Shots of School

probably the most attractive spot on campus (in which I never sat by enough to enjoy)

open mic night in the global lounge (sam and kevin perform a lovely rendition of "Layla")

the quad where you can always be sure to see someone you know

a view of the buildings from campus (we are high up...lots of stairs)

city sights

one of many buildings that inspire vertigo

a fisherman holds his transparent line at the edge of misty Hong Kong island

really what a ride on a mini bus is like

the only street food I have experienced in Hong Kong that is only a street over from designer shops and upscale restaurants.

Climbing the hill home to Rm. 905B Lee Hysan Hall I wondered what the life of a mini-bus driver is like. The other day I was in the restroom of a karaoke club and glanced at the only other person in the room, the cleaning lady: a short, plump Asian woman who had on a company uniform and a dulled look of days of tedium. Sometimes you are a part of your surroundings as you flow from one position to another. But sometimes you step outside of your place and you see, I mean really see, where you are. I really saw this woman for the split second that I allowed my eyes to wander to hers. She is the mini-bus driver whose picture sits in front of him all day to identify himself to himself. He is the woman who cleans bits of young local Hong Kong girl throw up off the toilet seat. They make up the army of faceless workers. And as indiscriminant as they are to me I am to them. I am just another girl with arms full of groceries trying to hold on for dear life as they wreak havoc on the road.

Banksi Robs Hong Kong

Who is he? The exhibit worked hard to keep his identity concealed. Part of his art’s allure is the unknown-late-night—in-the-dark-ambiguous-rebel nature of “Banksi” himself (or herself). This well-known stencilist/screen print artist was made known to me about a year ago when once discussing the political and feel good stencil art that dots the surfaces and cracks of Berkeley. His work is never without a powerful message as his figures drip in sociopolitical criticism. I got to see his “Banksi Robs Hong Kong” exhibit recently but am left perplexed as to what exactly Banksi robbed Hong Kong of. The exhibition was free and was comprised of about 15 of his pieces. Maybe the exhibit producers were further trying to portray Banksi as defiant figure. Whatever the reason, I am glad that such free celebrations of art still persist as well as the ability for an enigma to remain mysterious, shapeless, ungrounded.

characters in my life

Jojo the Kiwi, Lousie the Perth girl and Ted from the Netherlands

Joel, bday boy in duck suit guitar entertainer, from Singapore and Josh from the mid-west presenting his watermelon as a complimentary addition to his delicious Gumbo of the evening

Emma caught eating potato salad with chopsticks (used for about any kind of cuisine here)

groupie fans of exchangers watching Rugby on one of many long weekends (with representatives from France, Scotland, Singapore, US, Autralia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Netherlands)

Pause

I am officially done with all my classes.

With that knowledge comes the ambivalent feelings of being relieved that the summer truly is upon me but also the impending fears of leaving this niche that I have so comfortably nestled in. I just had to fill out a survey for the UC education abroad program that asked me some basic questions about how my academic experience abroad compared to my home institution. I took me about five minutes to sum up my position on the education I received here vs. in Berkeley. I had less hours of class, the lectures were not as intellectually demanding but also not so esoteric, the teacher’s all really seemed to care about what they were lecturing on, but the caliber of lessons did not match the level at which we are being graded. I basically have no clue how my grades will end up here (in case you are all just dying to knowJ) but I can assume that I should have a deep appreciation for the person whose sole job is to reassess my grades in Hong Kong into the UC grading system.

But classes are really besides the point of what I am trying to get at here. With the end of classes come the last “reading week” (where I actually will be working on some papers and studying in Hong Kong before I depart for Beijing) and with the end of reading week comes finals and that word “FINAL” is key. This brings me to the end of my time here. People are leaving, flying off in ever which direction and I can only take one thing at a time so I don’t blow myself up with stress of all the coming unknowns. I have managed to get myself sick anyway but I think that might just be programmed into me about this time after how many sessions of finals already under my belt. We had a roof top gathering the other night and I just took a reflective moment to look around at what a strange, eclectic group of people I managed to land myself with but how I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. There is something truly unique about being an exchange student that you can’t get from traveling and that you can’t get rooted in your own culture. Exchange is what you do—ideas, stories, culture, food, spit, politics, lifestyles and perspective. I once was fearing that the month of April looked blank and drab, now it is nearly over and I find myself clinging to the days in May that I still have on this island where women burp in elevators, where fresh juice is sold on the street, where the elevators never seem to break down, where you can be in CA and then be in China in the matter of a block and where I have come to feel fully acquainted with the buildings that reach for the sky and the friends that look up at them with me.

