5 Days

I'm still alive! Been sick for the last few days, but I'm on my way back

In lieu of an actual update, here's a picture of me talking with a baby deer, and a picture of a panda:

I feel better

The Plan:

Tonight - finish laundry, pack, shower, sleep
Tomorrow - wake up, print maps, pick up visa, go to airport (and not get rejected by "the man"), go to Shanghai, make way to hostel, meet friends, be merry

Things I'm going to try to avoid: more food poisoning, getting ripped off to a ridiculous degree (I expect a little, I mean my Mandarin teacher loved to say (roughly translated) "Sam, you are an authentic American yes?"), getting tragically lost, death

Side notes from the consulate:

- Encountered the loudest guy ever. He was speaking/shouting into his phone to such a degree that the entire room was looking, pointing, rolling eyes, or laughing. It was like he was trying to shout instructions to someone locked in a room. Ridiculous.

-Sat next to somebody from the Republic of Gambia today, it's not very often that you can make that statement

-Chinese women basketball league: 99% sure that the intramural basketball team (Los Feesh) would destroy them (Audrey would drop 20 points on them). 1% is a loss because team manager GT might get the date of the game wrong so we don't show up. Has that ever happened before?

Here's to survival!

I do not feel good

Methinks a touch of the old food poisoning has struck - the wontons in UC canteen seem to be folded by the devil itself...

I've got this fever/headache too, don't know where that's coming from. Regardless, in a spectacular bit of timing I managed to throw up three times last night, each at pretty much exact two hour intervals. Plus idiot Chinese people were walking around yelling and slamming doors at 5 am. How do I know this? I went to bed at 10 (might as well just lay down), and was actually full on sleeping by 5 am, so not feeling great today.

Ugh I do not feel like doing anything...

Harsh Language Within

Ok so this was supposed to be a post about how I screwed up - I didn't realize that my China visa expired on the 10th, so getting stopped and turned back at the border was kind of a bummer, it being the 12th and all.

I was going to talk about how I was ok with this, I mean it is my fault, 100% so, after all.

I was going to talk about how kind and caring my friends are, even considering for a second not going on the trip to commiserate with me.

I was going to talk about how well I'm rationalizing this whole thing.

Then it hit me: fuck that, I'm going to China.*

See you in Shanghai








*These are the exact words I said out loud to myself while looking at plane tickets. And no, my roommate isn't here.

Travels

Leaving for China today, will be going to Xi'an, Nanjing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou - I'll try to update but who knows...

Side note: I'm done with academics for this semester!

In conclusion: gone fishin' - back 12/21/08

大家，加油！

Home Stretch

Well we're certainly getting down to it aren't we...If you're counting it's 23 days until I'm on a plane headed across the Pacific Ocean. Until then:

- An 8 page English paper
- Last minute China preparation/packing
- A 9.5 day trip through China
- An explosion of souvenir buying (any requests?)
- Too many goodbyes
- Trying to pack my life here in Hong Kong into suitcases that could never hold it all

Everyone over here (except Ana, she's done...) is working (somewhat) diligently on their various papers and finals. People are either holed up in the dorm rooms or in the library, refusing social activity and often mealtime. Turns up finals time is the same over here as it is back at Oxy, cafeterias are empty and study rooms are full.

Here's a glimpse of my master plan upon returning home (the first few days):

- Sleep a lot/get back on pacific standard time
- Maybe trouble the eye doctor some more...
- Continue to work myself into shape for the season
- Swap the Wii for a PS3, buy NBA 2k9, and make up for lost time spent playing video games
- Make sure my Oxy housing is set

Yeah that sounds alright...maybe get the old 2v2 game going again too...

Thanksgiving/bday/finals/misc

Thanksgiving:

Went to Tai Po Market (basically a food court serviced by actual restaurants, they serve you and everything) with a bunch of friends for a Thanksgiving tradition that probably won't catch on - Thanksgiving fish (hah see what I did there? Catch on? Fish? Ah humor is wasted on you guys). So for the record, here are the things that I'm thankful for:

1 - Family (parental support, brother actually giving useful advice ((I'm sorry but "That window is vulnerable to zombie attack" doesn't count, brother of mine)))
2 - Friends (to talk to, to eat with, to bet dinners with)
3 - Good health (here's to avoiding whatever HK maladies seem to be running rampant, family is doing well, friends are mostly still alive)
4 - Good fortune (I'm studying in Hong Kong, I'm still amazed by that fact sometimes)
5 - Well, I could go on...

Birthday:

Friends showed up at my door at midnight, and almost managed to surprise me (they whisper too loudly + my uncannily accurate sense of hearing. Yeah, that...) - I got cake, candy, tupperwear, and pictures! Then later that evening they paid for my dinner, and we got to play on a playground. Good times, thanks guys.

Friends from home (you guys know who you are) sent me a box full of goodies - more candy (I need to stop telling people I like candy), cards, pictures, and books! Again, good times, much love to those Oxy kids.

On Facebook birthdays - if I haven't talked to you in months, if not years, I always think it's kind of weird to just pop up and say "happy birthday!" It's nice, don't get me wrong, but it seems kind of disingenuous. I know I always feel kind of awkward about it and have to think "is it socially appropriate for me to say happy birthday to this person?. Ah well, by the bonds we once shared

Finals:

Done with classes, slogging through papers and finals - only two finals (Mandarin and English - crazy language classes), but a boatload of papers. It breaks down to something like:

English: 3 page paper (I wrote five, I blame my postcolonial literature course for that), 8 page paper

Microecon: 5 pages for a research paper

Anthro: 8 pages

HK/China/World econ: 4 pages

But the weird thing is that I'm not even complaining - I seem to be moving through them at a decent pace. Hope that holds up, or I'm going to end up swamped...

Misc:

Called the company that I booked plane tickets through, and though definitely sketchy, seems reputable enough...Still need to go shopping for cold weather stuff - maybe a coat and some gloves...

And that's all, back to work

Edit

That time when my friends (almost) surprised me (they're loud) last night with cake, egg tarts, and a candy filled picture jar!

An Early Retrospective

"The people we've met in the last five years, will we remember them in ten more?"
-Death Cab for Cutie

If you go to my Facebook, click on "All Friends," I could show you dozens of people I don't talk to, hardly know, or don't know anymore.

I can show you pictures of people I haven't talked to for years, and people that I'll never talk to again. These people were friends, teammates, and acquaintances, and as much as I've forgotten about them, what can I say about how much they remember about me?

But there will always be that time Scott, Mat, and I got chased by a dog through Mat's backyard. That time in when Cyrus got his foot stuck in a mud hole; when there was that drug bust in middle school; when freshman year soccer was a nightmare. The first time I got on stage with Andrew and Chris to play a show, when Chris missed the game-winning penalty kick, the first time I sat behind the wheel of my car, when I fouled all my attempts in the long jump sophomore year, when Jeremy got drunk after the State meet, when I scored my first goal in a decade in a loss to Newark. When it was Frisbee Friday, when I hated working at Costco, and when we watched stars.

There was when Kazu won thousands on online poker, when I walked in on my first roommate, when we threw Marci into the fountain, when Turbo became Turbo, and when there were the KP sessions. The first time I played fantasy basketball, the first time I did Neurology, and when I didn't know 我 from 在. When the freshmen showed up on the team, when I met you, when Audrey chose the movie Leeches, when my other roomie sent himself to the hospital, when I played NBA 2k8 instead of doing homework, and when we imitated sea lions.

Now there is when Allison caked Jennifer, when Kat choked on a fish bone, and proving my theory about kids our age and old TV shows during late night talks about nothing.

We're not leaving yet, but we're certainly getting there. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I think the last few months will stick with me for a while.

Too emo, but hey, nothing better to do

Odds and Ends (have I used that before?)

1 - Friends from Oxy sent me a birthday box - it had candy, cards, and a big ol' picture of Gabe. What more could a guy ask for? You guys rule.

2 - I don't know quite how to feel about Kanye West's new CD. On one hand I'm intrigued, on the other hand I feel like someone needs to slap him and shout "GET BACK TO RAPPING AND MAKING BEATS"

3 - Totally saw my HK twin at the track yesterday. Tall, skinny, Chinese guy jumper. I think we bonded.

4 - CUHK gave us CUHK chopsticks as a souvenir. Yet another thing in my life that I don't quite know how to feel about...

5 - Post-school travel plans: Xian, Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou for 9.5 or so days

I just might be getting used to life here...shame it takes three months eh?

Interweb

I love the internet. I can:

1 - Watch the NBA online
2 - Borrow intellectual property
3 - Learn
4 - Blog
5 - Plan a 10 day trip through China without leaving my somewhat comfortable lawn chair. Yes, in our rooms we have lawn chairs. But if I was so inclined, I could totally use the internet to order myself another chair.

Yes.

Teaching in China - Pictures and Video

http://www.youtube.com/user/shuie888

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuie/

Teaching in China pt. 2

More serious stuff I suppose...

