My friend Giselle picked up this water buffalo for me when she went home to the Philippines for Christmas 1998. I believe that it is carved out of mahogany. I’ve heard water buffalo are really common there.

This trinket was picked up for me in the summer of 1998 by my friend Chad while he was over in India for an MIT-India program. It’s actually an abstract representation of Ganesh, the elephant god. Ganesh is the younger son of Shiva and Parvati according to Hindu mythology. It’s made from teak, with a red lacquer coating.

This horse is from Lillehammer, where I visited during the summer of 1993. That’s about a year before the 1994 Winter Olympics were held there. It’s made from wood and was on a key chain when I bought it.