Something meant to be shared 真水无香

A quick thought on difference between Italians and Germans

             After spending some time with bunch of presentable locals, I started to see some patterns how the Italian and Germans classify themselves, interesting:

             Italians like to differentiate people of their own kind by area, like where they come from, which city do they live..etc..for instances, you come for Turin, she is Milano, he is definitely a Roman..etc etc… if you say you are coming from one place, immediately people would quickly associate you with a set of characters that has been shared in that place.

            Whereas, Germans like to differentiate people by statues, very similar to Asians, it is like which company you are working for, how much you make, what’ your position in the company, what car are you driving, which area do you live…

             From these simple patterns, you can see the differences in attitudes. Living in Germany can be very competitive, just like people live in Asia. Italians are not so much about the stereotyping, but define themselves with strong roots and heritage. When I shared this to my friends there, they couldn’t agree more!

David, you surprised me the most! In my memory, you are not just good looking and intelligent, but very arrogant! After 4 years, I have to say, you are more…man! You were so sweet and kind, you were protective and dominate in a very thoughtful way, you always tried to be like a big brother, though you are only few months older than me..hehe.. I enjoyed it! You took the initiative to plan my days in Germany; you helped me to deal with all the transport issues; you took me out for dinner, brunch and introduced your friends and families to me ; you were patient, helpful and funny! You delighted my days in Berlin.. I feel so blessed I was part of your life for that few days…and I have to tell you that I enjoyed been teased by you, as always..hehe :p I am so happy for your almost perfect life.

Kerstin, you are an amazing person. You are beautiful inside and out. Thank you  for all the unconditional support and understanding! You use your intuition to communicate with me thoroughly. You see the good in people and believed in it. Your love for your family are pure, sincere and profound. And yet, you are so young! I enjoyed your company so much; you made me feel like living with you unemployed …haha! Let’s make a deal, I wil teach Pharell Chinese, together with some skills of dealing with women he might face in his near future, so that I can stay forever with you guys Deal?

Pharell, you gonna be a ‘heart breaker’! And of course, you will be extremely intelligent! I can see that from this pair of curious eyes!

Friedrich, you haven’t changed at all! You are not spoiled as a royal; your ‘down  to earth’ natural character warmed up peolpe surround you easily. And you are always truthful and thoughtful to your friends! It’s a shame that we didn’t really catch up this time, and I understand you have to juggle so many things during your short weekend break. I really appreciated you took half day off to have brunch with me when you are so busy at work. And thank you for the wonderful dinner party you organized for me… I am so touched…

Dana, you are a such sweetheart! Thank you for been there for me, thank you for your understanding as always… thank you for the great time we had together, and I am sure we gonna have this more in the near future!

Christian, I hope I didn’t scare you with my emotions and tears that night. I felt so much better after crying on your shoulder… Keep it up, and invite more ring tones just as good as the ‘Crazy Flog’!

Mathias, you are a very smart guy, I am sure. Though sometime I don’t really agree with your certain attitudes, I enjoyed your company and conversations. Thank you for showing me around the city and the happening clubs. The night was the result of the sparkle between us, I enjoyed it, no doubt. Thank you for been a such gentleman.

Ise, I really liked you, you are smart and down to earth. As a royal, you and Friedrich made a perfect couple! Sorry to making things a little complicated and awkward for you … It was not my intention… Listen to me dear, if you think you can do better, and then you can do better than these two choices you have at moment, trust me.

Last but not the least, Sandro, it’s good to see you. You made my trip completed and you made our ending ‘almost perfect’. Thank you for you honesty, I truly appreciated it. Thank you for all the beautiful memories, thank you for light up my life, and thank you for giving me faith in love, still.

It’s definitely good to have good friends around the world, it’s even better if we can get in touch at certain point of our lives. David and Kerstin are planning to live in KL in 3 years time; Dana and I are planning some kinda girls trip soon, Friedrich is coming to Singapore for his 2^nd Master in few months time; Mathias is travel through Asia end of this year; Sandro, I don’t know why I have this picture of you and me run into each other on a street, and look into each other’s eyes…smile.  

Dana, my honey gal, she picked me up from Leipzid train station. At that time, she still couldn’t believe I was visiting her in Leipzid, either am I. We hugged for a long long time…

She reminded me so much of what I’ve been through in the past few months, and I tired not let my emotions affecting the time I am spending with her. We really appreciated each others company.

Walking through the city sights, sitting in a cozy café and having a late brunch, checking out the cute guys who are passing by us, little gals’ talk, drinking a nice cocktail by the bar and teasing the cute bar tenders, bump into a bachelor party, club hopping…… all of this nice crazy things we did in Leipzid reminded us of the time we spent in KL……

Two days together, lots of laughs, , lots of gossips, lots of joys..and some tears ….We hugged a long long time before I left, we promised each other no tears this time, because we will see each other again.

This reunite made me realized that Dana did love me, she loves me for bring her true self out, she loves me for encouraging her to discover her potentials, she loves me for helping her to love herself. 

When I was in Germany, I was not so ‘tourist like’ compare to when I was in Italy, this probably because there were few good friends taking turns to show me around…

            Friedrich was on a project in another city, but he gave me his flat keys and left a very thoughtful note saying for me to feel at home, and that he would be back on Friday. Meanwhile, he told his flatmates – Mathias and Bjorn to take care of me. The flat really did feel like home, and I even discovered a photo hanging on the wall with me and Friedrich, David and some friends celebrating my 22^nd birthday in Flam Bangsar 4 years ago…it felt good when I found myself in someone’s memory…

            I was brought to a local festival in a beer garden by David on the 1^st night in Berlin, and there, I had my German sausage and beer. Met Kerstin (David’s wife), Pharell (David’ 4 months old son) and some of their friends – really nice and interesting people! One guy, his name is Christian, and you know what! - He and his team actually invented the famously annoying ‘Crazy Flog’!

            David is working for Mercedes’-Benz, and one of his former colleagues had just opened a restaurant, and all of us were invited to food testing party on the 2^nd night. It was a fancy restaurant in the heart of Berlin, and I had taste of southern German traditional food.

            After showing me around the city by his cabriolet Audi A4, Mathias (Friedrich’s flat mate) brought me to a very trendy bar on the top floor of an old German building that over looks the city. We ordered some green-minty cocktail which insisted that’s invited by a local bartender.

            Friedrich came back. He picked up me and his girlfriend - Ise, and went oostraight away to a house party. Party was dull, so we moved to one of the clubs in town… I have to say… it was a little strange for me – the music, the crowd, the attitudes…but it’s all good, just another clubbing experiences! 

            Friedrich hosted a dinner party for me, he invited David, Kerstin, Ise and another couple. The story was, Friedrich haunted a deer a week ago! And he is cooking it for the dinner party for us! The dinner was fantastic, good catch up, good conversations, good food, good wine and good companies – and they were charmed by me, haha!

Had enough of Fabio, it’s time to move on to

Germany

and let my friends boost up my energy a little!

Berlin

is kinda chilling compare to

Italy

, I like it, and it feels refreshing. David and I were supposed to meet up in the Central Train Station at

6pm

. Since it was still early, I decided to buy a ticket to

Leipzig

for Sunday since I was already in the train station. So, I walked to the ticket centre, and when I was about to enter the room, there was this good professional-looking guy walking out from the room. For the first glance, I was checking the guy out. But, when we had an eye contact:

“Isabel?!”

“David” I was so excited!

(I met David and Friedrich 4 years ago in KL, they visited me in

China

during CNY and stayed with my family for a week…)

“Ah, Isabel!” he had this big smile on his face (I remembered, he don’t really smile that often to keep cool, hehe)

“Hey David!!” I am sure I have that big smile on my face too!

“It’s good to see you, and we still can recognize each quickly after 4 years!”

“I know~! Oh David, it’s so good to see you” we hugged.

He had left work early that evening, and tried to leave me a message at the information counter when we bumped into each other.

While driving me in his Smart Sports Car to Friedrich’s flat, I found out that my days in

Berlin

had been planned out by him and Friedrich fully, and it made me feel so good. I felt so pampered… it’s so good to have friends in a straight city…!

          What are the differences between Self-awareness and Self-consciousness?

          Can a person have a high Self-confidence while having a low sense of Self-worth?

          What are my ethical standards?

I heard lots people telling me that this Europe trip will help me to open up my eyes. I was just wondering if I was going to India or Pakistan, would people say the same thing; I bet they wouldn’t. So, why only Europe, why not some places that are poorer or less developed? Can they be an eye opener??

From what I know, everyone in Europe wants to come to Asia for some eye-opening experiences. Not to mention my friends in Europe and people I’ve talked to along my trip - for Sandro and Dana, and lots of exchange students, I am sure it was a great eye opening experience for them to live and travel through Asia. For the English guys we met in Bangkok, it was their first time in Asia, and the same goes for them – an absolute eye opener.

Have I enriched my experiences and knowledge of local cultures from my Europe trip. Yes, sure.

Have I widened my eyes?

As I believe, it doesn’t matter where you live, where you have been to, an open eye only comes along with an open mind. If you go somewhere expecting your eyes to be opened, you are going with a closed mind.

