When in Hong Kong...

By the time eight p.m. rolled around, I was in the kitchen, making stir fry out of noodles, choy sum, a few other vegetables, and chicken. Even though the place was pretty clean, I was wearing my house slippers, and I had also put on the new Winnie-the-Pooh apron I'd just acquired (Bebe, you can have the apron when I get back!). When I reached for the oyster sauce, though, a thought suddenly occurred to me: the apron, the slippers, the dress I was wearing underneath...dude, I was starting to look like an HK local.

Among other things, I've discovered how the locals stay cool. At first, I was completely mystified - there I was, sweating buckets, wearing only shorts and a tank top, and there they were, cool as cucumbers, sporting long sleeves and thick leggings and looking incredibly comfortable (spotted: woman in her 60's, wearing a long-sleeved zebra-striped ROMPER). Even the men in suits were sweat-free! How were they doing it?

Well, for starters, people don't actually use much deodorant here (although I really must pick up one of the miniature ones that they sell). Instead, there are aisles of aisles of "Antiperspirant body spray," and I hear that there are antiperspirant "lozenges," though I've never actually seen them. Also, I went shopping the other day (with Binh), and ended up buying long shirt-dresses. Add a pair of leggings and fun sneakers, and you know what? Now, I can pass for any other HK girl. And, surprisingly, these long, drapey "dresses" (oversized shirts, okay?) are incredibly light and breezy. You just hardly sweat at all!

(Okay, I haven't quite figured out how the guys in suits do it. Maybe they've just got mad skillz?)

Also, on a side note, one of my fellow Summerbridge teachers goes to HKU (Hong Kong University), and she's been telling me all about "uni" (university) life here, which sounds crazy busy, since they only go to school for three years, not four. Also, the dating scene here is apparently just like it is at any other college - pretty much kind of a fail (except for the long-distance relationships). Of course, all the Asian girls are in relationships with tall white guys, while the Asian guys at uni are apparently not so attractive (short, scrawny, etcetera). Also, while I've noticed a large number of lesbian couples, I have yet to see even one gay one. C'est la vie.

A Looooooooong Post...mostly about food!

Edit: Blogger photo layouts actually suck. I knew I should've used Livejournal! Or Wordpress! Sometimes, push-button blogging is just too easy. 

Apologies for not blogging sooner. But if I don’t write today, then I will probably never write again; I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed since Summerbridge started! But, to make up for the lack of entries, here is a ridiculously long one (or maybe two), full of pictures and stories and awesomesauce! For the record, I’ve been having an absolutely fantastic time, even if I’ve been totally out of my comfort zone lately.

After the jump: more pictures of Binh and of food! THERE'S ALSO A VIDEO.

 

Right after I picked Binh up, we headed for dinner...at around 1 a.m.? This is Binh, waiting for foooooooooooodddd...

Checking In!

Apologies for not updating in the last few days, Mom and Dad. Since I'm stealing wifi from across the street, it's mad unpredictable, and my email refuses to function at all. So, just letting y'all know that I'm alive and well. :) Things are pretty busy/stressful/awesome, but that also means that I'm exhausted. :( Will promise to update in length tomorrow. Got some pretty awesome pictures to share!

- Peace out.

Day 5 - Hitting Up Causeway Bay

Well, I had plans to go to the HK Science Museum today, but those plans were quickly derailed by Roy, since he had free time today. Since I haven't seen Roy in, oh, more than a month, I figured we should have lunch instead. :) I can always go see the science museum some other time! Also, he was off the Causeway Bay MTR stop, which is where my school is.


(After the jump: sushi! the library! birds nests!)

Day 4 - Adventuring on One's Own

T-2 to Orientation Day! I've just been assigned to South Island School, in Aberdeen (unfortunately, Roy is elsewhere), so I'm probably going to need to figure out how to get there tomorrow. Apparently, it's going to be a loooooooooooooooong commute. :(

Anyway, the science museum was closed today, so I decided to check out the space museum instead. Also, I went to IKEA for the first time. :)

Note: This is an image heavy post. And for the record, I hate Blogger's formatting options.

Update: Graduation Photos!

My mum, who is really the target audience of this blog (but I love all of you guys), just sent me pictures of Bao Phong. I present to you...THE FIRST PICTURES OF A CUTE ASIAN CHILD.

