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newstfionline · 3 years ago

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Friday, December 24, 2021

News may be intermittent for the next week during Christmas break

Another Surge in the Virus Has Colleges Fearing a Mental Health Crisis (NYT) The mood was already strained at West Virginia University as students hunkered down for finals in December. Then an employee found an anonymous letter that threatened suicide in or around the student union at noon on Monday, Dec. 6. As Monday came and went without incident, students and university officials expressed relief, but worried that the note was just one indicator of the fragile mental health of many students during the turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic. Colleges across the country are facing a mental health crisis, driven in part by the pandemic. After almost two years of remote schooling, restricted gatherings and constant testing, many students are anxious, socially isolated, depressed—and overwhelming mental health centers. At a few institutions, there has been a troubling spate of suicides. Now another swell of Covid cases, driven by the Omicron variant, threatens to make life on campus worse.

Military families say they were ill months before jet-fuel leak brought scrutiny to Pearl Harbor’s tap water (Washington Post) Yemery Moroyoqui’s hair began falling out in June. In August, Jamie Williams started a period that didn’t stop for months, baffling her doctor. For Alicia Contreras, it was October when she discovered the rash on one of her newborn twins. As U.S. military officials have scrambled to address a public health crisis stemming from the discovery of jet fuel in the tap water supply at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, multiple residents there have come forward with claims of unexplained illness predating the Navy’s notification late last month that thousands of households had been exposed to dangerous amounts of petroleum hydrocarbons. Many shared physicians’ notes, emails and visual records documenting symptoms that, in some cases, date back to late spring. “I firmly believe this is a way bigger problem” than the military has acknowledged, said Kate Needham, co-founder of Armed Forces Housing Advocates. Her nonprofit support group has made contact with about 700 of the more than 8,000 affected families, she said, with dozens detailing accounts of “serious illness” spanning “at least six months to a year.” More than 90,000 people living on and near the base use the Navy’s water system.

Migration to U.S. empties Venezuela’s once-booming oil capital (Reuters) It took accountant Anibal Pirela six days of travel and $7,000 to reach Austin, Texas from Maracaibo, the capital of Venezuela’s once-flourishing western oil state of Zulia. Pirela traveled with his four-year-old son Daniel, joining a flood of emigrants emptying neighborhoods in Zulia, the top departure point for Venezuelans leaving their crisis-stricken homeland. The number of Venezuelans detained by U.S. authorities on the southern border soared to 47,762 in the year to September, versus just 1,262 in the year-earlier period. The state has historically been more insulated from economic hardship because of the oil industry, but that has been walloped by U.S. sanctions targeting the OPEC member, cutting off much-needed income. Hundreds of Zulians are leaving each month, advocacy groups say.

Argentina’s dollars leak away (again) as IMF talks near end-zone (Reuters) Argentina’s leak of foreign currency is picking up pace and triggering new doubts about the fragile economy amid complex negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to restructure more than $40 billion in debt the country cannot pay. The government, beaten badly in midterm elections last month, has been fighting high inflation by spending dollars to prop up the local peso currency. Savers, wary of capital controls, also look to shift funds outside the banking system. Gross central bank reserves have dropped more than $5 billion since an August peak to some $41 billion. A $1.9 billion payment to the IMF on Wednesday takes that to $39 billion. Liquid reserves are close to zero, some analysts say. Argentina’s outflow of dollars goes back years, but it’s now gaining pace with little faith in the peso sapping wages and savings. The local currency has tumbled against the greenback and faces inflation currently running at more than 50% per year.

″It’s not us who threaten anyone’: Putin urges NATO pledges (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the West on Thursday to “immediately” meet Russia’s demand for security guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine and the deployment of the military alliance’s weapons there. Speaking during a marathon annual news conference, the Russian leader welcomed talks with the U.S. that are set to start in Geneva next month, but sternly warned that Moscow expects the discussion to produce quick results. “We have clearly and precisely let them know that any further NATO expansion eastward is unacceptable,” Putin said. “Is it us who are putting missiles near the U.S. borders?” Putin said. “No, it’s the U.S. who came to our home with their missiles. They are already on the threshold of our home. Is it some excessive demand not to place any offensive systems near our home?”

China orders lockdown of up to 13 million people in Xi’an (AP) China ordered the lockdown of as many as 13 million people in neighborhoods and workplaces in the northern city of Xi’an following a spike in coronavirus cases, setting off panic buying just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympic Games. State media reported that city officials ordered all residents to stay home unless they had a pressing reason to go out and suspended all transport to and from the city apart from special cases. One person from each household will be permitted out every two days to buy household necessities, the order said. It took effect at midnight Wednesday, with no word on when it might be lifted. Social media posts recorded panic buying of groceries and household products, with the government saying new supplies would be brought in. Residents posting on Thursday however, said the situation remained relatively calm, with people allowed to travel in and out of the compounds in which they live.