……

Last night I went out with this New Yorker boy, Matt who lived in the same house with me, for some drinks. Of course, we got lost, and of course, there were some wonderful surprises waiting for us - we found this trendy little cool bar at a quiet corner in an alley.

We walked in, and it was cool, cool music, cool crowd. At corner of my eye I saw someone was looking at me, so I turned around, it was this guy standing behind the bar, “Oh my God, he is so cute!”. My heart slipped a beat the moment we had an eye contact. And that very moment, I knew tonight it’s gonna be interesting.

Matt and I started to chat with a sweet gay guy by the bar, very quickly, we settled ourselves down in this cheeky-chic place.  

Everyone in the bar thought I was with Matt, including him. He was very busy behind the bar. If he got a little free time in between, he will walk to outside for a cigarette. Every time when he passed by me, I could smelt his after shave. He is the type of man I like.

The night was getting late; I was high and feeling good. Music was getting louder, I started to move my body with the music a little, and every man in the bar was looking at me, smiling at me…but not him. He seemed very much concentrated on his work.

I went to the washroom; he came in after me… …

“Ciao”

“Ciao”…I felt the chemistry, I felt intention, I felt hot….

The next thing I knew, we were kissing passionately.

            ……

…… “Should I go back to say goodbye?” Looking at the card with a map on it which he gave to me last night,  I try to make up my mind … I like him… very much, I still remember the way he kissed me, the way he held me…

…… “I should probably say goodbye, at least… but then what? I am gonna leave here anyway…probably it’s better just keep the good feelings in the memories…”

            I haven’t got his name yet.

My first impression of Venice – the world’s most beautiful guys are gathered on this small island, I was thrilled. They are hot! Fit tanned bodies, sharp Roman features, dark hair, dark eyes, and charming smiles – simply beautiful!

My day to Venice started horribly. First I spilled a whole cup of coffee on my shirt and white pants when I was on the train, then I found out the hotel I booked online wasn’t even in Venice ! It was two stops from Venice island, so I decided to give up the booking and find a place to stay on the main island instead. It wasted my time and money, and I took a big risk of being unable to find a place to stay, since it was a peak season. Took a wrong water bus again…This is not awful enough, my period just decided to visit me so that my white pants would have more colors – absolutely fantastic, haha!

I wasn’t upset at all. I took it as a ride - doesn’t matter where it ends up, I know I will be fine. Checked out a few places and everywhere seemed full. But I loved the locals, they are so helpful. Finally, after walking almost half of the island, I was guided to the ‘world’s most beautiful book shop’ (its actual name), where the locals told me that the owner might have rooms for B & B (bed and breakfast). My luck just turned for the better, I not only found myself a big beautiful house at an unbelievable price, but also living with a bunch of interesting people!

I settled down in this big typical Venetian house, it was just the right time to see the gorgeous island at sunset. One thing about Venice is, you will get lost, with or without a map. All the alleys, rivers, shops, bridges and houses are all the same to me, I was lost and it was wonderful. I discovered lots of cool shops, one of them selling homemade wine at only 2 Euro for 1L bottle! I was thinking that I could shower myself with a few bottles of Merlot!

Floating city is not the only uniqueness of Venice, it is also famous for its masks and colorful handmade glass. I fancy masks more; it gives the island a touch of mystery.

I loved Venice, I loved the energy of the city, I loved the people, they are more ‘open’ compared to the rest of Italians. I loved the peacefulness of the town; I loved the pace of city that’s slowly moving with grace.

If getting lost is inevitable, I’d love to get lost in Venice forever.

To be continued…  

When we were driving back to Alessandria from the seaside, there was this amazing scene after we drove through the mountains – one side, there was this breath-taking sunset with clouds painted in orange and pink, and on the other side, there was a heavy rainstorm from far. Miraculously, this awesome strange phenomenon created three rainbows from three different dimensions. This is one of the moments that you truly feel the existents of the person sitting next to you. I was really surprised with what Fabio was about to say:

…

“Let’s get married.”

“What?!” I laughed.

…

“Let’s get married, Isabel.”

“Excuse me.” I said. I looked at him, trying to search for some clues that he is joking. He is not.

…

Apart from a passionate goodnight kiss about almost five years ago, there was nothing more between us.

…

He continued, “I know I am not your type, you told me this before, but……”

A phone call has interrupted us.

….

After he finished the phone call, we both went quiet. Half of me curious about what he was going to say and another half just want to keep thing the way it is. The fact is, I know he won’t be able to make my life better, neither I am. I’d rather leave some spaces to our imagination for the rest of our lives.