East coast USA–finally, the curtains fall, and my exchange stint at the UW has finally come to an end and I shall take a bow. After a stressful and tiring process of packing, i left seattle with the PP people for New York where my summer break begins. it’s really odd that i am travelling with them, as firstly, i have never travelled with them, and i declined to go with the CH people for their backpacking trip. and also, everything there is a long weekend or break, i will be travelling with mikey. it was a big change for me, which i wasnt really looking forward to it. gone are the days of OTOT, good meals, and doing whatever i want, going whereever i am. when i go in a group, i have to subdue my dominace and stop throwing tantrums. and also, i am not close to the PP people, and milly and jean are so close that its hard to be part of the girls group. nevertheless, i prepared my mind to be adaptable.
we reached new york at 6am and made our way to our hostel. unfortunately, we cannot check in till 3pm so we went for breakfast and slept in central park. most of us concussed due to exhaustion of travelling. but i couldnt sleep n went to walk around on my own, reminiscing about the time when mikey was in new york, and my seattle friends. i ate an ice cream and sat down by the lake before the rest came to join me.
we continued walking and went to st patrick’s cathedral, the largest cathedral in new york. everyone was so tired they slept in the church while i walked around to admire the architecture. we finally checked in to our hostel and washed up. the hostel was better than i expected. we had a whole room to ourselves with attached bathroom. we went to soho for shopping, feeling really jet-lag. we proceed to brooklyn bridge to take photos before heading back to our hostel, concluding our day with a subway dinner. (really budget travelling).
the next day, we woke up and had dunkin donuts. i watched phantom of the opera again and got half priced tickets for the rush hour sales (where tix go at 50% half an hour before the show). some high school girls sold the tickets to us coz they had extra. it was cheaper than my 100 usd ticket during spring. the seats were lousy and noisy as we were around high school kids. i took the chance to buy my POTO shirt that i didnt get a chance to buy while i was here in spring. sitting in the same broadway theatre reminds me of mikey and I, watching the musical together in spring. i feel so lonely again. watching POTO a second time makes me appreciate the music more.
we sat off to new jersey, where our tour group meets. we signed up for RITZ tour, where hotel and transport is provided for the east coast cities that we will be visiting. to my utter horror, i realized that the tour is a chinese tour (for PRC visiting usa), hence everyone is PRC except us. they were all so kiasu and it irks me! and the tour guide’s english cannot make it too. i had to listen to the chinese narration. it made me miss the humour of the american tour guides. we visited new york times sqaure at night and only had like 10 minutes coz the rest of the 20 mins were spent queing for macdonald’s, our dinner. we took a quick shot of time square night life. it didnt matter to me much coz i was already there before.
the best thing about the night tour was seeing new york night skyline from new jersey. it was breathtaking!
the next day, we woke up and continued to tour new york. we went to wall street and took a water taxi cruise to statue of liberty. it was really funny how we decided to unleash our kiasuism too. we occupied a portion of the water taxi so that no one else could come through to take photos. mean, but we got the photos we want. singaporeans should fight back with what we are known for right?
we went to empire state building next. i knew mikey was here before, and it made me sad too. they said that the empire state building is the most romantic place in new york, so why am i here alone? after touring, we went to a pizzaria to taste pizzas that new york is famous for. i am not a pizza lover, but i have to admit this is the best pizza i have ever tasted. it was just a street cafe, but it was crispy and nice and cheap! the way to eat new york pizza is to fold the length of it n stuff into your mouth! hmm..its as big as 2 and half slice of singapore pizza hut pizza which cant be compared lar).
we left for philidephia, where we will be resting for the night. the next day, we went to philly to see the liberty bell, a symbol for america’s liberty, and a clock tower. we moved on to washington DC, where we toured the museums, lincoln memorial, many many memorals. DC is a really nice and clean city, and filled with tourist, and the best thing is, the museums are free!
after DC, we travelled back to buffalo new york to view niagara falls. on our way, we stopped at hershey’s world in pennsylvannia, where the man hershey invented the milk chocolate. we took a ride in the mock chocalate factory and it was really cute and enjoyable. i saw the world’s largest hershey’s choc bar!
