"...relationships consist not so much in words, but in meanings..."
Am quoting a friend's blog, he is an American but stayed and taught in Japan...
"In other words, I could hardly understand them, they could hardly understand me (much to the chagrin of those who think I'm fluent in Japanese..haha)...but, over time, we began to understand each other. Relationships take time, tests, and testimonies of shared victories and defeats...laughter and tears...smiles and frowns...misunderstandings that birth understandings...and love. Tenacious love.
Without the meaningful contact, purpose, and mutual affinity to want to want to be close that Musashi Kengo Taiko had with each other, the above photo could never have been taken on my last day in Japan. Sure, it was a nice gesture to send me off to the airport, but the tears that followed this photo are etched forever in my memory of a supreme principle I strive to invoke for every encounter I have with people: treat others the way you want to be treated."
It becomes very relevant for me especially right now, after a month of trying to figure out what other people are saying and learning thta the best greeting often is not "Bonjour" or "Hej" or "Buon Giorno", but often just a simple smile...
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Addicted to Grass....
Right....before people wonder how come I'm addicted to grass even before I get to Amsterdam, let me explain.. I'm addicted to, specifically, lying around in grass... and being in Europe has made this addiction even more chronic...
In Singapore, where we have amazing lawns to lie down on, people frown when being asked to lie down / do activites in grass...I guess, it's somewhat justified since Singaporean grass is,how shall I say it, prickly, not to mention they can be infested by tropical insects..
Well...that still can't beat my fascination with lying on grass.... Somehow, closing my eyes when feeling the soil beneath me, and playing with grass tufts with my hand...is just so, very, enjoyable.... Do it early in the morning or late at night, when the soil is comparatively colder, and it can be very relaxing...two feelings I usually have after lying around in grass in "recharged" and "de-stressed" *that's why during my A-level period I laid down on grass almost everyday in a garden near my place...*
I've tried Botanic Gardens grass, my apartment's garden, ,Toa Payoh park, even NUS grass near Techno Edge *INFESTED BIG TIME by insects and ants..not recommended!*, but yea, there aren't many places in Singapore where you can lie down on grass and people won't stare... (another advantage of doing it at night when it is dark..).... In my humble opinion, the best grass to lie down on is the patch across The Fullerton besides Singapore river, just outside the Asian Civilisations Museum. The grass type is smaller compared to that usually found around Singapore, and as such it is also softer. Plus, you've got the river scenery to enjoy..aahhh....
But back to European grass. Last semester, I had a friend, an exchange student from Europe, who also like to lie down on grass, and his first reaction on trying Singapore grass is: "Oh, it's so prickly!" Having laid down on European grass in almost every city I've visited *except Copenhagen and Malmo*, I now understand fully what he meant. And I qoute, "Compared to Singaporean grass, European grass is soft as silk!"
And it still amazes me how the culture here is really to "go out and play"... Was taking a short nap in a park in Lyon, and eventually I was gently woken up by the buzz of activity around me...all happening on grass! Boys playing soccer, people chatting, sleeping, eating, playing badminton, couples dating *cheap and romantic! ;p*...just so many things happening!
The true spirit of summer is in the parks of Europe...and boy do I love the summer grass!
In Singapore, where we have amazing lawns to lie down on, people frown when being asked to lie down / do activites in grass...I guess, it's somewhat justified since Singaporean grass is,how shall I say it, prickly, not to mention they can be infested by tropical insects..
Well...that still can't beat my fascination with lying on grass.... Somehow, closing my eyes when feeling the soil beneath me, and playing with grass tufts with my hand...is just so, very, enjoyable.... Do it early in the morning or late at night, when the soil is comparatively colder, and it can be very relaxing...two feelings I usually have after lying around in grass in "recharged" and "de-stressed" *that's why during my A-level period I laid down on grass almost everyday in a garden near my place...*
I've tried Botanic Gardens grass, my apartment's garden, ,Toa Payoh park, even NUS grass near Techno Edge *INFESTED BIG TIME by insects and ants..not recommended!*, but yea, there aren't many places in Singapore where you can lie down on grass and people won't stare... (another advantage of doing it at night when it is dark..).... In my humble opinion, the best grass to lie down on is the patch across The Fullerton besides Singapore river, just outside the Asian Civilisations Museum. The grass type is smaller compared to that usually found around Singapore, and as such it is also softer. Plus, you've got the river scenery to enjoy..aahhh....
