Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with burma

Should I go to Burma/Myanmar?

MuffinMan — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:37:28 -0800

Should I go to Burma/Myanmar? I'm idly considering off the beaten track holiday locations for a trip at some undefined point hence - and one of the options is Myanmar.

Now, there are two broad schools of thought:

1) Go - you're contributing to the economy and helping open up the country
2) Don't go - you're only filling a murderous dictatorship's coffers

I'm aware of the ethical considerations for and against, but even ethical tourism companies diverge on their advice and increasingly people seem to be suggesting that it isn't unethical to travel there.

Has anyone been, or know someone who's been, who could give me more of a feel on what Burmese people actually feel about this when their views aren't being monitored by the secret police?

And are there better/worse ways to organise a trip so that the junta benefits as little as possible?

Help me spell Burmese names correctly!

hazelshade — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:41:54 -0800

Spelling question involving names of people from Burma. (Or Myanmar, if you prefer dictatorial nomenclature.) How would you spell names that sound phonetically like the following:

- San Lai

- Ji

Thanks!

What is the pronunciation of Myanmar.

xetere — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:26:38 -0800

What is the pronunciation of Myanmar? While waiting for the day when I can go back to calling it Burma, the country is called Myanmar. I always pronounced it as MYAN-mar with two syllables. Now since the cyclone, Myanmar is in the news and it seems that overnight, newscasters are pronouncing it as MEE-yun-mar with three syllables.

I am listening to NPR right now and they are talking about delivering aid to MEE-yun-mar.

Funny thing is, I can't remember ever hearing the latter pronunciation before the cyclone. It seems like an almost overnight change. So what is the 'standard?'

Please note this is the US, so we are talking about rhotic mairkun pronunciation.

What's the best charity to help Burma cyclone victims?

humblepigeon — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:54:31 -0800

What's the best charity to give to, in order to help victims of the Burma cyclone? I don't want to give to a charity that will spend the money on TV adverts of pension funds for its employees. I want most of the money to help victims.

Books about Burma?

UbuRoivas — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:54:20 -0800

Books about Burma? I'm hoping to be in Burma in less than a month, and wanting recommendations for things to read about the country - culture, society & history - that sort of thing. Fiction & nonfiction are both OK.

So far, dhruva's recommended Amitabh Ghosh, but I've not been able to find anything else, and the Lonely Planet doesn't seem to have a thing to say about background reading. I was unable to find any travel writing about the country, either.

So, recommend away! (but don't bother with anything about Buddhism; I've got that one well covered already)

Shaving My Head in Solidarity with the Monks in Burma

davidstandaford — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 12:56:26 -0800

I need some advice on creating a movement of people who shave their head in support of the monks of Burma. Like many people, I'm riveted by what's going on in Burma, and also feeling unsure of what I could possibly do to help. My idea was to shave my head, like the monks do, to show my support, raise awareness, and hopefully rally more people to do the same. My understanding is that they have already begun doing this in Burma.

I would then carry around quarter sheet flyers, and when people comment about my haircut (which they are likely to do because my hair is rather long at the moment), I can give them some information and talk to them about the situation. This is a similar idea to recent efforts by high school students in reaction to people under pressure (see here for info about students wearing pink to stand up against homophobic bullying and here for info about high school boys carrying around tampons in support of female students).

My questions are:
1) Is there any reason why shaving my head would be presumptuous or sacrilegious. As a rather outspoken Jew, I don't think people would ever think I'm actually Buddhist, but if during the oppression of the Soviet Jews, a bunch of people had started wearing yarmulkes/kippas, I might have thought that was kinda weird.
2) Aside from basic information on the flyers I hand out, I would like to include some sort of call to action. Any ideas about a simple, email address, website, or phone number I could direct someone to? If someone is compelled to action after talking to me, what should I tell them do to (besides shaving their head)?
3) I had planned on doing publicity among the college population for this through facebook, but if I get the impression this would be a good idea and follow through with it, any advice on doing publicity among the adult population that isn't on facebook?

Any other thoughts or advice about this would be greatly appreciated.

Make me want to go to Asia.

djstig — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 08:18:35 -0800

Make me want to go to Asia. Next summer I will be heading off to Singapore for a really good friends wedding, however it is only for a couple of days. The vague problem is that most of the other friends of the wedding party are planning on travelling around that part of the world for a few weeks afterwards.

However I have had very little interest in looking to travel in that part of the world. As in Malaysia, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia etc. So I am asking the Uncle Travelling Matt types of AskMe to sell Asia to me.

Interests include walking, swimming, historic sites, food that kind of thing. All of which I know are plentiful around those parts, but because I've not ever fancied Asia then I'm kind of clueless.

Teaching personal finanance to Burmese students

gauchodaspampas — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:28:18 -0800

Asking for a friend: She will be going to Thailand to teach students mostly from Burma and needs some advice. If you have any follow-up questions for her, you can ask them, and if she gets a chance, she will either email you directly, or she will email me and I will post what she says.

Here is what she has to say:
In a couple months I will be headed off to Chiang Mai, Thailand to teach several classes to a group of about 20 students between the ages of 17 and 22. Most (if not all) of my students will be from Burma.

I have been asked to teach a class this year related to budgeting/finance. The school has found that once they send the students back to their communities they do not seem to have a concept of a budget. An example is a student who graduated and then was sent to manage another recently started small school. Unfortunately he was not sure what to do with the resources given him. Apparently many of the students look at money as something to be spent right when it is earned.

My confusion over all of this is that I am fairly well-versed in the basics of personal finance here in the US but want to be sure that once I teach my class I will have gotten a heads up on cultural differences. An example that I have heard of is that in Thailand people care for extended families more than we do in the US and would therefore need to take this into account when budgeting. What other bits of information are there like this that I can keep in mind while planning and teaching my classes? Are there any good books/websites that I could read about the concept of finance and budgeting from the perspective of Thai culture (in the more remote areas)? My main goal is to give them the most pertinent information and not the same thing they would get if they took a finance class here.
Thanks!

Burnin' Up For Some Burmese

pcameron — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 12:09:26 -0800

Are there any Burmese restaurants in the Toronto area? I had a proper Burmese dinner while doing a short trek in the northern part of the country last year, and it was one of the best meals of my life. I can't seem to find any listings for Burmese restaurants in Toronto, however. Do any exist?