An Interesting Week

This week I attended a concert, took a tour of Greenwich, and had dinner with a Czech friend with interesting stories to tell. It was a week with a touch of entertainment, education, history, and international intrigue.

Concert

The concert was performed by pupils from the Yehudi Menuhin School which is an international school for musically gifted kids. I discovered the concert when a group of pupils from the school played at the Christmas luncheon for my American Women's group. These kids are amazing.

We were treated to piano, cello, and violin performances by the following students:

• A 19 year-old from Azerbaijan
• A 13 year-old from South Korea
• A 15 year-old from United Kingdom
• An 18 year-old from Taiwan

The 15 year-old performed her entire piece on the piano with only her left hand.

Can you imagine sending your young teenager to a school halfway around the world? These talented kids are awe-inspiring.

Greenwich

My English Experience group took a day trip to Greenwich, located on the east side of London. We stood on the Prime Meridian of the world, at Longitude Zero degrees, one foot in the Eastern Hemisphere, and one foot in the Western Hemisphere. This is the home of "Greenwich Mean Time". 

Harrison's first sea clock

At the Royal Observatory we saw the historical clocks made by John Harrison that were the first to keep accurate time on a rolling ship, enabling more precise navigation. Having read the book, Longitude, that told the story of the clocks, it was exciting to see them in person. These clocks still work over 200 years later.

The sea clocks evolved into this sea watch

We saw the Greenwich Time Ball that has risen and fallen at 1 pm every day for 180 years so that ships on the nearby Thames river can set their clocks.

Greenwich Time Ball

Our guide took us through a residential area of Greenwich and pointed out a house with a decorative transom window above the door. He told us that long ago, before people were literate, the design of the transom window was used like an address. People could locate a particular house by matching the window to a drawing.

Example of a decorative transom window

Czechoslovakia Refugee

Finally, dinner on the 8th floor of the Oxo Tower on the banks of the Thames River, with a stunning view of the nighttime skyline of London. 

Oxo Tower Brasserie

Our dinner companions were a work friend of Chris's and his wife. Irena was born in Czechoslovakia but left with her family when she was 10 years old in 1968 before the Communists took over. She grew up in London and became an attorney. Her parents were blacklisted for leaving the country. They were prosecuted in absentia and given a jail sentence if they were to ever return. Irena is so grateful to England for taking her family in.

When the Czech borders were opened in 1990, the country was anxious to have skilled professionals come back and rebuild the country and its economy. Similarly, the exiled people were anxious to return to their country and to their families left behind. Irena took a job in Prague for three years but was ready to return to the country she grew up in, England.

My great grandparents came to America from Czechoslovakia so I feel a connection to Irena. 

I was happy to have the opportunities this week to broaden my horizons during my time abroad.

What is Art?

What is art?  The dictionary defines it as:

The quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

I am no expert on art but as I went on a walk yesterday checking out the recent snowfall, I thought about what art means to me.

The stereotypical art masterpiece, the "Mona Lisa", came to mind. When we were in Paris this summer, a visit to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa was a must do.

We wondered why this painting, out of all the beautiful artwork displayed in the museum, was so popular? Crowds were jostling to get near it to take photos. There were other paintings in the same room that were much bigger and even prettier, I thought. Just not as famous.

Mona Lisa at the Louvre

A few months ago, we attended a private after-hours tour of the National Gallery in London arranged by the Shell Ex-Pat organization. A tour guide focused on just three paintings out of the huge collection. She talked us through each one, getting us to notice various aspects and explaining what the artist was trying to portray.

I got more out of that brief but insightful one-hour tour than I would have going through the entire place on my own. Afterwards, over a glass of wine, someone pondered: "Did the painter really intend all that meaning? Or are we just making it all up?"

I have decided art is in the eye of the beholder. Here is the "art" I observed on my snowy stroll through the neighborhood:

I have decided I am a fan of art in nature.

However, I also consider this bowl of colorful pasta from Italy as art!

What does art mean to you?

Interesting Thailand Tidbits

We are home from our 2-week Thailand trip and I have one final list of interesting items to share.

• Stray dogs were everywhere. Good thing Alice wasn't with us. She would be wanting to pet every dog and some of them looked diseased with bad skin.

• Masks. Quite a few people were wearing masks to cover their noses and mouths. Not sure if they were avoiding germs or not wanting to spread them. The two girls giving Lexi and me our spa treatments at the fancy hotel were wearing them. Sort of makes you feel dirty.

Water Taxi ticket taker wearing mask

• Spray Nozzle in bathroom. Like a bidet in a toilet I guess. Even the nice bathrooms had these. Sometimes there was no toilet paper in a public restroom, I guess you were supposed to make do with the spray nozzle. I learned to always carry a packet of tissues with me. In fact, the welcome bag our tour agency gave us contained a pack of tissues, now I know why. 