after a long ride, we finally reached niagara falls. it reminded me of my time with mikey during spring break, where everywhere was iced up. now, the snow has melted. we took a night tour of niagara falls where we have to cross the customs to canada to view niagara falls. it was a nail-biting time at the customs as yixiang forgot to bring his 1-20 and crossing over and coming back will be a problem. thank goodness that the officer allowed him to return to US and everything was fine.
niagara falls looks very nice at night with the man-made colored lights. we were all trying to get a good picture with our cameras, and sadly all our night modes fail badly. but i managed to get some good shots. yixiang made a comment that made me really sad as when we were taking photographs, i wasn’t in it though i was posing with the rest. he joked and said i must work harder to get into the PP click. i was already feeling quite out of place, he made it worse and hit the right spot. i decided not to hang around them for the rest of the day and even to the next day on the maid of the mist. i felt really left out and alone. it made it worse as i was in the place where mikey and i shared such good memories, it heightened my loneliness.
the next morning, we went for IMAX show on niagara falls. i think i saw it before when i was young in science center omni theatre. anyway, the girls made a comment that i snored really loud last night. i was quite angry and felt ostracized. do they have to say it in front of everyone? and later they said they were lying to me. i am like? what are you trying to do? make fun of me? it made me quite pissed i didnt stay where they were and wandered alone to take photos. i asked some other tourists to take photos of me on the boat ride called “maid of the mist” that brings us very near to the waterfall. then i met this really obnoxious indian woman who asked me to help her take photos and send it to her. once or twice, i wouldnt mind. but she took me for granted and asked me to take numerous photos for her, and even asked me to carry her stuff for her while she posed. like she is some hot princess. brr. my friends asked me to delete her photos. well, im not that evil, but till now she hasnt emailed me. so im just waiting. i hope i never hear from her.
after niagara falls, we took a 6 hours long bus ride to boston, our final city in the tour. on the long bus ride, i got to know yixiang better, and found out that we have alot in common. we were both from hall pageants, we both sailed before, and i was in girl guides while he was in scouts. its good to have someone to click with. he is the least person i expected to click with. i remembered that during our UW-NTU orientation on Dec 27, he sat opposite me, with tinted gold hair, and told me he clubs alot. my impression of him is a hardcore clubber. but he is actually a very nice and funny guy, which i described him as “disgustingly entertaining”. this is just the beginning of our friendship, which will later be manifested in miami.
we reached boston in the evening and went to sample what boston is well-known for: lobster! we were rather disappointed that we r having the lobster in a chinese restaurant (of coz, how can we forget that our tour is full of PRC???). but it tasted juicy and succulent and fresh and large! now, that’s the taste of boston! the rest of the chinese food is okie, the fish is like crap! that marks the end of the day.
the next day, we went to harvard university, the oldest university in usa. the decor is very much like UW. and guess what, it is summer break, but we see students still studying. its called harvard for a reason. when u go to harvard, you must touch the fit of the statue of the founder of harvard, it is said to make you smarter. and guess what, the PRCs touched and touched and touched and touched.
we visited MIT after that, which was 10 mins drive away. everywhere in MIT is labelled in numbers, just like what the school is good in. the tour guide said not to send our kids there unless the kid is a robot. high suicide rate they say. after MIT, we went to boston market and have a taste of the clam chowder. seattle still has the best clam chowder. we went for some souvenir shopping and left for New York, where the tour ends. it was kinda sad that the tour has ended. we have grown to like the PRCs, the aunties are very cute, and they have become less kiasu as the day goes by. the tour guide is also very nice. while we were wandering away from the group to take photo and miss his narration, he will call us aside and repeat for us. but they are really thick skin about asking for tips. they ASK for tips. well, it was a nice tour, it was very rush though, only 45 mins to eat, all of us slim down after the tour, and 2 hours per attraction. but we got to travel in comfort, with nice hotels to stay in!
