First, Continental is probably the best of the remaining U.S. air carriers. (Forgetting the arguments about Southwest or other "budget" carriers ;^) )

Secondly, unfortunately, I think that Grand Banks realizes that to cover SE Asia and China, you really need to speak Chinese. English may be in widespread use , but a principal customer base is from China. That's a reality which we in the "English speaking world" need to come to grips with.

Hope the Ice has gone out for you, or will soon. ;^)