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

Let's Play, "Find the Mistakes"

Still on the photography high...sigh. Wish I could keep going with my current class and teacher but I can't at the moment (bigger tasks await). I really want to learn more about Black and White Photography and take some lessons on photographing interiors. At the moment I can't get the result that I want as I shoot our apartment here in Singapore. We get A LOT of light in the living area and I just can't seem to set up the camera manually. These are shots from pre-course days with just the auto mode and the kick of regular flash. Ugh.

Wish me luck on the days to come! I will attempt and re-attempt to get this right.

xoxo,

Betty

Painting with Lights

Last night was my last night of a five week photography course with Karen Lucas from Baobab Photography in Singapore. I enjoyed the lessons, exercises and saying to my love ones that I had "homework" to do. It has been a long time since I have taken a course of any kind or stepped into an organized lesson...for just me. I have to say that although the experience was challenging and left me on most nights with tired eyes and tension headaches, it was also fulfilling and cool. Here are some shots from last night. We went out to the busy Novena neighborhood and drew lots of attention with our crew of 8 plus tripods! We chatted and I noticed my peers and I taking shots in the most laid-back, confident manner; just like school kids on a field trip ready to start summer vacation. I will put some of the "best" (but could be better) shots from the course soon.

Forever 2

My big love is away for 3 weeks. Jose was called to go to London while we were enjoying our last day in Phucket. Man, have I been feeling sorry for myself since last Monday. Really, the whole power of the mind is incredible. I was so down, upset, and ruined our last day in Thailand by bickering with Jose and simply being bitchy. I am now suffering from an intense lower back pain and I'm all alone with Diego. Far, far away from any trusty family help. Oh how I miss my mami's calditos right about now. Boo hoo. Karma ya'll. Jose wasn't thrilled to go and I made his last days in Singapore hellish.

Interestingly enough, I have discovered something so amazing, something so fulfilling that makes me want to laugh out loud every 30 minutes or so! Diego is really, really funny!!! He's the best pain killer on the market! I thought for sure my life would be horrible with a 2 year old running around in my desperate hour of need. He has been such a good boy that I realized that the terrible two's have been put on hold for a bit (until Daddy get's back...I'm sure).

We went for a nice walk this morning and I brought my camera along because I have homework. So Diego had to be my model since there is no one else around and he was such a good little boy. I would tell him, "Okay Diego! Run across for Mommy" and he run across and then come to look at my screen to review the shots I had taken.

We then walked to Starbucks to cool off and reward my little model with a banana nut muffin and a nice chocolate chip frap for me (oh, my back!) He sat in his chair and said to me, "escucha"-Beyonce was playing and Diego started to dance in his seat. We danced and didn't care who was looking.

Also this week, for no apparent reason, he just stops what he is doing (usually in the middle of lining up all his hot wheels), looks up and says, "besos Mama". Gets up, comes over with wide arms and kisses me. He then proceeds to walk over and continue his task. I'm just amazed. His love is so great, unconditional, pure and I'm loving it. It's like he knows I'm missing Jose, knows that I'm in pain and knows that I feel lonely.

He's the best little partner anyone can ask for.

xoxo,

Betty

P.s. Man, this is the best shot I got and it's not even great. After taking 130 shots today, 1 works for the 9 required on Thursday. Yikes.

Feeling Cheesy

It has been a long time since I stepped into a classroom. I'm used to being in front of the class, prepared with the daily lesson plans, hoping that I can hold the interest of my students for at least 50 minutes and wanting nothing more than them leaving the class a little inspired.
Yesterday I sat in a 3 1/2 hour photography course and felt so excited to be there. I could have been taking Math 101 and still be excited! I love school. The feeling of walking in to an unknown class room, fresh, blank pages of a notebook, and the new faces make me so happy. I am such a nerd!!
I have to admit that I was a little nervous taking this course. I don't want people to think that I'm a wanna be anything. Not learning anything was also making me a bit nervous. We have to admit that some things are not for everybody. I decided to take the class because Jose and I bought a really nice camera hoping that we could take pictures like our good friend Panos. But people, it doesn't work that way. You just can't buy a camera and wait for good results. Like everything, you have to work at it. The camera is your tool, your instrument. You have to learn how to use it. But the Nikon had a gazillion buttons, an extensive menu and a couple of dials to turn. We were so lost. So I Googled "photography lessons in Singapore" or something and had dozens of choices! I did my research, found a great photographer who had a detailed website, her prices were reasonable and she was a woman (no offense to the men out there).
We started with basics and I won't bore you with those details but after shooting and discussing...guess what? I left the class feeling a different kind of inspiration and it had little to do with photography. I left with an introduction to 7 different human stories. I was inspired by the woman from India, who is in Singapore visiting her sister for 3 months and decided to do something different while on vacation. I was inspired by the retired Singaporean gentleman (and my partner for the day) who has never left Singapore and rather than retiring in front of the television screen, he decided to "take up a hobby". I met another mom. A quiet, South African mother of 3 boys and I couldn't wait to start talking to her.
We had a fantastic time. We modeled for each other, helped each other with the cameras and talked. Everyone (including big, nosey Betty) wants to know, "What brings you to Asia?" You then start to chat it up and voila! New acquaintances! If nothing else, these next 5 weeks will be pleasurable even as I struggle to get those damn macro shots.
xoxo,
Betty