halefg

Growing up in Indonesia in the early 1990s, my exciting introduction to the United States was mostly defined by American pop culture. I had heard of a place called San Francisco for the first time from Bob Saget’s cheeky Full House - opening with those pretty colorful houses on a hilly landscape by the ocean. Seemed to be a perfect city for me. That was followed by MTV's boy band craze. My fascination with this city was reshaped by 98 Degrees’ ‘Because of You’ video. The boys were definitely pretty, but my interest was definitely the incredible red bridge in the video. At that point, I set my sights on visiting San Francisco. Someday. Fast forward to almost twenty years later: I have visited hundreds of cities on six continents. Now, I have the perfect opportunity ... read more

... Santa baby, a '54 convertible too, light blue, I'll wait up for you dear Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight -- Marilyn Monroe Only a few days before Christmas. The air in San Antonio smells a little sweeter in the last couple of days. Christmas time conjures a familiar spirit inside me, although sometimes it is desecrated by the over-commercialization of desperate American industries, trying to recuperate from the current recession. This is what people would refer to as 'the most wonderful time of the year' - all of the five senses are brutally attacked by the repeats of Christmas carols played by the shopping malls (oh, I'm sorry, in the US, you ought to call them 'holiday carols', to be politically correct!), smell of freshly cut (or, humanely killed for the season) ... read more

“So you’re Lan Zi,” my tea specialist concluded in her broken English. She was suspiciously staring at me as if I had just poured hot water all over her delicate hand. I just finished explaining my lame excuse for not being able to talk in any of the Chinese dialects fluently - the ability to speaking Chinese stopped in my generation because I was born in the non-Chinese-speaking country of Indonesia. That, and I now live in the United States. “Lan Zi, what’s that?” I thought. I just innocently blinked at her, while sipping my precious Ti Kuan Yin Oolong Tea. We were in the middle of an ancient tea ceremony that WAS supposed to be a rejuvenation experience for me. She shook her head, took a deep breath, and continued on with our interesting conversation ... read more

Within only 85 miles north of the equator line, Singapore is wickedly humid. Lush tropical trees and exotic plants are thriving and covering most of the island - along its roads and in between modern buildings and historical structures, making it even hard to breathe yet comfortable for having the shades over human habitation down on the ground level. After receiving a bad news from my brother-in-law, I scrambled around to find a plane ticket to Singapore, and some twenty-eight hours later, I stepped out from Terminal One of Changi International Airport to meet up with my immediate family, who had flown in from Indonesia a couple days earlier. This unfortunate event has caused our unexpected reunion in Singapore, and I had to miss my ING Marathon back home in Atlanta. Dad has undergone an emergency ... read more

Mazel Tov! -- ‘Good fortune’ - a phrase that is often said frequently and loudly at Jewish celebrations. The excited exclamation brings me back from my brief daydream, after a couple of minutes listening to a foreign speech that I can not understand. I look around and find myself sitting among a hundred enthusiast worshippers inside Baron Hirsch Synagogue - an intricate American Orthodox Judaism synagogue in the City of Blues - Memphis, Tennessee. The congregation hall is inviting, with stain glass windows hanging high, depicting several bearded men and various Hebrew inscriptions. High above at the ceiling, the familiar six-sided Star of David adorns the focal point of the room. Two nations flags - the U.S. Stars and Stripes flag and the Israeli flag - frame where the platform Interestingly enough, it almost felt like ... read more