a malaysian abroad’s Food in February presents World Nutella Day!

Having spent many winters in Switzerland when I was young, you would think my first memory of Nutella would be partaking of its hazelnutty chocolatey goodness on a slice of tresse bread or a piece of Zwieback in the comfort of my grandparents kitchen.

Nope!

Instead I have vivid memories of the St Mary’s school canteen, buying the small snack size single serving of Nutella for 20 sen or so.  I do not recall if it came with its own little spoon — probably, because I don’t remember helping myself to the contents with my fingers… then again, the hazelnutty chocolatey goodness might have wiped out other memories of those moments, LoL!

For my first ever participation in World Nutella Day (the brainchild of the ladies behind Ms Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso, in case you were wondering), I’d like to share my most recent encounter with this delicious hazlenut chocolate spread; as an accompaniment to my Banana Nut Spice Bread!

The banana nut spice bread was a first time for me: I’ve made a few banana breads, with or without nuts and/or chocolate chips, but this time around I wanted to jazz it up a bit, and added ground cinnamon and allspice in addition to the walnuts I happened to have on hand.  I’d actually forgotten about adding chocolate chips, so spreading Nutella on a slice of this bread came naturally…

It was yummy.

Want the Banana Nut Spice Bread recipe? (more…)

Food in February is the alliterative theme for a malaysian abroad this month.  In line with this blog’s main focus of {observing, comparing, celebrating} {Malaysia, Switzerland, USA} you can expect February posts to provide culinary explorations of Malaysian, Swiss and American cuisine.

But wait — is there such a thing as “American cuisine”?

Excellent question.  Stay tuned, and we’ll find out together!

In the meantime, how about checking out this International Dining Etiquette Quiz?   (found via @journeywoman) With eleven amusing, unusual and occasionally weird questions such as In snooty restaurants in Germany, what is the proper way to cut your potatoes? this is a fun way to gauge how much you know — or don’t — about some dining dos and don’ts worldwide.

I only got 6 correct the first time around. How about you?

By the way, I found it interesting that questions (and answers) involving the Chinese, Inuit and Poles would also be valid for Malaysians.  Curious?  Go try it out, then come back and tell me how you did, k?

The next Food in February post will be up on February 5th: see you then!

Image credits: Cutlery on red plate by yenhoon | Eating smiley from MS Office clip art

What is Thaipusam, you ask? It is a two-fold festival that celebrates the birthday of Murugan (the youngest son of Shiva and his wife Parvati) as well as Murugan’s victory over the evil demon Soorapadman by use of a vel (spear) given to him by his mother.

Ouch Originally uploaded by tajai

It is a day of penance and thanksgiving.  This is the time for devotees to offer a kavadi to Lord Murugan as a way of petitioning help from the deity.  A kavadi can be as simple as a pot of milk, but one most associates Thaipusam with the more painful burdens that use a number of vels that pierce the flesh, sometimes even the tongue (see image on the right!).

In Malaysia Thaipusam is not a national public holiday; however, only Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Perlis, Terengganu and the federal territory of Labuan — 6 out of the 16 states and federal territories — don’t take a day off for it.

While a malaysian abroad associates the celebration of Thaipusam with the famous Batu Caves in Selangor, this festival is also celebrated in Malaysia at the Sri Subramaniar Temple in Gunong Cheroh in Ipoh, Perak and at the Nattukottai Chettiar Temple on the island of Penang.  During the festival, a procession of Lord Murugan’s chariot winds through the streets accompanied by kavadi-toting devotees in a trancelike state, while onlookers and worshippers smash coconuts as the chariot passes.

I hear it’s quite a sight… [UPDATE: follow this link to a Reuters video of random Thaipusam scenes in Malaysia!]  Have you had the chance to see how Thaipusam is celebrated, “live”?

Last week a malaysian abroad finally laid an earworm to rest: Indonesian artiste Kris Dayanti’s Menghitung Hari. In the course of slaying said earworm, however, I came across a good example of how frustrating some words in Malay can be.  Here I’d like to discuss putik vs putih.

First, the context… this is from the second verse of the song:

(here’s a decent translation of the entire song)

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Putih means white, and is often used to symbolise sincerity, truth, innocence, wisdom. Looking back at the word within its context, “… if not even (white = sincerity? truthfulness?) is going to be present …” this interpretation certainly makes sense, especially looking at the lines that follow.

On the other hand, putik had me stumped. It sounded like Kris Dayanti was saying this word, but what did it mean?  An online Indonesian-English dictionary shed no light, lamely suggesting I had mis-typed putih! And before you ask: I assumed it was an Indonesian word, which is why I only looked for an Indonesian->English translation. You see, my grasp of Malay is relatively good, but not when it comes to the more flowery side of the language.  So I turned to my Malaysian friends via Facebook for help - they would know, right?  Ummm… not quite! Take a peek:

As you might see, one argued for the putih = white analogy, others voted for putik but gave it different yet related meanings: seed, pollen, bud, blossom. They all could work within the song’s context, but ultimately I personally would vote for putik as in “a bud”: the line in question could then mean something like “… if there isn’t even a budding (of our love) …” and just leave it at that.