But back to European grass. Last semester, I had a friend, an exchange student from Europe, who also like to lie down on grass, and his first reaction on trying Singapore grass is: "Oh, it's so prickly!" Having laid down on European grass in almost every city I've visited *except Copenhagen and Malmo*, I now understand fully what he meant. And I qoute, "Compared to Singaporean grass, European grass is soft as silk!"
And it still amazes me how the culture here is really to "go out and play"... Was taking a short nap in a park in Lyon, and eventually I was gently woken up by the buzz of activity around me...all happening on grass! Boys playing soccer, people chatting, sleeping, eating, playing badminton, couples dating *cheap and romantic! ;p*...just so many things happening!
The true spirit of summer is in the parks of Europe...and boy do I love the summer grass!
Nomad No More...
Singapore-Paris-Stockholm-Helsinki-Stockholm-Malmo-Copenhagen-
Berlin-Prague-Rome-Florence-Venice-Milan-Lyon-Dijon-Paris
So. Am back from a one month travel around Europe....and am still getting used to waking up in the same bed, having an established routine, cooking for dinner instead of eating Middle Eastern food *cheapest you can find usually, here in Europe*, hearing just French and English instead of Finnish, Swedish, German, Italian and what-have-yous, having more than just 4 shirts to choose from, and living from a roomful of stuff instead of just a backpack....
Still heady from the sense of accomplishment and adventure I got from travelling...Trying to figure out a city the moment we arrive there *and grumbling when there are no free maps available or the Tourist Office is closed for whatever reason..*, mingling with the city people in public transport - though with our Asian faces and huge backpacks we were as conspicuous as can be...took the wrong bus from Copenhagen to Berlin though still managed to arrive at the right place...brushing teeth at the side of the road, nearing midnight at Florence, cursing Italian train services for their inefficiency and non-user-friendliness *I mean, an announcement that you gotta change train, suddenly, in the wee hours of the morning, in Italian? Heck, but more about Italy on another post..*
In a sense, it's really my first big "adventure", my first time travelling as a "backpacker", and guess what, I'm sold.. Even with all the things that could go wrong, one learns so much about other cities and oher culture by figuring out the city while travelling, compared to going on a tour and being whisked by a tour bus from one touristy place to another..
About the questions I'm looking to answer in my travels... I've got the answers,all right. I've "proven" *to myself, anyway* that people really are out to help, no matter that they are "white" and I'm "Asian", no matter that they're Finns, Swedes, German, Italian or French...no matter that I'm just a stranger blind about their language and culture, and there's nothing in it for them..no matter that I'm actually very vulnerable to crime, especially when I was alone... Of course, no one actually gave their money to me, or donated blood, or did big, heroic kind of things.. I received a lot of little kindness... a help to pull my luggage, patient people trying to explain directions with limited english, hosts that opened up their houses to me, people asking if I need help when I stared for a long time at a map, a hitchhike, things like that... In and of themselves, they're trivial things that need just a little time, a litte patience, a little effort.. but try being on the receiving end, and receive those little gestures again, again, and again, and again.... Well I start feeling proud to be a part of humanity...
And about my gender...I've made a sort of funny peace with myself.... I thought I'd finally be able to wholly accept that I'm a girl, and a very independent girl, and that it's fine that I'm born a girl, if I manage to travel alone all around Europe for the whole month... Well, it turned out that people joined me from here and there, and I met hosts and couchsurfers..that I was truly really alone only in Helsinki, Venice and Milan... still, it's enough to assure myself that in modern communities, being a girl isn't really much worse than being a boy..and I met lone woman travellers from all over! There were several in Helsinki, Milan, then in Venice I met a girl from Hong Kong who did a very "intense" Eurotrip - doing one city one day and sleeping on the train each night... Wow...Now we're talking girl power....
Anyway, the peace I made with myself is in accepting that yeap, for sure a girl can't do everything a girl wants to do,but hey, a girl still can do a lot of things *especially one as stubborn as me, I guess..*
Hm...this trip also made me realise how far I've moved on from being a geeky loner...Well, I guess it's been a long time since I was someone who really craves solitude,and much *MUCH* prefer the company of books to people...but I've never really accepted it, I think..in a way, I think it's cooler *and much less troublesome* to be a "geeky loner"... The enjoyment I got from meeting lots of people on the way...the ease with which I connect to them...the sadness and high hopes of meeting again when it was parting time.... those feelings surprised even myself...who since young thought I'm independent enough not to depend on too many people or miss them too much...