1 - How are those kids supposed to get out of the countryside? The economic opportunities of Zengcheng seem fairly bleak - the most common jobs seem to be farmer or shopkeeper. It seems like a self propagating thing though - the child of a farmer goes to Pai Tan Middle School, that child grows up but is unable to leave Zengcheng (too poor/no chance for advancement), that child becomes a farmer who sends their child to Pai Tan Middle School. It makes me wonder that if I was one of those middle schoolers, how would I get out? I think the real question though, is would I want to get out? Or even know what out is? The more I see of China the luckier I feel...

Teaching in China

Long post?

This last weekend was teaching in Zengcheng, China - they are famous for a certain kind of vegetable that grows only there, one of the highest waterfalls ever, the largest square/park in China, and unusually persistent mosquitoes. Zengcheng is about 3 hours (from where we left) away from CUHK, so it was a nice chance to listen to some music and zone out.

Transit - Getting there and back was honestly kind of dumb. We took the bus from the Sham Shui Po MTR stop, rode for an hour to the HK/China border, then two more hours into Zengcheng. What would have made more sense would have been to take the MTR to the HK/China border (cheaper and faster ((25 minutes vs an hour))) and just gone from there, but hey, we got in and out alright.

The school - Zengcheng is a rural sort of town. Or village. Whatever. Regardless, no big buildings, lots of motorbikes, and a couple of chickens running around the streets. As I'm coming to realize, rural villages in China tend to look alike. The school (Paitan Middle School represent) was gated off, but seems decent enough. It's a large school as it caters middle schoolers up to the equivalent of high school seniors, so ~1500 people, some of the students even living on campus as their houses are far away in the countryside. The buildings were multi-story (to maximize space I'd assume) with three basketball hoops, a jogging track, many ping pong tables, and a badminton net.

Me and the kids - We worked with 13-16 year olds, guys and girls, and I'll admit it - the kids loved me. Right off the bat is the oddity of my height - the comment I heard the most over the weekend was "so tall" or "ho gao." Some kids even took the liberty of telling me "you're taller than Yao Ming."

The guys took a liking to me because on the first day in the afternoon, one of the other guys in our tutor group and I played basketball with some of the guys. It was 4v4, so we picked up a young'un as well as another tutor and we played. Life was easier because well, we were playing against 14 year olds, so we all put up decent numbers. On an evil sidenote - I completely blocked this kid's jumper and after the other guys had finished going "ohhhhh" (they do that at everything though) one kid yelled "you got packed!" Good times.

The girls liked me, because apparently I am considered "very handsome" in some parts of rural China. It was like being a celebrity - when I would smile and wave, girls would cover their mouths, giggle, and turn to their friends. I had girls following me around, other girls saying that I was handsome, and other girls saying "so tall." It even got to the point where two girls gave me their picture (the kind of pictures you take in the photobooth in the mall arcade) with their names on the back.

But beyond gender differences, all of us exchange tutors were very warmly received by the students. I asked the guys in my small group what they thought of the girls that were in the group, and the unanimous response was "very pretty" and "so beautiful." Kids were grabbing at tutors to take pictures - the shy ones used their friends and the always effective "will you take a picture with my friend?" It was interesting though; once other students saw you taking a picture with other students, they would all rush over to get into the picture - you'd begin by taking a picture with three guys, and wind up ten seconds later taking a picture with 25 students. The students asked me if I had a Chinese name, so I sat down to write it for them. Seconds later I was completely surrounded by students (15 at least) who read off each character as I wrote it.

My favorite moment dealing with the students though probably occured during the tutor's introductions during the evening session of the first day. Us tutors were all going down a line and just introducing ourselves, where we were from, and what we're studying. When it got to my turn and I stood up to begin speaking nearly every student in the room (40+) went "ohhhhhhhhh" with some "so tall" thrown in for good measure. I suppose it's an easy in with the kids

The Teaching - Honestly it wasn't really teaching, it was more just trying to get them to practice speaking English. It was fairly rough going at first, most of the students being shy and lacking confidence in their English skills. Some of the students were excited to talk despite their level of fluency which made things easier. For that same evening session, I had an 18 year old senior student in my small discussion group (when we broke into small groups for each tutor, all the guys came and sat with me) who translated pretty much everything. As it turns out, all the guys wanted to talk about was basketball - the most common phrases are "Kobe Bryant MVP," "Yao Ming," and "Rockets."

The Sunday morning session started off interestingly - in splitting up all the guys again came with me, but as I was conducting a slightly awkward Q&A session, one kid had a camcorder and was just recording the whole thing. Despite our initial instructions of not speaking any Chinese, I had to throw some phrases in just to maintain my own sanity (such as translating "breakfast" for them). It bogged down, so it just got to the point where it was time to play basketball (it was clearly what they were all waiting for).

So we played for about a half hour when one of the teachers, "Churchill," told me, in essence, to knock it off with the basketball and that we should be practicing English (one of my reservations about just getting right into basketball). But then as I sat back down with the group of guys who I was with (just to watch the last game finish), the damndest thing happened - they all suddenly became willing to talk. It was still basketball talk, but guys who had never talked were suddenly full of questions - they asked me how long I had been playing, if I could teach them, and that sort of thing. Not only was that in the teacher's face - but it reinforced for me the potential of sports: before we played basketball I was just a tall guy from America speaking a lot of English. After playing basketball it was like I was just another guy who likes playing baksetball - that common experience was enough to spur the students to overcome their shyness/self-doubt in speaking English. I feel like them seeing that I shared something that they are so passionate about (they apparently play after school everyday) reduced the feeling of foreigner/local and teacher/student to the point where they were comfortable speaking. Plus:

1 - Putting a ball into a net doesn't need language
2 - Being teammates creates an instant bond and familiarity, especially for team sports
3 - I clearly put a lot of value on sports/athletics

Misc - Gave out my email address plenty of times, had millions of pictures taken of me/us, made the peace sign many, many, many times. It was an immensely rewarding trip, if not a sleepless one.

More details if I remember more, pictures and video to come!

Music

Ok one of the worst things about being here in Hong Kong is that I don't have any speakers. Well actually I have these little dinky things (the diameter of a muffin - which is now officially a unit of measure) but they're basically louder computer speakers. What I want is a set of actually speakers with a nice subwoofer (I play bass, I like bass) and to listen to the following:

Ratatat - Seventeen Years
Gorillaz - Spitting Out the Demons
Green Day - Waiting
Kings of Leon - Manhattan
MGMT - Kids
Say Anything - Have At Thee!

And so many more...

Because it's not loud unless you can feel it in your chest. Headphones can't do that.

Well It Happened, Finally

Hong Kong has started to cool down - it's officially pants/long sleeve/sweatshirt weather.

'bout time

On and On and On

50th post! Either I'm prolific, or I need something better to do with my time...

1 - I'm fairly sure that the Asian culture is the only one that would allow for the wearing of purple and gold track jackets that read "Quantitative Finance" on the back un-ironically

2 - Asian people (Asians of all types) love pencil cases. While I go fishing through my backpack to dig out some pens (it's a dedicated pen area nonetheless), Asian students just throw down with some pencil case. It's usually some bizarre color with an adorable cartoon character on it. I'm never sure whether or not I should be feeling jealous...

Unrelated: here's how I take notes when I'm bored
Nowhere in any microeconomics textbook will you find the word "owned" used in this sense. Turns out Doctor A should receive a market salary of $10,000 more than Doctor B. Owned.

Liveblogging Class Registration

Because honestly? It's 2:08 am, and I'm going to need something to do until 3 am when my registration time actually is.

2:09 - In the Kuo Mou Hall computer lab because my roomie, Wilson, is asleep and you know, have to be considerate and all. But to set the scene there are two other people here, both more studious than I am - they're actually working on some various paper/highlighting, while I sit, listen to my ipod, and regale my legion of readers with how exciting my waiting-for-class-registration is. I've got my course planning sheet out infront of me, my user name and PIN already filled in on the registration page, and I'm still not going to get into econ...

2:26 - espn.com + youtube > boredom

2:42 - ok enough of that...bored bored bored

2:47 - doing what any good American does: looking at consumer items online

2:58 - album of the month: Only by Night by the Kings of Leon. Oh, two minutes left!

2:59 - man, suspenseful stuff we got going on...

3:05 - well shit.

3:16 - like so many things in life, that was brief, unpleasant, and unsuccessful. I've managed to register for 1/4 of the classes that I wanted, and am enrolled in two BS classes just so I can call myself a full time student.

3:18 - email complaining and asking for help (yay private schools - academic advising actually helps) has been sent. I'm tired and more than slightly digusted with this whole system - I'm going to bed.

Not Related to HK at all...

But if there was one person who I wished I could write like? Kurt Vonnegut.

From Wikipedia:

"In his book Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction, Vonnegut listed eight rules for writing a short story:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

Vonnegut qualifies the list by adding that Flannery O'Connor broke all these rules except the first, and that great writers tend to do that."

If I could choose two? It's be Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury.

*EDIT*

Three? Vonnegut, Bradbury, and Harlan Ellison

Chinese People: Observations

1 - Chinese people are gay

Not that there's anything wrong with it.