"due to strong winds please use side door"

Yesterday I left my building once, to take the bus to the gym and then run back in the rain. I was getting some stares and strange looks that begged the question “why are you running in the rain?” A good question I guess. I thought it would be refreshing and, aside from almost getting hit by the gutter water from oncoming buses, it was. Hong Kong apparently gets typhoons. My building is fairly close to the water and it is 16 stories. I assure myself that they wouldn’t let us live in buildings that weren’t typhoon proof but I still worry about what anything past a “level 3” would be like. As long as I don’t have to start taping my windows…Last night I organized a wine and cheese/dessert night that was supposed to take place on the roof. We settled for the second floor common room which we tried to transform by turning off all the vending machines and covering up white boards…it sufficed. Still, I was sun tanning on the roof only last week and today is a clear day so why does Hong Kong always rain on my plans? This has brought unpredictable weather to a new level that Berkeley simply can’t come close to.

Superpass

Last night was a Friday night that I spent in just cooking dinner with Lorna and then chatting with the girls for a while afterwards. We had been talking earlier about a flier we saw in the elevator of this guy on our floor, Siu Ming, holding a butchers knife by some pictures of a cooked whole pigs. There are always new fliers being put up for various activities in the elevators but I guess sometimes some catch your eyes more than others. Our lounging after dinner helped solve the mystery of what this “superpass” flier was about seeing as we all dispersed running out of the kitchen screaming because the answer to Adele’s question “Oh my god! Is THAT the pig?” was a definite “yes”. The little piggy had been neatly wrapped and placed in a red, shiny bag and was indeed sitting right beside us the whole time we were cooking next to it and talking. Creepy.

The tradition (I don’t know if this actually stems from anything that goes too far back) apparently is that before exam time the students at HKU will buy a pig and gather around it on a table where they take their individual turns trying to hack through it with a big knife. Imagine my delight when the screams and cheers that echoed though out the hall were answered by me emerging from my room and seeing all the locals eyes on me urging me to take my own stab (no pun intended) at seeing if I would pass my exams. For if you cut all the way through with a neat, clean cut then you will pass your exams and if you don’t make it all the way through then you have to retake them. One guy with a double major actually had to cut through two layers of the meat to symbolize his extra course load.

It was a strange ritual that Emma and Lorna escaped from my locking their door, turning off their lights and keeping quiet. Perhaps more disturbed than me, we talked about using food for emotional stimulus instead of for its nutritional value. I am sure we have some things in our society that use food as a ritual (the only one I could think of off the top of my head was champagne toasts) but Lorna pointed out that none of them were so violent.She concluded the discussion with a simple “I like 4.0 hill better”.

Karaoke Round 2

pick me up

Some of the exchange students have been meeting on Wednesdays for two hours of put together soccer games. The sports center boasts a mini-field that has patches of grass here and there. I have gone the past two weeks and it has only reaffirmed my love for team sports—the highs and lows, the comradery and the mental ease of it all. The only thing about playing with the exchange students is that…I am the only girl playing. The guys are nice and say “sorry” to me more than they would to each other but I like to think that they don’t go too easy on me just because of my sex. I actually am not the worst player. But I am one of the weaker ones and that means that when we revert to the tried and true elementary school way of picking teams, I am the picker (a nice courtesy I guess). Guys are just more straightforward with these kinds of things and it makes things more practical and honest because of it. Feelings might get slightly hurt but every one is okay in the end. I was imaging a pick up game of all girls and how we would pick teams: it would probably take a lot longer and we would distinguish it by something indiscriminant like dark shirts vs. lights. Boys are fun and carefree to be around but I was happy to shower my dirty, sweaty self and return to Alison and Vanessa’s room where all the girls were hanging out and lose the brief state of alienation I had created for myself. (note my pants of dirt that adorn my lovely pink feet)

