Montage Monday: Kennedy Space Center, Florida

A photo montage highlighting my favorite memories from past travels!

NASA's last shuttle launch after a 30-year run is scheduled for later this year but I was able to catch one of the last few shuttles launches in 2009, crossing off a major item on my bucket list! The day at Orlando, Florida's Kennedy Space Center was a fun-filled day of wonderment for this space geek and I'm truly sorry that I will not have any future chances of catching another shuttle launch. It really is an experience that's "out of this world!" For more details on the actual launch, please refer to my 3-2-1...Liftoff! post.

As you can see, I'm very excited to be "holding hands" with America's pioneering astronauts, the Mercury 7! All those years working for the US Space Camp Foundation and learning about space history culminated in this moment when I first walked into Kennedy Space Center. It really was a dream come true. 

As launch time starts getting down towards T-minus one hour, the crowds gather at the designated shuttle launch viewing areas. Luckily, a friend of mine and fellow US Space Camp Foundation alumni managed to pull some strings for me at the last minute and I was on a bus, heading off towards the Eastern Causeway, one of the closest places you can watch a shuttle launch without causing serious damage to yourself!

Space shuttle Atlantis and the crew of STS-129 are leaving Earth's atmosphere with only a rapidly disappearing trace in the sky to remind viewers that mere seconds ago, they were right there in front of our very eyes. I'm still on Earth but feeling so ecstatic, so excited, so emotional (yes, I actually cried) that I felt as though I was the one flying above the ground.

Have YOU ever been to the Kennedy Space Center? Watched a live Shuttle launch?

© Connie Hum 2011

Montage Monday: Friends Around the World

Friends are some of the greatest things in this wonderful world. Unfortunately, I haven't seen some of my best friends in over two years since I started traveling around the world. Luckily for me, I've been able to run into a few random friends in the most unexpected places. This Montage Monday, I celebrate my friends and the ease in which travel has allowed me to maintain my far-off friendships!

Andi and I shopping for bangle bracelets in Jaipur, India

Andi (yes, THAT Andi of My Beautiful Adventures) and I met each other in New York City. Every meeting was always too brief, every conversation just a bit too short. Nonetheless, we had a lot in common and grew our friendship through email even after we both moved away from New York. Fast forward two years and we both just happened to be traveling in India at the same time. Andi and I planned to meet for an afternoon in Jaipur, and just like old times, spent not enough time walking around the fabulous "Pink City", drinking Indian chai and shopping for bangle bracelets.

Matteo and I enjoying the view in Copenhagen

Matteo and I met in New York City for an AMAZING summer of fun in 2007. Honestly, that summer was one of the best summers of my life and a big part of that was the great friendship I had with dear, silly, heavy-Italian accented Matteo. After his work project took Matteo back to Italy, we kept in touch with hand-written, snail-mail letters for two years. I had the opportunity to travel for a week to Copenhagen and Stockholm in 2009 and invited Matteo to come along. He agreed and we had a fun week of catching up in person, sight-seeing in two fabulous cities neither one of us had ever been to before and just laughing our silly heads off.

Shoko and I enjoying Turkish çay at the "secret" cafe in Istanbul

Shoko, another good friend that I met in New York City, was just wrapping up her own European trip and stopped into Istanbul literally days after I moved there in 2009 for a few days of discovering the city with me. We got lost in Beyoğlu, ate fresh fish in Sariyer Fish Market, took a ferry up the Bosphorus and shared many a cup of strong Turkish çay in a "secret" rooftop restaurant that offered a stunning panorama of Istanbul. I'm so glad I got to discover so much of Istanbul with Shoko because a lot of our discoveries became some of my favorite places to go during the seven months I lived there!

Delirious from slight altitude sickness in Cuzco, Peru with Joe

Joe and I were friends in New York City and basically saw each other in a crowded bar every Thursday night. We had great chats but that was pretty much the extent of our friendship until realized that we had both independently booked a trip to Peru for the same time! I met with Joe in Cuzco for a couple of days of sight-seeing, one horrific dinner where we tried cuy, which is roasted guinea pig, and one drunken afternoon that resulted in me nearly breaking my own nose. Honestly, it's always an adventure every time I'm with Joe and I wonder when the next time I'll run into Joe will be and where in the world it will take place!

