Transformation

Hello! Yes, I do still exist, even though it's been more than a year since my last post! I guess I'm just never going to be one of those people who blogs regularly. But it's here for me when I need it, which is nice.

Recently, I attended my organization's annual conference in Chiang Mai. It's always good to see friends whom I rarely/never see outside of that conference. I also always look forward to the times of worship and the spiritual retreat that happens at the beginning of the week. This year, during the spiritual retreat, we were given the option of using our imagination to meditate on a particular passage of Scripture: Matthew 17's recounting of the Transfiguration. After being encouraged by the friend leading the session (thanks, Karen!) to consider what it would be like to have been there - what would you have seen? Felt? Heard? - I was inspired to write this. I thought I would share it, in case it helped anyone else see that story in a new light.

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Transformation

What would it be like, to go up a mountain with Jesus and just a few of your closest friends? To know Jesus had a special purpose for this particular hike - but that purpose is beyond anything you could have imagined.

You see your Teacher and Friend transfigured in front of you. He shines so brilliantly that you can't see his face (which was so familiar) behind the radiance. You realize this radiance has to come from heaven itself.

Then two figures out of the distant past appear, and they talk with your Teacher like he knows them already. You look at your friends, eyes wide. How do you even respond to this?

And then, as if you weren't already awed, amazed, and fearful enough - there's more. God Himself sends a cloud (like He did to guide His people out of slavery; somewhere in the back of your mind you make that connection, even as your fear grows) to envelop you, the two great prophets, and your Teacher. You hear a thundering voice, which can only be the Lord Himself. He proclaims your Teacher as His own dearly loved Son. What can you do but worship - worship, and wish you had realized this truth sooner? You have been living, eating, walking with, and learning from the very Son of God. How did you not know?

But then the cloud melts away, and your Friend touches you where you lie trembling in the dust. "Get up," He says. "Don't be afraid." You still recognize His voice, His touch. You still know Him, though you also know now how much more you need to know Him.

And He knows you. He isn't angry or disappointed. He brought you this far, and He isn't going anywhere.

 

Beautiful Things

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post! I realized I might be (unintentionally) leaving more than a few loose ends in the story of my young friend F., so I figured it was time for an update.

I posted my entry about F. having become a victim of trafficking on November 9 of last year. On November 22, my sister and I received a series of messages from our friend A., the one who first told us about her situation: she was out of the sweatshop, and on her way out of Thailand back to her home country! A. had gone down to Bangkok and found her again, and managed to get her out. She sent us wonderful pictures of F. smiling and happy, hopeful for the first time in months. She still had a stressful road ahead of her at that point: since she was in the country illegally, they had to figure out the best way to get her back out without her ending up in a detention center. But before then, we were able to talk to both F. and A. briefly on the phone, and rejoice with them.

Over the next two days, we followed their progress by phone and email. A. was in contact with anti-trafficking organizations during this whole time. These wonderful people helped them decide which border crossing was best, as well as warning them what to expect from immigration officials. It was not a smooth ride. But finally they made it across, and they were safe in Pakse on the other side of the border by November 24 (coincidentally, Mackenzie's and my birthday!). And within a short time after she arrived back home, F. was enrolled in school again - a different one than she used to attend before all this happened to her, but A. reported that she was excited to go back.

And now? Even though she's a year behind where she should be, because she missed the year-end exams last year, F. is happy and doing well. We have reconnected with her via WhatsApp, as well, and we're looking forward to continuing to encourage her and just talk with her.

Thank you, again, to all of you who prayed for this situation, for F., and for A. If you feel so inclined, you can certainly still pray for F.'s mother's financial situation, as well as the whole family's growth in their faith.

Here is he is, happy and safe at home.

The LORD is my light and my salvation...

Back when I was in university, before I had decided to listen to God's calling in my life, I went to InterVarsity's Urbana conference in 2006. A lot of really cool things happened there, including me finally deciding that if God wanted me to be a Bible translator, maybe I didn't have to find that such a scary idea. But I also remember listening to many extremely inspiring speakers in the large group sessions.

One of them was from International Justice Mission, or IJM. I don't remember every detail of what she said, but I do remember her telling the story of a young girl in a brothel, who in defiance of her circumstances and the evil of the people who were holding her prisoner there, wrote the opening words of Psalm 27 on the wall of her tiny room.

That's this psalm:

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
    so why should I tremble?
² When evil people come to devour me,
    when my enemies and foes attack me,
    they will stumble and fall.
³ Though a mighty army surrounds me,
    my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
    I will remain confident.

⁴ The one thing I ask of the Lord—
    the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
    delighting in the Lord’s perfections
    and meditating in his Temple.
⁵ For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
    he will hide me in his sanctuary.
    He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
⁶ Then I will hold my head high
    above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
    singing and praising the Lord with music.

⁷ Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
    Be merciful and answer me!
⁸ My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
    And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
⁹ Do not turn your back on me.
    Do not reject your servant in anger.
    You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
    O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ Even if my father and mother abandon me,
    the Lord will hold me close.

¹¹ Teach me how to live, O Lord.
    Lead me along the right path,
    for my enemies are waiting for me.
¹² Do not let me fall into their hands.
    For they accuse me of things I’ve never done;
    with every breath they threaten me with violence.
¹³ Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
    while I am here in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait patiently for the Lord.
    Be brave and courageous.
    Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

I don't think there was a dry eye in the auditorium after this story. (I believe the girl was rescued, in a joint IJM-police operation.) My eyes certainly weren't. Can you imagine?

Fast-forward several years to 2013. My sister and I were invited to disciple some young teenage girls who lived with a friend in Vientiane. We loved having this privilege. The girls were shy but very sweet, and they loved to sing worship songs with us. We were very sorry to have to say goodbye when we left to move to Mukdahan, but we didn't forget them and hoped that they wouldn't forget what we taught them.

That's me, N., my sister Mackenzie, F. (in blue), and our friend R. who helped us teach N. and F., in 2013 at R.'s house. We had just finished watching an animated movie of the story of Joseph, which the girls enjoyed.

Now as you may have heard on Facebook, our friend in Vientiane at whose house F. and N. lived told us last week that F. had been tricked into leaving home for a "job opportunity" in Bangkok. Her mother is apparently heavily in debt, so F.'s mother and an older cousin brought her to a sweat shop where she is now working all day every day, sending almost her entire (meager) paycheck to her mother every month. At the current rate, she would need to work there basically her whole life to pay off her mother's debt and the debt she incurred for being transported there. She is isolated, afraid, and wants to go back home and finish school, according to our friend who was able to find her and visit her. But the pressure from her relatives to work to help her mother is too great for her to feel able to leave. She's also afraid that she'll be arrested if she tries to leave, because her older cousin keeps telling her that's what would happen since she doesn't have proper documentation.