Ok no seriously, I'm not actually sure if those individuals are actually gay or not, but they frequently physically express themselves in such a manner. The girls like to hold hands just walking around campus, and I'm not sure how representative it is, but these three guys on my floor schedule their showers so they can all shower together. Last night I was brushing, then they just all rolled in with their towels and stuff, proceeded to take the showers in an oderly fashion, then they continued their conversation. In the shower.

It's honestly not that big of a deal (especially coming from a liberal arts college/living around SF), but it has confused many an exchange student.

2 - Chinese people don't want to sit next to you on the bus

In no way shape or form, does anyone want to sit next to ANYONE on the bus. I'm not sure how it is other places, but on the BART people tend to sit in an orientation that allows the maximum amount of people to sit. Chinese people want the maximum amount of peope to be able to sit too, if "maximum" amount means "by myself without anyone near me." Let's take a look (we'll use the middle aisle for this demostration):


This is a classic setup, where a Chinese person has occupied the outermost seat in a three seat row. This seat leaves the window seat open, but the person sitting down hopes that the awkwardness of having to pass by will prevent anyone else from sitting. Really a basic technique as often the window seat will be occupied. The user of this method is still satisfied though with a one seat buffer

This seating arrangement works much like the first, but it much more effective as there is no buffer between Chinese people should the window seat of the two seat row be occupied. A more advanced technique, this often leaves the unoccupied seat unoccupied, unless a particularly bold (or tired) Chinese person wishes to sit. In which case both will sit uncomfortably until one gets off.

The most confounding situation for those who want to sit, this situation often leaves people standing. Chinese people are too polite to want to impose, and that is the basis of these techniques

Because while Chinese people don't want you (or anyone) to sit down next to them, they sure as hell aren't going to sit down next to anyone else either.

These of course, are the three most common seating arrangements on any given bus.

3 - Chinese people have jammies

All the guys on my floor have jammies - either boxer shorts looking like things or athletic shorts. And a worn in shirt. And once they get back to their room BAM it's jammies time. You never seen anyone hanging out in their room in jeans...just...you know, jammies

4 - Chinese people like to sing

In the car, in the shower. Falsettoes or rapping. They'll do everything everywhere, with varying degrees of skill

5 - Chinese people love to chant

Chinese societies (like clubs on campus) mainly seem to express themselves by going to public areas (the quad or canteens) and chanting. It's like stomp the yard but with less rhythm, more Chinese people, and in a language I can't understand. Plus these idiots on my floor love to go around the halls shouting what sounds like "EH-LIC! EH-LIC! EH-LIC!" Eric is apparently a "famous" person who lives in Shaw, so everyone clearly has to yell his name as tribute.

Which brings me to my last point...

6 - God dammit Chinese people actually do substitute "L" for "R" sounds. A lot.

anyways....

EH-LIC! EH-LIC! EH-LIC!

This...is...STUDY ABROAD

Another cool non-academic night in Hong Kong...

Getting to the restaurant (Italian place in Hong Kong with a really New York name - Fat Alberto or something):

-Talking politics with Italians (the three guys preferred Obama)
-Getting confused in the MTR station (you'd think we'd be good at this by now...)
-Going down into the restaurant the stairwell is lined with "old" looking "Italian" things - pictures, posters, etc

At the restaurant:

-Italian food in Hong Kong. Interesting; not bad, not great
-All the employees spoke really good English, by Hong Kong standards
-Our side of the table orders some sangria (which was apparently not that good), and me not drinking, everyone just says "Ok Sam you get dessert." Ordered a tiramisu for the table, and when it comes, everyone starts singing Happy Birthday. It's not my birthday. But as I'm cutting up the tiramisu into parts for everyone, the manager comes over and says something to the effect of "Oh it's your birthday? We'll give you another tiramisu, one won't be enough for your table" - we had 9 people. So they bring out another tiramisu, this one with a candle on it, and everyone sings Happy Birthday again! Too much desert tonight, oy.

Getting back:

-Talking train strategy with the group (hint: when the doors open, RUN to the nearest open seat)
-Learning (then presently forgetting) random Italian phrases
-Walking up from the bottom of the hill to the top, but still enjoying it the whole way

And no, this sort of thing does not show up in your GPA

Multimedia

Pictures from today...

Halloween! Bonus points for reading the character

The full entry reads "mysterious korean girl" - that's right, someone in my cell phone is listed as "mysterious korean girl." I think her name is Serena...

Please notice that my fruit punch contains "fish product"

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a Thursday in the life. It's also what happens when I have my camera on me.

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/user/shuie888

Enjoy?

Picture

This is roughly about how hard academics have been here at CUHK. This also probably explains why I will be receiving lousy grades. That and the fact that the local students 1) audit the class before they take it for a grade and 2) cheat to an absurd degree. Curve wreckers.

Anyways this is a drawing of a guest lecturer that came to speak to my China, Hong Kong, and the World Economy class, I hope you enjoy it.

Ok the grades won't be SO lousy (don't worry parents), but it'll be a rougher semester than I'd prefer. I just find myself distracted by:

1 - Living in Hong Kong
2 - Traveling to various other places in the world
3 - Meeting new people from various places in the world

I hope that Oxy has the same priorities that I do, otherwise one of us is wasting their time.

Note of #3 - ran into a Japanese guy I know at the MTR station today, asked him what he was going to do with Friday off, he replied "Oh we're going to chang karaoke." This, somehow, made perfect sense to me (chang = sing). I value this sort of thing more than my English professor calling Hamlet a man of action. I hope Oxy does too...

That was a test

Of the emergency readership system

Audrey quoted some of "The Zoo" - I can't tell if she passes if she fails

Off Topic

Ok this has nothing to do with HK/China/being abroad/whatever, but here goes

I believe that R Kelly is my generation's version of Michael Jackson.

No, really. Stay with me here.

When Kels is trying, he makes some great stuff - I Believe I Can Fly, World's Greatest, The Zoo (OK I'm kidding about The Zoo). Now I'm not the biggest follower of Kels, but I know he also puts out some real clunkers, Real Talk anyone? We all know the hits Michael has put out, but what about everything else?

So, when R Kelly is on his game, he's actually pretty good.

Michael Jackson has some good stuff too - if you disagree you hate music. That's right. I said it.

Now the similiarity that I find the most striking here, is that they're both completely freaking bat sh*t insane. R Kelly has his underage girls, and oh wait so does Michael. Kels did 24, that's right, 24 chapters of Trapped in the Closet, Michael operates the world's creepiest amusement park - his house.

Not a very well drawn out argument, but I summarize it thusly: both artists have some incredible work in related fields/genres, and both are absolutely insane.

It just had to be said

Yangshuo Bike Ride

I think I figured out why I enjoyed the bike ride through Yangshuo so much; I felt like everything about that experience was so absolutely real

It was riding a bike through the countryside. That's all it was, and that's all it will ever have to be.

On our end, there was no greater motive than "Hey let's rent bikes and ride through Yangshuo." We weren't trying to get anywhere in particular, we weren't riding the bikes to get in shape, it was simply to get out into the world

On the part of Yangshuo, there was no sort of pretense. It was not some dressed up and hollowed out exhibit for tourists showing how far China has come. Sure the tourists are there, and in droves, but something about the Yangshuo countryside defies being cheapened by this. I felt like there was no hint of "Just think of what Yangshuo can become" or "Look at Yangshuo's historic past." All I felt was a sense of "This is Yangshuo now."

Pictures Up!

Videos soon - if you want an explanation for any pictures posted (at any point), feel free to ask

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuie/

Backlog of youtube videos coming soon

Guilin

Guilin trip was this last weekend, and it was fairly spectacular:

Left on Thursday (skipping some class - something which I'm getting more and more used to) to take the sleeper train into Guilin. It's a 13 hour train ride, so our group (4 guys, 4 girls, 3 Mandarin speakers) opted to get the sleeper car tickets. There are six beds per compartment, so it was good times bonding with random Chinese people. Quarters were very cramped (I slammed my head into a few things), but comfortable enough to sleep in I suppose.

We arrived in Guilin, and proceded via taxi to our hostel (Back Street Youth Hostel - that's right, a free plug), shoved our stuff into a storage room, then set about exploring Guilin. We saw the Solitary Peak (a governor's palace), the Elephant Cave (a big ol' rock that has a hole in it), and the Reed Flute Cave (which yielded some spectacular pictures - take that dust mote). Then we had a cheap (15 RMB) dinner at a place that in the States would not have been cheap at all, walked around a night market, and went to sleep.

The next day we were up early and on our way (via private boat) up the Li River to the town of Yangshuo. Spectacular scenery the whole way up - between the granite/limestone/whatever cliffs that simply just dominate the landscape and the people of Yangshuo going about their business it's just a shock to someone used to cities. Plus, our boat driver was friendly. That was good.

