EXPAT

This is an idea for Novel 2:
Ria, the protagonist is someone with no plans to go home... maybe she is from Saskatchewan Canada (where she has suffocating memories of small town life) ... or maybe fro South Africa, where she feels unsafe. Anyway, she lives in Taiwan and teaches English, although she is underqualified for almost every position, having not graduated from university. Resourcesful,. she always finds ways to make money, although sometimes via unscrupulous or not-so-safe means: doctored resumes, schemes for selling stuff to students, stealing students away from schools, foreign currency buying and selling.

Every chapter ends with Ria being in some kind of trouble: fear of deportation, drunked telling of secrets to coworkers who secretly want her fired, dwindling of finds and imminent eviction, being given translating work she can't handle (cause she lied abut language proficiency on resume) etc...

Ria is a little bit tight, but she goes out occassionally ... when she knows Orlando will be out. He is a Paraguayan working at the Embassy. He is the youngest of such people in Taipei. She wants him and he flirts with her... Truthfully, he is juyst playing with her. He finds her freckles charming and she is tall and thin enough... what she isn't enough of is blond. NOt that Miss Clairol can't fix that. The real problem is that Orlando has a foot fetish... and the toenail he glimpsed peeking out of Ria's oopen-toe shoes... well, it made him shudder. But these things must be ended diplomatically... endings take as much time as beginnings.

We also meet Ria's best friend Claire. They get along well, but also resent each other. Ria Claire because Claire can get well paid jobs and has the education Ria is lacking. Claire Ria because Ria is slim and pretty and gets all the male attention. Throughout the course of the story, many other friends will come and go as expat life is transient, but this friendship will continue, although the friendship is almost mutually destructive at times. Claire makes Ria feel inadequate and Ria depresses Claire with her continual problems.

At some point in the story, Ria finds out she has cancer and goes to the only place she can afford treatment (she has no real insurance as an illegal worker in Taiwan)-Thailand (separate country for those who get confused.) She really does seem to have a streak of bad luck... but in Thailand, she meets Delmar, a scholoarship student from St. Vincent and several several years her junior. She falls madly in love and quits her life (not just her job) and follows him to the UK (leaving all her stuff with Claire).

What happens next? I don't know yet, but perhaps the relationship won't really end, but will end in indecision as will everything else. Ria will find a way to upgrade credentials, but whole process starts again...

Sam - flip side of the coin

Enter Sam, short for Samad, nickname for Sabir. Sam was born in Sylet, Bangladesh... but grew up in Dhaka. His mother Sapna was married to the Bangladeshi Ambassador to North Korea, but he died- mysterious circumstances- and hence mommy dearest became very wealthy.
Sometime later (how much later still to be determined) during an ambassadorial do - a rather boring affair at the closest thing to a 5 star hotel in Dhaka, Sapna meets F (a party crasher). F is suave and holds a Canadian passport. One things leads to another and Sam is conceived, but F goes missing... actually, he just leaves with no forwarding address. As F seems to want nothing to do with Sam (can we assume this by his absense?) and Sapna is unwilling/unable to leave Bangladesh, Sam is shipped off to live with an Aunty (on mom's side) in Toronto so he can get a Canadian education (and try to locate F who has made off with great deal of Sapna's inheritance). Sapna sends money for Sam's upkeep, but this is unbeknownst to Sam and Aunty belittles him at every opportunity and keeps kim continually on his toes and feeling guilthy. Sam begins to develop great resentment for his mother for placing him in that situation and a deep hatred for his father.
Sam is in and out of trouble, but is clever and has no difficulties in school. HOwever, he decides to go to Military school in Kingston -following a lead that his dad is a lecturer there.

How does Samir work his way into the story? One of Kamal's friends (the youngest of 3 Beijan brothers) lives as a dentist in Kingston sees Samir in KIngston an reports his sighting to someone in Barbados. The news circulates that Kamal (not sam) has been sighted in Canada. The story grows with each retelling and soon we find a story that involves Christian Lebell, money laudering, narcotics, diamonds, and a winess relocation plan.

The truth? F is also Kamal's father and the two from any distance are indistinguishable... or at least they were since Kamal darkened up and Sam put on weight (military training). They looked not quite so much alike the first (and last) time they met...