Praise God that our friend from Vientiane was able to find F., spend some time with her, and give her a Bible in her language and also a phone. At least the people who own the sweat shop aren't so controlling that they don't allow her these things. Praise God that F. still remembers some of what she's learned about God, although our friend said unsurprisingly that she was losing hope. Praise God that our friend has been in contact with anti-trafficking organizations (like IJM), and that she's not giving up on helping F. get out of this terrible situation.

We are also so glad that we are able to message with F. now, since she asked for her number to be passed onto us via our friend. Our friend suggested we send her Bible passages. I sent her Psalm 27. And cried at verse 10.

Please keep praying for her.

The little things, part 2

Before we left to come back to the States, I made a list of little things about life in Thailand/Laos that I'd miss while I was here. So it only seems fitting that I make a list of some of the little things I'll miss about life here in Washington. Again, this isn't counting the hugely important people I'll miss: my family, my local friends, my church. These are just the small things that make this home - or I should say, one of my homes.

Some sounds that I missed while I was in Thailand, that I'll miss when we get back:

-Airplanes flying overhead multiple times a day, from Boeing or from Seatac Airport
-Robins, sparrows, chickadees, red-winged blackbirds, bald eagles, and other native Pacific Northwestern birds
-Soft, steady drizzle of rain that can go on for hours (not a tropical deluge)
-The distant sound of a train whistle
-The furnace coming on at intervals throughout the day
-English-language songs on the radio, and playing in the background in stores
-The specific sound our front door makes when it opens or closes
-The sound of driving over that one stretch of I-5 in Seattle that has all the expansion joints in it - preferably at the rhythm you get when you're going about 65 mph in the HOV lane
-The tide coming in or out, at the various Puget Sound beaches I love

Some scents that I'll miss:
-Evergreen conifers
-Cherry blossom trees

-The ocean (mostly the Puget Sound)
-Burning dust when the heater comes on after having been off for a while
-Laundry fresh out of the dryer
-Freshly-mowed grass - it smells different in Thailand
-Fallen leaves

Some sights I'll miss:
-Mount Rainier, on clear and partly cloudy days
-The Cascades and the Olympics
-The Seattle skyline (there's none I love better)
-Autumn leaves, and bare trees after the leaves have fallen
-Tree-lined streets and hiking paths
-Frost-covered branches, and falling snow (not that we got all that much of that this winter ... and yes, I know that much of the US got too much!)
-Spring flowers

Other sensations:
-Long sleeves, jackets, sweatshirts, sweaters, coats, socks, closed-in shoes, jeans almost every day, high-heeled boots, scarves, fleece pajamas, flannel sheets ... all those clothes, etc. that go with colder weather
-Coming into the warm house from a cold day
-The comfort of holding a hot beverage in cold hands
-Less time spent sweating
-Sitting in front of a fireplace or warm stove
-Dishes fresh out of the dishwasher

That's just a small sampling; I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting at the moment. But at the same time, I'm getting more and more excited to go back to my other home!

It's the little things (okay, and the big things)

Faster than seems possible, it's approaching the day when Mackenzie and I will be saying goodbye to one home temporarily so that we can go back to our other home. For the first time in two and a half years, we'll be going back to the US!

While I am very excited to go back home, see family & friends, visit all my favorite places in Washington, and eat American food, I'm also realizing that I have less than two months now to say goodbye (for six months) to the things I love so much about Thailand and Southeast Asia. Of course it helps to know that I'll be back here pretty soon; I'm sure the months in the US will fly by just as fast or faster as it seems like my first term over here has.

So what will I miss about life here? The obvious and most important answer is my friends. Our neighborhood, our office, our church, our weekly pizza night - I'll miss all the people I see at these places. (And I'll continue to miss my friends who live in Vientiane, too!) I can't count all the ways that my Mukdahan family has welcomed, loved, and helped me throughout the year I have lived here and beforehand, too.

Other than this big thing, there are other, smaller good or just everyday things that come to mind when I think of this place. I'm sure I won't think of them all, but I've been thinking about some of them.

- I think of sounds:

Tropical birdsong, in the mornings and evenings especially.* Doves cooing and murmuring. The sound of a motorbike starting up. The rumble of the gate to a house being pulled open or pushed shut on its wheeled track. Thai, Isaan, and Lao being spoken. A tuktuk going past on the main road. The little red ice cream truck. The distinctive beat of traditional-style Isaan or Lao music (though I really prefer it not accompanied by loud, drunken karaoke parties). The radio advertisements playing inside Big C and Tesco Lotus. The trucks that go by blaring their political or product advertisements. Cicadas and bullfrogs during certain seasons. House geckos chirping a warning. Tukkaes, or Tokay geckos, calling from outside. The cycling of air conditioning units. The quiet dripping of the water filter. The hiss of a gas stove. Dramatic peals of thunder and tropical downpours.

*There's one very distinctive birdcall that I will especially miss: that of the Greater Coucal. It's not a flashy, bright-colored bird, but it sounds pretty cool. If you'd like to hear a sample, this is what it sounds like (and also what the bird looks like).

- I think of scents:

Flowers that release their perfume at night. The street after a heavy rainfall.

The type of laundry soap we always use. Grilled chicken or river fish sold by the roadside. Freshly steamed sticky rice. The various kinds of Thai food being cooked for lunch at the office. The pungent, sometimes almost pleasant odor of durian for sale. Seafood and other strong-smelling foods being prepared for sale at Big C - though sometimes it's a bit too strong to be at all enjoyable. Fish sauce being used in cooking. Fresh, hot khao piak or pho (noodle soup). The way the smell of lime juice lingers on your hands after you squeeze a wedge of lime over your meal. Freshly sliced mangoes. Incense from a spirit house or a wat (Buddhist temple). The bug-killing spray we use to kill cockroaches, ants, and spiders (okay, I won't actually miss that, even though it's usually either floral or citrus scented here).

- I think of sights:

The beautiful array of plant life, including so many flowers. Colorful butterflies and dragonflies. Impressively huge moths and beetles (as long as they stay outside!). Brightly-colored Thai flags - or Lao, depending on which side of the border I'm on.

All the wares for sale at markets. Rows of brilliant, traditional wraparound skirts (sinhs) in a myriad of patterns and hues. Golden spires and rooftops of temples. Water buffaloes and cows grazing by the side of the road - or crossing it. Chickens and dogs, and the occasional cat, trotting down narrow lanes. Geckos darting up the wall. Schoolchildren in their uniforms, coming home from school in songthaews or on the back of motorbikes, sometimes three or more on a bike. Huge, brightly-painted tour buses crawling through the town. Rows of tuktuks waiting for passengers at tourist locations and bus stations. Ornate signs and designs all over, in honor of the Royal Family. The Mekong River. Seemingly endless ricefields just outside the city. Green, rolling hills and mountains once you get even further outside of the city. Busy, bustling Centralplaza shopping centers. A 7-11 at every corner. People smiling, putting their palms together, and bowing their heads in the traditional greeting - a wai or a nop, depending on the language.

