Wine and Climb

June brought a wide array of adventures in and around the Finger Lakes, two of my favorite involving wine and the outdoors. I went to a Gewurztraminer (say that fast three times) wine tasting at Keuka Spring Vineyards on Keuka Lake, just outside Penn Yan, with my parents earlier in the month. I was thrilled that they were hosting an event like this because Gewurztraminer became my favorite wine when I first tried with Alsatian grape at a wine and food exhibition in Rouen--it's smooth, earthy, a bit sweet. It was a gorgeous day and we sat under a white tent with sommeliers who enthusiastically described the origins of the grape, the wine-making process, and guided us through five varieties of pressings. Years ago we visited Keuka Springs in late November for a holiday-themed tour (I of course drinking grape juice), so it was great to return and experience the vineyard in the summer. It's in a stunning location with Keuka College across the lake in clear view, and a very friendly staff. I hope we can go back for their other wine and tasting events later in the season.

 Taking notes on the technique and grape sourcing while indulging on their crudités, brie and crackers, java-rubbed pork loin, and chutneys all regionally-sourced.

This past Friday, I went on a mini-hike with Kristen and Deonza at Grimes Glen. I've been there a few times because it's so close, just off Main Street in Naples. Despite it's close proximity to the village and even residences just beyond the park driveway, it's a wonderful shaded area with smooth shale creek beds, clear water (that wasn't too cold), and a few waterfalls. The park management even encourages exploration; there's permanent ropes tied to tries along the waterfalls so they can be scaled. I scrambled up both of them, feeling more confident than the first time I visited a few years ago because of muscle memory from the climbing wall. I always forget how magical, albeit crowded, the glen is, and I hope we go back again soon and trek in further.

 The second waterfall. 

The view from the top of the second waterfall, which has three drops. 

Climbing up was never the problem, it was always how to go down! The hills were muddy from past nights' rain and other visitors, making it hard to gain traction.

 Climbing up the first waterfall!

I feel like the majority of my posts during the summer unabashedly promote how awesome the Finger Lakes are, but hey, I'm proud of where I live. Come visit me!

 Listening: "Tous les Memes" by Stromae (a Felmish-Rawandan dreamboat from Belgium)

Scenes from the Start of 2014

I ended 2013 and started 2014 with my favorite ladies from home, Caitlan and Kristen.

 Kristen lives around the fields and woodlands of Bristol.  On my way out I stopped to take photos of leftover hay bales and her neighboring alpacas.  I wished them a Happy New Year.

What a pleasant surprise it was to return home with two letters from France!  One, from my host family in the countryside of Normandy, and the other from my friend Nutta.  She is from Thailand but I met her through tennis lessons at the University of Rouen.  It's been two years now since I've traveled to France, and I would love to go back and ride the trains through the country side again, pick up fresh baguettes each morning, and play soccer with my host brothers who are growing up so quickly.

I'm spending this week more or less on the road for career fairs in Boston and New York City.  However, aviation transport is terribly unreliable this time of year-- cancellations throughout the country because of snow storms on the east coast.  So here I was, trying to fly to Boston from Rochester and they send me to Detroit, and then my flight was cancelled.  I spent a frustrating few hours talking in circles with flight representatives, and vying for a spot on flights.  The Detroit Wayne County Airport, at least, is well-designed with psychedelic transit tunnels and in concourse A there's a raised express monorail that brings you from one end to the other.

After a going back and forth in the airport all day I finally booked a flight to Boston, took a bus to Newbury Port, and Kat picked me up and brought me to her house in Amesbury.  She is one of my classmates from St. Lawrence and we studied together in Shanghai last spring -- I don't know what I would have done without her.  New England is freezing right now, but so idyllic.  It's my launching point into Boston for the job interviews Monday, then NYC on Thursday.

And finally, a visual guide of not only 2014, but general life resolutions:

I hope your 2014 is off to a fantastic start!
Listening: Explosions in the Sky radio on Pandora

Scenes from the rural Finger Lakes

Heavy fog and cold winds, but this time of year I'd rather have snow.  It's frustrating how dependent we are on vehicles to be mobile, though between the holiday shopping crowds and visits to the suburbs, I welcome the open fields and quiet roads.  These are shots from my iPhone, but I also took some at the lake with my Olympus camera.

A sole white swan drifting about with the Canadian geese on Honeoye Lake.

