Occasionally, I like to get nostalgic about my childhood and so I watch old cartoons, shows and movies from when I was younger. Some of those things include: Pokemon, Power Rangers, good nickToons like Rocko’s Modern Life, Backstreet Boys, etc. Essentially, it’s all the stuff from the mid to late ‘90s when I was growing up. In any case, I’m worried that Harry Potter is now falling into the same category. See, Harry Potter was such a huge thing for me. I know it’s wasn’t really part of the same time period, but it was still a big deal.
I wasn’t really into it that much when the first three books came out. I remember seeing all three at Costco and my Auntie bought me book 1 and I got the other two. I remember buying book 4 when it came out and by then I was absolutely hooked. I dragged my dad and my brother, ultimately, for book 5, and I inhaled that book. I absolutely was thinking all about what the next sorts of things would happen in the last two books of the series. For book 6, I will never forget my experience. I was overseas, and I really wanted my book. I dragged my aunt to the local bookstore and saw the piles of Harry Potter books at the front of the store. I grabbed one, and was on my way to the checkout line. As I was walking there, I looked at the pricetag, did a little mental conversion of what the price would be in USD. It turned out to be around $35-40. I was not happy, and I didn’t have enough money on hand. I left the bookstore empty-handed. Thankfully, my dad called me later that afternoon. I told him that when I arrived, I wanted him to hand me the book, and I would pay him back later. So I waited two looooong weeks for my book. Funny enough, my dad didn’t have it because he didn’t know what I was talking about. I got in the car and bought the first copy I saw. For book 7, I went to the midnight thing. I had to get it. I slept at 4am after I got the book around 1am. I finished the book in 3 days.
I was so excited when the movies came out, but was quickly disappointed when I saw them. I didn’t like how a lot of things were cut out, or plotlines were changed. Sure, I understood that film is a different sort of medium to convey the story, but I guess I was spoiled by Lord of the Rings. Peter Jackson put everything possible in those films, so true to the source material, that it was like a fan had made the film. Absolutely epic in every way. So I’ve been upset for awhile about the films, but I still enjoyed it. However, something strange started happening after watching book 5. I absolutely was bored with the film, and it was becoming worse for book 6.
Similarly, even for the books, as I look back on it, Book 5 really did show a turning point for me. When book 5 ended, like I said, I had little ideas of what would happen next. When I read book 6, I was a bit disappointed. I felt that everything that happened at the end of book 5 really had little bearing on the later books. There was nothing about the veil, the weird stuff at the Ministry, none of it. Instead, book 6 was really about the whole growing up thing, which was nice, since they were teenagers, but it just felt she could have added more in book 5 too, or something, and the horcruxes were sprung on really suddenly too. It just seemed so unbelievable for Harry to find and destroy all the Horcruxes in one single book. Sure enough, he did, but I just felt like it was loaded with deus ex machina and rushed plot and unnecessary killing.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I still love Harry Potter. I will still watch the movies, because I feel like I owe it to myself to see how the series ends. It was just such a huge part of my life. I still reread the books and feel the magic that captivated me years ago. The only thing different now is that I’ve moved on, and I feel that it’s just a natural thing to do so. I think that if I ever have children, I want them to read these books and feel the same magic and thrill when I read them. Still, I think the most important thing to do when feeling nostalgic is to look back and think “I was into this stuff?”. It’s not exactly necessary to enjoy it now like I did before, but to appreciate it and move on.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
living overseas
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been watching the Tour de France. Occasionally I catch the prime time coverage, and they have plenty of shots of the French/Spanish/Swiss landscape that are absolutely beautiful. The hills are so green, the buildings look like what I always imagined what a small European town looked like, the sky so blue. It’s a fantastic sight to see. Hopefully, one day, I could be there, watching the cyclists pass by me, and join in the ruckus of the spectators in the Alps or Pyrenees. It’ll be an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
In any case, this post isn’t really about living in the French countryside. Over the last year or so, I’ve lost three of my very good, if not best, friends who have moved out of the country for schooling. The three of them are currently living overseas to attend university. It’s strange to talk to them, hear about their experiences. First of all, their classes are in English, but outside of that, the entire country speaks another language, which they aren’t entirely familiar with. When I find myself thinking about them and what they’re possibly doing at this hour, I wonder if they’re in class, sleeping, hailing a cab, eating, arguing with a local, whatever. I miss them.
