Welcome to the Eat, Shop, Play, Love blog. This is a writing experiment that aims to lend a voice to the millions of Asians around the world who have left their native countries to live their lives in a different place, for whatever the reasons may be. Read the authors' profiles here.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Featured in Cacao Mag: Eat.Shop.Play.Love on the Subway



This month, Cacao Mag, a creative art magazine based in Sweden and Taiwan, published a brief feature by Una Ragazza about eating, shopping, playing and loving on the New York subway. Leave your metro card at home; have a ride on us.


The Times Square gateway to the underground rat kingdom

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In 2010, inspired by a certain Julie who set out to cook everything in a cookbook, and a certain Liz who ate, prayed and loved her way across the globe, a Singaporean girl decided it was time to put on paper -- or in bytes -- the adventures that life was bestowing upon her. Roping in friends with a passion for the written word, she launched eat.shop.play.love as a writing experiment to lend a voice to the millions of Asians around the world who have left their native countries to live their lives in a different place, for whatever the reasons may be.

Having lived in six countries across three continents, she writes under the moniker “Una Ragazza” (meaning “a girl” in Italian) to pay homage to the first foreign country she lived in, and quickly fell in love with.

Here are excerpts from her musings on the New York subway.

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eat.shop.play.love on the Subway

To most people, the word “subway” brings to mind a fast-food chain with a slogan to “eat fresh” sandwiches.

An informal poll among friends showed the New York subway evokes strong emotions, with locals calling it “dirty,” “germy” and “rat-infested,” and tourists preferring “overwhelming,” “confusing” and claustrophobic.”

I’ve a love-hate relationship with the subway. While it’s affordable, convenient and fast, it also drips mysterious liquids, reeks of garbage and bodily fluids, and is filled with grouchy people.

Yet, like most New Yorkers, I can’t imagine life without it. In fact, with some hand sanitizer in tow, subterranean life can be colorful.



The denizens of the New York subway keep it humming

eat.

In Singapore, commuter trains are squeaky clean because eating carries a maximum fine of S$500.

Without a food ban on the New York subway, evidence of the crime is often strewn on trains, platforms or tracks.

Oh, and the smell. From the benign to the most intolerable, here’s a sampling: pretzel, hot dog, beef minestrone soup, grilled cheese sandwich, sour cream and onion Pringles, and chicken with broccoli.

Every now and then, an irate soul loses it. This spring, local media had a field day when two spaghetti-chomping girls got into a fight with a woman who said, “What kind of animals eat on the train like that?”

A ubiquitous post-September 11 subway slogan goes, “If you see something, say something.” One frustrated Brooklynite took it a step further. He created Trainpigs.com, featuring those caught with their mouths full.


Do not cross the train tracks because of the electric current. And the rats busy scurrying for leftovers!

shop.

Subway commuters are often greeted by teenagers selling candy to raise funds for a school program. Nobody blinks. Not so with a former gangster-turned-author. Last fall, I encountered a tall man in dreadlocks with a stack of 20 books under one arm, telling everyone we could read his life story for US$10. People started opening their wallets immediately. Never mind if his story’s real; start counting the profits bypassing Barnes and Noble.


Selling spray-paint art at the Union Square station

play.

If you’re ever stuck in the subway system and bored, you may have yourself to blame. Subway platforms are filled with buskers who work hard each year to entertain the 60-odd million tourists and locals. Performance quality is high; to play in a high-traffic subway location, street performers must first entertain the Metropolitan Transport Authority in the “Music Under New York” audition.

Even more fascinating is a secret art exhibition space that “opened” last summer. Housed in an unused and undiscovered subway station four stories below street level, the gallery features street art from worldwide artists who are secretly escorted into the space and given only one night to leave their mark.


Remy Francois, the underground subway king from Haiti, belts out a song


Broadway ads give a glimpse of what's above ground

love.

Can love be found on the subway? Apparently so. Every month, hundreds post messages on the “missed connections” page of Craigslist New York seeking the “jeans guy with salt-and-pepper hair” or the “girl with gray fingerless gloves.” Friends of mine have gone on dates after locating postings describing them.

Not me. My worst personal encounter happened on the Wall Street subway platform seven years ago. Two minutes into a largely one-sided conversation, the guy said cheerfully: “I’m an underwear model. This briefcase is full of briefs. Do you want to see them?”



Tom Otterness's little people witness every kiss and hug in "Life Underground"


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And so goes life on the busiest public transportation network in the Western hemisphere.

Game for a ride?


Getting on the subway at Times Square, the busiest station in the MTA system


The bilingual eat.shop.play.love feature in Cacao Magazine

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Friday, June 10, 2011

Featured on the asia mag: A tribute to Ah Gong

The asia mag, also known as asia!, today published a posting that first appeared on eat.shop.play.love.


Una Ragazza enjoying a family wedding with her favorite guy

asia! is an online and mobile channel to original and insightful content about Asia by Asians. Using material drawn mainly from Asian bloggers, the online publication aims to "give a feel for what ordinary Asians are thinking, saying and doing, a glimpse of the Asia that lies beyond the news headlines."

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Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Lady J on Love: Roller Coasters


As a tween, I've always loved taking roller-coaster rides. Probably because mom always imagined it to be the dangerous ride at the amusement park. But there's something exhilarating about these rides, screaming at the top of my lungs and feeling the winds rush through my hair. I loved the adrenaline rush and that's how I wanted my life to be: a roller-coaster ride, an adventure that surprises you at every corner.

Guess what? I sort of got my wish, for my life after my mid-twenties was exactly a roller-coaster ride. Never a dull moment since meeting my husband, J.

Three years into our courtship, J decided to pack his bags and leave for Tokyo where a new job offer awaited. Things were fine and dandy but I wasn't sure if I could survive the long-distance relationship. I wasn't going to sit around the house, mope around or better yet go all crazy wondering what he was doing in the Land of the Rising Sun. When he popped the question before his departure, I took the plunge and said YES. Mom thought I was crazy to accept the proposal. I guess she was just looking out for me, for fear that he would have a change of heart.

At Farm Tomita in Furano

Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, as cliché as it may sound, absence did indeed make the heart grow fonder. Dates were in the form of online video calls and daily email updates. I also relished our bi-annual holidays to Tokyo that were often peppered with side-travels around Japan with J.

With my classmates from the Japanese language school at the local Hanami (Fireworks) boat party

After a year or so, we finally tied the knot at the end of 2006 and the life as I knew it was packed into 20-odd boxes to be shipped to our new home in Tokyo. My life as an expat wife began. I never really had to cook or do household chores when I was living in Singapore, so I struggled with the laundry and started from scratch honing my paltry cooking skills.

Snowboarding in Niseko, Hokkaido during winter

Ten months later, J's company decided to relocate him back to Singapore and so, 100 boxes and furniture in one huge container accompanied us home. Did I enjoy my short stint as an expat wife in Japan? For sure! In between domestic chores, I roamed the streets freely, sat around in cafes on the busy streets of Ginza, Shibuya and Shinjuku and marveled at the fashion-forward Tokyoites. During winter, I practiced hard at our new-found hobby - snowboarding.

Fast-forward to 2011. A new job offer in Singapore with the opportunity of a temporary relocation to Geneva came knocking. We discussed at length whether he should take up the offer as life back home was on track. Did I want to stay in Singapore and do the long-distance thing? No, for the 14-hr traveling would just kill me.

Do we really want to rock the boat? Not really, as we had just moved into our new place, established a close circle of friends, and were spending most of our time with family and our superbly adorable fur-kid, Sparky, whom we love to bits.

But I knew it was one of J's dreams to work in Europe, and the relocation was going to be for about a year. As the supporting wife, I encouraged him to pursue this dream with me by his side. But what does this second relocation mean for us, or more specifically, me?

Another turn in the thrilling roller-coaster ride, I guess. It would be a good chance for me to take a break and reinvigorate our marriage with more time. I traded my corporate wardrobe filled with frilly dresses and high heels, and reprised my role as a "domestic princess." Well, if I am going to be stuck at home doing household chores and cooking, I might as well give myself a fancy title.