Exploring Bangkok's Royal Palace with Judith

Judith couchsurfed with me back in 2008 when I was still living in New York City. We became immediate friends, keep in touch regularly and travel together every year. In 2010, Judith came out to Thailand and Cambodia to travel with me for a month of sunshine, sweat, long and bumpy bus rides, ancient ruins, motorcycle accidents, royal palaces, leech-infested hikes and delicious street food. In 2011, Judith is planning to make a stop in Hong Kong to visit me while she's on her own RTW trip. Exciting!

Have you ever had the chance to meet a friend while traveling? Where did you meet and what did you do?

© Connie Hum 2011

Montage Monday: Eating Crickets in Bangkok

My FIRST official video post! How exciting! Bear with me while I learn new techniques and tricks but expect more video posts in the near future! If you have any tips to help me bring you better videos, please leave it in a comment below! And Leigh, YOU'RE WELCOME! Ha!

This Montage Monday, witness candid reactions to trying fried crickets for the first, and let's face it, last time in Bangkok!

 

Would YOU be brave enough to eat a cricket like Sam, Matt and I did? Or would you be too squeamish like Judith?
  
© Connie Hum 2011

Montage Monday: Boston

Take a walk down memory lane with me on this three-photo montage highlighting my best memories from past travels!


My friends and I spent a lovely day outside in Boston Commons. We were all pretty much out to have a good time and we ran around, jumping and laughing at things, eating, walking, wading in the pond. Everyone must have thought we were crazy, but we aren't (for the most part). We were just having a good time.


I love little buildings wedged in between much larger ones! I had a great time following Boston's Freedom Trail and taking in the historical sights.


Cemeteries have always held a morbid fascination for me and I was enthralled by this small cemetery we encountered in the middle of Boston. It was probably the first "old" cemetery I had ever been to in the US so it's decrepit state was intriguing to me. I spent some time there reading the different headstones. My friends all thought I was weird...and maybe I am.

© Connie Hum 2011

Montage Monday: Cancun

An early HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my good friend, Kristin! In 2008, we celebrated Kristin's birthday in Cancun with her family. It was an awesome week! Here are my three favorite photos from that trip:

One day, Kristin and I met up with a fellow Couch Surfer, David, to rent mopeds and scooter around Islas Mujeres. It was a gorgeous island and we had a lot of fun making our way around it. It was the first time I had ever driven a moped on my own and I think it may have been Kristin's as well. Needless to say, it was a huge (mis)adventure for me. I panicked often and almost crashed into Kristin at least once! Luckily, I was able, with my ninja-like reflexes, to maneuver around her. We finished the day off with local food and a nice big glass of horchata. Yum, horchata...

One night, Kristin and I went out to...this place. I can't remember the name of the entertainment show/club/bar but it was CRAZY. There were people dressed up as Superheroes re-enacting fight scenes, people dangling from the ceiling with bedsheets, flaming cocktails, confetti, monster-sized balloons... CRAZY. I don't even know how we know we met these two guys. That's how crazy it was!

Most days we spent our day on the beach in Cancun. The water was warm and blue, the sun was wonderfully hot (remember, we had just flown in from cold, wintery New York City) and we had so much fun goofing off with each other and with Kristin's family. Definitely one of the best family vacations I've ever been on!

You know, it's been almost two years since I last saw Kristin. Since then, I've moved to Istanbul and traveled in Asia while Kristin moved to Germany to live with her boyfriend and teach English. We've had very little opportunity to see each other and I miss her so much. We still stay in touch with emails and Facebook, but darn it, two years is TOO LONG!

Kristin, I hope you have an AMAZING birthday this year and I really wish I could be celebrating it with you! Next time we see each other, there shall be cake balls (yes, I said it: CAKE BALLS) to make up for all the missed birthday celebrations!!!

© Connie Hum 2011

Montage Monday: Cambodia

Take a walk down memory lane with me on this three-photo montage highlighting my best memories from past travels!


My friend, Judith, and I got up extra early to catch the sunrise over Angor Wat only to have it be an extremely overcast day. This was the most of the sunrise we got to see. Sunrise aside, the temples of Angor were absolutely incredible and the sheer vastness of it all left us astounded.


