just wonging.

Was looking at the pictures of Kowloon City today. A moment of silence. Check out more on the Daily Mail.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2139914/A-rare-insight-Kowloon-Walled-City.html?fb_ref=LikeButtonBottom&fb_source=profile_oneline I have no slightest memory of seeing this place in person. I've been told about this place many times, on how it was a pity that such a lively and vibrant part of the city was demolished in the name of development. For a long time, I blamed the government, and the over-pragmatic Hong Kongers. But it was not confined to Hong Kong. Far from it. A pleasant surprise on my Paris visit was Robert Doisneau's photo exhibition of Les Halles in the 1950s. And, demolished. In the words of Doisneau:  « tout ce quartier est pétrifié par un gel brutal, Paris perd son ventre et un peu de son esprit . »  Word. Overheard a few people in the exhibition who lived through that a...

End of year school again and, around this time last year, I wrote rapport de s éjour for Sciences Po, as a university requirement. Finished this thing two days before I left the country. Rereading this and reminiscing, and wondering how far the country has changed. How are my friends hanging there? I am glad to see my freshest sentiments at the point of departure, to which I still largely agree with.  The experiences mentioned are by no means exhaustive, because far too much has happened. Like, for example, that one night in Jaramana.  But tell you that, later, maybe. Why Damascus for Arabic? I’m in Damascus to improve my knowledge of Arabic, many would say. Answering a question that has been asked a thousand times turns out to be much harder than one imagines. Since I hate repeating the same parole like a parrot, I try to come up with a different answer each time, adjusted to different personalities, or different occasions, or different social settings. Real...