First, thanks for praying for my friend, Jodie. A bone marrow donor has been found!! Can you believe it? A one in a million chance and a match was found. She is still waiting for final approval and a transplant date. Yea!
And now... for a tidbit about S Asia. Whenever I call for someone to work on the A/C or electrical stuff or whatever is broken in my flat, several men show up to assess the problem. They are always accompanied by this uniformed man who has a police badge looking patch on his shirt that says, "DOG SERVICE & TIGER SECURITY" Now, there are tons of stray dogs here (and lots on my street because of some crazy lady who keeps feeding them) and we are a few hours from a national tiger preserve, but really, I have no idea what this patch means. I really wish I had the nerve to ask the man if I could take a picture of his patch so I could post it here. He is a pretty friendly chap, but I would still feel weird about it. And I really really wish I knew enough Bangla to ask him what the patch means. The only thing I can think of is that he comes to make sure I am safe, since I am typically home by myself when these service people come. But why dogs and tigers???
Ya know, I think posting this blog has given me the guts to ask the next time he comes. But wouldn't it be amazing if I never had to call a service person to my flat again?!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Please help our friend, Jodie.
This blog has nothing to do with S Asia or anything funny or amusing. It is about helping to save the life of a friend. Please go to
www.savejodie.com
and take a couple of minutes to watch the video. She and her family need our help.
I first met Jodie during a youth retreat when I was in high school and I have known her husband for even longer. Their present battle moves me to tears, and besides prayers, this is the only way I know to help them from afar. Please help me help them.
Love, Mitzi
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Forecast
Well, we leave the US today. There is too much to say, so I will share just one thing of great concern to me - the weather when we arrive.
On Wednesday, the high in Houston will be 51.
In our city in S Asia, the high will be 93.
On Wednesday, the high in Houston will be 51.
In our city in S Asia, the high will be 93.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Thank God this did not happen in K
Well, now we have a recent picture of ME.Just as we were about to get ready to go to the gym for an AquaPump class, Jerry wanted to show me something while we were lounging in bed. It happened to be this large, heavy acrylic thing that sits on a base. Well, he thought the piece was attached to the base. It wasn't and it dropped and fell on my forehead. It hurt like the dickens and I started crying really loud, almost wailing! My mom rushed over and I could hear her and Jerry exclaim about how much blood was coming out. I was in LOTS of pain. My mom called our doctor friend and we all went to his office to see if I needed stitches. No stitches needed, but I will be sporting this big bandage for the next 4-5 days.
This incident reminded me and my mom of the last time something like this happened, only I was elementary-school-age playing with my cousins in Hawaii when I cut my forehead on the edge of a glass table in the house. My grandmother promptly went outside to get some grass to chew and then put in on my forehead to stop the bleeding. It worked and at the hospital my mom had to explain to person after person why I had grass on my head even though the accident was in the house. By the time we got home, my grandmother had wrapped the edges of her table with old sewing rags.
This incident reminded me and my mom of the last time something like this happened, only I was elementary-school-age playing with my cousins in Hawaii when I cut my forehead on the edge of a glass table in the house. My grandmother promptly went outside to get some grass to chew and then put in on my forehead to stop the bleeding. It worked and at the hospital my mom had to explain to person after person why I had grass on my head even though the accident was in the house. By the time we got home, my grandmother had wrapped the edges of her table with old sewing rags.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Houston Marathon
Jerry finished the Houston Marathon 40 minutes faster than he had hoped! His time was 5:18 and he felt pretty good afterwards. He woke up at 3:45am to start preparing for the race. I woke up at 7:30am to start preparing to cheer him on around mile 8.
For you runners out there - Jerry only trained for a couple of weeks when we got back to Houston. Then he strained something in his calf and had to stop running. So, he spent the next two weeks on the elliptical. The day of race, Jerry inserted SuperFeet orthotics (suggested by Jason, our PT friend). He met up with our friend Susan, who was doing the Galloway training, and did run 2 min/walk 1 min for 5 miles until his other calf started hurting. He then did run 1/walk 1 for the next 21 miles! Surprisingly, he did not cramp up and instead felt pretty good throughout the race. Besides the normal soreness/stiffness, he has several blisters on his feet.
All in all, even with the hot weather, Jerry did great and I am so proud of him!!
P.S. Much thanks to Candy for Jerry's bib, Jenn for driving Jerry to the race and Arlene for spectator navigation
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
a little more reverse culture shock
This also has to do with cars. Here, I see dirty cars every where. In S Asia, there are hardly any dirty cars. It's kinda weird, right? Well, in S Asia, everyone's car is washed every day. The cars may be run down and falling apart, but they are for the most part clean! We have our car washed or rinsed down six days a week for what amounts to $5 a month. And many would say that we are being too generous.
Speaking of cars, we were riding around in Jerry's Suzuki Forenza the other day and I could not get over how nice it is! Mind you, this was a budget purchase and I usually balked at having to ride in it before we moved because I preferred riding around in my Subaru Forester. But now, the Forenza seems palatial!
Me to Jerry while in the car:
"This is so nice! I feel like we are riding around in luxury! There's so much room! These seats are really nice. I can't believe we had enough money to buy a car this nice. It even has a radio!"
So, I am thinking that all of this will work in our favor when we move back to Houston. By that time, my car will be almost nine years old, but I will be more than satisfied driving it. And the Forenza - maybe we'll still feel privileged to have it even when it turns 20!
Speaking of cars, we were riding around in Jerry's Suzuki Forenza the other day and I could not get over how nice it is! Mind you, this was a budget purchase and I usually balked at having to ride in it before we moved because I preferred riding around in my Subaru Forester. But now, the Forenza seems palatial!
Me to Jerry while in the car:
"This is so nice! I feel like we are riding around in luxury! There's so much room! These seats are really nice. I can't believe we had enough money to buy a car this nice. It even has a radio!"
So, I am thinking that all of this will work in our favor when we move back to Houston. By that time, my car will be almost nine years old, but I will be more than satisfied driving it. And the Forenza - maybe we'll still feel privileged to have it even when it turns 20!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Back in the US - a little bit of culture shock
Well, we made it back to the US without any problems. Although, I am still a little irked that the line at immigration at the airport was longer for US citizens than for foreigners. Speaking of, it is nice to be in a place where I am no longer a foreigner. I think that US citizens should have the shorter lines and then even less waiting time for those who have been out of the country the longest.
Jet lag is getting the best of us. It is 4:30am right now. My goal was to stay up until 10pm last night, but made it to only 8:15pm and then I woke up at 3:15am. Jerry's sleep schedule is even weirder. Not only did he stay up past 10pm, he did not go to bed until 4am! So, now he is sound asleep and I am wide awake.
It is weird being back here. So far, the strangest thing for me is seeing no people on the streets, but LOTS and LOTS of cars - big, new cars! And because of window tinting, I cannot really see the people inside. It's like I am in some kind of futuristic place, which compared to K, Houston IS futuristic. And driving around in my parents' neighborhood, it feels abandoned. There are not many people walking around and hardly any cars either, driving OR parked on the streets. And it is so quiet.
When Jerry and I are in the car together, all of this makes me feel like we are the only people around. Which is the strangest sensation after living in K, where there are zillions of people, animals and vehicles of all shapes and sizes crowding every street. And the noise - people screaming, horns honking, cars creaking/clunking and animals being herded.
We are also going through another bit of culture shock - the kind where you sort of romanticize your home country, only to go back and realize it has problems, too. Case in point - mailing a package at the FedEx/Kinko's in Rice Village.
One of my US friends in K asked us to mail her family's Christmas gifts. We were delighted to help her out. We go to FedEx and a woman comes to greet us and asks if she can help. Well, we tell her that we want to find out the cheapest way to ship a package that arrives before Christmas. Well, she replies that we have to fill out a shipping bill first. Well, there are several different shipping bills, so it would make more sense to ask the shipping clerk which way is best and THEN fill out the form. But the first lady was insistent so we made an educated guess and then asked the shipping clerk. Fortunately, we made the right choice. And you know what - all the shipping clerk needed to know was the zip code.
Anyway, we told the shipping lady we needed to buy a box. She said no problem and said that the boxes are really cheap. She then looked at gifts to be mailed and suggested a particular size. Well, that box was three times the size of the gifts! We found a much more suitable size and packed everything up. So, she rang up the cost of the shipping and as we were about to go, she said that she forgot to charge us for the box. She scanned the size and it came up $9.69. Golly!! I said, "Are you sure?" And she acted as if that was a really great price and even went so far as explaining that it was a good deal. I asked again, "$9.69 for THIS box?" (Remember, she said that the boxes were cheap, so I initially thought, well, I have not lived in the US for 15 months, maybe I just don't know what cheap is anymore.) Anyhow, she replied again that the price was correct and we paid for it. Meanwhile, Jerry found a placard near the shipping supplies with the price list and it showed $2.00. He showed it to her and we could see that she was not ready to concede that $9.69 was not the right price. Jerry pointed out the box, dimensions and price listed a few more times and then she said that she would give us a refund.
