Sunday

Of course, the day after our attempted barbecue was completely gorgeous. Perfect weather to go for a hike! Except that with all the packing and mayhem I accidentally packed up my tennis shoes, so they are en route to Boston now. I know, I know...I will be needing tennis shoes in China, but what can I say...you can't always remember everything! The movers also packed up our Prison Break DVDs. Heartbreaking because not only were they Kelly's DVDs, but also I was in the middle of the series and only had two episodes left. Bummer!

Anyway, the hike didn't work out because we got too late of a start, and Matt ended up blaming me, so I spent the whole day apologizing. Apparently I took too long to get ready and pick out new tennis shoes! The day ended up fun though, we just went to the Repulse Bay beach and chilled out.

The bus ride back from the Beach



The View from the Bus

Cool cemetary on the way back from Repulse Bay

At night we went to Mong Kok to walk around. I am going to miss Mong Kok! I don't really spend much time there, but it is so vibrant and so...Hong Kong that I love it evry time I go. The people watching is great, things are always changing andyou never know what you will come across! You can tell, I am getting nostalgic already and I haven't even left yet!



Cantonese dessert.
This is one of the many things I am really going to miss about Hong Kong!


Mong Kok Street


Bakery

Leaving Do at Shek O

I am not sure if it is a British thing or an Aussie thing, but in Hong Kong alot of people call a going away party a "leaving do". Anyway, we had our "leaving do" on Saturday at a very cute little bar in Shek O called Big Wave Bar. They let us rent a big barbecue and bring our own food to grill. (Of course, we found this out after I had posted a comment on Boston Chef about how there was no place to grill outdoors in Hong Kong!) Anyway, it was a nice little spot right on the beach.

The only problem was that it is sort of a long trek from Central, and the weather was bad! It was like, really windy and I was freezing. I was wearing my bathing suit and shorts cause I thought it was going to be hot! It has been hot and gorgeous in Hong Kong everyday except that day, what a bummer! Alot of people were out of town that weekend, so that was also a bummer.


It was a fun afternoon, but it ended early cause everyone was freezing, especially me!

Moving Day

Today the movers came and packed up our stuff. Sadly, it was traumatic for me. Not during the move, that was easy, but the days preceding it. I feel ridiculous because after Kelly left and I started thinking about packing and organizing my stuff, I started having all of these flashbacks to when I was packing up Dad's house and my house before I moved to Hong Kong. As Grandma and my cousin Melissa know, that may have been the worst day of my life. On that day, while the packers started boxing up Dad's house, it started to sink in that Dad really wasn't coming back. So, I huddled on the floor and sobbed. In retrospect, I feel bad for the movers. They just worked and tried not to look at me. Haha! I gave them a huge tip, so I don't feel that bad. My cousin and my Grandma were great, and my Grandma's dog Bandido was also great. I have never been the hugest "dog person". I think they are ok, but have never had the deep love for them that other people (like Matt) do. But while I was crying there on the floor, holding Bandido was the most comforting thing in the world. For a long time after that I really wantd a dog of my own. Bandido really made me feel better! Now I am over it though.

Anyway, I feel ridiculous because that was two years ago. This move is a hundred times easier than that one was. We are basically paying guys to do everything and we don't have that much stuff. It was done in literally an hours and a half, and Matt was here to help me the whole time. Poor Matt, I might be scarred about moving men and the process of moving for the rest of my life. Just kidding, when we move from Boston I am sure it will be better...

Another thought about Dad...I got an email from my friend Rachel. She is getting married this summer in Burbank, which is not far from where Dad and I lived in Pasadena. She is booking the hotel for Matt and I and one option was in old town Pasadena, right by my Dad's house. When I started to think about going back to Pasadena, I couldn't handle it. I feel like I want to avoid that place at all costs, even though I love it. I haven't been back since we sold Dad's house, and I don't want to ruin my first weekend back in the US by freaking out over being in Pasadena. So, I think we will just stay in a hotel in Burbank. Yes, I am avoiding the situation, but I don't care! I do feel ridiculous though...shouldn't I be over this by now?

Enough about sad topics...I ran into Paige and Diane today in Kosmo Cafe. I wish I had really talked them sooner. Diane said she always loved to see Kelly and I in class because we look so happy to be there. I think that is a very nice compliment. I am going to miss the teachers at Pure alot. Strangely, I feel like I have been through so much with them in the past two years even though we didn't really know eachother. They recommended me to go to Baron Baptiste's studio in Boston. I am slightly afraid of him because he seems so intense, but I will give it a try because Paige said his studio is awesome. I usually don't like male teachers because they seem so "achievement oriented", but maybe Baron Baptiste will be different.

