tokotokolife

the stars above...

... in the Dubai Mall. This past weekend we took a quick trip to Dubai which is like flying from Chicago to St. Louis except that Qatar Airways actually gives you food on a 45-minute flight. Honestly, we weren't expecting much and were just looking forward to a relaxing break if nothing else. After one year we've adjusted more or less to the heat, dust, crazy driving and roundabouts that make up life in Doha. But Dubai surprised us with a metro, real roads and even sidewalks! We stayed near the Dubai Mall and walked along wide sidewalks lined with palm trees wrapped in tiny lights. It reminded me of California during the holidays except for the humidity. (And like California the highlight of our trip to the mall was the giant Kinokuniya bookstore.)

The mall itself is huge and feels like a modern-day Tower of Babel—if the Tower of Babel had a giant aquarium, ice rink and 1,200+ stores. Everything is big and new including the Burj Khalifa next door, the tallest building in the world. The view from the top and even seeing the building itself from a distance make you think that you are in a movie with very good CGI. Everything is luxe and has the price tag to prove it. As Doha speeds ahead towards its own future, I wonder what it will look like. And how much it will cost.

[photos by Anna Aridome]

jellies (but not the 80s fashion fad)

If you get a chance check out the "Jellies" exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. I could watch them float around all day. Some of them look like ghostly apparitions and others resemble supernatural mushrooms lost in space. I was really excited about seeing and photographing the jellyfish. However, I didn't realize how difficult it would be to photograph a moving creature that has no bones, brain or heart and is made up mostly of water—there's not a lot to focus on!

The exhibit runs until May 28, 2012. You can see more of my jellyfish photos here.

[photos by Anna Aridome]

new haven

This summer we also took a short road trip to visit friends in Connecticut and spent a beautiful day in New Haven roaming around museums, eating white clam pizza and indulging in frozen yogurt with all the trimmings. We headed back to Chicago (and safety) just as Hurricane Irene made its way to New York.

[photos by Anna Aridome]

missoula memories

A few shots from a wonderful week in Montana this summer. This was my first time in this part of the country and I loved the cool (dry!) weather and casual atmosphere. It was a nice change from the intense heat and more formal dress that define life in Doha. Also, having spent most of my life in cities, it was the rare opportunity to be around horses and farm animals (still not super comfortable around them but I survived).

It was great to have an entire week dedicated to taking photographs. I learned a lot just picking up my camera every day and having a specific assignment to focus on. Next time we hope to be able to drive out there and see even more of the West.

[photos by Anna Aridome]

bamboo leaves + paper wishes

Thursday was tanabata, the Japanese summer holiday that celebrates the annual meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). The star-crossed lovers were punished for neglecting their work (weaving and cow herding respectively) and forced to live apart on separate sides of the Milky Way. However, Orihime's father took pity on them and allowed them to meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month.

Tanabata is celebrated by writing wishes on tanzaku (small pieces of oblong paper) which are then hung on bamboo branches along with paper decorations. Festivals are held throughout Japan, giving people an excuse to wear colorful yukata and enjoy the equally colorful decorations. Sendai in particular is famous for their tanabata decorations and it sounds like the festivities will continue this year in spite of the recent earthquake and tsunami.

Since bamboo leaves are not so easy to find in this part of the world, I created a paper facsimile of a decorated bamboo branch and cut out paper strips for the students to write their wishes on. First, we had them practice writing on plain paper with pencil. The final versions were then written on color paper strips using fude (brush) pens.

Some of the students had some difficulty coming up with a wish at first. We also discouraged them from writing the same wish ("I hope to go to Japan."). In the end, we had a nice variety of wishes ranging from the ordinary to the heartfelt. I won't reveal the details here. That might prevent them from coming true, don't you think?

[photo by Anna Aridome]

camels + cray-pas

This year's speech contest took place at the Japan School of Doha near the outskirts of the city. The school itself is small but cheerful and is set up in similar fashion to schools back in Japan with a getabako (shoe storage cabinet) near the entrance and a display of colorful cray-pas artwork and brush writing by the kids. Little signs that you're not in Japan include a large painting of camels in the entryway, references to Aladdin's lamp in the artwork, and photos of the students on a fieldtrip to the desert.

It was really wonderful to see everyone and meet some of the speech contestants. Several of the participants were Qatari but there were also local participants from Egypt, Sri Lanka and Greece. All of the participants were impressive and one of H.'s students even placed third in the free speech category! After the contest everyone enjoyed a reception catered by the chef from the Japanese embassy. Everyone seemd to have a good time chatting and eating onigiri (rice balls) made with salmon and hammour (a popular local fish). I'm looking foward to next year!

[photos by Anna Aridome]

craft + concert fundraiser

Last night the Japanese Ladies Group held another fundraiser to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This time they held a craft fair and a concert by members of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. The event was held in the Opera House in the Katara Cultural Village which just opened last fall. The concert was only about an hour long since this was a family event with young children in attendance, including many Japanese children dressed in colorful yukata. They even included a percussion rendition of the Super Mario Brothers theme with the musicians in costume! We wrapped up the evening with some tasty gelato (lemon for me and chocolate for H.) before heading home.

[photos by Anna Aridome]

speech contest + speech bubbles

The Embassy of Japan and the Japanese Language Teacher's Association in Qatar are sponsoring a speech contest next month. I designed a poster/flyer and a PowerPoint splash screen which you can see above. I tried to stay away from red/white rising sun imagery since it's overused and chose this bright yellow and blue combination which I though would catch people's attention. The blue speech bubbles reference the idea of "speech" without resorting to a literal image of—well, someone giving a speech. It also provides a convenient way to incorporate the Japanese typography.

I'm looking forward to hearing the competitors and seeing who wins the big prize—a round trip ticket to Osaka, Japan!

[artwork by Anna Aridome]

light bright cafe

A beautiful display of lights strung across the ceiling of the Tsubaki Salon Sapporo. This cozy cafe focuses on dishes made from ingredients sourced from Japan's northernmost island. Milk production and beef are popular agricultural industries in Hokkaido (hence the recycled milk bottles). We only had dessert and coffee but the pizzas and curries looked quite tempting!

[photo by Anna Aridome]

blue skies and flying fish

Happy Children's Day (子供の日)! The last public holiday during Golden Week falls on May 5th and celebrates the health and happiness of children. Although it is now celebrated by boys and girls alike, it was traditionally designated for boys and comes two months after the Doll Festival (ひな祭り) on March 3rd. This holiday conjures up images of colorful carp-shaped streamers (koinobori) that are hung on poles and blow in the wind. The fish signify determination and courage in their battle to swim upstream. A proper set of koinobori includes a black carp to represent the father, a smaller red carp for the mother, and even smaller blue, green and orange carp for the son(s). Other celebratory elements include traditional Japanese helmets (kabuto) which can be folded out of paper, and an appreciation for Kintaro, a Japanese folk hero who was known for his legendary strength and bravery. Anyway, it's a good day to celebrate the children in your life or maybe just the child in you!

[illustration by Anna Aridome]