Field Trip #4 – Los Angeles
Sunday, 2/16/2014
It’s
three day long weekend – President’s Day, for my daughter and son-in-law, Hans,
who was out in Portland, Oregon for his ill mother. My daughter invited me to a luncheon arranged by her MIT classmate
& roommate, Louisa, who flew in from Dallas, Texas, with her family of two
kids, 3 and 2 and husband David, along with her sister-in-law, Jennifer ’s
family, with Mom and Dad and two kids, 4 & 5 month-old. There was another couple, Hans and
Jennifer, expecting twins, were Louisa’s medical internship friends a few years
ago from ‘City of Hope’ – a world-renowned biomedical research, treatment and
educational institution in Duarte, CA. Hans, the jovial and strapping young
physician-to-be, bears the same name as my son-in-law – Hans. He asked my daughter about her husband
if he is a German or not, which is a common German given name of Johannes
(John.)
I
have never met anyone before except Louisa, who has been very close with my
daughter since college days.
Wow, it’s more like a ”Parenthood
Social Forum for College Reunion” than a luncheon. I was a tagalong, but had fun.
The
icebreaker evolved gradually from the coincidence of same names - two Hans and
two Jennifer - to serious parenthood issues. Three high-energy and active toddler boys were under the
watchful eyes of two Nanny Grandmas, one grandpa and new, but experienced
mothers and father. All behaved
and disciplined with certain degree of restaurant manners. There were no disaster or any drama for
the whole afternoon.
Pacific
Highway 1 to Los Angeles
My
daughter decided to take the scenery Pacific Highway 1, running along the
pacific coastline, instead of Highway 101 where I normally took - running my
weekend errands and grocery shopping; an inland route cutting through the
Ventura valleys with year-round production of leafy greens.
I
do not have enough geological knowledge about Southern California, except the
earthquakes are common occurrences since the state is located on the San
Andreas Fault. The complex and
interesting landscapes, the physical history of the earth, the rocks of which
it is composed and government in city planning and technology involved in
building sustainable cities in California, such as Malibu, Los Angeles where I am
passing through today, only amaze me more how Mother Nature can create such
beautiful scenery around me.
I wonder how people although aware of the threat living in such a place
might bring. It’s probably the
natural feeling of attaching to their areas and focusing the beauty and good
things about where they live and not the negative aspects that many or may not
occur.
We
were traveling south with baby Forest napping in the car seat with me. It’s around 9:00 a.m.
Wow,
the view was nearly taking my breath away. The sweeping vista with the craggy mountain ranges on my
left and sunray reflecting Pacific Ocean on my right. Mountain ranges, I do not know the names, except Topanga and
Santa Monica Mountains – arid, dry, baron and lifeless. The Ocean I know the name – Pacific -
vast, serene, turquoise-blue and majestic. The road is two lane, one each
direction. I did not take a lot
pictures, because the baby needs my attention while my daughter was on the
steering wheel.
Malibu
We
were winding our way from Ventura, passing the coastal city – Malibu, heading
toward Los Angeles. Each mile is
more beautiful than the one before it. Malibu is an affluent coastal city just north of Los
Angeles. Some of the houses
perched precariously on the hilltops and mountains overlooking the ocean. It’s a picture-perfect postcard beauty,
but aren’t the residents feeling frightened or just thrilled? I was awe-struck to see the hilltop
houses, high-rise buildings or even the highway overpass built on the thin
layer of limestone and sandstones.
How the blend between natural beauty and big cities can be this marvelous.
Pepperdine
University
The
views changed to the gorgeous and open green lawn before me. That’s the Pepperdine University with
the Cross monument. I had visited
the university in the summer of 2007 with my family, taking my daughter from UC
Berkley to Amgen for her internship.
This private co-ed university sprawls across on the most expensive and exclusive
place in the U.S. It’s one
of the priciest and elite schools affiliated with the churches of Christ. The 50+K tuition annually probably pays
the watering of the green lawn.