The near-remote island of Koh Tonsay, also known as Rabbit Island, off the southwest coast of Cambodia, was a perfect place to seek refuge after the massive crowds in Siem Reap and the Angor Temples. Clear, calm waters, fresh seafood caught right in front of you, plenty of hammocks and a little beach bungalow to call your own. What more could you want from paradise?


Bokor Hill Station, the abandoned French casino, is your own personal haunted mansion. Deserted and derelict, you investigate the many rooms and floors on your (gasp!) own. Even though plenty of natural light flood in through the empty windows, there are plenty of shadows and dark places to make your skin crawl. It was creepy, but very interesting and unique place to explore.

© Connie Hum 2010

The Remote Island of Koh Tonsay (Rabbit Island)

I'm sorry that this post comes rather late, but I was so busy after my time in Rabbit Island that I never got around to posting about it until now.

Sometimes, even while you're traveling (and perhaps especially when you've been traveling for a long time), you need a holiday from the holiday. Don't roll your eyes, it's true! I had such a need in Cambodia and my friend, Judith and I decided to take a weekend holiday to the island of Koh Tonsay, also known as Rabbit Island, to get away from all the crowds and the relentless touts of mainland Cambodia.

Rabbit Island is a small and remote island just a short boat ride from the Cambodian town of Kep. The main draw of Rabbit Island is its sheer lack of things to do. Perhaps this is why the number of tourists here rarely go above the number you can count between your fingers and toes, but again, that's part of Rabbit Island's charm. It really is just a peaceful little island with a nice long white-sand beach to idle the day away on a hammock. There are no hawkers that troll the beach and no Full Moon parties on this island, which is a very nice change.

Judith and I spent the whole first day either sleeping in a hammock right on the beach or eating deliciously fresh seafood. So fresh in fact, that you can actually go out to the nets in the sea with your cook and pick out your fish! My favorite dish while on Rabbit Island was the shrimp curry. It was simply delicious!

Another of Rabbit Island's selling point is the little beach bungalows that you can rent for the night for a mere $5. Although quite simple, the bungalows provided us with a bed and a mosquito net, the bare necessities for the night. And with the ocean waves lulling us to sleep, we didn't need anything else.

The next day we woke up and lazed in the hammocks again. Eager to explore the island, Judith and I decided to hike the perimeter. We thought it would be quite easy and set off. It wasn't so easy. The trail disappeared at times and we found ourselves lost more than once. Luckily, we came upon a number of fishing houses with a few people living there, who were quite helpful in pointing us back on the right path. We were forced to circumnavigate a good portion of the island from the water. Given the shallow shore, that wasn't too hard. Except when our feet sunk into the quicksand-like mud. Hiking in flip flops, as it turned out, wasn't the best idea.

We finally made it back to the beach in time to catch our boat back to mainland Cambodia. As soon as we docked, tuk tuk drivers descended upon us again with a great Cambodian welcome, making me question whether just one night away had been enough...

© Connie Hum 2010

Montage Monday: Grenada

Apologies for the delay but I've been bed-bound due to a nasty stomach virus even Cipro couldn't handle. That will teach me to eat "Western" food while traveling abroad...

Take a walk down memory lane with me on this three-photo montage highlighting my best memories from past travels!


Reuniting with my high school best friend, Milania, in the gorgeous Caribbean island of Grenada while she attended medical school there. Can you imagine studying for exams in this amazing place? You wouldn't be able to tear me away from the beach!


I met a wonderfully generous woman named Kathyann who invited Milania and I over for a home-cooked Caribbean feast and a fun afternoon at the waterfall and lagoon with her family. The children were adorable!


I was part of a group that went to learn more about leatherback turtles and we were fortunate enough to see one beach, lay her eggs and return back to the sea! It was an incredible experience! You're not allowed to take flash photos of the turtles, but one of the guys "accidentally" did and sent it to me.

For the full blog about my time in Grenada, read my blog post here.

© Connie Hum 2010

Montage Monday: Stockholm

Take a walk down memory lane with me on this three-photo montage highlighting my best memories from past travels!


One of my first sights in Stockholm upon arrival: High school students drinking and dancing in the back of a van to celebrate their graduation. At first, I had no idea what was going on. When I found out, I wanted to join them. Too bad I was about 10 years too late!


