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?
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
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...
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...
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
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...
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.
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.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
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?
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...
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...
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
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...
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...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
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...
-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...
Saturday, September 13, 2008
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
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
Friday, September 12, 2008
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
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
Monday, September 8, 2008
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
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"
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.
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.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
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
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
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Weekends
Big Bhudda on Lantau Island yesterday, beach/karaoke tonight? I'm supposed to get work done?
Friday, September 5, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
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?
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?
Monday, September 1, 2008
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
