Archive for September, 2010

lunar splendour.

There is something awfully strange yet nostalgic about  watching a totally ‘Chinese’ performance in a foreign western city such as New York. It one, reminds me of how much of a melting pot this place is. And two, reminds me the same of myself. We (Malaysians I mean) never really stop to think about just how much culture is soaked in our daily interactions until someone foreign points out to us that every sentence we speak consists of bits and pieces of 2 or 3 languages/dialects all in one. Well, that is what I have just come to realize. And to think I had to come to a land more than 20 hours away to truly understand myself.

What I find even weirder is, when I decode and deconstruct this self-contained melting pot, I remember that I am not truly of the land I was born in because…. my roots are of Chinese descent. Yes, I find it really weird that when in Malaysia someone asks for my race, I say Chinese, but in a foreign land I will say that I am Malaysian. I am not going to talk about politics or racial issues because they are peripheral to what I what to convey. What I want to convey is about my origins and roots, about where I came from, about why my skin is yellow and not brown, why my eyes are sepet and not round and blue, why when people say 中国人 I feel a slight tingling sensation in my soul. As if I were part of them, yet I am not. I think it is human nature and curiosity to want to trace our origins and find out our past in order to form our own distinct identities and understand how we came to be the person we are today.

I am Chinese yet am Malaysian. I am trilingual yet belong to nowhere. I am lost in a sea of origins, cultures, and habits that make me who I am today. But I am still forever floating. Maybe it is just more exciting this way. I get to taste a bit of everything without ever really being wholly owned by something. I belong yet do not belong to the places I hover over every step of my life. Maybe, this is what it is like to attempt to be a global citizen instead of a citizen of a single nation.

2010
09/27
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
reflections
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the lost roster.

floating in a dream

parallel to another river,

bridge to another borough

across a rainbow field of strawberries.

I am slowly getting accustomed to life in college (to an American – college, a British – university). Of one dollar coffees in the morning, of dozing off in text & idea classes, rolling of eyes at my econ lecturer’s poor mathematics, craving of asian food on weekends, and dreading of readings every spoonful of rice along the way.

I do my laundry every one and a half weeks. I use the elevator (not lift) instead of walking 2/3 times I go up to my room. I meet people I will probably never see again. I listen in on conversations I should not be listening to. I realize (with a z) that I do not need to read texts anymore if I visit Sparknotes. I visit Washington Square Park once a week. I get lost once a week too. =P

I listen to Jay Chou when I blog. I paid $25 for two hours of karaoke in chinatown =( I probably contributed to the death of a dozen pigeons by feeding them fries and chicken strips just to see which species moves faster than the other. I did not know hot pot meant steamboat. And then I thought to myself, “The food isn’t really steamed right? No, silly, it’s probably because the pot resembles a steamship when the food is cooked and ready.”

and I have another stupid Writing The Essay assignment to finish by tonight.

2010
09/21
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
NYU
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antiquity and the enlightenment.

I’m tired of listening to what people have to say about what is right or wrong.

I am selfish I am stubborn I am stupid I am illogical impossible incorrigible… exhausted.

I am who I am and I yam.

This has been at the back of my mind for a while, and now I realise that I cannot sacrifice my present happiness for the future. It is now or never.

Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

or

Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.

2010
09/09
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
feelings
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brick.

This is my first post being written in New York. Honestly I feel a lil overwhelmed by things, and it still feels very surreal yet unnaturally natural that I’m living here. It’s been what? One week? Feels like forever. I mentioned previously that I expected a lot of culture shock. Surprisingly, culture shock level is not intense much. Only real change is interactions with people. Everything else is just too easily dealt with (unless I decide to get a job here and go through the headache of regulations restricting international students from getting anything much really).

My experience so far has been pretty positive. Let’s take some questions. =P

Rumours List:

1) New Yorkers are unfriendly?

Wrong.

2) NYC is really dangerous?

Wrong. It’s safer than KL I reckon. You just need to be aware of your surroundings at all times.

3) Cost of living here is a bomb?

Generally yeah, but in truth you can find lots of cheap stuff if you actually take the time to look.

4) A lot of weirdos here?

I’ve seen a couple of weird stuff, but nothing major YET. And I am not one of them.

5) NYU has no community.

No! It’s not that bad, seriously. And having no campus is no big deal. Washington Square Park is like my new favourite hangout spot already.

6) NYU has a lot of diversity.

Spot on. This is a real melting pot right here. Want to meet people from literally all around the world? This is the place to be.

So, I don’t have any more rumours about NYU/NYC in mind but if it comes to me I’ll just add on to the list. One thing I have come to realise is that people here (in general) chose to come to NYC rather than NYU. And I am one of those brilliant people. But I also realise that NYC automatically comes with NYU. You cannot expect to come to NYU and not be a fellow New Yorker. I mean, it is New York University right? So really, I feel like the city offers as good as an education as NYU does, just in different aspects of it.

2010
09/06
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
NY
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