I am horrible. I am admittingly horrible because I don’t do any school work for it outside of the two hour block of class we have. The class consists of me actually trying to learn but also simultaneously counting down the minutes with Erin. We celebrated our last lecture this past Wednesday! I guess the one perk of the class was that they took us out to dim sum (I will own up to going to two of the three possible times for “yam cha”). I still passed up trying the chicken feet (which really aren’t disguised very well) but I didn’t pass up the egg tart, egg custard bun, sugar donut thing and mango soup that comprised just the dessert portion of my experience. I just don’t know my limits when it comes to food (people that know me know this about me) and I guess I am a sucker for things that come in little packages.

Mosquitoes and Sweat

I think that the bodies of the people in Hong Kong are more adjusted to the humid weather than our foreign body thermostats. I have had little times in my life where two showers a day is the norm. And most times they seem pointless because you walk outside and you start to “glisten again”. But, aside from not needing to bathe that much, the survival tactic of not getting as hot in humid weather is that you can be comfortable in long sleeves and pants. This is crucial when the humid weather brings mosquitoes with it. You can see the bare legs walking around campus dotted with red blotches—mine are no exception… My roommate and I are currently trying to find the right temperature for our room at night and whether the little buggers come out at night. They attack without any detectable pattern! I am starting to feel even more sympathetic for poor mother Earth as I know us human beings are just the same kinds of parasites making her itch (and then some…).

Sunday

So I haven’t written much lately but what better time to write than when procrastinating on a Sunday that was supposed to be solely dedicated to studying?

...I fully agree.

So what has been going on with me recently? The month of April is already slipping away from me but in the best of ways. There are only two more weeks of school left and when you go to school for 2.5 days out of the week (do the math…) that equals 5 days of actual instruction left! I swear I was just registering for courses… It appears that everyone is feeling the weight of the semester’s close as people tend to be in the library more and in LKF less. I am trying to find the perfect blend of doing school work but also taking time to enjoy Hong Kong as I will be leaving sooner than I know.

That means I have successfully been to Lamma island again for another wonderful hike and vegetarian meal. Yesterday was also considered a success as we indulged in an organic grocery store, watched the school’s rugby team (creamed the university of science and technology), played some Frisbee, went to the Art museum, ate delicious southern Indian cuisine, watched the tail end of the light show and then perused the tempting menus in Soho. I considered the art museum as my study time as the final I have in two days is a fine arts class about Ming and Qing art… It is amazing how I am so much more interested in Asian art now. I used to glaze over it and go right to the Western art but after having an amazing class on how various cultures intersected with China that manifested itself in art I am much more intrigued. This class has been proof that an excellent teacher really makes any subject seem worth learning.

In the picture below I have tried to capture the Hong Kong skyline at night although, as usual, my camera never does it justice. The light show itself isn’t as amazing as everyone works it up to be (in my humble opinion) and the humongous neon advertisements that line the horizon are surely a huge waste of electricity. But, hey, this is Hong Kong…

Also below, pictures of the Olympic mascots that pop up everywhere in Hong Kong. The torch comes through Hong Kong on the 2nd of May and I am doubting that there will be any torch snatchers. The characters are surely cute but the panda with the gun is kind of disturbing.


the largest Calvin Klein advertisement of an almost naked black man that has sparked some serious discussion- there are hardly any black people in Hong Kong, so what does seeing this giant black man do to the local Hong Kong psyche? Why do advertisements need to be this large? Who was personally responsible for putting up the square of for this man's "parts"?

Rugby huddle after victory

art museum piece of a crowded bus that really reminds me of life on the metro here

Lamma part two: Tien, Annica, Alison, Erin and Vanessa

Erin admires Chinese antiques

View from across the bay

Olympic cartoons:
We decided I was the blue one, Lorna had to be the panda, Emma was the firey red one, Erin the blondey and Adele the green one. Aren't we cute?

LKF during the Sevens

The pictures should do all the explaining necessarypower rangers meet the smurfs

the girls aren't that impressed with Mr. Incredible

I opted out on street limbo but Mariah was adventurous

But I DID opt in for late night McDonalds (Elizabeth and Erin, I am really sorry, I had no control...)

the wave...

you have seen it before but not on my blog