Africa: How big is huge ?

by Jamie Rhein on

A few years ago, I was asked to be a guest speaker at a conference geared towards teachers. Each session had to do with either Japan, Germany and Africa. So, there you have it. A vast, diverse, complicated continent with the same billing as two countries. I narrowed my topic down to comparing Nigeria and The Gambia.

To really see Africa’s impact all one needs to do is see which of the world’s countries can fit inside it.

The statistics are staggering. Africa’s square miles are hard to wrap ones mind around. The first time I went there, I thought it would be easy to country hop from The Gambia to Kenya. Yeah, right. Going back to the U.S. was easier. What other countries could you add into the 29,843,826 of the countries represented here without going over? Singapore for sure. [via A Welsh View]

Combine caffeine and naps for jet lag help

by Jamie Rhein on

Here’s what I do to deal with jet lag. I don’t go to sleep much before I travel. I think I was a hamster in my past life. I’m the type who wants to get every last project done, every last dish washed, every last chore behind me before I head out the door. I ruminate. I become more compulsive than usual.

Sometimes, I stay up so late that going to bed may not make sense. That’s what happened before the good-deed travel Mexico trip. It got to be 4:00 a.m. and I thought, I’m getting up in two hours anyway, so why bother? I slept on the plane on and off, and went to bed early the following night. When I travel across time zones, this staying up late makes me tired enough that the jet lag is not as noticeable. I’m thrown off already, what’s a bit more?

When I was living in Singapore, one of my closest friend’s parents visited from the U.S. They are the hearty, cross-country skiing type who stay on a scheduled routine. Their answer to jet lag was to go on a long hike through the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve almost as soon as they arrived at our apartment. Our complex edged the preserve which made hiking there pretty darned convenient. They went to bed when they normally do, and seemed not to suffer much. Getting out in the air and sunshine is one way diminish that groggy, disheveled feeling.

There was an article recently in the New York Times that explains how a combination of coffee and naps can help thwart jet lag. I suppose this is what I do, but less scientifically. I always order coffee and a club soda when I fly. Coffee for the boost, and soda water for the hydration. It feels fancier than regular water. Anything one can do to spruce up travel in my opinion.

The photo is of my 2nd cup of coffee on the Southwest flight. It’s slightly out of focus, but then, so was I.

Les Misérables: Cross-cultural wonder

by Jamie Rhein on

I saw Les Misérables the first time in Singapore when the touring company came through. There were Chinese subtitles of the lyrics projected on screens at the sides of the stage or across the top. I can’t remember which. Three of the cast members came to the school where I was teaching to talk with students about their lives as actors and about touring internationally. Afterwards, for a brief while, I had Les Mis fever. The symptoms being: the songs play over and over and over again in your head; you feel deliciously depressed and uplifted at the same time; and you feel like stopping repression somehow–somewhere–some way.

One of the wonderful things about living overseas is being a part of something that has universal appeal, even if it just means sitting in an audience. Here’s something that tops the feeling I had when I sat in the 12th row of the orchestra to the left of center stage.

For the 10th anniversary celebration of Les Misérables there was a concert at Royal Albert Hall that included 17 different Jean Valjeans from different countries, each singing a few lines of “Do You Hear the People Sing” and “One Day More” in their native language. I found it on YouTube. Watching it gave me a touch of Les Mis fever.

Durian, the food that the “Bizarre Foods” guy spit out

by Jamie Rhein on

Andrew Zimmern spit out durian. He ate a beating frog’s heart in the Asia overview episode of Bizarre Foods, but the durian was a no go. As Neil wrote in a post on another foul food, durian is one nasty smelling fruit, unless you’re a person who likes the smell. Some do. Some must. There are piles of the fruit in Singapore and Malaysia. Why would there be piles if people don’t like the smell?

We had a durian tree in our backyard in Singapore, but let other people have it when it was ripe. We were told that it didn’t smell when it was on the tree. The only time I smelled durian were the piles in the market. I used to wonder how people got them home since durians aren’t allowed on buses or subways because they smell that bad.

Although durian smelled so foul that I never managed to eat any in its fruit form, I did eat durian ice-cream and cookies with durian paste filling. Both of them are good. Here’s a Web site that highlights different ways durian is prepared. The chips look interesting. I’d eat those just to see what they taste like. If you want durian fruit in its pure form, chill it. It’s supposed to taste better that way. Hold your nose, though–unless you like the smell.

Chinese restaurant food: What’s not authentic?

by Jamie Rhein on

The fortune cookie isn’t the only food that is not authentically Chinese. There are others–some I knew about just because many dishes served at Chinese restaurants in the U.S. didn’t originate in China, or if they did, have been altered to suit American palates. Most of the Chinese food I ate in Taiwan or Singapore didn’t look or taste similar to the food we pile on our plates at the China Buffet near our house in Columbus, Ohio. Although, it is a perfect place to eat with young children, unless you’re Anthony Bourdain, and, in that case, the food barely resembles food at all, authentic it’s not.

Back to Chinese food that didn’t hail from the “old country” meaning China. In this photo essay, Jennifer 8 Lee, New York Times reporter and writer of the book Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food, presents info about food related items associated with China, but they aren’t really Chinese. Broccoli, for example, is not Chinese. That broccoli-chicken dish is an American version, although broccoli has made its way to Taiwan. I imagine there’s probably an altered American/Chinese version there. I don’t recall. I was too busy stuffing my face with other dishes.

Lee also knows a lot about what is Chinese culture and not Chinese culture about other food related topics, such as food containers. Cardboard cartons for Chinese take-out were created and popularized in the U.S., but Taiwan has a love affair going with Styrofoam. Environmentally friendly habits are not Taiwan’s strong suit. I do know that from experience. The few details presented in the photo essay, besides making me feel a bit hungry, put me in the mood for checking out Lee’s book.