On one my last nights in Bangkok, I drank some of my duty free champagne and watched "ZULU" with my neighbors, Richard and Andrea. Richard made a pizza and some salad and I cranked up the a/c. I have loved living in Sethiwan Residenceand have lured friends to live here with me. Nothing is better than spontaneous dinner parties, movie nights, and hanging out with your neighbors. Also, I have a fantastic cleaning lady (Khun Nee) who took good care of Simon LeBon and me after my kidney surgery in 2011. The office managers have always been great and helpful. I'll miss my motosai driver buddies out front too - they always took great care of me and remembered where my hair salon was, that I don't like to go down Sukhumvit and prefer the back roads, and would run errands for me. It's been a good home to me.
When I moved to Bangkok in 2011, I was overwhelmed with choosing where I wanted to live. I saw apartments all over town and in the end - I had to pick one solely based on where they accepted cats as tenants as making Simon Le Bon's arrival comfy was my top priority! I found a place in Sukhumvit in a neighborhood called Nana...right off Soi 13. One of the draws was being close to Sukhumvit Soi 11 which was a lively little street which meant I could walk to restaurants and bars and walk home. Soi 11 had lots of little dive bars and two very chic ones (Q bar and Bed Supper Club).
Every night, little VW buses pulled up and turned the whole street into a party. We used to love going to the Red Wagon.
My favorite restaurant on the street was the old 70s style American diner at the Federal Hotelwhere I could get a great crab fried rice and coke in the little bottles for less than $2.
You could hang out in the alley and drink beer at Cheap Charlie's or the Pickled Liver. Both were great because they didn't really attract bar girls or prostitutes like many of the divey bars in Bangkok. You met a huge variety of people - expats, old thai men, tourists, the young and the old.
There were two beautiful old houses on the subsoi between 11 and 13 and one was a spa. The closest mall was Siam Paragon. Today, as I went down the soi (which is torn up with construction), all of those things are gone and in their place is "luxury" condos, three new hotels, 2 hotels under construction, two big dance clubs (Club Insanity and Levels), an expensive "Argentine Steak House", a Baskin Robbins, a Starbucks, an Au Bon Pain, a Pomodoro, and lots and lots of empty little bars that used to be there scheduled to be knocked down for luxury condos.
We have Terminal 21 on one side, Central Embassy on the other, and the big giant splashy Emquartier two stops away. The Thai junta banned the VW buses and all the fun character seems washed away. Guess its time to go before the whole city turns into a sanitized mall of chains that you can find anywhere in the world.
I get my medical care at Bumrungrad hospital which is a super diverse place. They have a McDonalds there that i always find myself eating a sundae at - today no different. The mix of people joining me at this American travesty of a restaurant really sums up Bangkok for me: Older Thai people with devoted adult children, sweet Thai nurses, old Arab men surrounded by veiled women and men in polo shirts and cargo pants, old white men with their young pregnant Thai wives, backpackers with motorcycle rashes, Thai and Indian families with young children, and a smattering of white expat women like me. The Japanese all go to Samitivej hospital. I will miss this slice of humanity and Thai kindness.
Happy New Year! 2015 was another
crazy year of travel for me. I feel rather exhausted and my body reminded me
that I"m human on December 30th as I shivered and shook with a fever on
the Mekong Delta and coughed so violently I bruised my ribs. So the year in
stats: 17 countries (including new ones like Israel and old favorites like
South Africa) and 161, 200 miles (according to Tripit.com). I apologize to the
planet for the global warming and to my body for the economy class
seating. Some highlights of the year follow:
In January, I took some time to work
on my different consultancies from Qatar and to be aunty to my college roommate
Ann-Michelle's little boy Alexander and try on the life of an expat Mom living
in a gated compound. Not so much for me although the parties are pretty fun. I
have so much more respect now for working moms. The guilt! The inability to do
anything as well as you would like! Wow... but hanging out with Alexander was
wonderful. He's such a sweet and funny little guy and kept me on my toes with
his disciplinary ways.
Me and Alexander
In February, I taught a course at the
Red Crescent in Saudi Arabia to 30 Saudi men and 1 woman on gender in
humanitarian response. This was my second, and (inshallah) last trip to the
"Kingdom". I saw nothing except Subway and McDonald's as I was not
allowed to wander freely. Its amazing how free and liberated Qatar feels after
a week in Saudi. To rebel against the draconian clothing laws for women in
Saudi, I wore as little as possible under my abbaya and delighted in going to
the breakfast buffet in my skivvies. You can make me wear an abbaya but you
can't make me be a decent woman!