Last monument for Tiananmen massacre removed in Hong Kong (AP) A monument at a Hong Kong university that was the best-known public remembrance of the Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese soil was removed early Thursday, wiping out the city’s last place of public commemoration of the bloody 1989 crackdown. For some at the University of Hong Kong, the move reflected the erosion of the relative freedoms they have enjoyed compared to mainland China. The 8-meter (26-foot) -tall Pillar of Shame, which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of each other, was made by Danish sculptor Jens Galschioet to symbolize the lives lost during the military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.

Bustling bars, surging business: Dubai sees a post-vax boom (AP) Nations around the world are lurching into lockdown, steeling themselves for a brutal surge as the omicron variant spreads like wildfire. But in Dubai, Donna Sese is bracing for a very different surge: countless restaurant bookings and meter-long drink bills. “We’re back and busy like the way things used to be,” said Sese, manager of the Yalumba restaurant at the five-star Le Meridien hotel, where devotees of Dubai’s Friday brunch pay $250 for lavish spreads with free-flowing Clicquot Champagne. The globalized city-state appears to be in the midst of a boom season, spurred on by one of the world’s highest vaccination rates and government steps to lure businesses and de-escalate tensions with regional rivals. Maskless debauchery has returned to dance floors. Brunch-goers are drinking with abandon. Home-buyers are flooding the market. Tourists are snapping up hotel suites. Expat millionaires are moving to the emirate. Coronavirus infections, although now making a comeback, remain below past peaks.

Madagascar’s police minister survives helicopter crash, swims 12 hours to shore (Washington Post) A government minister with “nerves of steel” swam for 12 hours in the Indian Ocean before being rescued after his helicopter crashed off the coast of Madagascar this week. Serge Gelle, 57, is the island nation’s secretary of state for police and was touring the site of an earlier shipwreck when the aircraft went down. “My turn to die has not yet come, thank God,” Gelle said in a video Madagascar’s Defense Ministry posted to Twitter on Tuesday. In the clip, the veteran police general is shown resting on a lounge chair in the seaside town of Mahambo, still clad in his camouflage uniform and vowing to return to work.

Pope demands humility in new zinger-filled Christmas speech (AP) Pope Francis urged Vatican cardinals, bishops and bureaucrats Thursday to embrace humility this Christmas season, saying their pride, self-interest and the “glitter of our armor” was perverting their spiritual lives and corrupting the church’s mission. As he has in the past, Francis used his annual Christmas address to take Vatican administrators to task for their perceived moral and personal failings, denouncing in particular those pride-filled clerics who “rigidly” hide behind Catholic Church traditions rather than seek out the neediest with humility. As they have in the past, cardinals and bishops sat stone-faced as they listened to Francis lecture them in the Hall of Blessings, which was otherwise decked out in jolly twinkling Christmas trees and poinsettias. “The humble are those who are concerned not simply with the past but also with the future, since they know how to look ahead, to spread their branches, remembering the past with gratitude,” Francis told them. “The proud, on the other hand, simply repeat, grow rigid and enclose themselves in that repetition, feeling certain about what they know and fearful of anything new because they cannot control it.”

#headlines #news

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victakestaipei · 7 years ago

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“Manila Killas”: Vic Takes the Philippines

As I said in my previous post, we all met Thursday night at 10:15pm to take the MRT to the airport. It took us about 45-hour to get to the airport, but it didn’t seem long at all! Maybe due to sheer excitement. We all packed pretty light, with one carry-on/one personal bag each.

Upon arriving to the airport, we tried to go straight to security since we printed our boarding passes online. We read online that it’s better to print them beforehand so that we don’t have to pay to print at the airport, but, once we got to security the man turned us away and told us we needed “real” boarding passes that we had to get at the check-in counter. So we backtracked back to check-in and waited in the long ass line. When we got to the front we learned some interesting news... Bunny was overbooked. When she first booked her flight, they didn't send her confirmation email, so she feared that her booking didn’t go through. She booked again the next day with my booking, but as it turns out both went through (despite never getting the first email) so she was charged $100 for each flight on her account. AND She couldn't get her money back. The representative told us that the only amount she was allowed refunded was the airport tax which amounted to a whopping $6 US. Needless to say, Bunny was pissed.

We were allowed 7kg (15pounds) as the weight limit for our carry-ons. But this was the total amount allotted for our carry on AND our personal item combined. I brought a small suitcase and my little yellow backpack. When I put the suitcase on the scale it was already overweight at 8.7kg. The price to check the carry on bag at the airport was around $40 US, and for a $95 flight, we weren't willing to do that. So we made it work. Both Jeannie and I had overweight carry-ons. I stuffed a few items into Bunny’s backpack in order to get my suitcase down to 7kg. But Jeannie had a harder time... She ended up taking clothes out of her bag and putting them on her body in order to make the bag less weight. Both Jeannie and Bunny piled on extra shirts, and Jeannie also took stuff out of her backpack and stuffed it into her leggings that she had on. It was pretty comical actually.

