Cat LIsOmi Adventures

My sister got to see Cate Blanchett in "A Streetcar Named Desire" last night. The show is sold out but I stood outside in a 23-degree blizzard with a "Need Ticket" sign for 90 minutes and managed to get two tickets at near face value ($45 and $60 for $40-face-value tickets). What a snowstorm! It dumped a foot of snow while we were in the show. We emerged into a whiteout. I'm glad we weren't driving. Picture of Kweilin in snowstorm Photo album http://picasaweb.google.com/limoore/NewYork#

Hugh Jackman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art I saw someone who looked like Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) walking around the museum with a male friend. I asked my mom if it was really him, since she saw him in "A Steady Rain" on Broadway from the front row just a week ago. "No, Hugh Jackman is much bigger and more handsome. That guy is scruffy." Then a couple girls went up to him and my mom heard Hugh Jackman say, "No autographs. I'm with a friend." My mom followed the girls as they walked away and asked whether it was Hugh Jackman. "Yes, oh my god!" sighed the starry-eyed girl. Alec Baldwin at Streetcar Named Desire I was waiting for returned tickets to the sold-out show "A Streetcar Named Desire," starring Cate Blanchett, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). A black SUV pulled up to the curb where I was standing with a "Need Ticket" sign in front of the theater, and out stepped Alec Baldwin and a few friends. A g...

I was disappointed with the Nutcracker. I saw it for the first time in 20 years. I was expecting more adult dancing, but most of the first act seemed to be little kids running around. The second act had adult dancing, and I liked it, but I thought I'd like it more, especially since I'd taken a beginner ballet class last week. Maybe I need to see it again, knowing what to expect and what I want to focus on.

I liked this opera enough to see it twice. It's three acts about three women that the poet Hoffman has loved. The first act was beautifully staged with an extravagant set and cast (a spiral dragon descending from the ceiling, 50+ people on stage). A Korean soprano sang amazing scales, hitting notes high and low perfectly. The second and third acts impressed me less. The supposed star, Anna Netrebko, sang in the second act, but she just seemed like a normal soprano to me. I guess she didn't have songs that made it easy to appreciate her voice like the Korean did. The production showed a surprising amount of skin. In the first performance, the opening scene showed topless women with only stars on their breasts. The second performance was broadcast live to Vienna and other places, so the topless women wore bras. I could still hear the gasps and whispers when the curtain came up.

Yellow Fevah I almost didn't get into Tanzania - twice. 1) Immigration in the Dar es Salaam airport and 2) the Zanzibar ferry terminal (yep, you have to go through immigration again even though you're still in the same country), both wanted to see my yellow fever inoculation card. They were very strict and wouldn't let you into the country without proof of the shot. After pleading with different agents, I finally convinced the last guy to sneak me into the country. Whew! As you can imagine, I was really nervous when I had to go through immigration again at the Zanzibar ferry terminal. Luckily, I had a little more wiggle room with my immigration card (longer story)....so I was able to sail through customs. Worse case, I would have been shipped to the health center at the airport for an expensive shot....I think...I saw other East Africans being shipped over off to a "special health" area, so this rule isn't just for muzungos (white/yellow folks). Angry tout ...

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Ancient Egypt, smuggling food We visited the museum for the third time, this time taking a tour of Ancient Egypt. The tour guide knew a lot. She studied hieroglyphs for 15 years and could read them. I was amused that she was so proud of Egyptian culture. "People think that Romans invented marble columns and free-standing statues," she said. "The Egyptians built both of these long before the Romans." We went to Zabar's before entering the museum and bought lunch food: a pint of fresh-squeezed orange juice, a loaf of bread, fresh-sliced ham, and waffle cookies. The museum guards inspected our bags and wouldn't let any of this in, so we stuffed our coat pockets, entered, and then transferred the food back to the bags. My dad looked funny with a pint of orange juice inside his coat, under his arm. Rockefeller Center We passed through Rockefeller Center on the way to stand in line for Wicked tickets. We saw the big Christmas tr...

Dry Lake Nakuru is how we imagined the Mara: dry, hot, and dusty. Not much else to report. :) (For the record, we found the Mara to be cool, wet, and green. The skies where heavy with dark rain clouds. It rained in the afternoon and heavily at night - lightening and thunder.) We're at the airport now, waiting for a flight to Dar es Salaam/Zanzibar, Tanzania. (We wanted to visit Lamu but our schedules didn't work out.) After 50+ hours of bumpy driving over the past few days, it's a nice break to fly.

