TWO EGGS AND A LEMON: My Four Years In Myanmar

by Joanna MacLean

Overview

The simple gift of two eggs and a lemon from a young boy becomes the symbolic title of Joanna MacLean’s remarkable book, chronicling her four years in Myanmar. Working with the Red Cross from 2002 through 2006, at a pivotal period in the country’s political transformation, MacLean’s memoir is an honest, intimate story of a fascinating, exotic people within a culture shaped by the pulse of Buddhism, a people of indelible spirit in the face of adversities.

The gift of Two Eggs and a Lemon is MacLean’s enchanting focus on the stories of people she met and learned from, and how such humble generosities bridge our understanding of human commonality.
 

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780692699713
Publisher:	Galen Garwood
Publication date:	06/09/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Anthropologist, teacher, photographer, writer, art gallery owner/director, Joanna MacLean taught in her native country New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, and England before beginning her International Red Cross career that spanned 28 years. From 2002-2005, she was Head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' Delegation in Myanmar, and she also worked in Africa and the Caribbean/Central America. In the Geneva HQ, she held a number of Department Head posts and was a leading figure in the Movement's global events and campaigns over a period of 15 years from 1988-2002. As an independent consultant, she continues to do some training and short-term assignments for the International Red Cross, including another three-month stint in Myanmar from September to December 2013. In 2004 she co-founded La Luna Gallery in Chiang Mai, Thailand specialising in S.E. Asian contemporary art, focussing on art from Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam and since 2011 she has been joint owner/director of Colour Factory, operating shops in and around Chiang Mai. One of their main products are the painted elephants of the internationally known 'Elephant Parade'. Her company also organises events to bring attention to, and raise funds for a number of causes, including elephant welfare and pediatric heart surgery for disadvantaged children. In her capacity as Consultant to the 'Naka Foundation,' which is dedicated to the conservation and well-being of elephants, Joanna lectures to school and university students and to service groups in Thailand on issues related to elephant conservation. She is a founding member of the ASEAN Captive Elephant Working Group (ACEWG), a group of regional elephant specialists, veterinarians, researchers and conservationists who are working to create more awareness about both the problems and the possible solutions, as well as provide recommendations to improve healthcare and management practices for captive elephants in the ASEAN countries. She is also an Advisor to 'Skills for Life,' a foundation which provides vocational training and job opportunities for underprivileged youth from Hill Tribes around Chiang Mai. She continues to enjoy traveling and photography in her spare time and in combining these interests and her experience has worked as a lecturer aboard cruise ships in Asia and the Americas. Joanna has been living in Chiang Mai, Thailand since 2006.

Table of Contents

Introduction i Chapter One Dinner at the Strand ~ 1 Chapter Two The First Kiss ~ 9 Chapter Three You'll Get Used To It ~ 19 Chapter Four Accommodating the Boss ~ 27 Chapter Five Crossing the Bridge ~ 35 Chapter Six Health Matters ~ 45 Chapter Seven A Cabbage, a Cyclone ~ 57 Chapter Eight The Glass Factory ~ 67 Chapter Nine At Home ~ 77 Chapter Ten Office Days ~ 87 Chapter Eleven The Tourist Triangle ~ 99 Chapter Twelve Motorbike Manoeuvres ~ 109 Chapter Thirteen Weekend Wandering ~ 119 Chapter Fourteen Riding the River ~ 127 Chapter Fifteen Dust and Ash ~ 133 Chapter Sixteen The Big Splash ~ 151 Chapter Seventeen Farewell Ma Marlar ~ 159 Chapter Eighteen One Hundred Days ~ 169 Chapter Nineteen Playing the Game ~ 175 Chapter Twenty The Fisherman's Son ~ 183 Chapter Twenty-One Cardboard Box Stories ~ 189 Chapter Twenty-Two Golden Rock ~ 197 Chapter Twenty-Three I Moved the Flowers ~ 209 Chapter Twenty-Four Marionettes and Collaint ~ 223 Chapter Twenty-Five Naga New Year ~ 233 Chapter Twenty-Six Down in the Delta ~ 243 Chapter Twenty-Seven The Kidnap ~ 253 Chapter Twenty-Eight The Wicker Basket ~ 263 Epilogue ~ 269