I Love New York

Yes, it's true. I love New York. I wholly, completely LOVE New York.

Here's why, in no particular order:

1. My amazing friends (this is definitely the top reason)!
2. Live music every night of every genre! And most of the time, you can get up real close to actually SEE the musicians playing!
   
3. People wash, dry and fold your dirty laundry for you!
4. Delicious food of every possible nationality!
5. My TONY subscription! I practically live by it!
6. The BEST chai lattes in the world comes out of a TRUCK!
7. It's always beautiful in Central Park, no matter the season!
8. Celebrity sightings (on my first day back, I saw Kanye West on St. Marks)!
9. Broadway shows and musicals, rush tickets!
10. The subways run 24 hours a day!
11. There are vegan restaurants that actually taste good!
12. Seeing creativity everywhere, which encourages you to be more creative yourself!

The list continues, but what are YOUR reasons for loving New York?

© Connie Hum 2009

Time Warp

During my last few days of my "official" travels, I had such an odd sensation of being frozen in time.

The month of October has crept by so slowly, though my days have been filled with frenzied activities. Most days I find it almost inconceivable that it is still, indeed, October.

How can it be that in a month's time I left Cairo, visited eastern Turkey, traveled throughout central and western Turkey with my mother, said goodbye to friends in Istanbul, arrived in London, traveled around various parts of England and Wales, AND returned to New York?

Yet it is STILL October.

At least, if my first few hours in New York City has proven anything, life certainly does move faster here.

I'm so unbelievably happy to be home in the city that I love so much and that loves me so well!

© Connie Hum 2009

Cambridge

Last Friday I had originally planned to take a day trip from London to nearby Canterbury because, believe it or not, I loved reading Chaucer's Canterbury Tales when I was in high school. The night before I left, a friend of mine begged me to go to Cambridge instead.

Hey, I'm easy. I went to Cambridge.

Brilliant! The weather held out for me and it was a splendid day for the walk from Cambridge to Grantchester and back again. I spent most of the afternoon meandering along the Cam river, thoroughly enjoying the British countryside.

The trees along the river were turning spectacular colors of gold, orange and red, which were complimented to perfection with the rolling green hills and endless blue skies. To make things even more picturesque, giant white swans idled along the Cam while cows grazed on the grass behind me.

In Grantchester, I stopped by the famous Orchard House for the customary afternoon tea and scones before heading back into Cambridge proper.

I really fell in love with this little British town. The view of King's College Chapel was magnificent and slightly unexpected as I made my way around a corner. The buildings in Cambridge were all old and cute, and of course, the history and pedigree of intelligence in this place was nothing to frown at either.

There were so many people biking along, their baskets filled with either books or flowers. As the day was quite nice, there were also plenty of people punting along the Cam river. I really can't imagine going to university here because I think I would have just spent all my time buying flowers to put in my bike basket or punting along the Cam, looking cute instead of going to class.

Maybe the secret to getting into Cambridge isn't a high IQ after all. Maybe it's just the ability to go to class despite all the many distractions.

© Connie Hum 2009

Ukulele!!!

Yes, I bought a ukulele! It's been something of a hidden, under-the-surface desire of mine to learn how to play the ukulele for some time now and I also needed something new to learn to help keep my mind fresh and sharp. So today while I was strolling the streets of London with my friend Mark, we saw some sure-fire "signs" that the time to start learning how to play the ukulele was NOW.

I bought a ukulele from a store called "The Duke of Uke." It just feels so right to hold it in my hands!

Wish me luck on learning how to play!

© Connie Hum 2009

Seasons Change, Or Six Months Too Long

It would seem as though the seasons have taken an unexpected and sudden turn against us. Just when the sun was shining full of warmth and promises for a bright tomorrow, the days turned cold and gray, threatening to rain on all our future parades with each passing day.

I find that my own feelings are reflecting this seasonal change. Prior to leaving Istanbul in early September, I was madly in love with it and ready to move back at the first opportunity. Upon my return, something happened and I felt jaded by the whole city. All of a sudden, everything that I disliked about Istanbul came under a glaring light, pushing all the reasons I loved it into the fading darkness. Yes, I still love Istanbul, but like a summer romance reaching its inevitable end, I just knew our time to say goodbye had come.

I find that perhaps six months is too long for me to "travel" in one place. The same thing happened to me during my trip across Europe in 2005. By the time the six month mark approached, I was just looking forward to going home and not enjoying the rest of my trip. I find this happening to me again.

Now I'm currently in London, nursing the wounds of a broken heart from a short-term love affair with Istanbul, though I must say it hasn't been exactly difficult. It definitely helps that London has everything that I missed in Istanbul about New York City. It's absolutely lovely to be able to eat a wide range of foods and have so many different types of things going on around me all at once.

I think it's just too bad that I keep thinking about my return to NYC. London has a character all its own that's making me fall in love with it, but NYC will always be my love. Of course, this doesn't mean that I won't be able to have a brief fling with London either!

Check back for my London blogs to come!

© Connie Hum 2009

Mom's Trip Highlights

Yes, there were some rocky moments in my travels around Turkey with my mom, but there were also some pleasant and even down-right fun moments. Here are the highlights:

• Sharing my love for street mussels in Istanbul with my mom. We ate so many each day because we both knew the opportunity to eat them again was running out with each passing day.
  

• Some silly Canadian woman asked if we were sisters. SISTERS! I was aghast with horror. My mom joyfully spent the rest of the day calling me "little sister."