Background Fact #1 It's unusually wet in the Masai Mara now. It rains almost every afternoon and evening. Everything is green (sprouts & streams galore). Fact #2 Zebras migrate to Kenya in the summer months before returning to Tanzania for the winter. Because of the unusual rain, the zebras meandered back to Kenya for the lush veggies and ample watering holes. Fact #3 Crocs like to eat almost all animals that cross riveres. Fact #4 Zebras fight back against the crocs unlike wildebeests. The Plot Crossing #1 foiled by a lioness Our guide drove us to the river, hoping to see a zebras crossing. As they started crossed (lucky timing for us),  the skittish animals noticed a lioness hunting them on the other bank. I was momentarily sad to miss a crossing until I realized that the zebras moved few meters upstream. Photo of crossing will post later...taking too long now Crossing #2 is croc infested As the 500-1000 member zebra herd started to cross the river, lar...

Metropolitan Museum of Art I toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art this afternoon. It's a big place. I went on a tour of modern art. I think tours are the only way I can navigate such a huge museum. The tour guide helped me appreciate paintings that I would have walked by without her. We started with Matisse and Picasso and moved into contemporary artists. One painting was a huge canvas with paint dripped on it. Hard to appreciate, but the tour guide pointed out some interesting stuff about it. Handel's Messiah at New York Philharmonic In the evening we saw a performance of Handel's Messiah by the New York Philharmonic. I thoroughly enjoyed it (the pre-show nap helped). The orchestra seemed perfectly coordinated and played very tightly. The chorus and soloists sang well too. The highlight was the famous "hallelujah" line. I was amused that the entire last song was a single word: "Amen". It lasted for 10 minutes or so. The chorus and soloists...

Suzzy and I just returned from a great 3-day "Mountain Gorilla" trekking trip through Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable forest (World Heritage Site). Now, we're in the beautiful, "green" Mara.  Gorilla Photo Day 1 10 hour drive to the Bwindi Impenetrable forest.  Enjoyed the green scenery and cool weather (and lack of mosquitoes) Day 2 Trekked through forest to find the endangered Mountain Gorillas (Silverbacks).  Saw a family that consisted of 19 members; they were very friendly and curious. There are 2 other gorilla families in the area. The youngest one is 3 months old. The alpha male is "gianormo" as Suzzy would say - 650 pounds. Baby gorilla pulled my pony tail while Suzzy took a photo of me in front of a few family members. After we found the gorillas (via trackers), we were allowed to spend 1 hour with them before returning to base camp for a box lunch. After lunch, we hiked to 3 waterfalls (3 hour hike) in heavy rains. Day 3 ...

Hansel and Gretel I liked the Met's production of the opera "Hansel and Gretel". It's the children's fairy tale set to opera by Engelbert Humperdink (what a name!). He was a German composer and a protégé of Wagner, who wrote the Ring operas. I was surprised that it was in English and that I could understand most of it without the subtitles. Picture of dad and me at Hansel and Gretel Statue of Liberty from Staten Island Ferry We took the Staten Island Ferry to pass by the Statue of Liberty. I learned that the French gave it to the US on the centennial of US independence from Britain (around 1880) to commemorate the friendship developed during the American Revolution. I didn't know that Lady Liberty is actually stepping on a broken chain (at least that's what Wikipedia said). It was a great night to take the ferry: warm weather and pretty sunset. Picture of parents with Manhattan in background Photo album http://picasaweb.google.com/limoore/NewYork#

Inspired by the Alvin Ailey dance performances I've been seeing, I took a beginner ballet class yesterday. It was great. I can't believe how much complexity can be in the simple lifting and lowering of a leg. We were mostly doing leg movements holding on to a horizontal bar. We did a plié, in which we squeeze our heels together and toes apart to make a V, and then we bend at the knee to go down and straighten to come up. Lots of stuff to think about even in that simple movement. The teacher, a Chinese-looking man named Finis Jhung, was excellent. He emphasized balance and "equal and opposing forces", like pulling up on the ground to go down and then pushing down to go up. The class was free, because the school, Ailey Extension, is connected to the Alvin Ailey dance company. I saw a performance of the dance company and I brought my ticket stub for a free first class. I was hoping to get an appreciation for ballet and dance in general at the class, and I got that. I...

