Tongue-tied

Accotink Creek

Time was when I lived on an island far away from here that I used this blog to vent some steam, secure in the knowledge that only a handful of people were ever going to read my endless whingeing about some trifling matter or another. Now that I'm a diplomat-in-training, the realization has started to dawn that from now on, when it comes to blogging, I'm going to have to be more...er, diplomatic. Especially as one of my favorite targets is going to be my temporary abode in the near future. The result is a warmer, fuzzier and more boring blog, but there's little I can do about it. 

Take this morning, for example. On one of my favorite news sites (out of a former imperial European seafaring power), there was an article about making sense of a country by studying its language. Seeing as the county in question was the very one whose lingua franca I'm currently pulling out what little hair is left on my head in a desperate attempt to  master before departure, I took a look. Said article was one of those usual naive puff-pieces penned by Orientalists (oops) who have fallen in love with the culture, to the point that they have become blinded to certain not-so-pretty realities. Before, when I was free, I would have had a great time tearing something like this, and the person who wrote it, apart. But those days are gone. For example, when the author says...:

Why have we managed to get (Country X) so wrong? The reason is hardly rocket science. We insist on viewing it through a western prism. For the best part of two centuries, Western societies have seen themselves as the model for all others. But (Country X) isn't like us. It never has been and never will be. 

The great task facing the West over the next century will be to make sense of (Country X) - not in our terms but in theirs. We have to understand (Country X) as it is and as it has been, not project our own history, culture, institutions and values onto it. It will always fail that test. In truth such a mentality tells us more about our own arrogance and lack of curiosity than anything about (Country X).

... I wouldn't have hesitated to excoriate the writer for seemingly accepting the ridiculous assertions by the likes of former prime ministers LKY and MM that the values of the West (democratic political systems, constitutionally-protected freedoms such as speech, peaceful changes of administrations etc.) were somehow inimical to the so-called "values" of their particular homelands. I would've asked the writer if he or she thought that the value of a non-Western life was somehow worth less than that of one of their fellow citizens, and I would've then pointed out that such talk was nothing more than cynical justifications for authoritarianism and repression, dressed up in language designed to play on the guilt of persons such as our scribe. I would have also asked the author to explain why so many of Country X's citizens seemed to want to share so much of his or hers (the writer's) own country's institutions and values.

But I can't do that anymore.

A bit of Civil War railroad history

When the writer pens...:

True, (Country X) has called itself a nation-state for about a century. But 100 years is a mere pin-prick for a country that dates back over two (extremely long periods of time) . Modern (Country X) emerged in 221. By the time of the (particular name) dynasty - still more than 2,000 years ago - (Country X's) borders already closely resembled those of eastern and central (Country X) today.

...I would've enjoyed pointing out that while Country X's borders 2000 years ago may have roughly resembled Country X's current depiction on maps, those same borders have fluctuated greatly over the millennium, and of how the peoples living in those areas have not always enjoyed the benevolent hand of governance bestowed upon them by Country X's dominant ethnic group.

But those days are behind me now.

Fall is in the air

When the author writes of how a former European colony that is now back in the bosom of the motherland that is Country X is still proudly different politically and legally, I have to now resist the urge to hit back, no matter how much I would love to point out all the clumsy, heavy-handed attempts at trying to alter those very differences the writer celebrates into something more palatable that have been made by the leadership of Country X.

Stephen Foster, where art thou?

And when the writer refers to one of my former places of residence, it's all I can do to remember my training:

If (former residence) should decide at some point that its future lies with (Country X) and that it should accept (Country X's) sovereignty, I think the (people of Country X) will offer the (people of my former residence) the same deal - one country, two systems. But they will likely go further and give an undertaking that (country of former residence) can retain universal suffrage and its present multi-party system. Because what really matters to the (people of Country X) is not the system but the principle of their sovereignty. 

Must...maintain...control...I mean, how freakin' naive is this guy or girl!? Oh, if only I could provide the numerous examples, both historical and contemporaneous, that would point out how dangerously naive the above paragraph truly is. But official policy says I must not go there, and I have promised to uphold official policy.

My daughter flies through the forest

So this humble blog will continue to focus on the activities of myself and my family, like our fun outing today to Lake Accotink Park in nearby Springfield, and leave it those who are unencumbered to point out the errors and fallacies of the ill-informed. It looks like I'm going to have to wait until retirement before my curmudgeonly self can be set free again.

Little Taipei

You can take the girls out of Taiwan, but you can't take Taiwan out of the girls...at least not in Rockville, Maryland. According to the city's Wikipedia entry:

...(the) North Potomac (is) the area with the highest percentage of Chinese ancestry in any place besides California and Hawaii...

...as well as the fact that:

Rockville is widely considered to be a "Little Taipei" due to the area's high concentration of Taiwanese immigrants.

But before regaling you of our brief foray into Formosa, USA, our day today began with another slice of Americana in the form of the local volunteer fire department's annual Open House. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed herself this afternoon as she explored the fire station and its equipment, all the while weighing whether she wants to be a firefighter or a dentist when she grows up.

This antique fire engine was one of the first things we checked out after arriving at the fire station

The local sheriff's office was represented by this hog

One of the highlights of our open house visit was the tour of the inside of the fire station. The classic pole is still in use at this station, as one of the firefighters demonstrated for us. 

Amber enjoyed getting a chance to wield a fire hose. Unfortunately, her clumsy father proved to be an inept videographer, with the result being exactly two seconds of recorded imagery.

The fire station may have had a usable pole, but an actual Dalmatian couldn't be located

My video follies continued when I tried to record a demonstration of how the firefighters rescue people trapped in vehicles. I had recorded about ten minutes' worth of footage of the doors of a Saab being pulled off when the camera ran out of battery power. After a fresh change of batteries, I did manage to both get a photo of one of the doors being carted away, as well as film of the roof being pulled off.

My daughter could barely move in the firefighting suit

The day's festivities concluded with a demonstration of the ladder. It's difficult to make out in the photo above, but there is a firefighter at the very top.

After the open house, we made the short drive out to Little Taipei...er, I mean Rockville. As it was still too early for dinner when we got there, we took a walk around the downtown area. At one point, we did some shopping at Dawson's Market, an environmentally-conscious local supermarket. Here, Amber and I enjoyed a Curiosity Cola, an "orgasmically brewed carbonated cola soft drink" according to the Google search entry! 

Our raison d'etre for driving out to Rockville was to dine at Bob's Noodle 66. I've been to Taiwanese restaurants in Japan on several occasions, but this establishment was a first of its kind for me in this country:

Here's a look at the menu. Questionable historical interpretations aside, it's somewhat surprising that the English on the front was written with the same high level of language proficiency as you would find back in Taiwan:

And now to the food pics. Unfortunately, my shots aren't up to same high standards employed by the New Hampshire Bushman. Still, here goes anyway. First up is a picture of what my daughter had, the Minced Pork & Egg on Rice 滷肉飯 (lǔròu fàn):

My wife had the Pork, Mushroom Thick Soup 肉羹 (ròugēng), while I feasted on an Oyster Pancake 蚵仔煎 (é​zǐ​jiān) and a Taiwanese Hamburger 台式刈包 (táishì guà​bāo):

We all shared a vegetable dish that wasn't listed on the menu, but which is known as 空心菜 (kōng​xīn cài), while I washed it down with a papaya milkshake 木瓜牛奶 (mù​guā niú​nǎi):

Finally, the real reason why we had to drive out to Bob's Noodle 66: they had Crispy Smelled Bean Curd 臭豆腐 (chòu​dòu​fu). The stench was barely noticeable...

...which is probably a big reason why Pamela pronounced it to be "disappointing". That, in turn, means it's highly unlikely we'll be dining again at this particular establishment, for once my beloved has crossed a restaurant off her list, we can never go there again. This despite the fact I rather liked the food at Bob's Noodle 66. There is some hope, however, for Amber and me as near the restaurant is a supermarket selling a lot of Taiwanese foodstuffs. So perhaps we will make the drive out to Rockville again sometime in the future:

Pumpkin Patch Kids

Today is Columbus Day, that most politically incorrect of American public holidays. To the best of my memory, I don't recall having ever had this day off from school or work, but it's a federal holiday, and all serious ethical and historical objections aside, I am not about to turn down a paid day away from the job. So this morning the three of us got together with one of my orientation group classmates (and fellow student of Mandarin Chinese), Steven, along with his wife and his three very cute daughters Ellie (age 7), Mia (4) and Vivian (18 months). Together, the eight of us checked out Ticonderoga Farms, a leisure farm located in the northern Virginia countryside, best described as a place for kids to run around and have fun, while the parents stand and watch. Except for Steven, whose prowess on the slides was quite impressive. The following are a few snaps of an American autumn:

Amber and Ellie on the hayride. This tractor-drawn ride took us out to the pumpkin patch where we could pick out our free pumpkins (one per paying customer, so perhaps "free" is not the correct adjective to employ here). It culminated with a drive into a small pond that the kids found exciting.

My daughter in the patch with her pumpkin of choice. I don't know what we're going to do with them, other than carve some Jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween. Pumpkin pie would be the natural end result of all those pumpkin guts, but I have no idea how to bake such a thing from scratch. That's why the good lord invented supermarkets with their frozen desserts sections.

The slides were a big hit with the kids (and Steven!). The washing machine and dryer will be working overtime this evening washing out all those dirt stains.

Amber tames the wild cow "Freckles", part of a bouncy, motorized train ride...of sorts.

Amber and Pamela took advantage of the opportunity to feed the chickens and goats.

It should fairly obvious that someone had a good time today, though the last activity above ended in tears upon landing on a badly-placed ankle. Fortunately, a quick trip down the slide put a smile back on someone's face.

Fall was definitely in the air today, while the turkey vultures were in the dead treetops.

We passed by several pumpkin patches on the drive through the countryside from the farm back to I-66. I was reminded of all the weekend leisure farms back in Taiwan, though without all the fall foliage.

Happy Columbus Day!

Great scott

My love affair with Virginia's natural scenery continues unabated. On this cold, wet autumn morning, I drove the short distance to Scott's Run Nature Preserve, just off of I-495 in suburban McLean. This was the first day since coming to the Washington, D.C. area in mid-May that I could see my breath, but the fall colors that greeted me in the parking lot very quickly took my mind off of the chill in the air:

The preserve is 385 acres (156 hectares) of wilderness administered by the Fairfax County Park Authority. It's named after Scott's Run, a stream that starts near the Tyson Corner Shopping Center, and makes its way to the Potomac River. Almost immediately I was swallowed up by the tree cover (which included "sycamore, yellow poplar, chestnut oak, American beech and various pines", according to AMC's 50 Best Day Hikes Near Washington, D.C., my weekend hiking bible):

In the midst of such beauty, it was hard to imagine that this area was slated to be bulldozed in 1970 to make way for yet another suburban housing development. The project was met with resistance from local residents, who ultimately prevailed. No doubt Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum would've considered these folks to have been "socialists":

This part of the country seems to be full of eerie ruins. This chimney is all that remains of the old Burling house, the home of an attorney and socialite who once played host to Washington politicians in the early years of the 20th century:

The trail I was on soon made its way to the banks of the Potomac River. To the left was the 30 foot (9.1 meters)-high waterfall where Scott's Run flows into the Potomac:

On this Columbus Day holiday weekend morning, I was alone with the river, except for some hardy waterfowl and a lone kayaker making his way upstream on the opposite side:

I followed the trail alongside the Potomac, with the river on my left and steep rocky outcroppings to my right:

The route eventually became impassable, forcing me to make my way uphill about a hundred feet (30.5 meters) above the Potomac:

The path continued in an easterly direction as it clung to the hillside, and necessitating a lot of clambering over fallen logs. The Potomac could still be seen through the foliage, and it was evident why Washington's waterway never developed into an artery of commerce and transport, at least not along its upper reaches:

What a four-way intersection looks like in the middle of the woods:

"Hike to the top of a ridge and turn left at a major (read another) four-way intersection, cutting between a large oak to the left and yellow poplar to the right". Which is what I did:

A final look back into the woods before returning to the parking lot:

Today's not-so-vital statistics include a time of approximately 2½ hours, an elevation gain of 710 feet (216 meters) and a distance of about 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers). Here's hoping that today's walk in the crisp autumn air is a harbinger of many fall hikes to come.