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nomadder · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2003 6:49 pm Post subject: Love and Lust in a Foreign Land

Since England seems to have given us its fog and rain I thought some tales of amor might perk up this dull summer. Being in exotic lands often lends itself to interesting tales of people meeting in interesting locations or in unique situations.

It was summer '01 in Japan. As usual the sun was hot and the cicadas loud. I'd been watching my usual favorite TV show Ai Nori which is a show where a young group of Japanese travel together in a pink van around the world hoping to find love and romance with those in the group. When they find someone they like they ask him/her to go back to Japan with them and either leave the show with him/her or alone if the answer is no. With my limited Japanese comprehension I realized that one rather popular guy on the show was from my city and he had studied in America so he spoke decent English. I mused to myself that it might be interesting to meet him even though he wasn't my type. Well a few weeks later I stepped into one of those teeny bars for the first time and our eyes met. He was asking the girls to ask me questions even though he could have asked which was funny. He must have thought I couldn't understand what he was saying. Well we did end up together-first kiss at sunrise on the beach. He was slightly famous so people stared at him which was a first for me. I used to laugh when I heard his bright, yellow, loud motorcycle coming to my place. There'd he'd be in his badboy look-cowboy boots, jeans and tank tops. He was interesting but in that actor wannabe/look at me mode so it didn't last. Still it makes for an interesting tale.

Anyone else have any interesting stories to tell?

stgeorge · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 26

SueH · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 1022 Location: Northern Italy

Yep - 100F and 18 bodies in an un-airconditioned classroom. Away from the coast in London must be worse.

I know there are lots of activities you can do outside (in the shade where it's cooler) - but I was musing today that there must be a place for a book which collates a lot of them in one handy volume.

dyak · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 630

Yep, I can vouch for that, seering humidity, drowsy students... I would take them outside but it's just traffic as far as the eye can see...

nomadder · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2003 11:03 pm Post subject:

Ok we all know it's HOT in England but most of you travel so you have experienced it before somewhere I'm sure. How about under that palm tree in......What I'm trying to say is that you are getting off topic not to mention living up to ye olde stereotype. In other countries the heat might lead to more exciting thoughts, no? I might need a career change if this keeps up. Laughing

kimo · Joined: 16 Feb 2003 Posts: 668

I never knew England was such a lascivious place. Seems rather steamy! Time I get my ticket.

Capergirl · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 12:45 am Post subject:

Well, nomadder, it's hard to compete with your story! Unfortunately my love life has been practically non-existent this past while and furthermore, I am not in a foreign land so I'm afraid I cannot add my own titillating tale here. Sad

Maybe next year. Wink

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

Exciting thoughts related to hot weather:

Heat stroke

Air con bills

Window shopping in air conditioned stores

Taking part time work in places with air conditioned classrooms

Locating cold beverages (a bit of a chore in China)

Hmm. . . Not exactly a James Bond moive.

Speaking of breaking the stereotype, I have often wondered if that "travel to exotic locales and have exotic romances with exotic locals" angle is perhaps a bit more overblown in our collective imagination. Just wandering out loud.

This is the latest in quite a long line of threads on the subject. Sadly, I cannot contribute much here as I've never dated a media personality from another country. Given my profession and distance from Beijing (and Hong Kong), it's a good bet that I won't be anytime soon.

nomadder · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 3:59 am Post subject:

Well it doesn't have to be a media person. How about meeting the love of your life in an unexpected place? A special moment in a famous location? A locked glance over wonton soup? People work with me here. I'm not anyplace foreign right now either but I'm remembering. Romance along the Thames, a beach in Thailand, a night train in Turkey. Ok enough about me. Seems we have a very reticent bunch here. Is there no romance out there?

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

stgeorge · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 26

my last stop was thailand where i experienced a lot more lust than love. Twisted Evil

my previous 2 stops were korea and taiwan where completely the opposite was the case. Razz

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 7:01 pm Post subject:

I can contribute a not-so-short but sweet tale from Turkey... Last Christmas I was returning to Turkey from a short break in New York (I craved at least a hint of Christmas festive hoopla after ages in a muslim country). I flew from NY to Istanbul, then had a loooong wait for my flight to Kayseri, from 9 am until 6pm. I spent the day with friends in Istanbul but didn't get any much needed sleep. I was pretty much catatonic by the time I returned to the smoky, echoey, ancient Domestic departures terminal. I waited for my flight to be called. And waited. And still waited. Then Kayseri flashed up on the screen as being cancelled. No flights till tomorrow. Since I was due to start back at work the next morning, this was not a good thing. The lovely folks at Turkish Airlines offered to fly all Kayseri-bound folks to Ankara then supply a free bus to Kayseri (still, a 5-6 hour journey). At the Ankara airport, there was no bus. We waited for three hours. By now it was 9pm and I should have been home two hours ago. I was cranky and hungry and tired, as one is wont to be in such situations. I ended up talking with a older Turkish fellow who spoke good English due to time spent working in London. Yak yak yak. His travelling companion, a handsome thirty-something man, spoke no English, only Turkish, so our conversation was triangular- English-Turkish-English. Nothing exceptional, trading in-transit banalities. When we finally got on the bus, I ended up at the back, with two old headscarved ladies between myself and the non-English speaking Turkish friend. I was exhausted but he was determined to strike up a conversation with me, bellowing over the ladies' heads in German, Turkish, Dutch, and finally French. I speak French and apparently he has lived in Paris for fifteen years. So, in spite of my eye-ball vibrating exhaustion we bellowed in French across the headscarves until arrival at 3am. He was intelligent, well-read, supplied excellend commentary on the artsy movie that was playing at the front of the bus, and was well travelled. My ideal man. But I didn't think so at the time as I was fantasizing about my bed at home...mmmmmm bed! At the bus station in Kayseri, his brother picked him up and offered to drive me home too. Frenchman also helped carry my bags to my flat, then after a quick exchange of phone numbers, he vanished. I slept. No word from him for a week, so I assumed he went back to France after a quick family visit. Ah, but then after a week, he phoned (apparently my voice mail wasn't working) and invited me out for dinner. It turned out to be a million course meal with very expensive wines in a gorgeously posh restaurant up in the mountains. Witty conversations in French. An introductory kiss in the car on the way home. Then, a week's worth of evocatively romantic nightly excursions- a mid winter barbecue on the mountain with all the food I'd casually mentioned liking and lovely fine wines (again), late nights in dark cafes talking of intriguing things, long walks with sweet words, and a final evening at my neighbour's flat for a party. Frenchman was leaving the next day for Paris. It was surprisingly sad and we both admitted as such. Anyway, we have exchanged lovely text messages and have had excellent phone conversations ever since, though he has yet to return to Kayseri and I have yet to go to Paris. He did send me a bottle of yummy Gucci perfume back in May, but since the possibility of a reunion or relationship is not likely, I'm just enjoying the exhileration of that one week in January, conducted entirely in french in the wilds of Anatolia. Surreal.

Capergirl · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 11:16 pm Post subject:

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

Capergirl · Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2003 1:56 am Post subject:

*sigh* Responsibilities prevail here too. Another time then? Cool