Asia

Who's the new Ambassador?

Dr. Condoleezza Rice entered the State Department today for the first time as the new Secretary of State.  She entered in from the main entrance and briefly addressed employees.  Her introduction comes just five days after former Secretary of State Colin Powell departed for the last time.  Let’s hope the transition will be a smooth one for the department.

The story broke in the news earlier this week that the U.S. Ambassador to Korea, Christopher Hill, will be appointed Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs.  Ambassador Hill has been serving as Ambassador to Korea since August 2004.  We met Ambassador Hill and Mrs. Hill while he was en route to Korea, and we were very impressed by him.  We are sorry to see him go, assuming his appointment will be confirmed by the Senate.  We still don’t know who the new ambassador will be.  I hope this transition is also a smooth one because Seoul has seen two ambassadors, Ambassador Thomas Hubbard and Ambassador Hill in less than a year.  It’s an excellent opportunity for Ambassador Hill, and we wish him well.

A New Chapter

My in-laws left yesterday and returned to their home in China.  They have lived with us for over two years.  Before they arrived in 2002, I mentioned to my wife that it was the start of a new chapter in our lives.  Now the page has turned and yet another new chapter has started for us.  They lived with us since our son was born–they have always been a part of his life.  Now as we prepare to head to Korea, we are again a family of three.  Life has been very hectic for us with our impending move, but I can already tell that life feels a bit more settled now that we’re together as a smaller family.  My in-laws were a big help to us.  They were always around to help take care of our son, and for that I am very grateful.  I know that my son already misses them very much because he’s old enough to be aware of their move, but he has been very well behaved the past couple of days.  I hope it continues until we finally arrive in Seoul.  Living together as an extended family has brought blessing, tension, happiness, and frustration–all the human emotions that rise up with family members living together.  I will look back at the last two years fondly and wax nostalgic, but at present I am happy that a new chapter has started.  For me this is the start of our transition to Korea.  We have been in limbo here in the Washington, D.C. area since we arrived in early 2004, and now within 2 months we will be in Korea, our new home for years.  Korea is yet another chapter to be experienced, and this is page one.

The death toll from the tsunamis in southeast Asia and eastern Africa has risen to 77,000+.  What a tragedy.  I am happy that the U.S. and other nations have pledged millions of dollars and logistical aid to combat the ensuing humanitarian crisis.  The tragedy seems so distant to many of us, but it has touched us nevertheless.  Out of this tragedy comes the opportunity for the world to come together to show support just as it did when the Twin Towers were attacked in 2001.  I’m planning to contact World Vision to see what I can do.

I downloaded and tried the new Mozilla Firefox browser.  It’s the new open source browser that is competing with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.  Over 12 million copies have been downloaded.  Most people download it because they either don’t like IE or are concerned about security issues with Microsoft’s browser.  Hackers and virus makers have designed nasties around the IE browser because over 90% of Internet users use IE to access the Web (mass audience).  I had to check it out for myself.  I have tested the Firefox browser, and so far I have not been very impressed.  If it will boost my PC’s security I will use it, but I may have to sacrifice some speed and functionality.  Pages appear to load more slowly in Firefox, and you have to manually load some add-ins such as Flash that boost the Web’s functionality.  Still, I will continue to test Firefox and use it for the time being.  I was happy to see that Google is Firefox’ default search engine.  Google appears on the Firefox home page and as a built-in browser toolbar.  If Firefox takes off in 2005, then the Firefox-Google alliance bodes well for Google.  Google impresses more every day.

Tsunamis

On Sunday a massive 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia caused tsunamis that surged across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, killing thousands in 10 countries from Indonesia to Somalia.  As of this writing almost 24,000 people have perished from the impact of the various tsunamis.  Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and India were particularly hard hit by them.  Large portions of the Maldives were briefly submerged.  What a tragedy.  This is one of the biggest quakes in recorded history and one of the most destructive.  I have colleagues working in Chennai, but I don’t know yet whether they are OK.  Few foreigners have been reported missing or killed–I really hope they’re safe.  Disasters of this magnitude are so tragic.  Earthquakes are among the most destructive natural disasters.  I can only imagine what it must have been like to see a huge wall of water coming toward you.  I pray for the families of the victims and for those who must deal with the aftermath.

If you’re ever abroad and need to check on travel conditions, call the State Department’s hotline at (888) 407-4747 or check their Crisis Awareness and Preparedness Web page.  No one can prepare for a disaster like this, but it’s best to prepare as much as possible.  I plan to check into aid and assistance options and help as much as I can from here.