Last night we ventured downtown to the plaza underneath the Umeda Sky Building for the Fiesta Mexicana Osaka 2015. The city holds many ethnic festivals during the year. It was a lot of fun, with tacos, Mexican beer and of course, lots of music and dancing. There was a mariachi band and then they opened up the stage and a DJ played Latin music. It was so nice to in a Latino party atmosphere again! Besides seeing many Latinos and other foreigners, it was good to see the Japanese cut loose a bit and laugh and dance and have a good time. I was surprised to see they were selling glass bottles of Corona, Tecate and other beers. This would only happen in Japan – selling glass bottles at a large public gathering. Of course everyone respectfully deposited the glasses in the recycling bin and there were no fights, etc.
Ocean loves to dance and insisted that I take her up on the stage. Our friend Josep was teaching her some basic salsa steps. She takes after her mother! We laughed a lot and were sweating profusely in the humid, late summer evening. Thank you to the Marce family for inviting us to come down.
Owen, Oliver and Harry are ready to shoot down stream.
We had a fantastic day in the outdoors yesterday hiking/swimming up and down the Aichi River. We were quite sleepy as we drove north on the Meishin Expressway heading up to the Shiga prefecture early Saturday. Shiga is the state that surrounds Lake Biwa and we were headed to a river that feeds into the lake. We stopped at the dam before completing the journey to our entry point on the 421 highway.
The best part of the day for me was watching the kids learning how to maneuver in the fast flowing river. Especially Oliver, who does not have a passion for swimming, get over his fear and by the end of the day, begging us to stay as we jumped into the current and let it carry him down river. I think he learned to give new experiences a try and with effort and courage, he can accomplish something he didn’t think was possible at first. An important lesson for him and hopefully he will carry into future challenges he will face.
Ready to jump!
The hike up the river was hilarious. It was a non-technical scramble along the banks and over the big and small boulders in the river. The water was very clear and the water was fast, but not dangerously fast. It sounded and looked more risky than it actually was. I couldn’t stop laughing seeing that my wife Nadia, a true city girl, was put in the middle of a white water rapids. Trying to get her over the rocks and to get into the river was funny. She got over her fears as well and she did remarkably well on the walk back down to our camping spot for the day.
The scenery was spectacular as well. The walls of green foliage contrasted with the turquoise water and white rocks. We only saw a few people the whole day and it felt like we had the river to ourselves. It reminded me of Horserace Rapids in my home county in Michigan. I am so glad my family got to experience a river like I used to.
I would like to thank our friends Naoki and Tara for inviting us to come along and helping with the logistics that go into preparing kids for a day of water adventure! ありがとお！
Years pass so quickly now, I can’t believe we are once again, at the start of another school year. Today, August 26, 2015 was the first day of classes for both the elementary school and middle school. It is a tradition in our family to take photos of the kids and us, as we are all lucky to go to the same place every day, school! I am so happy to be able to see my wife and children daily on campus. What a privilege.
When I was growing up, my mother used to have us lean against the door of the house on our way out. I should look up some of those photos the next time I am home and digitize them. We would be seen smiling, with our new lunch box or brief case, and ready for another year. We recreated the photos again on our front door in Japan.
Recreating the famous Kralovec family pose.
It was a hot, muggy day and Ocean was up early, excited to get going. She had 19 late arrivals last year and is anxious to do better this year. The kids are so cute! We took the photos outside our door and then took a school car the two blocks to the campus. We usually ride our bikes, but today I had the school car.
We are looking forward to the year and what adventures await us!
It is confusing for foreigners flying into Osaka and Tokyo. Both cities have two airports. Here in Osaka, we have the Itami airport, which is about a 15 minute taxi ride away from our house. The other airport is Kansai International Airport or as it is known by its code, KIX. KIX is an elegantly designed airport, (Italian architect Renzo Piano – yes, his real name) but is inconvenient for almost everyone in Kansai to get to! I would guess there was some politics or corruption that occurred to put the airport on an artificial island, 30-40 miles south of the population centers of Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto. For me to get to KIX, I have to take a “limousine bus” for and hour and 10 minutes to Itami airport and then the 15 minute taxi from there. For people in Kobe, they can take a ferry across the bay, but both the Kobe and Itami airports are so much more convenient.
