Saturday, December 25, 2004
Oklahoma
¶ 5:12 AM 
Just a few minutes ago, I was a blog virgin. Alas, my incessant jetlag ruptured my circadian rhythm, hence deflowering me into the realm of blog mania. For the past four days, I have turned nocturnal. I had gone for a 3-week study trip to Oklahoma, came back last Monday. Paying homage to the most fulfilling overseas trip I have ever been to, I shall cut the ribbon by sharing with you a piece of Native America, Oklahoma.
No, not really, no...Oklahoma is nowhere near Japan. I have to set the record straight once and for all because I've had navigationally-challenged friends coming up to me and asking me if I would be kind enough to smuggle home a couple of geishas.
Oklahoma is set in a rustic region of the United States. It is also known as Native America because in the 1800s, many Native American tribes were forced to relocate there. This explains why Oklahoma holds the largest Native American population in the country - more than half a million strong. In fact, talking about Native Americans, I had a lecturer come up to me, telling me that I could pass off as one. That was pretty cool, i think.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is majestically carpeted with vast plains of lush agriculture. I recall peering into the minuscule window of one of NorthWest's domestics as it was about to land. I could see square plots of greens and browns which were almost equally juxtaposed like a monolithic piece of checkers board.
On land, I was struck with awe at the amount of sky I was able to see. Skyscrapers were virtually non-existent. Well, they do exist, but only in the city area. Back in the suburbs where I stayed (Marriott Residence Inn, to be exact), the colossal billboards took charge. It was ridiculously funny when I think of it - in Oklahoma, you could be driving around for hours and feel like you are in the pages of a Stephen King classic, when suddenly this huge billboard sprouts up from nowhere, reminding you that civilization does exist.
In fact, as bumpkinly as Oklahoma City may seem, civilization does exist - civilization as warm as the first true sunset I have ever seen, witnessing from on board the plane, the sun kissing the Oklahoman horizon with the gentlest of kisses. I had always been jaded with the misconception that Americans are nothing more than a racist and an unwelcoming society. My trip to Oklahoma shamed me, for never have I seen such friendly, gentle and accommodating people. They shower you with tender smiles and warm greetings wherever you go. You bump into them and they will not think twice about apologizing. Back home in Singapore, you have people thinking they can pass through your body in a crowded MRT station, like in Patrick Swayze's Ghost. And when they realize that they actually could not, they stare at you with as much repugnance as if you had killed their beloved pet chihuahua.
No, not really, no...Oklahoma is nowhere near Japan. I have to set the record straight once and for all because I've had navigationally-challenged friends coming up to me and asking me if I would be kind enough to smuggle home a couple of geishas.
Oklahoma is set in a rustic region of the United States. It is also known as Native America because in the 1800s, many Native American tribes were forced to relocate there. This explains why Oklahoma holds the largest Native American population in the country - more than half a million strong. In fact, talking about Native Americans, I had a lecturer come up to me, telling me that I could pass off as one. That was pretty cool, i think.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is majestically carpeted with vast plains of lush agriculture. I recall peering into the minuscule window of one of NorthWest's domestics as it was about to land. I could see square plots of greens and browns which were almost equally juxtaposed like a monolithic piece of checkers board.
On land, I was struck with awe at the amount of sky I was able to see. Skyscrapers were virtually non-existent. Well, they do exist, but only in the city area. Back in the suburbs where I stayed (Marriott Residence Inn, to be exact), the colossal billboards took charge. It was ridiculously funny when I think of it - in Oklahoma, you could be driving around for hours and feel like you are in the pages of a Stephen King classic, when suddenly this huge billboard sprouts up from nowhere, reminding you that civilization does exist.
In fact, as bumpkinly as Oklahoma City may seem, civilization does exist - civilization as warm as the first true sunset I have ever seen, witnessing from on board the plane, the sun kissing the Oklahoman horizon with the gentlest of kisses. I had always been jaded with the misconception that Americans are nothing more than a racist and an unwelcoming society. My trip to Oklahoma shamed me, for never have I seen such friendly, gentle and accommodating people. They shower you with tender smiles and warm greetings wherever you go. You bump into them and they will not think twice about apologizing. Back home in Singapore, you have people thinking they can pass through your body in a crowded MRT station, like in Patrick Swayze's Ghost. And when they realize that they actually could not, they stare at you with as much repugnance as if you had killed their beloved pet chihuahua.
My favourite Oklahoman was Christy, one of our drivers. She was a heavyset lady with crisp golden spirals accessorizing her wholesome, motherly face. She wasn't old, really...though I didn't ask her, I would guess she was in her late 30s. She spoke with a thick southern drawl which blends in perfectly with the whole rustic aura of her hometown.
Christy - the lady on the far left of the photo.
Christy had a 15 year-old son named Jimmy, who was almost a simpleton. Big ears, yellowish teeth, sunken eyes and generously scrawny, he was like a cross between that guy on MAD Magazine and Forest Gump. I said he was almost a simpleton because although he didn't seem very smart, there was a time when he cunningly tried to fish a dollar out of me. Haha. Funny guy, that Jimmy.
Lovefoolosopher
Jimmy, Christy's son.
Christy - the lady on the far left of the photo.
Christy had a 15 year-old son named Jimmy, who was almost a simpleton. Big ears, yellowish teeth, sunken eyes and generously scrawny, he was like a cross between that guy on MAD Magazine and Forest Gump. I said he was almost a simpleton because although he didn't seem very smart, there was a time when he cunningly tried to fish a dollar out of me. Haha. Funny guy, that Jimmy.
Lovefoolosopher
Jimmy, Christy's son.
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Quite a romantic, friendly blog which I could easily read as long as it was written. The information on Oklahoma and the American people there was particularly useful. Thanks, friend.
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