I cannot say enough good things about Singapore Airlines (SA). As someone who travels internationally and domestically every month of the year and who owns a passport that looks like a well-loved teddy bear headed off to college, I have seen my fair share of airlines. My recent meetings in Sydney with major retailers and …
culture
#1 – Dearth
dearth /dərTH/ Noun A scarcity or lack of something: “there is a dearth of evidence”. Synonyms scarcity – shortage – lack – want – deficiency – famine Last night I was writing some Facebook posts about my favorite football team, Chelsea. I was looking to use the word “dearth”. I knew it in my head, …
Gratitude or Not My Week?
This has not been my week. It started on Sunday when I thought I was in the clear, but ended up in a fight over dog poop with the missus. With my self-esteem in the toilet I had to* play soccer on Tuesday night only to cost the team the win for a 2-2 tie …
Sexually Repressed in Taiwan!
WHAT! I just saw a little bit of “When Harry Met Sally” on TV today. (Yes, 1989 films are about as modern as Taiwan television gets here.) Regardless, THE SCENE WAS ALMOST 100% CUT! It went from “Are you ok”, Harry crosses arms, then “I’ll have what she’s having.” SHOCK! No uncomfortable glances over the …
What is in a name?
I am having a tough time getting the picture to look right, but you guys get the idea. This is a simple worksheet of what to call the people in your family in Asia. In the U.S. everybody is just Aunt “So and So” and Uncle “John.” Grandma and Grandpa might be differentiated by first …
Language
One of the strangest things I am doing now is taking Japanese classes. Not because that in itself is strange, but because my teacher does not speak much English. This means I mostly use Chinese to communicate and ask questions (no-no #1 in learning an Asian language). It actually works out pretty well. I routinely …
Mr. Shrimp approves of you eating Mr. Shrimp!
There is something not quite right to me about having your food approve or appear happy about you eating it. I have mentioned this before with Mr. Cow. Now on the street in Taipei, outside KFC, I find Mr. Shrimp lounging in a deep fat fried shrimp ring??? What??? That could be his friend, or …