Saudi Men and Me
In March, I had a fantastic fun trip
to Luang Prabang where I learned all about German efficiency with vacation
planning in the slowest country in SE Asia: Lao PDR (which stands for please
don't rush). Four German men and me. Luang Prabang is probably one of my
favorite places in SE Asia. So beautiful and with such great food. From
Laos, I rushed off to work in Brindisi, Italy where I managed to bring back
about 15 kg of Italian products in my suitcase including five bottles of wine.
I'm so happy the Thai immigration usually ignores me. Focus on the ivory
smugglers and men with turtles and frogs strapped to their bodies, guys! I need
decently priced wine! I also went to see the Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai,
Thailand on the border with Myanmar and Laos. It was nice but a bit of a let
down. I expected something other than a tacky photo opp on the Mekong
river. I don't know what I expected - opium dens, pith helmets, and
poppies I guess.
Four Fabulous Germans plus me and some other guy
From April through September, I took
a 3 month assignment in Jordan to work with Syrian refugees (that turned into a
six month assignment). It was a great opportunity to explore the Middle
East where I had only briefly visited in 2006 during the Israel-Lebanon
conflict. I also had been wanting to work on the world's largest Refugee crisis
in some way so I got the opportunity to be the Senior Gender Advisor to the
Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan where I was hosted by UNHCR. I met some
fantastic people at work and also took almost every weekend to see the sights
and see friends working in the region.
Zatari Camp, Jordan
Azraq Camp, Jordan
Syrian child playing near latrines in Azraq Camp, Jordan.
Jordan is a traveler's delight. I
went to the Dead Sea and Petra almost immediately but as well as these
spectacular natural wonders there are also crusader castles (and defense
against crusaders castles), Roman ruins like Jerash and Philadelphia (Amman's
previous name), and the spectacular nature including waterfalls and thermal
baths, caverns, mountain ranges, olive trees, and so many religious spots! Even
though its a small country, I didn't even get to make it to Wadi Rum to live
out my Lawrence of Arabia fantasy or to the Red Sea. So I want to go back.
At Artemis' temple in Jerash!
I also traveled to Lebanon, Turkey,
and Israel several times. It was my first time in Israel and I was really
amazed. I highly recommend doing the land crossing between Israel and Jordan so
you can experience the prejudice against Palestinians up close.
Otherwise, its easy to get lost in the gorgeous mediterranean, the fantastic
food (oh the food... I am in love with the food), and the good looking surfers
(the food may be even better than the surfers). Luckily, I had my friends who
devote their time to working in Gaza and the West Bank to keep it balanced by
reminding me of what happens there and also to be friends with Israelis who
could share what its like to live in a region where everyone seems hellbent on
killing you (I'm sure I've offended someone with this sentence - I've given up
trying not to... such is Israel and the politics around it). Israel is such a
land of contrasts. For me, on my US passport with my white skin - I
was treated well. For other American friends with dark skin or those not on US
passports- the experience is quite different. Its an extremely polarized and
militarized society. But on the other hand, it was a huge relief to be free
from the non-stop sexual harassment and stares from the men in Jordan. Jaffa,
where I spent my holiday, is like a little California beach town with flea
markets, great food, hip youngsters, and cute hippies and surfers all together.
The only time it felt like the Middle East to me was on Eid when the
Palestinian families came down to relax on the beach. Shishas and abbayas
galore (along with the requisite sexual harassment too, sadly).
Byblos, Lebanon
Enjoying Vacation in Beirut, Lebanon
Returning to my hippie roots in Jaffa, Israel
In September, my sister Alyson came
out to visit me for her birthday. We went straight from the airport to Petra
for a full day of Indiana Jones and shouting at rude Bedouin donkey salesmen.
We relaxed for the remaining two days at a luxury resort on the Dead Sea, and
she spent the next two weeks exploring Jordan while I worked. It was
great to have her with me. Then we went off to Cairo, Egypt for the tours of
the pyramids. It was wonderful to see Egypt's wonders in relative solitude but
also sad to see Egypt's tourism in tatters due to the violence in the region.