Book Review: The Dinner by Herman Koch (2009)

A few weeks ago, I received a bookstore gift card from our school’s study abroad office for winning one of the categories in their travel photo contest.  Rather than purchasing more branded gear, I took my time perusing the shelves for an actual book.  I didn’t quite know what I was looking for; I was all too tempted by cookbooks, travel novelists, and YA fiction… but I figured it was time to graduate to adult novels (what can I say, leisure reading hasn’t come easy to me since I’m always reading peer-reviewed journals or cultural theory texts).  The Dinner, by Danish author Herman Koch (2009) and translated by Sam Garrett (2013), leaped out to me because it’s a fiction novel that has food at the forefront, though obviously has much more to do than the course of one meal.  This is a tenet I explored this past semester in an applied theory course on Food Literature, and we had noted a larger absence of food fiction as a genre, vs. non-fiction memoirs.

The Dinner is told from the perspective of a Danish man named Paul Lohman.  It’s a quick read, as Paul vacillates between each course of the present meal with his wife, brother, and sister-in-law, and flashbacks that define his motivations in the situation.  The finely-constructed meal at the trendy restaurant is juxtaposed by the instability of the family’s relationships and the fact that they met to discuss the violent crimes of their sons. Like any novel, we are at the mercy of the narrator; their tone, their consciousness, what they wish to reveal or hide— and Paul’s family secrets prove to be particularly sinister.  But these secrets are not necessarily inhumane, which I believe is Koch’s way of rupturing the idealism we place on high society, and imagery of so-called “happy” and “normal” families.  Ultimately, we must ask ourselves to what extent do we hold loyalty to those we share blood, and how far would we go for them?  

I honestly was left a bit disturbed, not quite decided on how I felt about the narrator and his family.  If you’re interested in more official reviews, check them out at The Guardian and The NYT.  Next year, Cate Blanchett is directing an on-screen adaptation.

// New found freedom is being dedicated to music exploration, leisure reading, cooking, revisiting my water colors from China, and blogging.  

Listening: Thomas Jack, a Miam/Sydney-based DJ on Soundcloud.

Life in the Cold, part deux

What else to do in the cold: grab a hot drink and bring the fun indoors.

Thanksgiving break has given me over a week to come home, rest up, meet with friends, and catch up on work (ha!).  

 Caitlan, Brad, and Kristen at Caitlan's house~ yes, a house!  She's rented a quaint home down the road from her parents, with one bedroom and bath, plus a woodstove and charming front and back enclosed patios.  She's decorated it with donations, thrifted furniture, and Etsy-inspired crafts to create a country cottage feel.  I was just reeling at the possibilities of living in my own space one day, while she's already there.

 Brad and I left the Finger Lakes early to spend the day in Rochester.  It was freezing but worth visiting the east side of the city in the arts district!  We nursed coffees and worked on papers in Java's cafe, then toured the Memorial Art Gallery.  This was my first time visiting the museum, which celebrated it's 100th anniversary this year!  I was pleasantly surprised at the survey of art that is on display, yet in a space that's small enough not to seem tiring or unmanageable.  The collection includes a fair scope of American artists, especially those from Rochester, Renaissance and Baroque art, 19th and 20th century European impressionists and modernists, classical art, ancient works of South America, Egypt, Asia, and Africa, and a special exhibit on human memory.  

 There's me, posing on the sidewalk outside of Java's in my new coat from Asos and shockingly bright hat that I salvaged from my friend Mary this summer in China when she was ditching clothes to lighten her suitcase (I did not lighten anything).  Outside the MAG there were these little bronze sculptures and I told Brad to imitate one of them; he picked the giant concrete one lying down!

I especially enjoyed that our high school art teacher/mentor/friend Mr. Williams was available to meet us!  It was a completely last-minute invitation, but I sure love his commentary, stories, and whacked out-wisdom. 

 

The memory exhibit had an interactive wall where you posted answers to sticky notes that asked things such as "My first memory was..." or "What I wish I could remember is...".

 Real or faux Rembrandt?  Even the gallery curators can't be sure...

 

Mr. Williams' favorite Monet in the gallery.

Another take on "American Gothic," this time out of spools of yarn.

 

  

And some views from my house:

Thanksgiving included my brothers and their families and was quiet, as usual.  We didn't have too many leftovers because everyone scarfed the sweet potatoes and twice-baked cheese potatoes, but I'm returning to school with leftover turkey meat and stock (so much for vegetarianism!).

I'm thankful for a healthy family and magnificent set of friends, the support at school in between manic work loads, all the experiences of this year!  Between travelling up and down the East Coast, then throughout China, some of Asia, and all the incredible people I've encountered.  Although our paths may not cross again, the impressions are lasting.  I hope everyone else had a safe, delicious, and happy Thanksgiving! 

Listening: "Dark Paradise" by Lana del Rey