You guys wish you had an uncle who was this cute. ;)

Sneak Peek:

(Bao Phong and my sister)

A Room of One's Own

Well, the original flatmate is leaving for Thailand tomorrow, so I got to move in today - yay! Anyway, this is my room - it's quite large, and there's just enough room for me to practice, too! :)

 

Since today was some sort of public holiday (there's Dragon Boat racing on the river? It was at 9 AM or something, so we all missed it), there wasn't really much to do. So, after waking up ridiculously late (since I got here, I've been sleeping from like 3-8 a.m. and 6-9 p.m., weird, I know), I ended up just running a few errands, practicing, etcetera.

(See pictures of my view and boring stories...)

Good news!

I'm a complete idiot. I should have obviously assumed that, though one pipe was red and the other was blue, the controls for the shower were reversed. D'oh. I have now achieved a mildly lukewarm shower, which is better than bone-chilling, so I'll settle. For this same reason, I have walked towards the wrong escalator at least a dozen times, and thank goodness the streets have signs that say which way to look, or else I would be road kill by now.

Day 2 - The early education of children

Erm...look what I found in the drugstore last night! I think it was on sale! (Also, my flatmate took me out for a nice sushi dinner in Tsim Sha Tsui. XD)

 

See pictures of food (mostly for Nikita) and stories of babies! (After the jump) 

Day 1 - Welcome to the flat

Well, I'm finally in Hong Kong! Yay! I'm staying in an area called Hung Hom, Kowloon, which is a pretty decent area. My flatmate, Joyee, is an absolute sweetheart - I'm looking forward to living with her. Anyway, there's another girl who has to move out before I can move in, so I'm currently camped out on the couch-bed, which is actually quite comfy. :) Anddddddd... here are a few pictures:

 

A Graduation Ceremony

In creating this blog, I promised that there would be stories. About cute children.

Well, even though I haven't even left the US yet, I already have one such story.

Yesterday,  I had the pleasure of meeting my great-uncle’s son (which makes him my uncle?) for the very first time. His name is Bao Phong, or Pierre Louis, and he was graduating…from preschool.

(After the jump)

The Attractiveness of Airports

"It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the phrase, 'as pretty as an airport.' Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort." - D. Adams

Thing is, after many, many hours of travelling, I’ve found that I don’t even give a damn. They’re ugly, they’re pretty, they’re quiet, they’re loud…(For the record, Vancouver airport is beautiful in a faux-wilderness style, while Tokyo is strangely quiet. Also, LAX definitely makes that special effort to be very ugly.)

In my infinite hours of free time, I have figured out how many hours I’ve traveled.

Driving from Vegas to LA: 3.5 hours
Flying from LAX to Vancouver: 3 hours
Flying from Vancouver to Tokyo: 9 hours
Flying from Tokyo to Hong Kong: 5 hours

All in all, that’s 20.5 hours. Factor in all the layover time (of which there was quite a bit), and I’ve been sitting in various places for more than 30 hours straight (you can only wander around an airport for so long). Tomorrow, I am going to go for a seriously long walk around HK, even if those T-storms happen for real.

Fun facts:

- Air Canada’s in flight entertainment system is AWESOME. I watched How to Train Your Dragon and 500 Days of Summer in French, and still had time for a couple episodes of Modern family and 30 Rock. (In between all of this, I catnapped like crazy.)
- For the first time ever, I didn’t have to sit next to a fat person who would take over most of my seat, but a cute Japanese boy. Too bad he didn’t speak English and seemed to actually like watching Tom Cruise movies. Ah well.

Peace out.

Intro Post (it has to be done)

Hi everyone! In a few short days, I will be heading to Hong Kong, in order to teach for Breakthrough Collaborative. In my spare time, I plan on playing violin, doing yoga, and meandering along trails with names like Dragon's Back and Lion Rock. Also, HK nightlife is supposed to be great, and I'm definitely looking forward to fantastic dim sum! I'll admit, this whole little adventure is a bit of a first for me: I've never been out of the country on my own (or for such an extended period of time), and this is my first summer without a music festival since the age of six. Not going to lie - I'm a little nervous. Additionally, I decided not to live in the dorms because I wanted "the full experience," so I'll be bumming around a tiny apartment for the next nine weeks and trying to figure out how to live abroad, yay!

Anyway, I'm not much for blogging, but I wanted an excuse to post a few pictures somewhere and, while I'm at it, maybe write a few lines too. I guess I might as well start now.

What I wish I could take with me: