Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

For someone that has lived for years in the tropics, the coming of the monsoon has become more of a signature for passing times than change of seasons.  And just as past years, the author getting his "start-of-rainy-season" diarrhea and fever (quite literally) as the first rains of the monsoon land in Iringa.  Even as he holds his stomach in pain on the bed for much of the day, he cannot forget the romanticism that he has come to witness every time this year as he retraces the memories of the first rains in tropical Southeast Asia .

上周，著者曾以當事人的角度觀察了 本組織的同事們是如何以一種表面上的不以爲是來打發一個令人悲傷的新聞 。很可惜的是，這件以同時男友被殺害開始，以其同事的心理崩潰而突然離開組織而結束的故事并未在最近的一個星期繼續發酵，以至著者無法再以實際事例證明這件事情對所有人的持續傷害。但可以肯定的是，即便這件事情永遠不再同事間的會話中被再次提起，它對這個組織，特別是對其抱有“在非洲拯救世界”理想心態的所有外國雇員的心理打擊是持續的，所造成的心裏陰影是永遠的。

In the downtown areas of Iringa, there is the usual array of Tanzanian eateries serving local favorites like rice and beans, chips, and grilled meat, along with localized versions of Chinese, Indian, and Western favorites. Some of the more high-end restaurants frequented by moneyed local businessmen, officials, and foreign tourists on their way to nearby national parks try even harder to specialize those local favorites in a more higher-end setting. The result is restaurants that, while still fitting for the local environment, create more sanitary and secluded environments for foodies, local and foreign.

In his now 27 years of existence, the author has never been to a proper wedding.  To him, the pompous ceremony is cringe-worthy in its underlying meaning beyond all the obvious pomp.  The cheesiness of exchanging vows to be side-by-side forever always have that fearful element of a permanent contract between two people, one that requires enforcement through changes in circumstances and personalities.  A wedding is, beyond ceremonial symbolism, a real symbolism of newly required maturity, one that the author is be no means ready to accept .

The more one learns a language, the more one starts to notice the unique subtleties that are idiosyncratic, but can at the same time conflicting. My  journey in mastering the Swahili language  spoken in Tanzania sees plenty of previously foreign pieces of linguistic rules being understood as things that are inherently local. For instance, Swahili words don't have any consonants endings. Foreign loanwords, for instance, generally end with the letter "i" to ensure consonants do not finish any word when pronounced.

As part of his work in rural Tanzania, I attended weekly one-on-one classes to master the local lingua franca that is Swahili. Despite English being the working business language as well as the main language of instruction in local schools secondary and above, to work with people with less than adequate amount of formal education, like the farmers NGOs work with, being able to communicate and comprehend at least some of Swahili, as well as the local tribal language of Kihehe, is almost a requirement to succeed.

Alongside the smooth tarmacked main roads leading southwest of Iringa, there are countless numbers of dirt roads leading into what seem like middle of nowhere.  From faraway they are seem quite similar: a few thatched, dirt-walled houses surrounded by small-holding farms and patches of temperate forests covering the more remote parts of the region's characteristic hilly terrain.  Each generally had either no sign or small signs that are entirely unnoticeable to vehicles passing through at high speeds on the main road.  The only exception to these were shops that occasionally placed themselves at these makeshift traffic turnoffs.

In  Iringa , there was a job advertisement on one of the lampposts on the main street leading to the bustling central market. A renowned international organization was hiring local stuff to do market research and data analyses to help determine the best strategies to gain access to the local market. In its brief description, the high expectations for the job are made clear. To get the job done, computer and critical thinking skills, a rarity in this mostly rural community, are obviously essential.

上海安遠路玉佛禪寺。一個經歷幾個世紀風雨，度過多次毀而修、修而毀的古刹，今日已不見當年的輝煌。雖然内部佛像依舊完整、傲氣逼人，但其地址已是在一個再普通不過的住宅區内。若不是地圖的標記和路人的指點，著者也不會從一個再平常不過的一個地鐵站走多少個街區將其尋出。不過找到時的興奮還是有的。在一個一棟又一棟、參差不齊但外貌相同的住宅樓叢林中，一個古典木製寺院顯得異常突出，并給一個普通的街區帶來莫名的歷史感。

As a society develops, it increasingly obtains the energy and the luxury to look toward its past, and begin to incorporate its remaining history into sustainable future development.   Europe, as the leader of modern economic development, has already reached a stage where tradition is combined into modernity .  The same traits of tradition's new-found role in economic progress is spreading from Europe to Asia, especially China where, despite large scale destruction over the course of ten-year-long Cultural Revolution, significant amount of traditional customs and architectural heritage remains intact.

