An Unexpected Journey

I know many Chicagoans who have never been up the Sears Tower. I know many New Yorkers who have never been to a Broadway performance. I also know many Tokyoites who have not been to Meiji Shrine. I guess when we live in a city we take for granted all the wonderful sights, landmarks and buildings that make our home-home. There is no need to do the tourist thing in your city because you will always be there and maybe you'll take out-of-town guests when the moment calls. Well now that I'm leaving...I woke up today feeling a bit crazed. The feeling of not having seen enough of Asia, let alone Singapore, in the past 6 months was making me anxious and sad. I have been thinking of what I can see and what I can do before we leave. Should I take my camera down to Little India or Arab Street? Should I work on the shots of Hawker Centers I have been meaning to take? I woke up to rain this morning so I pulled out the Singapore Resident's Guide and stopped at the museum pages. I went down the list and picked the Singapore Art Museum (SAM). Yay!
My goal is to do as much of Singapore or Asia in the weeks to come. Oh! How I would love to take a flight to Seoul, Beijing or Hanoi. But Jose is super busy and unless a girlfriend proposes we take the kids and go, I've got to reminisce on these writings, take a lot more photos or find other outlets. This is how today my experience at SAM gave me an outlook, emotions and inspiration I wasn't expecting from a museum built in an old school just a few blocks from our house.
St. Joseph Institution was a school for boys and was founded in 1855, has also served as a Red Cross Hospital, a unit of the Civil Defense Force, and is also considered a Singapore national monument and is now home to SAM.
When I stepped inside the beautiful white, colonial building I thought, "I have no knowledge of Asian Art" and immediately noticed an exhibition titled "TransportAsian" that included photography and light installations. My next thought? "Photography! Yes, I can learn a lot from photography!"
I was admiring an exhibition when I hear the ding of the Tokyo metro overhead announcement. I did a double take when I heard, "mamonaku..." What the...? Where am I? Behind a black curtain was a video installation titled "Pasajeros" YES in Spanish! Pasajeros is the work of Xavi Comas, a Spaniard who did this piece of work on the Tokyo subway. I went in, sat on the bench of the dark room and I was quickly transported back to Hibiya line in Japan. The black and white images are a journey. A journey captured by the artist and a flashback for me. I saw images of school children in their perfect Japanese uniforms, salarymen slouching over their briefcases and wrinkling their suits. I saw young Japanese girls in their notorious cute outfits and high heels. I saw the faces of tired, older men slumbering for a few minutes. I saw the faces of mothers struggling with the baby strollers on the crowded train. All images of people in the tight space. Faces and mannerisms that I saw many, many times in Tokyo. How many times did I wonder about their lives and how different and the same way we live our life? How many times did I wonder about their comings and goings as I sat and tried not to look like a total "gaijin" (foreigner)?
The journey was theirs. The everyday in and out of the routine in the transportation system that supports the life of these travellers and the people Comas caught in his "one meeting, one time", ichigo ichie as a 16th century tea master once said.
Xavi Comas summarized his work by explaining that for him, each meeting has to be savoured, remembered, and appreciated because it only comes one time. What better way to express this philosophy by using his lens. I sat there and watched the exhibit two times. A knot formed in my throat when I read ichigo ichie. Tears started to flow uncontrollably. Sitting all alone in this historic museum, I felt nostalgic and my heart ached as I came to terms with my departure from Asia. I was living my one moment. I have been living my one meeting , my one time. And I was realizing that it was quickly coming to an end.
Nevertheless, I felt inspired. I was grateful and fulfilled (but not too much in order to leave room for more). I decided not to take for granted any place and its moments and its people. I decided that the end of my travels through Asia were not done. I still have a lot of questions about the people of Bangkok, the ruins in Cambodia and the hustle and bustle of Shanghai. We will return one day and I will cherish every minute of it.
xoxo,
Betty

Feeling the Love

It's wedding season!! Lately, our mailbox has been stuffed with gorgeous bridal shower and lavish wedding invitations. On line I have searched for the perfect vase on Crate and Barrel, linens at Macy's and wine openers on Bed, Bath and Beyond. The measurements have been sent for my bridesmaid dress and I need to practice for a Spanish mass lectura. Oh, how I love weddings! Brides walking down the aisle with fathers and mothers having dances with grooms...tear.

