stay, such as this bed and breakfast, for advice on places to go and restaurants to eat at. The pizzeria we ate at was not in any travel guides, but I can confidently say it was one of the best, if not the best, pizzas I have ever eaten in my entire life.

It's past my Napolitano bedtime - buonanotte!

Classes and the Establishment of Groove

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:38:00 +0000

This will, unfortunately, be a picture-free update, because I'm feeling inspired to write one from a café in the Old Town of Geneva. It's a beautiful day here in Switzerland: it's been raining off and on, and now it's a little breezy with some sun. Nice day.

I'm sitting in here, actually:

View Larger Map

(Cool Internet trick of the day)

It's a pretty good place to write a paper, with the exception of the loud Rihanna music playing over the speakers (which I will not be linking here. Sorry).

I will now, for sure, be interning at the World Health Organization and am waiting for my department and work schedule. I'm pretty excited about it, but also intimidated. I don't really know that much about public health, and it's supposed to be a bit of an intense work environment. The pros to this are obvious, such as it being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it will also be a great experience. Granted, it isn't quite what I wanted to do originally (work permit issues) but I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Plus, since I didn't sign up for an internship initially, I can't be super picky.

There isn't much else to report here. I've now been to all my classes twice and enjoy them all, particularly French. The professor is a delightful guy, Gerard Piquet, and a native Swiss. Class consists of us talking about day-to-day things, such as politics and sports, with him stopping to correct my dismally broken French in the process. He also gives me his opinion of Swiss political happenings and about international politics, which is incredibly interesting. I like that class a lot.

This weekend we (a group of friends I met on the trip and myself) may take a ferry to Lausanne and stay a night in a hostel there. Bigger trip plans are being made, with places such as Rome, Paris, Prague, and Amsterdam being the main targets. I'll keep this posted on future and past travels, and will try and put up the pictures I have sitting on the computer soon.

The music just shifted to some cheerful French folk music so, on this note, I will go write my paper for my human rights class and enjoy the environment. Again, if you'd like to be in touch, email me at anwilkins AT davidson.edu.

Santé!

The International Red Cross Museum and the First Free Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:16:00 +0000

During the last few days of our orientation week, we visited the International Red Cross / Red Crescent Museum and had a walking tour of the city of Geneva.

As we approached the museum, we walked under two large International Red Cross and International Red Crescent flags. Since I was raining outside, I didn't take any pictures, but perhaps I can convey to you how powerful this was by paraphrasing our tour guides words. The tour guide herself was a charming Australian woman whose husband is the deputy director a UN agency working on elimination of minefields, a topic which will be revisited later. As soon as we entered the main lobby, she greeted us and immediately begin the tour. She pointed outside and said "Look at those flags that you see, that cross and that crescent. To many people around our world, reaching a building with one of those flags flying over it is a matter of life or death, a moment they may have traveled days or even weeks for." And to think that, for me, it was a matter of choosing an outfit for the day and getting on the bus.

The museum is completely underground with no natural light, creating a sense of both desperation and reliance upon artificial light to navigate the various dioramas and exhibits. The overarching theme of the entire visit was of universal acceptance, compassion, and care. After a brief film on the inspiration of the Red Cross (Wikipedia: Henry Dunant) and its subsequent founding (Wikipedia: Geneva Conventions) we entered the main museum and to our immediate right were about forty glass cases filled with boxes of cards, each bearing a name. These are the records of World War I prisoners of war and casualties, and most of the stacks are organized by last name, not nationality.

From The Great Swiss Adventure

In addition to the museum's intentionally dark atmosphere, a timeline beginning with the founding of the International Red Cross borders the entire wall. This timeline serves as a guideline for visitors, and ends at around 2002 so time and distance can allow a more neutral interpretation of world events. We progressed through time with the exhibits until we reached the Rwandan Genocide display, which is a small room. Inside this room, the walls are lined with a small fraction of the pictures of orphaned, lost, or forgotten children from the genocide. I was transfixed, gripped with sadness yet hopeful for a better future. Some of these children have found their homes already, but most never will.

From The Great Swiss Adventure

Outside the Rwandan Genocide exhibit was a glass display case with this flag in it, from the July 1995 Srebrenica genocide.

From The Great Swiss Adventure

It reads: "Where have our sons gone?"

This book lists the names of missing and dead.

From The Great Swiss Adventure

Further down the timeline was a metal cargo container with a minefield crossing bridge and assorted mines scattered around the floor. They are very small and are often picked up by curious children (usually boys) who either don't know what they are or mistakenly think they won't explode. There were pictures and posters from all over the world cautioning children about landmines and in the back of the container were five different prosthetic legs, necessary because of mine detonation. The tour guide told us that the United States is yet to sign the treaty banning production and deployment of landmines, and that the government cites the necessity of defending the DMZ on the Korean Peninsula for continuing to field them.