The lady at the ticketing counter would not give us our boarding passes until our bags totaled to 7kg. When it came time to weigh (finally), we walked over to a different counter where the scale started at -0.5kg instead of 0, and weighed our bags. I knew my backpack would still make my bags overweight, simply because my suitcase was already at 7kg, so I put my flannel on over my backpack and just never weighed it. (I finessed them hoes like a G!)

After we all passed the moment of truth, we headed to security. But not before stopping and allowing Jeannie and Bunny to peel off all the layers of extra clothing to put back into her carryon suitcase.

After getting to the gate, we met a Muslim German girl named Shamaila, who is around our age and an avid world traveler. I want to be like her when I grow up. Turns out she was in Taipei for this Buddhism monk meditation retreat... Have any of you seen the movie “Eat, Pray, Love”? And you know how she spends that time in India at the Temple?? It was literally like that. The program she was in was to last 4 weeks, but she ended up having some conflicting feelings about it, in relation to her practice of Islam, so she quit after a few days. She stayed in Taipei a bit longer then decided, on to the next spot! Which brings her to the Philippines. She also spent the first day with us in Manila before taking her flight to the next destination, which is one of the smaller islands in the Philippines, I just can’t remember the name. She was super sweet though, and if I ever make it to Germany, I’m definitely giving her a call!

The flight itself was 2 hours. The plane was cramped as hell and my knees were pushed against the seat in front of me. If I didn’t have leggings on, I’m sure my knees would have little red blotches on them from being constantly pressed up against the seat in front of me. AND my seat did not recline at all. What a joy. Our flight left at 1:45/2am and we landed at 4am so I intended on getting some shuteye on the flight. But, they kept the lights on the ENTIRE FLIGHT. THERE WAS NO POSSIBLE WAY I COULD SLEEP. WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS??

I'm in the window seat so the lights are bright as hell right over my face. I didn't think to take my flannel off and put it over my face until maybe like 30min until we landed... and I was just starting to fall asleep when we did.

It was a very harsh landing I might add, You could hear the thud of the wheels hitting the pavement and all our heads bobbing up and down as we bounced in our seats. I was jolted from my sleep so I freaked out for a few seconds (I also had my flannel over my face) before realizing what was going on, and that we weren't actually dying.

This had to have been the most uncomfortable flight I've ever been on. I am extremely tired. Actually, I don't think the word "extremely" does my situation justice... I am tired as fuck. Air Asia might be worse than Spirit airlines...Air Asia is the Spirit airlines of the Far East. The CAT Bus of the sky... But nonetheless, I’m happy to be on solid ground.

The exchange rate here is 50 pesos to $1 US. Which I'm happy about because it'll be much easier to mentally convert than 30 NT to $1 (like in Taiwan). We found a place to sit, in the Arrivals area, to take a load off for a few hours before heading to exchange our money, eat, and leave the airport. I tried to sleep on the benches but was unsuccessful. The bright lights of the airport and the constant bustling of people moving around made me uneasy when trying to sleep. The lights make it feel like a hospital, and the constant noise and voices made it feel like people were watching me sleep... and granted, some were.

At this point its 6:30 am and I've probably slept a total of 2-3 hours in the past 24 hours. Before leaving the airport we bought portable wifi and split it amongst the four of us... it’s super convenient especially since none of us have consistent data and we’ll need it to call Ubers and stuff! We named our wifi network “Manila Killas,” hence the title of this post.

The five of us (Bunny, Jeannie, Nick, Shamaila, and I) headed to McDonald's to eat and figure out our itinerary for the day. I ordered the egg sausage mcmuffin (I'm basic) but they had a lot of stuff not offered in the states, like fried chicken fillets, garlic rice, etc... My sandwich was super good and tasted fresh. Significantly better than US standards. The egg was definitely fresh and the yolk was the texture that it’s supposed to be. In the McDonalds they were playing songs by Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, etc... it felt like I was back in the States, but in the year 2013. After we left McDonald's, we were in search of a Starbucks. We wanted to use the wifi and relax and get coffee. We ended up staying a while too... Like 4 hours. Our check in time for the airbnb was 2pm, so we hung out at the Starbz until then. I charged my phone, drank a green tea frap, relaxed a bit.... Couldn't sleep at all still. I am delirious at this point. After Starbucks we took an Uber to our airbnb.

Our airbnb neighborhood felt very safe, with gates and guards at both entrances/exits. I am thankful for this, simply because once you step outside the gates, it doesn’t feel as safe anymore... there are beggars/panhandlers everywhere, and the whole atmosphere just changes once you leave the community. We were definitely in an urban and poor area. It was eye opening.

The airbnb itself was small but had everything we needed. Two bunk beds, a tiny kitchen, closet, AC, Wifi, and a bathroom/shower. It was super cute and reminded me of those shows where people buy tiny houses on purpose. And I honestly hate those kind of people... they’re just so extra.

As it turns out I didn’t get any pictures of the airbnb itself, just of my bunk. So I’m sorry about that... but if you’re really pressed I can send you the ad of the airbnb if you want to check it out lol.

