S01.E08: Chickening Out

[RealReality]

@pickle you seem in the know....what do you think will happen when summit's parents find out for sure that Jenny and sumit are living together.  Importantly...will I get the confrontation I want?  

[RealReality]

43 minutes ago, pickle said:

hahaha... Difficult to tell when we have never seen the photos of his parents. These two keep mentioning them like they are like monster under the bed when we sleep. How scary are they truly? Based on how he said he didn't want friends or even the 90 day camera crew, we will probably get nothing on screen. Everything will be told to us through Sumit's point of view (which is "waaah, am so sad because they don't understand my love" blah blah) and Jenny's smug tears (which is "why don't people tune their brains out like we did?" blah blah)

Oh no!!!!  You think we won't get to see the confrontation?  That is disappointing.  

One thing that confused me about them is that apparently Jenny spent like a month or two in sumits parents house.  But she is so scared of them.  I can't square those two things because

a. If summits parents were absolutely awful and scary while jenny was there, how and why would she stay there month?  Wouldn't they have put jenny out?  Changed her plane ticket back?

BUT

b. If they arent that scary or horrible why is everyone so worried about their reaction?  Jenny looks downright fearful and on the verge of tears when she talks about them finding out, but she stayed with them for a month and they knew it was because she and sumit were in a relationship.

Like what can they functionally do if they disapprove of the marriage?

[100Proof]

1 hour ago, pickle said:

How scary are they truly? 

14 minutes ago, RealReality said:

Like what can they functionally do if they disapprove of the marriage?

Considering that it's apparently a culture where females are murdered if they dishonor family by having the audacity of being raped or, perhaps more in their control, having an affair, or possibly having it off with someones son that's not the woman parents chose for an arranged marriage....   😐

Edited July 20, 2019 by 100Proof

[RealReality]

9 minutes ago, pickle said:

@RealReality ~ from what I vaguely remember, it was something like a month and they basically told the neighbours that she was just a friend or something? and then basically kicked her out once the plane ticket was due? That was my impression. My guess is that they are probably quite nice or polite if they were willing to put up with her for a month but there is no way they will agree to this match. They have likely told Sumit that unless he wants to be completely disowned, he is to keep Jenny out of their lives.

So Jenny's fear is not really of the parents but more on lines of whether Sumit will cave. In one of the talking heads, he said that he has to choose between his parents and Jenny and he has no idea which one he will choose. So as long as they don't know, there is no active choice to be made but once they come to know, everyone will be asking him to make a choice and stick with it.

Do you think that they sincerely believed Jenny was just a friend or were they willing to turn a blind eye because they thought it would fizzle out?

Also, it seems like in the Indian culture there is a lot of importance placed on what neighbors, friends and family think.  Do you think that anyone else close to them thought Jenny was really his friend?  Or were they laughing at him behind closed doors?

[100Proof]

14 minutes ago, pickle said:

@100Proof ~ so am wondering how to answer this -- let me put it this way by quote by famous British economist Joan Robinson "Whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true"... So yes, there are parts of India where you what you mentioned happens but there are also parts of the country where those kind of events are also alien.

Agreed. 

Edited July 20, 2019 by 100Proof

[Spike]

2 hours ago, 100Proof said:

Agreed. 

It’s true here too.  What is accepted in NYC is not accepted in the Bible Belt.  And while we don’t have stonings it wasn’t all that long ago we had lynchings.

Edited July 20, 2019 by Spike

[Caoimhe]

On 7/19/2019 at 8:55 AM, Drogo said:

May-December relationships are fine IMO so long as: 

• the babyspouse isn't the same age or younger than any children the elderspouse has

Do we have any idea how old Jenny’s daughters are?  Seems like at least one of them is older than Sumit.  I think it’s quite likely that Jenny is older than Sumit’s parents too!

[Mrs. Hanson]

3 hours ago, pickle said:

@100Proof ~ so am wondering how to answer this -- let me put it this way by quote by famous British economist Joan Robinson "Whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true"... So yes, there are parts of India where you what you mentioned happens but there are also parts of the country where those kind of events are also alien.

@RealReality ~ Specifically to Jenny and Sumit, what is really not coming across is how scandalous this couple is in Indian culture. The age gap issue is something that would not just cause shock but also some real low looks. People aren't staring at Jenny because she is blond lady, it is because she is hanging out with a fellow who is old enough to be her son.

Much of Asia has age-hierarchy culture. This is reflected in even small interactions and language.

 

Didn't his friends say, straight out:  "The boy must be older, the girl must be Indian and there is no love.  The marriage is arranged by Mom and Dad.  Period."  So they are breaking all the rules.

Per the bolding:  I admit, I have done some double takes when I see ANY big age difference, either direction.  My hubby has a friend who is 26 years older than his wife and frankly, they do look like father and daughter.  And they got married when she was 22!  Been ten years and they are going strong!

[John M]

My husband is 9 years older than me, which at my age is the difference between living through the AIDS crisis and not, so I'm kind of defending myself in this...

I don't think much of even a major age difference assuming the younger party is at least past 30 and kind of has a life roadmap to check compatibility with against their partner long term.

10 years ago I think our relationship would look very different, now, we both have careers that we are happy in, made some major life decisions independently and the age thing rarely, rarely comes up except differences childhood wise.

[Kareem]

These men or more like half the women’s ages. One took Gilligan on a three hour tour and the other one is hard to describe...

[iwasish]

On 7/19/2019 at 7:39 AM, Mu Shu said:

Alaydar is looking to fleece Laura as long as he can. There are limited opportunities for running games on women in his area, and she has a steady income and assets. Her home is probably worth about 167k, more if it’s over 1200 square feet. 

The game is he woos her for awhile, then he gets her to sell her home. If it pays off, he gets a nice windfall. If it doesn’t pay off, he still gets some of her monthly check, the rent paid at the least. He looks like a skeezer, and probably isn’t able to get a woman with assets. He wants Honey’s money. 

I’m an awful person, but I laughed my ass off at Jenny suffering a blow. It’s insane to me that she’s moving to India for security. That’s her long con.

i must be really poor, because I think Engabao looks nice. Sure there’s a poor area, but if you have some income and a decent place on the beach it would be ideal. There is a decent amount of tourism to make your income from, and all the fresh fish and weekly chicken you can eat. And I think Evelyn is super hot. 

ETA-The hottest months in Engabao are Jan-March. The average high is about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s pretty comfortable. Population is about 15k. Eviline seems to do fine there and has her family. I’d probably want to stay myself. She’s a smart cookie and I like her. Not everyone wants to move to the US.

No but she sure lives that American dollar. I can see her sending Corey back here periodically to earn more of it. 

[Scout Finch]

On 7/16/2019 at 8:49 PM, Spike said:

Puppet show and Spinal Tap.

Spike, if I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times to put 'Spinal Tap' first and 'puppet show' last.

[Mu Shu]

20 hours ago, Kareem said:

These men or more like half the women’s ages. One took Gilligan on a three hour tour and the other one is hard to describe...

Lol. But we all know the jiggy jiggy ends as soon as the anchor is brought up. Poor dumb bastard. I imagine he calls it jiggy jiggy to brain bleach the actual encounter. That doesn’t sound as bad as “I had sex with the blowsy, bloated, sweaty skipper. With stank feet.

lets say Summeat is actually 42. Jenny doesn’t look a day under 72, so there is still a 30 year gap. Ok fine, she’s 62, but a 20 year gap is still huge. 

“What a blow. What a blow we just suffered”. I could watch that all damn day. 

[Mrs. Hanson]

1 hour ago, Mu Shu said:

Lol. But we all know the jiggy jiggy ends as soon as the anchor is brought up. Poor dumb bastard. I imagine he calls it jiggy jiggy to brain bleach the actual encounter. That doesn’t sound as bad as “I had sex with the blowsy, bloated, sweaty skipper. With stank feet.

lets say Summeat is actually 42. Jenny doesn’t look a day under 72, so there is still a 30 year gap. Ok fine, she’s 62, but a 20 year gap is still huge. 

“What a blow. What a blow we just suffered”. I could watch that all damn day. 

I could too.  It cracks me up!!!!  With her eyes looming large, brimming with years.

[Caoimhe]

3 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

I could too.  It cracks me up!!!!  With her eyes looming large, brimming with years.

If that’s not a typo it is a seriously good description!!!

[Mrs. Hanson]

3 minutes ago, ThereButFor said:

If that’s not a typo it is a seriously good description!!!

It WAS a typo and it is more apt description!!!

[Wanda]

Ok. Rewatching just now and I’m going to give Deaven some slack and say she’s counting the 8 months of their “relationship” as starting when they actually met up in America. That makes the 7 month pregnancy work with her getting pregnant a monthish in.

[iwasish]

Sumits friends are very nice. It’s sweet that they are so concerned about Jenny fitting in. I laughed when the one offered to go with Sumit to tell his parents about Jenny. And Jenny thought it was a good idea, to prevent his folks from killing him. The friend laughed but I think Jenny thinks  they might actually kill him. 

Laura is going to have a rough go. Aladin isn’t the nice guy she thinks.

Jihoon’s parents certainly loved the American diner food. Mom was gobbling those French fries up. 

Edited July 23, 2019 by iwasish

[blubld43]

I was just wondering if we'll see a reunion/ tell all with this crew. I guess Ronald will have to be by video; any legal eagles here know if Ronald could get a tourist visa to the US? I know he seemingly cannot live here, but does that also mean he can't even visit for a short time? Presumably he will have family here, Tiff's relatives, would he be denied the opportunity to visit?

Years ago a good friend of mine who is part Uzbek got married. His mother was denied an entrance visa to attend the wedding, so maybe Ronald can't even visit, I was just wondering.

Edited July 23, 2019 by blubld43

[Pepper Mostly]

On 7/19/2019 at 7:39 AM, Mu Shu said:

i must be really poor, because I think Engabao looks nice. Sure there’s a poor area, but if you have some income and a decent place on the beach it would be ideal. There is a decent amount of tourism to make your income from, and all the fresh fish and weekly chicken you can eat. And I think Evelyn is super hot. 