• A Turkish boy kept asking me out but I kept saying no. When I told my mom what we had been talking about, she said, "Oh, it sounds like he wants to shake you." I guess that's what she's calling it these days.

• Mom and I hitched a ride to Efes from our hotel with a guy on a motorcycle. My mom held on so tight to him that he almost stopped breathing. Before taking off, he says, "Don't kill me!"

• In Göreme, we passed by a trio of old Turkish women, boiling something in a huge cauldron on the side of the road. I asked them what they were doing and they were making boiling honey to make a type of special honey. The mixture was ready and they asked us to help them drain the pot. Every day after that, the old women would say hi to us as we walked passed.

• Penis talk in Cappadocia. Come on, you knew that was going to make the list!
  

© Connie Hum 2009

Reconciliation

I suppose you can say that my mother and I have reconciled our differences. Really, this means we have just dropped the subject and moved on with the rest of our trip. This is usually how we "resolve" our issues. I really hate it because I know that all the bad feelings still remain, just further below the surface. I'd love to really hash it out with my mom, whatever it takes, but she's completely avoiding the topic.

Oh well.

© Connie Hum 2009

Growing Pains

UGH...My trip with my mother has been more difficult than I thought. I don't know why I imagined that all the past problems we've had would magically disappear simply because we were in a different country. Some things never change but I guess I was just wishing and hoping for the best.

There were a few moments where we seemed to be really getting along well together, some even where I felt we were finally connecting (such as when we were walking around Cappadocia and we were able to have a conversation about penises). But most of the time, I wasn't so lucky.

Being with her this past week has been exceptionally emotionally draining. There's only so much disappointment in her eyes that I can see before all my little insecurities and and self-doubt creeps back in and consumes me. It makes me FURIOUS that I've worked so hard to be the best person I can be, to bring myself up and out from all my parents' disappointment just to see it in her eyes every day. I'm not mad at her for the way I feel. I'm mad at myself for allowing her to get to me and for allowing myself to feel small, insignificant and unloved again. This ISN'T me! Self-deprecation doesn't become me.

We've got another week left before she leaves. I hope for the best, but I'm not sure what the best is anymore. Send your good vibes our way, we're going to need it.

Lesson learned: stick to easy topics such as penises when talking to my mom to avoid any future problems.

© Connie Hum 2009

One Lasting Cairo Moment...

One of my last nights in Cairo, I had a redeeming experience that has endeared a small corner of Cairo into my heart forever.

My friend, Ali invited me to his cousin's engagement party, which turned out to be more block party than anything else. A cul-de-sac was emptied of cars and replaced with chairs and giant loudspeakers. By the time we arrived, the DJ was already blaring Arabic music into the night and into the neighbor's bedrooms.

Ali's family was very nice, but I spent the first 20 minutes sitting and hiding in a corner behind the speakers, trying to avoid the subtle stares and curious faces. I watched a few people dance and since along to the songs before one of Ali's sisters managed to get me to dance with her.

I think I kind of shocked everyone with my belly dancing skills. I was really intimidated by the hip shaking skills that Ali’s family was displaying but I’m happy to say that I (somewhat) held my own and before I knew it, everyone was dancing with me! Grandmothers in burqas held tight to my hands, Ali’s stepmother was shoulder shimmying with me and even the kids were showing me their moves. It was really fun and I couldn’t stop laughing. When we tried to say goodbye, everyone kept making me dance with them so that I wouldn’t leave. I received breath-constricting hugs, dozens of kisses and it ended up taking an hour before I literally snuck out of the party.

I'm really glad that I threw my inhibitions aside and just had a good time dancing with everyone. It was so liberating and fun to NOT think about what people where thinking because everyone has a good time watching the strange little Chinese girl belly dance, including myself.

© Connie Hum 2009

Jipped in Egypt

Ahh...I left Dahab (reluctantly, I might add) and made it to Cairo and Luxor. I tried my best, really I did, to like both Cairo and Luxor, but Egypt certainly doesn't make it easy.

There is always a constant barrage of people trying to get your money. I understand that many people rely on tourists for their livelihood, but really, it was just too much. In Luxor, as soon as I stepped out of the train station, no less than a dozen taxi drivers were trying to steer me towards their car, even as I was speaking on the phone and shaking my head. Finally, I just had to shout, "My friend is coming to get me!"

Cairo was no better. The streets are really, REALLY filthy, full of garbage and other gross things. The people have harrasment down to an art. Luckily, I had a good friend in Cairo to help me out. Once, we were shopping in the bazaar for a dress. After finally finding one that I liked, the guy tried to sell it to me for 280 Egyptian pounds (about $50). My friend told me in Turkish that it was too expensive and we got up to leave. The guy came after us and I ended up buying the dress for 30 EGP ($5.50).

It made making new friends in Egypt quite a difficult task because you never could tell if someone was talking to you on the street because they were genuinely nice or if they were trying to sell you something, or make babies with you. No joke, lots of taxi drivers are happy to offer their assistance if you tell them you have no children when they ask. And they always ask.

I hate to travel with such reservations about the people, but it was really hard not to when everywhere you turn, there's someone trying to take advantage of you. Thank goodness my Egyptian friends were there to help remind me that not everyone is trying to exploit me.

Egypt, you have much to learn from my friends. Travelers, go to Egypt after you make friends with Egyptians!

© Connie Hum 2009