Before heading out to find food and see some sights, we took a nap for about 40mins. I woke up with DROOL ON MY PILLOW. That’s how you know ya girl was TIED. We wanted to see some Spanish Cathedrals, so we made our way to the historic district of Intramuros. We walked to the train station and took the high speed rail to United Nation station. From there we hopped off and headed on our way on foot. We stopped at a few food stands along the way and got an array of yummy street food: from fried squid, to lumpia and rice, to piaya. All super cheap, and all super BOMB.

When we were walking, Jeannie fell in some mud, so we stopped at the nearby National Museum of Anthropology so that she could go to the bathroom and clean off... It was pretty funny, the whole situation, but it was too soon to make jokes so I just kept them to myself. Here are some pics of me infront of the museum, and in front of a statue that stood super tall in the nearby park..still not sure who that statue is of... I’ll google it and get back to you.

Jeannie running up the steps.. lol ^

After walking a bit longer, we finally arrived at Intramuros. Intramuros is a historical district within the city of Manila. This is where the Spanish Cathedrals we wanted to see were located. We saw San Agustin church, and Manila Cathedral.

We hung out at the park in front of Manila Cathedral for a while. There were kids doing flips off the park furniture and onto the grass.. they were so free spirited and spunky and I just admired them from a distance like a creep. There was also this huge wooden structure, with a book exchange underneath, that you could sit on and enjoy the park and look at the Cathedral from there too. You can take a book if you leave one behind, I love that idea. This whole area is very quaint with huge paintings on display in the grassy area. I could spend an afternoon here with no problem.

Once it started to sprinkle a bit, we hopped in an Uber to head to Fort Strip. Fort Strip is a popular market/restaurant area. But, the Uber ride there was almost two hours... to drive 7 miles... because traffic was horrendous. And it started to pour rain right before we got to our destination. We found a place to eat, and sat/ate to hide from the rain and relax a bit. I've been an emotional wreck all day. I start my period today so the emotional side of it has already been hitting me full force. Mix that with the lack of sleep I've had, and it's a recipe for a "bitter ass Vic". I'm sitting here barely sheltered from the pouring rain under the awning of this bar...Our food just came, they're playing Bob Marley mashups/edm mixes... it's as if everything in me has been falling apart and coming together at the same time. I’m looking around the table and seeing how all of us struggled to get here, how tired and hungry and grouchy we all are... yet HERE we are. In the fricken Philippines! Can't help but smile and sing along to "every little thing, is gonna be alright;" all while scarfing down my beer-battered spam and egg rice bowl. (Which was flame by the way).

One thing to note about the music here... which I find pretty fascinating. It’s clear that they love Western music, pop especially. But I find it funny that they love the song, but every time I hear familiar lyrics, it’s always paired with a remixed beat/melody, and vocals that aren’t of the original singer. And 99% of the time, the person singing these lyrics, has a vocal register that is significantly higher than that of the original artist. It’s like I’m hearing covers or karoake mixes constantly. Pretty funny actually. I wish I would have recorded some songs for you all to hear...

After we finished eating, the rain let up a bit. We looked around the Fort Strip area to the other restaurants and bars before heading home. We were all pretty slumped from the day, and the 40min nap we had before heading to Intramuros was not enough. After we got to our aibnb, we noticed that there were bugs everywhere... They definitely weren’t there before so it still bugs me to think about how they just popped up out of nowhere. And a lot of them were in Jeannies bed (ew), and the shower. I know I shouldn’t say this, but all I could think about was how THANKFUL I was that the bugs weren’t crawling around my bunk. Bless up!!! Hehe (Karma will get me later I’m sure).

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Saturday

We left the house by 11:15am to head to Salcedo market. Salcedo market is a market that’s only open on the weekends and is super local. It’s basically a farmer’s market. Everything here was super cheap (remember the 50 peso - $1 US ratio), and I ordered a bunch of different types of food. The first thing I got was some pork bbq (on a stick) with rice combo. It was 159 pesos, and super duper delicious.

The next thing I ordered was this beef shawarma pita, because I was craving Mediterannean and the smell was calling my name. I spent about 140 pesos on this and I have no RAGRETS. I also got a fresh smoothie, some bread from a bakery stand, and tried some dimsum, courtesy of Jeannie. All in all it was a delicious and filling brunch.

Next we headed to Green Hills shopping center, which is basically a huge indoor flea market. I bought a bunch of goodies for myself and friends. And we probably spent about 2 hours there. And after Green Hills we went to SM Mall of Asia. We walked around, and it reminded me alot fo the Fashion Show mall in Vegas, complete with literal fashion show. We went into Forever 21, and I bought a swimsuit that I didn't need (how unusual of me). It was so cute though lmao.

Next to the SM Mall is the bay, and there’s a small amusement park there too. I can imagine it gets pretty poppin’ on the weekends here. We tried to catch the sunset but it was a bit too cloudy for that. It was still beautiful though!