ETA-The hottest months in Engabao are Jan-March. The average high is about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s pretty comfortable. Population is about 15k. Eviline seems to do fine there and has her family. I’d probably want to stay myself. She’s a smart cookie and I like her. Not everyone wants to move to the US.

I have long maintained that Corey and Evilyn are punking us. They want to promote their businesses in Engabao and raise its profile as an off the beaten path destination for surfers, bohemians, wanderers of all kinds. Not tourists who want all inclusive resorts, who would surely scorn it. But younger people who want to stretch their travel money and find cheap, out of the way places that are "unspoiled"? Hello, Engabao! Listen to Evilyn talk about it--she always refers to it in glowing terms. Beautiful! Paradise on earth! Wonderful people! Great food! A chicken in every pot!

[RealReality]

19 minutes ago, Pepper Mostly said:

I have long maintained that Corey and Evilyn are punking us. They want to promote their businesses in Engabao and raise its profile as an off the beaten path destination for surfers, bohemians, wanderers of all kinds. Not tourists who want all inclusive resorts, who would surely scorn it. But younger people who want to stretch their travel money and find cheap, out of the way places that are "unspoiled"? Hello, Engabao! Listen to Evilyn talk about it--she always refers to it in glowing terms. Beautiful! Paradise on earth! Wonderful people! Great food! A chicken in every pot!

LOL @ "a chicken in every pot!" Indeed!

IMO, they haven't shown enough of the beauty of engabo to make up for street pigs.   My parents are from a poor country that is very popular amongst tourists on a variety of budgets. 

The country appeals to a lot of people who want something off the beaten path and they want to maybe brag a little about how they went to this super exotic place that not everyone knows about.  

Engabo could be that ....but show less street pigs and show more beachfront!  And start talking now about how to make wifi happen, people can only take so much when they are roughing it.

[Pepper Mostly]

I don't think they care about the street pigs. I think the folks they want will love the street pigs. The only thing that puzzles me is that the average reality TV viewer is not their target audience!

I also somehow think that we'll see more of picturesque Engabao as the season goes on.

[RealReality]

8 minutes ago, Pepper Mostly said:

I don't think they care about the street pigs. I think the folks they want will love the street pigs. The only thing that puzzles me is that the average reality TV viewer is not their target audience!

I also somehow think that we'll see more of picturesque Engabao as the season goes on.

That's probably true.  When my mom and I were driving along the country roads we had a wild boar dash out in front of us to get across the street.  I can't say I was charmed, but i had a story!  

Its not a bad plan overall, but you're right the 90DF average viewer is maybe not the target audience.

[Mu Shu]

11 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

I have long maintained that Corey and Evilyn are punking us. They want to promote their businesses in Engabao and raise its profile as an off the beaten path destination for surfers, bohemians, wanderers of all kinds. Not tourists who want all inclusive resorts, who would surely scorn it. But younger people who want to stretch their travel money and find cheap, out of the way places that are "unspoiled"? Hello, Engabao! Listen to Evilyn talk about it--she always refers to it in glowing terms. Beautiful! Paradise on earth! Wonderful people! Great food! A chicken in every pot!

These two are definitely playing parts, and are decent at it. Her English is very confident, and his Spanish is probably equally as good. Both are probably well travelled. They probably have a business for surfers in the season, and travel in off season. He spent 40k on a place to live for them and to start their business. 

Not a bad gig, living on the beach in an agreeable climate and being able to do what you want. I like her, especially how she doesn’t cake her face with 5 lbs of makeup and dresses like a surfer girl with her natural, flowing hair. I think she’s super attractive. 

[RealReality]

I think she looks like a corpse.  But Joan rivers said that you can never be too rich or too thin so that's a thing.

I've come to appreciate her personality a bit more.  Corey can be a wet rag.

[PityFree]

 I have to admit that Corey charmed me for one small moment. It was when he was talking to Evelyn‘s younger brother who was having the birthday and asking him how old he was turning. When he said, “13? Geeeee!” ( he said it in Spanish so I’m just giving the gist of it.)  I just thought it really showed how much he liked her family and he was in his role as “older brother” or “future BIL.”

[SG11]

On 7/25/2019 at 8:33 PM, Mu Shu said:

These two are definitely playing parts, and are decent at it. Her English is very confident, and his Spanish is probably equally as good. Both are probably well travelled. They probably have a business for surfers in the season, and travel in off season. He spent 40k on a place to live for them and to start their business. 

Not a bad gig, living on the beach in an agreeable climate and being able to do what you want. I like her, especially how she doesn’t cake her face with 5 lbs of makeup and dresses like a surfer girl with her natural, flowing hair. I think she’s super attractive. 

Catching up on these episodes, I’m surprised so many people don’t like Ev’s looks. I think she’s super attractive as well.

I think people are put off by her meanness, but she’s crazy hot.