Pisces Pic

I am disappointed to see that you can't see the gorgeous hanging lanterns and twinkling lights in this photo which I found in an online restaurant review (Barbados food guide). Also saw reviews of Pisces Restaurant on the web (Fodor, Frommers, etc). All say it is a magical and romantic place, but reviews after 2004 comment on decline: presentation less beautiful, food not as consistently delicious.... Hmmm.

Although I already wrote my own impressions of Pisces here before, here is the full version:

The restaurant was nothing much to speak of from the road side (nor from the beach side either). But upon entering, it was absolutely enchanting. The interior was dimly lit and the beach side opened up to the sky. Multi-level balconies overhanging the ocean were laced in with layers of white latticework… like a lace handkerchief or the top of a cherry pie. Leafy vines wove their way through the lattice, creating the effect of dining beneath a garden arbor under the stars. In spots, the vines gathered and little clusters of two, three, or four terracotta gourds dangled below. The gourds were actually hanging lanterns, with punctured patterns allowing the light within to stream out like twinkling start.

The lights from the restaurant reflected in the water below showing all the gradations of turquoise and blue of the Caribbean ocean. From a balcony table, diners could watch boats serenely drifting by in the silent night or listen for the occasional splash of a flying fish jumping up for a better view. From the ocean to the table is not such a large jump. Flying fish graced more than one diner’s plate that evening. Small bite-sized pieces lightly fried and coated in the infamously hot chili sauce popular in the region. Almost as heavenly as the view!

Not enough or Too many?

I think since I must explore the workings of the male mind a little in the story I hope to write, this blog is also a good place to write about my observations or questions about relationships of differing sorts.

The question for today is, "Is one man more than enough (one man too many) in terms of trouble?" OR, "Does every woman need several men to satisfy her; ie. a lover (one to have fun with), a best friend (one to talk to), a sugar daddy (to make her feel taken care of), etc?"

More on this later.

PART I

OK, so forget the attempts at first paragraphs, forget Lan Cho for now... and know that Tara needs a personality-lift and Tamika Muller needs a little bit shorter and terser given name and a bit sharper temper... and LET'S START AGAIN!

PART I:
Introduction:The story opens in Barbados (up in the hills in some slightly deserted but still swanky neighborhood overlooking not the Caribbean Ocean, but the Atlantic... wilder and windier. It is the middle of the night and [Tamika], who normally drives like a bat out of hell (no need to worry about wind even in her convertible as her short straightened head-hugging hair never moves) is cutting the engine of her sports car and coasting to her destination (which she clearly hopes to keep secret as she has been requested). Slowing her pace to reduce the clicking of her designer 3 inches heels is a struggle for someone used to doing everything in a hurry! Destination: friend and lawyer(not hers)'s house - he [call him Ezekiel for now] is a middle-aged, greying, slighly paunchy recent divorcee. He has called her there as strange circumstances led him to be in the possession of a thick envelope with her name on it taken from a bolted-down Brinks safe in the inner office of a man gone missing for over 4 months. The opening of the safe was a strange occasion: there was no combination and no key, so locksmiths and a heavy drill were required, and in attendance were lawyers representing 5 different parties. All crammed into a little room, it felt like a lawyer's convention. Anyway, [Tamika] has a mini-anxiety attach on recognizing the handwriting (actually it was printing) on the envelope and has to sit down for a minute. As soon as she can, though, she flees Ezekiel's home - she hasn't been comfortable there since his divorce (the atmosphere is too depressing... even the furniture seemed to sag since).

The Letter:
The letter is a long - no VERY long letter to [Tamika] from Kamal (the 4-month missing man). It,in a round about way, outlines his feelings for her (in brief: he thinks she is different and special because she makes him laugh). Later development of her character will let you know that it must be a very special relationship since not much makes HER laugh and she seems most of the time to be bitterly without humor and entirely consumed by cynicism... at least to those who don't know her well. Then Kamal apologized for what he had put her through (not the long 4 month silence, but the stain on her reputation- the stain of being both associated and not associated in the right way (it is complicated - to be explained later) with the likes of himself (a hedonist, epicurean, playboy , incurable player - whatever label you care to use). The letter then moves to talk of what is to happen, the rumors she is likely to hear and the people she is likely to encounter in the coming months... and gives vague instructions re: how to deal with these different individuals(some of them being the 5 parties represented by lawyers at the opening of the safe) and situations. Finally, it tells some personal history and ends with a gentle breaking of the news which has led to the long silence... and then a final goodbye.

Framework of Part I:
[Tamika] is unable to read the letter all the way through as she cannot deal with the things it makes her feel and the memories that resurface in the reading, including memories of times with Kamal... and nightmarish events that took place within her own family history. The reading of the letter is interspersed with chapters dealing with [Tamika]'s visits to her psychotherapist, bouts of near agoraphobia in which she stays home with her internet connection and uses her pet Doberman as a sounding board for making sense of the rumors she is in fact starting to hear and plans to get to the bottom of them. Other things which break up the reading of the letter are visits with each of the people who were represented at the safe-opening; a table dancer (named Jolyn?), Christian Bell (recently out of prison for... dealing?), a former employee who claims to have given Kamal something for safekeeping (the revolver mentioned in previus post), a relative from Toronto, and (mystery person?). We also get to see some of the chain of events [Tamika], hard-headed businesswoman, has started (by starting proceedings for property searches in three different countries and other discreet inquiries via bank managers, manicurists, you name it...).

Conclusion of Part I:
As this section started, it also ends, with [Tamika] in discussion with Ezekiel. It turns out he has become ill and the part he was supposed to play in the drama unfolding, he is no longer able nor willing to shoulder. He hands Tamika yet another letter (but an extremely thin one this time and asks her to head to [Toronto] to seek out and deliver the letter to Tara.


NOTES:
Not sure about the Toronto bit either - it could be a more remote and wierder place... like something with an incredible Mic Mac name on the east coast, or with an incredible Kwagiutl name on the upper part of Vancouver Island. vancouver Island might be easier for the people likely to read my novel (namely my Vancouver friends... ha ha) to relate to.
Anyway, PART II will clearly take place in Canada and will involve the development of the relationship between Tara and [Tamika]. An unlikely friendship develops and the two take several non-scripted adventures together, including visiting a fortune teller (Ba-gua Master) to explain about something related to Kamal... and to a witch doctor (related to something in Tamika's past). At the end of Part II, I imagine the two make plans and separate to solve the mysteries and meet again.
PART III: I am not sure yet, but I imagine this will be following the paths of the 2 protagonists and will see the ways in which come to terms with the things they have been set to do... (although neither accomplishes the aims)... And about how the mysteries remain mysteries and the two do not in fact meet again... BUT, at the same time, lives have changed and something suprising happens which links the two and kamal in a way in which they are unaware.



If you have any ideas for actual things that could take place in these second sections... or ideas for rhe development of events surrouding the characters in part 1, they would be very welcomed.

Delayed Posting...

This is a little excerpt written in March of this year and for some reason I didn't post... it isn't likely to get written in the story, but it was another idea:

The two (sorry, can't remember which two... the villains whoever they are) go seaching where they know Kamal kept a safe. In his startup business... a little restaurant on the top floor of a shopping plaza containing not much at all of interest except Dingolay (need a tight lime green spandex night club outfit... or a bright orange straw beach bag?), a food court and a bunch of stores selling swimwear or cheap shoes.

Anyway, the evil guys (do you know who they are?) bribe a few people to let them and the two locksmiths in so they could open up the little Brinks safe bolted to the floor of the inside office.
"Sorry, this ain't gonna open." The short sullen locksmith threw up his hands in despair. Then the older of the two came over, surveyed the safe and proceded to drill a hole. The atmosphere was tense and in the hour duration it took to make a hole big enough to trigger the lock, three people separately and secretly took the would be openers of the safe aside to inform them of something inside the safe that they had given Kamal for safekeeping... (Of course, they hoped to reclaim thier items without word of it being mentioned to anyone else... AS IF! Imagine keeping the following items secret: A brown manila envelope marked with the label "Taipei" and containing US$100,000, a solid gold (something or other), and a revolver).

Imagine everyone's shock when the safe was finally opened and all that was inside was... a calendar from 1996, a collection of socks with no mates, and a silver lighter (Kamal doesn't smoke).

PISCES... and other culinary impressions

Ok... now I am going to have to write some stuff about Barbados. It is too hard for me to fictionalize this part at present as I don't know what I want to happen in Barbados yet... but I don't want to forget the feelings or impressions, so for now, please let me write it as it is.