However, while trying to pin down the meaning of putik, I stumbled across this “Proverbial Problems” blog post that taught me of a Malay saying involving the word in question:

Since I had it handy, I decided to double-check the above with my book of Malay Proverbs… and emitted a loud groan, because in this comprehensive collection of over 1,600 Malay proverbs, the above proverb used putih, not putik!  Its literal translation of the proverb is then:

The flowers fall and so must all things fair,
the old drop off and the fully ripe.

They both have the same meaning: that death comes to all… and yet the imagery is so very different depending on the use of putih (white/fair) vs putik (buds).

Which do you think is the correct/better use of putik vs putih in this proverb?

you know you want one!

The premise is simple — I send you a postcard and you write about it on your blog with linkbacks to a malaysian abroad.  As you can see from the previous write-ups, a lot of linky love is exchanged, so everybody wins.

I had also done a similar exchange back in 2007, and as stated before, I plan to continue with this effort for as long as there are bloggers who are game, whenever I have the opportunity to travel to Malaysia or other (cheap) destinations.

Well guess what?  A new Postcard/Link Exchange will be taking place in May 2010!

(MS Office clip art)

I will be releasing full details as the time draws near, but here’s what’s in my head right now for PLX2010:
- PLX2010 launch in mid-March
- PLX2010 requests close in mid-April
- participants’ extra credit due end April
- PLX2010 postcards mailed in early May
- participants’ write-ups due end May
- PLX2010 wrap up early June

I plan to close the requests earlier than before, in order to print address labels while still here in the USA; not having to write out the addresses would be a huge time saver, and would help make the rest of the postcard hopefully more legible!

I’ll also have to figure out how to leverage Twitter this time around.

I’m also toying with doing some sort of lucky draw, but I wonder what sort of prize(s) would be appealing to readers. Any suggestions?

btw I’m still reeling from the shock of the prices I’m finding online. Crazy!  But the thought of hosting yet another Postcard / Link Exchange event is keeping me sane, thankfully.  Please stay tuned to a malaysian abroad for further developments and announcements on PLX2010, k?

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Why do Americans call football soccer?

source

A good question, and it took a bit of digging to get some answers: it turns out that “football” by itself is the name of various team sports that involve the manipulation (pedipulation?) of a ball with one’s foot in order to score a goal; the various forms of this game are differentiated from each other by the addition of a description, such as gridiron, association, rugby, etc.

source

However, “football” by itself is used to describe whichever form of the game that is popular in each particular part of the world. As such Americans use football when referring to what is technically gridiron football (also known as American football), while the British (and most of the rest of the world) use football to describe what is officially known as association football.

The term soccer is actually a British slang abbreviation of the word “association”, and thus is a way for Americans to differentiate between these two forms of football.

Why do Americans love football?
I’m going to assume this refers to gridiron football, or American football, because I have the impression that despite there being quite a few football/soccer teams here (David Beckham is a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy team!), it is American football that has fans hooked.  And why?  Very good question.  Perhaps looking at the other side of this question (why Americans will never embrace soccer) will provide some insight?

Why do Americans act like that?
Rather than trying to pinpoint what “that” means, how about taking a look at this handout on U.S. Cultural Values and the impact on American behavior which lists 13 common American values that cause the people here to behave the way they do: from this you might then get a getter idea of the different possible thats and a pretty neutral explanation of why for each of them.

Why do Americans speak English?
… as opposed to Spanish, French or a Native American language or other?  Perhaps it’s due to the English-speaking British, and their descendants, who ended up dominating this part of the continent.

By the way, while the stereotype American is a helpless monolinguist, did you know that the states of Louisiana, Hawaii, Maine & New Mexico and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands & Puerto Rico have two or more languages as the official, or de facto, language in use?

Why do Americans eat fast food?
Probably the same reason the same fast food has invaded the shores of pretty much every country on earth! It’s convenient, cheap and comes in a variety of cuisines - burgers, pizza, Chinese, Mexican, fried chicken, etc.

Personally, I l-o-v-e the french fries of perfection found only at a certain clown-related burger chain, but prefer the burgers from a more royal source — I just try not to frequent these places more than once every few weeks, and I also make it a point to eat healthy the rest of the time (or try to, anyway! And exercise too!)

Thankfully, more and more people are starting to realise that consuming nothing but fast food is a bad idea - that all the high calorie grease, fat and bad carbs consumed may leave you feeling full for maybe an hour, then you’re hungry again; that the short-term low cost of food foreshadows a long-term high cost of healthcare to tackle diabetes, obesity, heart problems, etc.

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Thus concludes another set of a malaysian abroad’s Autocomplete Me series.  Rest assured: more are in the works!  In the meantime, back to our irregular programming. Stay tuned!

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There is obviously a lot of curiosity for US-specific holidays, so let’s just dive on in: Why do Americans celebrate…
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… Thanksgiving?
Traditionally, the “first Thanksgiving” is considered to have been celebrated in 1621 at the site of Plymouth Plantation by the Pilgrims and their guests the Wampanoag who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first winter in the New World. Thanksgiving is thus a celebration of the perseverance and survival of the Pilgrims, who can be seen as representing the foundation of a resilient and strong nation.  It is celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November in the USA (and the 2nd Monday of October in Canada).

