Free Hugs pt 2
FINALLY the long awaited post about free hugs pt 2. This event is so very close to my heart because it's everything that I believe in in terms of what our society needs so badly, especially in metropolitan areas like the GTA where people around you just become a blur...
I first did free hugs back in 2006 when the whole movement started. I did it at Pacific Mall and the reception that I got was overwhelming (esp from an asian mall!). So this time around, I went for the big times... Eaton Centre >:)
Also, from when I recounted the experience to my friends from the last time, I found a lot of people who said they'd be thrilled to do it with me the next time. And true to their words, they actually came! I decided to keep it a small group becuase I didn't know how it would be to do it with other people, so I chose a few of my closest... and I mean like joined at the hip close: waterloo fam + zenith. You can't get closer than that :P
Turns out, Na can't stand having strangers touch her :\ and June initially said she could go, but then realized the day before that she double booked it with a kid she had to tutor, who eventually didn't even show up :\ (don't you hate it when that happens?) It was down to Zen, Elley and I. On the day of December 29th, we set out for the Eaton Centre.
I used my regular signs from the year before, which was the white bristle board with the construction cutout letters; your standard free hugs sign. When Ellen showed up, she had this totally cute sign that was obviously made out of a cardboard box and she used hockey tape to arrange her letters! HOCKEY TAPE, people! genius! I musta spent half a day just tracing and cutting out my letters and in the end, hers was def 100x cooler than mine. She's awesome like that. We knew Zenith wouldn't have a sign, so Elley and I did one up for him in 10 min at the corner in front of H&M. He added his Zenith touch to it as soon as he arrived. As he was doodling, two old ladies asked us what we were up to. We explained the game plan and they were so delighted they wanted to be our first "customers". hahaha. It had begun!
We put our scarfs on, zipped up our coats and nervously walked out onto the streets. I know, I know.. I shouldn't be nervous. I mean, I'm a veteran! But the stage has never been this big. Also, I'm leading two friends who were already apprehensive from the beginning. Ellen is the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. She's got a heart of gold and totally supported the idea of reaching out. However, in the end, she was still a 5 feet tall asian girl in a city that was, let's just say, much bigger. Zen, who I thought would be the most excited cuz he does stupid stuff like this all the time, was the most nervous one of all. All the stupid things that he's ever done were in front of his friends. Free hugs was all about embracing strangers as friends. Different ballgame, different challenge. He was apprehensive about how people would react to our offers. We were about to find out..
I couldn't believe the response. We were hugging everyone from old ladies to 3 year old boys and everyone in between. To my surprise, it was so much easier this time around. I thought that with a 1 person show, I would be in a more vulnerable position so people would be less shy to approach me. But I think it was the fact that we had a group that made it more comforting, that it wasn't just one creep trying to do creepy things. I also attribute a part of it to Ellen-san. Having that feminine presence def lowers the guard any suspecting stranger. Another reason why I thought it was so much easier was probably because when there were lulls of non-hugs, we had each other to fall back on. There wasn't that pressure of needing a hug to validate your presense there.
All the hugs were special, but there were some that were very memorable: - There was this one dude who accepted my offer, but instead of walking over like a civilized man, he charged me like an african rhino and speared me in the gut. Then he proceeded to give me the biggest bear hug. Broke my ear muffs in the process.. That was awesome! - Two mixed asian toddlers were walking up Yonge with their mom. We all offered a hug and instead of being shy and hiding behind their mom's legs, they ran over to us to give each one of us a hug. Cutest kids ever. - At one point in time, one of us, had our ass grabbed. HAHAHAA. I'll let you speculate..
In the end, we all had a great time. Zenith was really impressed about the response we received. Ellen's fingers were frozen to the bone, but she didn't want to quit because we were having so much fun. I was just so happy to be able to share this experience with the two of them..
I first did free hugs back in 2006 when the whole movement started. I did it at Pacific Mall and the reception that I got was overwhelming (esp from an asian mall!). So this time around, I went for the big times... Eaton Centre >:)
Also, from when I recounted the experience to my friends from the last time, I found a lot of people who said they'd be thrilled to do it with me the next time. And true to their words, they actually came! I decided to keep it a small group becuase I didn't know how it would be to do it with other people, so I chose a few of my closest... and I mean like joined at the hip close: waterloo fam + zenith. You can't get closer than that :P
Turns out, Na can't stand having strangers touch her :\ and June initially said she could go, but then realized the day before that she double booked it with a kid she had to tutor, who eventually didn't even show up :\ (don't you hate it when that happens?) It was down to Zen, Elley and I. On the day of December 29th, we set out for the Eaton Centre.
I used my regular signs from the year before, which was the white bristle board with the construction cutout letters; your standard free hugs sign. When Ellen showed up, she had this totally cute sign that was obviously made out of a cardboard box and she used hockey tape to arrange her letters! HOCKEY TAPE, people! genius! I musta spent half a day just tracing and cutting out my letters and in the end, hers was def 100x cooler than mine. She's awesome like that. We knew Zenith wouldn't have a sign, so Elley and I did one up for him in 10 min at the corner in front of H&M. He added his Zenith touch to it as soon as he arrived. As he was doodling, two old ladies asked us what we were up to. We explained the game plan and they were so delighted they wanted to be our first "customers". hahaha. It had begun!
We put our scarfs on, zipped up our coats and nervously walked out onto the streets. I know, I know.. I shouldn't be nervous. I mean, I'm a veteran! But the stage has never been this big. Also, I'm leading two friends who were already apprehensive from the beginning. Ellen is the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. She's got a heart of gold and totally supported the idea of reaching out. However, in the end, she was still a 5 feet tall asian girl in a city that was, let's just say, much bigger. Zen, who I thought would be the most excited cuz he does stupid stuff like this all the time, was the most nervous one of all. All the stupid things that he's ever done were in front of his friends. Free hugs was all about embracing strangers as friends. Different ballgame, different challenge. He was apprehensive about how people would react to our offers. We were about to find out..
I couldn't believe the response. We were hugging everyone from old ladies to 3 year old boys and everyone in between. To my surprise, it was so much easier this time around. I thought that with a 1 person show, I would be in a more vulnerable position so people would be less shy to approach me. But I think it was the fact that we had a group that made it more comforting, that it wasn't just one creep trying to do creepy things. I also attribute a part of it to Ellen-san. Having that feminine presence def lowers the guard any suspecting stranger. Another reason why I thought it was so much easier was probably because when there were lulls of non-hugs, we had each other to fall back on. There wasn't that pressure of needing a hug to validate your presense there.
All the hugs were special, but there were some that were very memorable: - There was this one dude who accepted my offer, but instead of walking over like a civilized man, he charged me like an african rhino and speared me in the gut. Then he proceeded to give me the biggest bear hug. Broke my ear muffs in the process.. That was awesome! - Two mixed asian toddlers were walking up Yonge with their mom. We all offered a hug and instead of being shy and hiding behind their mom's legs, they ran over to us to give each one of us a hug. Cutest kids ever. - At one point in time, one of us, had our ass grabbed. HAHAHAA. I'll let you speculate..
In the end, we all had a great time. Zenith was really impressed about the response we received. Ellen's fingers were frozen to the bone, but she didn't want to quit because we were having so much fun. I was just so happy to be able to share this experience with the two of them..
posted by Jeff at 10:19 PM
0 comments
