This is undoubtedly the oddest thing I have ever seen once arriving in southern Thailand.

Kids, teens and adults alike....all adorned with a facefull of white powder. The boy pictured here is only minimally covered. I've seen some of my kids come into my class (especially after lunch, when they have had a chance to shower and put on some fresh powder) looking like mimes. It really sets you back on your heels if you've never seen it before.

Naturally, I had to ask about it and was told that Thai's strive to be "White, white, white," because in Thai culture...

"White is right and Brown is wrong."

I notice it mostly in the early morning while walking to school, right after lunch and in the late evening. It's comical to me, but perfectly natural to the Thai people. You even see Thai's on local T.V. program's adorned with powdered faces. Really odd!

But, not so odd when you think about it....my travels to the Philippines, although not as strange as the white powdered face thing, saw many of the middle and upper class Filipino women walking about in the bright sunny day with an umbrella. My old flame Celerina (or Cely to her friends) told me once, "It is important to us not to become too dark skinned as dark skinned people are associated with the labor class and islanders."

So too is the reason here in Thailand, or so it seems. The funny thing is being a Westerner and coming from a land that "promotes" darker skin to look beautiful....Products on the shelves like "Quick Tan" and other commercial skin darkening products....whereas here in Thailand, you see just the opposite on T.V., commercials promoting skin whitening products and underlying themes that the girl with the whiter skin seems to get the guys.

I never saw this when I was in Bangkok, but then Bangkok is a bit more upscale and westernized than southern Thailand. But, I'm assured by my friends here in the south who have more Thailand travel time under their belts, that the white powdery faces are everywhere in Thailand and certainly not restricted to the less civilized south.

-Jeeem-
Posted by Hello

The old: “God I’m bored, but I still wanna post something” hoopla…

• Do not eat natural foods. I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.
• When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.
• The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.
• Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
• There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead (this is REALLY true in southeast Asia).
• Life is sexually transmitted.
• An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys.
• If quitters never win, and winners never quit, then who is the fool who said, "Quit while you're ahead?"
• Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
• The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.
• Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for months.
• Some people are like Slinkies: not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.
• Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
• Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder, no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?
• All of us could take a lesson from the weather: It pays no attention to criticism.
• Why does a slight tax increase cost you $2500 while a substantial tax cut saves you $25?
• In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
• How is it one careless match can start a forest fire but it takes the whole box to start a campfire?

[Thanks to Deb, aka: Midnight lace]

-Jeeem-

Malacca...The Damn Truth!

This photo of the famous Strait was taken from high atop the old fort in Malacca, during my visit to Malaysia in May.

A little history:

The Strait of Malacca is perhaps the most important sea route in the world, carrying over 50,000 vessels per year through this narrow passage that form the main passageway between the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Okay....enough history. Here's the deal...I've got this thing about swimming (or at least setting foot) in the major waters of the world. To my credit, I've swam or set foot in the Philippine Sea, Andaman ocean, South China sea, Pacific, Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. So, it makes sense that being so close to such a famous body of water as the Straits of Malacca.....

Yep, I just had to do it.

Only problem was...dragging poor Annie into my little scheme.

Like a trooper, she went along with my idea, holding my camera in hand, poised on high (and dry) land.

More to follow.....

-Jeeem-

Posted by Hello

See that? That's me way out there, knee deep in the Straits of Malacca!

Yep, I did it! Heh, heh....I REALLY did it!

By "Really" I mean I was S-T-U-C-K in the mud.

Minutes after Annie so graciously snapped this picture, I became stuck even worse....hip deep. Finally, after my pleading, Annie came to rescue me and ended up falling in the mud herself. Eventually some Portuguese restaurant owners ended up rescuing the "Stupid White Guy."

Annie and I lived to tell about it (although I think her version is less comical) and the two of us spent the rest of the afternoon hosing the mud off ourselves.
Posted by Hello

This is me and "Big Ben" one of the Portuguese guys who lent a hand to rescue the "Stupid White Guy." Ben made a good point, saying I was lucky they were nearby, as the tide was coming in rapidly.
Posted by Hello

This is my pal. His name is Mr. Soamboon Chlomusig. He speaks some pretty good English and operates one of the local stores here in our village, with his wife Wontip and daughter Watsanan.
-Jeeem-
Posted by Hello

This is a picture of me and some of the local kids in my neighborhood. A good number of the kids around here are my students.
-Jeeem-
Posted by Hello

Just a couple of noteworthy items:

First off, I am still sick. Ended up in the hospital last week and was finally seen by a doctor at Bangkok/Hatyai hospital, who said I had a severe case of bronchitis. The good news is: I don't have pneumonia. The bad news is: It's a virus and can only be treated symptomatically. So, I'm at home resting and trying to ride out this nasty illness that has plagued me for the past month and a half.

Secondly, although I have been able to log-on to the internet a few times and have successfully done a trial-run of the awesome "Hello" program by Picasa, my laptop is sh*tting the bed on me and I'll eventually have to take it in for repair or replacement (like I've got the money for that). I'm getting a continual "Operating System Not Found" on power-up, which I believe is a fan error.

So, if you don't see any posts from me for awhile again, that is the reason.

The nearest Dell repair station is in Penang, Malaysia....so I won't be taking it there. I'm hoping to find a local repair shop who knows how to work on Dell laptops and won't end up costing me an arm and a leg.

"When it rains, it pours...."

-Jeeem-

One of my ever-present pets
Posted by Hello

Recent internet news headline on Yahoo:


"FLORIDA TOURISM SUFFERS AFTER HURRICANES..."


Well "Duh!"

-Jeeem-