Plans, plans, plans... planes

HGirl is SOOO excited because PGirl is getting married. In Laos! So HGirl is making plans to go to Laos with her friend the German Professor.

Unfortunately, Luang Prabang is not that easy to get to. So, we are flying from New York to Tokyo, the Tokyo to Bangkok. We spend one night in Bangkok and then fly to Luang Prabang the next day.

AHHH!!!! PGIrl is SO excited.

Back in the USA

Not too much to report. Just happy to be back in the US. Flights were all fine.

Maybe I am growing out of the travel drama??!!??

Tomorrow is conferencing, include a talk early tomorrow morning. FUN!

Banquets and swords

Greetings,

Things are going well here in Japan, but I am finding these types of conferences (e.g., international agencies and politicians) are very different from academic conferences. There has been very little substance and lots of speeches. The speech from the WHO Regional Director had the most substance and was quite interesting. Most of the other speeches were very formal greetings from the govenor of the prefecture, the mayor, the union head, the ministry of foreign affairs, this ministry, that university, the head of this committee, the vice mayor of that foreign city.... Then there were some reports from half a dozen cities.

Last night, at the banquet, is a good example. The banquet started at 6pm, but there were two hours of awards and speeches until we were served.

I am hopeful for today's "academic" sessions. I really want to know what programs people are doing, if/how they are evaluating them, and if any of the interventions will be useful in our work.

On the other hand, people have been warm and friendly. I have now been adopted by the delegates from two Philippino cities who are just tickled that I am 25% Filipino. They keep asking if any of the men are available. This guy from Saudi Arabia keeps raising his hand. At the banquet (remember we are focused on health) they were passing around chicharon they had brought from home.

I have been on a quest to find some Japanese swords like my mom bought me in Okinawa. I have been to three malls around the hotel and haven't been able to find them. I am hopeful that I can find something at the airport. You know me, always trying to bring something back.

Greetings from Ichikawa

Hello friends and family....

Helminth girl is back. I arrived at Narita Airport (Tokyo) yesterday after a delayed 14 hour flight from DC. The flight was supposed to be 13 hours, but the satellite navigation crapped out and we had to take a different route. The good news is I finally saw Baby Mama, Hancock and Then She Found Me.

Today, I went on a technical visit for health and wellness in Ichikawa (which is part of the Alliance for Healthy Cities). It included a visit to an elder rehabilitation clinic and a child development clinic.

After the tour, we were free. So, I joined several women from Tagaytay in the Philippines. In fact, one was a city councilor and one was the mayor's wife. They were all quite amused that I was 25% Filipino. So where did we go????

Tokyo Disneyland!





As my cousin Paula can attest, I am not a big fan of Disneyland. All the screaming kids drive me nuts. But I thought, "What the hell!"

We did the train through Adventureland, the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. we also saw a Lilo and Stitch show. It was kinda cute...

But, the prices were outrageous. So if you were hoping for a gift... sorry Charlie. Sweatshirts were ¥5900 (~$59 USD) and pens were ¥800 (~$8USD). They are totally getting over. The recession hasn't hit the Magic Kingdom, let me tell you.

OK, that's it for now. No drama, I know. But I don't leave Japan until Sunday (11/26) and still have San Diego and Vancouver to go.

Sayonara people....

Japan and China; t minus 1 day

Hello faithful readers. HGirl is off again tomorrow, around the world to Kobe, Japan and Shanghai and Suzhou, China.

She has tried to prepare with a last minute stop to the local Duane Reade for prescription travel meds (patches and Cipro) and OTC meds (Imodium, Tylenol Multi-symptom cold crap - she learns from bad experiences, and Ibuprofen).

Oh no, she forgot the travel TP. OK, back to the drug store. Can't go to Asia without emergency TP.

Trabaho en Mexico

Greetings readers...

Our heroine has been quite lax in keeping up with the blog, but she is travelling now. And faithful readers know... when HGirl travels there is drama...

So HGirl is in Mexico City for a PAHO meeting. Today is her last full day, and the shit hit the fan. After the meeting finished, HGirl wanted to go to the Anthropology Museum. So she gets cash at the ATM and hops in a taxi. She buys her museum ticket and gets one of the listening devices and realizes her check card is missing. She left it in the ATM (it wasn't a swiper).

So HGirl jumped in another taxi and went all the way back to the bank. Of course, she doesn't speak Spanish, so it took about 30 minutes to for the bank employees to figure out that the machine didn't eat the card and for them to tell HGirl no one turned in a card. So she goes back to the hotel, calls the bank and reports the card missing. Luckily no one tried to use it.

So then she gets in another cab and goes back to the museum. Totally worth the trip, by the way. As she gets ready to leave, it starts raining. This was not a drizzle, but a deluge... a few gallons more and she would have called for an ark not a taxi. And the rain didn't let up after 20 minutes, so she bit the bullet and left the museum to find a cab to the Hard Rock (not to eat mind you, but to get souvenirs for the family). Note to self: don't walk in the rain in a white printed rayon shirt. Let's just say Mexico saw parts of HGirl that they shouldn't have.

Shanghai, shopper's paradise but humid as hell

HGirl arrived in Shanghai after a 2 hour bus ride from Suzhou to the airport and a 30 minute cab ride from the airport to the hotel. Still reeling from her cold, she checked in, ate lunch and collapsed into bed with the intention of waking up two hours later. Fast forward 12 hours and she is up at the crack of dawn, having slept through the night.

Friday morning, after breakfast with the WORST coffee in the world, she headed to one of the main shopping districts: East Nanjing Road. This area is wall to wall malls, little shops and restaurants.

And naturally, HGirl made the most of it and did not come home empty handed.