My life has changed so much in the past 382 days, especially my last now 161 back in the motherland. Yesterday, (now eight, ok now eleven...sixteen) was the anniversary of my first steps outside of the U.S. (minus Canada because that doesn't count.) as well as my first steps of expedited personal growth. So many great memories since these baby steps into a foreign land. Yet, it's so vivid and recent. It's been a long time since then; it's been a long time being back too...
I only realized that I've been back for so extensively from such a long journey when I looked at my new haircut after my 4 hour trek to a Santa Monica hair salon via Los Angeles' infamous public transportation. The significance of my new U.S. haircut took me awhile to understand. I had just cut off my visual connection to my travels. As I purused my mid-HK blog posts, I remembered how my Chinese haircut was that step that pushed me full on into cultural immersion...past attempting to learn Mandarin and Cantonese, past frequenting da pai dong (dirty street food), past dressing in my 5 quai ($0.60) sweater with holes (aka "Ugly") when I went bartering for clothes and practicing "Tai gwae la! Wo shi qiong xue sheng" (Too expensive! I am a poor student.) for an entire hour in the Hong Kong KCR train. My haircuts abroad changed me more than I would have initially imagined. With their irreversible and blatantly obvious appearance I could have tried to tell the person cutting my hair same same please just a little shorter or perhaps Same same m'goi. Siu siu la, but that was not my intention. This time, like last I told my hair stylist, "Shorter please. Do what you want." Now I look like I'm from the States...although I sometimes pull out a fobby "shirt" or a bracelet from Yunnan, generally I'm identified as Filipino-American. That or ESL...all U.S. classifications.
I remember the three haircuts I had abroad vividly:
I remember the three haircuts I had abroad vividly:
Haikou, China. 2/24/07. 
Mongkok, HK 4/18/07. Result: A thirst for adventure and looking like an Asian boy with an asymmetrical do
Earl's Court, London 7/10/07.
Hairdresser: Eric
Result: I'm guessing a semi-uneven trim but the birth of a friendship.Hairdresser: Eric
Pic: Someone stole my camera, the bastard.
Please contrast to pre-abroad style:
By the way, you're probably wondering how can Crystal not look non-FOBy? This is my new haircut. FOB? I think not!
Ok, so I'm not so un-FOB that I am now a brunette or grew my hair out silky and smooth. I'm the one in the red, silly.
The end of my FOB do is the end of an era.
~~~
So for everything, even outside of a new sense of visual expression, I've got to say it's been awhile...about times when I could just explore my environment like Dora the Explorer (my new role model), when my whole goal was to gain daily enrichment, when I could just have fun with good people.
If you couldn't discern my U.S. do in the previous picture, it looks like Dora's here! (Mi amiga Dora es inteligente y adventurado!)
But I often forget that I've been slowly reacclimating back into society with baby steps and good times. I am not yet out of this confusion and longing of being back. However, I need to remember the times when I have explored around this ghetto of L.A., that I do get daily enrichment through the academic endeavors at school, and I have been able to enjoy life with friends, even if it's sometimes just through sporadic emails.
There have been the few things that have kept me going. The explorative lifestyle that I have learned from my travels has enabled me to enjoy a few adventures here. I am trying to continue to immerse myself in the culture (yes, the U.S. has culture) and acclimate myself (like an annoying but inquisitive tourist) to understand what makes the locals tick. When in Rome do as the Romans do. When in Los Angeles, be superficial? lol. I kid...?
Immersion continues with the following:
If you couldn't discern my U.S. do in the previous picture, it looks like Dora's here! (Mi amiga Dora es inteligente y adventurado!)
But I often forget that I've been slowly reacclimating back into society with baby steps and good times. I am not yet out of this confusion and longing of being back. However, I need to remember the times when I have explored around this ghetto of L.A., that I do get daily enrichment through the academic endeavors at school, and I have been able to enjoy life with friends, even if it's sometimes just through sporadic emails.There have been the few things that have kept me going. The explorative lifestyle that I have learned from my travels has enabled me to enjoy a few adventures here. I am trying to continue to immerse myself in the culture (yes, the U.S. has culture) and acclimate myself (like an annoying but inquisitive tourist) to understand what makes the locals tick. When in Rome do as the Romans do. When in Los Angeles, be superficial? lol. I kid...?