From The Great Swiss Adventure

Here is a picture of a statue in front of le Palais des Nations. A chair's function is impaired once it loses a leg.

From The Great Swiss Adventure

Le Palais des Nations:

From The Great Swiss Adventure

The museum was an incredibly moving experience. I strongly believe in the power of humanity and good will, and when I see such a united, global effort to better others I get in such a good mood. However, the museum and the Red Cross provide a somber reminder that there are still large proportions of our global, human community that suffer and that helping them is not always possible. Powerful regional and international players, including the United States, can both help and hinder the efforts of the United Nations and the Red Cross. I hope that, whatever I do after graduation, I can be a part of something that moves the global community closer to cooperation.

After the Museum and lunch at the WMO (World Meteorological Organization) we had a walking tour of Geneva's old town. This mostly focused on the Protestant roots of Geneva and its role in the reformation. We walked past the imposing and bleak St. Pierre Cathedral, John Calvin's main center for preaching and participating in the Reformation. We then walked through a park and saw statues of the four main Reformers, whose names escape me right now.

From The Great Swiss Adventure

After the walking tour, our orientation week concluded and we were free to go. Nice! Almost all returned to the John Knox Center, the place where I'm staying (and it shares a name with one of the main Reformers, too) to unpack and unwind. Thus began our first free weekend! We went out to explore the city at night, and I was able to meet up with a few friends from Davidson passing through on the way to their study abroad programs. Saturday brought our first full, free day on the town and I went with some friends to walk around and visit an art museum. We weren't supposed to take pictures in there, so I snuck the picture of the marble staircase and statues.

From The Great Swiss Adventure

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, sending and replying to the emails some of you sent me, and catching up on the sleep lost during orientation week. Classes began on Monday, and they're pretty interesting so far! The setup is as follows: Our classes are very long, and each one meets once a week with the exception of French, which meets twice. I'm taking European Politics, a survey course on how the European Union and other European governments interact. I'm also taking an intermediate French course, which has turned out to be a one on one lesson since I'm the only one who signed up for it. Initially, I was pretty nervous about this, but the professor, Mr. Piguet, is very nice and I think I'll learn a lot. Today I have International Organizations which focuses on the UN, NATO, and other global players and International Business, which discusses what the name implies. It was canceled for this week, so I'll provide an update on how that goes later. Lastly, I have a course on Human Rights which I haven't attended yet because I picked it up late.

It's time for lunch now. The eating arrangement can be a little difficult: we are provided four warm meals a week, plus breakfast every day. That translates to three dinners and one lunch, meaning I will be living off of ham and/or cheese sandwiches for quite awhile. Microwave meals will be a treat, because everything is quite expensive here. To put things in perspective, a small hamburger meal at McDonald's costs 11.50CHF, which translates to about $11. Kinda rough.

My email address is anwilkins AT davidson.edu, if you'd like to drop me a line.

Cheers!

From The Great Swiss Adventure

Cols des Mosses, The Palais des Nations and Other Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:43:00 +0000

Since leaving Lully, the wonderful comfort of Annia's home and saying goodbye to paddling the shores of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), my time with the Kent State program has been great so far. I arrived at the John Knox Center, the location of our dorm, classrooms, and cafeteria, the night before the rest of the students. I had time to move in to my tiny little room and get settled, stay up late on Skype, and then get some sleep.

The group arrived a little late on Monday thanks to air travel, and had just enough time to drop their stuff off before we all hopped on a bus to head to Cols des Mosses, which is a good distance east of the Lake. Upon arrival, we stayed at a little chateau hotel in a quiet village and were helped to sleep by the sounds of cow bells echoing through the mountains and a gentle Alpine breeze disrupting the curtains of our opened windows. The next morning, we woke up and hiked to a fromagerie, or a cheese farm, and watched a friendly Swiss man named Blaise make Gruyère cheese and listened to him tell us about how he lives his daily life. Being a farmer, regardless of what country or continent you live on or the trade of your farm, is difficult. Every day he milks the cows, processes the cheese by building a fire then pressing it, recycling the leftover whey, and checking on the aging wheels at least five times a day. He was, though, incredibly nice and happy to show us his livelihood.

