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| Taksim Square, Istanbul. One of my favourite areas in Turkey - European and Asian at the same time. |
1. I am proud to be an Asian girl.
2. I am learning Japanese.
3. I am going to take awesome photos.
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| Japanese Script - Katagana |
And so after I came back from my 10 day trip (albeit 1.5 days of work included), the first thing I did was to sign up for a Japanese class. Loving it. Part vanity, part curiosity drove me to this decision. My time in Turkey was charming, mysterious yet violent in a quiet storm kind of way. So much happened and yet I brought back with me the fond memories, blocking out the disastrous. There was alot of attention on me as I travelled around the country, alone for a while and later with a companion, and my Asian feminity was complimented upon which made me proud to be Asian. Of course, most Turkish people can't tell the difference between Koreans, Japanese and other Asian people and I was on many occasions greeted with enthusiastic "Konichiwa"s. I corrected them gently that I was "Singaporean" (that drew a blank for most people of course).
I met a number of fellow Japanese travellers during the trip and their dry humor and polite manners charmed me so. One traveller, Tanaka-san was a surgeon from Tokyo, who offered my companion and me his friendship - I've got a 5 Yen coin from him to prove it. There was also a Turkish guide with him who was fluent in Japanese and according to his colleague, spoke more Japanese than Turkish due to his work. The whole experience made me feel closer to my North Asian counterparts and I resolved to be able to converse in a number of Asian languages.
So many interesting things happened on my Turkey trip but I shall address them in bits and pieces in my stories. It's one of those trips which change the traveller's perspective in such a myriad of ways that it's never possible to chronicle all of it in one post without feeling like it isn't complete. I am dying to talk about my climbing atop the ruins of the temple of Zeus and Athena, my Egyptian friend Amr who might or might not have had designs on me, getting lost on a Turkish road and meeting a Turkish boy who called after us to speak to us in Mandarin. Or the poor but shrewd Turkish little boy in Kusadasi who had a weighing machine as his livelihood. Or the violent way in which my innocent wish scribbled at Virgin Mary's house was immediately fulfilled. But those for another time. Back to my life-changing decisions back home.
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| Wonderful scientific invention. Muack! |
The second thing I did when I came back was to buy a Clarisonic from Sephora. It's giving me the most perfect skin ever, sans makeup. I've made up my mind never to share the secret of my undying youth should ageing friends ask me years down the road, and this is the only time I'll reveal it. So there. You can't be too generous with information. My quest for eternal beauty never stops.
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| My Sony Alpha 57 is a real babe - inside out. |
The third exciting thing that I did was to buy my first DSLR over last weekend. Love at first shot, and I got a pretty good deal at MS Color with an additional Potrait lens included, on top of the basic kit lens. Wonderful pictures with every shot! I can barely contain my excitement and trigger-happiness. My travels and memories shall be recorded beautifully and artistically from now on. Moved by beauty, I seek to recreate and grasp her at every turn. Not too obsessively of course, just enough to bring me joy and satisfaction.