I embraced my new challenge and thought to myself that surely this time round it will be a piece of cake, having done the "expat wife" stint in Tokyo. But it ain't true. I forgot a little thing called "cultural difference" between Asia and Europe. Oh, and let's not forget about the standard of living in Geneva compared to that in Singapore or even Tokyo.

Jet d'Eau - one of Geneva's famous landmarks

According to the Global Cost of Living survey 2010/ 2011 conducted by Mercer, Geneva ranks fifth as the world's most expensive city for expatriates. Tokyo, on the other hand, is now ranked second. However, having lived in Tokyo previously, I felt that the standard of living in Geneva is somewhat compromised.

Yes, things aren't cheap in Tokyo. A decent meal at a random noodle shop would cost me at most 1000 yen (USD 12). But here in Geneva, a simple salad with a drink at a take-out can cost me CHF 19 (USD 22). A bus-ride to town would cost me about CHF 3 (USD 3.5).

I felt miserable at the loss of my financial freedom and having to tighten the purse-strings. The loneliness started to set in and roaming the shopping streets along Rive lost its appeal after a while. I busied myself with chores and spent most of my waking hours in front of my MacBook, but I craved for friendship.

I whined about how miserable my expat life has been. Friends hearing of my sorry plight cheered me up, cyber-friends and twit-peeps sent me virtual hugs, shared their experiences and encouraged me to go out there and find new hobbies.

So, I did. I changed gears and instead of wanting a fast ride, I decided to go on a cruising mode. I picked myself up, made a couple of new friends and kept myself busy with new cyber-projects.

Is this roller-coaster ride going to be smooth-sailing from now on? I hardly think so, as we're still trying to adjust to the ways of living here in Geneva. Singaporeans who have been living here for a while tell me in time to come, we will fall in love with this city. I'm still waiting for that day to come, but I guess as with all great love stories, mine can and will be nurtured.

Our love affair in this new city awaits

[Photo of roller-coaster sourced from the Internet]

Monday, June 6, 2011

Rojak Timeout: The Zoo in My 'Hood

Today's Rojak is by Una Ragazza, whose world continues to be surprised by the non-human species.


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Since my recent friendship with Maggie, my four-legged canine buddy in New York, my senses have been my acute toward the non-homosapiens that roam this earth, and more specifically, share the urban space that city dwellers occupy.

As if to read my mind, I was greeted this morning by a cheerful article on the homepage of the New York Times about the wonderful life of a 21st-century dog in America. According to the market research firm Packaged Facts, American pet "parents" spent a record US$55 billion on their pets in 2010, which is more than the GDP of Belarus, a country with about 10 million people.

Four-legged fine dining
(picture by Gary Bogdon for The New York Times)

Just when I thought the fascination for dogs must be out of this world, I learnt of a new "pet shop" that had opened its doors in my 'hood. A visit to the store revealed that it is really a mini urban zoo. Yes, dogs are the pets of choice in America. But little did I know that US households also own millions of birds, small animals and reptiles.

To the nice lady who, bless her heart, told a six-year-old me that problem-laden humans have no time and energy to take care of pets, I have this to say to her: "Mom, this place has been added to your itinerary for your visit to the city this Christmas."

As for the rest of you, brace yourself for a little visual treat of my corner zoo.

The signs say it all. Get ready for a colorful and noisy adventure

An animal enclosure not unlike those you'd see in a respectable zoo

Pacific Coast Blend... Pasta Ensalada... Nutmeats and Fruit Blend... What's your cockatoo in the mood for today?

African grey, Amazon, conure, eclectus, lori, canary, finch, lorikeet, macaw, parakeet, parrot, toucan... just a sampling of the types of birds with specialized bird food on sale

Woodblocks, feathers, whistles, balls, ropes, chains, keys, rings... who says bird play is boring?

The big boys get a big enclosure... the use of the word "cage" is banned here!

A curious conure comes close to check out my iPhone

Not your average ga-zuak: these 500-dollar water lizards were slithering around with vigor when their tank was approached

Fifteen minutes can save you 15 percent or more on... hey, it's my buddy Geico!

The hamster corner has adorably-packaged food to match the cute factor of its recipients

Over at the reptile corner, soft and comfortably dry moss awaits the next python, gecko and corn snake

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