Many cultures have similar giving-of-thanks themed harvest festivals, for this would be one of the last times to be able to enjoy fresh produce and warmth before the cold of winter sweeps across the land.

In the US nowadays, Thanksgiving is the time for families to get together and gorge on turkey, stuffing cranberry sauce and bean casserole after watching (American) football and/or the Macy’s parade.

It is also the day before “holiday shopping season” officially starts: Black Friday and the subsequent Cyber Monday are the biggest shopping days of the year for many retailers.

image source

… Halloween?
Americans aren’t the only ones who celebrate Halloween, but I think the way the Americans celebrate it is taking over the world: pumpkins and outrageous costumes are popping up in more and more places worldwide every year!  Do read my World Blog Surf Day (WBSD) Halloween post for more.

… Veterans Day?
Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice, and this is celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in many countries. In the mid-1950s, the scope of the observance in the US was expanded to include all veterans, not just those from World War I.  Sadly, this ‘holiday’ isn’t observed much by people in general - banks and shops rarely close, only federal offices and services are closed for the day.

… Columbus Day?
That’s a good question - wasn’t Christopher Columbus responsible for the slaughter and eradication of all too many of the indigenous population of the Americas? And he didn’t even “discover” America, that was Amerigo Vespucchi’s achievement. So what’s to celebrate about him?? I won’t rehash this issue but will instead point you to Leigh’s World Blog Surf Day entry on Dia de la Raza for an overview of the “holiday”, what it does and doesn’t represent, albeit from an Argentinian perspective.

… Cinco de Mayo?
Cinco de Mayo is essentially a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. Its roots lie in the commemoration of the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. However, this day isn’t much celebrated in Mexico except mainly for the state of Puebla, but somehow has become the date for celebrating all things Mexican in the rest of the world.  Go figure.

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I hope that was useful… Stay tuned for Part Two where a malaysian abroad tackles the remaining “Why do Americans …? questions. See ya!

a malaysian abroad will be taking a break until 2010.

See you in 2010!

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Hmmm… My first question would be why so few autocomplete suggestions? Why the lack of curiosity about reasons behind things Malaysians do? How disappointing! Well, let’s just tackle what we have, shall we?

Why do Malaysians say la?
First: it’s usually spelt “lah”.
Second: I have no idea why we use it, sorry, but I can’t imagine being in Malaysia and not using it! Sometimes I wish I could break out into Manglish here in the US, but cannot-lah, afterd they tink I’m gila one. Dowwan lah like dat. (Try saying that in a sort of sing-song manner, and you might just sound authentically Malaysian!)  Click to read more about The Adorable Lah.

Why do Malaysians march?
Because more and more Malaysians are reaching political maturity, or awareness at least, and are not willing to do the Asian thing and just keep quiet, and stew in passive-aggressive tension while the much-vaunted racial tolerance seems to not be a goal of many in the government, thus causing the bubbling over of not just resentment and bitterness in the minority races, but thankfully also of shame in the some of the more mature and aware majority race (… is that convoluted enough for you? LoL!).

This specific question of why do Malaysians march? seems to be associated with things coming to a head in July/August 2009, with many bloggers reproducing an article by Yeo Yang Poh, a former Bar Council president, entitled what else but Why do Malaysians march?.  A quick look into my archives sheds some light onto the situation at that time: read Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? and weep.  Then weep even more to read a response to Yap’s article (see here, or here), which unfortunately reflects the sentiments of many people I know back home who felt inconvenienced rather than proud for Malaysians’ continued awakening.  Of course, the biased media coverage, and heavy-handed police tactics, didn’t help, transforming the march into a tear gas and chemical laced water cannon “fest”.  Here’s a set of photos of the protest found on flickr that you can “feast” your eyes upon.

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Ouch.  This post ends on a bit of a downer, doesn’t it? Here’s hoping the “Why do Americans … ?” version will bring us back up… come back on Tuesday and find out, k?

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Why do Swiss cheese have holes?
First, I have to drive home the point that there are a gazillion different types of Swiss cheeses (okay, I exaggerate a bit, more like 450 according to wikipedia), and most of them are not of the holey variety.

image source

What the rest of the world labels as “Swiss cheese” are actually variations of the Emmental cheese.

The holes are called “eyes” and are caused by the formation of carbon dioxide bubbles excreted by a certain bacterium during the later part of the cheese production process.

Did you know that the longer the cheese is allowed to age, larger the eyes, and the more flavorful the cheese?  But wouldn’t you feel cheated if you had a slice of “Swiss cheese” that was half empty space?

This is why most of the “Swiss cheese” out there is utterly tasteless: in the effort to have small-eyed cheese, taste has been totally compromised.  I would stay away from “Swiss cheese” if I were you, and instead shell out the dough for some real Emmental instead.

Another bit of trivia: Did you know that in 2008, the average Swiss consumed twenty one kilograms of cheese?  Yummy! 

Why do Swiss Guards guard the Vatican?
Because no one else could wear such a uniform with a straight face?

image by Savannah Grandfather

Okay, seriously: way back when, the Swiss (or Helveticans) were renowned for being great warriors, who provided loyal and valorous service to those who hired them.  Yes, mercenaries.  They played a large role in supporting different factions within France, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc.

Thus in the early 1500s Pope Julius II summoned the first group of 150 Swiss mercenaries to protect him and the Vatican. About twenty years later his caution was shown to be well-founded, where only 42 out of 189 Swiss Guards survived protecting Pope Clement VII and allowing for his escape during the 1527 Sack of Rome.

The swearing-in of new Swiss Guard recruits is held on the anniversary of this event in order to commemorate their fallen brethren.

Why do Swiss cows wear / have bells?
Why, for the beautiful music, of course!

Really, people need to ask this?  Isn’t it kinda obvious?

Having bells on the cows (and also smaller ones on goats, for example), allows the farmer to know where his livestock is at all times.  And if something were to cause the cows to panic, the farmer would be alerted right away, so long as he’s within earshot.  And let me tell you, the sound of those bells carry a long way in the clean Alpine air!

Why do Swiss people speak French?
Switzerland has never been an ethnically homogenous nation: there were the Rhetians (whose Romansch language remains), and celtic Helveticans; there were Germanic tribes such as the Francs, Burgundians, Lombardians and Alamannen; there was also the Roman Latin influence.  From this melting pot emerged German and French, Spanish and Italian. (exhaustive detail here)

The French-speaking part of Switzerland is in purple (source )

You can look at it another way: Switzerland is nestled in between Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, with Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.  It’s not difficult to see why the Western part of Switzerland would then speak French, and the Southern part would speak Italian, right?

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We’ll be following-through with similar treatments for Malaysians and Americans: stay tuned!

Taking one step closer to fulfilling a promise already delayed, President Barack Obama recently ordered the acquisition by the federal government of an underused state prison in Thomson, Illinois, that would be used to house terror suspects currently being held in Guantánamo Bay.  When the transfer will be made is still unknown, as there are laws to be amended and funds to be secured first.

Did you know that Thomson IL is known for watermelons, and it has the nickname “Melon Capital of the World”; once the transfer occurs, I wonder what other nicknames will emerge? Hmmm…

Juicy watermelon pieces by kudlajana

How is Switzerland involved?, you may ask.  Well, the Swiss government has recently announced that it will take in one detainee, an Uzbek national, and allow him to live in Switzerland for “humanitarian reasons”.  I wonder if the fact that this person had been cleared for release from Guantánamo Bay as long ago as 2005 is part of those reasons?  The US authorities have assured Switzerland that the man has been neither prosecuted nor convicted, and that he constitutes no danger to public safety.  The detainee has furthermore pledged to learn French, find a job, and obey Swiss law.

Interestingly, the only main political party to criticize the decision was the Swiss People’s Party: if you recall Switzerland being in the news recently for the banning of new minarets in the country, this was the party behind it.  And if you missed that little bit of news, follow this link to a great (slightly under 10 minute) clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: the first half is Jon’s excellent monologue, and the second half is correspondent John Oliver’s interview with the Swiss Ambassador to the UN. Funny stuff!  Makes the news palatable, if nothing else!

am boden by twicepix

More reading for you:

• Swiss to accept one Guantánamo detainee
• Rural Illinois prison to get some Gitmo detainees
• Minaret ban approved by 57 per cent of voters

We both burst out laughing: it was just a fire hydrant, but painted light blue and white, and certainly reminiscent of a Smurf, don’t you think?

We kept seeing similar blue and white smurfs all over town, and would kinda snicker at each one.  Then came the day you might have seen me cackling helplessly at the sight of a poor nauseous smurf on a streetcorner:

.. the poor thing was green through and through!  Bad hangover, perhaps?  And what is up with that rusty red/orange hat, dude?

I then started keeping an eye out for more differently-garbed smurfs around Springfield, IL… and of course, once you start looking, you keep seeing ‘em… and my oh my do they come in a whole variety of hues, shades and tones!  Here are some other sightings:

A “tall” smurf in a Wal-Mart parking lot, with a green “hat”:

A sickly-looking orange and silver smurf:

Dude, what’s with the stain at your feet?  Ewwwwww!

And a few red and black smurfs with differently-colored headgear:

Yes, I sheepishly admit it: I have been taking pictures of the fire hydrants of Springfield, IL!  What about y’all - do they come in such a variety of colors where you are?  Any idea why there’s so much color variation here in Springfield?

These are important questions, dear readers, so please make your way to the comments section and share your two-cents’ worth, k? LoL!

Eiffel Tower by jnichols

10. Paris, France

Ah, gay paree. I’ve been here once or twice, with only fleeting memories in my head, because I was really young then. While taking French classes at Chicago’s Alliance Française, there were lots of exercises that involved the streets and sights of Paris: one day, I’ll return for a proper touristy visit!! If nothing else, I’d like to see the Mona Lisa “live”. I’d need to brush-up on my French — again!

9. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

The only time I’ve set foot on any Hawaiian island was on my first ever trip to the USA: the long (and delayed) flight had stopovers in Narita and Honolulu before arriving in Los Angeles. Didn’t set foot outside the airport, of course. I’m in no hurry to visit, but I’m sure I’ll end up here one day; after all, I would like to be able to say I’ve visited all 50 US states (and its territories!).

8. Orlando, Florida, USA

I have yet to find my way to Florida, let alone Orlando, home of Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Escape, Sea World and who knows how many other themed attractions, which aren’t really my thing.

7. San Francisco, California, USA

Visited San Francisco for a few days in 1999, and totally fell in love. I couldn’t tell you specifically what did it for me, but I’d love to go back and explore the place for real. It’s one of the most expensive places to live, tho, so I wouldn’t try to move there, just visit.

Statue of Liberty by bunnygirl

6. New York City, New York, USA

I’ve visited NYC at least twice that I can remember, both times pre-9/11. The first was during Thanksgiving 1991, where I caught a part of the Macy’s parade without knowing how this was the thing to see if in NYC on Thanksgiving, LoL!

5.  Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

I admit, I have yet to visit our neighbor to the South. Located at the southernmost tip of the Baja Peninsula, Cabo San Lucas earned the reputation for a place to catch El Marlin Azul, and seems to have become more like an enclave of the US than part of Mexico, I hear. Meh, I think I’ll pass.

4.  San Diego, California, USA

The second biggest city in California, it’s also popular due to its proximity to Tijuana, Mexico, so visitors can essentially enjoy the arts and culture of two very different cities in the same trip.

3.  Cancun, Mexico

I’ve only ever heard Cancun mentioned in conjunction with Spring Break, frankly. It doesn’t sound like a place I’d enjoy. Perhaps the rest of the Yucatán, yes; Cancun, no.

2.  Miami, Florida, USA

I’ve enjoyed glimpses of Miami life from reading Dexter and occasionally watching CSI:Miami: the infusion of Cuban and other Hispanic culture has resulted in vibrant nightlife, music, food, etc; I’d be interested in experiencing it “live”!

1.  Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

This was one of the destinations of my family’s Grand Canyon tour in the early ’90s: the main thing I remember is the obscene waste of water used in fountains in front of all those grand hotels in the middle of the desert. I think I’ll stick to watching CSI than going out of my way to visit again.

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What about you — how many of the above have you been to? Was it worth it? … … Do you have an ultimate country/city that you’d like to visit one day? For me, that would be Iceland. I’ll tell you why another time

Pssst!  Here’s a snarky joke that brings out some world stereotypes; too good not to share here at a malaysian abroad:

The U.N. conducted a worldwide survey recently. The only question asked was:

“Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?”

The survey was a HUGE failure:

• In Africa they didn’t know what food meant.
• In Eastern Europe they didn’t know what honest meant.
• In Western Europe they didn’t know what shortage meant.
• In China they didn’t know what opinion meant.
• In the Middle East they didn’t know what solution meant.
• In South America they didn’t know what please meant.
• And in the United States they didn’t know what the rest of the world meant.

MSOffice clip art

… teeheehee!! Like it said, too good! Too good!

Quick question: do you think I should break it down the way I did for European Stereotypes?

Some options I’ll offer — thanks to some Springfiled Twitterers! — are:

D’Arcy’s Pint: At first I wasn’t too keen to check this out, why would I want to bother with an Irish Pub? Then I saw their extensive horsehoe selection! No, not those metal things nailed to the bottom of a horse’s hoof…. the horseshoe is essentially an open-faced sandwich/burger buried under fries and smothered in cheese sauce - you can see an example of such a horseshoe below, courtesy of Ryan Harvey.  It seems the horseshoe was invented here in Illinois, you see, so it’s something unique yet typical of Springfield!

an example of the Springfield-born horseshoe

Cafe Brio: located downtown, this eatery is described as a sort of Latin fusion place, with killer margaritas.  TaraSG is currently working there, and has been encouraging Twitterers to drop by.

El Maya: located close to the Isringhausen BMW dealership, it seems like a really small perhaps grotty place from the outside, but the food seems to have a good reputation.   The owners just (like within a week ago) opened a new place called Maya Fusion which might be worth checking out too.

Gabatoni’s: famous thin crust pizza, and amusing doggie art on the walls.

Cook’s Spice Rack and Chili Co:  I *think* they are known for their chili… so long there’s no piggy lard or bacon in it, I’m game!  Although, the last time made my own chili, we had lots of leftovers that lasted a while, so I’m not sure if I’m up for more so soon…

Charlie Parker’s Diner: a Quonset hut diner that goes back decades but with a 1950s interior makeover that if known for its horseshoes and large (and I mean large!) pancakes.  Maybe this might be a good breakfast place, rather than dinner?

clipart from MSOffice

If you have other suggestions, feel free to weigh in with comments!  I have a feeling we’ll head to D’Arcy’s, because I can easily have a non-piggy horseshoe (or if I were smart, a ponyshoe!).  Stay tuned, I’ll update either a malaysian abroad or Life After Work with where we went, and how it was.

Have a great weekend!

Oh my.  Most of the ten are stand-alone questions too!  What have I gotten myself into?!  LoL!  Well, here goes….

Do Swiss people speak English / What do the Swiss speak?
Switzerland has FOUR official languages: German, French, Italian and an ancient Romansch spoken only in like one valley or something.  In school, children are taught at least two of the three languages, plus English.  As such, my mother can boast of knowing (not necessarily speaking or being fluent in) five languages: French, German, Italian, English and Malay.  I can lay claim to 3 ½: English, Malay, French and (Italian & Spanish).

Do Swiss mountain dogs shed?

Zughund by sennenhunde.at

First, did you know that there are actually four different types of Sennenhund, or Swiss mountain dogs?  All four have the same markings, and are differentiated mainly by size. You can see in this image a short-haired Greater Swiss Mountain Dog vs a long-haired Bernese Mountain Dog: these two are about the same height, but the Bernese tends to be half the weight of the Greater.  The other two breeds are the Appenzeller and Entlebucher Mountain Dogs.

Thanks to dogsbreedinfo.com I found out that the Bernese requires lots of grooming and is a seasonal heavy shedder.  The other three have easy grooming needs and are average shedders.

Do Swiss Army watches have batteries?
Looking at the Victorinox website, they have self-winding watches, those that require manual winding, and battery-powered ones. A cool feature of those with batteries is that the watch will have an end-of-life indicator — the second hand will pause for 2-4 seconds then speeds back up to the correct time — to tell you when you need to get the battery changed. Do note that Victorinox recommends getting the battery changed at authorised dealers or service centers otherwise its warranty is void.

Do Swiss banks pay interest?
Yes.  If you have an account containing Swiss francs, it’s at a pretty low rate, and there’s a witholding tax levied as well.  If you have an account for foreign currencies, the money goes into a money market fund where interest is earned.

Do Swiss men like black women?
Wow. Ummm. I’d like to think that Swiss men, like men in general, have preferences that range over the entire spectrum of choices, including black women.

Do Swiss balls work?
Sure!  Swiss women are getting impregnated all the time!  Duh!

Wait, what?  Ohhhhh you mean that which is also known as a body ball, fitness ball, gym ball, pilates ball, Pezzi ball, stability ball, therapy ball, or yoga ball?  Riiiiiight!  Yeah, they work too.  Good for core muscles.  And there’s a related How to do Swiss ball crunches? question; here’s a video that I found informative:

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What do Swiss people eat?
Did you know that in 2008, the average Swiss consumed twenty one kilograms of cheese?  And 2007’s figure for chocolate consumption was 12.3 kilograms.   So yeah.  Cheese. Chocolate.  Of course that’s not all, so check out wikipedia and TravelLady for more info.Interestingly, there were no questions about whether or not Swiss tourists need visas for certain countries: anyone want to speculate why that might be the case?

… and there you have it, dear readers, the final part of what I hope to be many more trilogies of autocomplete-inspired posts!  Hope you had as much fun reading as I had putting these posts together.

… and a malaysian abroad will once again add her two cents’ worth…!

Do Americans need a passport to go to Canada?
Yes.  It used to be that US citizens only needed some form of valid government issued ID (like a driver’s license), but as of June 1, 2009, everyone from every country arriving in Canada by air, land and sea needs a passport or equivalent travel document; so there!

Do Americans need a visa for [insert country here]?
Wikipedia claims that US citizens can visit 155 countries without a visa or with visa on arrival; they are indicated in the two shades of green in this map:

Once again assuming travel for touristy reasons, here’s the short answer for those countries suggested by the autocomplete:

• Australia: yes (get online)
• Puerto Rico: no (actually US citizens don’t even need a passport!)
• France: no (90 days)
• Brazil: yes
• Turkey: yes (available at airport)

A great resource for US citizens on this subject is the Department of State’s International Travel site, btw.

Do Americans want universal health care / reform / a public option?
It depends on who you ask.  I’d say that in general most Americans want some sort of health care reform, although many Republicans cry that the system ain’t broke and don’t need fixin’.  From something that seemed to be common sense, reform, and the public option, has morphed into a threat of Socialism.  Or something.  I admit, I’ve not been paying too much attention.  I just know that the situation as it exists is ridiculous.  And the political mileage certain parties want to make out of this, instead of thinking about THE PEOPLE, is also ridiculous.

One insurance plan we had didn’t cover preventive measures like getting a tetanus shot: it would cover the cost if I was rushed to the Emergency Room and needed the shot.. now that’s reactive, not preventive care.  It didn’t even allow for annual check-ups (the doc had to say I came in complaining about something or other to justify the usual pee and blood tests!)!  When Kosh was jobless, the COBRA payments to maintain the same coverage as when employed was a ridiculous amount!  The hassle of shopping for self-paid insurance was such a pain too: my as yet not properly identified allergies were an excuse for rejection.  Fun.  We are fortunate to once again be covered by virtue of his work.  I know not everyone is as fortunate.  Which is why I do hope that this health care system reform happens.  Properly.

Do Americans have Accents?
Yes!  Just don’t ask what they are and how many, nor how accent is different from dialect!  For a great place to get samples of how differently people from different states speak, look no further than the International Dialects of English Archive.

My most recent run-in with accents/pronunciations was with a Chicago librarian who could not for the life of her understand that the copier wasn’t working (she needed me to say KAHpier!).  Another common stumbling block is water: I tend to say woh-der, many understand WAHder.

How about you?

Let’s see if a malaysian abroad can help y’all out…

Do Malaysians speak English?
Yes, although with Malaysian pronunciation and enunciation, the mixing in of local words, and literal translations of local phrases, many might more truthfully speak Manglish — whether you think it’s mangled English or just Malaysian English, that’s your call.

Do Malaysians eat dogs?
I would say no: although the Chinese in general have a reputation for such, I would like to think this does not happen in Malaysia!

Do Malaysians need a visa to go to [insert country here]?
According to Wikipedia, about 177 countries and territories grant visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to those traveling on a Malaysian passport; they are indicated in blue on the map below:

Assuming one would be traveling as a tourist, here’s the short answer for those countries suggested by the autocomplete (does that mean these are the most searched-for countries?):

• France: no (90 days)
• Canada: yes
• Taiwan: no (30 days)
• China: yes
• Japan: yes (see Lina’s post about the Japan Visa)
• UK: no
• HongKong: no (90 days)
• Australia: yes

One might think that the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs‘ page on Visa Information Requirements for Malaysians would provide all the necessary information without having to trawl across the ‘net in search of this info.  Unfortunately, while the service is available, the information isn’t accurate, so you’re better off going to the horse’s mouth. Or to Project Visa - found it while trying to find the answers to the above, and I am so bookmarking this site!! 

This was fun

So the wallflower silent observer that is me is trying to start life in Springfield with an emphasis on challenging my introvertedness (is that even a word? Spell check suggests “introversion”), making connections, meeting people.  People who blog.  Who tweet.  Who share their life — whether in 140 characters or blog posts; whether providing only tantalizing snippets or spewing mega-long paragraphs — online.

tweet!

I already knew MochaMomma, kinda, thanks to last year’s Davecago.  Thanks to Twitter, I found some Springfieldians and started stalking following them.  It was through Twitter that I found out a production of The Rocky Horror Show was taking place!  I would have been SO disappointed if I’d missed it!

Then there was even a Tweet-Up last week where I could put some faces to names.  Kinda.  Actually it was rather overwhelming — after one or two painful attempts at introducing myself and hubby to total strangers, I kinda slunk to a table near people I did know (see Bloody Mary Mafia, below!) and just kinda eavesdropped on their conversations.

Thankfully @bluefox864 dropped by our table so Kosh and I weren’t just talking to ourselves; then @inkedgiff and @lilbarmes joined in, plus @thejeffnevins and later @matthew_ryan. Phew! We did have a little intro to everybody at the end, which was cool, and would have served to break more ice, but Kosh and I had to head back by then.  But still, I had a better idea of who had been in attendance.  … … and there’s an unofficial impromptu Tweet-Up Friday night in conjunction with the CD release party of a local band, Music for Big Kids (@m4bk)… I’m looking forward to it, and yes, I already know two members! *grin!*

… But how did I already comfortably know some of the Tweet-Up attendees?  Well, there’s this other avenue that’s been my main channel for slowly meeting fellow Bloggers/Tweeters: that which has come to be named the Bloody Mary Mafia! Basically there’s this one bar where we meet on Saturdays, anywhere between 1030am and 12n to start; they have special Bloody Marys - I’ve been told having one or two is more than enough to double as one’s lunch.

Can you identify all the trappings and garnishes in this Bloody Mary?

It used to be that folk would visit the Farmers Market, then grab a drink or two before heading home.  Well, there’s no more Farmers Market since November blew its way in, but we the Bloody Mary Mafia continue to meet weekly (my record of attendance has been fortnightly, for one reason or another), and will probably continue to do so unless and until the bar decides it’s not going to open its doors that early on a wintery Saturday morning, LoL!

It’s not all booze, though.  I’m also taking a mindful yoga class with a bunch of older ladies, and next month I’ll be looking into what Nia is all about.  Oh, and I found out I’m across the road from a pottery studio!  Now I just need to find a tennis partner for when the weather warms up.  Oh and maybe a job or something.

a malaysian abroad’s first post was on December 5th, 2008.

That’s right!  This blog is a mere 20 days away from a full year of existence!

let’s party!

I had toyed with the idea of marking abroad’s 1st blogiversary somehow; you know, a contest or something; but as you can see, my time here has been sporadic recently, and posts few and far between.

Oh for kapgar’s BlogFiber to exist so that I, too, can be regular!

Any ideas as to how to mark a malaysian abroad’s upcoming milestone?

I am also looking at refreshing this blog’s color/theme.  As a today.com blog, the overall template is fixed, so tweaking is limited to the color scheme and header.  I’ll also be updating the static pages, especially the About Me and Shining the Spotlight ones, in order to make them a lot friendlier and relevant.

Any suggestions are very welcome!

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

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During the recent holiday-themed World Blog Surf Day, Zuzanna who writes at Success Abroad and Emm who writes at Emm in London, chose to feature an important event in Great Britain’s history that occurred today back in 1605.

I don’t know how I learned about Guy Fawkes, the bonfires, the burning of the effigy, etc — most probably from the many British children’s stories I used to read. If the Five Find-Outers and Dog didn’t have a mystery involving this day, I’m sure the Secret Seven, the Famous Five or the girls at Mallory Towers did!

But ever since I watched V for Vendetta, I will always associate this day with that movie and its powerful message.

Why I love the internet (reason #614): Simon Pegg is organising a Twitter firework display in honour of 5/11.  He starts if off with a Ffffffssssssssssssttttt (beat) BANG cracklecrackle.  Funny guy.  Go join in!  

