Lost in Translation...

One of the challenging things of the last week and a half has been the lost feeling of not being able to communicate. Over the years in India we all learned Hindi and could communicate, at various levels. However, the biggest initial blessing was that upon returning to India in 2000 B found that he could still read the devnagari script.

Being able to read signs, prices, menus, addresses are all so helpful as you navigate a foreign country. Otherwise you truly find yourself at the mercy of the local people. We have had the good fortune that we have had only a few incidents that have been frustrating or disconcerting. But as we argued with a taxi driver in Hanoi...we knew that we knew that he was ripping us off...we found that we had no recourse...without being able launch an appeal in his language or elicit support of others there was little we could do. So we paid the fee and grumbled on our way.

Another evening B and I were out at the Green Tangerine for our anniversary dinner... 13 years... We missed the last number 9 bus and had no idea how to make our way back...other than hiring a taxi and that wasn't an option we wanted to consider given the potential cost (see above paragraph). We found the last number 9 bus as the conductor was disembarking. Unfortunately, he spoke no English and the extent of our Vietnamese was a noodle dish and cup of iced coffee. The funny thing was that he did what we had seen many English-speakers do...he spoke clear, slow, loud Vietnamese. He finally tore off a bus ticket and wrote down 2 and 32 and sent us off to another bus stop. So we got on the bus and tried to ask this conductor if we were headed in the right direction...apparently helpfulness is not a cross-the-board characteristic of bus conductors. But this time there was a wee Vietnamese woman who smiled and said, "You, follow me." And she got us off the number 2 and on the number 32 and then off that bus until we were in the neighbourhood we needed to be in.

Well, we are currently in Seoul, but between Hanoi and here we spent a few days with friends in Singapore. It was a lovely and relaxing time, in the end we just spent time with our friends and took the girls swimming. Oh yeah, and B enjoyed the ample amounts of available technology and now we have a camera and a laptop that works... our camera settings were switching in a haphazard manner and the backlight for the screen on our laptop was out...

The really nice thing in Singapore...other than the national dish of Chilli Crab(see pic)...was that we got to know the couple we stayed with. We had met A on several occasions in India and only just this week met S. The icing on the cake was that the little girls got on well with their little boys. It was such a relaxing and hospitable home...just reminded me that I am looking forward to having a home to welcome friends in...and I want to be able to build a home that is refreshing and welcoming.

It's late and my thoughts are getting increasingly random...so here are a few pics from our time in Singapore...