Dreamgirls I didn't like the musical Dreamgirls, even though it was performed at the legendary Apollo theater, which features prominently in the musical. I think it's the same storyline as the movie with Beyonce, although I haven't seen the movie. I felt like the singers were shouting and constricting their throats to hit the high notes. I prefer the sound of opera singers, who relax their throats and use their low stomach muscles (I think) to project. I didn't like the storyline either. Invictus I really liked the movie Invictus though. It's Clint Eastwood's latest as a director. It stars Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois, the captain of the South African rugby team. Mandela has just been elected and sees an opportunity in the 1995 rugby world cup to unite the newly post-apartheid nation in a bid for the championship. I found it surprisingly inspiring. I enjoyed hearing the discussion between Mandela and Francois of how to inspire pe...

My parents and I saw a performance of the opera "Elektra" by Richard Strauss at the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center last night. I found it painfully boring. I dozed off every five minutes and my mom would kick me to wake me up. I read a bit about the opera in the theater's gift shop before the show. The opera encyclopedia said that Elektra requires focus on the part of the cast and the audience because of its complex composition. I guess I needed more focus or research to appreciate it. I did appreciate the volume of the sopranos' voices. They could fill the large opera hall without amplification. I couldn't do that, no matter how loud I shout. My dad got a front row seat: just before the lights dimmed, he moved from our rear seats to an empty seat in the front. I was too shy to follow him.

West Side Story I saw the full West Side Story at yesterday's matinee (I'd only seen the second half before). The first half has much more dancing. I got a rush seeing the song "America" and the dancing. Excellent singers all round. Josefina Scaglione, a 22-year-old opera-trained singer from Argentina, played an excellent Maria. She was really into the emotions of the part. I loved it. I'll see it again with my sister if she wants to see it. Picture of John Overgaard, me, Kate, Uncle Vince in front of West Side Story St Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center Uncle Vince and my cousin Kate and I visited St Patrick's Cathedral and walked through Rockefeller Center before West Side Story. I'm surprised to find such a large cathedral so near the bustling theater district. Picture of Kate and Uncle Vince in front of Rockefeller Center Alvin Ailey "Uptown" Harlem Renaissance celebration In the evening, my mom and I saw Alvin Ailey perform a ...

40km bike ride Since the kids were off today, Suzzy and I decided to take a 40km bike ride through the countryside and villages with a guide. It was a fantastic and really, really, really hot experience. I enjoyed shouting momba/boa to the kids in the villages. I also really liked learning about the various trees (cashew, mango, etc). The creek, beaches, forests, fields were all beautiful. Near the end, we biked to the top of a mountain for a panoramic view of the area. School The "Destiny" school is located in Motonga, a poor village outside of Mombasa. I've been helping out in the primary 2 class; kids range from 4-9 years old. Suzzy is helping in primary 3. What exactly am I doing? I'm administering reading tests (eg. the kid reads a list of words and sentences), grading 6 different tests, handing back papers, and recording scores. Suzzy and I also get to play with them, which is really fun. I introduced hopscotch to them and they really love it. They enjoyed p...

Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Blanche in "A Streetcar Named Desire" wowed me last night. She convinced me that she really was Blanche. She seemed to always have tears in her eyes, she trembled, she held her arms close as if protecting herself, and she generally appeared to be always on the verge of collapse. I was really lucky to get a ticket. My dad and I got to the BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) theater two and a half hours before showtime and found a line 10 people long waiting for returns (the show sold out in the spring). The line eventually grew to 30 and never seemed to advance--i.e., no returns. Luckily, my dad had brought a sign "Need Tickets" and stood outside the theater. He got a front row seat from one woman and a seat farther back from another. The first ticket was $100 and the second woman gave him the ticket for free! My dad gave me the front-row seat, which turned out to be the best in the house. I was on the left side of the stage, whe...

