Around the World #35: Erin and Connor

My guests today are Erin Draycott and Connor Grill. They have both been living in Beijing for several years. I sat with Erin and Connor on the roof of their hutong apartment for a conversation about travel. We touched on many subjects, including their recent trip to Israel.

Let's listen to my podcast with Erin and Connor:

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Show Notes:

• Connor briefly talked about WWOOFing. This stands for “Willing Workers on Organic Farms.” Their website has more info.
• I've never seen the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile in Beijing, but this clown duck guy comes pretty close. Just don't rear-end him or he'll be sad.
  
  

  A sad clown.

• According to Wikipedia, the urban population of New York City is 8.5 million, whereas Harbin has 5.2 million, though it's hard to get an apples-to-big-apples comparison with city populations.
• During the podcast, I talked about how Ixonia got its name. Here is the story.
• Connor mentioned a quote from It's a Wonderful Life: All you can take with you is that which you've given away.
• One of Connor's favorite books is Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Follow the link for more info.
• Banksy is a famous street artist. Here is his website. Connor and Erin saw a lot of his artwork on the wall in Palestine.
• If you feel like being depressed, you can read more about the 2014 Israel-Gaza Conflict.
• Here is how public school kids warm up before class in China:
• Erin mentioned nightmares and night terrors. Here is an article describing the difference.
• We talked ever-so-briefly about Jonestown in Guyana. Here is the fascinating story of this place.
• Mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal, including other humans. This article from Wired has more info and a historical timeline.
• Mefloquine (AKA Larium) is the drug I took to prevent malaria. Here is one of the reviews of this drug from drugs.com: “I was prescribed to take 6 pills at once for treatment of malaria. Can't sleep, I keep having hallucinations when I close my eyes and can't focus when my eyes are open.” Yay malaria pills!
• Hans Rosling has helped change my mind about the world and our future. In the show, I mentioned that while some places are better off than others, there has never been a better time to be alive than now. Watch this video and tell me if you disagree:
  
• Gravity drops off with the square of the distance, which is part of the inverse square law. I accidentally said some gibberish instead of properly referencing this law. Around the World with Dan Perry regrets this error.

Here are some of Connor and Erin's photos from Israel. Thanks for providing them!

Here are a few of my photos from Harbin's Ice Festival:

More photos from Harbin's Ice Festival

And this is the view you'll get if you go to the top of Jing Shan Park in Beijing on a clear day: