My Favorite Future Souveneir

I have never been the type to get cheesy souveneirs. You know, the sharpener in the shape of the Washington Monument, the jumbo pencil covered with images of Walt Disney World - the type that is a foot long and you can never sharpen, unless by the grace of god you actually find a matching sharpener.

My uncle works for Disney. Hence, except for the time when the whole family took a week to Florida with special 4-day Disney passes to visit all of the parks in 1992 I have never had to pay for a ticket to Disney. So it does give me a little leeway, but now I think I will go to Universal when I visit the family in Florida. One can only ride the "Tower of Terror" so many times.

Of course, I was 7 years old in 1992 - the only thing I had to worry about was whether or not my dad would get me Mickey Mouse ears or a mug with my name on it.

In 1995, my parents shipped me off to Greece for the entire summer to stay with my father's family: an Uncle, Aunt and cousin in Thessaloniki, then off to Florina to stay with Yiayia. I am Greek on both sides, with a jolly, ex-Greek Paratrooper/2nd Lt. Mister Softee truck-driving father, and a Greek-French-Canadian mother. Hence, I am a bit of an anomaly, as I am very far from the "Greeky-greeks" (think the Italian guido, but speaking Greenglish instead of Italglish) that populate my generation in Astoria.

Back to 1995. One needs to keep in mind that I was 11 in 1995 - and Greece has not switched over to the Euro yet. The only things on my mind then were cute little pretty earrings, Greek tweeny magazines that I couldn't read very well with free stuff and Greek candy. It was 250 drachmas to the dollar in 1995 and my daily two scoops of pistachio ice cream was about that much. I remember my first weeks in Thessaloniki and trying to pay for what was maybe $3 worth of candy with a 20,000 drachma bill. The woman was surprised and asked if I had anything smaller.

With the junior high school honor society trips and all the field trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, Old Bethpage in Long Island, etc. etc. I spent alot of worthless money on little trinkets that were promplty lost when I got home. Nonetheless, I think most museums are the best place to get interesting stuff. Case in point: while I lived in London, I bought a mug from the British Museum that said "historian" on it. No fancy logos; just the word, in blue on a cream background. Very simple, but I thought it was great, because I want to become a Japanese historian. Still, I am not quite there yet; it's like a law student drinking from a mug that says "lawyer" - you're not quite a lawyer till you pass the bar.

When I went to London, the only souveneirs I bought for myself was that mug and a 60s style green toggle coat from Top Shop over the course of an entire academic year. I remember seeing all the little kiosks along Oxford Street and the West End selling jerseys, t-shirts, bags, anything that you can silk screen a Big Ben, Union Jack or a Tube stop name (I thought "Angel" was cheeky, because there is a stop called "Angel" on the black line in Islington, Zone 2). I think that's where my aversion to cheesy souveneirs really developed for several reasons:

1) Over 10 years of minute travel and sightseeing experience taught me a lesson
2) London is bloody expensive (aforementioned mug was $13, but for me it was perfect)
3) I needed to buy groceries more than have a Dr. Seuss style Union Jack hat

Unlike most of the EU which has converted to the Euro (with some mild, but drastic results) the English has stubbornly stuck on to the pound. Its two dollars to the pound, and I had to make $3500USD last for about 7 months with no other means of support. So I had to cut corners: no souveneirs and NO TRAVEL.

The fact that I couldn't take the Eurostar to Paris or at least go to Scotland or Ireland killed me. So unfair, especially when I saw my fellow American classmates talking about jetting off to Madrid over Reading week (which was in November and unlike Final Exam period in the States, it's more like a mini-vacation. All final exams are in the Spring).

So, I used my digital camera alot and saved the free stuff and went to the free places. I think 90% of London's museums are free so when I was bored (and lonely) I went off by myself to the Tate (despite the fact that I despise/don't really understand Modern Art), British Museum (which was a block away from my school) etc. So I learned my scruples and how to economize.

So now, I am 21. And I am graduating this May. I need to worry about my student loans and where I will be going to graduate school.

However, the worrry for graduate school can be postponed till October 2007, when I will be applying for September 2008. This October I am going to Japan, on a fellowship: the Monbukagakusho Research Student Scholarship. Or, Monbusho for short. It's really means the "Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, Sports, and Culture" or "MEXT" (their acronym is rather interesting, why there is an "X" I have no clue). But they administer a Research Student scholarship for either 2 years or 18 months. As I haven't graduated yet, I am on the 18-month track.

I will be living in JAPAN for 18 months. I emphasize because unlike London, this is more like actually living in the country as opposed to escaping England to go back home for the month long holidays. I have to pay electric bills and find a place on my own. It's more than just the school year.

The one great thing about living in Kyoto is that I consider it a good base to bounce off from into other parts of Asia, geographical-wise, as it is further south along the Japanese peninsula. So in addition to the plethora of neighboring cities (Nara, Kobe, Hiroshima, Osaka for example) I am going to go to other parts in Asia. To my mother's horror (she would rather have me stay put in Japan, I will only tell her after the fact. My dad is ready to pack my bags), here is my list of "Places that I am Going to Visit in Asia":

1) Hong Kong, PRC
2) Seoul, S. Korea
3) Shanghai, PRC (with Suzhou)
4) Beijing, PRC (with the Great Wall)
5) Philippines (mostly Manila)
6) Australia (mostly Brisbane)
7) Singapore

Note the use of language. I am "going" to visit this places, not "I want to" visit these places. Singapore is a bit of an afterthought. But this is the intial list.

Obviously I am going to need the good ol' passport. I got it renewed for London and it expires in 2014. I already have a British visa and 6 stamps: 3 JFK, 3 Heathrow (I flew back and forth 6 times). Now I will have a Japanese visa and god knows how many re-entry permits (because every time I leave Japan, I have to go to Osaka and file for re-entry permits) in addition to the visa stamps.

Before Mel (my other half) came to the United States from Australia/Papua New Guinea, he and his family traveled alot. "Alot" meaning that he moved homes and traveled to the point that the visas overflowed into a passport that needed additional pages attached onto it. He even needed a binder clip to hold it all together.

When I came back from London for the first time in December 2004, my seatmate was my age. We got to talking about travel and compared passports - he is British. He took a year off from school and traveled, so naturally he had alot of visa stamps and like Mel's it was worn out.

My passport expires in 2014. With all the traveling that I am going to do between now and then, my passport will become my favorite souvenir.