Liberated

Summer has arrived in Hong Kong and the temperature now equals Manila, Bangkok or Singapore. So, when my friend invited me to their place for an afternoon of swimming this afternoon, I happily obliged.

I've always been used to swimming wearing trunks, even as a child. That's why this has been my swimming outfit of choice. If you go to Repulse Bay, Stanley Beach or any of the swimming pools around HK, you'll also see 90% of the population wearing trunks, so it's no big deal.

So that's what I wore today. We went swimming with my friend, her family, her friends along and their spouses. Considering that most of the girls wore malliots and bikinis, my trunks wouldn't be out of place. Or so I thought.

Half an hour ago, my friend called me up. Our conversation went something like this:

HER: Hey! I'm going to tell you something that's so shallow and so funny. I don't know if I should be telling you this, but I thought, you're going to have a blast after hearing this.

ME: So, what is it?

HER: You were wearing trunks this afternoon, right?

ME: Yes... and...

HER: When we were packing up, and you were taking a shower, Talulah's* husband actually came up to me and said: "Yung kaibigan mo, medyo liberated siya, no?"

ME: WHAT?!?

HER: I know! You wear trunks and suddenly you're the most liberated person in Hong Kong!

Sheesh! It made me check my swimming trunks again. They weren't skimpy or anything of that sort, so I wonder what was it that made him deduce that i'm "liberated."

Hmmm...

Maybe it was the color.