Royal Tailors
Bangkok, Thailand
January 3, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
From Boca Raton , in sunny South Florida , my generous friend and once-upon-a-time mother-in-law, Helga D. sent me this New Year’s message:
"Jan, while you are freezing your ass off in China I will do the same in Antarctica. I am leaving in the middle of January for a cruise on the Explorer II."
Beijing
People's Republic of China
January 5, 2008
Clear and Cold
Dear Family and Friends,
Sorry, sports fans. "Yu Li to Song Na to Xin Ying" is not the double-play combination on the Chinese Baseball Team in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Yu Li (Lily) and Song Na (Jasmine) and Xin Ying (Elsa) are my never-let-me-out-of-their-sight girl-guides in this capital city of 15.2 million.
{C}
Beijing
People's Republic of China
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
In New York City, the exquisite white marble, Neo-Gothic St. Patrick's Cathedral sits on bustling and narrow Fifth Avenue and not in the middle of Central Park. The venerable French Gothic Notre Dame de Paris sits on the Île de la Cité and not in le jardin des Tuileries. But in Beijing where The Son of Heaven prayed for good harvests, the Temple of Heaven sits in the middle of a 267 hectare (660 acre) public park.
Beijing
Bandaling District
China
Monday
January 7, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Here’s what I thought: “Book a tour. Ride a bus. Buy a ticket. Climb up on to the Wall. Then, take a leisurely stroll along the Wall.” I was correct, except for that last part. Listen . . . .
Jasmine went back to work but she enlisted her former colleague and good friend Elsa to be my guide for the day.
Phanna Duriyavijitr
Nang Rong
Buriram
Thailand
December 3, 2007
Dear Phanna,
(cc: Family and Friends)
Thank you for inviting me to the Taeng Ngan, the wedding, of your former student Wiphawadee (Ut). Ut married Blake, a young man from Karratha, Western Australia.
As I understand it, here is "the story":
Tel Aviv
Israel
June 13, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
Boker tov. Good morning.
I just finished a tasty Israeli salad and a satisfactory cup of coffee at an outdoor café on the campus of Tel Aviv University.
The University sits on a hillside, and from the cafe I have a fine sunny view of the suburbs. In the distance I count at least four tall construction booms swaying back and forth over this busy city that seems to be growing in all directions.
I am shocked at what I see here at the University. But in a good way. Despite the fact that too many of the kids are smokers, there is not one cigarette butt anywhere. The students are neatly dressed and attractive. There are no scruffy outfits or torn jeans or gatkes hanging out. The lawns are green and smooth. The trees are pruned. There is not a paper bag or plastic cup rolling around. Not one poster or handbill is pasted on any wall or lamppost. No graffiti defaces any building. This campus is a clean and beautiful parkland.