- I think of tangible and non-tangible sensations:

The smoothness of a silk sinh (traditional wraparound skirt). The electric start button for a motorbike - or kickstarting it. The slight stickiness of a fallen dok champa (plumeria/frangipani) blossom. The near-burn that comes from grabbing a handful of fresh sticky rice right out of the basket (totally worth it). The bliss of an air-conditioned room after coming indoors. The breeze coming off the Mekong. The relative cool of a cloudy, rainy-season day. The soothing softness of my cats' fur - the two of them distinct from one another.* The cloth steering wheel cover that keeps the steering wheel from burning my hands when the car has sat in the sun for a while. The squishy hollowness of an unopened pomelo fruit. The smoothness of a mango skin. The bristliness of the outside of a rambutan.

*Yes, cats in general are not unique to SE Asia. But our cats are, and we aren't taking them back to the US with them, so we will be missing them like crazy.

- I think of flavors:

Each and every one of my favorite Thai and Lao main dishes (I won't list them all, because it would be a very long list and I'd get too hungry in the process. You can ask me sometime). Specific meals from my favorite restaurants in Vientiane. Coconut milk used in cooking. Fresh-made "Lao bread" - also known as baguettes. The wide array of tropical fruits, most of which I've already posted about: passionfruit, mangoes, mangosteens, rambutans, lychees, limes, pineapple, rose apples, dragonfruit, guava, coconut, tamarind, etc.

Frozen fruit bars in these flavors (made with real fruit juice). Homemade Lao ice cream. Mango yogurt. Passionfruit jam. Jelly desserts made of coconut milk and rice flour. The kinds of fresh green vegetables that you can't really get back home - most of which I don't even know an English name for. Potato chips with specially SE Asian flavors. Salty-sour-sweet limeade.

Thankfully, as I said, I doubt I'll have too much time to miss these things, since I fully expect to be enjoying all the people and things I have been missing in the US while we're home there. But it's good to remind myself what we'll be coming back to, at the end of these upcoming six months.

Hot Season

So here it is again: hot season. That lovely time of year (approximately March to May) when temperatures get to 100F/37-38C for most of the day, it almost never rains, and no one wants to do anything even slightly strenuous, especially during the hottest part of the day ... unless it involves being underwater or sitting in an air-conditioned room.

I have to admit that this is not at all my favorite time of year in Southeast Asia. Rainy season, even with its accompanying humidity, doesn't bother me as much. I grew up in the Pacific Northwestern US, in western Washington and Oregon specifically. I'm used to rain, though of course it's not the same kind here. (Here, it's the downpour-plus-thunderstorm kind of rain, usually.) But after two years in SE Asia, I'm still not used to hot and dry.

But, all that said, it's not like there is nothing I enjoy about hot season. In fact, to help me remember, I'm going to list them - after I list my least favorite things about it.

Top Things I Really Don't Like About Hot Season:

1. The aforementioned heat.

2. Being outside for more than a few seconds = sweating a lot.

3. Feeling even less motivation than usual for doing housework/chores, because that = sweating a lot.

4. More mosquitoes, and more bugs coming inside the house. Especially the spiders.

5. Lowered appetite from the heat.

6. Much less desire to cook or bake, since it makes the house even hotter.

7. The season seems to last forever.

I think that about sums it up. Now, onto a more optimistic list.

Top Things I Do Like About Hot Season:

1. It's also rambutan, mangosteen, and mango season! Mmmmm.

2. It's mango season at Dairy Queen and Swensen's! Mmmmm, mango ice cream.

3. It's a good excuse to eat ice cream more often (not that I really need an excuse).

4. No need to turn on the water heater when you shower - in fact, it feels so much nicer not to.

5. In cold season, you don't get to see/hear these guys:

This is a Tokay gecko, or tukkae as it's known in Thailand. I remember hearing stories about these guys from my grandma, which might be why it's such a comforting sound to me whenever I hear it. If you've never had the pleasure of hearing their distinctive call, you can find a clip of it at the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokay_gecko

6. In cold season, you also don't get to see these cool creatures:

These huge Atlas moths - at least as big as my face - are harmless and gorgeous. We just have to make sure they don't land on our screen door, or our cats would try to kill them.

7. Nobody looks at you twice if you want to stay in and nap/do nothing during the hottest hours of the day. In fact it's totally normal.

8. It builds even more anticipation for the coming of the rainy season (at least for my sister and me, anyway!).

Friends who live in/have been in SE Asia, did I miss any on either list?

Some more of my favorites (characters, that is)

It's time for another list of TV favorites. Well, part one of a list, I should say, since I'm going to divide it into Favorite Female Characters and Favorite Male Characters (otherwise the whole list would be far too long and ungainly). I'll start with the women. Though they're numbered, I don't think I can put them in any kind of actual rating order. Most of them are just too awesome for me to choose between. So with that in mind, let me begin. *NOTE: there are minor spoilers for the plots of various TV shows contained in this post.

1. Dana Scully, The X-Files

She's smart, she's strong (physically and in all other ways), she's loyal, she thinks deeply, she has a great sense of humor, she's gorgeous... Scully has a lot going for her. Though it took me maybe two episodes of The X-Files to decide that I loved Mulder (but that's for the next post), I'm pretty sure it took me just a few minutes to decide I loved Scully. (This was even despite her terrible, terrible wardrobe in the first couple of seasons. Ah, early '90s. Not a look I'm very fond of.) As will be true for all of these characters, much of that comes down to Gillian Anderson's pretty much flawless portrayal. We all know that Mulder wouldn't have made it through many more years of his life and his dangerous quest without Scully. But Scully was far from just a sidekick or a love interest for the male lead. Even though she dealt with incredible amounts of pain and heartache throughout the course of the show, she never ceased being awesome - even when the show itself stopped being really great.

I was going to post a single picture of her, but then I decided, why not post this fantastic fan-made video celebration of her awesomeness instead? If you hadn't seen it before, you're welcome.

2. Sydney Bristow, Alias

Okay, I will be the first to admit that this show went crazy off the rails sometime around season 3, and I never saw most of season 5. But as far as I know, they never assassinated the character of Sydney Bristow: sweet, loyal, super-smart, kickass, stunningly lovely, speaks dozens of languages - and oh yeah, a super-spy who can track down and take out the bad guys, fool the other bad guys, change costumes, and then jet across the globe faster than most people can pour themselves a cup of coffee in the morning. (I will also be the first to admit that this show was not what you'd call scientifically accurate in terms of things like time zones.) I actually fell in love with Jennifer Garner's Sydney before many of the other characters on this list, since I saw this show before many of them. She will always have a special place in my TV-loving heart. I think I still have her season 1 opening monologue memorized: "My name is Sydney Bristow. Seven years ago, I was recruited by a secret branch of the CIA called SD-6..."

3. Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The superheroine above all superheroines. Don't let her blonde hair and cutesy name fool you (although that's part of the point behind the name & look): Buffy has a life role, and that is to save the world from vampires, evil, and the forces of darkness. And she is very able to do so. In fact, in the words of her friends, "She saved the world. A lot." When I watched this show - and whenever I rewatch it - some of my favorite moments were when she displayed her physical Slayer strength. Sure, she's also a teenage girl who thinks about the things that a lot of teenage girls do: whether she can be popular at school, grades, boys, etc. She's also quick with a quip and excellent at bantering. But most of all, she will protect those she loves, and will fight for good, above anything else including her life. She's a hero, you see.

4. Olivia Dunham, Fringe

Oh, how I love Agent Olivia Dunham of the FBI's Fringe Division. She definitely had the worst childhood of anyone else on this list (so far), and despite/because of that, she uses her unique strengths as the driving force behind the efforts to save multiple universes. I loved her before the reveal that she had special abilities, and loved her even more after that. She's another character who not only cares about justice in the larger sense, for the world(s), but is fiercely protective of those she loves. One other small part of the reason I love Olivia is how she develops as a character over the course of five seasons, becoming someone who isn't afraid to take ownership of her abilities, and someone who isn't afraid to express her emotions. I'll be honest: at first I thought Anna Torv was a bit wooden as an actress, but it didn't take long before I saw that this was a deliberate acting choice. She expertly and subtly portrayed a character who doesn't trust easily, and therefore is guarded in front of others.

5. C.J. Cregg, The West Wing

Perhaps the most 'mundane' character on this list, in that the show she's from is a drama rather than sci-fi/fantasy - but that doesn't make her one bit less awesome. C.J. is basically the coolest. She's a woman in the intensely male-dominated world of American politics and the White House, but she holds her own with poise and ease. She's "one of the guys" but doesn't lose an inch of her femininity. As press secretary and then later chief of staff, she's comfortable with her position of power, and confident in that fact as well as the fact that's she's gorgeous. (Although again, season 1 wardrobe was not as kind to her.) Plus her comedic timing is perfect. Allison Janney - whom her co-star John Spencer apparently liked to refer to as "the nearly-perfect Allison Janney" - rules, is what I'm saying in a nutshell.

6. Sarah Jane Smith, Doctor Who

I actually had only seen Sarah Jane in a few episodes of the classic series before she showed up in season 2 of the new DW, in "School Reunion". But I knew enough to be thrilled to see her again! While a reunion between the Doctor and any one of several of his previous Companions could have been excellent, I think Elisabeth Sladen's Sarah Jane was the best choice. "School Reunion" immediately became one of my favorite episodes upon first viewing, and it inspired me to seek out more classic series eps with her and the Third Doctor, as well as the Fourth Doctor of course. You could see the richness of her history with the Doctor, and it didn't require a lot of words from her. Both in the classic and new series, Sarah Jane never stood for any nonsense with the Doctor, but loved him and was loved by him. He couldn't have asked for a better friend, that's for sure. I didn't watch all that many episodes of her spinoff show, but it was certainly well-deserved. I look forward to watching more of her classic series eps in the future.

7. Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars

Another non- sci-fi or fantasy character, but she doesn't rock any less. She's a teen detective, often helping her dad in his PI work as well as taking on cases of her own from classmates. She's intelligent *and* witty - often bitingly sarcastic to anyone she deems worthy of a tongue-lashing. She's also tenacious and persistent to a fault; more than once she pursues an answer to the point that it puts her in danger. Though Veronica has weathered several betrayals in her life, she remains utterly loyal to her loved ones. You can also almost always find her sticking up for the underdog. I appreciate how, over the course of three seasons, Kristen Bell shows us a young woman who continually struggles with trust and how to move past her traumas (or not move past them, as the case may be). And I gotta say, I'm pretty thrilled and excited to see how Veronica has evolved as a character in the years since the show - when the movie comes out next month!! We already know from the previews that she has recognized that private detective work can lead her down an obsessive path, which is why she hasn't indulged in it for years...

8. Seven of Nine, Star Trek: Voyager

This is not a perfect TV show, by any stretch. However, there is no question that it becomes vastly better when Jeri Ryan joins the cast as the ex-Borg drone, Seven of Nine. Like Data in TNG, Seven's journey of discovery/rediscovery of what it means to be human provides many excellent episodes, as well as insights for the audience. She has to decide whether to make a life for herself as a crew member on Voyager, even though the humans and other races on the ship act illogically and according to their emotions so often. I think my favorite ep of those I have rewatched recently is the one where various personalities of the people Seven helped assimilate while she was Borg start to resurge in her mind ("Infinite Regress", the internet tells me it's called). Jeri Ryan plays a little child, a Klingon warrior, a Ferengi, a Vulcan, and other personalities flawlessly. It's a pleasure to watch her as Seven of Nine, and like nearly everyone else in this list, the lack of awards attention paid to her is a crying shame. But I do feel a bit sorry for her, having heard from behind-the-scenes interviews that her wardrobe as the former Borg drone was just as uncomfortable and inconvenient as it looks!

9. Mary Shannon, In Plain Sight

Full disclosure: I have not watched and probably will not ever watch the last half of the final season of this show, because of rumors I've heard about how it ends. But those rumors don't erase my love for Mary Shannon. She's brash and at least as sarcastic as Veronica, she's strong, she's stubborn, she's funny, and she cares deeply about her family (messed up as they are), her friend (yeah, it's just the one), and the witnesses that are under her protection. Sidenote: starting to see a trend here - all of these women really, really care about/for their families and loved ones. I like that in a person/character. She's also wiser and more caring in general than she thinks she is. Though a major part of the appeal of IPS was the chemistry between Mary McCormack and Fred Weller (as the aforementioned friend), Marshall Mary Shannon was the main character. And as such, she was perfectly imperfect.

10. Dani Reese, Life

On this, one of many shows that ended well before its time, there was still enough time to fall in love with Detective Dani Reese. Reese was initially ... let's say unsure about being partnered with the eccentric former death row inmate Charlie Crews. But her partnership with Crews quickly became very strong - due in large part to their mutual recognition of each others' strengths borne out of the hardships they have endured. She's laconic, a recovering addict, and has daddy issues. She also has a strong moral code, that loyalty that I love so much, and the ability to stand up for herself and for others. And seeing Reese go from a serial one-night-stand-er to someone who seeks out real relationships is also pretty cool - and that's just one of the ways her character grows - of course there are many others. Plus, like many other women on this list, she can give as good as she gets. Whenever anyone does anything she thinks is foolish or annoying (mostly Crews), her look of scorn is a sight to behold.

