Is imitation really the sincerest form of flattery? If so, the West should be very flattered by Asia. I remember seeing stuff from China/Hong Kong that were knockoffs like Suseme Street clothes instead of Sesame Street or LV bags that had VT on them instead. Well, I could cite lots of copycat stuff here, but I came across these two this week:
1. A new movie entitled Hari Puttar
2. A new convenience store named 610. (If you do not get this one, think 7-11)
Olympics news - Michael Phelps has been dubbed The Aqua Gladiator here. Also, the local newspaper wrote that Phelps has more medals than this country has earned in the last 108 years of Olympic competition.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
cows and the Olympics
I have seen several more healthy-looking cows this past week. I really believe that things are looking up here as evidenced by this country's first ever individual gold in Olympic history for the 10M Air Rifle competition.
It's interesting to watch the Olympics in a country that is not your own. If I were in Houston, I would probably watch a few events that I like, but being here, I want to watch everything and I check the internet every day to see the US medal count. It's cool b/c even the people here are rooting for Michael Phelps to win 8 gold medals.
Some differences between Olympic coverage here and in the US:
It's interesting to watch the Olympics in a country that is not your own. If I were in Houston, I would probably watch a few events that I like, but being here, I want to watch everything and I check the internet every day to see the US medal count. It's cool b/c even the people here are rooting for Michael Phelps to win 8 gold medals.
Some differences between Olympic coverage here and in the US:
- There are no background stories of the athletes here. You know how in the US there is always the media piece where the reporters go to the hometown of the athlete and interview the family, friends, coaches and community members and sometimes re-enact hardships the athletes had to overcome to get to the Olympics? None of that here.
- It never occurred to me how many resources the US has in terms of sports experts. Pretty much, there is a US commentator for every single event in the Olympics, or at least those in which Americans participate. There is a UK company that sells broadcasting rights to about 50 different countries who cannot afford and/or do not have the personnel to cover each of the sports. So there is no banter between previous Olympians about the athletes and what they must be going through or what they need to get that medal.
- The sports that are given more attention are different from those that get attention in the US. There is a lot of field hockey coverage here mostly because this country won several gold medals in this sport many years ago.
- There is no schedule available of what events will be covered. At home, we could check the newspaper or internet to find out when an event we wanted to see would be on TV. No such thing here. We kinda get Olympics potluck. (We missed the opening ceremony because it took us a while to figure out what channel and what time it was going to be shown here. Which brings me to another topic - every once in a while, the channels randomly change. And so we have to spend time figuring out what networks are on what channels. For instance, "Hey! There is Bollywood MTV on the BBC station. Now we have to look for BBC again!" AND, we have another TV in the living room, whose channels do not match the channels we get in the bedroom. Insane, I know.)
- Weird coverage glitches. The network that is covering the games here is called DD Sports. Well, tonight, in the middle of the 100M final, the programming suddenly switched to soccer on ESPN, and not even Olympics. We had to look for a news station to find out who won. (Jerry is channel surfing right now and just found DD Sports on a different channel! So, my auxiliary comment from #4 has just been proved again.)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
fatter cows
We explored a new mall on Sunday afternoon. It is pretty western and quite big (by S Asian standards). Most of the stores are from the US or Europe with prices out of most peoples' reach, but the whole building has A/C. Plus, it has McDonald's and a KFC ripoff called Broaster - two things the mall closer to us does not have.
Anyway, this blog is not about malls, but about how things in K seem to be looking up, as evidenced by two western malls opening up within 6 months of each other. As I was thinking about this in our car ride, I saw two cows on the street and both were pretty healthy-looking, not the skinny cows I usually see. Are fatter cows a sign of better times for everyone?
Anyway, this blog is not about malls, but about how things in K seem to be looking up, as evidenced by two western malls opening up within 6 months of each other. As I was thinking about this in our car ride, I saw two cows on the street and both were pretty healthy-looking, not the skinny cows I usually see. Are fatter cows a sign of better times for everyone?
Monday, July 7, 2008
Chong Family Photo
This is one of my favorite/funny photos of my family while we were in Portland.
(Jerry left a day early to spend time with his parents)
(Jerry left a day early to spend time with his parents)
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
strike hits Frankfurt airport; Maks delayed in Houston
Some of you may be wondering... why are they still in the US anyway? Well, we were supposed to leave on June 23rd, but then I started having severe leg pain as a result of a hip issue. So, we delayed the flight by a week so I could get treated and recuperate before diving back into our crazy existence in S Asia. Our rescheduled flight was for today, BUT...
