Shenzhen

Hello Everyone!
So, yesterday I finally crossed the border into Mainland China! For those who are confused as to what that means, a quick explanation: Hong Kong and Macau are both considered Special Administrative Regions of China, and each has a high degree of independence, including their own constitutions and immigration systems. Mainland China refers to the part of China that isn't Hong Kong or Macau. Visiting Mainland China requires a visa, but for the city just across from Hong Kong-Shenzhen-you can get a special "Shenzhen visa" to visit for up to five days, only Shenzhen. So, I decided yesterday to make the trip to Shenzhen along with my friends Alicia and Rosalind.

After crossing the border, China is very different. Traffic drives on the right, written Chinese uses the simplified characters (these are only used in the Mainland, all other places, including HK, use traditional characters), most of the Chinese spoken was Mandarin (as opposed to the Mandarin Spoken in HK and Macau), and Chinese money is used. Because Shenzhen is directly on the border, there are malls everywhere, and many things are much cheaper. After a lunch of dumplings in a mall, we took the metro to a park in the suburbs, where we explored lots of different displays. Yesterday was quite cold in the region (only 5 degrees!), and so after some time outside we headed back on the metro to another mall, where we dined at a great Chinese restaurant that Alicia knew. The style of dining was like western Chinese-order a few dishes and share-but the dishes weren't. We started with fennel beans and bamboo shoots, and traditional Chinese wine, and followed that with beancurd (Tofu) skin rolls (which are much much more delicious than they sound) and a corn pancake. After stopping at a snack shop and a trinket shop, we headed to the mall on the border to do some shopping. The mall was filled with people selling all kinds of goods; luckily, we went towards the end of the day, so it was nowhere near as chaotic as it likely usually is.


After finishing shopping we headed straight back to HK. Shenzhen is both interesting and strange-its amazing how much different it is just across the river. It's also amazing just how much shopping there is, with the stores literally continuing right up until outbound customs (In Asia, and in fact much of the world, you have to clear the customs for the country you are leaving and the one you are entering, so in this case we had to clear Hong Kong and China customs in both directions).

This will probably be my last post from HK this semester. My first exam is tomorrow, followed by another exam Tuesday, with a few dinners in between, and then leaving for Canada. Hopefully I'll be uploading some more photos to facebook over the holidays so everyone can see what I haven't written about yet. Until next time, happy holidays everyone!

A nice long break.

As the title implies, I've been lucky enough not to be stuck with a very burdensome exam schedule this semester (doubtlessly it'll catch up with me next semester!), and so I'm taking the opportunity to see more Hong Kong and spend more time with friends, especially the ones who are only here as exchange students for one semester.

There have been a few beach trips, involving picnics, and building sandcastles with people who've never built them before, and having random tourists in suits take photos of us from a distance, and enjoying the fact that it's still beach weather here whilst Canada is under a blanket of snow!

I bought a new camera, to replace the one that I broke during the superpass dinner. I've made the leap from 8.1 to 12 megapixels, so hopefully it will be noticeable in the quality of the photos I'm taking now.

I've made a few fantastic cultural trips. Last weekend, after Dim Sum with my roommate Joseph, I went to Kowloon Walled City Park. Kowloon Walled city was one of those strange political anomalies that nerds such as myself love: an area of Kowloon which belonged to China during British rule, it was effectively lawless, which lead the establishment of plenty of industry, housing, and illicit activity. Owing to this, the governments agreed to demolish it, and a beautiful park was created in it's place. It's fascinating how a place that was so lively and chaotic can be transformed, by a matter of civil planning, into a peaceful reprieve from the city. For those interested, pictures are up on my Facebook!

Tuesday night I went to go take a look at the Christmas tree in Statue Square-anyone who follows the American reality TV series "The Amazing Race," may have seen this spot on a recent episode as a "pit stop." The Christmas tree which has been placed there was made out of Crystal and donated by Swarovsky!

Finally, yesterday (Wednesday), I went with my friend Alicia to two temples. First, we went to Wong Tai Sin, a huge Daoist temple complex which was full of visitors lighting incense, drawing lots (a type of fortune telling where one thinks of a question, shakes a tin of sticks until one falls out, then reads the fortune corresponding to the number on that stick), and praying at the various temples in the large complex. Second, we visited a Buddhist temple and garden in the area of Diamond Hill. This temple/park was designed to reflect the Tang Dynasty's style, which we in the west commonly associate with Japan. In keeping with tradition, all buildings were built of inter-locking planks, and thus no nails were used. Alicia gave me fantastic explanations of everything in both temples, explaining the significance, the styles, and translating (and helping me to read, since I'm starting to be able to). 谢谢你Alicia！

Superpass!

