I think one of the novelties of being in a foreign country is that I feel twice removed from my Chinese heritage. It is very a surreal and disorienting "out of body" "out of character" "out of comfort" state. It puts into perspective for me what it means to be Chinese. What it means to be the child of immigrant parents. What it means to be the child of Taiwanese-born Chinese parents. What it means to be American-born Chinese. What it means to be an American in a foreign country. A Chinese-American in a foreign country. A tri-lingual Chinese-American in a foreign country. And it makes me wonder how much or how little the people in that place understand this layered identity. How do they process me? All the nuances, the politics, the prejudices, the social constructs, my multi-cultural values, the pieces of my heritage that I choose to wear and the other pieces I've chosen to shed-- They can't they possibly understand any of that, but what do they see instead?

Sunday, June 20, 2010

If chufas and agua got busy...this weekend in Valencia!

This past weekend we took the Renfe train down to Valencia, a coastal town about 3 hours down the coast. It was a nice little town, a little quieter and a lot greener than Barcelona, there were flowers everywhere! It was lovely.


Orxata is sooo good. It's a rice-y tasting drink which originated in Valencia. It's made with rice in Mexico, but in Valencia it's made from chufas... chufas are an underground nut that grows at the end of a bunch of grass. Here, just read about it on wikipedia.


This aquarium complex was the most visually catching series of buildings I've ever seen! It was craaazy, and the aquarium grounds are huge.



Dolphin show!


Dinner was quite delish. I had pork prepared with Iberica sauce, with pureéd potatoes on the side. It was so tender and amazing.


After going to a bar for 1EUR shots and a game of cheers to the governor, we went to Animas, which was a GIGANTIC club. This photo does not do it justice...


The next morning we got up bright and early (9am) to hit the beach. Me and the chicas:


We had paella for lunch, it wasn't very life changing, but I don't think this was very legit paella. I'm a little sad that I didn't have real paella while I was there, especially since everyone was raving about the paella in Valencia...but oh well.


Hugs and horchata (alternate spelling),
Angela <3
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1 comment:

  1. 1000 reasons to smileJune 28, 2010 at 11:02 AM

    That aquarium looks like such a scene. That is really beautiful. Sorry about the paella, but I will eat a good one in your honor =P

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