January 5 2014,
Sunday
Wonton Noodles
I am now at the
food court of Naha Main Place, another shopping mall. The time given to us
is 2.5 hours. This is the third round of shopping scheduled. In this
trip, the total shopping time amounts to around 10 hours.
I have been to Japan several times but this time I feel differently. I am not
excited by the shops at all. I have not bought anything for myself. I must have
outgrown shopping spree! What I spent on were boxes of local cakes and tarts
and several bags of sea salt for colleagues, friends and relatives.
In recent years, my
shopping habits have become quite routine. I buy my work clothes and shoes at
the same two shops twice in a year. I interact with the same two sales ladies
who know my preferences so well that my shopping is done most efficiently. Then
throughout the year, I would not be spending much on wardrobe. Shopping, in my
case, has become more like a scheduled task than a sporadic urge to buy! So in
these few days, the kind of shopping in outlet shops, street markets and
department stores with sales staff uttering or screaming in a language totally
inaccessible to me is outside my comfort zone! It is simply too challenging! I
have to retreat to the coffee shop which is closer to my experience of comfort!
Maybe, I have aged
and am less ready to accept or adapt to new ways of life but this is in a way
strange because at work, I like challenges. I feel invigorated.
Oh, I miss Hong
Kong and especially the aroma of wonton noodles! This evening, I will be home -
Hong Kong. There is no place, no matter how heavenly, like home!