11. Delenn, Babylon 5

My list would not be complete without this wise, caring, thoughtful, passionate, courageous, spiritual, and of course beautiful character. Yes, she can be headstrong and hot-tempered - sometimes with very far-reaching consequences. But she's also eloquent and driven in pursuit of peace & the best diplomatic solution. She is easily the most far-seeing and boldest of the Minbari, and she stands between the warrior and religious castes perfectly. I don't know anyone who loves B5 who doesn't love the scene where she makes the invading humans retreat from the space station with her, "If you value your lives, be somewhere else!" speech. Awwww yeah. Plus, the various things she has to deal with as she gets used to being part-human range from heartwarming to profound to hilarious. Just one of the fantastic, beautifully-realized characters on B5 - and an excellent showcase for Mira Furlan's talent.

Honorable mentions: Donna Noble from Doctor Who, and Mrs. Hughes from Downton Abbey. Both are strong and loyal and brave and awesome, for sure.

Well, I think I remembered all of my top favorites. I expect I'll continue to add to this list as I keep watching excellent TV - or at least I very much hope so! Did I miss any of your favorites?

For unto us...

So, I know I'm probably the last person - certainly the last 'cross-cultural worker' - to have read this book, but I just finished reading Peace Child by Don Richardson. I borrowed it from our neighbors, who are currently on home assignment in the US. It's the story of Don and his wife Carol's life with the Sawi people of New Guinea. It's incredibly gripping, and very, VERY well-written. (The first short section is like an ethnography of the Sawi people, in fact.)

The Sawi were an isolated, warlike, dangerous people, who practiced headhunting and cannibalism. Their language was extremely grammatically complex, with nineteen tenses, numerous ways to express mood (subjunctive, etc.), and an amazingly specific set of verbs to describe actions we might use one verb to describe, such as "open". Okay, all that sounds a little bit cliche, maybe, if you've read any missionary stories. But there was another facet of Sawi culture that made the Richardsons' work much more difficult: the people idealized treachery above all things. To "fatten with friendship" - to lull a friend into a false sense of security before betraying and murdering (and then eating) them - was the ultimate heroic act. Those Sawi who accomplished this in new or more shocking ways were those that went down in legends.

So when Mr. Richardson tried to communicate the gospel to these people, they listened with interest for the most part - but they decided Judas Iscariot was the hero of the story! But of course, since he performed the ultimate act of betrayal.

Here's where the redemptive analogy comes in: the key concept that brings the gospel into the culture of the people in a way they will truly understand. I'm not going to explain it all here; you should read the book if you haven't already. Let me just say, I happened to be listening to Fernando Ortega's beautiful instrumental version of "Of the Father's Love Begotten" while I read the climactic scene about the Peace Child. Cue tears. (I don't normally listen to Christmas music before December, but it's on the CD with other hymns and it's too gorgeous of a track to skip.) Amazing, breathtakingly perfect soundtrack.

Redemptive analogies: the Lamb, the Word, the Peace Child. I love reading stories about them.

I think I may have chosen the right field...

...Or, more accurately said, I think God knew what he was doing when he called me to this vocation (and this part of the world!).

Our language teacher gave us a homework assignment, to go out and talk to one local person - someone who doesn't share our religion. These were the two questions we were supposed to ask:

1)Do you think people are born with sin?

2)If you don't want to have sin in your life, what should you do?

First of all, it took both me and my sister a long time to get up our courage to go out and talk to someone in the community. Most of our local friends happen to be of the same religion as us. And as you may know, we aren't naturally very outgoing - in fact, I'd say we're downright shy. But finally, today, at one of the minimarts we go to very frequently, I decided to just go ahead and dive in. The cashier recognizes us and has always seemed friendly, after all.

The cashier was happy to answer. She said, yes, we're born with sin. She said both rich and poor people sin, though often in different ways. She knows that, for herself, she does sin. For the second question, she said for herself, in order to not have sin, she doesn't kill animals, although it's fine to eat meat from animals that someone else has killed. She also tries not to hate anyone. Very understandable, and also fits in very well with what I know of the beliefs and culture of the majority of the local people.

I thanked her sincerely and we left, feeling energized and excited. It's amazing how actually practicing what I've been learning fills me with enthusiasm! It helps when the person to whom I'm talking understands me, of course (which has been a more regular occurrence now that I'm near the end of formal language study here). That gives me hope that even though I'm not likely to shift from being an introvert to being more extroverted, I can actually function in this job that will require me to step out of my comfortable, quiet, English-speaking bubble so often. I am positive I would not have reached this stage on my own strength.

A little bit later, Mackenzie and I went out again, this time to the little shop nearby that washes and dries clothing. (We have a washing machine, but it's not equipped to handle things like blankets.) We wanted to get our traditional wraparound skirts (ສິ້ນ) washed, since they require special care. We've been to this shop several times to get our bed comforters washed, and it seemed to both of us that the lady in charge would be willing to have us ask her questions. After she advised us about the proper care of my skirt, which is made of different material than Mackenzie's, Mackenzie asked her the same two questions about sin. The lady was very ready to answer. She must have studied about her religion a lot, because she didn't seem to have to think about the questions very long at all, and in fact expounded on them at length. (In fact, she spoke so quickly and so much that we devoutly wished we'd brought a recorder so we could listen more carefully again at home!)

For the first question, she said she does think everyone is born with sin (although apparently in her religion there is "good" sin and "evil" sin! This is something I'd like to learn more about, because it sounds completely foreign to me). She said if anyone says they don't have sin, that's not true. I gotta say, that sounds strikingly familiar! She continued that even if you're the only person who knows about the sin you commit, it's still wrong. And - as is the widely-accepted view - she also said if you do good you'll receive good, and if you do evil you'll receive evil.

In answering the second question about how to not have sin, she reiterated that if you do good you'll receive good, and also mentioned the five rules that good practitioners of her religion try to follow. The lady also told us about the importance of moderation in all things: don't overeat and waste good food, don't drink so much that you get drunk and cause problems in your family or your village, etc. In the words of a proverb she recited for us: ກິນ ເພື່ອ ຢູ່ - ບໍ່ ຢູ່ ເພື່ອ ກິນ "Eat to live, don't live to eat". (By the way, please correct me, friends who know the language, if I've gotten the proverb wrong.)

And then, in the midst of further talk about how to not sin, came the kicker that we both almost missed: she told us that there's no way someone else can take your punishment if you do wrong. You have to take the punishment yourself. And that's what kicked us both in the gut. After we thanked her and walked home - again feeling energized and happy to have gotten to talk to people and have them understand us in turn - we felt grief. Grief for people who don't know the One who has already taken all of our punishment for every sin, so that we don't have to be concerned all the time about how to get rid of the stain of sin in our own lives. And we felt so inadequate to do anything about the many, many millions of people who don't know anything else than what their families and ancestors have always done.

It's a good thing it isn't totally up to us. But it reminded us to never, ever stop praying.

Rain, I don't mind

Well, the rainy season has begun in earnest these past few weeks. That means a tropical downpour, complete with wind, extremely loud thunder, and very impressive lightning, at about 10pm almost every night - and on those days where there isn't a 10pm storm, there's usually a deluge earlier in the day.