after the tour, we were on our own again, backpacking, we took a 4 hrs bus ride to DC to view more museums (the tour only covered one musuem). the buses to DC were operated by PRCs again, and boy are they aggressive in getting customers. the bus set off from new york’s chinatown, and there were so many asians u think u r in hk. the bus ride was long and tiring, and we arrived in DC at 1am. we looked for a hostel to rest the night. it was my first time in a hostel that has a shared toilet. it was like staying in a dorm again! n i had to sleep on the upper deck, which was pretty scary!
the next morning, we set off to visit the holocaust museum. it is free but we have to be early to get the tickets. it was very sad as the story of the evils of the Nazis unfolded before us. i was shock that some of my friends get bored at the museum, where there is so much historical significance kept in it.
next, we went for lunch at a finance building. and the hilarious thing is, we have to go through airport-like security just to get to the food court. after 9/11, america’s security is super tight. i had the best pita in my life. i will miss this kind of food when i am in singapore.
we took too long for lunch, and lost a lot of time in viewing the rest of the museums. we went to the national air and space museum, which bored me to tears.
after that, we visited the pentagon, but couldnt see the interior as it is closed to public.
we went for to the arlington cemetry, where John F Kennedy lays in peace with his wife. after a long day of sightseeing, we went to chinatown for chinese food and it was damn disgusting! the xiaolongbao has no gravy in it and the service is lousy. even the fortune cookie, something that supposedly to taste good no matter how bad the food sucks, sucks too!! the lady still dare to ask for tips, we gave like 50 cents tip only. haha. one lesson you learn when you are in a western country and looking for chinese food. dont go to restaurants filled with ang mos! it means the food sucks so much that chinese dont want to eat there. we were so disgusted by the food that we had to get desert to appease ourselves. we bought one dollar sundae from MAC and sat down in front of a museum to eat. yixiang said: “wow! we are eating ice cream in front of the white house!” haha. we had a fun time laughing at each other in front of the white house.
the next day, we woke up early to try to get up the lincoln memorial, the tallest building in DC, but the queue was so long that we are not able to get in today. so we went to National Archives to view the actual documents of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. it was so awesome looking at the actual manuscripts, the handwriting and signatures of the founding father of america.
the archives marked the end of DC, and we rushed to the airport. we were almost late for the flight if not for the fact that our flight got delayed. our flight experienced a lot of turbulence. the moment we took off, the airplane dipped and some passengers screamed. and the flight was bumpy, and when we landed, the plane bumped so hard on the ground. i looked out of the window to see if we crashed or we landed. thank God we were safe! my fear of taking airplane (which i thought i had overcome after taking so many planes) returned!
once we come out of miami airport, the humidity hit us! the sky was overcast, wheres the sunshine. the bus ride to our hotel was so long! about an hour and half. we finally checked in and had a good cuban dinner. miami is very near cuba, hence the influence. the chicken roll with banana stuffing was delicious! yummy!
the next morning, we went to downtown miami and had cuban cuisine fast food style again. then we went to tour the pier and shopped and then took an exciting boat ride that showed us celebrity houses (will smith, madonna, ricky martin). they were big houses lining the water. the boat ride isnt as fast as i have thought! but we had a nice blown hair with volume after the ride. after the ride, we went to lincoln road, a stretch of hip restuarants. i had lousy pasta that didnt taste anything like it has vodka. miami has alot of latinos and they are hot!
day #3: we went to everglades park to see alligators. we were disappointed. we only saw one. we thought we will see like alot swimming near us. but it was thrilling to sit on the airboat. and alligator meat taste like fish fingers. after everglades, we went to the beach. the 2 girls went shopping, i didnt want to shop as that will waste money and come to miami must hit the beach non-stop! hence i followed the guys. i didnt mind i was the only girl. we went to the nude beach to check it out. it was a “sausage fest” as the guys called it. true enough, there were more guys naked than females. we just went to walk around, we didnt join in the party! ha!
we went to another beach and i lay there to suntan. the sand was so soft to lie on, and the breeze was cooling. we bought some drinks and laze on the beach. it was really what i called “LIFE”. after an evening at the beach, we got dressed for partying. miami is famous for its beaches and clubs. i went along as i wanted to join in the fun. however, i was turned away at the club as i was below 21. they go by birthdates, not year. hence, i am a minor. becoz of that, yixiang had to accompany me through the night. i really appreciate his “chivalry” as he was the only one that stayed behind. the club we went to was called “mansion”, the most happening in miami, and he likes to club so much, it was really a great sacrifice for him! we went to eat pizza at lincoln road and then i treated him to frappaccino and haggan daaz ice cream to make up for it.
