Culturally Lost?

I can't believe that i'm having late lunch or what Malaysians would called, a Tunch for the third consecutive days. It all started last Thursday when I had a proposal presentation at 1pm while we are still making last minute adjustment to the deck at 12-ish. Yesterday was more of a planned late lunch though we didn't realised that it would be that late as we only decide the venue on a very last minute basis. And today? Well, i was waiting for my bro's friends to call so that i could pass them their train tickets. Said would called around 12-ish or 1 but till 2, I still find myself lazing over the sofa at home. And for the second consecutive time, I fall asleep while watching The Date Movie. Anyway, I finally met them at around 3-ish, and so here I am at McD with my tunch.

And this is what this entry will be about. No, not another round of bashing on McD crew. I'm not that cruel. But while ordering my food, I overheard a tourist of Indian nationality giving her orders. She was mumbling this burger and that burger and finally she said '...and a vegetarian'. I think the crew was a bit surprise with the last order. And the funny part was, she too was surprised by the 'do not have' response. The fact that both the Indian tourist and the crew continue to deliberate over the 'Vegetarian burger' made it more funny and enlightening. Even after the crew showed her the full menu with pictures, she still tried her very best to ask for a vegetarian burger...'what about cheese', she said. The crew happily guide her towards 'Cheeseburger' of which I wish I could laugh out loud.

Firstly, the crew is of a senior position, i believed a supervisor or manager. Therefore, his ignorance of the customer looking for a vegetarian meal, had me wondered his ability or competence. While it is of nobody's fault but generally cultural difference or cultural ignorance from both parties but I believed the crew could have at least made an effort to explain as well as to offer the fresh salad.

And as a tourist to another country, one should at least be prepared to accept the non-availability of items and always have alternatives in mind. This will at least make sure that you are not to be totally disappointed due to such situation. While we could be familiar or have some knowledge about the Western culture but we normally tend to show the lack of knowledge of the culture of the Asian countries, including our neighbors. While most Asian tend to have one main core value, however, that doesn't mean that our culture or lifestyle are very much the same despite the relatively close distance and at times sharing similar religion.

Perhaps instead of learning more of the Western culture, (in fact, do they have one?), we should learn more of the cultures of different Asian nationalities which I believed is rich with diversity and colors.

And had learning, adapting and following the Western culture had us, Asians culturally lost?

One Man, One Word, Millions Life

While on my way back from Pattaya, I flipped through the pages of the November GQ, hoping to find any articles which I have yet to read. Found a few but it was the last one which had me feeling uneased and troubled. Upon reaching home, I decided to write this entry though I have yet to complete reading the whole article but it is already had me feeling saddened and angry yet helpless.

the article was written by Chris Health and located as the last main article in GQ. You might wonder how interesting a GQ article could be if it's not about actors, glammed up designs and trends.

Titled Out of Iraq, the main page itself shown an Iraqi, sitting in a room, holding a cigarette, with bandage on both his arms and multiple healing wound on his chest. Quite a startling photograph. The article was about Iraqis who had left Iraq due to the recent war and currently refuged in neighbor country Syria and how these refugees are doing currently. And what did escaping from Iraq meant to them. The author interview just a few of these refugees and they are in fact holding good career prior to the war, a war started out of assumption, a war started by a megalomaniac, an invansion that perhaps have a much different agenda rather than to help free the country from a dictator.

If you feel annoyed by my last sentence, perhaps I just wish to state that this is purely my own opinion and my outake from the article. No apology offered as I believed no offense should be taken.

Before I continue, just to provide a few quotes from the article:
"...If the act of becoming a refugee is the act of leaving the hell of your old life, it is also often a step into a different kind of hell. A step not onto the solid ground of a new life but into the midair of no life at all"

"...as they left the house they were crying, knowing that, unless the situation changes, tehy may never see Iraq again"

"...Under Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, only a priviledged few were allowed to travel abroad. Now as supposedly free citiziens of a nascent democaracy, everyone is allowed to travel but they are welcome almost nowhere"

"We did not have the perfect life in Saddam's time...but the one thing he offered to his people was peace and living in safety"

Going back to my previous statement, is this what Iraqis had requested for? Or is this just an assumption from one person that this is for the good of the Iraqis? If it is, tell me how good is this? And this is not just about Iraq, but it is everywhere.

Look at Thailand, yes, the ex-PM could be one hell of a corrupted person but he did offered the people a positive economy, wiped out the drug lords.

Back in M'sia, opposition parties will continue to find flaws and proofs about wrong doing and so on when Dr. Mahathir was the Prime Minister but looking back then, isn't Malaysia had a bright economy. Isn't his decision of fixing the exchange rate save Malaysia a lot of trouble.

Coming from a layman, perhaps our only action was through the ballot poll but at the same time, what we want is just like any common person living in the world, a good career, providing the best to our family and able to live in peace and comfort. I once had a chat with a Thai friend regarding to the ex-PM and he labelled me as a pro but all I told him is that, my mom always told me, it doesn't matter who's the King, as long as the King can offered his people food and peace, that's a good King.

And if we were coming back to the Iraq case, if Bush intention was to help the Iraqi achieved a better life from the dictatorship of Saddam, then tell me, what is Bush's action or solution in assisting these 4millions and growing refugee in Syria?

While you might say that my analogy was totally wrong but I just felt that One Man's decision cause millions to suffer while One Man's action is not likely to have any significant impact at all. Have one's action in reducing the impact of Global Warming have any actual implication? If the world came to an end tomorrow, will this person be safe from it all as he did changed his lifestyle to reduce global warming? I doubt so.

And going back to my recent review of Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs...if you don't stand for anything, you will fail for anything. But what is there to stand for when anything just does not seem to be worth standing for? The world is dying yet all megalomaniacs of this world is only thinking about invasion, debating on religion, on homosexuality when in the end...we will still have no choice but to succumb to the wrath of nature. Yeah, 'the at least we try' phrase do seem nice to here and say but is it necessary anymore?