Mackenzie and I have been deeply enjoying the change in weather for a number of reasons. For one thing, it's just been waaayyy too hot before now, with the added bonus (blech!) of humidity. But for another thing, it's just so refreshing to hear the sound of the rain falling. This holds true both for the heavy tropical deluge, and especially for the hours-long drizzle that is much less common here. Few things can remind me of home quite like sitting serenely inside the house while listening to the quiet, steady sound of rainfall. So gloriously peaceful and soothing.

Our cats respond to the cooler weather as might be expected of the solar-powered creatures that they are: they're much less active during the day, not running around crazily nearly as often as they do on sunny days. Perhaps they find it soothing, too. Of course, when big storms hit, they're not at all pleased by the loud noises and rushing wind.

I don't even mind the fact that getting anywhere by motorbike while it's pouring means you pretty much have to get wet. Sure, wearing a poncho like that one helps - quite a bit - but there's really no way to stay totally dry. Maybe it just calls back to my Seattle-area upbringing: you don't use an umbrella when it's raining, you just wear a raincoat and get a little wet. No big deal (ບໍ່ ເປັນຫຍັງ, if you want the local equivalent of that saying). And I think it's going to take me a long time to get bored of seeing so many dramatic forks of lightning in the sky whenever there's a storm. That's one thing we miss out on in western Washington.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look at the seven-day forecast - which is completely full of rainstorms and/or cloudy days in the low 90s (F) or below - and smile in contentment. This is the view outside our language school window, immediately pre-storm

"One Person Can't Feel So Many Things At Once - They'd Explode!"

So says Ron Weasley in one of the Harry Potter books, and I sort of agree with him in some ways.

I knew it was going to stir up some emotions when I did my inaugural December listen-through of my favorite Christmas album of all time, AVB's fantastic A Savior Is Born - but I didn't know it would do quite this much to me.

I really miss my family. I knew I would, and I knew it would be especially hard once the holiday season rolled around, but I don't think I'd really let it hit me fully until today... Until I started playing that album that I love so much. See, we always listen to this one (and a few others) as a family, during tree-decorating and during family meals, and during present opening on Christmas Day.

It didn't take more than a few seconds of listening to the first song on the album for me to start bawling. Like, seriously, I'm having trouble seeing the screen here. I didn't really know it was quite this possible to revel in the joy and the feelings I only get when listening to Christmas music and celebrating the meaning of this holiday - while at the same time missing home and family with a sharpness that I haven't really felt since I came here. (Though I did have a little preview of that on Thanksgiving, when I found a beautiful version of the hymn our family always sings together before the Thanksgiving meal, listened to it on Youtube, and cried.)

Man. It's a good thing Skype and Google Hangouts exist. It's a good thing my sister and I aren't going to be all alone for Christmas. And it's a good thing I do love what I'm doing, and I believe it's meaningful and valuable, and that it's exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.

Oh, it's time for "Joy To The World", the best version ever. Excuse me while I smile and go get another tissue.

(Decorating our house here helps a little bit.)

"Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise..."

I absolutely cannot let the 25th anniversary of the TV premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation pass without comment. Watching this show with my family is one of my earliest TV-related memories. I grew up watching Captain Picard and his crew travel throughout the universe, bringing their Starfleet idealism with them everywhere they went. I saw Star Trek: First Contact in theaters even though it was rated PG-13 and I wasn't thirteen yet. I was terrified by the Borg. I had nightmares after watching the episode where Data has bad dreams, and the one where Troi has bad dreams about "Eyes... in the dark..." (Apparently, I was easily disturbed by episodes about bad dreams. They didn't give me nightmares but just made it very, very hard to fall asleep.) I idolized Picard, and Riker, and Geordi - especially since I also loved LeVar Burton on Reading Rainbow. I thought Data was awesome - and I loved that he had a pet cat named Spot. I loved Worf's gruffness and loyalty. I even liked Wesley. I was too young to find him irritating. Heh. Troi and Dr. Crusher were great as well, and essential parts of the cast (which I've already mentioned is one of my favorite ensembles). Even now, when I hear the opening monologue and the theme, I feel a rush of nostalgia that's quite powerful.

What are some of the ways this show influenced me? Well, for one thing, my preschool-aged sister and I learned how to say, "What the hell is going on here?" from one Commander William Riker - much to the shock of our parents and the horror of our grandmother. Heh. But more importantly, it continued to foster the love of space, science, and exploration that my parents had already begun in me. I know I wouldn't have been as excited as I was to do a report on Pluto in first grade if I hadn't already started to learn about planets, star systems, and galaxies from TNG and other sources at home.

This past year, after all of the Trek series were added to Netflix's instant watch option, it became tradition that my sister, my dad, and I would all eat lunch at home while watching an episode of either TNG, Voyager, or DS9 (not as much of a fan of the original series, though it's a classic for sure). We didn't get through all of the episodes. I think all of the series are available at the DVD store in town, so I might pick them up at some point while I'm here, but I'll miss watching them with Dad at home.

Cats, kittens, and ailurophiles

I have loved cats my whole life, as far back as I can remember. We had a family pet, an orange tabby named Oscar, when my sister and I were toddlers. Some of my earliest memories revolve around him. We loved him, although he wasn't overly fond of us I'm pretty sure.

When we moved to the house where we spent most of our growing-up years, my parents (who are also fond of cats) decided my sister and I could pick out a kitten each from our preschool teacher's cat's litter. I chose a tuxedo cat, polydactyl (six-toed) male whom I named Sweetfeet. He had little while paws, just like his mother whose name was Sugarfoot. My sister chose a longhaired black female whom she named Blackberry. Blackberry's fur later turned out to be sort of dark gray in places, but the name stuck anyway.

Sweetfeet and Blackberry were our cherished companions from the time we were about 5 years old until we were past 21. They had good, long lives - although when the family moved in their later life, they had a little trouble adjusting. Blackberry's health failed first. Her brother held on for a while longer. I still miss him.

Then our household went quite some time without any pets at all. My sister and I were getting ready to move to Southeast Asia, my brothers were moved out, and my parents' new job duties mean they travel frequently so they didn't think it would be kind to a cat to leave it to the care of housesitters so often. My brother got a kitten at his new apartment. It was fun to play with her when we visited. She's her own delightful brand of kitty crazy.

Once my sister and I were settled in to our own house here in Southeast Asia, getting a cat or two was pretty high up on our to-do list. Thankfully, our housemate and friend was also okay with the idea, especially since cats fulfill the important function of keeping the house free of spiders, bugs, and geckos that are foolish enough to be in range of a pounce. But you don't buy cats here. You go through connections. If a friend or acquaintance has a cat that has kittens, you can get them for free. So my sister and I waited for a while, putting out feelers to friends in the area.