It did make for an undisturbed visit as we didn't have to deal with huge crowds
or aggressive salesmen. Alyson officially became the fourth person in our
family to go to Egypt but unlike Dad and I, she was not ripped off by camel
owners behind the pyramid. My hard lesson learned in 2005 saw to that. We tried
to support everyone by buying the standard camel rides, perfume, papyrus,
bric-a-brac and drinking as much mint tea as humanly possible.
Martin Sisters in Petra
What you look like after a day at Petra
More Martin Sisters and Camels
Me and my new Egyptian boyfriend
Alyson and I overlooking Cairo
My graceful Camel riding in Egypt
Alyson and I looking quite adventuresome
After my assignment with UNHCR ended,
I returned to Thailand via Stellenbosch, the premier wine town near Cape
Town, South Africa to present some papers at the Sexual Violence Research
Initiative and to see some friends. Its an amazing opportunity to be with some
of the smartest and most dedicated researchers on this topic and to catch up
with old friends who I've worked with. For an experienced traveler, I
made a serious error in going back with all my luggage leaving me unable
to bring but ONE bottle of fantastic South African wine back with me to
Thailand. I then spent about 3 days at home in Bangkok and then went to
Kyoto, Japan for the fantastic wedding of dear friends. Autumn in Japan is
spectacular. We ate like kings (or rather samarui) at the wedding and
spent long laughter filled nights in Kyoto's pleasure quarters drinking sake,
eating gyoza and okonomiyaki (famous pancakes) and making friends and
singing.
Presenting at SVRI
Good Food with Rebecca in Singapore
Photobombed by Kathy in Kyoto, Japan
Human Rights Ladies and our Token Man at Onsen in Japan
In October, a dear friend- Gus
Osorio- died. He and I worked as "office neighbors" at JSI from
2000-2003 in DC. We were in a book club together and he came to visit me in
Amsterdam and we went to London together. Our last conversation was about a
month before he died when I was trying to entice him to come to Asia. I'll miss
his big heart, beautiful blue eyes, and warm and funny ways. On the night he
died, I was sitting at a bar on the Mekong in Vientiane Laos and saw a meteorite which lit up the whole sky in green. I'm
sure it was Gus telling me he was hanging out with MCA from the Beastie Boys in
heaven and kicking the jams out. RIP dear friend.
October 27, 2015 was also a big day
as this is the day I became a British Citizen as well (I am retaining my US
citizenship - its dual nationality for me now!). My mother was born and raised
in Wiltshire in the United Kingdom and when I was born, British women weren't
allowed to pass on their citizenship to their children (not until 1981...
the whole citizenship game is super sexist world-wide). After years of randomly
asking whether or not I qualified for citizenship, I got
a definitive answer in 2014 from an immigration lawyer and applied. I
was granted and sworn in at a lovely private ceremony in the UK embassy in
Bangkok with two of my close British friends, Ross and Vanessa Self in
attendance. They wanted to take me out to the pub for a beer but it was a Thai
Buddhist holiday so none of the sketchy pubs that cater to British sexpats
would serve us beer. So in despair we headed to the Harrod's in the fancy mall for
a cup of tea. Vanessa decided to ask for a glass of bubbly and they either
didn't realize or didn't care about the alcohol ban so we celebrated with a
luncheon of roasts and some pints and bubbles and Victoria sponge. Ross and
Vanessa told me that "This is your new British super power, the ability to
drink in any place in the world." In all seriousness, I was surprised at
how emotional I felt and I really missed my mother but felt she was there with
me.
In November, I accepted a new job as
Regional Emergency GBV Advisor for the global Gender-based violence in
emergencies working group. I'm trying on the job as they have only offered me a
contract through February and I"m not sure if I want to stay in Asia that
long or commit to a job (consultant life gets under your skin even if I did
complain about it the whole time). I'm working in SouthEast Asia and the
Pacific helping build capacity to respond to gender-based violence in
emergencies. This region is mostly natural disasters and after working in Syria,
I feel anxious to go back to working on conflict and displacements. I hope to
do some good though while i"m in the position. I had to go to Geneva for
meetings and to pick up a visa so I got to spend most of the first two weeks on
the job in Europe.