Upon arriving in Yangshuo, we put down our luggage in the hostel, got lunch, then proceeded to embark on what I truly believe will amount to be one of the most incredible experiences in my life:

We rented bikes (real cheap like too), found a bike trail, and just biked through the countryside. That's it. That's all it had to be too - just the whole experience of doing that seems at this point at least, to be truly once in a lifetime. There was spectacular scenery, good company, and just being able to be so close to what China is mostly like (rural/agricultural/poor) made for a unique experience. At the same time you clearly feel like an outside observer; I really have absolutely zero in common with these people, but then it's not a large stretch of the imagination to think that just a few short generations ago that my family might be living in that exact same way. I know I could never survive a week living the way those people do, but it's easy to romanticize the pastoral - the (alleged) simplicity of life is very tempting.

Words fail me and I think pictures will fail the viewer. It's hard to explain, and I'll definitely take another shot at it, but there was something profound in there.

After biking, it was more dinner/night markets/sleep. Man, anti-climactic there, but hey, it's what happened

Next day we woke up late, got a bizarro western breakfast (a not-quite-omlette), and took a tour to this place called Shangrila park. It was very interesting - they were like...showing off some ethnic Chinese minority group for the tourists. While it provided entertainment and some good pictures, the same recurrng thought that kept running through my head was "Sorry for raping your culture." It just feels like it's been hollowed out, put on display, and repeated for tourist money until it's no longer real. I feel this was about some of the temples in tourist locations as well.

There's an exciting story about dinner/the way back to Guilin/Hong Kong, but my roomie is going to sleep, and I think I also need to go to bed. Plus the story really deserves an entry of it's own.

To do:
-Properly explain the spectacularity of the Yangshuo bike excursion
-Tell the dinner story

Admit it, you're all excited

Traveling Plans

I'm off to Guilin until Monday!

If I'm not back by then, send a search party

Summary

Best investment: Bass guitar and headphone amp (~1500 HKD)

Fills free time, get to practice a lot (nothing to distract me from playing bass), lots and lots of fun. Last night spent like 45 minutes working out a David Byrne's "Strange Overtones" that combines the bass line and rhythm guitar part in a slap line. So satisfying once I got it.

Best technology: Skype (100 HKD for minutes, ~150 HKD for webcam)

I get to talk to my family, and videochat with friends. There is no downside to that. Other than I have to worry about my appearance when videochatting.

Best discovery: Shortcuts

When I first got here it took me about 30 minutes to get from the top of campus down to the bottom, and that also took a lot of effort as well. Now it's a series of not-that-bad stairwells and lifts. Takes about 15 minutes, which is great considering...

Worst Inconvenience: The campus bus system

It's designed to be convenient, but to be polite: fail. During class hours busses come to each stop at 20 after the hour (classes are scheduled until 15 past the hour), but if you miss that bus right after class, you're either walking, going to a different stop, or waiting 20 minutes until another bus shows up. Then you factor in the fact that professors struggle with letting you out on time. Case in point: I've never been on time to my English class. Not once. Thanks, Mandarin class.

Best food: Roughly, "Cha siu fan"

Pork, rice, veggies, sauce. Easy to order, cheap, and pretty tasty. I can say it without embarassing myself too badly. You always feel bad when you make the lady taking your order get off her stool so you can both walk over to the menu so you can point at what you want.

Biggest non-issue issue: Chinese guy who can't speak Chinese (me)

Went into Shatin mall Monday to go and try to find someplace that changes money (going traveling this weekend). Needed help, asked two older ladies at an information booth. In English. Much muttering, embarassed smiles, and wondering aloud "He's Chinese, why doesn't he speak Chinese?" I understood that, and tried in Mandarin. Much muttering, embarassed smiles, but no more wondering aloud. Maybe it's not me?

Thing I should fix: Tie - camera and sunglasses

Camera has a dust mote stuck inside the lens ruining some of my shots. As for my sunglasses, a few days ago I went to go take them out of the case my dad gave me, and I grab one end, pull it out, and pull out one earpiece and one lens. I think a screw fell out, but long story short it's in two pieces.

Most convenient: Octopus card

Thank goodness for the Octopus. If you ever stay in HK for any period of time, you'll know the power of the eight armed card.

Most friendly:

Canadians. No idea why, but it's true!

Least friendly: Chinese people

So. Much. Glaring.

Hardest class: Mandarin

Gahhhhhh....should study more

Easiest class: English

Gahhhhhh...should apply myself more

Biggest waste of time class: Meanings of Life

Gahhhhhh....should do the readings/I don't think the professor would make it in the US academy

Most confusing class: Microeconomics

Sam in class: "Um...what?"

Biggest detractor of the USA: Professor for my HK/China/World economy class

This man just hates on the US banking system. Every punch line is "Lehman Bros and Freddie Mac." With good reason too.

Biggest undoing: Heat

Way too hot to workout => (relatively) out of shape Sam. Weather has been cooling down, so I'm back at it though...

I have too much: Spare change.

Seriously, knock it off. Stop giving me two 50 cent pieces instead of a one dollar piece. C'mon.

Back at it

Oh hello there

Was up until 2 am last night working on memorizing Mandarin words, which yielded mixed results today. Remembered some random words, blanked out on words I should have known, but I'd say it was probably more successful than my strategy of "Oh I have a test today I should review for a couple of minutes"

Busy week this week randomly: Mandarin quiz today, economics quiz/test on Wednesday, English paper needs to be done by Thursday. It's all happening at once!

Going to Guilin this Friday through Monday, will take lots of pictures!

A good warm up post if I do say so myself...

Blogs I like

Read my friend's blogs!

Chris - A log of a spiritual sort of journey; interesting topic, good observations, well written, and limited time only!

Sean - USC in HK; his blog is prettier than mine, better multimedia usage, and I'll stop before I depress myself

Dani - Whitworth in Italy; good friend from HS, she cooks her own food there for some reason

Maurice - UCLA in the Netherlands; another friend from HS, he is the master of the spontaneous trip

Brannon - Oxy at Oxy; music and life in one blog, read it

Anyone else I missed?

Not Bad for a Thursday Night

Longest interval between updates...ever?

First off, something I think a lot of people can relate to. It's that innocent question of course, "Where are you from?" Oh, well, I'm from California. "No no, where were you born?" I was born in New York. "No where were your parents born?" Well my dad was born in the States too and- "Where is your family from? Originally?" Oh that question. Usually I get this line of questioning from elderly white people (the same people sometimes also get to enjoy the awkwardness of the "Oh my young man your English is very good" "Hey thanks I'm majoring in English literature" conversation), but it's weird to hear it coming from Chinese people.

Probably something other people won't relate to as much, after I tell people that yes, in fact, I am Chinese is the line of questioning that goes "Oh so you speak Cantonese then?" "No, but I speak a little bit of Mandarin." "You don't speak Catonese?" "No, I didn't really grow up speaking" "Ohh..." *slightly awkward pause in the conversation*

Had this exchange with one of the old guys who let people into the athletics facility, and at the end he asked me if I spoke Japanese, in Japanese. Either he's showing off, or the concept of a Chinese person who doesn't speak Chinese threw him off a little. Asian but doesn't speak Chinese? Must be Japanese then. Right? Right.

I'm getting more used to this whole exchange though, it bothers me a whole lot less than it did a few weeks ago. In fact, it's getting to the point where I get to enjoy a small victory or two. My Mandarin is improving (thanks to the insane Mandarin class I'm in), and I can understand some Cantonese through having heard so much of it (family speaks)/context of conversation that when student aid 1 asks me if I speak Cantonese in Cantonese, I can respond (in English) that no, I can't speak.

Plus, I hate reducing the level of my speaking English. Information is relayed sure, but there just isn't the same level of enjoyment in conversation. I'm an English major, I like (weird) stuff.

Moving on, had an excellent Thursday night this past week. Thursday is my last day of classes, so I'm free to go off in the evening to fritter away some HKD. Went out to dinner at a place called Modern Toilet. Here's your one-minute review. Too expensive, not enough food, 30 HKD minimum order per person, decor is bathroom themed. Seriously. Their overhead lamps looked like plungers, and they take delight in serving the food in urinals/toilet bowl looking dishes. And they offer this chocolate soft serve cleverly dispensed to look like poop. Seriously. AND they merchandise! A friend bought a pillow that says "SHIT" on it, and looks like it too. Literally - it's brown, has that distinctive shape, and even has plastic flies attached to it. As that wasn't too much food we became determined to wait for half price sushi at a place called Sushi One (they have a depressing logo, it's a fish in a birdcage) which runs from 10-1. So we walked around a fairly epic mall for about two hours. Nothing too special, just shopping BUT THEN yeah we waited in line for about a half hour. Then a truly epic amount of sushi was consumed. At the very least we devastated a small coastal region. Fish, rice, and chopsticks were flying everywhere. Trays were being delivered and taken away constantly. Then we ordered round two. All told we spent about 800 HKD (~100 USD) too feed 9 of us. This was pretty good stuff too. Then on the way back up campus we found really an ideal spot - nice breeze coming in off the water, a clear view of the area around campus, and a cool, dry night. It might have been some sort of sushi induced haze, but it was an excellent night.