Southern California is experiencing the worst drought in history. The school became famous when Kenneth
Starr was named as the dean of Law School in 2004. Kenneth Starr shouldn’t be a stranger to all of us. As the independent prosecutor, his
Independent Report led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton on Monica
Lewinsky scandals in 1998. However
controversial or truthful it was; all the names – Paula Jones, Linda Tripp e.g.
were in history. What is
interesting is that in spite of all of it, everyone was able to emerge from it
and become quite successful afterwards.
The ugly politics is what it is.
It makes me think about the life sentence of ex-president in Taiwan,
Chen Shui-Bian’s corruption case.
Will he ever come out politically successful as Bill Clinton? It’s everyone’s guess.
On
the way Home – Mugu Rock
We
took the same route Pacific Highway 1 home around 2:00 p.m., as it turned out
to be a bad decision. Sunday
afternoon, the balmy weather in Southern California and famous Malibu beaches have
the attraction from people everywhere!
The traffic was jammed, the beach goers, surf riders, hikers, tourists
and gawkers made the driving in snail’s pace. And baby Forest cried hysterically with Mom’s stop-and-go
motion. We were debating at one
point to pull over at the roadside, but instead we moved along with grandma’s
ten thousand tricks to calm him down.
After Malibu, all was smooth and quiet. Forget about taking the pictures, my sightseeing spirit gone
out of the windows. I could
somehow snatch the picture of the famous Mugu Rock, 20 miles before Celeste’s
office in Thousand Oaks. She told
me, “This distinctive rock was the western end of Santa Monica Mountain ranges. It was formed when a path for the
Pacific Coast Highway cut through the mountain. There were a few haunted stories related to this rock. But what makes it famous is many car
commercials and film/TV shoots around this region.” Now, no wonder it looks so familiar on TV.
There
is something interesting about this group. I would like to blog on various topics.
Melting
Pot USA
The
population of the United States is made up of immigrants from many different
countries. It’s one of the most
diverse, if not the most diverse country in the world. This group is the example. All the young couples were born in USA,
but with parents, immigrants, from different countries, either in 1970s or
before. 1. Both Louisa and Celeste have parents from Taiwan in early 1970s. 2.
Jennifer and her Mom, Taiwanese, and Dad, Korean, who are also 1970s immigrants
from Dallas, Texas. They settled
in LA three years ago to be the caretakers of daughter’s newborn boy, their
grandson. Jennifer’s husband, who
is David’s brother was not with them at the luncheon, due to emergency room
weekend shift, is a mixture of Korean Dad and Vietnamese Mom. 3. Hans is the offspring of early
European immigrants in 1940s and Jennifer whose parents are Koreans immigrants
also in early 1970s.
Traditionally, assimilation has been such a powerful theme in U.S. So, although we are all from many
different backgrounds, everyone lives a largely “American” style of life. However, the heritage remains deeply
connected.
Friendship
Amazingly,
both Celeste and Louisa have remained close touch in different stages of their
lives since the dormitory days - graduation, graduate schools, dating experiences,
career choices, weddings, and now new parenthood. They made a regular practice getting together when either
one of them was in town in private or business trip – to eat dinner, catch up or
get a message. I still remember,
10 collegiate Ice Hockey best friends sleeping in my basement in Maryland, during
spring break, and Louisa was one of them – They all played the non-competitive
intramural sport challenging players from different dorms to relief the
notorious MIT stress problems. Ben
and I were introduced to her parents from Dallas during their graduation in
June 2000. They are nice folks and
very down-to-earth. As a matter of
fact, the graduation dinner was her parents’ treat for three families, 15 of
them, of Celeste’s best dorm friends and classmates – all are from Chemical
Engineering Department. They still
shared the stories of their 4 years memories in the dorm – McCormick Hall. Louisa said, “we stuck together long, amidst
our differences in life styles, personalities and social IQs, per se. One thing struck out was we both
responded ‘yes’ on one of MIT’s housing application questionnaire for roommates
matching program. And it was
quite a unique question besides the personal data, and all compatibility quizzes.” She continued, “and that’s ‘Did your
parents provide or force you extra homework during your elementary and junior
high schools because the regular school homework assignment was too light?’” We all got a kick out of the
story. What was the most notable
about the whole afternoon was that, they, from the old college chum to the new
parents, and the families – mesh so seamlessly. The scenes of holding children from each other’s
family, feeding, cuddling and tending the restless toddlers crawling under the
dinner table playing their own toys, hissing softly to the fidgety child not
their own and walking around the restaurant to divert the little one’s
attention grabbing, speak bundle about how they are able to embrace each
other’s differences and accept about who they are through the years of
understanding.