Me and Simon
It was good to be back in Europe and
I saw lots of familiar faces and packed in a trip to Hamburg and Berlin in
Germany. In Berlin, I got to have Thanksgiving dinner with my bestie from
Sumter, Mike Dumiak. He opened up his home to me (even though in the middle of
writing a book!) and we invited a Syrian refugee, O, to join us. O and I
met in Amman on a blind date and became friends after I realized that as a
humanitarian aid worker I am not allowed to date refugees! O was working as
a logistics officer in freight forwarded in Damascus for several years after
his mandatory army service. He loves politics and hates Assad so got heavily
involved in the political uprising in 2011. He was arrested and kept in prison
and fled to Jordan when he was released in 2012. He stayed in Jordan for three
years trying to work legally or illegally (its illegal for Syrian refugees to
work in Jordan). He was a registered refugee living with three other young
single men and waiting to be resettled in a third country. His family had
escaped later to Egypt but the borders were closed so he couldn't join them.
They were a middle class family but money was running out for them. He found
out that his claim to be resettled was rejected so he had to take the extreme
step of going to Europe with the traffickers in August of this year. I followed
him as he texted me from Turkey where he flew on his Syrian passport to Greece
where he went on one of those boats you see on the news, up through Macedonia
where they were beaten by border guards, to Serbia on to Austria and finally to
Germany. He's now living in a refugee settlement sharing a house with about 9
other Syrian men about a hour outside of Berlin where he's enrolled in some
free college courses for refugees, is learning German, and trying to settle in.
Its not easy. While I was in Germany, the attack in Paris happened and the
attitude towards Syrians has hardened. It's maddening to listen to the news of
Donald Trump and others in the US and listen to the idiots on the internet go on
about how Syrian men should be "fighting for their country" (on what
side? Against who? And with what training? That war is so complex... I've asked
him to explain it to me several times and get confused each time). O says
he'll never return to the Middle East as Europe has opened its arms to him and
he wants to repay it. He's a hardworking and smart guy (who does a great
Michael Jackson impersonation) so I'm hoping the new year will bring him more
peace and stability. It was good to be reminded of the traditions of America in
Mike's little German apartment as I made turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce
for the two of them.
So now its the new year and I'm
tired! What an exhausting but fulfilling year. New and old friends, being
with family, travel, meaningful work, new countries, and exciting new food
(Israel was a revelation!). What more could anyone wish for? Thanks to all the
friends - old and new- that I saw or chatted with in 2015. You are the
best! 2016 will have a hard time topping it but I sense positive change is
in the air. Stay tuned for news. I enclose some photos and a great recipe for my favorite hot sauce of the year.
Me by the end of 2015 - feeling a little tired and worn out.
Wishing you all a lovely and exciting
New Year! May 2016 bring you adventure and passion!
It was another dire year in movies in Bangkok. As per the trend, they mostly play the big blockbusters and I either have to download or watch other films on the plane. I long for the E Street Cinema in Washington DC. Bangkok could be a world class city if they improved their movies. Oh well.
(Key: I saw everything in the theatre unless its noted *Download ** Airplane)
The Good:
Grand Budapest Hotel: My favorite movie of 2014. I had to wait until August to see it on the big screen in Bangkok and it was worth it. Ralph Fiennes is excellent and it was much darker than some of his other movies (although I remember the Life Aquatic with Steve Zazou being dark).
Dallas Buyer's Club: Matthew McConaughey continues to amaze. Funny, raunchy, and sad all at once. Jared Leto was also wonderful. This "honest trailer" got it right. Yeah - I know it was from 2013 but didn't come to BKK until 2014.
12 Years a Slave: burned a hole right through my soul and made me hate the South and everything it currently stands for. How dare we? Same - didn't see it until 2014.
Neighbors: I'm in love with Zac Efron. Period. This one was funny and not as offensive to women as I expected. Rose Byrnes was excellent.
Begin Again: sweet music, even Adam Levine seemed sweet in it.
Snow piercer*: Chris Evans almost unrecognizable but an amazing adventure film. Love post apocalypse films.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: I was rooting for the Damn Dirty Apes over the humans.
Godzilla: EXCELLENT. Atomic breath! Not enough panicked crowd scenes.
Fury: Couldn't believe how good the tank battles were. I have liked the director, David Ayer, ever since I saw End of Watch. Also a major miracle, Shia LaBouef was not that obnoxious. Michael Pena, excellent as always.
