A friend sent me these questions in an email. I thought you'd all like the answers, so I'm responding here. Let me know if you have any questions. If you ask something I think is of general interest, I'll write my answer here, with your permission.
1. What english-speaking news are you getting on TV – CNN International, Sky, BBC? all or none of the above? or are you simply getting your news through the internet (ex. washingtonpost.com)?
Until I was Dar Es Salaam, I wasn't getting the news at all. I rarely had a TV nearby and I didn't care enough about what was happening elsewhere to bother reading the news on the internet.
I started paying some attention to the news in Dar because that's where Abdul got wind of the protests in Egypt, and he was glued to the TV for a couple of days. So I watched with him, mostly the english-language Al Jazeera channel. I stopped paying attention again in Sri Lanka, but checked washingtonpost.com several times in Bangkok. But mostly to read Carolyn Hax's column and chat.
2. How is your body dealing with the loss of winter, if at all?
It's sweating a lot lol. Seriously, I'm not sure yet, but I expect it will screw up my sense of what month and even season it is when I get back to the States. When I first moved to North Carolina, I started having trouble remembering what month it was. I attributed that to the fact that NC's four seasons are vaguer than Ohio's or DC's. Winter is very short with no snow, and spring and fall last a really long time. So skipping winter entirely might mess me up the same way. I'm also missing some seasonal milestones, like the Superbowl, St. Patrick's Day, Passover, etc. that would otherwise keep me on schedule.
3. What’s the most exotic food/animal you’ve eaten in this trip?
At one Bangkok breakfast I ate something I couldn't identify, but my best guess is fried worm. Also in Bangkok I ate at a seafood restaurant that had a couple of live fish on the menu. I might have tried those, except that's something I'd want an audience for, because who would believe that I really ate something alive if I didn't have witnesses? Plus, it might have been absolutely disgusting and I didn't want to ruin the rest of my dining experience. So I got scallops instead.
4. Looking over the countries you’ve visited, it appears that except for Egypt, all the countries you went to may have had nice beaches…who had the best?
You may be disappointed to learn that I don't care about beaches and I've barely been on them. I stood in the Atlantic Ocean in Ghana, and in the Indian Ocean in Tanzania. But I didn't swim in either and neither place had what anyone would call a "nice beach." No, I take that back... some of Ghana's beaches looked nice, but no one swam in the water or lay in the sun. Whether that was because the beaches were dangerous or because the locals aren't big on swimming, I do not know.
Later in my trip I will have at least one stop that is nothing but beaches -- Tahiti -- so I'll get my fill there. Maybe Bali too. Check back at the end of my trip.
5. Was I the one that tried to discourage you from visiting Thailand because it was "too commercialized"?
No.
1. What english-speaking news are you getting on TV – CNN International, Sky, BBC? all or none of the above? or are you simply getting your news through the internet (ex. washingtonpost.com)?
Until I was Dar Es Salaam, I wasn't getting the news at all. I rarely had a TV nearby and I didn't care enough about what was happening elsewhere to bother reading the news on the internet.
I started paying some attention to the news in Dar because that's where Abdul got wind of the protests in Egypt, and he was glued to the TV for a couple of days. So I watched with him, mostly the english-language Al Jazeera channel. I stopped paying attention again in Sri Lanka, but checked washingtonpost.com several times in Bangkok. But mostly to read Carolyn Hax's column and chat.
2. How is your body dealing with the loss of winter, if at all?
It's sweating a lot lol. Seriously, I'm not sure yet, but I expect it will screw up my sense of what month and even season it is when I get back to the States. When I first moved to North Carolina, I started having trouble remembering what month it was. I attributed that to the fact that NC's four seasons are vaguer than Ohio's or DC's. Winter is very short with no snow, and spring and fall last a really long time. So skipping winter entirely might mess me up the same way. I'm also missing some seasonal milestones, like the Superbowl, St. Patrick's Day, Passover, etc. that would otherwise keep me on schedule.
3. What’s the most exotic food/animal you’ve eaten in this trip?
At one Bangkok breakfast I ate something I couldn't identify, but my best guess is fried worm. Also in Bangkok I ate at a seafood restaurant that had a couple of live fish on the menu. I might have tried those, except that's something I'd want an audience for, because who would believe that I really ate something alive if I didn't have witnesses? Plus, it might have been absolutely disgusting and I didn't want to ruin the rest of my dining experience. So I got scallops instead.
4. Looking over the countries you’ve visited, it appears that except for Egypt, all the countries you went to may have had nice beaches…who had the best?
You may be disappointed to learn that I don't care about beaches and I've barely been on them. I stood in the Atlantic Ocean in Ghana, and in the Indian Ocean in Tanzania. But I didn't swim in either and neither place had what anyone would call a "nice beach." No, I take that back... some of Ghana's beaches looked nice, but no one swam in the water or lay in the sun. Whether that was because the beaches were dangerous or because the locals aren't big on swimming, I do not know.
Later in my trip I will have at least one stop that is nothing but beaches -- Tahiti -- so I'll get my fill there. Maybe Bali too. Check back at the end of my trip.
5. Was I the one that tried to discourage you from visiting Thailand because it was "too commercialized"?
No.
I ate a live fish once. In a Korean restaurant in northern Virginia (probably Falls Church or Annandale; can't remember). (The fish gasped for air each time somebody pulled a piece of flesh off. It was fairly disturbing.) So, (now that I've made it sound so appealing) if you feel like you missed out, you can experience it at home!!
ReplyDeleteMmm, I can't wait [she says in a skeptical voice].
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I swallowed some live goldfishes when I was pledging my fraternity. I was pretty drunk at the time. So that's an alternative option.
ReplyDeleteYou said: At one Bangkok breakfast I ate something I couldn't identify, but my best guess is fried worm.
ReplyDeleteI say: EWWWWWWW!
And Ashley's story about that poor live fish. Horrible! And definitely disturbing.