Jose and I will be celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary next month and this summer we kick off our wedding season with 6 couples who will be joining us in the oldest tradition known to mankind. Five out of the six weddings are Mexican weddings (with one half being Argentine) and you know what that means; mariachi, banda, bailes del dolar and lots and lots of Tequila! We will also be travelling to New Jersey in late August to attend an Indian wedding!! I hope to learn a few things about the traditional customs because right now I am picturing Bollywood dancing, sequins and lots of gold!!! (We all know that cannot be it). Nevertheless, weddings are all about uniting family and friends, eating, drinking, dancing and lots and lots of love.

Here are some pictures of a Japanese wedding we attended last fall and a wedding in Indonesia we attended 3 years ago.

Japanese wedding starting at Meiji Shrine. Most weddings still take place in Shinto shrines where brides wear the traditional white kimono and a head piece that hides the "horns of jealousy" from her mother-in-law.

Japanese women like to wear the western-style white gown or can wear a red kimono to the reception. I have some friends who have worn all 3 gowns!



A guest at the reception in her gorgeous Kimono.

Even pets are invited to weddings and must dress appropriately as well!

Before entering the reception, a table is set up to check guests off a list. This is where we presented our "goshugi" or money gift in a beautiful, purple cloth envelope to the designated attendants. Another table was set up at the end of the reception where the bride presented a gift of "sake" glasses, a serving platter, delicious bread, soaps and chocolates to every guest as a thank you. As you can see, I was very excited to receive the goody bag.

Our friends Fela and Reza arriving at the altar. Reza's family is Muslim but they had a traditional Balinese wedding with a Hindu ceremony. The guests make a narrow space and create and aisle. Everyone was to wear the traditional dress-hand sown "batik" sarongs.

During the ceremony the officiant offered the couple rice and fruit from their pyramid of food. The rice and fruit represent wealth and prosperity.

All of us after the ceremony. Jose has never looked better! :-)

Ofelia and Reza watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean.

Whatever the culture, customs and locations, it is truly an honor to be invited to a wedding and especially to participate. As my friends start to join us in the marriage club I wish them nothing but health, happiness and lots and lots of love.

xoxo,

Betty

Where the Journey Began...

It's been 3 crazy, amazing, unimaginable years in Asia. Our incredible journey began on Valentine's Day of 2006 when Jose got the call and invitation to head out and work for Lehman Asia. We said yes and burst out laughing. We have been known to make quick,abrupt decisions about everything in our lives-but it works for us.
The first 6 weeks were really tough for me. I was lonely, scared and literally lost in translation. I bucked up, started Japanese lessons, got a job and made incredible, life-long friends. I also got pregnant and hung out in the gaijin ghetto with all the other foreigners and English speaking Japanese!
I miss Japan from sunny Singapore. I miss the weather, the Sakura, Shinjuku Gyoen, and our friends. I bet Jose misses Ramen and Sapporo! Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Tokyo Disney: These girls wanted to take a picture with me!!! I was so flattered! They were young and so "kawaiiiiiii"! This picture will always remind me of the "uniformed" but "cute" Japanese girls. Everything has to match and it has to be fun!

Takeshita street in Harajuku. I took every guest in town to Harajuku Dori. Went there so much that we started to blend in....ha!


Diego on his way to his first Japanese festival.

My Peruvian friend Karina and I at our first Azabu-Juban Festival.

35 weeks pregnant and in Japan!!! My awemose doctor is married to a Colombian woman! He spoke English and Spanish!!!

xoxo,

Betty