Immersion continues with the following:
As always, I have delved into the poor man's cuisine of my surroundings: now, Mexican food! In HK I ate dan tat (custard egg tarts) nearly daily, in Thailand pad thai, in the London pubs I couldn't keep myself from the steak and ale pies. Yes, I became obese with my gluttonous behaviors. I think this is partially where the locals get the impression that people from the States are overindulgent pigs. Sorry "Americans," I misrepresent?
My daily perspective of HK and Thailand...? Nearly ;O) 
The Brits make pies and puds of everything.
In Beijing xiao long bao (little meat-filled dumplings) were eaten 12 a day and I couldn't get enough of Malaysian roti (flying bread with curry)! I do not think people understand how much local foods really impacted my experiences abroad. It infultrated my waking hours. Every time I strolled around or after a nice splurge of Asian shopping...where are the dirty, cough...I mean authentic, food stands and stores? You'd always find me immersing there.
The Brits make pies and puds of everything.
In Beijing xiao long bao (little meat-filled dumplings) were eaten 12 a day and I couldn't get enough of Malaysian roti (flying bread with curry)! I do not think people understand how much local foods really impacted my experiences abroad. It infultrated my waking hours. Every time I strolled around or after a nice splurge of Asian shopping...where are the dirty, cough...I mean authentic, food stands and stores? You'd always find me immersing there.
Beijing dumplings (hopefully the report on how the Chinese added cardboard to the meat fillings were false. Though...I wouldn't be suprised if it was true; sometimes I do expect worse).
This is a Malaysian scrumptious roti!
Although I'm not in Mexico c'mon, L.A. is basically an extension of Mexico! Thus, Mexican food has infultrated my life as much as I can handle! It's great because I can't get Mexican food in Hawaii, and well, Mexican food in Britain and Asia...would you really trust that? And I mean Mexican more than just Taco Bell. Coming from a state which has a 1.6% Mexican contingency, I think most Hawaii locals think Taco Bell is not only good but what Mexicans eat daily.
This is a Malaysian scrumptious roti!
Although I'm not in Mexico c'mon, L.A. is basically an extension of Mexico! Thus, Mexican food has infultrated my life as much as I can handle! It's great because I can't get Mexican food in Hawaii, and well, Mexican food in Britain and Asia...would you really trust that? And I mean Mexican more than just Taco Bell. Coming from a state which has a 1.6% Mexican contingency, I think most Hawaii locals think Taco Bell is not only good but what Mexicans eat daily.
- carne asada tacos (duh!)
- hortacha (a cold refreshing non-dairy drink made of ground rice, cinnamon and sugar rumored to be a cure for a hangover. Wow, did not know)
- chimichangas (deep fried burrito created accidentally in 1922 and named after the dirty utterance when that happened)
- tamales (steam cooked corn meal, also a term to indicate good looking individuals, aka hot tamales!)
- conchas pastries (bread roll with colored sugar on top, reminiscent of Chinese bolobao, pineapple buns which I was addicted to for 2 months in HK and then I just realized it was bread with sugar on top with nothing to do with pineapples)
- churros (cinnamon fried dough stick, healthy huh?)
- pupusas (stuffed corn tortilla generating an income of $22.8 million in El Salvador in 2002).
I went to the Tamale Festival a month ago in the ghetto Mexican area of downtown L.A. Ghetto meaning infultrated with culture... See the More 4 Less store back there? Good example. Spent a week's worth of pay to gorge and really taste what it's like to be Mexican. Tried using some espanol too. Failure.
Largest takeaway from here: These people are resourceful. Check out that grocery cart turned into a corn on the cob griller. Impressive.
My one and only travel trek since I came back was my weekend trip to Mexico. Although we only got to visit Mexico's north and touristy cities of Tijuana and Ensenada for global business research, I was in much need of traveling again and was glad to immerse myself into a new culture. Four classes in four buses of USC students drove through San Diego's fires into Mexico to study Mexican business and consumer culture by touring maquiladoras (multinational companies in Mexico that benefit from free trade agreements). Although we got a lot of touristy culture, here's some of my highlights of my Mexican cultural immersion.
Wrestling capes for the Mexican kids...
...and Crystal of course. My Halloween costume as a Mexican kid: the KKKitty. What did I tell you...full on immersion! Though Hello Kitty's Japanese...hmm.
The highlight of my life...or something near to it. We got to do the Mexican Wal-Mart cheer after hearing management decisions and strategies. *clap clap clap bounce wiggly* "FANTASTICO FANTASTICO!" Sigh, mui bueno.
I'm going to miss non-Taco Bell tacos if I ever move.
Eric and Sean: equally excited.
Better than our U.S. ball pits which sometimes have IV needles in them.