Gone Girl: Really good and intense. The whole theatre was rapt. At one point, bitter married couples laughed bitterly. My single friend and I were shocked. Love the "Cool Girl" speech.
Guardians of the Galaxy*: Surprised the hell out of me. I really liked it but then again I've always been a fan of Chris Pratt since Everwood so it shouldn't have surprised me that much. But I was really not interested in seeing a movie about a raccoon and a tree. Color me impressed.
Alan Partridge*: Superb! And so so funny. I love Steve Coogan.
Behind the Candelabra*: amazing performance by Matt Damon and Michael Douglas. Creepy. Even with plastic surgery to look like Liberace, Matt Damon is awesome. Rob Lowe was also insane!
Jiho Dreams of Sushi*: really beautiful and compelling.
In the Mood for Love*: Finally saw it in a hotel room in Myitkyina, Kachin, Myanmar. Made me crave noodles, nostalgia, and thwarted love.
Dom Hemingway**: Saw it on a plane. I love Jude Law because he's more than just a pretty face. And he was intense in this. And I loved that he didn't force Daenerys from Game of Thrones to be his girlfriend. She was his daughter instead. No vanity.
The Bad (Actually the Mediocre):
Inside Llewyn Davis - I don't know what all the hoopla was about except for the main actor was intense and hot. A bit disappointed in the Coen brothers. But I loved the orange cat!
The Fault in our Stars - not moved. I don't think I even cried. I don't know. Maybe I'm dead inside.
Maleficent: hard to see Angelina as a fairy after the summit! A bit dull and could have been written to be more powerful. I loved the Lana Del Ray song and I actually like the rape analogy.
**The Two Faces of January: Pretty good. I love Viggo Mortenson and Oscaar Isaacs
The Railway Man: A bit dull but awesome to see Thailand on the big screen.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier ... I"m in love with Chris Evans. I believe in Captain America.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay pt 1: Not as good as it should have been. I would have liked a bit more Orwellian scenes like when she's in District 13 and a little more "If we burn, you burn with us!"
**X Men: Days of Future Past: I also love Michael Fassbender and Wolverine so it worked for me. I loved the 70s aesthetic. The present day story of Mystique’s vendetta against Peter Dinklage‘s Trask feels repetitive of ideas we explored in the previous films…with thoughtful social commentary they were interested in exploring years ago left on the floor, offering the audience only in your face statements.
Long Way Down**: I thought it would be excellent. Nick Hornby. Pierce Brosnan. Toni Collette. Can Jesse Pinkman be serious? The answer. Not so much. Just not quite as good as About a Boy or High Fidelity.
The Ugly:
The Hobbit 3: Ridiculous. The special effects were not good at all! Legolas running up the collapsing bridge? And the ridiculous animals they all rode into battle? Bored. The honest trailer below sums up this one too.
Bad Words: Terrible Edit in Doha. they edited out all the bad language, the sex, and the "immoral scenes", I think it was 20 minutes long and incomprehensible. It might have been good and funny but I would never know.
Noah**: Good Lord! I couldn't believe how they managed to make this tale so boring and annoying! No shots of animals??? And even Emma Watson was bad in it. The dialogue was ridiculous and I didn't like the Nephilim/ Watchers/Rock Giants/Fallen Angels.
Lucy: Stupid stupid stupid. The smartest woman in the world battles it out in 5 inch stilettos and a dour look on her face. Buzzfeed sums up the stupidity.
Her: Stupid Stupid Stupid. I have never wanted to walk out of a movie so badly.
The Maze Runner: Actually walked out of it. So boring and trite.
As per usual, 2014 has been a year filled with travel and adventure. I am a
consultant specializing in gender-based violence in humanitarian crises currently
and based in Thailand but on a short term visa so I have to
come and go from my apartment in Bangkok every 30 days. Normally, that
corresponds with travel for work but sometimes I have to make a “visa run” –
which is usually quite nice as Thailand has inexpensive flights, lots of great
neighbors, and there are interesting places to go! But the travel is
exhausting. If my 25 year old self who dreamed of traveling the world could
hear me now, she would probably faint- what do you MEAN that you are tired of
traveling?