After the SM Mall it was getting kind of dark and we were all pretty winded from the long day. We decided to get some grub before electing to take the bus home from the Mall. (Google maps said that it would be quicker than Uber and traffic is already bad enough as it is.) We stopped at a restaurant called “Goldilocks” which is pretty popular here. We chose this restaurant because one of our Uber drivers recommended it. I ordered the pork combo and added lumpiag. It was really good. The huge egg roll thing on the right side of the plate is filled with veggies, for those wondering.

Afterwards, we hopped on the bus and made our way to the house. The buses are a bit different in the sense that they’re like those VIP buses you would get when you’re on a high school sports team and you travel to another city... with the cloth seats and the television at the front of the bus... I can still smell the bus’s smell lingering in my nose. It wasn’t necessarily a bad smell... just a distinct one.

After being on the bus for 20 or so minutes, the conductor waved for us to get off because our stop was approaching. Little did we know we were hopping off the bus in the middle of traffic and the bus itself would not come to a complete stop. I got off and immediately saw the lights of another bus right in front of me.. My life flashed before my eyes as the incoming bus honked loudly for us to get out of the street. Terrifying!!! But also kind of exciting in a “omg I’m alive and this is how people really live in the Philippines?!?!?” sort of way.

When we got home I immediately napped, because we were to go to the club/bar. We wanted to check out the nightlife here because it seems like it would be a fun time!! But, it ended up raining (hard) and we knew traffic would be awful (per usual), so instead we just got drunk as a skunk in our airbnb... off of rum and coke that we bought at 7/11. (For less than $3 US!!!!) WOW!!!

We had alot of plans for our weekend trip here in Philippines, but the weather really did us dirty. We wanted to go check out Ta’al and Mt. Pinatubo, which are both beautiful volcano areas that are not too far from Manila. But because of the rain, it proved to be a bit too dangerous in terms of hiking. Next time (if I ever make my way back here) I’ll be sure to check out the Islands, and not come during typhoon season *ugh*.

After Nick and I got thoroughly wasted on cheap booze, we headed to our nearby Jollibees at 2am. Jollibees is like America’s McDonalds, but better tasting food, and food that’s better for you. We headed out the house in the rain with an umbrella in tow. Both of us forgot our glasses as we stumbled along the gravel, around the corner, to the fast food joint. It was hard for me to read the menu because I didn’t have my glasses on, and I giggled uncontrollably as I ordered my burger and fries. The workers there probably thought I was insane. Welp. *shrugs*... but BOY WHEN I TELL YOU!!! that food and pineapple juice HIT!!!! So so so good. Maybe it was because I was drunk??? still...

After we finished eating Nick and I made our way back to the complex. Nick insisted we go a different route which was “shorter” and conveniently dark as hell too. I’m never listening to Nick again. He’s like Brien. Something about white dudes man.... Anyway, we got lost. IN THE POURING RAIN AND DARKNESS. I am turnt and therefore paranoid. I keep thinking the people who are just sitting in their carts are actually jumping out the bushes and trying to terrify us. I haven’t been that jumpy in a long long time. And the dark alley way we were going down seemed never ending. We came across a river and that’s when Nick was like “OKAY. I haven’t seen this before let’s head back.”... I’m looking at him like ??? BRUH. You cannot be serious. He then tries to reassure me by saying “We’ll be fine. Im a tall white dude, they aren’t going to try to do anything to us, they’re scared of me.... But little do they know I’m a bitch.” And then proceeds to drunkenly laugh hysterically.

Thanks for that Nick, thanks. Seems like if anything goes down, I’LL have to be the one to throw hands.... nice to know where you stand, Bud.

Anyway, we made it back to our apartment scotch-free and knocked the hell out shortly after that. I was dead. literally D-E-D.

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Sunday

Today we woke up around 10am... My stomach was turning a bit so I tried to go back to sleep, with no luck. After all of us rose from the dead, we went to the pool for the morning.

We ate at Jollibee’s for lunch... yes, the same place as last night. And I was right, it wasn’t because I was drunk, the food STILL SLAPPED. I really like that place.

After we ate we stopped at a local bakery and got some street food too before heading back to the airbnb. Below is a picture of me and some tiny bananas, for your viewing pleasure hehe ;)

We relaxed in our airbnb before heading to the airport around 6:30pm.

When the Uber picked us up, we got pulled over by the cops shortly after. We all sat there in silence as the Uber driver BRIBED THE OFFICER RIGHT IN FRONT OF US... HAH! I wish it was that easy in the States. (but no, not really). I still don’t know exactly why we got pulled over, but I think it had to do with us driving in a specific lane?? Not sure, because they definitely were not conversing back and forth in English. After the cop let us go, we continued on our merry way.... But needless to say it was a very quiet and awkward 20 minutes...

Once at the airport, getting through check-in / security was a breeze! We had no problems with the weight of our bags because we decided to check one of our bags so that we could put all our souvenirs and heavy items in it, making our carry-ons lighter.

We went to eat at Max’s, and had a feast of sorts. I also tried some Filipino beer called San Miguel’s. It was really really good. I ordered some fried shrimp and some canton noodles that I split with Jeannie.

