I almost didn’t want to write anything about the horrible attacks that took place in Paris, because I didn’t think I could write anything that hasn’t been said already.  However, this attack really affected me on many different levels: as a world traveler, as a rock music fan, but, moreover, as a global citizen.

I spent two years living in Europe (in Germany as a student and in Czech Republic as a businessman), and these attacks really hit me as the news was coming into my smartphone starting with the bomb explosions outside the football stadium and the horrible massacre that took place at the Eagles of Death Metal show.

I was lucky to see the Eagles of Death Metal this past summer in Germany. They are fun loving group of guys who play fun, dancing, rock and roll music.  I am really sorry that over a hundred of their fans and friends were murdered so brutally in front of them.  They and the victims are great people who didn’t deserve this.

The one thing about this is that Julian from the Whigs was touring with them as well.  The Whigs are an Athens, Georgia band I absolutely love, and one of my good friends, who works as a photographer, has taken many pictures of them.  While I don’t know any of these musicians personally, Athens Georgia is my hometown and everyone there is like family to me.  I’m really saddened that something like this hits so close to home.

All of this kind of reminded me of what it was like to be a student in Germany in 2001.  I was in Heidelberg when the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of 11th September 2001 happened.  Social media, smartphones, and digital news media didn’t exist back then, so I only saw the images and video the next day, and it was only the next day when I was able to talk with my mother using a prepaid telephone card in a telephone booth.  Times certainly have changed since then.  Since I was speaking only German at the time, I didn’t hear the term “9/11” until 2002 when I landed back in the United States expecting my parents to greet me at the terminal.  They were not at the terminal. I had to walk to baggage claim where they were waiting for me as my dad explained to me, “Ever since “9/11″ they don’t let any non-passengers go to the terminal anymore.”  To this day, I still can’t bring myself to describe those attacks openly as “9/11.”

With the current refugee crisis, the rise of right wing radicals, and now this horrible attack, I really fear for the stabilization of Europe as a whole.  I know the world is mourning the victims together and showing strength and solidarity, but at the same time I know that terrorists are planning more attacks, and right wing radicals and Neo-Nazis are using this as fuel for their hate filled messages.  As an avid world traveler and as a person who has brown skin, I honestly don’t know how I am going to be viewed and whether I will have to look over my shoulder the next time I explore a foreign land.  Furthermore,  there were so many young, innocent lives taken away, and all that remains are pain and sorrow for their families.  I honestly don’t see anything good coming from this.

Through social media, I’ve been in contact with my friends in Germany and the rest of Europe.  I found out that two of my friends in Paris are safe and accounted for.  I am a born U.S. citizen and Coloradan, but, moreover, I am a global citizen.   I have watched German news, British news, and American news coverage of these events just to remind myself of that.

If anything, I hope that we as a whole remember that we have a lot more in common with France than we actually realize.

 

 

 

Well, maybe not yet, but the weather has gotten cooler and ski resorts are opening up.  I have a ski pass for this season and plan on learning the fine arts of this sport and doing it on a regular basis in the coming weeks.

A lot of snow has already hit the mountains and there will be more to come.  I’m pretty excited to take up all the winter activities of my fellow Colorado people and explores some new adventures along the way.

The hours of sunshine have become shorter and the darkness has become longer. Yes, winter is coming and I can’t wait to see all the pretty scenery in the snow.

Yep, that picture pretty much sums up the week long trip to Peru.  Seeing Machu Picchu was always a life long dream of mine.  My time for this trip was very short, but I am glad I did this.  You only live once.

There were some unexpected troubles with the trip.  A trainworkers’ strike and local protests forced me to forgo an extra day in the town of Machu Picchu.  Long story short, I had to take a late night train to some remote mountain town/village and then quasi-hitchhike my way back to Cusco, the nearest town with an airport.  After a full day at Machu Picchu, I reached Cusco in a rather chaotic manner at 2 in the morning.  If I wouldn’t have done this, I could very well be stuck in Machu Picchu even today.

While I was in Cusco for the next day, I saw the protests and police brigades in their riot gear.  It was pretty crazy but a bit fun to witness up close.  I have pics, but I’m too lazy to sort through them and post them.  Maybe later (probably not).

