I had in interview with an editor from TRENDSHEALTH magazine in my apartment today to help him with a story he was doing on CouchSurfing. With his assistant and photographer by his side, I was in the spotlight ready to face the barrage of questions and shine positive light on the subject matter.
Filip came over just in time for my photoshoot and stood behind the camera watching me pose for the camera while shifting around on the couch. It felt so unnatural, but I did it with a smile. Filip eventually joined me on the same couch by the request of the editor, Bill, who asked us to look jolly and affable, as if we weren't already. I wanted to ease the slightly awkward mood by telling a silly knock-knock joke with Filip, but my intention was so obvious that we started to genuinely laugh without me finishing the joke.
Bill asked us both to talk about our experiences with hosting and surfing on CouchSurfing and inquired about the general demographics of those on this organisation. Questions about personal security and how we heard about CouchSurfing were raised as well. All in all, I sounded like a salesperson for CouchSurfing by saying things like "Just because there's one bad apple, doesn't mean you have to throw the whole basket out!". Bill asked me if I was in close ties with the founders of CouchSurfing, to which I said no with an embarassed laughter.
Just as we were wrapping up with my fifteen-minutes-of-fame, Simone, my surfer from Guangzhou, popped in. I hope I was able to accurately portray and perhaps even rectify some misconceptions about CouchSurfing, unlike a certain someone in a radio interview with China Radio International (CRI) in October of last year.
Looking forward to seeing myself (shameless, I know) in the glossy pages of the June/July issue of TRENDSHEALTH magazine.
Apr 12, 2008
Apr 8, 2008
Huanghuacheng Great Wall.
My two couchsurfers, Simone and Thibeaut, along with 'G', Maki, and Javem made a voyage out to the Huanghuacheng (Yellow Flower City) section of the Great Wall today.
Huanghuacheng was chosen for two reasons: it was a new section for me to conqueror and that there were no direct buses to this section of the wall, limiting accessibility by tourists who tend to destroy the genuine feeling of climbing the wall. Our private driver we hired was a chipper one who laughed a lot and was very animated.
It took us all about 5 hours to walk along the wall, and throughout our journey, we hadn't come across anybody else, let alone any tourists!
The Golden Pömpel came along for the journey.
Huanghuacheng was chosen for two reasons: it was a new section for me to conqueror and that there were no direct buses to this section of the wall, limiting accessibility by tourists who tend to destroy the genuine feeling of climbing the wall. Our private driver we hired was a chipper one who laughed a lot and was very animated.
It took us all about 5 hours to walk along the wall, and throughout our journey, we hadn't come across anybody else, let alone any tourists!
The Golden Pömpel came along for the journey.
Mar 19, 2008
Pictures in Passing.
As evidenced in my previous blog post, I write too much sometimes and most of it is blah, blah, blah. I'm going to take a break with this post and will let the pictures do the talking instead. Please enjoy.
Grasshoppers, silk worms, scorpions, cockroaches, spikey things, snakes, and starfish are just some of the many delicacies you can find at the Wangfujing Night market in Beijing. Many Beijingers laugh at the tourists who come to eat this stuff as it's not something typical, nor is it traditional, to the Beijing diet.
The Forbidden City with that ominous portrait of the late leader, Chairman Mao Zedong, and the National Grand Theatre aka "The Egg" adjacent to it, on the East side of Tian'anmen Square. Designed by French architect Paul Andreu who was also commissioned to design the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris where a portion of Terminal 2E's ceiling had collapsed, killing 4 people.
A chick on a bus on our way to the Beijing International Book City. It was so cute! It took us nearly four hours to get to the destination, trying to figure out which subway station to get off at and where to take the bus to take us further. By the time we arrived, we had realised that they had closed 30 minutes ago. Ahh, it's the journey more than the destination, right? Right. Hooliganism (or training for the Olympics) on the Batong line on our way back.
2008.03.01: A housewarming party for Elle, Corina, Edouard, Ryan, and Pete's new 2-level apartment.
Grasshoppers, silk worms, scorpions, cockroaches, spikey things, snakes, and starfish are just some of the many delicacies you can find at the Wangfujing Night market in Beijing. Many Beijingers laugh at the tourists who come to eat this stuff as it's not something typical, nor is it traditional, to the Beijing diet.
The Forbidden City with that ominous portrait of the late leader, Chairman Mao Zedong, and the National Grand Theatre aka "The Egg" adjacent to it, on the East side of Tian'anmen Square. Designed by French architect Paul Andreu who was also commissioned to design the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris where a portion of Terminal 2E's ceiling had collapsed, killing 4 people.
A chick on a bus on our way to the Beijing International Book City. It was so cute! It took us nearly four hours to get to the destination, trying to figure out which subway station to get off at and where to take the bus to take us further. By the time we arrived, we had realised that they had closed 30 minutes ago. Ahh, it's the journey more than the destination, right? Right. Hooliganism (or training for the Olympics) on the Batong line on our way back.
2008.03.01: A housewarming party for Elle, Corina, Edouard, Ryan, and Pete's new 2-level apartment.
Tweetie Bird.
Who's Your Daddy?
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