Education
It
is very true that all these immigrant Asian American parents do not believe the
tales of homework-burdened American students, as it was constantly debated
among schools and parents. They viewed the paramount importance of ‘hard work, extra
practice makes perfect’ doctrine.
The children were loaded with different after school activities while
their Non-Asian peers were often free from learning and education after the
final ring of the school bell. The
United States had thrown wide these immigrant parents’ horizons – education,
profession and opportunity. The
high expectations for their children were clear. The questions: Would
these young adults – high achievers ever appreciate the Chinese/Korean schools,
piano/violin lessons, and special-designed math homework then? Will they again induce and compel their
own children to adopt the way they were inculcated without any choices? Will these young physicians push their
own kids towards lucrative, high status professionals like their own parents? Or
will they emerge on the other side to totally destroy the values passed on to
them from their parents? I do not
know the answers yet. Because I
would be long gone before I am able to see the fruition of their efforts. But, I know for certain, that the
secret lies in the parenting.
Parenting
issues
They
discussed the parenting tips and support from families, grandparents and hired
Nannies. There were various topics
geared towards their current needs and future planning, such as day care
providers, hired Nannies, and grandparents, toilet training, breastfeeding,
bottle feeding, cows milk, soy milk, solid food introduction, organic or non-organic
food, and bed time routines, just to name a few. During the conversion, we laughed out loud among ourselves,
especially, all three grandparents, about the indignity of being brushed off
with ‘the old wives’ tales’ on certain issues. Louisa, the pediatric surgeon turned general surgeon after
her own childbirth, shared with us the fact & myth behind the tales. In retrospect, I do not believe we applied
anything drastically different from the parenting books they go by now. We, three grandparents teased them that
they were doing their ‘Step-by-Step, Child Caring Science Homework Project.” They all face
the demanding and challenging tasks as they assume dual roles of parents and
professionals. We did that too,
just with different degrees in priorities. Case is closed.
Chosun
Galbee Korean Barbecue
We
arrived at 3330 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles – a quaint Korean Town- around
11:00 am. The mandatory valet
parking service offered by the restaurant gave me the impression of Koreans’
sharp business acumen. We were
comfortably welcomed, especially with the baby in the car seat. The fountain pool with colorful carps
attracted the customers - old and young.
The courtyard garden with the cascade waterfalls, a sculpture of the stone
water buffalo and a young lad with the straw conical hat riding on it bore the
traces of idyllic Korean countryside.
It’s very peaceful and tranquil.
I had nostalgic moments; even baby Forest was entranced with the
continuous spilling of the fall.
It had that soothing and calming effect for babies. The restaurant service women on
traditional Korean costumes with modern cut greeted us warmly. The décor of the dinning room is very
inviting and the service was friendly.
Of course, Louisa and David reserved in advance and they paid the
frequent visits when they are in town for family reunion. This place offers the best Korean BBQ cuisine,
ranked 4 stars according to David, the general surgeon, who introduced us many
side dishes – vegetable, fish cake, seaweeds, sesame Tofu and spicy Kim Chi.
All served in a tasty sauce to make them more palatable. While we were savoring the delicious
food, rotating the duties of tending the toddlers and 2 babies and discussing
the intellectual and cultural issues, I noticed the generation gap narrowed or
even disappeared.
The
proverb “It takes the village to raise a child” becomes more sense to me and I
treasure the moment of mingling with this young generation.
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