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Thanks for that interesting personal history. You had a fine education, and now I can better understand your connection to southeast Asia.
A while back, I had a discussion on this site with Andrea regarding unusual sports team names. She told me about the "Cheesemakers" of Tillamook and the "Sandcrabs" of your Florida High School. (DIG, DIG!) Considering the Ole and Lena jokes all of us Minnesotans know so well, "Oles" is a pretty good one too.
I love those too! The only prison you can walk out at your own discretion...
4 years agoIt’s completely bizarre. People still pin their hopes on her, though. I agree, that defense was gravely off-base and disingenuous.
4 years agoIt's hard to fathom the motivations behind Aung San Suu Kyi's public announcement regarding the Rohingya mess. It was very disappointing to hear her sound like Donald Trump -- "maybe some people did some things not government sanctioned, maybe they didn't, we can't control what happens..."
4 years agoNothing like a DQ cone, curl intact, to brighten a toasty day!
4 years agoGood grief! That does not sound like fun at all.
I vote for tuk-tuk speed and distances that allow you to take time to listen to the chipmunks and drink the fancy Thai coffee.
How lucky to stumble upon the opportunity to attend this festival .. and to stay in such a great place!
4 years agoWhat a view! And it's fun to imagine the sound of the birds and the mysterious chipmunk.
4 years agoNo... Chang is beer !! ;-)
4 years agoHi Gregory,
Ok, I admit it, I was an Ole. Attending St. Olaf changed my life because I hooked onto a semester abroad in Asia in 1974. I completely fell in love with all aspects of Asian cultures. In fact, I quit St. Olaf at the end of the semester while still in Thailand. I wrote them a letter saying that after studying Japanese, Chinese and Thai cultures I felt the program was unfinished and needed to continue to India. And that’s where I went. Upon returning to the States I attended the University of MN in Asian Studies. At the time, ironically, St. Olaf offered no classes on Asia. None! The University however had one of the best programs in the country for Asian Studies. I feel honored and lucky to have been able to attend both St. Olaf and the University of Minnesota.
I remember years ago there was a yearly contest (by whomever) as to which college campus in the country had the most beautiful campus. Carlton and St. Olaf took turns winning every other year - St. Olaf for its buildings and Carlton for its grounds. I agree, there can't be more beautiful buildings than those at St. Olaf.
I moved from Mpls. to Portland, Oregon in 1983 but my entire family is in the Mpls. area.
Ron, I guess I didn't really answer your question. The Thais treat us the same way the Burmese do although the Burmese character is more outgoing and effusive than the Thais. But the Thais are very curious, kind, considerate, gracious and friendly. Thais are great.
4 years agoYour right. People flock to the crowded spots and end up missing so much. We went to the Grand Canyon this April and the ranger told us that the average length of time people spend there is like 90 minutes! And it was packed! Well, at least the South Rim and gift shop areas. Cattle. Mooooo!
4 years agoWe've been the only tourists everywhere we have gone in Thailand and I think it's because of where we go. Even though these ancient sites are amazing not many tourists go there for some reason. I bet we haven't seen more than 8 tourists since entering Thailand three weeks ago. Tourism is down we have heard but I still think we don't see them because of where we cycle - small towns away from the tourist centers. Same thing in Myanmar. 90% of tourists in either country go to the same big touristy areas. Humans man, they're pack animals or lemmings.
4 years agoAgreed. Same with rubber, palm oil, and tapioca.
4 years ago
Yes, that's what it's actually called.
4 years agoWhat we in North America generally refer to as "asphalt" is technically asphaltic concrete, consisting of aggregate and a bituminous binder.
The stuff we call "concrete" is technically Portland cement concrete and consists of aggregate in a binder made of Portland cement and water. [From Wikipedia: In his 1824 cement patent, Joseph Aspdin called his invention "Portland cement" because of the its resemblance to Portland stone.]