And if that wasn’t enough, the stupid TSA and customs control slowly searched randomly selected luggage when I arrived back in the U.S.  My luggage was not selected but waiting in the long line forced me to miss a connecting flight, and I had to spend an extra seven hours in Newark.  Past travel experiences allowed me to remain calm and diligent throughout this, but I do have to admit, I was pretty exhausted from an already rather hectic trip.

Nevertheless,  I am so grateful that I was able to see Machu Picchu and get to know Peru and its people a little better.  I definitely do want to come back and do the Inca Trail properly to reach Machu Picchu and explore Peru more.

However, it’s probably going to be a while before my next (hectic) trip to South America.

Just a few little things to pack and we will be good to go.  Country number 27  is just 24 hours away and Machu Picchu awaits.   Like always there is a bit of anxiety and trepidation that goes with traveling to the unknown, but, hey, that’s what makes it even more fun!

Footsteps lead to places, but the journey never ends.

Everyone knows that I’m all about cool T-shirts, but recently it’s come to my attention that what I once thought was a cool T-shirt is probably not so cool anymore.  The above pic is of a T-shirt I bought in 2000 in Nuernberg, Germany while studying abroad.  It cost 5 Deutsch Mark (approximately $2.50 in today’s standards).  I thought to myself at the time, “hey, this is a cool European T-shirt and it’s cheap which makes it even more cool.”  To me it represented a uni-sex bathroom symbol, which I, being the 20 year old student back in the day, thought was really neat.

I’ve worn this shirt dozens of times over the past 15 years and I’m sure there are many pics in my collection of me in this T-shirt.  Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m gonna’ be able to wear the shirt anymore, thanks to a lot of homophobic bigots in my country.  I wore this shirt recently while rock climbing with some younger friends of mine (25ish) and they just kinda’ stared at me and asked me, “bro, what do you mean with that T-shirt? Are you trying to make a statement about marriage equality?”  It kinda’ shocked me that someone could think I’m homophobic just because of a simple T-shirt, but the reality is that that CAN happen.  When I was confronted by these questions, I stated, “It’s a unisex bathroom symbol.  I totally support marriage equality and have gay friends, etc.”

However,  I think we kind of have to come to terms that certain symbols can be interpreted as bigotry.  The Swastika used to be a holy symbol for Hinduism and Buddhism and then some stupid idiot from Austria with one testicle and a fucked up moustache ruined that for everyone around the 1930s (look it up).  Also anyone who carries the confederate flag (which i believe has always been a racist symbol) has to be prepared to be labeled a racist.  Likewise, if I continue to wear above pictured T-shirt, I will have to be prepared to be labeled as someone who believes marriage should only be between a man and woman. (And of course I don’t believe that!)

Hence, I’m no longer going to wear this T-shirt, which has been one my favorite shirts to wear for a long time.  In fact, the next time I go camping, I may even burn it.  Sometimes, we have to change our patterns of behavior as a reaction to the times we live in (and apparently this applies to our fashion choices).  However, there is no need to fear.  There are plenty of other cool T-shirts out there that represent being cool and supporting equality of ALL beings.

 

Peru.  This will be the 27th country I will have visited outside the United States.  This trip will come some time next month, and I’m totally looking forward to it.

It has been a dream of mine to see Machu Picchu for quite some time now.  Thankfully (and barring unforeseen circumstances), this will become a reality.  The most important thing, of course, will be the people and getting a glimpse into their culture.  I’m going to need to brush up on my Espanol a bit.

After not doing any travels at all last year,  I feel extremely fortunate to have already had a Germany trip and a New York trip this summer (yes, I kinda’ consider New York a pseudo-country in itself).  I hope every year for the rest of my life can reflect this past year with travels and hiking and rock climbing and overall adventures.

Plus, I saw some really kick-ass concerts this past summer including Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl on ALL four legs), Slash, Neil Young, U2 with Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen, and Faith No More.  As Autumn weather comes and a snowy winter awaits I look forward to more adventures including becoming a better skier (I already am not very good at skiing, so there is only room for me to get better).