It was exciting to watch the planes land
Our flight was delayed coming out of Los Angeles and we were forced to spend the night at the Narita airport north of Tokyo. A very strange airport in that once you exit the airport, you are in the middle of rice paddies and forests. Great if you have a layover and have a day to kill, horrible if you need to do business in Tokyo. This is another case of a bad selection of placement of the airport. The other airport in Tokyo, Haneda, is closer to the center of Tokyo, but is limited by size. Narita airport officials have been fighting local residents with departure and arrival times, which are limited and the number of flights.
All four airports have been passed by the competition in other Asian cities to serve as a hub for east Asia. Japan’s airports have the highest landing fees in the world, discouraging airlines from scheduling more flights in the airports. Narita and KIX are both inconveniently located for passengers wanting to go to Osaka or Tokyo and there are less options with flights. The restaurants also only keep regular open hours, thus many times in the evening or morning, one cannot get something to eat or a coffee. Internally, they get competition from the shinkansen or “bullet” train, which in many ways is more convenient.
I am not sure how one solves a bad location, without closing and moving the airport to a more logical location. That is an expensive solution, but it might be the only one. Japan is also probably losing out in international tourist or travelers to Seoul and Hong Kong, which are more convenient hubs to the major cities of China and SE Asia. I personally am annoyed every time I need to take a taxi and bus and 3 hours of my time to fly in/out of KIX. I will do a blog post about my next experience of using KIX.
Rice is almost ready for harvest.
Problems aside, I highly recommend an overnight and full day layover at Narita. We went for a hike in the woods near the airport with the kids. They loved watching the planes roaring into the airport directly overhead. There were also many walking and running trails in the countryside. We met an American Airlines pilot from a small town near mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as well for a bonus! In the afternoon we went swimming in the hotel pool. It felt like an extra day of holidays and a great way to end our summer before the onslaught of work and school.
Hiking in the Santa Monica Mountain Recreation Area
We had a short break in our long flight from Santa Cruz, Bolivia to Osaka, Japan. My uncle lives in Studio City California and once again, he was a gracious host as we stayed in Los Angeles for 2 days. It was good to get a good night’s sleep, some delicious home cooked meals, and catching up with family / meeting new family members!
Besides spending time with my uncle, the highlight for the trip to me was a hike in the Santa Monica mountains. Wilacre Park along with a couple of other natural areas in the mountains that are connected, make for a refreshing green break from the hustle of LA traffic. There were a lot of people on the trails, but everyone was in a good mood and quite complimentary to my family. I spotted a hummingbird and a beautiful yellow songbird that I will identify on my nature blog. The trail was well-maintained and despite some overly large homes encroaching on the limits of the park, it was a pleasant nature experience. This area is separate from our previous hike near the Griffiths Observatory that we did last month on our way through. The Wilacre trail would make a fantastic run because of the gently rolling hills and views to the city. LA surprisingly has a lot of nature reserves due to the proximity of mountains and it is quite easy to get into forest, in the middle of a large metropolitan area.
The boys are amazed at the size of the “double gulp” at 7 11. You won’t find that in Japan!
I read a good article about the Los Angeles River in the Sunday LA Times. The river is 51 miles long and during LA’s development of the 1940s, the army corps of engineer filled the river with thick concrete. They did this so during a rain storm, the city would not flood and the stormwater would safely be sent out to sea. It served its purpose of allowing the city to grow, but it is quite an eyesore when it is not filled with storm water. City officials are trying to figure out how to make it a place to for the citizens to enjoy. Today it is off limits, but it is not realistic to remove the cement and make it green. I don’t know what they will do, but I am glad they are thinking about it. In the parts I saw, the river itself is off-limits and there was only a small flow of treated wastewater. Some of the river had a nice walking trail with artwork and some planting, but it is in contrast to the metal chain-link fence and barbed wire. I will be curious to see what they come up with as they commissioned a famous designer to work with NGOs to make a proposal.