My friend, Matteo and I were so excited that we had "discovered" a secret underground restaurant in one of Stockholm's back alleys. After thoroughly enjoying our delicious dinner, we discovered that the restaurant wasn't so secret after all. We had just gone in through the back door where the staff throws out the garbage!


Another photo taken with my Diana F+ camera. On our last day in Stockholm, Matteo and I took a boat up to Vaxholm, a quaint little town located on the Stockholm archipelago. It was a rather cold trip on the boat, but once we arrived, the sun came out and we had a splendid afternoon.

© Connie Hum 2010

Montage Monday: Costa Rica

Take a walk down memory lane with me on this three-photo montage highlighting my best memories from past travels!


Waking up early to enjoy the amazing sunrise in Puerto Jimenez. The changing colors in the sky were breathtaking and it was the best possible way to start off the day!


Renting a jeep, driving for hours, getting lost a number of times before finally arriving at our destination of Volcan Poas. It was an adventure getting there but a great experience nonetheless. At one stop, Christoph and I asked a store clerk what the best way to Volcan Poas was. His response: "Take the bus." We explained that we had a jeep and were driving ourselves. "What's the best way to Volcan Poas?" Again, "Take the bus!"


Costa Rican food blows my mind! It's absolutely delicious and in most cases, extremely affordable too! Eating out in the local sodas was one of my favorite things to do in Costa Rica. I can't wait to go back and enjoy the food and beaches again!

© Connie Hum 2010

Montage Monday: Jordan

Take a walk down memory lane with me on this three-photo montage highlighting my best memories from past travels!


A day trip to the Dead Sea with friends, complete with self-applied Dead Sea mud. It was smelly and extremely hard to get off, but it certainly did leave my skin feeling firm and smooth! A word of caution, do NOT get any of the Dead Sea water in your eyes! It stings like nothing else.

For my blog on the Dead Sea experience, click here.


Chance and luck gave me the opportunity to spend the night in a Bedouin cave within the mountains of Petra, I hiked through the unbelievable landscape the following morning into Petra. Petra was everything I expected and more, but the time spent with the Bedouin family was the best part of my days there.

For my blog on Petra and my time with the Bedouins, click here.


Muslims dutifully responding to the call to prayer in Amman. I don't know why, but hearing the call to prayer is very soothing to me and there's just something absolutely beautiful about it. I miss hearing the call to prayer.

© Connie Hum 2010

Off the Beaten Track in Ban Lung, Cambodia

My three travel companions and I had been sitting in a cramped and dirty bus for 6 hours now. We were bumping along to the remote Northeast of Cambodia to Ban Lung from Kratie, a small town along the Mekong River where just that morning Matt and I had taken a boat trip up the Mekong to view the endangered and rare Irrawaddy dolphins. 

The bus we were in was literally filled top to bottom. Along with passengers, the bus held luggage, crates of over 4000 eggs, bags of rice, and four motorbikes. Yes, four motorbikes! Ah, another adventure on the Cambodian bus system!

It was getting dark and the bus continued to bump down the muddy path, further into the jungle and darkness. Hmm, should I start to panic now? No, not yet. An hour later, I again contemplated having a panic attack when we finally spotted lights. Ah, civilization!

 

The town of Ban Lung itself has little in the way of sights to see but the surrounding area has a number of beautiful natural sights to behold, in addition to its wide expanse of jungles. Our first full day of exploring the Ratanakiri Province brought us to Crater Lake, a gorgeous crystal clear blue lake forming a perfect round circle, just a few minutes outside of Ban Lung's city center. It is believed that the lake was formed over 700,000 years ago! We spent the afternoon basking in the sunshine and the short bouts of misty rain, swimming and jumping off the pier into the refreshing lake water. It was incredibly relaxing, just the thing we needed after a long, hard journey to Ban Lung.

The next day the four of us rented two motorbikes and set off the for waterfalls. We were forewarned that the road in the wet season was treacherous but we didn't realize just how dangerous they were. Muddy tracks and deep puddles hindered our journey from town to the falls. Matt and I managed to avoid any serious slips in the mud, though Judith and Sam took a messy fall into a mud pit. We all came out covered in red mud that was near impossible to wash off.