Heard something interesting the other day, which is that some local students go out of their was to look ABC. American Born Chinese. Like me. It strikes me as weird because sometimes I feel like the awkward Chinese-but-not-really-Chinese guy on campus. But I guess those students will have the language skills that I don't...But consider this: from what I've seen, trying to look anything but Chinese seems to be common practice. Lighten your hair, wear American Eagle, try to look ABC, girls curl your naturally straight hair. You're either trying to look like westerners or anime characters. Sometimes I can't tell...

Peanut butter = greatness. I've started putting it on everything. In fact, I'm just eating it straight right now. Mmm...

I Should be Studying

1 - Typhoons: impressive. Capable of destroying umbrellas, getting you very wet, cancelling classes, and knocking over potted plants. Probably more drastic things too, but I haven't experienced those yet...

2 - Apparently I look local, and my "Ai Ya" exclamations sound very local too. Now only if I knew Canto I'd be set...

Mando/Eco quizzes tomorrow...

Something Wicked This Way Comes

1 - I love Ray Bradbury
2 - It's not necessarily wicked, but it's a typhoon

Apparently we're right in it's path too. The hostel people downstairs have been taping windows with a big asterisk looking pattern of brown tape. All the better to not completely shatter with I suppose. I'm personally enjoying it (this build up to it at least), the weather is much cooler, and there's a persistent breeze coming in. It's fascinating to watch the clouds roll past the window. It's like being beneath a pane of glass - there's an exact level that the clouds skate on top of. The cloud army marches on?

School is picking up, more I have a couple of quizzes coming up and I received my first paper assignment. Despite this increased workload, life continues to improve - I've learned a few new shortcuts on campus (drastically cutting down on transit time) and I've found even more facilities on campus. Next up is learning how to print things...

Band practice tonight! How random is that? A drummer might even show up too. Hopefully my investment of buying a bass to practice on will pay off with increased competence while playing.

And Skype fascinates me.

More Beijing Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuie/

The Beijing sets of course...

Beijing Pics

Part one at least:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuie/

Even More

1 - Hey local HK kids, shut up in lecture. No one cares what you're doing three weekends from now, let the damn professor talk. It's like constant yak yak yak yak yak. All the while, all the exchange kids look horrified "OMG they're talking! That never happens in my homeland!" Thats how I look anyways...

2 - Hey Hong Kong, it's not the 1950's. Guy and girls, especially around this age are interested in each other for more than charming personalities and witty jokes, it's ok! Cutting off visiting hours at 9 pm (12 is the latest I've seen) grates on my American sense of personal freedom. I demand things my way! Without having to go to McDonald's! Except even there I have problems because I don't speak Cantonese!

Anyone else notice that my formula is statement-judgement-self deprecating remark so I don't seem like a jerk?

Observations

1 - Chinese people will queue for ANYTHING. Getting into the train, getting off the train, taking the lift, waiting to get into class, waiting to order at a canteen, waiting for a table to free up at said canteen. Queue while shopping, queue while waiting to play basketball, queue sixty deep to get onto a bus! The worst is when you see people queuing up to take the lift, then you take the stairs up the one floor you needed to go, then you see those very same people getting out on the first floor. Lazy Hong Kong people. But really, there is a great love for queuing up here, which is funny when you consider...

2 - Chinese people suck at queuing up. Straight up. It's mostly orderly, but in some instances, civilization just breaks down. Waiting for the train in Beijing (we were first in line to get on), but as the train doors opened up suddenly we're 10 people behind! Which is to say that the people here love to queue, but they also have a great love for flaunting those other people who have queued patiently. The people who are most guilty of this? Old Chinese people. They'll cut you, then go into the I-don't-understand/respect-your-elders bit. The best way to get around is to basically set basketball style picks for everyone; just screen out all of the other people so your group can get in, then roll to the hoop (train doors).

3 - Guiltiest pleasure while in HK: KFC. WTF? OK, too much of that, but um yeah it's pretty cool. They deliver right to your door on campus, plus it's decently cheap. And you can totally rationalize it, because it's not exactly the same KFC as back in the States. I think there is a secret 12th herb/spice that they put in just to appeal to Asian people. It's probably ginger or something. Chinese people love ginger. They offer such delicious non-western treats as egg tarts ("dahn tat"), rice with mushrooms in brown gravy, and rice with chicken with some sort of white gravy.

Ok I generalize about Chinese people a lot. This is mostly for comic effect, but dang if most of it isn't true. Have you ever tried to follow a Chinese guy through a crowd of other Chinese people? Nearly impossible, everyone looks the same! Darn stereotypes for having a basis in truth...

Also, I used the phrase "non-western" two paragraphs ago, and I'd like to clarify my position on this whole issue of calling things western/non-western:

What a load of imperialistic crap.

Thank God for my postcolonial literature class (even if it wasn't a great time) but damn talk about investing importance through language. Why is Asia part of the Orient? Why is the US part of the west? Because that's the way (white people) wrote the books. Look I'm sure I'm missing many a nuance here, but really the imperial mission carried out earlier in history by countries like those in Europe (as well as the United States) created this distinction and dichotomy to suit itself. California is east of Hong Kong. The United States is west of Europe. That the "west" is automatically thought of as developed and industrial I don't think is entirely proper. That's just a way of saying "We're one way, and everyone else is another way" (referring to people as "oriental" is also another good way to make me think you're something of a jackass). Now the phrase "global north" (think about it: does Mexico reach the industrial standards of the US? No, but then again not many countries do, but Mexico is still in "the west") I think is more suited (good one Prof. Neti), but I doubt anyone wants to deal with me harping on them when they say "let's get western food" because that'd make me the jackass.

That went on far longer than I had intended...

More Stuff Chinese People Like

-Converse All-Stars/Chucks

If I had to design a HK t-shirt, it would say this, and take up the entire front of the shirt. Black lettering on a plain white shirt. If anyone makes this shirt, and sends me a picture with them wearing it they get a special souvenir

GIVE
LOVE
BEST

But seriously, the most popular shirts out there say "LESS IS MORE" or have that BAPE monkey on it (awesome slogan "Ape shall not kill ape." There are also t-shirts for bands that I seriously doubt that people in HK have heard of. The King of Leon? Awesome band, but I don't think you'll hear them in HK...

Beijing

Ok so we're back from Beijing! Time for a fun filled recap plus rambling thoughts:

-Staying over at the airport, while very effective, was kind of a bad idea. It worked well enough in terms of getting us there on time, but it sets you up for a very tired/exhausted trip. Not very comfortable + it's an airport/construction/other people + having to watch the stuff = late nights

-We definitely were helped by the Olympics having happened recently - there were information stands and volunteer helpers everywhere. Plus they all had pamphlets, maps, and tourism guides. Very good, very good

-The Beijing airport has a train that runs inside of it. Sweet

-Security is a big deal. They x-ray you. Constantly. Cameras line the streets, and are omnipresent at all the touristy places. Police and military are seen patrolling everywhere (this is good because we tourists need to ask a lot of questions). The mainland > HK in terms of feeling the presence of the state

-Our hotel, the Zhongan Inn was ok. Strange that when I stay at a 2 star hotel in the mainland is when my various flea/mosquito bites go away, and that they appear when I walk around in Mong Kok...

-Tianamen square: a big square, lots of flags, big ol' picture of Mao in the distance. Tourists and guards mixing freely, sometimes taking amusing (and slightly awkward) pictures with each other

-Hot damn if Chinese people don't like to try and sell you things. Wherever you go people are selling drinks/cheap plastic crap. Unrestrained capitalism at what cost?

-There are a couple of things that will never be sold out of Chinese culture: hocking absolutely wicked loogies, and squatting (the Asian squat)

-When the guards march, they have painted symbols on the ground to tell them where to stop. Some guards are also apparently stationed to stand exactly in the shade of a lamppost. Lucky guys

-Peking duck = tasty. The first thing they served us was just skin and fat. It's a delicacy!

-Li Ning, a Chinese sports company got owned by Adidas. Li Ning: "Anything is Possible". Adidas: "Impossible is Nothing". Li Ning: smaller company, thought of slogan first, still doesn't get anything from Adidas. Adidas: "hah!"

-Yao Ming is still everywhere. Liu Xiang? Still around, but not nearly as much. Hope he comes back to win some World Championships!

-Big Paralympics push. Kinda cool, interesting to see.

-Ate fried scorpion. Had to get over the weirdness at first, but honestly it just tastes like fried shrimp tail (if anyone eats those too). Not much flavor, just a crunchy/crispy texture. Verdict? Overpriced. The guy who was selling them to us was cool though; he saw us pointing and started shouting "HEN HAO CHI!!!!!" (roughly: really good eating)

-I really liked hearing all Mandarin. Here in Hong Kong it's all "Do you speak Cantonese? No. Do you speak English? No." "Oh."

-Wasn't that smoggy, but after working a paddle boat for 20 minutes my lungs hurt...

-Jade factory: 10 minutes of history, 50 minutes of shopping. Typical Chinese. My necklace is apparently "the best kind" but I think they were just being nice. It's the thought, ladies and gentlemen, that counts.

-China has AWESOME signs. You'll see.

-I like the statues too

-Tombs/pillars/thrones: all wonderfully brilliant, but at some point they begin to blur together...Thank goodness for the pictures though!