After dinner we headed to the gate and relaxed. We were supposed to take off at 11:15pm. But we didn’t even board until after midnight, and our gate changed too. We boarded and departed for Taipei, and again the same thing... seats didn’t recline, no space for my long legs.... Such a drag! But it was a bit more comfortable since there was no one in the middle seat, just me and Bunny sitting in the aisle and the window seat of our row.

We landed around 2 am, but I didn’t get home until over an hour and a half later. We took the bus to Taipei Main Station, because all of the other forms of public transportation (MRT and city buses) stop running at midnight. And then from there, we took a cab to our dorm. I was in bed just before 4 am. Once I crawled into my bunk bed at home I knocked out pretty hard, and slept better than I have my entire stay!

Overall, Philippines was definitely something I won’t soon forget. I do wish I had more time to spend there, and that I could’ve traveled around to the other islands and seen the “nature” aspect, instead of the “urban” aspect. But for my first trip it was definitely a good time, and spent with even better people.

xoxo

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lifesobeautiful · 7 years ago

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The True Value of The 11 Coins From Around The World

How many times have you returned home from vacation with a pocketful of change that you feared would stop your plane from taking off? And what have you done with those foreign coins once you made it back to your pad?

Like everyone else, you probably have a tray or jar where you keep the leftover coins from your trips. It’s only practical to leave them at home since they don’t seem that valuable to carry out in the streets.

It’s actually peculiar. Even in the age of plastic, these coins follow us everywhere and it’s not something we often give a thought. In reality, however, these coins aren’t really worthless.

The True Value Of The Coins From Around The World

As for the substance of those coins, the weight of the metals used in making them is more or less arbitrary. In essence, this means that the store value of most modern coins bares no direct connection to the value of the materials they’re made from.

Most coins cost considerably less than what they are worth when spent. Otherwise, fraud would be more widespread than it is. While the act of melting down coins for any reason – let alone to sell as scrap metal – is illegal, there’s generally no point in doing so as they are worth more as minted currency.

But, what can you actually get from those foreign coins if you were to reduce them to shapeless nuggets?

That would depend on your relationship with that notoriously difficult group of people known as scrap metal merchants. It makes more sense to think of how much the metal costs to buy in the first place.

For example, the United States quarter, which has a surface value of 25¢, is mostly made of copper. In fact, 92% of it is copper.

While the price of copper has soared over the last few years – enough so that the nickel is actually ‘worth’ more than a nickel – there’s still only $0.02968 worth of copper in a quarter. The rest is accounted for by $0.00439-worth of nickel. So, all in all, you’re better saving up that daily change in a jar and turning it in at the bank, rather than starting your own foundry.

The Canadian quarter costs even less to make. Its face value equals that of 19 US¢, but its metal value- mostly from its 94% steel content- is just $0.00315. It contains less than a thousandth of a cent’s worth of nickel. The use of steel strengthens the coin while the smidgen of nickel makes it easier to create the design on the face.

Holiday Coins

And how about that holiday money?

Well, your €1 coins are currently worth around US$1.09 in the pâtisserie. However, despite their fancy gold-colored rim, they are actually worth less than a nickel as scrap metal.

The similar looking British pound is worth around $2.58 right now, although it varies widely at the moment due to the confusion surrounding Brexit. One thing that remains a little more constant is its metal value which is around $0.071. That’s a little more than the similarly-constituted Euro as it is a little fatter.

The Australian dollar is equivalent to around three-quarters of the value of the American dollar. In metallic terms, however, it is worth a gnat’s wing under a nickel. It’s made mostly of copper- around $0.04728’s worth, in fact. The Indian ten rupee coin may sound exotic, but this Asian treasure is equivalent to only 16¢ in the bank or $0.04687 at the foundry.

A ten-dollar coin in Hong Kong looks like the inverse of the Euro- a silver-colored rim on a gold-colored core. You could exchange it for US$1.25. In metal, it’s only worth one-twentieth of that price.

It may only be a matter of time before American dollars and Russian rubles are directly interchangeable. We’ll have to see how that one plays out in ‘Trumpmerica’!

Meanwhile, a five-ruble coin is equivalent to just under 10¢ or less than $0.004 in metal terms. It’s made almost entirely of steel.

The five-South African rand coin is worth a nickel and a bit in metal. The Chilean 500-pesos coin, as impressive as it sounds, accounts for just $0.75 in the store. As a scrap metal, it’s just worth $0.043.

Old Coins

For a true whopper of a coin, you might need to go back to the Roman ages. From the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th century AD, the Roman gold aureus contained around 8g of gold. It was considered to have the monetary value of 25 pure silver denarii.

In today’s terms, it would be worth around US$710 at the bank and just under half of that if melted and sold to a gold merchant.

That said, if you happen to be passed one amongst your Euros while on holiday in Italy, the wisest move is to not take it to a bureau de change or to seek out a local scrap merchant and cash it in to pay for your flight home. It would be far more sensible to put the thing up for auction. Its rarity and antique status make it a sought-after collector’s piece for many big buyers.