Another World Blog Surf Day is here! The first was about life as an expat in general, and the second about food.  This time around it’s about holidays & celebrations: What is your favorite ~new~ holiday and how is it celebrated?

image source

When I first heard of Halloween being referred to as a holiday, I thought “That’s not right! Holidays are official days off, and you don’t get a day off for Halloween…”  Of course, that was back in the early 90s, I was still a teenager then, had been just slightly over a year in the US, and was still unused to having my mind expanded.

image source

Just like everything else here in the USA, Halloween is a ‘holy day’ that hasn’t escaped the crass commercialism that haunts the land.  I don’t remember when Halloween decorations started going up in stores this year, but I do remember thinking “It’s too early!!! Halloween is months away!”.

Halloween has its roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints.  On All Saint’s Eve, also known as All Hallow’s Eve, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is very thin indeed; disguising yourself as a creature from the other side would help you not fall prey to harmful creatures that might have crossed over during this time.

image source

Since it occurs during the time of autumn harvest, Halloween shares with October (and November) icons such as pumpkins, corn and apples.

To many people, Halloween is just a day to play dress-up, where license is granted to be someone you’re not (or someone you long to be) if for just one night.

To most children, Halloween is a day for dressing up in order to get loads of candy.

To others, Halloween is the devil’s holiday, and they refuse to participate in any way except to hold prayer sessions.

image source

But what is Halloween to me? (more…)

… Mole as in the blind burrowing animal?

… or as in the Golden or Marsupial not-really-moles?

Or perhaps it’s celebrating the SI unit used in chemistry for the amount of a substance?

Perhaps it’s a celebration for all who have raised areas of skin usually with a darker pigmentation?

Or do architects have a day to celebrate a pier, jetty, breakwater, or junction between places separated by water?

Perhaps various governments celebrate the success of their spies in infiltrating enemy governments or organizations?

Or could it be a celebration of the variety of Mexican sauces, where the well-known guacamole is just one of many types of moles?

What do you think? (Answer after the break!) (more…)

Swiss mailbox by Toni_V

Nowadays, this is what greets Kosh and me:

• Netflix DVD about once a week
• some statements/bills (many but not all have been switched to electronic statements viewed online)
• one or two birthday cards per person
• lots of spam (weekly adverts, local business announcements)

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Back in Malaysia while growing up, I recall receiving:

• regular letters from grandparents in Switzerland
• semi-regular letters from pen-pals
• occasional wedding invitations
• bills / statements

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From my observation, most of my “meaningful” mail no longer comes via snail-mail. Just as I am old school and prefer physical books to reading books onscreen, I have too many fond memories of the joys pen-palship — of finding my Swedish or US pen-pal’s letter waiting for me, the anticipation building up as I carefully opened the envelope, studying the stamp, the writing even, before devouring the letter proper — to let the electronic medium take over all communication.

A Letter from Malaysia by methTICALman

Remember the Postcard / Link Exchange earlier this year?  I had also done something similar back in 2007, and plan to continue with this effort for as long as there are blog readers who are game, whenever I have the opportunity to travel to Malaysia or other (cheap) destinations (I’m taking Switzerland off the list, though - too expensive!).

R2D2 mailbox by peyri

When is the next trip, you ask?  I don’t know yet — once I do, I’ll be sure to drum up some publicity, no worries!

All this wouldn’t be possible, however, if the Universal Postal Union hadn’t been founded — 135 years ago on October 9th, 1874 — in Bern, Switzerland.  With 191 member countries, they form the largest physical distribution network in the world!

To commemorate its anniversary, the Posts of many member countries offer specials such as free postage, special cancellation marks, commemorative stamps, free entry into postal museums, and many more.

Do you know if your local post office is doing anything special today?  Please share!

To Write So Fine A Piece

Date: Saturday, October 10th 2009
Time: 2pm - 3pm
Location: Lincoln’s Tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery
Cost:  free, open to the public

Lincoln’s Tomb Oak Ridge Cemetery Springfield, IL (source)

What it’s all about:

Abraham Lincoln loved poetry, and had many favourites that were committed to memory and often quoted. Of one of them, he once declared “I would give all I am worth, and go into debt, to be able to write so fine a piece* as I think that is,” thus providing the title for this event:  a presentation of Mr Lincoln’s favourite poems, performed and interpreted by Lincoln Tomb volunteers and speech students and the theater director of Glenwood High School.

Among the poets that will be featured:

• Robert Burns
• Thomas Campbell
• Oliver Wendall Holmes
• Thomas Hood
• William Knox
• Henry W. Longfellow
• Herman Melville
• Edgar Allen Poe
• William Shakespeare

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* and just which poem had such a profound effect on Mr Lincoln?  Mortality (or, Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?), by William Knox.  Researching this post was the first I’d ever heard of let alone read it.  My oh my.  I am swept away by this melancholy commentary on how fleeting life is, and, as the first line implies, and by how futile is human arrogance in light of such transience.  How could such a poem not resonate with a man like Lincoln?

Additional reading & links:

• Poems by Abraham Lincoln: Poems of Abraham Lincoln.
• Poems about Abraham Lincoln: The Poets’ Lincoln: Tributes in Verse to the Martyred President.
• Abraham Lincoln on wikipedia