We finally made it to Kachang Waterfall and quickly went in for a swim to cool down and clean off the mud. I tried to climb up the rocks behind the waterfall but slipped and cut my foot. It wasn't until I made it back to the other side that I saw just how much blood I was losing. I, ever horrified by the sight of blood, screamed and put pressure on it immediately. I tried to make my way to my towel and with the first step, I looked down to see blood bubbled out of my Crocs, causing me to emit another blood-curdling scream. Matt and Sam had a roll-licking laugh over my absurdity but I couldn't help it. I was in pain and blood was literally pouring out of my shoes and oozing on the rocks, as shown in the photo that is still making me queasy.

After all the injuries sustained from the first foray to a waterfall, we decided it best to skip the next mud-filled road and headed back to Crater Lake where the opportunity for harming ourselves was minimal. Enjoying the afternoon at the lake, our group decided that we couldn't tear ourselves away just yet and decided to push our onward journey to Phnom Pehn back another day.

Our long bus ride to Ban Lung was not the most comfortable of rides but we all agreed that the natural setting around the town was well worth the discomfort. Sometimes taking a less traveled road, whether muddy or bloody, can pay off in ways you could never imagine.

Photos courtesy of Matt Burchell.

© Connie Hum 2010

Crossing the Thai/Cambodian Border

Crossing the Thai/Cambodian border is an ordeal. After staying up all night to wait for a 5:55 am train from Bangkok's Hualampong train station to Aranyaprathet, sleeping restlessly for a few hours on the rattling train, then arriving at the border town to be accosted by tuk tuk drivers, we groggily packed our backpacks into tuk tuks and were driven to the border patrol to get our on-arrival Cambodian visas.

Once there, the border officials informed us that they no longer accepted $20 USD for the visas and the cost was now 1200 baht, about double the price for the Cambodian tourist visa. Feeling a scam coming on, but really, what can you do when you've had almost no sleep and these are "border officials" telling you the "new" policy? The four of us reluctantly paid the 1200 baht each for the Cambodian visa and continued to Poipet, Cambodia, a little too exhausted to be disgruntled and put up a fight.

What lesson did we learn? Even though guidebooks say that it's easy and fast to get a Cambodian visa upon arrival overland, it's probably best to get the visa from the Cambodian embassy in advance if possible in order to avoid being overcharged and scammed at the border. And to take the name and even the picture of the scamming officials in order to file an official complaint with the embassy.

Thankfully, the beauty of Cambodia more than makes up for the hardship of traveling overland.

© Connie Hum 2010

Montage Monday: Iceland

A new feature on Connvoyage, a 3 photo montage highlighting the best memories from my past travels! Enjoy!


The natural beauty of Iceland as seen driving along the Ring Road, the highway that encircles the whole of the island. Gorgeous sky and scenery for miles and miles. Everywhere was basically a photo op! I never had such a good time being stuck in a small rental car with 3 other people.


My friends, Jake and Beth sharing a lovely moment at a rest stop along the Ring Road. Yes, this is a rest stop!


My absolute most memorable moment from my Iceland trip: seeing the Aurora Borealis. This may in fact be one of the most memorable moments of my life! Seeing it was absolutely surreal, I couldn't believe it! The Aurora Borealis is simply amazing.

© Connie Hum 2010

If You Didn't Read My Blog This Year

2009 is quickly coming to an end
So here's a review for you that I want to send.

What I did this year I can't complain,
Boasting and gloating I must refrain.
For the few of you who didn't know,
I quit my job almost a year ago!

Goodbye goodbye to my life in New York.
Goodbye goodbye to dishes containing pork.
Hello, Constantinople (as it's known to 'em)
Seven months later and Türkçe biliyorum!

I discovered the streets of magical İstanbul
With plenty of döner kebab to keep me full.
I taught English to two adorable girls:
Beautiful Mina and Melda with curls.

In Copenhagen and Stockholm with my friend from Italy,
I found out I know Matteo more than superficially.
Yachting around the Mediterranean was lots of fun,
Darkest shade of brown I've ever been from hours in the sun.

How did the summer pass by so quick?
Hop a plane, Jordan was the next pick!
The colors of Petra were an amazing sight to see,
Sleeping in a cave turned out to be well-suited for me.

