The Asian in Me

Call me a FOB. Call me Asian. Call me an old lady. I don't care what you call me - cause I really did spend my last weekend grocery shopping and checking out Asian supermarkets. And that's all I did - literally.

Almost feel a little ashamed to write such silly things - but yeah, I was craving to find a place similar to Yao Han or Aberdeen in Richmond - perhaps I just wanted to feel a bit more at home, and knowing that I can get the same sea weed rice crackers and japanese green tea somehow made me feel better.

I got free Japanese weeklies from a Japanese restaurant in times square, and looked through it. Turns out there is this huge japanese supermarket called Mitsuwa here in Jersey City. They offer a direct shuttle bus from Manhattan to their supermarket, so I decided to check it out last saturday.

The shuttle bus departs from port authority bus terminal, 10 blocks away from I live. I was pretty ridiculous, I would have to say. I even brought my carry on luggage with me to bring back more stuff with me. Pretty pathetic I know. My sister already mocked me when I told her that's what I did - she says to me I should get those 'shopping trollies' that you can just wheel around. I don't think I'm at that point yet.

So anyhow, I got to Mitsuwa and had a great time - apart from the fact that I brought back way too much stuff from the supermarket, walking 10 blocks back from the terminal was not fun. I had tuna/salmon nigiri + crab cream croquette + the best ice cream I've had so far! They held a special Hokkaido food fair - and they had this really really good milk ice cream. Hokkaido's really famous for their milk/butter - stuff to do with cows. :P And seriously, I felt like I was in Japan cause every person there was Japanese/married to a Japanese/ or just Asian like myself. Even though it was a lot of work to get there, I think it's worth it!

Further on Sunday, after church, I decided to check out Flushing, which is in Queens. I told myself - might as well check out all the Asian spots in one weekend and get them over with. It was a 30 minute subway ride - the train runs local on weekends, so it was a bit annoying. And when I got to Flushing main station, I wasn't overly impressed. I couldn't even find one authentic taiwanese restaurant for me to indulge in. Though there was literally a bubble tea place in every 20 steps.

Oh right - on Friday night, I went with Jocelyn to check out her fellowship/small group. It was pretty good I think - small group with a lot of dialogue/conversation. Though my only thing was that it was so long - got there around 7:45 - but we didn't start until quarter after 8 cause ppl were late. And then we didn't end until 11 - and they actually went out to eat afterwards! oh my my - i was half asleep by that point.

Sorry to write such a disappointingly boring entry - looking forward to the Columbia day long weekend - hopefully I can do something more exciting! (not hopefully - i will DEFINITELY do something more exciting!)

My First Week in New York City

Before I start: Cautionary Statement
Given how technically challenged I am, I've decided to put all relevant photos in :
http://picasaweb.google.ca/pistachio0802/ So all my blogs would contain text only! I will try my very best to put captions by the photos to spice up the series of photos that I will and have been taking that contain objects only - cause I'm usually the one taking the photos!

I have been in New York for a week - a full week. It has been a tiring week. It was my first week at work - my first taste of TD Investment Banking New York. It was my first week of being an American resident. When my roommate pointed out when I concluded a statement with "eh", and when a church friend pointed out to me that the language that I use is unusually polite for a New Yorker, I knew that I was different. Very different indeed.

I've decided to keep my blog fairly simple - because I don't know how often will I have the opportunity to update this blog, or perhaps I will be working so much, I wouldn't have anything interesting to update anyway, but here we go - here's my first week.

I flew last Saturday Cathay Pacific direct from Vancouver to New York JFK. There was quite a fiasco at U.S. Customs, which I have finally decided to put behind me, and will not reiterate here. But anyhow, I managed to land at approximately 10 p.m. in New York, and got to my temp housing that evening.

My temp housing is wonderfully spacious - it's a studio that is conveniently located approximately 10 minute walk from work. (It's more closer to 20 minutes with heels!) Fully furnished with everything I could possibly need for staying here for roughly a little over a month.

The following day I met up with my two girl friends living in New York, Naomi and Jocelyn. I met up with them after church, and then we headed to K-town i.e. Korea Town, and had wonderful korean food. After lunch, I asked them to bring me to China Town for grocery shopping. China Town in New York is.....ultimately China Town. uh-hum.

After grocery shopping at China Town, my friend instructed me how to get home on the subway. Feeling all confident that I knew what I was doing, and holding on to 5-6 bags of meat, vegetables, fruits, etc from China Town, I rushed into the subway station and jumped on to the first subway that arrived at the station. Big mistake. Before long, I was crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, and yes - that's the wrong direction.

I started work on Monday - and basically spent the day doing administrative things. Social security number. Bank accounts. Company benefits. Computer set-up. The usual laundry list. I also found out I had to write a Series 7 exam, which is equivalent to Canada's Canadian Securities Course. Big Boo - it's a 6 hour exam, that is brutal.

Fast forward to Friday - I met up with my roommate and we went to Momofuku, noodle bar, at St. Mark's/Astor Place. I also saw my permanent apartment - although an older building, but really quite spacious with a lot of storage space, which I think I'll need. My roommie also took me to her favourite 'boba' place - or bubble tea place! :) I guess as Asians, there are certain things we can't live without. Bubble tea + Hello Kitty! :P

Yesterday, I was all excited to do some sightseeing - and decided that a walk around Central Park and a stroll through the Met would be excellent. Turns out it was pouring yesteday, so probably not the best agenda. But anyhow, I walked through Central Park, and walked along the reservoir. I would have to say - Central Park is the prettiest part of town that I've seen so far!

And then I found myself at the Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Arts - housing many collections and exhibitions that would require many visits to see everthing. I went and looked at the Asian Ancient Arts, and the European paintings exhibit. Now, I wouldn't characterize myself the most artsy person - but everything was pretty impressive.

This morning, I went to church - Redeemer Presbyterian Church, apparently the largest church in New York. Again, I got lost/screwd up my train this morning, so I was half an hour late when I sneaked into service. The Pastor gave a wonderful sermon today - about having a personal relationship with God, and then I joined a sunday school class on Genesis, which was very insightful too. Made me realize how little I knew, and how much is there to learn.

Tonight I hung out with Nelson, who was kind enough to show me around. We went to Time Warner, where he works, and he showed me the most expensive French and Japanese restaurant in New York. Let's just say spending US$250 a person on food a night is just not an option for me right now!

I'm not the greatest story teller in the world - but please check out my photos. Perhaps it'll at least help you visualize New York!