My dad checked our flight departure time and saw that it was delayed by 3 hours. We called the airline to figure out what happened and how that would affect our connecting flight to S Asia. The airline said that due to an airport workers' strike in Frankfurt (our connection/layover city), flights were being delayed and canceled. We could have taken the delayed flight, but then we would have been stuck in Frankfurt for 2 nights because Lufthansa flies to our city only every other day. Plus, because of all the cancellations and flight delays, all of the hotels in Frankfurt are booked and we'd have to nowhere to sleep. Or, we could have left tomorrow and caught a flight to another city in our area from Frankfurt, but go on another airline to K and we'd arrive who knows when and maybe with our without our luggage (which has many precious items from the US that we do not want to lose). The airline suggested that our best option was to stay in Houston if we could. Given this advice and our dealing with my leg pain, we are staying.
Remember how a taxi strike interrupted my travel in Madrid? And of course all of the strikes in S Asia, some of which I have yet to blog about. Oh well...
My family in Houston is sort of ready for us to leave because of all the weight they have been gaining since we got here. Jerry and I have been indulging in our favorite foods, gaining weight in the process and it is affecting my mom, dad and sister as well b/c they end up eating with us, especially when the folks who take us out to dinner include my family and we all go together. For instance, last night Uncle S and Aunt S took all of us to eat BBQ ribs and brisket at Luling City Market and then to Grand Luxe for dessert. YUM.
My sister moved back from Madrid six weeks ago and was going to wait until we left (on 6/23) to start job hunting. Well, we're still here and she has stuck to her timetable of waiting until we are gone. They all joke about wanting us to leave so they can get back on track with their healthy eating and day-to-day activities. My parents were waiting for us to clear out so they could start getting ready for their trip to Mexico with their church. As it stands now, they will be leaving before us.
Such is our life... So right now, Jerry is taking a much-needed nap since we stayed up all night packing and I am updating the blog. We'll enjoy some more A/C, eat some more Chick-fil-A and we'll be off on Thursday. Maybe. Who knows what could happen next...
My dad checked our flight departure time and saw that it was delayed by 3 hours. We called the airline to figure out what happened and how that would affect our connecting flight to S Asia. The airline said that due to an airport workers' strike in Frankfurt (our connection/layover city), flights were being delayed and canceled. We could have taken the delayed flight, but then we would have been stuck in Frankfurt for 2 nights because Lufthansa flies to our city only every other day. Plus, because of all the cancellations and flight delays, all of the hotels in Frankfurt are booked and we'd have to nowhere to sleep. Or, we could have left tomorrow and caught a flight to another city in our area from Frankfurt, but go on another airline to K and we'd arrive who knows when and maybe with our without our luggage (which has many precious items from the US that we do not want to lose). The airline suggested that our best option was to stay in Houston if we could. Given this advice and our dealing with my leg pain, we are staying.
Remember how a taxi strike interrupted my travel in Madrid? And of course all of the strikes in S Asia, some of which I have yet to blog about. Oh well...
My family in Houston is sort of ready for us to leave because of all the weight they have been gaining since we got here. Jerry and I have been indulging in our favorite foods, gaining weight in the process and it is affecting my mom, dad and sister as well b/c they end up eating with us, especially when the folks who take us out to dinner include my family and we all go together. For instance, last night Uncle S and Aunt S took all of us to eat BBQ ribs and brisket at Luling City Market and then to Grand Luxe for dessert. YUM.
My sister moved back from Madrid six weeks ago and was going to wait until we left (on 6/23) to start job hunting. Well, we're still here and she has stuck to her timetable of waiting until we are gone. They all joke about wanting us to leave so they can get back on track with their healthy eating and day-to-day activities. My parents were waiting for us to clear out so they could start getting ready for their trip to Mexico with their church. As it stands now, they will be leaving before us.
Such is our life... So right now, Jerry is taking a much-needed nap since we stayed up all night packing and I am updating the blog. We'll enjoy some more A/C, eat some more Chick-fil-A and we'll be off on Thursday. Maybe. Who knows what could happen next...
Friday, June 20, 2008
in Houston
Howdy Folks! Well, I am in my favorite city in the world, enjoying A/C, family, friends and lots of great food. I think I am going to gain 5-10 pounds on this trip.
I never realized (until living in K) that Houston is a BEAUTIFUL city! It also has gorgeous blue skies, hardly any people and not much traffic. I love it here. And even though it is is in the low 90s and HUMID, it does not really bother us. However, there are not zillions of people milling around you, no stench of urine, no constant sound of horns honking, no cars about to run you over, no exhaust blowing in your face and no trash everywhere. That really makes a difference in how hot/uncomfortable you feel. So, I totally understand K's discomfort index of 150+ degrees in the summer.