the next day, the rest kept talking about how awesome the party was, which made me felt really bad! we slept in (sometime we havent done in ages since the vacation started). we went to south beach, the most happening beach in miami. it was a saturday, hence the beach was crowded. we tanned and swam in the sea, where the waves are so strong we were like surfing! and the gross thing was, 2 couples hooked up randomly and went to the sea to have sex. we saw everything, and after having sex, the guys just left the girls and walked away. he even threw the condom into the sea. i was so utterly grossed out i left the waters. well, this is america.
we went to another club to party again, this time, the club allows entry to ladies above 18. it was my first time partying in america as all clubs are above 21. my observations: the crowd is more lively, u feel less inhibited to dance, and the girls dress more sexily. and more open making out in the dance floor than singapore. and single girls will never remain too long alone coz guys will pick them up fast. i am still a conservative asian. a south african guy approched me and i didnt dare to dance near him, he got bored and left me alone. haha. and the moment i felt a guy dance near me, i ran behind my singaporean guy friend. haha. im still an asian man! it was really interesting to see the things americans do when they club. they are wild!
we went back to our hotel and rested for the night. after i bathed, the sun rose. tsk tsk.
our last day in miami, we went for lunch at the pizzaria me n yx went 2 nights ago. the pizza rocks! we bought some souvenir and left for the airport to return to seattle. this time, we gave ourselves ample time. but our worse nightmare came true.
when we were booking out flights from miami back to seattle, we were afraid that it was risky to book our flight so close to our flight to tokyo in case of any delay. and guess what, due to a storm in atlanta (where we are flying to connect to seattle), we were marooned in atlanta for a day and only returned to seattle at 12pm the next day, and my flight to tokyo was at 1145am! we rebooked our flight to tokyo to a day later, and i got juanita to pack my remaining stuff in my room and passed it to huy. i will be putting up with huy for a night. i was so worried that juanita will throw away some stuff that i need. but in the end, everything worked out well. i took it in my stride and find that it was an exciting experience to be marooned at the airport for a night, and have so many things happened. it only made me a more seasoned traveller. the airport gave out pillow and blanket. i was sleeping under the aircon that i kept shivering. we were finally on our way to seattle!
after i touched down, i went to Ivar’s at the pier to have my last bite of my fave fish and chips and clam chowder. its summer now, and people are sitting outside the cafe to eat. i remembered vividly the first time i was there in winter, it was so cold! i fed the seagulls with my leftovers for the first and last time. i miss seattle. its ironic that i still got lost in seattle even on my last day. shame shame.
i met huy and went to his place. i was so tired i concussed on his bed till the next morning. he drove me to the airport and we hugged each other goodbye. i cleared the customs after a long time. the lady couldnt locate my name on the plane. (scared!). then the most humiliating thing happened. we each got checked one by one at the security. they opened our bags and checked everything. i was pretty angry as we felt discriminated. n becoz of that, we almost missed our flight to tokyo again. luckily, we got on board and left seattle for good. yx was my airplane partner again and kept me entertained for 9 hours.
we reached tokyo and went to our hotel. it was so small and the toilet was like airplane toilet. we had dinner at the night market at Ueno. we didnt know how to order as everything was in japanese. we asked the guy if he knows eng, he said no. we were disappointed. then he said “zhong wen wo hui” then we went like “ohhh!!!” we kinda forgot the benefits of being bilingual singaporeans. its so cool, there is no cash register in most cafes. its through a vending machine. we put money and press the button indicating our order. the food was so-so. not as good as i expected japan food to be.
the next morning, we visited the imperial palace, walked super long to the next train station and visited the electric city of tokyo, where the all shops sell electronic devices. it was vibrant, filled with girls in cosplay handing out flyers. after which, we left for sony building at ginza and met samuel’s friend takeshi, a UW exchange student from japan. we went to tokyo tower. i regret not going up as i thought it was another space needle.we had sushi and i tasted sea urchins for the first time. taste raw! we rested for the night.