In fact, that piece of gold ‘pocket shrapnel’ might make you up to a million dollars if it’s the right vintage, in good condition and you find the right buyer. Just make sure that they’re happy to pay you by check or by bank transfer. You don’t want to be carrying $1M-worth of unmarked nickels and dimes in your suitcases! It’ll end up costing you a whole lot more in checked luggage.

For an at-a-glance guide to the prices of the coins from around the world, including their precise metallic constitution and values, check out this new visual guide from 911 Metallurgy.

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The post The True Value of The 11 Coins From Around The World appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

This article was first shared from Dumb Little Man

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newsfundastuff · 5 years ago

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More than 57,000 asylum seekers have been forced to wait for their court hearings in Mexican border towns – some of the most violent places on EarthAlex Guevara weeps as he describes the five-month odyssey that brought his family from Venezuela to a diner just metres from the United States border – and the uncertainty and danger that lie ahead.It was June when Guevara and his family fled on foot into Colombia, carrying nothing but a Bible and a worthless Venezuelan coin to remind them of their homeland..“It was life or death – either we left or we left,” Guevara’s wife, Andrea, said of the persecution they had suffered because of ties to the opposition movement trying to force Nicolás Maduro from power.From Medellín, the couple flew to Cancún with their two young children before traveling overland to one of the most dangerous stretches of the US-Mexico border and crossing the Rio Grande in a rubber dinghy.When border guards detained them on US soil, the Guevaras thought their ordeal was nearly over.But, rather than being allowed to stay in the US while they sought asylum, they were separated and spent a fortnight in detention before being released into one of Mexico’s most notorious border towns in the dead of night.“Wow, that was a low blow,” said Andrea. “After all the trauma and everything we had been through in our country … we found ourselves in the mouth of another wolf.”The Guevaras – who asked for their real names not to be used – are among more than 57,000 people who have been forced back into Mexico this year by an innocuously named immigration policy that activists consider one of the cruellest and most ruthlessly efficient strands of Donald Trump’s anti-migration crusade.Unveiled in January, the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) project, or Remain in Mexico as it is better known, stipulates that asylum seekers must wait for their court hearings in Mexican border towns – several of which count among the most violent places on Earth.Even when they do reach court after months of waiting, only a tiny proportion of applicants succeed. Research by academics at Syracuse University found that only 11 out of nearly 10,000 asylum requests were granted in the first nine months of this year.“It’s just a chicken-shit administrative way of not letting people legally seek asylum,” said Kelly Overton, whose NGO, Border Kindness, helps the policy’s victims in Mexicali, one of six border cities involved in the scheme alongside Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, Piedras Negras, Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros.“The majority of people are fleeing something – whether that’s an immediate threat of violence, [or] a guaranteed life of poverty and despair for their children. They are doing this for a reason,” Overton said.“And it is shameful how the United States is responding. It is devastating.”Overton, whose group buses asylum seekers to hearings in the US, said the human consequences of the policy were twofold.Many of those sent back, convinced they stood no chance of being legally admitted to the US, were risking their lives by returning to Central American countries suffering some of the world’s highest murder rates. “Some of the people we have helped this year that have gone back will be dead by next year,” Overton said.Those who chose to wait it out, meanwhile, were exposed to con artists and kidnappers who preyed on those whose accents or clothes marked them out as outsiders.Earlier this month the advocacy group Human Rights First accused the Trump administration of exposing asylum seekers to “life-threatening dangers” after documenting 636 cases of kidnapping, rape, torture, assault and other violent attacks against those returned to Mexico.Victims included a nine-year-old disabled girl and her mother who were kidnapped and raped after being sent back to Tijuana.In Nuevo Laredo, which is located in a Mexican state the US considers as dangerous as Iraq and Syria, 197 kidnappings have already been recorded, including of a seven-year-old Honduran girl.Human Rights First researcher Kennji Kizuka said he suspected such perils were actually part of Trump’s plan. Exposure to hostile environments was designed to “scare people out of remaining and waiting for their immigration proceedings” and thus reduce migration.Terrifying stories of violence and exploitation are easy to encounter in towns such as Mexicali.A Cuban woman told of how armed men had forced her into a car in broad daylight at the start of a terrifying four-day abduction during which she was deprived of food and water.“They took everything – our money, our clothes, everything,” said the woman, who had also fled her country for political reasons.“Thank God we managed to escape and we’re alive to tell the story – not everyone is so lucky.”A Honduran woman, who also asked not to be named, said she had not left the shelter where she was living since being approached by a gang of pornographers offering her $50 to pose for naked photographs.“I’m scared – really, really scared,” she said.The Guevaras, whose home is now a cramped flat on Mexicali’s outskirts, said they also lived in constant fear, speaking quietly in public to hide their distinctive Venezuelan accents and hardly venturing outside.“People say to us: ‘Be careful. Don’t go out on the streets. Don’t leave the kids on their own,’” Andrea said. “You never know who you are dealing with here.”Her husband insisted they could not return to Venezuela. “But Mexico is almost as dangerous.”Remain in Mexico is part of a wider set of anti-immigration initiatives created since Trump took office in 2017, including an asylum ban targeting Central American migrants, a dramatic reduction of refugee resettlements and a highly controversial family separation policy scrapped after a global outcry.Margaret Cargioli, a San Diego-based immigration lawyer, called the policy part of “an astonishing anti-migrant machine” designed to repel outsiders.“All of the measures, fundamentally, are racist and xenophobic policies,” Cargioli said. “It’s very planned out, it’s very deliberate.”Trump defends the moves as intended to protect the US from “bad hombres”, “thugs” and “animals”.But in Mexicali the Guardian found mostly desperate young families forced from their homes by situations far beyond their control.In a dingy abandoned cinema converted into a migrant flophouse, Norma Quevedo said crime and deprivation had compelled her to flee Guatemala City with her five-year-old son, Antonio.“The truth is we want a better future for our children … so we decided to risk it all,” said the 30-year-old single mother.In another shelter Leonela Cabrera Martínez, a Honduran mother-of-three, said she was trying to outrun gangsters who targeted her family for failing to pay “rent”.“They killed one of my brothers. That’s why we came,” said Cabrera, who was with three daughters aged 10, six and three.“I can’t go back,” Cabrera insisted. “If I could go back, I would. But I can’t.”On a recent afternoon the shelter welcomed its latest guests: a 42-year-old asylum seeker called Santo Catalino López Velásquez who had been returned from the US just hours earlier after a 36-hour stint in the freezing hielera (icebox) detention centre with his wife, Fidelia Jaqueline García Álvarez, and their baby daughter and toddler son.Like nearly every other migrant interviewed for this story López shed tears that spoke of overwhelming emotional exhaustion as he told his story.In March, land-grabbers in southern Honduras had threatened to kill him if he failed to surrender his small farm. In April they torched his home. Days later López fled, stowing away inside lorries all the way to the US border with his wife and children.Penniless and still dazed from the ordeal, López said he had no idea how he would support his family as he remained in Mexico – let alone attend their court hearing 130 miles away in San Diego.“We haven’t got a single peso,” he admitted. “Nada.”But like many of those now stuck in border limbo, López was sure of one thing.“There’s no way we can go back – we’ll be killed,” he said, breaking down as he spoke. “I cannot go back.”Additional reporting by Jordi Lebrija

