April 6, 2005

• …another year…

  This is an entry I meant to post before I left for Malaysia, but didn’t get a chance to finish, so here it is now…

  …final words about Japan…

  Yes, I truly am in love with Japan. I stayed in Asakusa my last two nights and had an incredibly rich cultural experience there. I went to visit the old Senso-ji temple and just explored all the little Mongkok-like shops they had there. It was really interesting and quite infested with tourists, hehe. The people were so different from the mainstream areas like Shinjuku and Ikebukuro though. They were more real and down to earth. It’s like making a comparison between mainlanders in China versus Hong Kong people, soooooo different, not that that’s a bad thing though. So to continue with my cultural observations:

  1) Japanese people are beautiful, simply beautiful!

  2) Japanese people are so respectful and considerate–except when it comes to smoking. I swear, they don’t speak at all on subways; it’s dead quiet because they want to be considerate of other’s personal space. However, when their nicotine addiction is knocking, they simply cannot resist answering it–this must change.

  3) The subway system needs a little work, it’d be easier if they just list all the stations that you want to get to in English, then next to it, the amount it would cost to get there. Some stations have this, but most don’t. I don’t know how to read Japanese, therefore, I do not know how read the Japanese characters on the subway map.

  4) Japanese people are incredibly helpful and friendly. Even when they don’t speak English, they make every effort to help you. This one old lady noticed that I was totally lost and crossed the street just to ask if I needed any help. She then pointed me in the correct direction. Another girl actually took me all the way to my destination in her PJ’s and slippers, hehe.

  5) Japanese people are taller than most Asians, and sometimes bigger too. My theory is that they’re bigger because of all the seafood they consume. All the protein from the fish definitely helps in the creation of muscle mass.

  6) Gay Japanese bois are uber horny and aggressive. I

  …and so another year lapses…

  I’m officially 23 years old today. Hmm, it still feels kind of weird saying that because I still feel as though I’m only 18, hehe. I’m not quite sure if I’ll ever really grow up, acting young is just so much more fun!

  This year’s birthday is an especially sweet one. Aside from the fact that it’s my first one outside of California since I was 5, it was also extra special because of all the warm birthday wishes and cards from all of my friends back home and here in Hong Kong. I know it’s hard keeping up correspondence what with the distance and time zone difference, so it’s especially meaningful to me that they also remember my birthday despite their hectic lives and schedules. In short, from the bottom of my little ecstatic heart, thank you.

  My friends here in Hong Kong took me out to a dessert buffet last night, and were going to take me to dimsum this morning, but I hadn’t finished my paper yet, so unfortunately I didn’t get to do dimsum with them. We’ll all be in Kuala Lumpur together though, so we’ll party hearty down there. Jenny was really sweet, she got me a Chinese cd and a fruit tart–aww girl, don’t ya know?! Your left bicep is all I need, hehe. ;D

  After having been alive for 23 years now, I can honestly say that I’ve finally started to live. In just the past couple of years, I’ve learned and grown so much, so many people have passed in and out of my life–some good, some bad, but each one contributed something to my life in some way, shape, or form. Every day that has passed has been a blessing and I’m incredibly grateful to be where and who I am today…

  • 2:24 am
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