the next morning, takeshi brought us to have a traditional japanese breakfast. its just rice, raw egg, and fermented bean and miso soup. we must pour the egg into our rice and eat with the soy bean. its cheap too!
we bade takeshi goodbye and went to hakone to see mt fuji. it was a long 3 hours ride. we took a 11/2 hours train ride, stopped at a tourist spot to sample some local deserts (free), we kept sampling till we got full, try the bento in 7 eleven and took another train ride up and took a trolley up to the cable car station and switched to two cable car before reaching our hotels. we were greeted with white wine. we checked in, changed into our hot bath suit and went to the hot spring. it was embarrassing as we had to be naked. (single sex baths of coz). i tried to wear my bikini but was stopped by the lady manning it. the hot springs was soothing but got too hot. we had fun trying all the facial products provided by the hotel. they were expensive jap brands!
becoz we were all squatting in a double room (7 of us), we were caught by the manager who asked us to leave. but after a twist of event, we secretly spend the night there and woke up early to leave the hotel. it was as blessing in disguise as we saw mt fuji! it gets too foggy in the day to see it. then we decided to sneak in for breakfast. at first our plan succeed till some waiter spotted us eating and informed the manager. we had to pay 40 usd extra for that. but heck, the breakfast was good!
we went to take a traditional pirate ship across lake ashi and went to visit the hakone check point, where travellers were screened in the past. we went back to tokyo after that. we didnt book any accomodation and was stranded in the middle of shinjuku, the downtown district, with our luggage. we were sitting on the bridge where many many people pass by, with our luggage, waiting for the rest to find an accomodation. we looked so homeless! we finally found our capsule hotel, but to our horror, it is for males only. so me and jean hunted for a women’s one, but it was full. so we checked into a hotel. well, i wished i could experience the capsule, but at least we had our own bathroom for the night. we headed out after settling our accomodation and took about 45 mins before settling down for dinner. we had saba and sotong and yakitori for dinner. we walked around shinjuku, taking in the vibrant night life. it was the times square of tokyo. but i was so tired from all the travelling that i retired for the night early.
the next day, we had 7 eleven breakfast and i ate rice ball that tasted so good, and special milk tea. we proceed to the oldest shrine and shopped at the street market. i cant help but feel sad that my friends are praying to the gods. 
we headed to the airport. my heart felt really sad as that means the end of my 6 months GIP experience. once we are on the plane, the dream has ended. no more travelling, back to reality where i have to take up my responsibilities.
at the airport, they measured my luggage n said it was overweight. i was puzzled as nothing happened when i left seattle, and i didnt add anything to my luggage. i repacked, went through security again, and waited really long to clear customs. finally we were on board and i wanted yx to sit with me through the 6 hours if not i will be very bored. but many things happen such that he almost couldnt sit beside me, but thankfully, everything worked out fine. i saw zhaoli on the same flight too. he was coming back from denver after 2 months of work. he put on so much weight. he was in business class and he was nice enough to bring me some business class only snacks like a handroll and miso-flavoured potato chips.
the plane ride was bumpy and scary and yx said that should anything happen, i shall baptized him so that he can go heaven. ha. as we neared singapore, we were trying to spot changi, and when the plane finally landed, we realized that this was it. our GIP has officially ended. the moment i stepped out from the plane, i felt the hot damp heat rush through my face. both me and yx said : “damn hot!” ooh oohh!!
we went to pick up our luggage and i saw mikey and my parents waiting there for me. everyone was spotting their parents. mikey took photos of me, under the command of my mum. haha. i rushed into mikey’s embrace! i miss him so much. he is the reason why im glad im back!
on the drive home, i was not used to the slow speed of the cars on the road. i got home and realized that my room was so clean (thanks mummy!) well, she was trying to erase evidence of using my room as a storeroom for 6 months. after a tiring day of travelling, i rested on my untouched bed, wishing that i was tugged in on the mattress on the floor back in campus heights in seattle, thousand miles away.
bye bye american dream.
fentastic seattlelite
