MY AMERICAN CONNECTIONS

Posted by Unknown On Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8 comments
It is rare that I get along with someone with whom I have never met; someone with whom I have only exchanged two e-mails. When my cousin Hoy emailed and later called me to play host to his friend and colleague Amy plus her husband, my initial reaction was - anyone who is Hoy's friend is mine as well. Without any delay, I emailed her and passed her my schedule and contact details.

This evening, I met Amy and Andrew for the first time in my life and really had the time of my life. Amy is a flight attendant with United Airlines while Andrew works for the US government in the parole department (juveniles section). They have two daughters - their older one is applying for a place in either Stanford, Northwestern and other Ivy league universities. It was awesome to discuss juvenile issues with Andrew and to see how certain problems in the education industry are universal in nature. Amy was a teacher before she became a flight attendant so you can imagine the type of discussions we enjoyed tonight!

We had our dinner at Red Garden Food Paradise which is located right in the middle of the town at the end of Penang Road, beside hotel Malaysia and near Upper Penang Road. Andrew, who loves seafood ordered black pepper crabs...





I ordered cuttlefish kerabu....


Amy ordered spring-rolls, fried oyster and vegetables...(something went wrong with my camera settings tonight and turns out that my Sony Ericsson K800i Cybershot produced better shots!)


Over dinner, we exchanged views about the Obama and Bush administration, Republicans and Democrats, the escalating financial meltdown and how it affects public administration expenditure. The outlook in California seems to be dismal and with so many cutbacks and the slowdown in many sectors, I am wary of what the future holds ....As always, Asia may not get the full brunt of the meltdown until maybe six to eight months later so the worst is yet to be seen.

Andrew speaks fluent Spanish and gave me a history lesson about the role of Spaniards in developing California and the impact of Hispanics in American culture and society. Most informative and stimulating. If not for the fact that they were both quite jet-lagged, I am sure we would have been chatting endlessly over more drinks! Truly, I had such a lovely time with Amy and Andrew and it is a real pity as I will not get to see them again unless I visit San Diego.

Bon voyage Amy and Andrew! May you have an unforgettable time in Penang, Langkawi and KL before you fly off to Singapore!

8 comments to MY AMERICAN CONNECTIONS

  1. says:

    Starmandala Awww... Amy & Andrew are so lucky to have you introduce them to Penang food & Malaysian hospitality!

  1. says:

    Unknown Awww....Antares, the next time u come to Penang, I will certainly take you there and fatten you :-)...Take care!

    hugs

  1. says:

    Crankster Hehehe.. you're having fun. :)

  1. says:

    Unknown LOL!! Not just having fun - also getting fat!! Great to see you, Crankster...

    Take care.

    hugs

  1. says:

    Anonymous The cuttlefish kerabu looks so yummy! Taking a day off today. Went grocery shopping to load up the fridge. Cooking at home today and this weekend. Momsy and Dadsy's turn to host their monthly mahjong meet tonight. Looking forward to experimenting with some interesting tex-mex finger bites that I found on the web.

  1. says:

    Unknown Hi Andrea,

    Yes, the cuttlefish kerabu is indeed yummy. Let me know if ever you come up to Penang and I will definitely take you there.

    Ah - I love tex-mex food and have lots of recipe books on that cuisine. Home cooked meals are the best but I feel quite lazy :-) and with such three of us left, it is quite difficult to handle such small portions...

    Have fun in the kitchen. Wish I could taste your yummy culinary creation...

    Take care.

  1. says:

    amyjolou Paula,

    Thank you so much for taking us to paradise. Even though we were pretty jet lagged....it was so much fun and very delicious. We totally enjoyed our conversations. We look forward to meeting up with you again. Take care!!!

    ~ Amy and Andrew

  1. says:

    Unknown Hi Amy and Andrew,

    It was my pleasure to take you around to enjoy the local cuisine and to talk about so many things with you guys. I really learnt a lot from our exchange...How I wish you and Amy will visit again one day and stay longer!!! You have yet to see the real Penang.

    Please take care and keep in touch.

    cheers

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