News and Views

That’s how much my electric bill was this billing month (which ends on the 17th). Last year it was $174.09. I guess my solar panels are starting to pay back! And $15 of that is a fixed fee, so we really only bought about $15.71 worth of electricity from SRP.

Of course, it’s not really a fair comparison since we were gone 3 of the 4 weeks covered by this bill. Before we left, the run rate was predicting a bill of about $80. Most of the days we were gone the system made more energy than the empty house consumed. Apollo was here, but he usually leaves the thermostat alone and rarely turns on the TV. Derek came over every day and watched some TV, but not nearly as much as Gisele and I do.

Anyway, the March bill will be a more fair comparison.

I posted a few days ago about mixed marriages. Interestingly, the Pew Research Group just published a survey on mixed marriages in the US. A few results:

— About 15% of all new marriages in the US in 2010 were interracial, compared with less than 7% in 1980.

— About 9% of white, 17% of black, and 27% of Asian newlyweds in 2010 were in interracial marriages. I think this may partially reflect the ratio of available partners in the general population. If you are non-white, there are many more potential white spouses than of your own race.

— Broken down by gender, white men and women were about equally likely to enter interracial marriages (9%), but Asian women were at 36% vs. Asian men at less than 17%. This mirrored the street scene I saw in Thailand.

— Interracial marriages in general are more likely to divorce, with a notable exception that Asian/white marriages were LESS likely to divorce than white/white marriages.

Here’s a picture I took out the window of the plane on our way to Taiwan. It is Alaska, near where the Kenai Peninsula joins the mainland.

It may seem surprising that we flew over Alaska going from San Francisco to Tokyo, but if you stretch a string between those cities on a globe, you see that it really is the shortest route. Looking at flat maps skews our perception of the round world.

And here’s a picture in the TV studio where Devon was recording his daily program, “Read the news, Learn English” (it sounds better in Chinese!). They let Gisele and I attend the taping one morning. You can see the teleprompter just to the right of the monitor, though you can’t see the text from this angle. The Chinese prompts are all in Chinese characters, which is forcing Devon to quickly learn to read!

Here’s a link to the completed show.

It only took 22 hours from Hotel to Home. That involved changing planes in Tokyo and San Francisco.

Interestingly, we got to celebrate Valentine’s Day twice. We left Taiwan and Tokyo in the morning of February 14, and as we flew east the sun set and then rose again — and we arrived in San Francisco on the morning of February 14.

Crossing the International Date Line is weird.

It was interesting in Thailand to note the prevalence of mixed relationships, almost always male Caucasians with female Asians. Walking down the street in Chiang Mai, especially, it seemed that white men were more likely to be with an Asian woman than with a white woman.

There seem to be mixed feelings about these mixed relationships too, though nothing was ever expressed openly. A lot of American and European men go to Thailand because of the reputation that it’s easy to find an easy girlfriend, and a lot of Thai girls think that white men have money. There is often an assumption that every mixed relationship is formed on those bases.

So there I am walking down the street with my Asian wife, thinking “I’m not the same as you guys. My relationship is a long term marriage based on love and mutual respect.”

But then I realize that I am falling into the same stereotyping error that I fear others are applying to me. Those couples are probably just as likely to be serious as any couples I see on the street in any city in the world. I think couples everywhere start out on more practical than romantic basis anyway, including physical and economic attractions, but what matters is how they develop and grow.

I certainly can’t imagine that I could have done better than I did with another woman of any race or background.

Yesterday we went on another tour.

First to the “Floating Market”, where we went out in a little boat to other little boats selling things. Mostly fruit and tourist trinkets. Certain members of our party had to buy things, of course, but everything was cheap so the $10 or so won’t break us.

Then to an elephant show, where about 15 elephants performed tricks, played soccer, and simulated a battle. Cheesy and a little sad for these magnificent animals, but entertaining nevertheless.

Then a Cobra show. Handlers grabbed them by the tails, dodged away from their strikes, and shot their hands out to grab them by the neck. They milked one to show that they still had venom. In an exciting but disturbing segment, they dropped a cobra into a cage with a mongoose. It was no contest, as the mongoose had the cobra by the head in seconds. They pulled the cobra out, bloody but alive, much to the anger of the mongoose.

Then to a crocodile show. Handlers pulled them around by the tail, put their hand and head in their mouths. It was amazing how suddenly they can snap their mouths shut. It seems like a mouse trap; instantaneous.

Finally we saw a Thai boxing demonstration,where hands, elbows, feet and knees all are used to strike the opponent. It was all staged, of course, but pretty neat. That was followed by a cultural show, with a traditional wedding in full costume. That couple must have been married 1000 times by now.

Back to the hotel for a rest, and today we fly back to Taiwan for a few more days.

The hotel here is unbelievable. It is a standard 3 star hotel, fine accommodations, but is located in a tiny, crowded alley full of shops and street vendors selling all kinds of local foods and fruits. The alley is only wide enough for one car at a time, but not marked one way, so cars, people, motorcycles and street vendors all jostle and compete for space and passage. It feels like the heart of Bangkok

Yesterday we rode an elephant. It was a long, 45 minute ride through the jungle, up and down a hill and across a river. It was fun. Here’s a picture of a picture I took with my camera phone. It’s not very clear, but it’s the only way I have to upload pictures right now.

Afterwards we went to see tigers and had the chance to pet and hug one. Some of our party took the chance, but Gisele and I declined and just watched.

Today we went to a large national park and drove to the top of the highest mountain in Thailand. It’s only about 8000 feet high, but it was quite cool at the top. We also saw a couple of pagodas. We ended the day with a full body Thai massage.

Tomorrow we fly to Bangkok, where we will spend a couple of days before heading back to Taiwan.

I didn’t get a chance to post a blog while we were in Taiwan last week, but having been there several times it doesn’t seem too “postable”. Devon had the week off for Chinese new year, so we got to spend lots of time with him. We went to the Taipei Costco, which is very similar to the US version. There are lots of different foods, and most items are different brands, but the general layout and merchandise is about the same, even with the free food samples and the hot dog/soft drink combo at the food court.

We arrived in Phuket, Thailand a couple of days ago, in time for the wedding of Gisele’s nephew Tim. Today we flew to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. We are enjoying it much more here. The villa we stayed at in Phuket was far from town, but here we are in the middle of the city, with a great restaurant downstairs and a night market across the street.

We have arranged a tour tomorrow. We’ll probably see elephants and tigers and I don’t know what else. We’ll be in Chiang Mai for three nights, then two nights in Bangkok before heading back to Taiwan for a few more days.

We’re going on a trip.

Wednesday morning Gisele and I leave for Taiwan where we will spend a week (and part of the Chinese New Year holiday) with Devon.

Then we go to Thailand for a week, where Gisele’s nephew is getting married. The wedding is on the resort island of Phuket, but we will also visit the famous city of Chiang Mai, and spend a couple of days in Bangkok.

Finally we go back to Taiwan for another week with Devon before returning to the states.

Derek unfortunately has classes and is not able to travel with us this time. He and Apollo will have to keep each other company.

Devon was the main actor in a commercial for a new video game. The commercial was just filmed yesterday and won’t be published for a couple of months, but here’s a picture of him in costume.

I didn’t recognize him at first. He said it was just about the most fun he has ever had. He was flying in a harness, and there was lots of green screen work that will be filled in later with CGI.

The game is “Maple Story”, by the way.