a night in the HKG.

Harbor seen from Stanley (south side of Hong Kong Island)

After a joint pot-luck with the Chinese teaching staff on Friday night, I awoke early on Saturday morning to catch a bus into Hong Kong. I had originally planned to meet up with Sarah Hawkenson, a high school friend who works for Northwest. After she failed to board her flight, I debated for only a few minutes before deciding I would go anyway.

It's sort of ironic, given that Hong Kong is technically part of China, that I was not previously allowed to visit - but you do in fact need a passport to cross the border and a valid Chinese visa to return. However, as with Macau, now that I have my residence permit I can come and go freely, making it a 1.5-hour trip (and only US$12 round-trip) into the bustling downtown area of Hong Kong - including the time spent going through customs at the border.

I had been warned that Hong Kong was quite a bit more expensive than mainland China - on par with New York City, in fact - and also an incredibly amazing place. Both turned out to be true, which could be a dangerous combination given its proximity to Shenzhen! What impressed me most about Hong Kong was first its size: it squishes all of its 7 million residents into a 426 square-mile area. It appears that not a single of these square miles is wasted; either jam-packed with high rises and extravagant office buildings, protected as a nature preserve complete with hiking paths and look-outs, or dedicated to tourism in the form of international cuisine (!) and endless shops with knock-off designer/"authentic Chinese" goods.

Since the trip went so smoothly, there is less to report - guess that is the downside to easy travel - but still a few key stories that I'll share here.

• While riding the metro from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon, I relaxed against the glass door. I know there are always signs indicating that this is exactly what not to do, and I soon found out why: as the doors slid open, the back of my arm (we will call this part "muscle" and not "flab") got caught in the door, preventing it from opening beyond a small crack. One man immediately tried to pry it open, and I cried out, "MY ARM!" It couldn't have been more than a few seconds that I was stuck like that, but it left a big red mark on the back of my arm and gave me a terrible case of the giggles - as only comes when you do something absolutely ridiculous and are then trapped in a small confined space with the very people who watched you do it.
• While not as humorous, taking the tram to Victoria Peak turned out to be a veryworthwhile, albeit touristy, activity. The peak is adorned with a huge shopping mall (how Hong Kong of them), and for HK$12 (~US$2) you can go to the top for a lookout. The view was amazing and the walk back down adventurous and scenic.

View of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak

• While walking back through SoHo, the up-and-coming district of Hong Kong with the stereotypical booths and wide variety of cuisines, we chanced upon a sign that read "BELGIUM ON TAP." Despite the afternoon hour and the fact that we had just eaten, Andy and I went in to check it out. We ended up drinking a glass of beer each in front of an open window overlooking the bustling tourist streets of SoHo. As I cherished the juxtaposition of images before me - my Belgian beer before the Hong Kong streets; the dumpy shops in the foreground of huge polished glass buildings; traditional Chinese medicine sold next to a shoestore stocked with Converse All-Stars - I came to realize that the last time I observed a similar coincidence of cultures was also over a Belgian beer. Hip, hip, hooray for international trade!

culture! the laundry list

• Throughout China, babies don't wear diapers; instead, they have no crotch in their pants. Parents hold up their children whenever and wherever they need to relieve themselves, and they just let it all out right there. And yes, I really mean "wherever": sidewalks, streets, buses, banks, shopping centers...

• Manners and politeness here are totally different than anywhere I have visited. It goes beyond spitting in hallways of public establishments, slurping noodles, and burping loudly (which I personally find to be quite liberating); it also carries through to everyday conversation. I learned the word for "please" in my elementary Chinese course, but literally have not heard it since my arrival. In fact, I'm not exactly how to use it in context, and was told to "just forget it" because people here don't say please, anyway. Same goes for "thank you," and although my Midwestern upbringing demands that I thank everyone anyway, I have only once heard the Chinese phrase for "you're welcome."
  