Am I chasing after a new identity now? That of a seasoned traveller who love Life and people? We'll see...
On a last note, travelling made me realise how much I don't know *or how much I DID know, but forget..* ....geography, art, architecture, culture, personalities, economy, religion, beliefs....The flames of curiosity is burning harder than ever before!
Berlin-Prague-Rome-Florence-Venice-Milan-Lyon-Dijon-Paris
So. Am back from a one month travel around Europe....and am still getting used to waking up in the same bed, having an established routine, cooking for dinner instead of eating Middle Eastern food *cheapest you can find usually, here in Europe*, hearing just French and English instead of Finnish, Swedish, German, Italian and what-have-yous, having more than just 4 shirts to choose from, and living from a roomful of stuff instead of just a backpack....
Still heady from the sense of accomplishment and adventure I got from travelling...Trying to figure out a city the moment we arrive there *and grumbling when there are no free maps available or the Tourist Office is closed for whatever reason..*, mingling with the city people in public transport - though with our Asian faces and huge backpacks we were as conspicuous as can be...took the wrong bus from Copenhagen to Berlin though still managed to arrive at the right place...brushing teeth at the side of the road, nearing midnight at Florence, cursing Italian train services for their inefficiency and non-user-friendliness *I mean, an announcement that you gotta change train, suddenly, in the wee hours of the morning, in Italian? Heck, but more about Italy on another post..*
In a sense, it's really my first big "adventure", my first time travelling as a "backpacker", and guess what, I'm sold.. Even with all the things that could go wrong, one learns so much about other cities and oher culture by figuring out the city while travelling, compared to going on a tour and being whisked by a tour bus from one touristy place to another..
About the questions I'm looking to answer in my travels... I've got the answers,all right. I've "proven" *to myself, anyway* that people really are out to help, no matter that they are "white" and I'm "Asian", no matter that they're Finns, Swedes, German, Italian or French...no matter that I'm just a stranger blind about their language and culture, and there's nothing in it for them..no matter that I'm actually very vulnerable to crime, especially when I was alone... Of course, no one actually gave their money to me, or donated blood, or did big, heroic kind of things.. I received a lot of little kindness... a help to pull my luggage, patient people trying to explain directions with limited english, hosts that opened up their houses to me, people asking if I need help when I stared for a long time at a map, a hitchhike, things like that... In and of themselves, they're trivial things that need just a little time, a litte patience, a little effort.. but try being on the receiving end, and receive those little gestures again, again, and again, and again.... Well I start feeling proud to be a part of humanity...
And about my gender...I've made a sort of funny peace with myself.... I thought I'd finally be able to wholly accept that I'm a girl, and a very independent girl, and that it's fine that I'm born a girl, if I manage to travel alone all around Europe for the whole month... Well, it turned out that people joined me from here and there, and I met hosts and couchsurfers..that I was truly really alone only in Helsinki, Venice and Milan... still, it's enough to assure myself that in modern communities, being a girl isn't really much worse than being a boy..and I met lone woman travellers from all over! There were several in Helsinki, Milan, then in Venice I met a girl from Hong Kong who did a very "intense" Eurotrip - doing one city one day and sleeping on the train each night... Wow...Now we're talking girl power....
Anyway, the peace I made with myself is in accepting that yeap, for sure a girl can't do everything a girl wants to do,but hey, a girl still can do a lot of things *especially one as stubborn as me, I guess..*
Hm...this trip also made me realise how far I've moved on from being a geeky loner...Well, I guess it's been a long time since I was someone who really craves solitude,and much *MUCH* prefer the company of books to people...but I've never really accepted it, I think..in a way, I think it's cooler *and much less troublesome* to be a "geeky loner"... The enjoyment I got from meeting lots of people on the way...the ease with which I connect to them...the sadness and high hopes of meeting again when it was parting time.... those feelings surprised even myself...who since young thought I'm independent enough not to depend on too many people or miss them too much...
Am I chasing after a new identity now? That of a seasoned traveller who love Life and people? We'll see...