Well, guess what!? It took four employees and about 15 minutes for us to get our refund. I could have sworn we were in S Asia. If I told someone boxes were cheap and then a box rang up over 9 bucks, I would have said something like, "Hmmm.... that can't be right," and checked into it. Jerry says that what she did is what happens when people do not have critical thinking skills because "the computer cannot possibly be wrong!"
But, we are glad to be back. It's been nice to hang out with family and we have already eaten Chick-fil-A, Vietnamese noodle soup, sushi and steak. And Jerry has also gotten to eat a JUMBO beef hot dog and drink lots of Starbucks coffee.
If you are interested in either sharing a meal with us (we've got a list of things we want to eat) and/or taking semi-leisurely walks for exercise (me only - Jerry is training for the marathon and will be running), let me know!
Jet lag is getting the best of us. It is 4:30am right now. My goal was to stay up until 10pm last night, but made it to only 8:15pm and then I woke up at 3:15am. Jerry's sleep schedule is even weirder. Not only did he stay up past 10pm, he did not go to bed until 4am! So, now he is sound asleep and I am wide awake.
It is weird being back here. So far, the strangest thing for me is seeing no people on the streets, but LOTS and LOTS of cars - big, new cars! And because of window tinting, I cannot really see the people inside. It's like I am in some kind of futuristic place, which compared to K, Houston IS futuristic. And driving around in my parents' neighborhood, it feels abandoned. There are not many people walking around and hardly any cars either, driving OR parked on the streets. And it is so quiet.
When Jerry and I are in the car together, all of this makes me feel like we are the only people around. Which is the strangest sensation after living in K, where there are zillions of people, animals and vehicles of all shapes and sizes crowding every street. And the noise - people screaming, horns honking, cars creaking/clunking and animals being herded.
We are also going through another bit of culture shock - the kind where you sort of romanticize your home country, only to go back and realize it has problems, too. Case in point - mailing a package at the FedEx/Kinko's in Rice Village.
One of my US friends in K asked us to mail her family's Christmas gifts. We were delighted to help her out. We go to FedEx and a woman comes to greet us and asks if she can help. Well, we tell her that we want to find out the cheapest way to ship a package that arrives before Christmas. Well, she replies that we have to fill out a shipping bill first. Well, there are several different shipping bills, so it would make more sense to ask the shipping clerk which way is best and THEN fill out the form. But the first lady was insistent so we made an educated guess and then asked the shipping clerk. Fortunately, we made the right choice. And you know what - all the shipping clerk needed to know was the zip code.
Anyway, we told the shipping lady we needed to buy a box. She said no problem and said that the boxes are really cheap. She then looked at gifts to be mailed and suggested a particular size. Well, that box was three times the size of the gifts! We found a much more suitable size and packed everything up. So, she rang up the cost of the shipping and as we were about to go, she said that she forgot to charge us for the box. She scanned the size and it came up $9.69. Golly!! I said, "Are you sure?" And she acted as if that was a really great price and even went so far as explaining that it was a good deal. I asked again, "$9.69 for THIS box?" (Remember, she said that the boxes were cheap, so I initially thought, well, I have not lived in the US for 15 months, maybe I just don't know what cheap is anymore.) Anyhow, she replied again that the price was correct and we paid for it. Meanwhile, Jerry found a placard near the shipping supplies with the price list and it showed $2.00. He showed it to her and we could see that she was not ready to concede that $9.69 was not the right price. Jerry pointed out the box, dimensions and price listed a few more times and then she said that she would give us a refund.
Well, guess what!? It took four employees and about 15 minutes for us to get our refund. I could have sworn we were in S Asia. If I told someone boxes were cheap and then a box rang up over 9 bucks, I would have said something like, "Hmmm.... that can't be right," and checked into it. Jerry says that what she did is what happens when people do not have critical thinking skills because "the computer cannot possibly be wrong!"
But, we are glad to be back. It's been nice to hang out with family and we have already eaten Chick-fil-A, Vietnamese noodle soup, sushi and steak. And Jerry has also gotten to eat a JUMBO beef hot dog and drink lots of Starbucks coffee.
If you are interested in either sharing a meal with us (we've got a list of things we want to eat) and/or taking semi-leisurely walks for exercise (me only - Jerry is training for the marathon and will be running), let me know!
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