Thanksgiving 2009 – N.Y. Trip 1

I have a lot to talk about for this break since i didnt really have time to sit and write while i was in NY.  I’ll try to keep it precise and entertaining!

The bus ride over to NY took roughly 6 hours (my ass was exhausted after the ride).  I slept for a couple of hours, chatted with Shan and Hally, and played some Taiwanese Big Two.  I have planned to stay with my Bulletproof homie, Mitchell (for picture reference, refer to my previous post, handsome boy~), so we met up at the bus stop in China Town and engaged in the typical gay handshakes along with some hugging.

Shan and Hally sleeping on the Fung Wah.

Picture of Mitchell Eating at Vietnamese Restaurant.

I had no idea Mitchell lived far from the downtown area.  I always thought that New York was a smaller city, like Boston, where everything is within close proximity… I was wrong!  We had to take the train for at least 30-40 minutes to commute from, for example, Soho back to his place in Brooklyn every single day.  This reminded me of home, where i usually have to commute via a transport system for at least 40 minutes as well… Which reminds me of the time when i took the MRT (train system) in the morning right after a party and had fallen asleep (because i was so drunk), went past my stop, went all the way around the terminal station, and finally woke up at the stop after my stop lol. epic fail.

This is the main street of the area Mitchell grew up in.  It is amazing how much this place reminds me of Taiwan, or any city in Asia really.  They had fish markets, traditional restaurants, legit asian bubble teas, and all sorts of other things.  The disgusting smell of raw seafood was as awful as it has always been, but it was nice to get a taste of home, especially here in the U.S.  (By the way, I’m going back to Taiwan in less than a month, so let me know if any of you are going to be there!)
Mitchell and his family were very nice people and I had a great time staying with them.  We had dinner together a couple of times, the thanksgiving dinner was delicious, and i got offered beer by Mitchell’s dad, which was dope because i’m an alcoholic : >.  One thing that surprised me was the fact that Mitchell’s family speak both Mandarin and Taiwanese.  I learned that Mitchell’s family were originally from Xia Men, which supposedly is where the majority of the Taiwanese population migrated from during the Cultural Revolutions of China.  I was able to communicate with his family in my native language, which i thought was pretty cool.  (Though there are some slight differences in the way words are pronounced as the language has probably been altered after it was brought to Taiwan.)

The only thing i felt was mad awkward throughout the trip was that i had to sleep in the living room located in the center of the house.  This made me semi-uncomfortable because i was constantly self-conscious about my sleeping pose.  I felt like i was a piece of rectangle wrapped up in one of those flower-patterned Asian blankets… I dont think i have every slept as rigidly ever in my life!   (Dont worry Mitch, i still slept well)

Anyways, thats all for today. Previews for the next post!

Hope everyone had a nice break!

- Nick