Another thing that I did not realize I would appreciate about being back in the USA is air-conditioned bathrooms. In S Asia, residences do not have central A/C, so if you want A/C in your bathroom, you have to install a unit in there and that would be be sort of ridiculous. So, we end up sweating when we have to go potty or brush our teeth. Not so here! In fact, at my parents' house, the bathroom is the coolest place in the house in summer.
I had forgotten that my old room gets the hottest in summer, so our first night in Houston Jerry and I were sweating. I was thinking, "I did not come all the way to the US from K to sweat in my sleep!" But problem solved - my dad put in a fan the next day. And on a related note, we are back to sleeping in a twin bed for the duration our of time here.
One of our friends relocated to England for five years and is letting Jerry drive his Mini Cooper this week. Not only is the Mini one of Jerry's favorite cars, it is bigger than the car we drive in K!
More later...
I never realized (until living in K) that Houston is a BEAUTIFUL city! It also has gorgeous blue skies, hardly any people and not much traffic. I love it here. And even though it is is in the low 90s and HUMID, it does not really bother us. However, there are not zillions of people milling around you, no stench of urine, no constant sound of horns honking, no cars about to run you over, no exhaust blowing in your face and no trash everywhere. That really makes a difference in how hot/uncomfortable you feel. So, I totally understand K's discomfort index of 150+ degrees in the summer.
Another thing that I did not realize I would appreciate about being back in the USA is air-conditioned bathrooms. In S Asia, residences do not have central A/C, so if you want A/C in your bathroom, you have to install a unit in there and that would be be sort of ridiculous. So, we end up sweating when we have to go potty or brush our teeth. Not so here! In fact, at my parents' house, the bathroom is the coolest place in the house in summer.
I had forgotten that my old room gets the hottest in summer, so our first night in Houston Jerry and I were sweating. I was thinking, "I did not come all the way to the US from K to sweat in my sleep!" But problem solved - my dad put in a fan the next day. And on a related note, we are back to sleeping in a twin bed for the duration our of time here.
One of our friends relocated to England for five years and is letting Jerry drive his Mini Cooper this week. Not only is the Mini one of Jerry's favorite cars, it is bigger than the car we drive in K!
More later...
Thursday, June 12, 2008
in Frankfurt
I have always wanted to visit Germany and now I am here, but confined to the Frankfurt airport. However, it's been nice so far! We walked off the plane down the stairs to the airport buses and were greeted with cool, crisp, clean air as well as nice, clean, not-broken-down buses.
A little bit of reverse culture shock is setting in as I am having a hard time not staring at all the white people and pointing them out to Jerry. Speaking of Jerry, he feels that Germany is too sterile and the jury's still out on whether he prefers this kind of atmosphere to the more "colorful" one in S Asia.
Well, we will be back in S Asia soon enough, so for now, I will enjoy the German efficiency and delight I experience going into the bathrooms here. The one down side, we wanted to eat sausage and kraut during our layover, but alas...
I would also like to say, that so far, I recommend flying Lufthansa. The food is decent, the plane was MUCH nicer than British Airways and the inflight entertainment is the kind where you have a choice of lots of movies that you can start and stop at your leisure. We saw The Other Boleyn Girl, Dan in Real Life and Definitely Maybe. I liked TOBG the most. Juliette Binoche was miscast in DIRL (in my opinion, and therefore reduced my enjoyment of the film). I still have 15 minutes to go on DM. I will catch the rest on the flight from here to Houston - my favorite city in the world!!!
A little bit of reverse culture shock is setting in as I am having a hard time not staring at all the white people and pointing them out to Jerry. Speaking of Jerry, he feels that Germany is too sterile and the jury's still out on whether he prefers this kind of atmosphere to the more "colorful" one in S Asia.
Well, we will be back in S Asia soon enough, so for now, I will enjoy the German efficiency and delight I experience going into the bathrooms here. The one down side, we wanted to eat sausage and kraut during our layover, but alas...
I would also like to say, that so far, I recommend flying Lufthansa. The food is decent, the plane was MUCH nicer than British Airways and the inflight entertainment is the kind where you have a choice of lots of movies that you can start and stop at your leisure. We saw The Other Boleyn Girl, Dan in Real Life and Definitely Maybe. I liked TOBG the most. Juliette Binoche was miscast in DIRL (in my opinion, and therefore reduced my enjoyment of the film). I still have 15 minutes to go on DM. I will catch the rest on the flight from here to Houston - my favorite city in the world!!!
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