Kelly's Last Day in Hong Kong

Last Monday was Kelly's and my last day in Hong Kong together. It was a very sad day! We had lunch at Life Cafe, which was one of our favorites, and went to yoga. Luckily, Paige was teaching that day so we could have our last class with her.


On my way home from lunch I saw this really crazy bug. You can't tell from the picture, but it was huge! Like, the size of my palm...It was right outside my building. It makes me realize that Hong Kong is definitely a subtropical climate. We don't have bugs like that in California! (Or at least not that I have seen...)


Matt, Kelly, Maria and I went out to vietnamese food for dinner, and then to get foot massages. When I leave Hong Kong I am definitely going to miss the foot massages. While Matt and I are in China I plan on getting foot massages as much as possible!

The End of a Very Lazy Weekend

Well, I guess I never fully recovered from Cinco de Mayo...I felt horrible the entire next day. I had a headache, I felt nauseous, I didn't want to do anything except lay on the bed and groan. It was horrible, plus there was a thich grey cloud laying right on top of the city and that made it even worse. Matt and I went to see Match Point at night. I was bored with that movie from beginning to end! Too many British people in it I guess...



This morning the weather was better, but I still felt very blah and extremely lazy. Matt and I went to Lower Cheung Sha Beach (where we had his birthday party last year) and laid on the beach and read our books. Very relaxing! I needed to get out of the city a little bit. After the beach, we went to dinner with Kelly and Raul. She is leaving on Tuesday...I can't believe it! We won't be living near each other anymore!




On our way home from the beach, there were some fortune tellers at the ferry terminal. I had my fortune told, and it was very interesting. This is what I found out:

1. I need some "eyebrow gel" (his words not mine) to keep my eyebrows in order. If I don't do that, then I will not be able to keep money. I must make sure to pluck in between my eyebrows. (I am not joking. He said this.)

2. My face could get fatter. It is too bumpy right now (he said my cheekbones stick out too much) and it should be smooth. If it is bumpy, then things will keep changing alot in my life.

3. I should chew gum to strengthen my jaw muscles, then I will be better able to tell people what to do.

4. On my hand, the "health line" is faint. I must continue to exercise and be very careful of my health because there may be problems in the future.

5. On my hand, the "business line" is "not existing". (Hahahaha! Matt and I both laughed at that one.)

6. I should not lend money to friends because I will not get it back.

7. The shape and size of my chin means that when I am old, I will have enough food and money. (Oh good! I actually worry about that alot.)

8. My palm says that I waste money so I need to think about not buying things I don't need.

9. My upper lip shows that I have stomach and digestive health issues so I should do 20 sit ups every night before bed. (Hmmm....maybe he just thought my stomach was fat?)

Very interesting! I was going to take his advice about the sit ups, but now I feel tired...I will definitely go and get my eyebrows done though!





Aaaahhh...beautiful Hong Kong...The pictures in this blog post are ones that Matt and I took today on the ferry back from Lantau. Beautiful Hong Kong, O how I will miss you!

Cinco de Mayo

Last night we celebrated Cinco de Mayo at Tori and Patrick's house. Tori is my beatiful, fun, perfect hostess/perfect house/perfect career friend....very inspiring! Anyway, she outdid herself again, and made the most delicious spread of Mexican-style appetizers: seven layer dip, guacamole, and some sort of cheesy dip. So yummy! And, her margaritas were out of this world. I drink less and less with each passing day, but some how at Tori's magic house, I always end up drunk (okay, I am exagerating...but I have only been there twice, and those are the only times I have been drunk in the past 2 years)without any warning or knowledge of how I came to be that way. Actually, that is not true...I know how I got that way, it was the yummy, not-to-sweet/not-to-strong margarita she put in my hand when I walked in. It didn't even take me a full margarita...I drank a quarter of the glass and was already well on my way to being sloppy drunk. It is sort of sad in a way, cause that is not very much alcohol.


It was an amazingly fun night...Kelly, Tori and I went into Tori's bedroom because Tori had some old clothes that didn''t fit her anymore but are basically brand new, and they fit me perfectly...We were in the bedroom a really long time marveling at her wardrobe and talking about what clothes I would need for Boston. Apparently I need khakis, boots, turtlenecks and a trench coat. Oh, and lots of seersucker. I can check off the khakis cause Tori gave me hers. I think the clothing style in New England is cute for other people, but frankly, I don't think it is really my style. I guess I will see when I get there. I am not sure if I will ever get into the seersucker!


When we came out of the bedroom, everyone had caught up with my margarita drinking and were dancing around the living room. There was lots of air guitar playing and singing going on...

I am sad to leave my friends in Hong Kong!

PS. Happy birthday to Matt's sister, Ana!
PPS. Now I remember why I don't like drinking...I feel sick and gross this morning. My head hurts! I think I will go to yoga, that should help.

Fiona's Baby Shower

Fiona opening one of her many gifts!


Last night Kelly and I hosted a baby shower for our friend Fiona. Well, I guess "hosted" is sort of a strong word for what we did...basically, we sent out the evite and brought the food and some baby shower games over to Fiona's house. Despite the fact that Kelly and I don't have kids and aren't really baby shower experts, I think it turned out great! Most of the people there were British anyway, and apparently in England they don't have baby showers. So, they hadn't been to a baby shower before and so they couldn't compare it to anything else. We had a ton of food...but that was good cause there were lots of pregnant, hungry ladies there. We played the game where everyone guessed how many times a roll of toilet paper would wrap around Fiona's stomach, and also had some Fiona trivia questions to keep the gift opening interesting.

I guess that in England and Australia they have a tradition called "wetting the baby's head". When a baby is born, the father will go out and drink all night with his buddies. Hmmm...I hope wetting the baby's head never catches on in the US. Matt will definitely not be wetting my baby's head. (I hope...)


I have been totally baby crazy lately...I probably shouldn't admit this out loud, and I am sure it is only because all of a sudden it seems like I know a lot of people who are having babies. But...with every passing month I want a baby more and more. I even had a dream where I had a baby, but Matt was at work I was worried that the baby was going to be cold and for some reason I needed his help. So, my solution was to put the baby in an envelope and keep it in my coat pocket. Hmmm....maybe that dream is telling me to wait 5 years so I can learn not to put a baby in an envelope! No, actually, it is Matt telling me to shut up about babies...I am only 25 after all.


My other beautiful pregnant friends, Jean and Julia!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

For Matt's 28th birthday, we had a small, casual dinner at Pasha. It was very different from Matt's birthday last year, but it was a lot more fun. Last year was good, but this year it was more relaxed, and with a smaller group we could actually talk to everyone!

The restaurant, Pasha, served Xinjiang cuisine. It was delicious, but I am slightly worried for when Matt and I head off to Urumqi in a few weeks. I think all they eat there is big hunks of greasy meat! Matt will be happy, but there is only so much lamb and beef I can eat before I get really sick of it. The good thing is, Xinjiang bread is so yummy...they cook it in a big oven, and it is soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, with sesame seeds on top. So good! When I was in Beijing, I was addicted to the bread they served at the Xinjiang restuarant on campus. Also, the Xinjiang province is famous for its vanilla ice cream. Sounds good to me! Plus, that is where a lot of the fruit is grown that is sold in the rest of China.


We had cheesecake for dessert, and they even gave Matt a birthday fez that we got to bring home.

Dragon's Back

This weekend Matt and I decided to hike the Dragon's Back. Dragon's Back is an easy, one hour hike that it seems like everyone in Honbg Kong has done a million times, except us. We have been hiking quite a bit here, but never the Dragon's Back! It was nice to get out a little, but it was SO humid, and I was sweating like a beast. Also, there were a ton of people on the trail. I miss hiking in the Sierras, where you might not see another person the whole day! All the expats rave about how hiking in Hong Kong is so great, but I feel like they haven't seen really beautiful, stunning, pristine wilderness. I guess that is the point though, hiking areas in Hong Kong are accessible to everyone, and it is not a long trek to get to a good hiking spot.

The views were great and we ended up in Shek O, which was lucky cause we ended up booking a really cute barbecue spot on the beach for our going away party.

Six Years!

Yesterday was Matt's and my 6 year anniversary. It is unbelievable, it has gone by so fast! The weather was not that great, so we decided it was a good day to take the ferry over to Lamma Island to play some Scrabble at the Bookworm Cafe. It was a lot of fun. Matt beat me....that makes twice in a row! I can't believe it! My mental agility has definitely decreased over the last couple of years. I used to trounce him without even trying. I blame it on the multiple sclerosis! (Or maybe my brain has turned to applesauce after leading a life of leisure in Hong Kong for the past two years...)