My cousin Kate and I saw the musical "Chicago" last night. Not good. The lead singer, Roxie Hart, was Ashlee Simpson. She's Jessica Simpson's sister, and she famously lip-synced on Saturday Night Live. I found her singing, dancing, and acting weak, so she annoyed me. The audience seemed pretty lukewarm about the production. In the bathroom during intermission, Kate overheard a couple women complaining about the show. "Well, you have to see some bad ones to appreciate the good ones," said one. I generally liked hearing Chicago's catchy songs but Ashlee Simpson put a damper on it for me. I was surprised to learn from the Playbill that she actually played this role in London's West End in 2006. Picture of Kate and me in front of Chicago Photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/limoore/NewYork#

My dad and I toured the Museum of Natural History yesterday afternoon. We saw a "Journey to the Stars" film in the planetarium and joined a "museum highlights" tour. I dozed during the "Journey to the Stars" (dark room, comfortable chair). I learned in the "museum highlights" tour about birds' relation to dinosaurs, evolution, Neanderthals, and how taxidermists and other artists make the life-like mammal displays that the museum is famous for. Picture of caribou exhibit Photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/limoore/NewYork#

I saw three shows on Sunday: In The Heights, West Side Story, and Next to Normal. In The Heights matinee let out during West Side Story's intermission, so I joined my parents for the second half of West Side Story, and then we saw Next to Normal in the evening. All musicals. In The Heights My sister really liked this one but I only kind of liked it. I found the "Piragua" singer the strongest. I liked the musical Spring Awakening better. West Side Story I like this revival. This version has a lot more Spanish than the original. Entire conversations and many parts of songs are in Spanish. The lead woman, Maria, is from Argentina, so she sounds authentic to me. I'll go see this again. Next to Normal I liked one song in this musical (Superboy and the Invisible Girl) and I enjoyed watching the cellist (part of the on-stage band) rock out as she played. Other than those highlights, I didn't care for the show. It's about a housewife who becomes mentally ill...

My favorite show so far is either Hamlet or the Alvin Ailey dance troupe. The dance show featured some of the best modern dancing I've seen. Their signature piece, "Revelations", featured live singers and musicians. Boy that was exciting. The rhythm was foot-tap inducing. My dad and I were sitting across the aisle from each other. We whistled and gave each other high fives after each piece. We'll go again on the 23rd, when they'll have live singers. (They usually perform to recorded music.)

I hadn't seen my college friend Pop in months. We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant near Times Square and caught up on his work plans and travel plans. Not sure he's ready to share them yet, so I won't post his plans here. :) Picture of Pop and me in Times Square

My dad and I got rush tickets to see the musical Fela! Neither of us liked it. It was a lot of energetic Nigerian dancing and music but the main character and the plot (about a guy named Fela who invented a type of music) failed to grip me. I dozed off during a long song by the mother of the main character.

Flying to Mombasa from chilly NYC and London, Suzzy and I were a little unprepared for the 90+ degree heat with 60% humidity. The electricity was off for 1.5 days so we baked for a bit in downtown Mombasa. Jacob, the program director, took us on a tour of his school in the poorer area of Mombasa. We also toured through the surrounding village and met many of the locals. It was great to play with the kids a bit. Suzzy taught them an 8 count dance. I drew in the sand with them. More details to follow...once we get some photo uploaded of the school and kids...

I thoroughly enjoyed Jude Law's performance as Hamlet last night. He seemed natural in the role. I was surprised by how many monologues Hamlet has in that play, and how many famous lines come from it: "Frailty, thy name is woman," "Get thee to a nunnery," "To be or not to be". Shakespeare's beautiful language felt so dense that I wished I'd reviewed the text beforehand so I could savor the lines.

I'm in New York and I think Catherine has probably landed in Mombasa by now. I'll spend the month of December here with my parents and sister, and Catherine will volunteer and travel in Kenya with her friend Suzzy.

Suzzy & I arrived safely in Nairobi. Today, we'll tour around the city before catching a flight to Mombasa. Because we were jetlagged, we chatted until 3am and we woke up at 1pm. Now, we're having lunch at 2:30.

Chicago Layover Li and I flew on a red-eye flight to Chicago. When we arrived, we hopped onto the subway train and headed to the downtown area. We grabbed breakfast and walked to Millennium Park (metal jellybean sculpture), Lake Michigan, and the Field Museum (Diamond exhibit). I really liked the museum - wish I could spend more time there. Maybe a long weekend in the future. London We arrived in London around 4am. We dragged ourselves to the Holland Park hostel and took a nap in the common room. Feeling somewhat refreshed, we took the tube to the Old Vic to get return tickets to the play, Inherit the Wind," with Kevin Spacey. Inherit the Wind Inherit the Wind is a 1955 play loosely based on the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial, which resulted in a conviction for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to a high school science class. I enjoyed the play because it was thought-provoking. It made me think about the current "creationism in the classroom"...