Not bird-brained at all (Singapore)

 

An update on my ex-classmate’s African Grey parrot.  

    Friend says:  "Sparky was figuring out the meanings of certain words.  We have, on occasion, called her cerewek (means fussy).  One day, she proudly announced, ‘Sparky cerewek,’ thinking it's a flattering term.  After the second time calling herself that, Nunung asked if S knew what it meant.  She then explained to S the meaning.  When S realised it was not so flattering, she called out, MUMMY!!!, as if N had bullied her."

    I said, “Wow, that brain of Sparky is so good at processing information (and the logical links).  You should donate it to scientific research after she's gone to Heaven.”

(Singapore, 2024)

Strange logic: 01 (London)

 

I do a Mandarin group lesson on Tuesdays.  It’s online, so the students are at home.  

    One of them (let’s call her Amelia) uses the computer in the kitchen, which for some reason cannot be moved to another room.  Her husband comes in during the lesson to get coffee and things, so every single clatter from her side, however minor, gets heard by the whole group.  (Noise gets greatly amplified digitally, I’ve discovered.  A student moving a sheet of paper across the table becomes a loud shuffling noise, for example.) 

    Amelia will get asked to mute herself whenever it happens.  She’ll then say after a few seconds, “OK, I’ve muted myself now,” or “Can you hear me now?”  It happens every single time, no matter how much we point out to her that she couldn’t have, as we’re not supposed to be able to hear her if she’s muted herself.  

    Having said this, how is she to know/check that the muting has been successful?  I suppose it’s up to us (or me specifically, as the teacher) to say, “OK, you’re muted,” when I see it onscreen, so that she knows.

(London, 2024)

How people in poorer countries travel: 03 (Taiwan)

I remember back in 1975, in Chiayi (嘉義 / Jiāyì), south Taiwan, catching sight of a man riding past on a motor scooter / moped — a very common means of transport in those days in Taiwan as a lot of people couldn’t afford a car and a motor scooter was also niftier for negotiating the dense traffic.  

    He had, in front of him, between him and the handlebars, a young child (aged about 4??).  Behind him, with her arms wrapped around his waist, was his wife.  Behind her, with their arms wrapped around the waist of the person in front of each one, were two children, different age and size.  

    Total number of riders on that moped: five in a human chain of bodies.

    These days, Taiwan is no longer a "poorer country", so this scene would presumably not be available anymore, maybe not even in the countryside.

(Taiwan, 1975)

How people in poorer countries travel: 02 (Peru)

One of the stories I'd edited was set in Kenya, with a line saying:

Quote  ... in overloaded minibuses that swayed dangerously between bumps ...  Unquote

    This recalls my first trip to Peru in June 1986.

    We were coming back to Cusco/Cuzco from a day trip to some Inca site way out, so it was around 5pm, peak time.  

    Our taxi was behind a minibus that was so packed you couldn't see through the bus (to the road in front of it through its front windscreen, like you usually can with a car or a bus) — it was just one black mass inside the vehicle.  

    It was going slowly, lopsided — tilting to the right (the pavement side of the vehicle).  We'd thought maybe the wheels on that side had less air.  

    Our taxi overtook them at one point.  We turned back to look at the minibus.  

    The doorway of the bus had a cluster of people hanging half out of the opening — hence the vehicle tilting on the pavement side.  The ones at the two outer edges of the bus door had only one foot on the bottom step, the other foot dangling off the bus in the air, their hands clinging onto the window edges/ledges either side of the door.  So there were something like four people on the one bottom step of the bus.  

    There were even men standing ON the front bumper, clinging onto the windscreen wipers.  One of them was actually directly eyeballing the driver as he was standing right in front of the driver!

(Cusco/Cuzco, Peru, 1986)

How people in poorer countries travel: 01 (India)

 

A friend forwarded a video featuring the ingenuity of people in poorer countries when transporting themselves and their families, their animals (mostly for sale at the market), their wares (some even very large sheets of wood or glass or metal).

    The first picture in that video featured a bus in India with passengers taking up the whole rooftop.  Hanging off the sides and back were more people.  They waved cheerfully at the cameraman.  It’s a wonder that the bus didn’t tilt backwards with all that extra weight on the back.

    I saw an Indian film in the 80s (made in the 50s by famous Indian film director Satyajit Ray).  This young woman, in her 20s, was on the bus — 2 long rows of seats on both sides of the inside, along the windows (thus leaving more room for people to stand / for the bus to carry more people), so the window was behind her.  She was thinking about a particular problem.  The camera was on her face.  The next thing was:  a man's face appeared outside the window behind her!  He must've been clinging on to the outside of the bus, hahahahaha.

(India, 1950s, 2024)

London is a stranger-friendly city (London)

I used to hear it said that, being such a big city, London makes one feel lonely.

    My own experience of having lived here for 47 years now testifies to the opposite.  

    A lot of total strangers who happen to make eye contact with you on the pavement or the bus/Tube will instantly give you a smile.  A young man (black, mid-/late 20s??) a month ago even beamed radiantly at me as soon as I stepped into the Tube carriage, as if I were his old friend.

    A fortnight ago, I was right behind a young man (black, late 20s / early 30s??) who was about to take the seat nearest the door in the Tube carriage when he spotted me and immediately offered the seat to me.  I saw that there was an empty one next to it, so I pointed this out and took that seat instead, thanking him for the kind thought.  I then tapped him on the shoulder and whispered to him, “I’m small, so I only need one seat.”  He guffawed at this.

    Yesterday, I was carrying a loaded (cabin luggage-size) suitcase up the steps at Northfields Tube station (not far from Heathrow) when, about 5 or 6 steps near the top, it was suddenly picked up from behind by a young man (black, late 30s / early 40s??).  I said to him, “Where were you at the bottom of the steps?!?”  He said, “I only help at the end!”  We both laughed and went our separate ways.

(London, 2024)