From

After a sampling of what is probably the best Gruyère cheese of my life, we hiked up to Lac Lioson, a secluded, spring-fed, Alpine lake. The water was perfectly clear and sapphire in color. We filled up our bottles straight from the shore before enjoying ice cream at a café next to the lake, then hiking back down to the chateau. That afternoon we took a cable car up to the top of Mont Moléson and enjoyed a spectacular view of the Alps. We then visited the town of Gruyère itself, which is an old, medieval town, and then went back to the hotel. That night, after a talk with Dr. Patrick Low, a professor at the program and Chief Economist at the WTO, we wandered into town to a restaurant. As we got close, we heard the Star Spangled Banner being hummed by a group of British travelers we had met the night before! Our best allies have a warm (yet sometimes biting) sense of humor. We talked with them about the Matterhorn, their travels around the world, and listened to an argument about Scottish beer before going to bed ourselves.

From

Wednesday morning came quick and early and, after a light breakfast of toast, jam, and muslï, we went to the Collier chocolate factory for a quick tour and, more importantly, ravaging of the free sampling room. We then went to visit the Chateau Chillon, which just celebrated its 1004th birthday and has great walls and battlements for climbing on, and then ate outside Lausanne before returning to the John Knox Center where we cleaned up before either bedding down or going to explore Geneva at night. There isn't really much to do downtown at night other than look at all the restaurants and bars and hope that you don't miss the last bus home, neither of which proved to be too stressful. After another late night on Skype, jockeying for good Internet (it's pretty terrible in the John Knox Center), myself and the group went to bed.

From

This catches you, the curious and attentive reader, up to the most recent events. We all woke up early to eat breakfast and then leave the Center at 9:30 for our tour of the Palais des Nations, the seat of the United Nations in Geneva. This was a dream come true for me and, I'm comfortable saying it, most of the group as well. We went in to three seperate meeting rooms including the largest, which hosts the biggest of meetings and conventions. The art and architecture around the campus of the Palais des Nations were breathtaking, all gathered from donors around the world and representative of an international mission of peace. I know there are times where I am skeptical of the effectiveness of certain UN departments, but to see everything together and the enthusiasm of the staff and representatives for what they do was just amazing. We ate lunch in the UN cafeteria, which was great, and then walked to the United States Mission in Geneva. There we were briefed by the Chargé d'Affaires, who is currently directing the mission, as well as several US delegates to UN organizations. This, too, was like a nerd-child's dream come true. At the days end, I was in possession of many pictures, a UN access card to the library and facilities, and a renewed enthusiasm for and interest in international relations, particularly security.

From The Great Swiss Adventure

Most people have now gone to bed, since tomorrow morning we will be waking up for a meeting on life in the John Knox Center and a guided tour of the old city in Geneva. I'm usually not one to enjoy guided tours, but a wonderful person reminded me that you can learn in just about any situation provided you want to. Thanks to her for that. I'm sure I'll enjoy things tomorrow, which is also the last day of our orientation week before classes begin on Monday.

Enjoy the pictures! Santé!

Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:42:00 +0000

Good news! I've figured out how to put pictures up now. I've abandoned Flickr in favor of Google's Picasa service, which should integrate better with this blog anyways. I'll make a new post shortly, and put up the photostream once I'm satisfied with its content.

Big update coming, with lots of fun adventures.

Show Time

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:52:00 +0000

I'm loading up the car and, in a few minutes, my laptop to head to Raleigh-Durham Airport. From there I'll fly to JFK, then Heathrow, and then to Geneva. I am so glad that packing is finally finished and that there isn't much else I could possibly do to get ready to go, other than get in the car and go.

I'll update as soon as I get there, and begin the real blogging about study abroad. Good luck to all of those traveling as well, whether en route to their place of study or already there and having a blast (I see you, Peru kids)! Also, best of luck to the Davidson students and professors gearing up for a new semester. I'll be thinking about and missing all them while I'm away.

Well, here I go!

Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (anwilkins) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:36:00 +0000

I thought before I got into the main theme of this blog, which is writing about my travels for friends, family, and random web surfers to read, I'd provide a brief introduction to this site and its content.

I will be traveling abroad this fall semester and am a student at Davidson College. I have just finished working in Wyoming on the R Lazy S ranch, a wonderful place that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a relaxing week in the mountains that love horseback riding and a general escape from the nonsense and over saturation of information that tends to plague our lives. I am a political science major working towards an East Asian Studies concentration. The only thing standing in the way of that, at the moment, is actually learning an East Asian language. Right.

In the mean time, though, I plan on continuing learning French while abroad. This blog will hopefully provide a good glimpse at my travels, as well as a central place for people to get in touch with me should they wish to do so. I will update it as often as I can/feel, and will try and throw in some pictures that are at least a little relevant to whatever it is I am writing about.

So, thank you all for clicking this way, and I hope you enjoy what you read. Feedback is appreciated, compliments encouraged, and complaints deleted promptly.

-Andrew