The magic of ignorance - English a false prophet

[R. A. Stegemann]

Dear Anthea,

The first time I drank coffee at Starbuck's was in Seattle. The second
time was in Tokyo. I was very happy when the shop finally arrived,
because it was the only place where I could sit for a long period of
time without having to breathe in someone else's smoke. I rarely went
for coffee.

In contrast, I have already found several Starbuck's in Hong Kong. They
are easy to find, because the odor of the coffee is so strong.
Unfortunately, the one that is located close to my residence does not
have a no-smoking rule, and few Hong Kongers would pay attention to it
anyway, as they tend to disregard any rule that is not a law
enforceable by a public authority.

Is there a Starbuck's in England, yet? I was to London once, as I had
to wait for my connecting flight to Amsterdam. I slept at a hotel for
about four hours, and had a continental breakfast just before my
departure. My first exposure to milk-tea was in Ireland, though.

I am sorry, if I have wandered from the topic, but I know you like to
travel and drink coffee.

Cheers.

Hamo


On 24 Jan 2005, at 02:36, Anthea Fraser Gupta wrote:

> Stan said,  "I wonder how much of this push for English comes from "an
> ignorant,
> self-serving elite". Maybe the the intelligent, outward-looking masses
> are
> pushing for English as well."
>
> Absolutely.  It's important to say  that probably everyone in Malaysia
> agrees that all schoolchildren should be taught English and Malay (the
> controversy is in the how). And a large proportion of the population
> of Malaysia already speaks very good English (and most of the rest
> speak a useful amount of English).  We are NOT looking at a place
> where English is known only by a tiny 'elite', but one where English
> is already known by the majority.
>
> Schools have to teach all sorts of stuff, some of which some of the
> learners will never use again (I personally have not done a
> differential equation since the age of 16). Education is about
> offering children opportunities and choices, not about limiting those
> opportunities. I say, keep on teaching differential equations and
> English and history and all sorts of other stuff too. However, in
> Malaysia, lots of people need English for all sorts of work and social
> reasons, because English is a Malaysia language, not a foreign one.
>
> Anthea
>
> <winmail.dat>