• Squatty Potty. This almost deserves a blog post on its own. Most of the bathrooms we visited had the western style toilet we are used to. But occasionally, we were faced with the Asian Squatty Potty. Here is a picture of one that I found on someone else's blog:

Asian Squatty Potty

Place your feet on the ridged sides, squat down, and hope you have good aim. Take a bucket of water and pour in to flush. Don't put any tissue in it. There, now don't you feel very cosmopolitan having learned this?

• Royal Family is loved by Thai people. Pictures of the King are everywhere. He is 85 and has been in the hospital for 3 years, no one knows why.

King of Thailand

• Poinsettias grow wild.

• Fork and Spoon are used to eat, not chopsticks. Rarely was there a knife provided.

• Scooters are very popular. We saw families of 4 all riding on one together. Kids were being taken to school on them. Moms carry babies while driving them. We saw a dog riding on the handlebars of one. Small kids ride them. Our guide said he started learning to drive one when he was 8 years old. 

Family on Scooter

• Thai people are friendly and happy. They are all anxious to give a greeting with a slight bow and hands together. Whatever you ask them, they generally say "Yes", because they don't want to disappoint you.

• National Anthem Drill on January 1st. We were warned the night before that there would be a drill at 8 am. There was no explanation given but you have to assume it has to do with testing the emergency warning system after what happened with the 2004 tsunami. It just seemed like a strange time to have the national anthem blaring out of speakers at the resort so early in the morning after ringing in the New Year. 

Time to Leave Thailand

On our last night in Thailand, we watched the sunset while having drinks at the Grotto Bar at the hotel.  It's time to leave. Chris's sunburn is getting better. I am finally comfortable saying Hello in Thai: "Sawatdee Kaa". Lexi's single pair of daily disposable contact lenses have lasted the 14 days we were gone (thank goodness). She forgot to pack fresh lenses and eyeglasses. Ryan's arms and legs are covered in mosquito bites. Could it be from all the time he spent standing outside the hotel library skyping? And we have cut way back on asking "Is it spicy?" before we eat anything.

We are refreshed, enlightened by the different culture we learned about, and sad that it has to end. But we take with us memories that will last a lifetime.

After a long 13 and 1/2 hour flight, we are back in London with fresh orchid corsages handed out on the plane for the ladies. A sweet ending.

Beach Time

December 30

We are now at the beach after flying south to Krabi and taking a boat to get to the Rayavadee hotel. This resort is huge, covering 26 acres. We are staying in a 2 story bungalow. It figures that beach flip-flops are provided in all the rooms after our shopping expedition in Bangkok to buy some for Ryan.

December 31

Excitement at our breakfast table. A monkey snuck in to the restaurant and hopped up on our table and snatched a piece of ham from Chris's plate. A waiter scared it off after pulling a sling shot out of his pocket. That was one fast monkey.

After resting by the pool yesterday, we were ready for a day trip. We kayaked through a peaceful mangrove forest and picturesque lagoons. We saw "grand canyon" cliffs, caves, and an ancient painting on a cliff wall of a fish. We also saw 2 monkeys sitting in the trees eating a package of cookies. We were told to be careful of the monkeys who like to steal things like cameras and food.

Then we took a speed boat to the Hong Islands. Along the way we saw the hotel where a scene from the movie "Hangover 2" was filmed. We had a picnic lunch on a small secluded beach. Our tour guide spread out mats on the sand for us and a small table where we enjoyed our packed lunch from the hotel right in front of the lapping waves. Loved it.

 

Finally, we snorkeled among tropical fish before returning to the hotel to get ready to ring in the new year. We attended the New Year's Eve party at the hotel next to ours with a buffet dinner on the beach and fireworks over the water. So ended another day in paradise and an exotic year abroad.

Elephant Experience

December 29

This morning we learned how to handle elephants. The hotel has a program to rescue mistreated elephants. When tree logging was made illegal in Thailand, many elephants (and their handlers) were out of work. The program "rents" the elephants and their handlers by paying them to give hotel guests an experience with the elephants. The handlers, called mahouts, are provided a place to live with their families at the elephant camp as well as health care, food for the elephants, and vet service. In return, they provide elephant training.

We each had our own elephant. We were shown how to get on and off by having the elephant lower down. To make the elephant go you say "bye" and kick behind both ears. To turn you say "ben" and kick behind the opposite ear from the direction you want to turn. To go backwards, you lean back. It really works, but then again the mahout was right there saying the commands. My elephant was a 53 year old female and a little slow. We got along well. Lexi's was a 17 year old female named Jenny, short for Jennifer Lopez. She is a star in Elephant Polo, no joke. Chris's was Lana and Ryan's was Bo.

After about 2 hours with our elephants we rode them back to the hotel. It was a very cool, one of a kind adventure.