On a last note, travelling made me realise how much I don't know *or how much I DID know, but forget..* ....geography, art, architecture, culture, personalities, economy, religion, beliefs....The flames of curiosity is burning harder than ever before!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Help Me Believe - Nichole Nordeman
Take me back to the time
When I was maybe eight or nineAnd I believed
And if He helped me, I could too
If I believed
Before rationale, analysis and systematic thinking
Robbed me of a sweet simplicityWhen wonders and when mysteries
Were far less often silly dreamsAnd childhood fantasies
Help me believe
'Cause I don't want to miss any miraclesMaybe I'd see much better by closing my eyes
And I would shed this grownup skin I'm inTo touch an angel's wing
And I would be free
Help me believeWhen mustard seeds made mountains move
A burning bush that spoke for You was good enoughWhen manna fell from heavens high
Just because You told the sky to open upAm I too wise to recognise that everything uncertain
Is certainly a possibility?When logic fails my reasoning
And science crushes underneathThe weight of all that is unseen
'Cause I don't want to miss any miracles
Maybe I'd see much better by closing my eyesAnd I would shed this grownup skin I'm in
To touch an angel's wing
And I would be freeHelp me believe
When someone else's education
Plays upon my reservationsI'm the first to cave, I'm the first to bleed
To make my faith informed and chic
Could You, would You show Yourself to me?
Help me believe
'Cause I don't want to miss any miraclesMaybe I'd see much better by closing my eyes
And I would shed this grownup skin I'm inTo touch an angel's wing
And I would be free
Help me believe
--
Thinking back to the time when everything was sweet simplicity, which is not that long ago.. and I miss it, I do, but no, I dont wanna go back there...struggling now with things of faith, especially since in the course of my travel I've met faith of all shapes and sizes..
But it is precisely that struggle that tells me my faith is still alive..
But it is precisely that struggle that tells me my faith is still alive..
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Am still alive...
Just a short post to announce that I am alive and well in Italy..without realising it I have spent 25 days travelling...and it is really been great.. (am using Italian keyboard and cant find the apostrophe..but it is still better than Czech keyboard I guess..)
These gallivanting days are ending soon though.. hm... Im surprised actually, when I was going to travel I thought halfway I will miss the security and convenience of a home, of sleeping and waking up at the same place every night, of having everything assured instead of having to chase trains, find buses, figure out what people are saying most of the time...
But...
Now I really think I will miss these days where Im a nomad.. learning new things everyday, hearing new languages every day.. (though am getting a bit fed up with Italian and missing French..)
Oh well.... am planning the next road trip in my head already ahaha...hopefully around South East Asia...
Now am pretty worried that i will get addicted to travelling..though I should learn to make a money first so i wont keep leeching off my parents!
These gallivanting days are ending soon though.. hm... Im surprised actually, when I was going to travel I thought halfway I will miss the security and convenience of a home, of sleeping and waking up at the same place every night, of having everything assured instead of having to chase trains, find buses, figure out what people are saying most of the time...
But...
Now I really think I will miss these days where Im a nomad.. learning new things everyday, hearing new languages every day.. (though am getting a bit fed up with Italian and missing French..)
Oh well.... am planning the next road trip in my head already ahaha...hopefully around South East Asia...
Now am pretty worried that i will get addicted to travelling..though I should learn to make a money first so i wont keep leeching off my parents!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Helsinki!
Am in Helsinki! spent the day hunting Alvar Aalto architecture, and went to see Steven Holl´s Kiasma museum. *probably means nothing to the non-archi students, but hey it was really educational!*
So many new things...reindeer sausage, funny public toilet, tram rides, beautiful brick buildings..
Oh there was thsi church called Tempellaukio that is carved into a granite plane..that one is really a unique space..
Am staying in a 12 beds female dorm room and the cool thing is all of them except 2 are lone women travellers. Granted, I´m the puniest and the only Asian..but well...one´s gotta start somewhere...
Plus, the position of the hostel is just beside the Finnish National stadium and since this is summer lotsa Finnish guys are practicing soccer...Not that I like soccer...but I don´t mind watching Finns..hahahah...
Will be here till 3 Aug then going back to Stockholm.
Happy!
So many new things...reindeer sausage, funny public toilet, tram rides, beautiful brick buildings..
Oh there was thsi church called Tempellaukio that is carved into a granite plane..that one is really a unique space..
Am staying in a 12 beds female dorm room and the cool thing is all of them except 2 are lone women travellers. Granted, I´m the puniest and the only Asian..but well...one´s gotta start somewhere...
Plus, the position of the hostel is just beside the Finnish National stadium and since this is summer lotsa Finnish guys are practicing soccer...Not that I like soccer...but I don´t mind watching Finns..hahahah...
Will be here till 3 Aug then going back to Stockholm.
Happy!
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