Here’s a little snapshot of my travels in 2014:
20 trips * 193 days *
131,541 miles * 42 cities *16 countries
I have one more trip left for the new year – I’m off to
Japan for my visa run and I will spend a couple of days in a lovely looking zen
Buddhism retreat to try to gain strength for next year. I hope it will be
restorative!
So last year, I started out the New Year in the USA with my
sister, Alyson. We took a road trip to Florida but sadly that coincided with
the polar vortex so no beach for us. That was fine with me since I live in the
tropics but Alyson was a bit sad. She was also very tolerant as I took over the
social media and liveblogged, tweeted, and instagrammed our road trip.
Although it was cold, we stopped by Amelia Island and Savannah as well as
meeting Winter the dolphin and
seeing some manatees at a power plant.
In February, I went to Bali, Indonesia for an extended trip
trying to sit down and really start writing (something that I’ve been wanting
to do ever since I was a little girl and wrote my first story about the
Princess Sarah and her nemesis, the man in the pickle suit). I found out that
writer’s block is a more powerful nemesis than the man in the pickle suit[1].
Ubud is so lovely and beautiful! I consulted an astro-cartographer, as one does
while in Bali, to find out where in the world I should move to find love… sadly
the answer was Antarctica.
Meh. My friend Kaya, the mathmetician, has disputed that analysis and believes
my love line is actually the line that runs through Addis –Kiev- Beirut. Maybe
in 2015!
I made it back to Washington DC in March to see my dear
friend Diana Prieto marry and I danced so enthusiastically at her wedding that
I managed to rip out my hem of my dress with my high heel during a polka. I also
managed to get trapped on a Qatar Airline flight in a snowstorm sitting at the
gate in Dulles for 12 hours. That was fairly miserable and was compounded by
flying directly from DC to Rakhine
state (via Doha and Yangon) which is a place on the Burma-Bangladesh border
that is caught up in discrimination and displacement of Muslim Rohingya by
chauvinist Buddhists lead by some extremely radical monks. I ended up caught up in the riots
against aid workers in Rakhine State. It was all very tense but in the end,
I was fine and was evacuated back to Yangon where I joined a bunch of other aid
workers in a sparkling wine filled brunch-debrief-argument that helped us all
decompress. From a polka party to a snowstorm to attacks by Buddhist monks!
What a trip!
I took a little break by going to one of the most beautiful
beaches in Thailand – Koh Phangan – and managed to avoid the infamous Full Moon party. I’m
really getting old now, I guess. I preferred hanging out under the actual full
moon and taking a swim alone rather than drinking buckets of beer and watching
people vomit in the sea. YOUTHS!
I then returned to Myanmar where I worked up on the border
with China in a fascinating place called Kachin State where I got to hang out
with my friend Marise from MSF, ride bicycles around the town, get a massage by
a blind man, and visit the “confluence” of the N’mai and Mali rivers
where the Irrawaddy river is born. It’s a very important place for the Kachin
people – a place that may soon disappear due to the
construction of the 7 dam Irrawaddy project. Local people have been forcibly
relocated from around the area and large scale mechanized gold mining and
logging projects have destroyed large areas as well as polluting the Irrawaddy
river. At one point, I was told, the river was so pristine that it was crystal
clear. Not so much anymore but it was a nice day out to a remote spot- luckily
we were not kidnapped like the three government workers who also went to the
confluence that day for a picnic.
I returned back to
Thailand just in time to experience martial law and the Military coup in May!
The Thai military coup was so “Thai” and
so not as dramatic as the news made it out to be. I was getting a pedicure in
the afternoon and preparing to go meet someone to interview them for my
consultancy when we entered into a fashionable coffee shop/chocolate shop. We
ordered and the waiter seemed very agitated and told us we would have to eat
fast and then said MARTIAL LAW MARTIAL LAW! We broke out our smart phones,
found out that martial law had been declared and there was a 10pm curfew so we
finished our lattes and headed home. The Sky Train was completely crowded and
people were swarming the ubiquitous 7-11s to just to stock up on alcohol. My
friend Jordan came up to hang out that night and told me he had been headbutted
by a desperate expat man in the 7-11 trying to get a case of beer. So my
neighbors Rebecca, Jordan and I sat around listening to the cheery nationalistic Siamese
martial music being broadcast on every single tv station and played Cards
Against Humanity while sipping gin and tonics. What a very expat experience. My
first coup (well actualy there was an attempted coup in Darfur when I was there
in 2004 but they didn’t succeed and the only way we knew it had happened is
they took all the sat phones and mobile phones off line).