We decided to be completely lazy all day, so we ordered pizza at home instead of going out to dinner to celebrate. We watched the end of Six Feet Under. I was crying so hard when they showed Nate's funeral. Somehow it reminded me of my Dad dying...maybe cause he was a forty-ish year old man that died suddenly and unexpectedly and left a daughter behing? Not sure. Anyway, I was crying, and ended up saying, "Matt, you had better not die until after I do. I could't handle it." Very morbid for an anniversary night, don't you think?

Aside from that, it was a great day. I like relaxing...Hong Kong seems so stressful after being on my yoga retreat! I am lucky to have such a great boyfriend...it isn't every man that would agree to go to an organic, vegetarian cafe on a random island to play Scrabble.

A Few More Photos from Thailand

We spent a lot of time on the beach, but I was a good girl and wore tons of sunscreen and a hat!



Meagan at Yoga Thailand



Meagan Relaxing in the Bungalow

Our Teacher

Since Kelly and I were beginners, we were lucky enough to basically have our own teacher. Neil was awesome! I am so happy that he was our teacher, because sometimes Ashtanga teachers and practitioners are very achievement-oriented. That is my one big gripe with ashtanga yoga...I feel that yoga is one thing in my life which should most definitely NOT be achievement-oriented.

Neil helped us alot in our postures, but was also very open to answeting any questions we had about yoga. He has lead an interesting life. He has travelled all over India and had a yoga studio in Beijing before moving to Thailand. We were sad to leave him!

We had Thai massages every day. They are so cheap that it is affordable! Yoga Thailand has an open air, covered platform like thing that they use for the massages. It was great because you could hear and see the ocean during the massage. I definitely needed the massages and the steam room, because I was unbelievabley sore the first few days there. My hamstrings and my upperback were so stiff! I think the massage ladies got a kick out of us, cause we both were screaming when they massaged our hamstrings. I think they pressed harder to make us scream, cause they were cackling away the whole time!

Thai Cooking Class

The only time we left Yoga Thailand was to go to a cooking class in Chaweng. It was excellent, and very professional. We all made our meals from scratch by our selves, and got our own individual wok, mortar and pestel and cutting board. The food was great, but you need quite a lot of spices and I am not sure if I am patient enough to make food like that on a regular basis. One of the best parts was that the teacher explained all the ingredients to us, as well as what substitutes we could use in our own countries. We ended up making WAY too much food though!

The Food at Yoga Thailand

The food at yoga Thailand was SO DELICIOUS! I bought the cookbook, so hopefully some day when I have a kitchen I can make a few recipes. Everything was vegetarian and organic, and it was so delicious. Even Kelly loved it, and she is a junk food addict. It's always nice to have someone else thinking of balanced meals and then making them for you at regular intervals, with out you having to think about it. It really keeps you on an even keel emotionally. Healthy food makes a difference! Plus, it is nice to eat as a group. I hate eating alone. I will be happy when I have a family some day and we can all eat together.



The Buffet Line



Some Yogis Eating Lunch

Yoga Thailand

Kelly and I spent all of last weekend at yoga retreat in Thailand. It was amazing! I have never felt so relaxed in my adult life! I have to admit, I was slightly nervous before we left...the web site said you needed to bring everything yourself, even towels and shamboo and herbal tea. Plus, I didn't know was sort of crazy, hard core yoga people would be there...also, I hadn't done Ashtanga yoga for a long time and it is quite rigorous!

I shouldn't have worried, cause it ended up being the most amazing trip...Kelly and I never ran out of things to talk about (amazingly)and we met lots of cool people. We were new to Ashtanga, at least compared to the other people there, so we basically had a private teacher. I definitely learned alot while I was there.

I think one of the reasons I felt so healthy and relaxed is because of the schedule we followed there. We were up by 7:30 for meditation (which involved sitting silently in a room for 15 minutes) then did yoga till 9:30. After that it was breakfast, which we ate communally, then Kelly and I would head to the beach. After the beach we headed back to the shala for a communal lunch, then back to the beach. We had a Thai massage every afternoon and a quick trip to the sauna, then a shower and dinner with everyone. After dinner we would watch movies about various aspects of yoga, then we would have another meditation time. We exhausted and asleep by 9 pm every night! It was a nice schedule also because we never had to make any decisions all day....that can be stressful, even on vacation!

End of Semester Celebration Dinner

My Chinese class is over! I am actually really sad....I know, I know, I complained endlessly about how long the commute was and how boring it was to sit in class for hours every day. I am really happy that I don't have to commute every day anymore, but I am sad because my class was filled with really good people! They are all so nice, I think we really bonded. We definitely bonded much more than my class in Beijing did.

To celebrate, we went to a dumpling restaurant in Hung Hom. It was in an area called Whampoa Gardens, which is a really huge housing/shopping/entertainment area. I had never been there before. It is amazing, I feel like there is still more to explore in Hong Kong...too bad I am leaving now! The dinner was good, at a place called Din Tai Fung. They had dumplings of every type, but they were sort of a Cantonese-style take on dumplings. Most dumplings I have had have been Beijing style. The outer wrapping of the dumpling was thinner and more dry, and all the food was less oily than it would be if it were Northern style. I definitely want to bring Matt to the restaurant, it was good and cheap!

One nice thing about my class is that it was very international. (This was also a bad thing, because Korean and Japanese students learn characters at a much quicker rate than Westerners.) I learned so much about Korea and Japan and the lifestyles there...very interesting!


I am going to miss Kelly so much when I move...we spend every day together, and text message eachother all day if we are not together...It is sort of like in elementary school when you have a friend that you are "attached at the hip" with. I think that is pretty rare for an adult friendship, but I guess in Hong Kong we have a lot of time on our hands!

The Last Book Club!

Last week we had our last book club! It was officially disbanded because the main organizer, Fiona, is about to have a baby and no one else volunteered to pick up the slack. It is probably for the best...half the people in the book club didn't even like to read, and they never read any of the books. They just showed up for the food! I have to admit though, I didn't read the book for this month...I was too busy with finals and preparing to move from Hong Kong.

Only a few people showed up for the last book club meeting, but it was a lot of fun. It was at Kelly's house and she made fajitas and brownies, it was delicious! I am starting to get really sad about leaving Hong Kong. I have met a lot of nice people here!

I lost it all!

Well...my upbeat, positive attitude of yesterday morning didn't last very long. When I was writing my blog, I realized that all of Dad's pictures weren't on my computer. (The one I had posted was in a separate folder from the other pictures.) Not only are his pictures not there, but also none of the pictures that Matt and I had taken the whole previous year. When my computer crashed this December, Matt had taken it down to a data recovery place, and then put the recovered data back onto my computer. He told me to check to see if everything was there, and I thought I did...but I guess I just saw that some of the pictures were there, but not all of them. I had alot of pictures on the desktop for some reason. Maybe I just saw those and assumed all of the pictures were there? I don't know. It is my fault, I should have done thorough check. I am devastated, more so about Dad's pictures than mine. I still have like 75 years to travel and take more pictures, but he is dead! So, that set me off on a crying episode and I was very sad all day, as realized anopther part of Dad had slipped away. Matt was great though, I am so glad to have him in my life. We went and played scrabble all day and he let me pick a restuarant that I always want to go to and he doesn't: The Bookworm on Lamma Island, which serves only whole grain, organic vegetarian food. They are so creative though, that is why I love to go there! The serve such interesting food.

Anyway, on a more positive note...I found I was accepted back into Tufts, so looks like Matt and I will be heading to Boston this Fall. Expect to see us back in the US permanently!

Another year gone by....

As of today, it has been exactly 2 years since Dad died. It is crazy to think how different my life was just two years ago! I was a happy, blissful child then...But I definitely feel better about it than I did last year at this time. Matt is still asleep, but I don't think he has to worry about me throwing a knife at him this year!

So what do I have planned for today? Well, it is the Ching Ming Festival today, which is a public holiday in Hong Kong. Chinese people usually honor their dead realitves on this holiday by sweeping their gravestones and burning paper money. Dad doesn't have a gravestone, but I think I will walk over to the same place I did last year to burn some colored papers. I know it isn't a tradition in my culture, but it just seems like a nice way to mark the day.

Even though it has been two years, I actually still think about Dad all the time. He had such a huge influence on my life, so even here in Hong Kong where there isn't as much to remind me of him, I think about him all the time. I also have been thinkng about him because I have been gathering and preparing the paperwork to do the final taxes of his estate. I will be SO GLAD when that is over! It won't be till this summer though, cause I have to meet with my tax advisor when I go home in June. This process is neverending!