In the calm crystal blue waters of the Red Sea
I received my advanced scuba diver degree.
Dahab I never wanted to say goodbye
But in the end, I gave Cairo a try.

Egypt was pretty rough and dirty;
The men were a little more than flirty.
Luckily I had my friend Ali to treat me right
Or else I wouldn't have lasted even a single night!

Mom joined me for two weeks back in Turkey,
Making me miserable and jerky.
It wasn't her fault and it also wasn't mine,
Traveling together just isn't our design.

London was my final stop before coming home to the States,
Buying a ukulele with Mark was decided by the "Fates."
Ah, back in fabulous New York is really where I belong
But I'm heading to Asia next year to live in a sarong!

Sitting in my bed of my childhood home in California,
The air's freezing cold. Oh sun, how I wish I hadn't scorned ya!
ALL MY LOVE AND BEST WISHES AS WE ENTER THE NEW YEAR!
MAY OUR PATHS CROSS SOON AGAIN AND WE ALL BE IN GOOD CHEER!

© Connie Hum 2009

3-2-1...Liftoff!!!

Yesterday I accomplished one of my lifelong dreams of watching a space shuttle launch, LIVE! It was truly an awe-inspiring experience.

The day started early as my friend Randee and I left Orlando for the Kennedy Space Center at 6:30 in the morning. Luckily, there was little traffic and we made it to KSC in less than an hour. We met a friend of a friend who worked at KSC and received our visitor center tickets from him. Most of the sites were closing at 10 am in preparations for the launch so we rushed off the to Apollo/Saturn V Center.

I think I should pause and explain to those who may not know this, but NASA and space was, and still is, a big part of my life. I worked as a Space Camp counselor in California for 2 years and also for a summer at a Space Camp in Izmir, Turkey. During that time, I made wonderful friends, had thrilling experiences, met a handful of astronauts (including Buzz Aldrin, Gordon Cooper and Sally Ride)...in short, some of the best times in my life are connected to NASA and Space Camp.

You can only imagine my excitement when I entered the Apollo/Saturn V Center. It was better than Christmas in a candy store for me. There was a presentation on the Apollo program and the moon landing of Apollo 11 and I actually got choked up while I watched it, TWICE! Once when they spoke of the Apollo 1 fire and the death of my favorite astronaut, Gus Grissom, and the other when they showed the live footage of Neil Armstrong taking the first steps on the moon.

Unfortunately, by the time we finished in the Apollo/Saturn V center, it was too late to go to the International Space Station Center. We returned to the main Visitor Center where Randee and I rode a simulator that demonstrated the feel of a space shuttle launch. It was really intense!

As the countdown to launch reached T-minus 1 hour, Daniel met us again and got us on the last bus out to the Eastern causeway to view the launch. This is one of closest places you can view the launch from! It was a perfect setting. Can you see the launch pad in the picture below? It's located just a little to the left of the center, between the two green islands. It's the gray speck.

Excitement built up as the countdown reached T-minus three minutes. At T-minus two minutes, everyone who had been sitting and reading, stopped and stood up. The crowd of people were all standing at attention, holding their breaths.

Finally it came. T-minus 10 seconds, 9, 8, 7, main engine start, 4, 3, 2, 1. Liftoff!!!

At first, all you could see was a thick cloud of smoke (it's really steam) surrounding the launch pad, but then through all the cloudy confusion, you finally see it. Space Shuttle Atlantis taking flight, higher and higher. As Atlantis broke through the thick clouds above it, leaving in its wake a trail of pure white smoke and lighting up the sky with its bright orange-red flame, I started crying. It was really one of the most spectacular and beautiful sights I have ever seen.

Before you even had the proper amount of time to process all the beauty in the launch, Atlantis disappeared into the atmosphere and all that was left was a clear and distinct trail of its path into space.

Everyone piled back onto the buses and returned to the main Visitor Center, the sense of excitement and awe clinging to us. That feeling is still with me now.

Thank you to Valerie and Daniel for pulling some strings and getting me and my friend tickets to the launch! You two are amazing! You have made one of my dreams come true!!!

© 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 sing 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 had a good time watching the strange little Chinese girl belly dance, including myself.

© Connie Hum 2009