-Two out of two doctors of traditional Chinese medicine agree: my digestion moves too slowly, and I should stay away from eating/drinking cold things because my body type is "cold". My mom knew that second part years ago though. Validation!

-Great Wall: a great time out. Very steep and lots of steps, wear good shoes. I don't understand why people are all out of breath on the wall and then they're all "Oh smoking now would probably help." Saw a tour group of midgets on the wall, plus an Italian waxing poetic (in English) into his videocamera "Thousands of different people come each day to marvel at..."

-They have this like...bear park thing at the base of one of the sections of the wall. It's just this walled enclosure where a bunch of fat bears wander around and wait for tourists to toss them an apple for 3 RMB. I threw one (the other tourists who didn't want to pay loved it), then walked away before paying as the bear caught the apple in mid air and began to eat. Yes!

-Tram ride down from the Great Wall. Youtube destroyed the quality of the video though. That's John in front, Vicky in back.

-Lamb. On. A. Stick. 10/10. "Yang Rou" for the win

-Excellent food in Beijing: hot pot, traditional, street food - all good, all decently priced. So great

-Summer Palace: sprawling, infested with people crawling through each nook and cranny. Took a paddle boat around a lake, acted like a pirate. All good.

-Did you know there's a mooncake dance? It looks...goofy...

-Speaking of which, it was a complete pain to find mooncake. Places were sold out, places only sold the sketchy 1 RMB mooncakes, stores were hard to find. It took us 1/3 of a morning just to get our hands on 6 mooncakes. It was worth it though; back at the hotel just shooting the breeze and eating mooncake

-Bird's Nest Stadium area: very crowded (especially on the train!) Very clean and orderly. The only people selling stuff on the street (I'm sure the other vendors were banished to the countryside) were people selling fake tickets. As we walked in a guy tried to sell us one ticket, but we were a group of five so we were all "No thanks we have five people." Got as far as the security checkpointed, got disappointed, purchased flags/a headband, then headed back. Same ticket seller as before comes back up to us, fans out 20 tickets, then tries to sell again. We suspected that he just went to his printer, and jammed out another couple of copies...

-Forbidden City: lots of walking, lots of old buildings, statues and thrones. All with interesting names too (The Gate of Harmonious Unity and stuff like that). Defying the traditional Chinese doctors, ate a honey-peach popsicle and it was a great decision.

-Flight delayed on the way back (from 6 until 9), ran around the international terminal only to end up getting lousy food, missed the night bus back to Sha Tin so had to get another bus/take a cab, got back at ~3...but all in all it was a solid trip!

Pictures to come, video hotlinked above.

All in all: 700 pictures taken, 1 video, 1 scorpion eaten, and I'm probably leaving out a bunch too...

Beijing Points Continued

1 - Cheap food/cheap snacks. Mmmm....It's like 5-10 RMB per delicious food item, or a range of about 50 cents to a dollar and a half. Highlights so far: cheap Pocky, cheap haw flakes, cheap grilled lamb on a stick, cheap sugar crusted fruit in a stick. Still working on getting that moon cake.

2 - It is, indeed, a Great Wall. Many inclines, declines, reclines. Smoking on the Great Wall, while prohibited, seems to be a favorite activity. And people wonder why they're having such a hard time climbing up flights of stairs. Plus the roller coaster/trolley thing on the way down? Awesome. Youtube evidence later.

3 - Not too smoggy (thank goodness). Also some brilliant weather. It actually gets cool, with little to no humidity. It's great.

4 - The subway is also pretty sweet, though not quite up the level of HK. More crowded, seemingly less organized. Very cheap though!

5 - More to come later I'm sure

Points from Beijing

1 - Gerry the bellhop, you are hell of sketchy. Offering us a back room, cut out the travel agency tour for about 1/4 the cost? Tracking us down to our hotel hours later that evening, you having made your way out on your bike? Gerry the bellhop, my friend, they teach us from a very young age to be suspicious of people like you

2 - Getting to the airport at 12 am to sleep there for an 8 am flight? Actually worked out kind of well. Took the first shift of "Hey I'll stay up to watch the stuff" until 4, then passed the torch on. Running on about 3 hours of sleep today, and we have a Great Wall tour tomorrow at like 6:45

3 - Beijing itself: yet another Asian city, yet another distinct feel. The mainland is clearly more controlled than HK - there are x-ray machines to get into the subway, cameras and police everywhere. Stayed mostly local today - we were only a small wave in a tide of tourists, so I didn't feel bad about taking pictures of lots of (random) stuff. Had a Peking Duck based dinner (at like 4 - airport screwed up the eating schedule) which was delicious. Proceeded to walk around downtown (?) Beijing which struck me like the 3rd street promenade down in Santa Monica. Streets closed to traffic, people milling about, people buying stuff. Didn't eat scorpions or other bugs today, but had this sugared apple thing which was fairly tasty. Have yet to buy cheap Olympic crap, but I went into a Li Ning store today and it ruled.

Must sleep, more later

A Capital Idea

That said: man is capitalism rampant over here.

CUHK sent us a little "Survive and Thrive" booklet, and one of the advice quotes was "Hong Kong is very modern and international on the surface, but [highlighted in blue] its soul is very Chinese"

Two weeks in, that soul has struck me as being very concerned with making money.

I've been going on about how convenient and awesome the Octopus Card is, and it is! I was just thinking and realized that one of the primary purposes it serves is to allow a person to spend more money, faster. Want a drink? Swipe it! Want to go somewhere? Swipe it! It doesn't feel like you're spending money if you're just swiping - not as real, so you can spend spend spend.

Mong Kok? Walk the streets, try to bargain, spend money.
Sha Tin? Here, exit the MTR/KCR into a giant mall. And spend money.
Want to have air conditioning or do laundry? Spend money.
Want to go to China? Buy a visa, show proof of hotel reservations and airfare: spend money.

It's like this but instead of "smoke" it's "spend money"

If it weren't so expensive, this sort of thing would almost be beautiful

An Expensive Week

Bass and soft case: ~1500 HKD
Beijing travel package (hotel and airfare): ~4500 HKD
Mainland visas: probably going to end up at ~2000 HKD

Also included under misc. expenses: food/travel/entertainment/frivolous purchases/vending machines/need to refill Octopus card/will eventually have to put more on my SIM card/laundry/air conditioning

On one hand, well yeah spending this much money sucks. Especially being raised in the way I was (read: Asian) spending money is often a painful experience, and having to spend more and more isn't helping anything.

Other hand: how lucky am I to be able to spend this much money? "Oh no I have to spend money on luxury goods!" I mean let's not get carried away, I'm quickly burning through three summers of working as well as a...disciplined (read: too small) stipend from my school so it's not like I can afford my lavish (I'm stuck in a dorm room with a bed that's almost too small) lifestyle forever, but dang.

I'm twenty years old and am spending money on traveling in Asia. I think about all the stories that my parents have told me about growing up poor (walking uphill both ways to school, you know the ones), and it's striking: how many fortunate turns have put me in the situation I am now?

That my family has been able to even think about putting me into this situation (much less my brother a couple of times, that knucklehead) is nothing short of spectacular.

I put it poorly this afternoon when confronted with how much money I had to spend this week, I said "Things could be worse." You know what the truth is? "It would be harder for things to be better"

TCPL Part 3

It was pointed out that my numbering was lacking/stupid

7. Shirts that proclaim things that are not China/Hong Kong: USA basketball/other countries/other schools. Lots of Kobe, lots of Houston Rockets.

9. Hair treatments: lightening/bleaching/dying/styling (think anime hair). A lot of the people who are expressing themselves through their hair end up looking the same as everyone else: lightened (brown/orange) hair, kinda short, flying up in all different directions through some styling pomade or something. They all probably use the same brand too.

I've seen groups of like 6 guys all come through a door looking like this. EXACTLY THE SAME.Oy.

A Retraction

Ok so that didn't actually happen, but how unbelievable is it that it could have? Feeling a little sick so I didn't go but I feel like it's going to work out.

Purchased a bass for 1,200 HKD and a case for about 200 HKD. But being able to practice/fill some free time? Worth it.

Lantau Island/Buddha pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuie/

And everyone who reads this: thanks, I like you too

Weekends

Big Bhudda on Lantau Island yesterday, beach/karaoke tonight? I'm supposed to get work done?

A Thousand Little Betrayals

I speak, of course, of having eaten KFC twice in the last two weeks. Sorry Hong Kong, my bad. The delivery is just so convienent!

Vending machine by itself = fail. Vending machine + octopus card? Total victory. No fumbling about with loose change, no getting more loose change. Just sweet, sweet Vitasoy brand goodness.

Made it into Hong Kong island today to get a mainland China visa. First off, of course, was lunch. The group made it to HK island hungry, so we all busted out those little guidebooks to find a restaurant under the Wan Chai MTR stop. Found a nice Indian place called The Viceroy which offered an all-you-can eat lunch buffet. I think it worked out well for both parties. Got into the visa line with all sorts of outsiders, eventually made it up to the visa office after being x-rayed and having to prove that my bottle of water was not indeed explosives by drinking some. Then I dropped 40 HKD to buy some passport photos, during which I used my wonderful English/Mandarin skills to confuse the lady working the photo booth:

A friend wanted a service that she didn't offer/understand (not cutting the photos out of the strip), so I tell him that he shouldn't worry about it (in English), her (in Mandarin) that it's ok and she shouldn't worry about it, then when she follows up in Mandarin, I reply in Mandarin to tell her that I only speak English. Earned a weird look for my troubles.