Windows of the World

After the night of karaoke and Liar's Dice, Matt and I spent the night in the hotel and then went to Windows of the World in Shenzhen. It is an amusement park that lets people "tour the world in a single day"...this is good, cause it is hard for Chinese people to ever leave China...Haha! It was actually pretty fun. There were rollercoasters and other rides, but every time I got on a roller coaster I was like, "Oh my god! I am on a roller coaster in China! Oh no, hope it doesn't crash!" They also had an indoor ski slope with real snow. I am not kidding! Matt and I are going to do it next time.

After the amusement park we went and had dinner. I had such a great time speaking Mandarin! I feel like I can really communicate now...Matt said it was like being with his coworkers who speak Chinese, he didn't have to think about anything! We also went to get massages at the Carnival Club and then headed home. Now I am so excited for when Matt and I travel in China. We are going to the Xinjiang Province, and it should be amazing...

Hookers and Whiskey

This weekend Matt and I went to China to have dinner with the owner's and employees of a factory that Matt works with. It was a great opportunity for me to practice my Mandarin! If you ever want an ego boost, go to China...all they tell you there is how beautiful you are, how clever you are and how amazing it is that you can speak Mandarin so well. (I DON'T speak mandarin very well, but I think Chinese people are so shocked to see a white girl speaking Chinese that they think anything you say is brilliant.)

The dinner was delicious: standard Guangdong style food with lots of veggies and seafood. Delicious! After dinner we all went up to a room in the hotel to play Liar's Dice and do karaoke. When we got in there, the servers brought in a whole bunch of pitchers of whiskey (to be mixed with water...eewww!!)and plates of snack food. Then....the girls came in. A whole line of girls dressed like hookers came in and stood at the front of the room, with badges around their neck that had their number on them. All of Matt's coworkers were men, except for two women. All the men sat there and looked at the girls and picked ones from the line that they wanted. I thought the embarrassing, degrading situation was over, but then they brought out another string of girls. More of them were picked, and then another string of girls was brought in. It seemed to never end! Some of the girls were
blocking the TV that the Karaoke was on, and the men yelled for the girls to move...which seemed even worse, cause it was like the girls were SO inconsequential that they were less important than the karaoke which no one was even singing. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, a girl was in the way of where I had been sitting with Matt...a factory worker literally pushed the girl out of my way! I felt very sad, the girls were treated like dirt.

Matt was completely used to a nd comfortable with the whole process...usually he gets a girl, which I think is yucky. He said he tried not to get the girl at first, but it was so awkward with the rest of the men that he decided he should just get one. Hmmm...then he said it was no big deal because they are just there to play Liar's Dice and sing karaoke if the men get bored. This may be true, BUT there is still the fact that the girls will have sex with you if you pay them money at the end. I was playing Liar's Dice, and the girls were really good. It was my first time so I was bad. Plus, I was wearing jeans and a t shirt, and they were dressed in tight, sparkly outfits. They were overly nice (of course) to the men, pouring their drinks, laughing at their jokes, leaning on them, cuddling with them. The whole thing was so intimate...like having a girlfriend that is your servant and who thinks that everything you say in brilliant. On girl kept picking up Matt's dice cause he was drunk and kept dropping the dice. I was like, "Don't do that. He is a drunk ass, he can pick up his own stupid dice." It is a dangerous situation: really drunk men, girls that are dressed in very revealing clothes that are really nice to you and yet desperate. The men would like, kiss the girls on the cheeks and keep their hands on their thighs. Yuck! Not that I think Matt would ever do anything...but damn, how easy can they make it?

I found myself in love with the two men that refused to get girls. This is not to say the whole night was awkward, it was fun actually, and Matt's female coworkers had no problems with it, they were high fiving the girls when they did good in the game. For some reason, this sort of "entertainment" seems a lot worse than men going to a strip club. That seems like more of a performance, less hands on. This was like girls being yor girlfriend for a night. That is a LOT WORSE! Matt said no one usually takes the girls home or to their hotel room, but frankly I don't believe that at all. We saw one of Matt's coworkers the day later and he said that after we left, the atmosphere changed alot and they brought in more girls, so he left. I was like, alright, what about the two female coworkers? They didn't seem to care, but I think they just don't know anything different.

I am all for cultural sensitivity, but there is a line, right? Just cause you know that it is a cultural norm for people to do a certain thing doesn't mean that you have to like it. BUT, that being said, we all saw Memoirs of a Geisha...it didn't bother me so much in that movie. Anyway, enough of me ranting...

Matt told me a long time ago, out of the blue, that he felt bad for expat women here because the expat men are so sleazy. Kelly's husband told her the same thing. Thank God I trust Matt so much.