My first trip to Pisces Restaurant in St. Lawrence Gap was both magical and painful as I had been promising to go for 8 years... and never made it there until it was too late to see my brother, executive chef/partial owner in action. It was night when I arrived at Pisces by means of his Dodge Dakota (the most recent vehicular acquisition)... I had rather been hoping for the baby blue Mercedes convertible as I remember racing along the Island Highway on Vancouver Island in it. And it was because of this car and the duties being imposed on it that a trip to Taipei to visit me was cancelled.

The restaurant was nothing much to speak of from the road side (nor the beach side either)... But upon entering, well.... It was a mass of white lattice-work opening up to the sky. The terraces overhung the ocean and the lights reflected in the water showing all the gradations of turquoise and blue. The restaurant was lit by hanging lanterns clustered in groups of two, three, four - terracotta "gourds" with the light streaming out through punctured patterns - each cluster decorated with leafy creeping vines.

"Order whatever you want," invited my somewhat uncomfortable host, Dr. (owner of Brown Sugar and other past hotspots... not to mention the restaurants in Victoria and Vancouver). His partner challenged me to spot my brother's contributions to the menu... It was easy: Banana Galette and NY Cheesecake for starters. I will need a copy of that hardcover tome Restaurants of Barbados on my next visit as it includes his recipe for Banana Galette.

(Oh, by the way, the youngest chef at Pisces is a sweetheart... He never spoke to me, but I guess he had heard about my love for hot food... and one day, he cooked me up a special plate of pasta generously laced with all the chilis, sundried tomatos and other good stuff he could find in the kitchen. )

The other stories of Pisces cannot be told here, but I can mention that I also visited other favorite haunts in the neighborhood: Champers, that little place that serves pancakes with fresh lemon and sugar... etc etc... But none really left such an impression. I guess all my knowledge of Barbados being second-hand, I had used my imagination... and up until that point I suppose I had expected - don't be shocked by my ignorance - Trinidad. Where was the good roti and the doubles? What about shark and bake... and most importantly, pepper sauce? Sorry, but that stuff in Barbados has too much mustard in it and isn't nearly hot enough.

One night, we did go for roti though... at the drive-through at Chefette! Now I know you are thinking this is an absolutely ridiculous thing to do... Who in their right mind would expect real roti from Chefette? But this also had a special meaning. The brother of the guy who started Chefette was one of my brother's closest friends (as his family had kind of adopted him). I had wanted to go and visit them, but apparently, the friend was seriously ill. It was not the time. If anyone out there knows them, I would really like to know what how he is.

I also want to go back to Barbados again soon, but I must wait a little before I can manage this. I have a little black book full of names and addresses of people I feel I know... many of whom have written my family, but I was unable to contact any of them last time... Plus, although silly, I felt sorry to disappoint people who expected me to be more like my brother: my "brown" is buried deep under layers of Asia sunlessness. I also didn't do as my brother did and get a West Indian passport... nor accent! I might as well be Korean or Japanese. At least I can speak the language.

Making Money in Barbados

Well... I have written stories about fitness clubs in Taipei... and about English Teaching in Korea... now I am looking for stories about making money in Barbados! Of course anything, any story to do with money is fine, from the perspective of those who have it... those who don't etc... Got NO stories to start with... Will have to go do some research in Barbados (man that’s going to be tough), but I have a little background info from perspective of an ex-pat former resident (the “Guyanese Ambassador” himself):

You Are What You Drive: Yeah! I know him! He’s the blue Mercedes Convertible... X3–something, isn’t he? Yes... Take note of his license plate number too because now you know where he lives (or works)! X is a Christchurch plate... Cruise by the Gap to see if he isn’t sitting out on a patio somewhere.

Getting a Loan: Who do you know? Smile nice at Ms. Murrell and she can set you up just fine, skip the paperwork, get a loan... Find out how much is in someone else’s account... But whatever you do, do NOT get down to business when you first walk in the door... Keep it friendly at first.