Yesterday, I was able to talk to the moms of two of them. As parents, they worry and miss them. They shared their experiences, and some of them I could relate to, like the language barriers, the racism against foreigners, the culture shock, the higher level of independence, etc. Definitely, they are a lot stricter about academics over there. You have to stand when the teacher calls you, the full load of classes is like 30 units(!) and even at the university level, there’s uniforms. Honestly, I always used to get scared about public transportation there, as the drivers want to make as much money as possible, and they cram as many people as possible in the vehicle ,which would be very uncomfortable, considering that you didn’t know some of those people. There’s security guards everywhere, who open doors for you. It was kinda nice actually, feeling like a celebrity.
Funny, my mom asked me if I could handle it. I told her I would probably cry. I think I’m fairly strong, but I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit of a snob, and I worry the locals might not like me. Still, I’ve visited the country numerous times in my childhood. Now that I’m an adult, I wonder if I could just jump right in and do it: take public transportation, not be scared to cross the street, budget my money totally like pay all the bills, clean up, etc. I worry about fitting in and me not getting homesick. When I was younger, after about a week or so, I would throw a tantrum and whine, saying I wanted to go home. With all the problems that my friends went through with immigration, I know they think twice about quitting and going home. I wish them the absolute best. I wonder if I could handle it. I suppose I never really had the full college experience, so my feelings are different.
So now, I reflect back on my whole France dream-experience. I took a semester of French, and when watching the stage coverage during the Tour, there’s a conglomerate of different people from different places (just look at all those flags- where is that the flag of?!). Will I be okay/strong enough to interact with the locals, other spectators and have a good time, or will I cry about it and wish I was home? Ultimately, I wish I was as determined as my friends. Being out of your comfort zone is really hard. Hopefully I can use this as some sort of motivational tool to get me out of my shell. We’ll see.
In any case, this post isn’t really about living in the French countryside. Over the last year or so, I’ve lost three of my very good, if not best, friends who have moved out of the country for schooling. The three of them are currently living overseas to attend university. It’s strange to talk to them, hear about their experiences. First of all, their classes are in English, but outside of that, the entire country speaks another language, which they aren’t entirely familiar with. When I find myself thinking about them and what they’re possibly doing at this hour, I wonder if they’re in class, sleeping, hailing a cab, eating, arguing with a local, whatever. I miss them.
Yesterday, I was able to talk to the moms of two of them. As parents, they worry and miss them. They shared their experiences, and some of them I could relate to, like the language barriers, the racism against foreigners, the culture shock, the higher level of independence, etc. Definitely, they are a lot stricter about academics over there. You have to stand when the teacher calls you, the full load of classes is like 30 units(!) and even at the university level, there’s uniforms. Honestly, I always used to get scared about public transportation there, as the drivers want to make as much money as possible, and they cram as many people as possible in the vehicle ,which would be very uncomfortable, considering that you didn’t know some of those people. There’s security guards everywhere, who open doors for you. It was kinda nice actually, feeling like a celebrity.
Funny, my mom asked me if I could handle it. I told her I would probably cry. I think I’m fairly strong, but I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit of a snob, and I worry the locals might not like me. Still, I’ve visited the country numerous times in my childhood. Now that I’m an adult, I wonder if I could just jump right in and do it: take public transportation, not be scared to cross the street, budget my money totally like pay all the bills, clean up, etc. I worry about fitting in and me not getting homesick. When I was younger, after about a week or so, I would throw a tantrum and whine, saying I wanted to go home. With all the problems that my friends went through with immigration, I know they think twice about quitting and going home. I wish them the absolute best. I wonder if I could handle it. I suppose I never really had the full college experience, so my feelings are different.
So now, I reflect back on my whole France dream-experience. I took a semester of French, and when watching the stage coverage during the Tour, there’s a conglomerate of different people from different places (just look at all those flags- where is that the flag of?!). Will I be okay/strong enough to interact with the locals, other spectators and have a good time, or will I cry about it and wish I was home? Ultimately, I wish I was as determined as my friends. Being out of your comfort zone is really hard. Hopefully I can use this as some sort of motivational tool to get me out of my shell. We’ll see.
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