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goforthadventure · 6 years ago

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Nov 17th

After walking up and looking at rocks for a while I managed to make breakfast and pack up. The day was pretty in eventful other than the almost constant honks and waves of support from the people of the states of Oaxaca. This always makes me feel so much better when I'm traveling in a place just to know that people are supportive of what I'm doing and not fearful or angry that I have the time and money to go on a trip like this. As we were beginning to ride into Huajuapan, which was or last town before we were going to start looking for a place to camp Digory says that he isn't feeling particularly great and so we decide to start looking for a hotel. We stopped at a few spots and they were way too expensive so we decided to keep riding. As we were nearing the edge of town I spotted a hotel down a short street fairly close to the highway. We went to check it out and realized it was a pay by the hour hotel, this didn't particularly bother us but they only had one bed per room. Luckily they were king size beds and we could get a room for 250 pesos ($12 US) for 24 hrs. Once we got into the room it was not like any hotel room is started on before, there was a strip poker in one corner, mirrors in three sides of the bed and a window that looked into the shower on the fourth side. Digory andi both laughed at the rediculous nature of the room and began to in pack or things for the night. It turned out that the bed was probably the most comfortable I had slept in while in Mexico.

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sarahburness · 7 years ago

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The True Value of The 11 Coins From Around The World

It’s actually peculiar. Even in the age of plastic, these coins follow us everywhere and it’s not something we often give a thought. In reality, however, these coins aren’t really worthless.

The True Value Of The Coins From Around The World

But, what can you actually get from those foreign coins if you were to reduce them to shapeless nuggets?

For example, the United States quarter, which has a surface value of 25¢, is mostly made of copper. In fact, 92% of it is copper.

Holiday Coins

And how about that holiday money?

Well, your €1 coins are currently worth around US$1.09 in the pâtisserie. However, despite their fancy gold-colored rim, they are actually worth less than a nickel as scrap metal.

It may only be a matter of time before American dollars and Russian rubles are directly interchangeable. We’ll have to see how that one plays out in ‘Trumpmerica’!

Meanwhile, a five-ruble coin is equivalent to just under 10¢ or less than $0.004 in metal terms. It’s made almost entirely of steel.

Old Coins

In today’s terms, it would be worth around US$710 at the bank and just under half of that if melted and sold to a gold merchant.

For an at-a-glance guide to the prices of the coins from around the world, including their precise metallic constitution and values, check out this new visual guide from 911 Metallurgy.

Source

The post The True Value of The 11 Coins From Around The World appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

from Dumb Little Man https://www.dumblittleman.com/coins-from-around-the-world/

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