The region’s swelling middle class is fuelling a rise in Southeast Asian self-help gurus dispensing motivation and advice Like many Filipinos her age in Manila, 24-year-old Maureen Usacdin wrestles with the daily struggles of city life. First, there is the notorious traffic, which pollutes her lungs and only promises to worsen as people pile into Metro Manilafaster than …
Continue reading The self-help gurus trading advice and inspiration for cash (Southeast Asia Globe)
IN one of those "through the looking glass" moments I get being an expat in Asia, I was handed a student guide last week which outlined the enforcement of a "Formal Day" every Monday at the university in Kuala Lumpur I am (thankfully) leaving soon. The rules of Formal Monday instantly struck me as being …
Disney is making headlines these days with the recent ground breaking of Shanghai Disneyland in Pudong. The iconic brand has actually been visibly seeding interest since '08 when the first Disney English school opened in Shanghai. Their glossy form of "edutainment" has done a formidable job of exposing all things Disney to the mainland, but how Mickey …
Continue reading Magic Kingdom Needs More than Allure to Win Mainland
Fall in soldiers! Give me twenty --- and while you’re at it, bring me those crayons. No. These tiny tots in fatigues aren’t gearing up for the front line (yet). “Nanjing Experimental Military Playground in Shanghai” is a kindergarten located on Julu Road that aims at disciplining all those punks you’ve been hearing about who …
For the past month, I had been fussing over an old story about SWING, a volunteer organization that offers a variety of counseling services and English lessons to sex workers of every gender in Bangkok. And after a bit of cleanup and some calls to Thailand, I churned out a story for CNNGo, CNN's Asia-travel …
Justin Calderón 