Life under the
military regime has not been very different. We all panicked when they
threatened to tighten immigration and we became very sad when they closed up
all the VW Bus/bars that
lined Soi 11 near my house at night. Apparently you can’t eat a sandwich in
public or read George Orwell as it’s a protest now and in very Thai style, the three finger salute
from the Hunger Games is now used in protest. But other than that – the non-stop
unbridled capitalism, hedonism, and eating continues apace.
After I finished my
work in Myanmar, I managed to win an 8 month contract with the UN that was
home-based so I hoped it would help me stay home a bit more. Wrong! I was
immediately brought to NYC for a meeting, which was nice as New York in May is
wonderful! I also flew from NYC via Abu Dhabi to London for a big summit
to end sexual violence in conflict in London where I got to finally meet
Angelina Jolie! The best part of the whole conference was that I was quoted in US
Weekly about Brad Pitt! From there I flew to Qatar where I waited for a
visa for my next crazy adventure – teaching about gender and disasters to the
Saudi Red Crescent!
Well, now you can
guess where my Xmas photo was taken. Luckily, my college roommate, Ann-Michelle
lives in Doha and I got to hang out with her and her fantastic husband and kids
for 10 days and she loaned me an abaya
– the mandatory long black coat that all women in Saudi Arabia wear with a
headscarf. What you can’t really tell in the photo is how beautifully it is
embroidered with black sequins and thread. Every single woman wears a very
different abaya and I found myself checking them out to see their fashion sense. Saudi Arabia
was a very interesting experience. The people that I met were both incredibly
hospitable and sweet to me but I also faced some of the worst sexism I’ve had
to experience in my life (which thankfully has not been very much). The
highlight of the trip was the flight out of Riyadh back to Doha. It was the last
day before Ramadan and all of the domestic workers were all rushing home for
holiday. It was like boarding the last flight out of Saigon as
hundreds of Filipino, Pakistan, Bangladeshi, Indian, and African workers pushed
and shoved their way onto the fully booked Dreamliner in desperation. I got
caught up in the hysteria as several waist-high women used me as a battering
ram to push us onto the plane. I have never been so happy to land in Doha. It
looked like a desert oasis after the run down, dusty Riyadh. I felt like I
might have overdone it that night for Ann-Michelle’s birthday as I chowed down
on pork, drank champagne, and danced in a minidress until sunrise. That’s what
Saudi does to you though…
I returned to Europe
for my summer vacation – finally facing the dreaded task of clearing out my
storage unit in Amsterdam (which true to form, I procrastinated on until the
very last day before I had to fly back) and celebrated a spectacular birthday
in Berlin and Poland with my bestie Mike Dumiak before heading to the gorgeous chateau in the Loire Valley with
a group of friends for non stop wine tasting (a repeat from 2011)…
I finished up the year
by returning to the US in October to visit my cousin Catherine who is ill in
Topeka, Kansas and it was nice to spend even a few days with her and Emil in
America’s heartland. I returned to NYC to run a workshop and then Alyson and I
met up in Toronto, Canada where we visited Niagara Falls – a place both of us
have always wanted to see! I was thrilled to be able to ride on the “Horatio Hornblower” and
get completely soaking wet by the power of the falls.
The end of the year
was a blur of travel to Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar, and work work work. I
made a couple of short trips to the gorgeous Thai beaches of Koh Samet and
Railay beach and cooked and consumed some amazing meals. I’ve been privileged
to see so much of the world this year – and to have the love of family and
friends. 2014 gave us the war in Gaza, the massacres in Pakistan, the ebola
epidemic, the crashes of the Malaysia airline flights, the kidnapping of young
women by Boko Haram in Nigeria, the sinking of the ferry in Korea, the horrible
beheadings by ISIL, and the horrific murders of children in Pakistan. But I
hope my silly stories of my adventures around the world can give a little laugh
at the end of the year. I still believe in universal human rights, speaking truth
to power, fighting for justice and gender equality and the power of a good
bottle of red wine and an
Ottolenghi cookbook to change the world.
I wish you and your
loved ones an adventuresome, peaceful, tasty, and loving 2015!
