Coffee, books, and a spy beeper

One of the things that changed this year is where and how I get my coffee.  I’ve written about and mentioned the place across the street where I could get coffee and lunch and just hang out to write the blog, emails, read, or just hang out and meet friends.  They’ve changed ownership and formats and now are a night bar and good for them.  Seems busy every night and I’ve been a few times with some friends and it’s a chill spot.  

I know go up the Soi a bit and go to a place called Amazon Cafe.  It’s a chain, so that’s a bummer, but it’s at least a local chain (or at least, local to SEA) so I don’t feel quite so evil going there for coffee.  Nothing against my Starbux folks, we drink Starbuxs and frequented when we lived in the States, but there is something to be said for the local coffee shop.  The little independent place.  I always have heart for that.  It’s a small complaint and not one that keeps me from going, but I did prefer the local place.

Kiddo has come a few times with me or J to pick up an afternoon pick me up or we’ll all venture down as a family and split a coffee (J and myself) and get treats that we can share with Kiddo.  It’s a fun little adventure down the Soi and sometimes you just need an afternoon coffee to help get you through the day.  Especially when you are parents to an exceptionally energetic and precocious 6 year old.  

As an odd non-sequitur, part of my Xmas gift from Kiddo was a Kindle Book.  She was asking about that and how books got onto the Kindle.  I’m into a book series right now, so I’m not buying anything for a few weeks, but Kiddo wanted to see how it was done.  I promised her I would show her.  Curiosity however… Sigh, see the above about needing an afternoon coffee.

She persisted and asked again, not wanting to see me buy a book today, but only wanting to know how.  I told her I would go on my computer and find a book I wanted to buy and then I could buy it and I could have it downloaded to my Kindle.

I want to break away here for a minute.  She’s six.  She’s completely comfortable with the idea of downloading books, movies, music, etc.  That’s pretty cool, considering that I’ve needed to explain these things to family and friends, even some that are near to peers to me.  Pretty incredible that Kiddo just understands and knows that.  Oh, and J and I also always smile when Kiddo mimics a phone.  Most of us reading this know what I mean, we’ll stick out our thumb and pinky and mimic talking on a phone.  Kiddo, however, holds up a whole hand and will also send messages, emails, pictures, videos, and texts to Poley from time to time; again, using the palm of her hand as the phone/device. 

She’s curious.  She wants to know how things work.  She knows how to download content in Spotify for music or podcasts she likes and wants on the go or when we travel.  Same for movies and shows on Netflix or iPad.  She knows that I can log in on my phone and see or let her see that content as well.  She is well versed on how the tech works, on a very macro and global scale, but she’s only done that a bit.  Same with games on the PS5.  The Kindle, however… Well, that’s a book and she knows books, but on the iPad and her Epic app, the library and real books, but the Kindle to her is this magical thing that has ALL the books on it.

Ok, this is life lesson time.  This is important.  She will need to know how digital books work in her life, so let’s start early.  

D- Do you want me to explain or show you right now, since I’m not buying a book.  But I can show you, if you want.

K- No, Dada.  I just want to know.  But can I ask something?

D- Sure, ask away!

K- Well, you can buy games on PS5 or movies on your phone and I can watch it on iPad, but why do you need to go to computer to get Kindle books?  Why can’t you just download on Kindle?

OK, so far, tons of questions.  Good ones.  Shows a level of understanding, but gaps and the want to fill those gaps.  I took a minute to formulate my thoughts.

D- Well, I go to the computer, because using the Kindle to do that is slow since it’s not as big or powerful as iPad or computer would be.  That’s a good question.  

K- Oh!  So, you go to Kindle on the computer and you can search up books and then if it’s one you want to read, you can buy it?

D- Yup.  That’s how it goes.  I can just go to Amazon and then search it up and buy it.

I had never put together that she has NO earthly idea that Amazon is Amazon.  She was just 4 years old when we moved and we weren’t exactly ordering up everything we could on Amazon, like a large chunk of the population, because we were trying to use up what we had, not add more.  Moving across the world doesn’t lend itself well to acquiring stuff, more in purging stuff.  

K- Wait.  You have to go to Amazon to use your computer to get Kindle books?  Can’t you do internet here and get Kindle books?

There it is.  So we then had a conversation about Amazon.  Yes, it is a cafe here that Dada goes to and that we get coffee and treats at, but in America, it’s like Lazada here.  She then wanted to know if China would be Amazon or Lazada.  I told her Alababa was the biggest in China.  

It was interesting putting it all together and watching her do the same.  I then pulled out my phone and showed her the Amazon app that is still floating around my phone since we’ll be back and we can use Amazon in other places like Japan or Europe, and showed her how it was like Lazada.

It was an interesting turn and conversation.  I never thought that she wouldn’t know Amazon as a seller, not as a coffee chain.  Just makes me wonder what other things she will learn or ask or just be mystified by this summer when we are in the States.  Also, I wonder how many times we will sawadee or khabkhun people because we are so ingrained with Thai at this point.  All I know is it promises to be an interesting next 365 days.

Let’s go, Kiddo… Time to hit Amazon for a coffee and while we are there we can pull out my computer and hit Amazon for some Kindle downloads and shopping.  LOL. Keep asking good questions, wondering about the world, and being you.