Day26- June 20th: They asked why; I said Why not?

I had a few of interesting conversations with several different people today. They didn't know one another and came from different culture and social backgrounds. They all asked why have I decided to extend my stay in Budapest? What are the things I like about the country and the city? What the the things I do not like about the city?

This might seem a simple question but it actually involves a lot of analyzing. I know there is not one thing that would make me want to stay in Budapest longer than what I am supposed to. I like Budapest because it's real, human, and imperfect. It give you a sense of place but yet it is displaced on the crossroads of industrialized and socialist society. It's so unique because it's completely foreign and take me out of my comfort zone. It's lovely, beautiful when you look from afar but rundown, dirty and smelly when you are close.

People here are either super nice and go out of their way to help you or they simply don't care and scream at you. It's the city of two extremes and the city with hope. To me Vienna is perfect and what is there left to do when you live in a utopia?

I believe human being thrive on imperfections and Budapest is the place for thriving.

Day 4 in Vienna June 16th- Utopian confession

It was a great day today here in Vienna and I decided to visit the Architecture Museum based on my thoughts yesterday and after the visit my thoughts on Vienna are more defined and refined. I love it here but for some reason I really miss Budapest and can't wait to be back on Wednesday. I can't help but to draw more comparisons between Budapest, Vienna, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. LA really stands alone on this one because it's not your typical utopia, it's not even a good tourist destination and aside from it's major problems (dependence on automobile, lack of a true urban center and void of a good mess transit system) but it's a wonderful place to live. SF bay is really LA under it's facade but one has to choose: looking at the beautiful facade everyday or live in a wonderful climate. I don't think I can live in the cold climate of the bay area nor would I want to be in beauty constantly where i would loose the sense of appreciation. I think in all cases NYC is the perfect city in that sense but it's far proximity from nature is just too negative for me.

I love city life, where world class culture activities are just within your reach but we are human beings and need places to escape/ reflect and Central Park is simply not enough and 5 hours drive to get out of the city is not acceptable. This is where Budapest comes in; it's an ideal place; wonderful city life, and nature is just a bridge away; LA is that way too but the political climate and the under developed democracy makes Budapest not a suitable place for many to relocate.

Vienna is the perfect utopia in theory (or in appearance?) but very much like Communism it's wonderful in theory but humanity would not allow it and it's a wonderful fantasy. I also don't know how a middle class person would live in Vienna and it is only a utopia if you can afford it. I also feel the constant flow of tourist in Vienna is a bit tiring and the city should have a tourist containment zone (interesting architecture theory project).

After a few days in the city I do realized that If i ever give up on myself and need a third career to fall back on I should be a prostitute because there are 3 men so far, talked me on the street and made kissing sounds at me in Vienna. I now understand some women can feel totally harassed, I just want to give these guys a finger and said F you.

I also realized that my "big" sun glasses doesn't work here in Vienna and being Asian doesn't work either.... everyone dress so well here even older people. People are very fashionable without being cheap looking (like another european country i did my residency in, i won't give out any names) I can pin point whom are the locals and visitors especially Americans, they always wear shorts and a t shirt.

I miss Budapest because it has an authenticity that Vienna doesn't (or tries hard to hide or clean up).