Number 27. Peru.  Hopefully, I’ll get to 50 in time.

Yeah, I went to the optometrist today for my yearly eye exam (In reality I just ran out of contacts and had to get an eye check up before ordering new contacts.)  Otherwise today was just a normal off day from work.  Completely mundane and filled with running errands like grocery shopping and paying bills.

College Football season is around the corner and I’m really looking forward to seeing how my Georgia Bulldogs do this year.  Regardless of what happens, Athens, Georgia is my home and will always be home.

With a three day weekend coming up due to our Labor Day holiday, I need to find something to or some rock to climb somewhere.  If all else fails, at least I can find somewhere to watch some college football.

. . . I love you.  I really love India and have fond memories of going there quite often during my childhood (I’ve been to India nine times,  4 times before the age of 11).  However, there are some issues that really, really bother me about this country of my parents.

Thanks to the The Young Turks I came across a great video hosted by AJPlus about rape victims in India fighting back against gender inequality and the sexist, rapist culture that unfortunately permeates India’s paradigm.  These women call themselves the Red Brigade and their actions are truly remarkable and brave.  As a spoiled American I’m probably not the right person to sit here and criticize India, but it is abhorrent that extremely young girls at the ages of 6 and 10 can be gang raped and have their innocence and childhood ruined and the perpetrators can go free.  It’s humbling to watch this.  I really have nothing to complain about sitting in my apartment and enjoying the mountain scenery in middle America.  I wish these women well.

Another thing that kind of bothers me is that medical care may not be as good in India as I thought it was at least according to this Vice Report .   I used to think that Indian doctors were some of the best in the world, but then again I’ve been wrong about other things before.  Medical errors and negligence are actually more common in India in comparison to other democracies and it mostly has to do with lack of accountability and responsibility as the article mentions.   And of course this leads to more terrible outcomes including unnecessary death.  Again, India is an overpopulated country and the caste system (India’s version of apartheid) is still strong, which is a barrier against education and well being for the poor.

Again, I love India and hope to come back soon to visit my relatives there, but things have to change quickly for this country to overcome these terrible things.  It’s the 21st century now, and India’s running out of excuses.

Hard to believe that it’s only been a few days since I left New York City.  I had a great time.  It was great to see a taping of The Nightly Show and, moreover, it was REALLY awesome to see U2 twice in concert.

Seeing Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen perform with the band was great in itself, but what was really special was that I ran into two friends who I hadn’t seen in ten years. They were standing in the same row I was in and after the show they approached me. Really unbelievable how small the world really is and how people can meet up after losing contact with one another.  We spent some time after the concert and exchanged contact info and promised that we won’t wait another ten years to meet again.

It was also pretty cool that Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton were in the audience.  The two last concerts at Madison Square Garden felt like truly exceptional events and I’ll never forget it and feel fortunate to have been a part of it.

Also, I got to do all the fun stuff in New York that I didn’t get to do six years ago as a medical student.  I spent an entire day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and visited the Empire State Building and got to walk on the Brooklyn Bridge.  I also spent a day with a cousin in the city, so that was really cool, too.

With that said, I am happy to be back here in Colorado amongst the mountains.  I love New York, but I don’t think I’m tough enough to live there on a daily basis.  I am looking forward to my next visit, though.

And speaking of traveling, with all of these recent trips to Germany and New York, I wonder where (and when) I am going to make my next visit.  Hopefully, pretty soon.

Every free day I get here in Colorado seems to be spent outside.  Just finished my first so called Fourteener when we hiked up Mount Princeton .   It was tiring but definitely rewarding.

I went to Boulder, Colorado for the first time today and did some rock climbing at El Dorado.  Beautiful scenery and beautiful climbing.  While in Boulder, I found out that Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls are playing in October.  Maybe I’ll check it out to relive some Rock am Ring memories.

This week I’ll be taking a trip back to city life as I go to visit New York City to go see U2 in concert at Madison Square Garden.  Certainly looking forward to it.  I’m also going to attend a taping of the Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.

It’ll be good to back to NYC since I haven’t been there since I finished my initial med school rotations back in 2009.  Moreover, I’m happy I get to enjoy it as a traveling visitor this time around.