Archive for January, 2009

By Kevin Rohrer, 1982 Thunderbird graduate

Thunderbird’s Alumni Relations Office is interested in feedback from its constituents. I’d like to share with you the two most widely heard complaints:

No. 1:  Too much communication
No. 2:  Not enough communication

By Kevin Rohrer, 1982 Thunderbird graduate

Mark your calendars and start saving your money for the Thunderbird Global Reunion to be held Nov. 5-7, 2009 in Macau. Just a few years ago Macau was a sleepy backwater community with a handful of smoke-filled casinos that catered almost exclusively to day trippers from Hong Kong. Today Macau is a world class tourism destination with a gaming turnover twice the size of Las Vegas.

For the geographically challenged, Macau is on the west side of the Pearl River Delta, about 40 miles from Hong Kong. Few people realize that Portugal governed Macau for more than 450 years. Until it was overshadowed by Hong Kong, Shanghai and other treaty ports, Macau was the main Western trading base in China.

Evidence of the colonial history is all around. Portuguese is still one of Macau’s two official languages and found on street signs, maps and shop signs. Don’t be surprised to see Chinese looking people with names such as Silva, Souza or Gomes.  You won’t hear much Portuguese on the street, however. It is spoken by only about 0.7 percent of the population. (But that didn’t stop Macau from hosting the Lusophone Games in 2006.)

Taking elements from Portuguese and Chinese cooking, and adding spices from Angola, Mozambique, Goa, Malacca and Timor, a distinctive Macanese cuisine has developed. Fusion cooking at its best. The Portuguese may not have governed well but they sure knew how to cook.

First-rate speakers and panelists, networking opportunities, great food, nightlife, history & culture … TGR-Macau will have something for everyone.