The author met a former coworker from Rakuten, who he has not met in some four years since he quickly departed from the company after less than a year of work .  Interestingly enough, he had met her on the very day she was handing in her marriage registration.  The author, not someone eager in communication, obviously had no idea of the fact that she was getting married, or that she was in a serious relationship at all.  Surprising at it seems, four years is not a short time for a person to grow up.  It gives a person much time to proceed with personal plans outside the career path.

By anyone's standards, traveling in Japan is not a cheap affair.   Shoe-stringing backpackers that frequent Southeast Asia should definitely not be here, considering that cheapest lodging tend to be around 30 USD per night and the cheapest lunch 6 USD.  Combine that with extremely expensive local transportation, which can average 20 USD for even short-distance train travel, and the expenses pile up in ways that does not justify the incomes of even the average person that lives and works in this country.  Most of the time, the money flies out of the wallet without even the user really noticing.

Given that this is 3 days from the author's (once again) departure from Malaysia , the author is has a very relaxing time not doing much, well, at all.  Reflecting back on the another year spent here required so inputs so the author found himself watching the new Terminator movie that just came out across the theaters here in Malaysia.  While there is little notable about the plot worthy of in-depth discussion here, this particular installation in the series put a much stronger emphasis on the ability of time travel to change events, and the idea that knowledge about events in different timelines can be simultaneously had by one person.

A few days ago marked the 26th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Incident, and as usual , the mainland Chinese news outlets are busy with other matters in order to cover up the event.  Interestingly enough, this year there indeed is something tragic going to distract the attention of the masses.  The rapid sinking of the ""Eastern Star," a massive tourist cruise ship on the Yangtze River, brought about the death of hundreds of elderly passengers and once again put forth the doubts of the whole world on safety (in general) of living in China.

In North Jakarta, there is a neighborhood named Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) that neither show up on tour guides or in any Jakarta tourists' itineraries.  It lies beyond a highway and a mangrove forest that separate it from the main commercial areas of old town Jakarta.  Sure, the traffic on the main streets of PIK still remain, as is the case for most of the metropolis, but the hectic mass of people and shops that is the old North Jakarta is replaced with straight neighborhood roads, devoid of street-side shops and even pavement for pedestrians, but full of delicately manicured bushes and flowers.

A series of quakes that jolted Nepal and caused massive damages across the country has led to widespread attention to the South Asian country in the recent months.  This is backed by rapidly spread of photographs from the quake zone, showing extensive destruction and difficulties in rebuilding.  Organizations, both official and private from across the world, have been quick to provide the necessary aid to the country.   The author, who has enjoyed his travels to Nepal not that long ago , doubtlessly have his own share of sympathies for tourism-dependent country.

Today, the Russians celebrate the 70th Victory Day, their edition of the World War II defeat of Nazi Germany, with a huge military parade in the Red Square at the center of Moscow, as well as central areas of all major cities that had important roles in the pivotal and brutal conflict.  Given the ongoing standoff in Ukraine, the hitherto Western allies of the Russians will neither be present not pleasantly following the parade from afar.  The presence of the Chinese and Indian leaders at the parade will further establish a view, among the mainstream media at least, of entrenched split of the Allied camp in the 21st century.

The guidebooks describe the traffic jams of Old Town Dhaka as "mesmerizingly hectic," a place where roads can be blocked off completely with just presence of bicycle rickshaws and nothing else.  Indeed, the narrow, winding lanes of the Old Town, euphemistically termed "roads," can hold no more than one and a half rickshaws by width.  Yet, as the rickshaws navigate the tiny lanes, dodging streetside stands, pedestrians, and other rickshaws in the process, what is noticeable is that the presence of these physical obstacles may not be the biggest obstacles slowing down traffic.

To be universally respected as a national leader is not an easy task, especially one that has governed during the turbulent times of global rivalry.  Yet, with the conflicts interests of Soviet-American bipolarity in the past and Sino-American duality in the present, Lee Kuan Yew shrewdly managed to make the island city-state liked by both sides, but somehow managed to extract beneficial economic externalities from balancing opposing ends.  Singapore, as a global entrepot with little prejudice in its political agenda on the international stage, greatly benefited.

The author, being a skinny man that he has been for the past God-knows-how-long, has never really been too careful on the foods he eats.  The logic is that, given the lack of body fat, high intakes of fattening foods should not be too problematic as long as certain precautions are taken.  And the author has been doing some of that, mostly avoiding fried snacks like potato chips and carbonated sodas, while keeping alcohol consumption to a social minimum.  Yes, there is lack of exercise, but he never thought of himself as terribly unhealthy.