Cruising for Property: So you want to buy a house in Barbados? You better be a Canadian oil tycoon, a British pop star, or some kind of millionaire ‘cause it’s going to cost you plenty! But hey, you already have some connections at the bank, right? So now you begin... Get in your convertible and start cruising. Prime properties are those on the West Coast, the South Coast or the East Coast... Well, that about covers it. The closer to a major hotel (preferable one featured in Conde Naste) the better. These properties are probably already taken and are not likely for sale by owner. However, every now and then some old guy dies without a will (or with a will) and the families feud for decades. If they can't work it out, the property goes up for sale! Get in there ASAP. Don’t just copy down the number from the sign posted on the property – remove it so no one else sees it. Other possibility – the property wasn’t fully paid off... Now you are really lucky because you have a connection at the bank. She will sell it to you super-cheap... The price of the outstanding loan (plus a little cut for her and a little cut for the bank).

Now that you have your place, be sure to rent it out for US$10,000 a week whenever you are away from Barbados... presumedly working to pay it off.

Crime: What crime? Bajans live well. No crime happening here – Go to Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad for that kind of intrigue!

Special Taxes: Beware of special taxes. Lots of things are hard to buy in Barbados (like your BMW SUV)... But don’t go thinking you can just bring it in... If customs has to know, you may find there are sudden special unlisted import taxes on your item... Again, knowing someone might help.

Better if it’s Brand Name: Talking about clothes here.

Tales of a Female Nomad

NOTE: This is an aside... a side-track...

The title of this entry is the name of a book... an autobiography (a travelogue?) written by a woman who is a writer of children's books. In her late 40's, she found herself facing divorce and decided to spend time on her own traveling. She lived in Mexico, Indonesia, New Zealand to name a few and learned Spanish and Indonesian. She lived with the communities in these countries and strived to be included in the social lives of these people... something she accomplished this by helping the women with their kitchen etc tasks. In each place she has her children come and visit. As we read on, we see how she views and experiences each of these places, but as for gaining any deep anthological insight into these countries, we fall short. I find the writing (and she is a writer!) flat and merely descriptive. We read about customs and things she clearly finds "exotic" which she contrasts with the realization that the emotions they (and she) share are the same. (I find this a bit trite somehow). She talks of crying with the locals re: their tragedies, but I am not moved to tears (and I tear easily... I can cry watching the "sad" parts in comedies). She participates in their joys, but I cannot realize them in any deep way. I was moved more by "Okubo Diary" the personal journal of an anthropologist who lived in a pottery village in Japan.

I am not sure why I am writing about this here on my Barbados blog, but I guess it is because I am wondering how it is that this writing that I find so flat was enjoyed by so many.... whereas I can write to entertain myself, but am not even sure my own mother will read it cover to cover. I guess I am wondering what makes a book readable.

I also wonder who reads a particular kind of book? Are the people who enjoyed this book other women who have dreamt of traveling and not followed through... or others who have traveled/lived abroad. Almost all of my friends are (or have been) ex-pats and travelers. They know what it is to have wanderlust... and have many tales to tell. How can we know which of those tales are really "tell-able"?

Long Time, No Write

Well, it has been a long time since I posted anything on this blog.... it isn't because I have given up, but I have been thinking and doing research. The first part of my research involved visiting the fortune teller. After visiting the fortune teller (see last entry), I realized that my starting point would have to be scrapped as the real point of the story was obscured.... perhaps I didn't really know where I was going with this. The truth is, the story is about two half-siblings who have never met, both (however) living quasi-parallel lives as ex-pats... both searching for identity and happiness and/or fulfillment (although their ideas about what would make them happy/fulfilled are very different). Although not apparent on the surface, they are both actually (like so many others) also seeking approval/seeking to prove their worth/seeking admiration of others.
These themes will unfold as we tell the story of the siblings looking for themselves in each other (each being quite literally a stranger to the other). The real reason I haven't really written so much is that I have been focused on Kamal (as the more interesting protagonist). In actuality, I feel the story should be about Kamal, but center more around Tara -- as Kamal will disappear part-way through the story. The story (unlike those of my hero-Salman Rushdie) is not allegorically related to anything larger than the story of two people's lives.

As I see it, there are 2 options for the starting point:

OPTION 1: The story will begin at the fortune teller. Kamal has disappeared and no one knows where he has gone to... the parts of Kamal and Tara's meeting are told with Tara as protagonist... or others (Lan etc)

OPTION 2: The story starts with Tara and Kamal's first meeting. She has taken a school vacation to visit Taiwan and meet him - the brother she never knew existed before.

As for other research, I have ordered a number of books on writing. I will be reading them over the winter vacation to learn how to write dialog and gain other insights into writing. I will also attempt to outline the whole story.