On my visa application I only put down Shenzen for my travel destination because everywhere else required proof of a hotel/proof of plane tickets. Which we don't have. So I've been approved for a mainland visa, but I'm worried because the ticket lady kept on saying "Only Shenzen right? Only Shenzen." I've either just gamed the system and will go to Beijing anyways, or will just have to content myself with Shenzen for a while.

Afterwords I ended up dragging the group with me to Tom Lee Music in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is apparently the Asia/Canada equivalent of Guitar Center. Except with higher prices. I went in with the intent to buy a bass to practice with while in HK, but the cheapest one was 1,200 HKD, and not the one I was looking for. Maybe I'm just spoiled by MusiciansFriend, but I get the feeling I'll be back there to make a purchase before too long.

Played basketball in the United Gym (which is the new place to be: ~10 minute walk, indoors). Went 2-0 (yes!) bumping my overall vs. HK people record up to 3-1. My observations so far:

1. Chinese people like to shoot jump shots, with varying degrees of success/techinical proficiency
2. Those who can handle the ball play guard like Allen Iverson. Dribble dribble dribble crossover step back crossover dribble dribble slash to basket jack up a shot. Not too much use-handle-to-get-into-lane-to-free-up-a-teammate play
3. It's not really a team game as much as I'm used to: lots of iso, no setting screens/pin-downs
4. When rebounding the players I've played with don't try to grab the ball for themselves. They're very content to repeatedly slap the ball up/around and hoping their team comes out with it.
5. When they do post up (rarely), it's a lot of pump fakes

I'm getting a bit better though I think. Thanks to my size and corn-fed, weight-lifted (American Shaolin reference) athletic ability I have a pretty ok time posting up. It's becoming more natural to find my way to get to a spot to post up, and I can back down pretty well. Hitting my actual shot has proved the challenge though. In two games tonight probably split my points from the left and right block. Had a good post up, teammate cuts outside/baseline, fake handoff (selling his man and mine to seal off his cut: we had pulled that one on them a little earlier) turn inside into shot sequence (actually hit it too, that's the important part. I need to play better defense/help better in defending slashers though - not used to playing against those kinds of players.

Then it was KFC/poker night. I've failed the HK night life again, but I still want to go karaoke. Moreso than clubbing, I think that sounds fun.

Lantau Island and Big Bhudda tomorrow. Still need to buy my books/do my HW. Three day weekends every weekend (4 days when I skip Thursdays to travel) are also nice.

And oh yes, I'm now a lifetime member of the Shaw Band Society. For only 80 HKD, I get a sweet t-shirt, and half off whenever I want to rent out the rehearsal room.

Victory

Ok I know I've complained about a lot of things, but here are some of life's little victories:

1. I did laundry
2. Shakespeare class. As an English major from the states I feel like I have some sort of advantage. No one else knew what a "Renaissance man" was today. Hey Hong Kong? Y'all can take it

Which of course means that Mandarin will pwn me, but as long as there's a balance I'll be ok

Thunderstorm today - a nice change of pace. It might be the semblance of routine, but life is looking up?

First Day of Classes

First day of classes was today, and all told it wasn't so bad. Anthropology class (The Meaning of Life) got canceled, so managed to do my shopping for school supplies. Can you believe that HK doesn't have folders? They're like quasi folders. They have a side and the bottom sealed, forming more of a pocket than anything. And that's it. Got lunch with friends, went to Mandarin class, which looks like it will be kicking my butt for the next four months. Combining with the fact that I'm kind of lousy at Mandarin, my reading skills are very, very rusty, and the class itself seems fairly demanding. Good one, need to take 18 units. Econ class was cancelled, but turns out I have a couple of friends in that class so I think it'll work out. After I get a calculator of course. More classes tomorrow: more Mandarin and Shakespeare, so I'm hoping or an interesting sort of day.

Went shopping again today, purchased more supply type materials, which is a good thing considering that we're basically in school right now. Easy to forget that coming off of a week of just hanging out in HK. Plus I have snack food now = win.

There's a storm coming in, I can see the lightning from outside the window.

For every instance of convience here in HK (MTR/KCR system) there is an inconvienence, some sort of roadblock. Consider class registration: in the US/Canada/probably others it's entirely online - all you have to do is to find the classes on a list, click "add" and you're done! Here, one must obtain the approval of the department by going to that department and obtaining the signature. Then go to the Office of Academic Links to turn it in. Barring the need for a teacher approval form signature of course. It seems like some systems were put into place to provide jobs, rather than provide productive work. Probably some holdover beauracracy from the communists. Always enlightening to walk around campus though

One of the best moments in HK so far: just sitting at night on a Shaw balcony overlooking some of the campus, a railway, construction, and finally the water. Very peaceful, not too devastatingly hot, can of pear juice in hand. Good time for some thinking. I feel pretty divided in my opinion of the experience so far. On one hand it's Hong Kong! Halfway around the world, new sights, new sounds, new...everything. People, foods (though some familiarity reigns), language, culture, currency, how you move - it's all different. On the other hand, it's all different

I just feel sort of unsettled. I feel like I should be able freely enjoy this experience, but I feel restricted and caged in by a lot of things over here. I've already harped on about the language and culture thing (but that's rather impossible to ignore) - it's being caught in an entirely different system. I can't move the way I'm used to, I can't talk the way I'm used to, I can't do the way I'm used to.

The way I'm used to.

I can't wait for this storm to get here.

...continued

8. Trendy horn rimmed glasses.

Things Asian People Like

1. Umbrellas for the sun
2. (Girls) Covering the mouth when laughing
3. Various soy milks/box juices
4. Trendy t-shirts
5. Wearing jeans even though its 90 degrees and 90% humidity
6. Vending machines

To be continued...

Behind a Camera

While I love taking pictures, the thing I hate about it is that instead of being a participant, you become an observer. Instead of being engaged in what's happening, you wind up watching the events through a viewfinder, a plastic 2.5 inch screen. This, of course, didn't stop me from taking a bunch of pictures today/tonight.

Today was the HK city tour, the student helpers took us by bus to a couple of different places in HK. We made it out to HK island, which was a first for me. We stopped by the Stanley Market, which I'll admit could have been cooler. Checked out the temples, but something seemed vaguely off about them. Stanley Market is a very commercial area so I just felt like the whole significance behind a temple was sort of lost in the shuffle. Also, I'm not sure if it's observing the proper reverence to go into a temple, kneel, and bow because it's "what you're supposed to do." I feel like the whole concept deserves more than that. The temple did have a sweet ~50 year old tiger skin which I'll admit that I gawked at. Didn't make it to the market part of Stanley Market, so maybe my view is a little skewed.

From there we went to Victoria Peak, which is...a peak? Very picturesque, nice views of the harbor and city. Also of note: Victoria Peak has a shopping mall. Capitalism at a couple thousand feet elevation. So removed that no person in their right mind would go there for their first shopping option, but a facility that rivals malls in the US.

Then to Tsim Sha Tsui again, but didn't do much there. Walked along the Avenue of Stars (or whatever it's called), took some pictures, admired a sunset. Highlight? Random white guys doing a Bruce Lee pose infront of a bronze Bruce Lee statue. Again, not the proper reverence. Bruce "His Fists are only used to Pummel the Unrightuous" Lee is the sort of role model young Asians need. Screw you, Mickey "I fail to see why Long Duk Dong is offensive" Rooney.

Took a ferry over to Central, a nice (and short) ride. Cheaper than the MTR too, so not a bad thing.

Supposed to go out tonight, personal batterries at about 15%, going to sleep instead. Lame? Yes. Restful? Yes. HK nightlife, wait for me, I'll be there someday.

If you made it this far, you get pictures (a small sample anyways, took about 200 today):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuie/

Excellence with a Soul, Leadership with a Heart

Is the motto of Shaw College, where I am. Apparently they also have a cheer that includes the yelling "WE'RE THE BEST." It's actually pretty nice though, the housing gods look like they've reversed their position of "Slap Sam" in a pretty significant way. The rooms in Kuo Mou Hall are so new that they were still under construction today, the day before we move into them. They have a nice kitchen space (must buy own pots and pans though), a common room or two on the bottom floor, and new furniture in the rooms. Plus there is an outdoor basketball court somewhat nearby (it's a little beat up, but I'll learn to love it), as well as a rehearsal space for a band that will be formed. And it shall rock.

Downside? Near the top of the mountain that is CUHK. Never have shuttles played a larger part in my life.

Went back to Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) tonight for an IASP dinner and a walk around. For all of the crap HK can throw at you, it's pretty amazing too. Just going from shop to shop in the neon lit corridors has an energy all it's own, very visually striking. They should have sent a poet.

