November « 2013 « News and Views

November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving in Taiwan

Filed under: Family Updates — Daryl @ 5:45 am

We found a local restaurant that provides authentic Thanksgiving Day dinners, so Gisele, Devon and I got our ration of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries and pie. No silky chocolate pie, of course, but apple and pumpkin. Everything was really quite good. Devon said it was his first Thanksgiving dinner in three years.

It still wasn’t quite the same as being home with the extended family, but a lot better than nothing.

When the food came we dug in so enthusiastically that it was half gone before anyone thought to take a picture. I won’t ruin your appetite with the pictures we then took of half eaten plates.

Comments (3)

November 23, 2013

Chinese Superstition

Filed under: Computers, Tech & Science,Opinion — Daryl @ 1:18 am

Here’s a picture of the keypad in the elevator in my hotel. What’s wrong? Why?

Elevator

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November 22, 2013

Bagless in Taiwan

Filed under: Uncategorized — Daryl @ 10:13 pm

We arrived safely and on time after a pleasant trip across the wide Pacific Ocean, but Gisele’s suitcase did not. My bag was one of the first ones on the carousel, but in place of Gisele’s bag was a big sign asking us to contact airport personnel.

It turned out that the bag hadn’t made it on to the plane out of Tokyo, for unknown reasons. It would not arrive for another 24 hours.

I always pack a change of clothes in my carry on bag, and Gisele usually does too, but she neglected to this trip. After arriving at our hotel she went out to the night market and bought something clean to wear.

Otherwise everything is fine. Devon is doing fine, and we met his girlfriend of a year for the first time. Devon is off on the high speed train to the southern town of Tainan for a modeling job today, while Gisele and I are continuing to fight jet lag and rest.

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November 17, 2013

Taiwan again, in comfort this time

Filed under: Family Updates — Daryl @ 10:09 pm

Gisele and I are leaving Tuesday to spend three weeks in Taiwan with Devon. Since he can’t come home for Thanksgiving, we will celebrate it there with him. I doubt that we will find any turkey, but a chicken dish in a restaurant will have to do.

We wish Derek could come with us, but he’s in the middle of job hunting. It would be a shame to miss an opportunity because he was out of the country.

We always fly coach to Asia. Round trip coach tickets can be bought for around $1000, while business class costs closer to $5000 and first class is nearly $10,000. So we can tolerate a cramped seat for the 15 or so hours of flying it takes to get there.

But over the years we have accumulated enough miles on United that we were able to do a round-trip upgrade. Not all the way to first class, and not all the way to Taiwan, but we have business class tickets to and from Tokyo. That’s the longest 11-hour stretch, so the extra comfort will be very welcome. And best of all, United has just installed lie-flat beds on these flights in business, so we will be able to stretch out and really sleep! The bad part is that we will get spoiled and it will be hard to fly coach again, but we just can’t justify an extra $8000 between us every time we travel. This upgrade is a once-in-a-decade treat!

Lie Flat Beds

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November 8, 2013

Tolerance

Filed under: Opinion — Daryl @ 5:40 pm

I have traveled in Muslim countries before and I’m used to seeing women covering their hair as a matter of modesty. But sometimes when I see a women here with her hair all covered up in typical Muslim head covering, the thought passes through my mind, “Why don’t they just go with the local custom so they don’t stand out?”

But I think a good analogy is to imagine my wife, mother or sister traveling to, or being forced to live in, a country where it is customary for women to bare their breasts in public. Would I expect the women in my life to just “go along with the local custom”? No, I don’t think I would. The idea is deeply ingrained that it would be shameful, even if the locals wouldn’t care or notice.

I know that many women from Muslim countries feel the same shame and modesty about uncovering their hair, and I need to respect that, as long as they are doing it voluntarily. But I can’t push that tolerance to the point of accepting the full body covers that leave just a mesh to look through. That’s just inhumane, and I can’t believe any intelligent woman would voluntarily submit to it.