My first experience of traveling was back in ‘94, when Auntie Lulu and Uncle Rob were about to be married. The wedding was gonna be in San Francisco, and I was to be their flower girl.
Before heading off to Sanfo, we stopped over Japan first. We stayed overnight at the Hotel Nikko Narita. I remember waiting for the shuttle that was gonna take us to the hotel. It was pretty cold that night, but we didn’t mind so much because we were having a blast chatting each other up, and at the same time, watching the cold smoky air coming out of our mouths every time we dared to breathe. Having been confined within the hotel grounds, my memories of Japan basically consists of the sausages and eggs that they served for breakfast, the closed arcade on the second floor, the carps swimming lazily around a pond (oblivious of their stench) and the strolls I took with my mom, Auntie Char, my sister and my cousin Francis. Oh, and the complimentary hotel postcards and stationaries. Haha Regardless of the fact that these were my only experiences of Japan, I’ve always felt like I’ve grown to love the place, precisely because the only memories I had left there with me were happy ones. The thing about traveling is you have to have people to share it with, because they make it so much more memorable and meaningful for you.
When we got to San Francisco, I remember after resting for a bit we went directly to the church for the wedding rehearsal, then had dinner with Uncle Rob’s family at a chinese restaurant. It amazes me how I can still remember the details, but I just do. The day of the wedding I felt like a princess while I was wearing this long-sleeved white dress designed by my uncle’s friend, Badong. One of the things that I probably won’t forget ’bout the wedding was Auntie Char’s kinda-afro hairstyle, and how I fixed Auntie Lulu’s train while we were all up on the altar.
After the wedding, we all got to tour Sanfo. I fell in love with everything about San Francisco, and even up to now I still haven’t gotten over my love affair with the city. I think I never will. Every time I find myself back in San Francisco, I still feel as if I’m seeing everything for the first time, and I keep falling in love over and over and over again.
My favorite part of the city was the Fisherman’s Wharf (Pier 39). I remember going into this store that was basically filled with buckets and buckets of candies of all sorts, and I felt like I had gone to candy heaven. I remember the gum ball machines that my cousins, my sister and I loved so much, and the Popsicles that mommy kept buying for us during our trips to Safeway! I remember all sorts of things when I think of my first trip to Sanfo, but I’ll probably end up writing the whole night.
Waiting in line for the cable car
One of the best parts of that first trip to the States was when we went on that road trip to LA! You probably would’ve guessed by now why that was so. When you’re a kid, nothing beats a trip to Disney! And Universal Studios, of course. I remember I was so excited when I met Aladdin and Jasmine. I actually thought they were the real deal. Haha. I was in second grade for crying out loud. There was this funny thing that happened to me in Universal though. We were waiting in line for one of those trains I think, and one of my titas or my cousins said “Si mommy o!” and I got so excited because all the while I thought mommy was supposed to be in Sanfo, so I kept asking where mommy was. Then all of a sudden this mUmmy mascot came into the picture, and I was so scared I started crying and refused to have my picture taken with him.
I can go on and on about Disney and Universal, but I won’t. But this I have to say, I’d give anything to go back to my naivety during those trips to Disney, when everything used to be just all about cartoons and candies and having fun. Life was just so much more simpler back then.
“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves,
and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.”
The Little Prince
mina