And then one day, during language class, the director of the language school (who is also a friend) came in with one of the custodians, who was holding a little calico kitten. Our language school's ceiling is apparently a popular place for mother cats to have their kittens, and this little one's mother was nowhere to be found. Our director knew we wanted kittens, so he asked if we wanted her, even though she wasn't weaned yet. We couldn't resist. After our director friend went and bought us a kitten-feeding bottle, we took the little sweetie home and named her CJ.

Yes, she is named after Claudia Jean "CJ" Cregg, our favorite character from The West Wing. That was it for a day. CJ started to adjust to being bottle-fed. She was lonely when we weren't around, though, the poor little thing. Then the next day, our director interrupted our class again - this time with a whole dustpan full of tiny kittens! He asked if we wanted another one. We really, really did. This time we chose the little black and white male. At home, we quickly decided he would be Toby, after Toby Ziegler (also from The West Wing). CJ seemed much happier to have a sibling around, and Toby stopped howling when we put him next to her in the box, too.

Round-the-clock feeding of two tiny kittens while still trying to do language school and also find time for sleeping and eating was not easy. I can say I have a newfound respect for new parents, especially since they have to do that for much longer than one has to for fast-growing kittens! But thankfully our little ones were more than halfway through the weaning process. So we only had to give up vast quantities of sleep for about a week and a half.

Now they're already on solid (wet) cat food, mostly litterbox-trained, and growing more and more every day. They're sweet, cuddly, inquisitive, and playful. They're also developing personalities beyond, "I'm hungry! Feed me now!" My sister's CJ is more fearless and independent than my Toby, who complains a lot and sometimes needs more time to figure out new things. But they both bring me joy every day. I've missed having a cat (or two) in the house. Few things are more relaxing and heart-melting than time spend snuggling with a little kitten in your lap, in my opinion.

I look forward to many years of companionship from these two!

We Are Family: Best TV Ensembles

Many of my favorite TV shows happen to have a strong ensemble cast of characters. (Not all of them; The X-Files for example is really all about Mulder and Scully, no matter how much I love Skinner, the Lone Gunmen, and others.) This aspect of these shows often makes me love them more, since I love stories about family, and about diverse groups of people who come together to become a family. With that in mind, here's my list of favorite ensemble shows. It's hard for me to even number it, because I would want to place so many of these at number one. So once again, please consider that the order doesn't necessarily mean I like one better than the others.

1. Firefly

This is usually the one that occurs to me first, I will admit. Making family out of a highly diverse group of people whom you wouldn't think would ever get along and love each other is kind of a specialty of Joss Whedon's (one of the many things I love about his writing!) - and Firefly is a prime example of this. We have Mal and Zoe, two veterans of the losing side of a war, Wash, who's an expert pilot and describes himself as “the funny one”, Kaylee, the sunny, optimistic ship's mechanic, Book, the shepherd with a mysterious past, Simon and River, siblings on the run from the Alliance, Jayne the mercenary who would say he only cares about his own wellbeing, and Inara, the elegant Companion. Somehow, all these people end up knit together as a family, although Mal would prefer to call it his crew. It makes me love them all even more when behind the scenes footage, photos, Twitter accounts, and interviews from the cast make it clear that they're friends in real life, too. Sigh. I love this show.

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Another quintessential Whedon ensemble. At the beginning of the show, it's just the Core Four members of the Scooby Gang: Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles. By the end of the show, the family has grown and shrunk and grown again, with the Core Four still at the heart of it all. Through all the changes, it's made clear in so many ways that Buffy wouldn't be able to succeed at her calling – and wouldn't want to try – without the love and support of her friends and family. They keep her sane, grounded, and allow her to have fun. They save her life many times. They'll see her through. It's what they're always meant to do. What can't they face if they're together? What's in this place that they can't weather? There's nothing they can't face … except for bunnies. (Okay, done with the OMWF lyrics now. I guess.)

3. The West Wing

I LOVE this cast so much that I cannot even put it into words. I mean, seriously. With the exception of a character who disappears after the first season (to no one's sadness), every single cast member is amazing, even the recurring guest stars like Stockard Channing, Timothy Busfield, NiCole Robinson, Kathryn Joosten, and many others. Note: I count Josh Malina in this because, when his character isn't being written as making a hugely foolish decision, I like Will Bailey a lot. But I will admit I prefer the Sam seasons. (Because of Rob Lowe, and because of Sorkin's writing, and also because of Rob Lowe. Ahem.) This is another ensemble where it's clear that the actors enjoy each other off-screen as well, which makes me happy. For such a large group, their chemistry is nothing short of amazing. Plus, the writers generally do a good job of balancing everyone's screentime from episode to episode. Also, the family element is even made pretty explicit a few times during the show's run. The group is centered around and grounded by Martin Sheen's Bartlet. In the words of John Spencer's Leo, “He [President Bartlet] likes teams. I love him so much.” So much, indeed.

4. Sports Night

Okay, so Dan and Casey may be the central relationship of this show (and I've written about my love for it already), but it's still an ensemble. And everyone gels amazingly, once again. From Isaac, the wise, sarcastic father figure whom everyone else clearly respects and loves, to Dana, the woman who puts all of herself into her show but loves her people even more, to the idealistic young Jeremy, to the sweet Natalie, and all of the secondary characters (and great guest stars, like William H. Macy and Clark Gregg!), this is one fantastic bunch. And as with The West Wing, everyone has perfect comedic timing. That's an essential element in any Sorkin show, for sure.

5. NCIS

It may not be one of my can't-miss favorite shows (or at least not anymore), but I cannot and would not deny that NCIS has a wonderful ensemble cast. In fact, that (and the father/daughter relationships I have already mentioned) is what keeps me coming back. Mark Harmon is a highlight, of course, but it's not just him. Each member of the cast – except a certain former director whom I do not miss at all – adds a great deal to it. All of the characters care about each other and would do just about anything for each other. And once again it's clear that the cast members enjoy spending time together both on and off-screen … which is a good thing, since it's been on TV for approximately a billion years at this point.

6. Bones

Another one that's no longer as much of a favorite as it used to be for me, but I still enjoy it, largely because of the excellence of its ensemble. I remember being initially skeptical of Cam when she came on the scene, but she quickly made herself as crucial a part of the team as Booth, Brennan, Hodgins, Angela, or Zach (oh, Zach. Sigh.). Caroline is great, as well – I like seeing her whenever she shows up. Despite some really stupid plotlines in recent seasons, I still find pleasure in watching this show, mostly because of the interplay between all the characters. I hope those actors that weren't particularly well-known before their roles here will go on to other awesome things after Bones is over.

7. Babylon 5

Okay, I must add a proviso to this show's inclusion on my list, too: I'm really not a fan of Michael O'Hare's Sinclair. Sorry. I'm glad he's not around all that much after season 1. But even with some rough spots like that, this cast was fantastic. I've already posted about G'Kar and Londo, whose friendship is certainly one of the best ever to grace TV screens. But complex, interwoven relationships between the rest of the cast are also developed and explored in throughout the course of the show. All of the main characters and their stories are compelling, and I wish we'd gotten a chance to see more of them. Plus, the fact that a majority of the cast formed an honest-to-goodness band after the show was over speaks to a real friendship between them all!