Had a pretty interesting conversation today. I know I've been complaining about this whole about my being pwned by various linguistic/cultural barriers, but wouldn't you know it goes the other way too? Leave it to an American to lose perspective on things and let it all become about "me."

We were talking, he had some trouble finding the right words in English. He pulls out a dictionary, types something in, and looks at the result. He called not knowing what the English translations were "suffocating." And he's right. That's how it feels when the people you're around drop into a language you don't understand, when people ask you questions that you just can't answer. Pulls the air right out of you.

But you never think that English is hard (especially if it's your major) until it's pointed out that it is, in fact, for a lot of people a foreign language. Other people can flip between languages because they've learned those other languages.

I'm not a bad Chinese person, I'm just a little behind on the learning curve. Let's take steps to fix that.

Day...3?

Things I've learned:

1 - Waiting for a table? Go stand next to it until the people there are done and leave
2 - Haven't seen any black people on campus (edit: saw two, but that was at Tsim Sha Tsui which is more populated/a shopping area)
3 - People driving on the other side of the road isn't that weird to see, it's only a problem when you're crossing the street. Looking the wrong way is never a good thing
4 - Octopus card = win
5 - So far, Europeans and Canadians seem to be the friendliest (at least that one's I've talked with)

After a bunch of orientation meetings this morning...

-Skipped out on even more meetings to play basketball (1-1, games to 5)
-Went to Tsim Sha Tsui for dinner/shopping. Caught the last two minutes of the daily light show, but will definitely have to check that out again
-Seating 16 people for dinner is never easy. Small food portions too. Booooo. Good times though
-Language/logistical/accounting skills are great for big groups. Probably small groups too
-Got a SIM card, so I'm now cellular. Still need to do more shopping though

Tsim Sha Tsui was very interesting, lots of people, neon, and shopping. Kind of overwhelming (pictures on flickr soon?), but in the end I hit the wall and wanted to be back in my room. I blame jet lag

Day 2 Odds and Ends

Ok I've clearly been screwed in the housing department:

1 - Temporary hostel is filled with CUHK student workers and 25 year old Dutch guys. Plus it's far away from where every meeting is. Plus, comparatively, the rooms are old and run down.

2 - Permanent housing is the furthest from University Station, at the top of the mountain, and it's canteen has a reputation for giving it's patrons food poisoning.

But:

1 - Free air conditioning

2 - I have a single, so far

Campus tour was interesting and hilly. I doubt I could find my way around, but at least I kind of know where I'm going now. The shopping trip at the end of the day was mostly a failure - cell phone still doesn't work. Group dinner and a grocery run were perfectly peachy.

-The trains can get obscenely crowded
-Saw a huge cockroach today
-Bugs invade my closed room
-HK Chinese people have the best T-shirts. Good designs and color schemes, appropriately indie writing and slogans on them

Things seem to be focused on appearance and presentation over here. Hair is immaculately tussled and disheveled is mixed with designer. HK seems built for this though; the buildings are dressed up in lights and colors just like the people who live inside of them, and there are mirrors in every elevator.

On a note of appearance, I don't think the tension of "I look Chinese" versus "I have basically zero language skills" is ever going to go away while I'm here. Shopkeepers tell me "It's better to buy three oranges" in Cantonese, which only compounds problems. And our perfectly well meaning student guide this evening said to me "I don't know why but whenever I see you I speak to you in Cantonese." In my defense: no, I don't understand you. So much for a defense.

It's guilt (oh I should speak ____), it's frustration (why do they assume____? why can't they ____?), it's edging towards resignation (ah screw it). And there it is.

Just Now

It hit me just now: I'm in Hong Kong aren't I?

Caught Up

Those all being handwritten notes taken at various points. As things settle down, hopefully more concise and focused entries.

-Things here seem very reserved/subdued
-I've hit my head twice so far
-I can't stand upright on the campus shuttle. I have to stand where there is the raised ceiling for the roof exit/window thing

Sha Tin shopping tonight.

Pictures updated variously at http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuie/

That was the Plane this is Day/Night 1 (8/25/08)

Met up with some UT exchange students, went on adventure to get to CUHK. King of hot, too humid. Plus 98 pounds of luggage + a backpack = nothx

CUHK is like some kind of college in the midst of what is either old or just rustic. It's also on a giant freaking hill, turning the campus into a set of giant freaking hills. It's like Oxy on steroids.

So far people have been nice, if not particularly helpful. As a group we got two "Oh I'll help but I'm actually leaving...," so yeah.

They have us holed up in temporary residency hostels for the first few days. The free (so far) air conditioning offsets the lack of internet.

Had my first "Are you real Chinese" exchange today with a student helper as he showed me my temporary room:

Guy: "So are you ABC?"
Sam: "Huh? What?" [I was tired!]
G: "Are you ABC?"
S: "Oh, yeah"
G: "Which city?"
S: "San Francisco"
G: "Oh oh oh oh"
(slight pause)
G: "Ni shuo putonghua? Ni ting bu dong?" (Do you speak Mandarin? Do you understand?"
S: "Yi dian, yi dian" (A little)
G: "Ni shuo gongdonghua?" (Do you speak Cantonese?)
S: "No, no"
G: "Ah so a little bit of Mandarin"

Pass? Fail? Doesn't really matter?

Adapter for electronics doesn't fit the plug, killed a whopper of a mosquito, and found ants infesting one sink. Nice.

From what little I've seen on HK, it feels like a bizarro version of cities I'm used to (SF, to a lesser degree NY) - it hasthe sprawl, the people, but it seems almost too organized? Maybe Sha Tin station during sunday nights isn't Market St at lunch time, but so far its not been that hectic moving around. Having luggage sucks though, small elevators and bars around each escalator.

HK has some nice architecture and makes interesting use of lights as accents for buildings. Like most cities, it is beautiful from far away. We'll see how it is closer up.

For me, it's hang out, read/play gameboy, shower, eat, and bed. Something like that.

I told you that story so I can tell you this one

Or: More ramblings from the plane

At a certain point ~9 hours in, the plane shut down. Everyone was asleep, all the windows closed. Dark and sleeping inside, light and aware outside. Felt like traveling in a giant anachronnism, something so out of it's time hanging onto what it has left of it. Apparently stuck forever between 100% Go HK! and Aw Hell I want Oxy I was awake like on HK time, but still in the dark (literally) like on pacific time.

And in whatt scientists are calling "The Worst Decision so Far" I ventured a bite of the clam sauce spaghetti my mom packed for me. It's usually delicious, but this was about 10 hours into the flight. The unrefridgerated flight. Spent the time time landing battling the urge to puke into a small grey bag. Ugh. It was one bite!

All in all:
-3 strawberries eaten
-About 5 hours of sleep
-About 4 hours of gameboy
-0 times actually vomited

Thoughts from Monday at 11:45 am, or Sunday 8:45 pm

I've got adapters, the internet, and some free time. Here's the backlog of notes (with some snide-in-retrospect comments probably):

Thoughts from Monday at 11:45 am, or Sunday 8:45 pm
I guess it depends on your state of mind

The good: first time on a double decker plane, aisle seat, United Airlines actually served some sort of mini-ramen for lunch (for dinner?)

The bad: a little over 6 hours to go. Somehow, less leg room than Southwest. Guy in front of me is in max recline. Constantly.

Couple of study abroad kids on board, but from what I've heard, they're going to HK Baptist [surprise there were actually a bunch of CUHK people on board!]

Ipod batteries holding strong, thnk god. Probably slept for ~2 hours and most through most of the Ra Ra Raiot album - which, for the parts I was awake for, rules. Lots of Asians on board - the old ones all speak cantonese, while the young ones are speaking English.

Approaching Tokyo, apparently, closer to Siberia though [who knew?]

As most of the people have their windows down, the plane has this weird timeless feel to it. Not that it could last forever (that would suck), but there is just no way to tell what time it is. Without seeing day or night the only clue is my watch.

Packing always gets me in a weird/depressed mood (listening to Death Cab while doing so probably doesn't helpt at all). It just feels weird to know that you can basically pack up your life. Probably worse is knowing what you're leaving behind.

But it's good for you, that's the thing, and you know it's good for you, but for me it doesn't quite fel that way. I know that this helps in the long term - jobs, life experiences, all that stuff is enriched, but for me it's not necessarily the best. There are other places I'd rather be, and other people I want to be with. Stuck in a comfort zone? I guess, but it is comfortable.

Despite these reservations, I'm going to have a good time. Stockholm syndrome aside, I'm going to be a 20-21 year old student living in HK for a few months. If I can't somehow enjoy that then I'm trying to be miserable, and that just doesn't seem fun.

It's been 7 hours and 3 minutes in the air. It's 12:08 and 34, 35, 36 seconds. I just ate lunch and am considering taking a nap before my pre-dinner snack [read: I'm on HK time now] (I hope spaghetti keeps) and its 12:09 28, 29, 30.

And I'm on a plane to Hong Kong. What's 4 months? Four months is nothing. That's either a good thing or a bad thing. It's 12:12 25, 26, 27 and here I am.