Los Angeles River – Studio City, California – July 2015
It was quite evident to us that LA is the center of movies and television. While on the hike, five planes skywrote “COMPTON” to promote the new film, “Straight Out of Compton”. There were also numerous billboards and small studios all over the city. The city is also the center of the pornography industry, and some of the studios looked a bit dodgy.
We had a nice Thai meal last night. One interesting observation is the contrast between neighborhoods and even blocks. Some like Studio City are really nice with expensive homes and classy restaurants. Then there are other areas with pawn shops, liquor stores and dilapidated buildings on the next block.
View of the valley from the Wilacre Park in the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area
LA has a lot to offer and we really enjoyed our two visits this summer. I would love to come back and see more. I don’t think I would want to live here because of the high cost of housing and traffic. It really is a city of large income disparity and it needs more government intervention to make the city more livable and equitable. They could start with some serious public transportation infrastructure and some serious downsizing of homes and cars, which is much harder to do.
I would like to thank Uncle Jack for hosting and helping us! We love you!
Andamios Hermes is my father-in-law’s business. An andamio is a scaffold and my father-in-law, Hermes Chavez rents and sells scaffolding to small and large construction projects. He got the idea when living in Australia and has been quite successful for the past 10 years. Hermes loved working with metal and was a welder in Australia. He also had a metal factory in Santa Cruz for years that made galpones (metal roofs) and scaffolding for sale.
Andamios Hermes in the streets of Santa Cruz
This is the ideal business for him in his later years. He owns around 400 meters of scaffolding and most of the time, it is being rented. As I say, easy money! Working with Hermes is his right-hand man, Horacio Surubi. Horacio has been working with the family for a long time. He is originally from San Jose Chiquitanos. You can always identify the scaffolds by the green and white colors, the colors of Santa Cruz Department. It keeps him busy, with either calling customers to remind them to pay or check on the status of the rental or dealing with clients either picking up scaffolds or dropping them off. There are also the details of paying Horacio, upkeep of the scaffolds, etc. It is not a full-time job, however, and gives a pace that an older gentleman can keep up with, as well as, giving him a good income in his later years.
Horacio is the muscle behind Andamios Hermes.
They rent to both small constructors, who will rent one module for a couple of days, and also to big companies like Palco Cement, who has rented 50 modules for several years. There are lots of construction projects going on in one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Best wishes for continued success for Andamios Hermes.
It is nice being back in Santa Cruz this summer and I am enjoying getting reacquainted with the lifestyle here. One of my favorite dishes typical of the Santa Cruz region is majao. The name comes from the Spanish word, majado or golpeado which means “pounded” in English. Cruzeños do not pronounce all of the syllables in many words, so majado becomes maja’o. The main component of this dish is beef, and it is fried and pulled (or shredded). Before it is mixed with rice, it is pounded with a wooden mortar and pestle. Included in the dish is platano (plantain) and a fried egg. The mixture of sweet plantain and salty beef/rice mixture is delicious and topped off with a runny, fried egg. It is one of my favorite oriental dishes, although probably not the most healthy. The origins of the dish come from Spain, as it is similar to another rice dish, paella. The Spanish settlers to the region probably used what was available here in land-locked tropics and used plantains, beef and eggs instead of seafood. The Valencian version of paella is also beef. There are many different recipes for majao that can be found on the internet.
We tried to visit one of my favorite places in the region, Las Lomas de Arena (Sand Dunes) which are huge sand dunes just south of the city. It is a really beautiful area and the shifting sand dunes prevent people from developing the area, thus there are many birds and plant life. We camped on top of the dunes when I lived here and had a wonderful evening. With the recent rains, the path to the dunes was impassable and we got stuck in the mud. Some construction workers pushed us out and so we turned around about a kilometer from the entrance. Typical of the region, one of the best tourist attractions is not accessible due to poor infrastructure. A paved road and promotion of the area would help bring more tourists to the city. We did get to drive by the infamous prison, Palma Sola. I think the “rehabilitation center” would be a misnomer. I wonder what Pope Francis thought about his recent visit to the prison.
Santa Cruz is a frontier town, although it is losing this quality as it is becoming more populated. There are so many large tropical trees in this fine city and surroundings. I hope that officials develop the city smartly and keep much of the lovely green vegetation and forests, but I do not have much hope for that.
Finally, we had a somewhat nice visit on Sunday night to the 24 of September Plaza. It is soothing to go to the city center and mingle with many people. In this age of the internet and people looking at their screens instead of each other, it was refreshing to people watch and enjoy the sense of community here. There still is a laid back vibe to Santa Cruz and it is one its best characteristics.
It was a special morning because many of our family members completed the 5 kilometer Impact Run. My nephew Sebastian completed his first 5 kilometer with his cousin Owen. I ran with my son Oliver, who at 10 years old, completed the course in around 34 minutes. Nadia ran ahead of all of us and finished with a very good time.
The run took place at the Villa Olympica, a large sports complex in the south part of the city. I used to live past it on the Avenida Santos Dumont when I first game to Bolivia in August of 1997, so I am familiar with the area. The complex has a nice running path and organizers (MO Competencias) made 3 kilometer and 5 kilometer courses.
Sebey ran his first 5 kilometer run! (photo above)
Money was raised for La Fundación Boliviana para el Desarrollo Social (FUNDESOC)– The Bolivian Foundation for Social Development in English. The program was founded by the Hydrocarbon and Energy Chamber of Bolivia and its purpose is to assist petroleum and gas companies, like Repsol and Total, in their government-mandated social development projects. Some of the work they do is provide fresh water for rural villages, treat drug and alcohol abuse, construct housing, and initiate businesses for the poor among other projects. Under Fundesoc for this run, Bridge 2 Life, Fabrica de Heroes, and Programa Sergio Andres.
An end to a perfect day at the Santa Monica beaches.
I am writing this on the plane leaving LA after a relaxing and enjoyable 4 days stay. Our host, my uncle Jack, was the ideal host and gave us the royal treatment. He showed us the best of LA and we had a worry-free visit. Thank you!
We spent the morning playing in a park at the Hollywood sign.
Getting to know new places is one of my favorite things to do, more so when I can do it with my family. Los Angeles is one of the great world cities and LA and California are distinctive parts of American culture and could easily be a country of its own. I think we saw a lot and did many of the southern California activities, from swimming in Santa Monica to hiking in Griffith Park, to cruising through Beverly Hills, to give our family a good understanding of the city.
Below are my impressions:
• Southern California is the desert. They are also in the midst of a multi-year drought and residents have been asked to reduce their water use by 25%. I read a lot about the aqueducts that bring water to the city. Most of California’s water however, is used for agriculture and there are no reductions in that use yet. California is one of the most prolific fruit, nut and vegetable growing areas in the world, due much in part irrigation schemes. They will have to come up with ways to use water more efficiently. We felt the drought more outside the city and our hike through the Hollywood hills was quite dusty.
• There are a lot of free spirits and “riffraff” in LA. We saw many characters and scruffy, unkempt people. After being in Japan, it was a bit shocking to see the individuality and diversity of people.
• As in most cities throughout the world, if you are wealthy they are great, but if you are middle class, it is better to live in a smaller city or town in my opinion. The real estate prices were super high. Beverly Hills reminded me of our neighborhood of Dedenje in Belgrade. As soon as we crossed the line, ivy covered walls and tall palm trees gave it a peaceful look. There were many really large homes and Rodeo Drive is the main shopping district for the them. There is a lot of money in LA, but it is obviously not distributed evenly and I feel sorry for the underclass and lower middle class trying to make ends meet. We stayed in the suburb of Studio City, which is upper middle class and really didn’t see any of the poorer areas.