8. Star Trek: The Next Generation

This show is probably the show to which I subconsciously compare all other ensemble shows. I mean, I grew up with it. I grew up with Captain Picard, Data, Geordi, Riker, Dr. Crusher, Troi, Worf, and yes, I'll even include Wesley. I loved this show before I was old enough to be able to tell what was bad acting and what was good acting, what was terrible special effects and what was awesome. When I went back and watched much of the first couple of seasons recently, I noticed things like less than stellar (heh, no pun intended) acting, and some awesomely cheesy “special” effects. But I also noticed that after a few eps, the cast really seemed to get into their roles, and their relationships quickly became at least as compelling as the show's plots. And if you're a TNG fan and you haven't seen any clips from the recent 25 year reunion of the entire main cast, you should check it out on Youtube. The real friendships between the actors are just plain awesome to watch. (It was also wonderful to get to see the friendship between Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes in person, at Emerald City Comicon last year. Those two guys are crazy, but in a delightful kind of way.)

9. Fringe

Honestly, I was a little bit unsure this show counted as an ensemble, since the core characters are only three in number. But there's also Astrid, and Broyles, and Nina, and the Red 'Verse team (and heck, even Gene the cow) – and together, they make a respectable sized ensemble and an extremely compelling bunch (Gene less so). I adore the interactions between them, and the depth each character has. And although I've already said it before in this list, the Fringe team really are a family. Considering the challenges and traumas various members of the group have endured and inflicted on each other in the past, it's even more amazing how close they are now. On a related note, these themes of forgiveness and redemption are another reason for me to love this show.

Honorable mentions:

-Angel: I wasn't sure whether this should be on my list, since in some ways I preferred the show when it was just Angel, Cordelia, and Doyle (much as I love Wesley, Lorne, Fred, and Gunn). But it certainly deserves an honorable mention. Like other Whedon shows, the team is made up of people who would under normal circumstances have nothing to do with one another, but through their shared goal of helping the helpless (“Our rats are low” *sniff*), they become a united front who care about each other even when that love is tested.

-Dollhouse: Part of the reason I didn't put this on my favorite list is because the central member of the ensemble is not the strongest actor of the group. But Enver Gjokaj, Dichen Lachmann, Reed Diamond, Olivia Williams, Fran Kranz, Amy Acker, Harry Lennix, Miracle Laurie, Tahmoh Penikett, and yes, Eliza Dushku do make a great ensemble. My favorite thing about this show, in fact, is the opportunity it gave many of these actors to shine – sometimes for the first time in a starring role.

-Veronica Mars: This show really is about Veronica and her dad. That said, the rest of the characters make it even more awesome. It wouldn't be the same without Wallace, Logan, Flashback Lilly and the Kane Family (which, btw, if it's not a band name already, it totally should be), and the other recurring guest stars. I should say, in fact, that the friendship between Wallace and Veronica is one of my favorite non-romantic male/female friendships on television.

So, did I leave anything off the list? What do you think?

The joys of Thai food, tropical fruit edition

Another joy of living in Thailand is ready access to wonderful fresh tropical fruit all throughout the year. You have access to the most delicious, flavorful pineapples, bananas, and melons you could possibly desire - and also many other fruits that aren't as familiar but are just as delicious or even more so.

Right as my sister and I arrived this time, we were thrilled to discover that even though it's just getting into hot season, the relentless heat is balanced out by the fact that it's also mango season. If you've never had Asian mangoes - Thai or Philippine, or Indian - you've never had read mangoes. They are really, really, REALLY good. I've been eating them pretty much whenever I get the chance. I've already mentioned my favorite Thai dessert of mangoes with sticky rice and coconut milk: also known as pure delight. They also sell mango yogurt in supermarkets here, and you can tell it's real fresh mango chunks in there, which therefore means it's a favorite.

Another fruit that's been a revelation for me on this trip is passionfruit. I think it's just coming into season right now, too, which explains why I hadn't had the chance to eat it on previous trips. I've had passionfruit-flavored fruit drinks before, but always with other flavors mixed in, so I never knew what it tasted like on its own. It. Is. Heaven. Seriously. Tangy, sweet, a little bit sour - really, I almost want to start using the ridiculously overblown language wine tasters use to describe its flavor. I don't know if you can get it in the States at all. If you can, I bet it's really expensive and not very fresh. But it would still probably be worth a try. I found some passionfruit jam in a supermarket the other day, and let me tell you: passionfruit jam + peanut butter in a sandwich? Joy.



There are many other delicious, unusual fruits here, too: starfruit, rambutan, lychee, dragonfruit, etc. But mango and passionfruit are definitely my favorite at this point.

The joys of Thai cuisine

If you've ever eaten at a (good quality) Thai restaurant, you know that Thai food is delicious. I've loved Thai food ever since my mom came back from a trip to Thailand in the late 1990s and started cooking Thai peanut curry for us - which was also about the time that Thai restaurants starting popping up all over the place in the greater Seattle area. Some are better than others, of course.

One dish that hasn't really made it over to the US yet* is one that I was introduced to last year when my sister and I were in Chiang Mai at the end of the summer: khao soi. It is sheer amazingness. If you've ever had pho, it's similar - but it's a hundred times better, IMO. I love pho, but khao soi takes it to a whole new level.

Here's a picture of the khao soi that's served at a restaurant which has quickly become one of my sister's and my favorite places to eat in Chiang Mai ("Just Khao Soy"):

The soup has pieces of chicken and rice noodles in a light curry, with crispy rice noodles on top. Then you can choose what else you want to add to it: coconut milk (YES), pickled onions (surprisingly tasty), chili paste, shallots, fish sauce, sugar, and fresh lime. There's also a few slices of banana to help dull the spiciness, if you need them. You can add as little or as much as you want, to taste. It is absolutely wonderful. The original dish comes from Northern Thailand and Laos. It's is less fancy than this, and is apparently regarded as mere "street food" by many Thai people. But the restaurant version at least is wonderful, and I hope it does become more widely available outside of Southeast Asia!

Another item of Thai cuisine one should not miss when one is in Thailand is their version of limeade. It's like lemonade, except with lime, and a little bit of sugar and a little bit of salt. The balance of flavors is delightful - and something that Thais strive for in their cuisine. I had some with my khao soi at lunch today. Perfect. The only way to have made the meal even better would have been to finish off with mango and sticky rice for dessert. If I'd had any room left, I would have ordered some! But there'll be plenty of time for that while we're here.

*One of my favorite Thai restaurants back home, Bai Tong, does list khai soi on the menu, but I haven't had it so I can't speak to its authenticity or tastiness. I'm sure it's quite good, though, since Bai Tong is excellent!