Billiards

Dear L,

Here are some photos from a night at a pool hall with Sam, taken with retrocam for Android.

 

The six ball.

 

About to shoot.

 

Focused.

Love,
D

Ao Nang, Krabi

Dear D,

From a morning stroll along the beach in Ao Nang in Krabi province. The tide was out so far that I was able to walk up to one of the karsts.

Love,

L

Thai Cats Sleep Funny

Whoa

Dear D,

Seems like your tiger mother Amy Chua stirred things up! I found this on nytimes: link

In other news, it continues to be chilly and overcast and my students have been discussing the recent snowfall in Burma--weeeeird weather.

I will be helping F with her English camp for the next two days! I'm in charge of teaching English with Salsa. I'm pretty excited and I should have some great photos of 10 year olds trying to side-to-side crusado shimmy by the end of it :) Stay tuned~

Love,
L

S-names

Dear D,

Yesterday my boss came into the office with a bowl of curry noodles, telling me that if I wanted some I should go to the main office where one of the teachers was giving out noodles to everyone. I asked why and she said it was because this year people with names beginning with S have to provide snacks to everyone, and frequently, in order to absolve themselves of sin.

I like that--give me some Cheetos and you will be cleansed...

love,
L

A Sampling of Student Christmas Cards

Dear D,

I know it's past Xmas, but thought I'd share anyway. All my students had to make Xmas cards for class, so I scanned some of the fun ones! I have a lot of talented students. :)



An exploding Xmas tree!



A sunburned and bearded snowman... And I still can't figure out why both of Doraemon's paws are in his magical pocket.


A criminal Santa and zombie snowman...with a belly button.

love,
L

The Man At The Post Office

Dear D,
My Thai arch nemesis works at the post office. He made me so furious today that I've decided to boycott his office, even though the next closest post office is another 10 minutes further by motorbike. This is why:
1. He points at random things and asks me to name them in Thai when all I'm trying to do is send a letter.
2. He mimics me and laughs when I stumblingly try to reply.
3. OH, did I mention he speaks perfect English?
4. EVERY time I try to send a package to the US he tries to convince me I have to pay 800+ baht at the minimum. I fell for this once, but TODAY I put my foot down, took my package one town over and the charming, smiling lady sent it for 300 baht. ?!?!??!

Wishing I could give that jerk a piece of my mind without making my school lose face,
L

Chinese women make great mothers

Dear L,

I stumbled upon this very interesting article, The Wall Street Journal: Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior, written by a Chinese mother (granted she is a Tiger, and I think female Tigers are some of the hardest!).  Here are some of my favorite quotes.

On school and sports:

Despite our squeamishness about cultural stereotypes, there are tons of studies out there showing marked and quantifiable differences between Chinese and Westerners when it comes to parenting. In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said either that "stressing academic success is not good for children" or that "parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun." By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way. Instead, the vast majority of the Chinese mothers said that they believe their children can be "the best" students, that "academic achievement reflects successful parenting," and that if children did not excel at school then there was "a problem" and parents "were not doing their job." Other studies indicate that compared to Western parents, Chinese parents spend approximately 10 times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children. By contrast, Western kids are more likely to participate in sports teams.

On fun:

What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences.

On political correctness:

The fact is that Chinese parents can do things that would seem unimaginable—even legally actionable—to Westerners. Chinese mothers can say to their daughters, "Hey fatty—lose some weight." By contrast, Western parents have to tiptoe around the issue, talking in terms of "health" and never ever mentioning the f-word, and their kids still end up in therapy for eating disorders and negative self-image.

On the strength of the child:

[Chinese mothers] assume strength, not fragility, and as a result they behave very differently.

On grades:

If a Chinese child gets a B—which would never happen—there would first be a screaming, hair-tearing explosion. The devastated Chinese mother would then get dozens, maybe hundreds of practice tests and work through them with her child for as long as it takes to get the grade up to an A. 

 A strong conclusion:

There are all these new books out there portraying Asian mothers as scheming, callous, overdriven people indifferent to their kids' true interests. For their part, many Chinese secretly believe that they care more about their children and are willing to sacrifice much more for them than Westerners, who seem perfectly content to let their children turn out badly. I think it's a misunderstanding on both sides. All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. The Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that.

Western parents try to respect their children's individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions, supporting their choices, and providing positive reinforcement and a nurturing environment. By contrast, the Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they're capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.

Love,
D

Art in Stockhome (video)

Dear L,

This is where I found the first song on the CD I made for you:

Vimeo commentary: Stockhome from Riccardo Tagliabue on Vimeo. Random things happening around where I live.  Mostly after-work. Canon 5DMkII, 50 f1.4, 28 f1.8, 24-105 f4.

And speaking of media, there's an Andy Warhol exhibit at Fotografiskamuseet (the museum of photography) between now and March 20th.  Maybe we can go!

Subway poster.

If we don't make the exhibit I'm sure something else fun will follow Andy.  Can't wait to welcome you to Stockholm.

Love,
D