The view from the rooftop of CBS Studios – Studio City, California
• Sitting on top parking lot of CBS Studios, listening to the Beach Boys and watching the fire works was a very California experience. The many billboards advertising new television shows was another sign that the main industry of LA is television and movies. LA has been a driving force of spreading American culture over the world. We didn’t run into any actors or celebrities.
• We went to two beaches (Ventura and Santa Monica) and both times the water was cold. The currents off California come down from Alaska and the water does not warm up until August.
• The Mediterranean climate is the best overall weather. The bright sunny days with that extraordinary light, the cool nights, and mild, rainy winters are nice to live in. The winters are fresh and not too cold and the summer days are hot but not humid. Los Angelinos were complaining about the humidity our first couple of days there, but we didn’t feel it coming from humid Japan. I lived in Perth, Australia for two years with the same climate and loved it. The hills, pines and yellow sands and rocks reminded me of Spain and Cyprus. It is my ideal climate to live in.
The main dome of the beautifully designed Griffith Observatory.
• The Griffith Observatory is definitely worth visiting! We attended the planetarium show and it was truly inspiring. It made me want to study astronomy and to look up at the night sky. I really do love science and hope I can pass my passion to my children. There were many exhibits in the museum and despite the crowds, it was informative and one could have a good experience. I would like to go back again.
Owen above the Griffith Observatory with LA in the background.
The best thing about the observatory is its location. After looking at the exhibits, we went for a long hike up the mountain. The views over Los Angeles were spectacular. The kids and Nadia were good natured to go with Jack and I. You could really feel the drought on the walk. The trails were extremely dusty. We didn’t see much wildlife and I didn’t take time to identify any of the local trees. During our visit however, we did see many eucalypts, California palms, date palms,
• I didn’t know that Scientology started in Hollywood. We drove by the world headquarters.
Ocean’s hands are a bit smaller than George Clooney’s
• Nadia was excited to see the hand and foot prints of the movie stars at the Chinese Theatre. We went to the epicenter of movies, Hollywood Boulevard. It had the feel of Times Square with the crowds of people. The area was a bit seedy with bars, hustlers and other assorted characters.
• In experiencing the crazy amount of traffic and large highways, it gave me a feeling of sadness. To have so much time wasted and everyone in their own little isolated capsule, wanting to be somewhere else while stuck in line…Although Los Angeles has its pleasures and attractions, unless I was loaded with money, there are better places to live. The stark contrast between rich and poor is disturbing to see. I do want to come back and visit again. I really want to see some other parts of the state like Death Valley, Palm Springs, Yosemite, and small town northern California.
Posing in front of the Universal Studios Hollywood gate
After a long flight over the Pacific, we arrived at LAX on a hot sunny Tuesday afternoon. We are staying in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Studio City in greater Los Angeles for a couple of days before heading to Bolivia. My uncle lives near Universal Studios, so in trying to stay awake we went out to dinner and soaked up some of the atmosphere. As you may have read in a previous blog post, I had horrible experience at Universal Studios Japan because of the immense crowds. It was nice to see the original theme park in Hollywood. We didn’t go inside, and at $100 per person, I don’t think it is worth it. Since Comcast bought NBCUniversal, the park has turned its finances around with 6.1 million visitors in 2013 and over 1.3 billion dollars in revenue at the Florida/California parks.
California reminds of Spain and Cyprus, a typical Mediterranean climate. The state is going through a multi-year drought and it did look very dry from the airplane. Water rationing is in full force for the people of LA, and we needed to take short showers and not rinse dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. Big fees are given to heavy water users and all consumers were asked to cut their water use by 25%. California agriculture however, uses most of the water and the “world’s garden” may need to come to terms to using so much water. Above is a photo I took tonight of the moon behind some palm trees. LA is known for its palms, but there is only 1 species of palm native to here.
We are looking forward to exploring one of the world’s great cities some more in the next few days.
A street scene in Beverly Hills
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