Trip to Vancouver
October 15, 2009
I thought I would write on my blog a bit everyday about my recent trip back home but I guess I got a little lazy. Two weeks just flew by so quickly. The best part was that I didn’t even do much in these two weeks. It seems like all we did was eat and go shopping. Instead, here are some random thoughts about a variety of topics – all kind of Vancouver-related.
Food
It’s strange that the food I most craved were the simplest of things. I got to eat all the foods I wanted: lots of dim sum and Chinese food, poutine, a White Spot hamburger, some candy bars, steak, and salmon. I also ate a lot of junk food at night with the sister and drank way too much coffee. People seem to drink so much coffee these days and there are Starbucks and other coffee shops everywhere!
Friends & Family
I got to meet a few of my only remaining friends in Vancouver during this short trip. Dennis took me to this neat little restaurant by False Creek followed by Yuk Yuk’s. The old school ELI crew met me at Hell’s Kitchen.
I met my relatives twice for dinner. I haven’t really had much of a relationship with them for a long time now so the conversation was non-existent. Call it being cold but I don’t care to initiate conversation much anymore. The way I see it, if we haven’t kept in touch during the seven years I’ve been away in Japan, why start now? There wouldn’t be much in common anyway. Perhaps one day in the future I’ll come to know my cousins better.
The person I spent the most time with during this trip was my sister! We managed to watch the last three seasons of The Office together, a show I managed to addict her to. She took us to the Ghost Train at Stanley Park and while the line for the train took an hour, it was a fun thing to do.
Wing Chun
I visited and met two Wing Chun teachers in Vancouver and saw some differences in teaching and interpretation. One teacher was extremely patient and even gave me some pointers. I will definitely meet him again when I have the chance. The other teacher was a bit less polite. He assumed a lot of things about my Wing Chun without even trying out some chi sao with me. He showed me a lot of his style and explained many concepts which he felt was lacking in Hong Kong Wing Chun. I beg to differ on these points because I feel he doesn’t fully understand how HKWC is. Perhaps he met some inexperienced HK practitioners. Regardless, it was an interesting and educating chance for me to meet these two teachers.
Shopping
I hate shopping but I still managed to buy a lot of random stuff. I bought new shoes on impulse. I bought two old video games. I bought I think about 5 Rifts books and a couple other random books. I bought new sunglasses. I am a shopping whore.
Driving
The one thing I most thoroughly enjoyed doing was driving again. It took ten minutes to get used to my old Honda Civic and I was shocked at how badly my family had treated the poor car. Am I being crazy in saying that one can have a bond with a car? I know everything about that car and this bond helped me get used to driving very quickly. I drove almost everyday even if it was only to get coffee or to go to Safeway.
I did notice that people did not wave to say thank you anymore and there were a lot more asses on the road. That was not fun. I still hate driving downtown and during rush hour. Driving in Richmond is still a lesson in self-loathing.
Still The Same And Yet
In the end, I think Vancouver has changed a lot and yet it hasn’t. Esthetically, sure, there are new train stations and the Olympics seem to be the talk of town. There seemed to be a lot more gang violence and there were at least two shootings during the time I was there. Still, after the initial reverse culture shock had subsided, I felt right at home. The roads were basically the same, the weather, the food, the atmosphere. I even woke up in my old bedroom with strong urges to get ready for school.
I really hope to come back more often because there is a certain amount of guilt I carry for not being with my family. It’s like I should be there to help carry heavy boxes, shovel snow, take my parents out for dim sum, and all the traditional Chinese son things one needs to do. With that in mind, see you soon again Vancouver!