• The book I'm reading says that Chinese are motivated primarily by shame and not by guilt. Understanding that concept has gone a long way for me in classroom management. In general, students do not feel bad for not doing their work unless they are caught, and even then only if their peers are made aware of their laziness. Test grades are almost always public information, and it is common here to publicly shame students as punishment. One high school girl who would leave class early had to stand before an auditorium filled with her peers as her truancies were explained and ridiculed. The same goes for Chinese teachers who are late to class, although supposedly I'm saved from that by being a foreigner. (Still am going to try to be on time, though...)

• There is definitely a limit to what can be publicly discussed/read. I may have already pushed some limits in my blog so I will leave it at that.

• Classes, and life in general, seem more patterned and ritualistic than at home. For example, my classes all must begin:

Me: Class begins!
Class: (standing up) Stand up!
Me: Good morning, class!
Class: Good morning, teacher!

A funny story relating to that: Yesterday morning I forgot my routine, and warmly greeted my students, "Good morning, class!" They stood up automatically and barked in unison, "Good morning, teacher!" I immediately realized my mistake, and tried to salvage it by saying, "Stand up!" To which the students replied hesitantly, "Stand up!" (even though they were already standing) and looked at me and each other in obvious confusion. I think I said something like "Sit down...?" and just started cracking up. Better luck next time, foreigner.

hey, wanna go to macau?

Macau skyline with the Macau Tower in the background (8th tallest free-standing structure in the world!)

Although I had not yet recovered from my illness, I also had apparently not learned my lesson, because I got up on Saturday morning, showered, and packed a backpack for a night in Macau. If it seems strange that I can simply wake up in the morning, grab a bag, and jump on a ferry to an apparently differently world - well, I totally agree. And now that I have my official "Resident's Permit for Foreigner in the People's Republic of China" I am allowed to come and go as I please. Weekend trips, begin!

Andy and I got off the ferry at the Macau port without the slightest idea where were in relation to the rest of the city. However, even in the dumpy district where the ferry docked, it was apparent that more than an arbitrary border separated Macau from Shenzhen. Macau was a Porteguese colony from 1557 until 1999, one of the longest colonial reigns of all time. (Another fun fact: it's also the most densely populated region in the world - ask Wikipedia!) So all of the signs are in traditional Chinese characters - since the majority of the population speaks Cantonese - with Portuguese translations provided below. I actually enjoyed this, because my Spanish/French background means that Porteguese is easily decipherable, whereas the English translations in Shenzhen are often so poorly done that they are not.

Anyway, modern-day Macau is a pretty unique and colorful place, thanks to its huge casino scene (it's often called the Vegas of the eastern hemisphere) and funky mix of Chinese and Porteguese architecture/art/cuisine. Although most of the tourists are from Asia, the ethnic diversity is above anything I have scene since arriving in China. No one even stared! Such a nice break from what has become routine in my everyday life.

Views of/from the ruins of St Paul's cathedral, built in 1602

The Grand Lisboa, our very classy hotel - I'm thinking upside-down Christmas tree?

A few highlights of the Macau trip:

• An amazing Italian dinner, which was surprisingly inexpensive given its location in a casino, down the hall from Chanel and Louis Vuitton.
• Andy coming out 1100 Hong Kong dollars (~US$160) ahead at the casino. I didn't gamble, but I take full credit for the moral support.
• Trying to pay for an ice cream cone at McDonalds - yes, they're everywhere - and realizing I had five different types of currency in my wallet: from Hong Kong, Macau, China, US, and Thailand. Which is pretty absurd considering I only had 16 coins total... Also indicative of the amount of energy I put into financial organization. Oops.
• The first bed I have slept in since arriving in China that had a softer-than-rocklike consistency. I slept incredibly well but then had a backache all day on Sunday. Guess my body is learning to adjust...? Maybe I'll have to get a bamboo cover for my mattress at home. (Ha.)

Yet as always, even after a fabulous trip, it was great to come home. I guess I knew it would happen, but it is still amazing how comfortable and familiar my surroundings have become; I arrived 5 weeks ago in what was evidently "the other side of the world" and I am now beginning to feel that China has always been in my backyard.