Untitled part 6
As she turned from the Buddha, she noticed a young tourist about her age sitting off to the side, in the shade of a tree. He had a sketchpad in his lap, and seemed intent upon his task. He briefly looked up, catching her staring at him. He gave a smile and a short wave, which she hasitly returned before walking quickly past him toward the gate. She could feel the red rising in her cheeks. She hated being caught looking.
Drained from the heat, she sat down in a shady cafe, ordering a banana shake. She opened her journal and wrote a few half hearted comments on her morning. The place was rather quiet despite a fair number of tourists in the area. The server placed the glass in front of her, but she barely noticed. The guy with the sketchpad had just walked into the cafe, and was coming over to her table. She blushed again and looked at her scrawled notes in her journal.
"Hi. Do you speak English?" His accent sounded neutral enough for him to be from America or Canada.
"Yes"
"Do you mind if I join you? I haven't spoken to anyone in days, and I'm feeling a bit lonely."
"Umm" She hesitated.
"It's ok. You're busy," he glanced at her open book. "I'll leave you be"
"No. Please. I'd like the company." She surprised herself. His face brightened, and she was again surprised that it made her feel good. She'd forgotten the simple pleasure one gets from making another person smile. He sat down and ordered an iced coffee. He looked a little awkward, like he wasn't sure what to say next.
"I'm Maggie." she said. "I'm from Canada. Near Toronto."
"Cool. I'm from Michigan, so we're practically neighbours. I'm Jason, by the way."
"Nice to meet you Jason."
"So, what are you doing here?"
"I'm just travelling. Backpacking. I've been doing the Southeast Asia circuit for about 6 months. You?"
"Ah, man, I'm so jealous! I've only got 1 month here. I've been working in Tai Pei and I've got another gig lined up in Japan."
"English teacher?"
"How'd you guess."
"I did my time in Korea."
"Oh yeah? How was that? I've heard a lot of mixed reactions from teachers in Korea."
"That sounds about right," she smiled. "Korea's a little bit of a contradiction. It's very hard for Westerners to figure out the internal logic, because it's..." she paused. "It's a little like going through the Looking Glass, you know? Everthing that happens makes perfect sense to the inhabitants, but to us Alice-types it's like a serious amount of opium was smoked."
He laughed. "Tai Pei was like that. Frustrating sometimes. The ones who can just relax and go with it are the ones who survive. If you cling to the ways of the West you go home after 3 months."
The conversation flowed for hours. She was relieved that the conversation had stayed with their perceived differences between East and West, and the difficulties living abroad. He hadn't strayed into personal histories, content with what she offered. Maybe he, too, didn't want any prying.
Eventually they left the cafe, and wandered down towards the night bazzaar. The sun was setting behind the mountains, the white buildings looked salmon-tinged in the faltering light. They passed a small temple that glittered in the sunlight, as though the whole building were made of jewels.
The night bazaar was an assault to the senses. Bright lights lined the streets, illuminating the stalls which were filled with brightly coloured silks, carved wooden trinkets and just about every other item imaginable. It was crowded with people and their accompanying din - the cries of the vendors, the bartering, shouts and laughter. Music from a live band onstage filtered through the rivers of people, and the smells of cooking food made the taste buds water. It was a carnival atmosphere that one had to be in the mood for. As they made their way through the throngs, being jostled on all sides and bombarded with demands to buy goods, she enjoyed how alive it all was, how real.
At the food section, they wandered through eyeing the myriad of mouthwatering choices. Curries, noodles, fried rice, skewers of roasted meats; it was hard to decide. She finally settled on a rice and coconut concoction that was steamed in a banana leaf parcel. Jason chose several skewers of meats and veggies. They found a table toward the edge o fthe commotion and sat down.
"This is my favourite part about this place," he said.
"The food?"
"No. Well, yes. But I meant this whole scene. The amount of life here. The way every night feels like a special event. That shopping is a reason for a party."
"I was just thinking something similar before."
"Yes, but you're a girl. Girls think shopping is always a special event."
"I'm not that kind of a girl. Shoppings not really my kind of thing."
"I thought it was hard wired into you. Like the need to pee in groups."
"I just don't get the whole fascination with hair and clothes and makeup. I can't spend more than 5 minutes in a mall."
"But you like this madness?"
"This is different. No musak."
Later, they wandered through the darkened streets, leaving the brilliance of the bazaar behind them, the music and laughter growing fainter with each step. The air was still heavy with humidity, though it was cooler now. Night insects thrummed away inside the flowered hedges that scented the air around them. They drifted back towards the hotel district, staying very close to each other, but never touching. The air felt electrified, like a storm was waiting on the horizon.
After saying goodnight and arranging to meet tomorrow, she locked herself into the solitude and silence of her hotel room. She showered quickly and crawled into bed, realizing just how tired she really was. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, and to dream the old, haunting dream that had woken her for years now.
She woke up in her childhood bedroom, scared but not sure why. She walked through the house, looking for her parents in room after empty room. At last, she entered the kitchen and found her parents drinking coffee, reading the newspapers. But when she spoke to them, they didn't hear her, and when they turned her way they had hideous monster faces that made her scream.
She woke up in a cold sweat, hoping she hadn't screamed aloud. The room was still dark and the air conditioner was humming merrily to itself. She tried to close her eyes, but the distorted faces of her parents kept rearing up at her. She reached for the TV remote and flipped through the channels; surely there was an English program on somewhere. She found an old episode of McGyver and settled in. She'd forgotten how terrible a show it was, but it relaxed her and she fell asleep before he saved the day.
(wait, there's more!)
Drained from the heat, she sat down in a shady cafe, ordering a banana shake. She opened her journal and wrote a few half hearted comments on her morning. The place was rather quiet despite a fair number of tourists in the area. The server placed the glass in front of her, but she barely noticed. The guy with the sketchpad had just walked into the cafe, and was coming over to her table. She blushed again and looked at her scrawled notes in her journal.
"Hi. Do you speak English?" His accent sounded neutral enough for him to be from America or Canada.
"Yes"
"Do you mind if I join you? I haven't spoken to anyone in days, and I'm feeling a bit lonely."
"Umm" She hesitated.
"It's ok. You're busy," he glanced at her open book. "I'll leave you be"
"No. Please. I'd like the company." She surprised herself. His face brightened, and she was again surprised that it made her feel good. She'd forgotten the simple pleasure one gets from making another person smile. He sat down and ordered an iced coffee. He looked a little awkward, like he wasn't sure what to say next.
"I'm Maggie." she said. "I'm from Canada. Near Toronto."
"Cool. I'm from Michigan, so we're practically neighbours. I'm Jason, by the way."
"Nice to meet you Jason."
"So, what are you doing here?"
"I'm just travelling. Backpacking. I've been doing the Southeast Asia circuit for about 6 months. You?"
"Ah, man, I'm so jealous! I've only got 1 month here. I've been working in Tai Pei and I've got another gig lined up in Japan."
"English teacher?"
"How'd you guess."
"I did my time in Korea."
"Oh yeah? How was that? I've heard a lot of mixed reactions from teachers in Korea."
"That sounds about right," she smiled. "Korea's a little bit of a contradiction. It's very hard for Westerners to figure out the internal logic, because it's..." she paused. "It's a little like going through the Looking Glass, you know? Everthing that happens makes perfect sense to the inhabitants, but to us Alice-types it's like a serious amount of opium was smoked."
He laughed. "Tai Pei was like that. Frustrating sometimes. The ones who can just relax and go with it are the ones who survive. If you cling to the ways of the West you go home after 3 months."
The conversation flowed for hours. She was relieved that the conversation had stayed with their perceived differences between East and West, and the difficulties living abroad. He hadn't strayed into personal histories, content with what she offered. Maybe he, too, didn't want any prying.
Eventually they left the cafe, and wandered down towards the night bazzaar. The sun was setting behind the mountains, the white buildings looked salmon-tinged in the faltering light. They passed a small temple that glittered in the sunlight, as though the whole building were made of jewels.
The night bazaar was an assault to the senses. Bright lights lined the streets, illuminating the stalls which were filled with brightly coloured silks, carved wooden trinkets and just about every other item imaginable. It was crowded with people and their accompanying din - the cries of the vendors, the bartering, shouts and laughter. Music from a live band onstage filtered through the rivers of people, and the smells of cooking food made the taste buds water. It was a carnival atmosphere that one had to be in the mood for. As they made their way through the throngs, being jostled on all sides and bombarded with demands to buy goods, she enjoyed how alive it all was, how real.
At the food section, they wandered through eyeing the myriad of mouthwatering choices. Curries, noodles, fried rice, skewers of roasted meats; it was hard to decide. She finally settled on a rice and coconut concoction that was steamed in a banana leaf parcel. Jason chose several skewers of meats and veggies. They found a table toward the edge o fthe commotion and sat down.
"This is my favourite part about this place," he said.
"The food?"
"No. Well, yes. But I meant this whole scene. The amount of life here. The way every night feels like a special event. That shopping is a reason for a party."
"I was just thinking something similar before."
"Yes, but you're a girl. Girls think shopping is always a special event."
"I'm not that kind of a girl. Shoppings not really my kind of thing."
"I thought it was hard wired into you. Like the need to pee in groups."
"I just don't get the whole fascination with hair and clothes and makeup. I can't spend more than 5 minutes in a mall."
"But you like this madness?"
"This is different. No musak."
Later, they wandered through the darkened streets, leaving the brilliance of the bazaar behind them, the music and laughter growing fainter with each step. The air was still heavy with humidity, though it was cooler now. Night insects thrummed away inside the flowered hedges that scented the air around them. They drifted back towards the hotel district, staying very close to each other, but never touching. The air felt electrified, like a storm was waiting on the horizon.
After saying goodnight and arranging to meet tomorrow, she locked herself into the solitude and silence of her hotel room. She showered quickly and crawled into bed, realizing just how tired she really was. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, and to dream the old, haunting dream that had woken her for years now.
She woke up in her childhood bedroom, scared but not sure why. She walked through the house, looking for her parents in room after empty room. At last, she entered the kitchen and found her parents drinking coffee, reading the newspapers. But when she spoke to them, they didn't hear her, and when they turned her way they had hideous monster faces that made her scream.
She woke up in a cold sweat, hoping she hadn't screamed aloud. The room was still dark and the air conditioner was humming merrily to itself. She tried to close her eyes, but the distorted faces of her parents kept rearing up at her. She reached for the TV remote and flipped through the channels; surely there was an English program on somewhere. She found an old episode of McGyver and settled in. She'd forgotten how terrible a show it was, but it relaxed her and she fell asleep before he saved the day.
(wait, there's more!)
posted by Deirdre at 9:59 p.m.
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