Hello There Everyone!
Tonight we held a Hong Kong Tradition called a "superpass dinner." The point of this is to wish one another good luck before exams begin.
We started by going downstairs to the common room, where everyone took a Chinese brush and some red paper and wrote messages of good luck to one another. Those of us foreigners learning to write Chinese took the opportunity to write some of the simple wishes we learned, as well as writing our names in Chinese (I'll tell you mine in a post later!), and the other international students also wrote messages in their native languages.
Then, we went for dinner. The dining hall was filled with all kinds of different foods from the usual. Before we could eat, the warden said a few words and then handed everyone a lucky envelope with coins inside, meant to bring good luck in the exams.
After the stampede that was dinner, the night wound down with a little Karaoke.
So, I'd like to wish everyone 经过(Superpass!), and I'll talk to you all soon!

Malaysia!

Hello!
Apologies for the long absence. I have been quite lazy....er...busy.
Mostly busy, really, truly.
Before reading week, we had founder's night, which is when the hall's freshmen become full members of the hall, and when they gave all us exchange students the hall robes and ties to run around in. That same week we had "Global night." For that one, we had hot pot. People tend to call hot pot Chinese fondue, since it involves putting a bunch of raw food in boiling broth to cook, then fishing it out and eating it. It was really good food, and the event itself was some of the most fun we've had in the hall so far.
Then, I went to Malaysia. So, most of you have heard the run-down of my trip already.
Some background: my roommate Andrew and I couldn't decide where to go for reading week, so we went to the travel agents with the goal of going anywhere. We ended up with a trip to Penang, an Island in Malaysia.
It took a while to get there (we had four hours in Kuala Lumpur airport plus lots of flights) so our first day we pretty much just ate dinner at a local shopping mall and then went to sleep.
Tuesday (the next day), was our city day. We wondered through the 31 degree, 95 percent humidity to heat to various attractions. We saw an old fort, a clocktower, lots of awesome colonial architecture, beautiful mosques and temples. We went shopping, and just generally gallivanted around Georgetown, the state capitol of Penang.
Wednesday we hopped on a bus for Batu Ferrenghi, the main beach area. We actually passed by the beach, somewhat accidently, and instead wound up in a much nice and more secluded beach, where we lay in the sun and looked out on the beautiful Indian ocean (yep, another ocean under my belt!). For lunch, we ate at a Thai place called "The Monkey Tree." It lived up to its name, and we watched monkeys in the trees whilst eating. Then we went back to the beach, before going to the hotel swimming pool, before venturing through little India for dinner (note to self: some guidebooks include listings that don't exist and just leave you lost and hungry).
Thursday we just kind of walked around a bit before leaving. Malaysia was a nice place to see, but I can honestly say I missed Hong Kong, and it was nice to be back.
The past week has involved lots of tests, our Hall's cool Halloween ball and haunted house, an outing an Egyptian restaurant in SoHo (with Gelato afterwards!), and a halloween hike at a reservoir.
Hope everyone is doing well!
James

Big Buddhas and Bigger Casinos!

Hello Everyone!

Well, last weekend was my birthday, and that means, of course, that I got up to some crazy antics (I.E.: Exploring).

On my birthday itself, I went to the world's largest statue of the Buddha. I took a cable car up, with fantastic views of the surroundings. On site, I went to visit the Buddha itself (that's one big statue!) as well as checking out the nearby temple, and digging in to some vegetarian goodies. One of the coolest parts of the experience was the fact that there were animals roaming around the area: cows, dogs, and, I think, one was was even a bull! There was one aspect I hated though: It was far too touristy and commercialized. The idea of a Starbucks restaurant located on the way to the world's largest Buddha somehow seems distracting from attempting to attain Nirvana.

The next day, Tracy and Francesca, two of my friends from Hong Kong, and I all went to Macau. For those who don't know, here's a brief history lesson: Macau was a Portuguese colony until it was given back to China in 1999 (I did say brief!). Like HK, it's an SAR (Special Administrative Region), and retains it's legal system, it's own immigration procedures (meaning we had to bring passports; also meaning I have yet another new stamp!), and retains the Portuguese language. The fact is a strange one, because you see Portuguese on all official signs, on buses, etc., but not in most private establishments. What's more, I never actually heard it being spoken.
So, anyway, Macau is pretty cool. It has alot of Portuguese architecture, big public squares, cobble stone streets, etc. It also has some unique cuisine, which we sampled, including almond cookies and dried meet that are given as free samples (and thus eliminating the need to purchase any!). One of Macau's signatures is the Portuguese egg tart. This proved rather elusive for us: we decided we'd get some after dinner, but it turned out that that was when they stopped selling them. So, we wound up going all over Macau before finally finding any. Another enigma in Macau was the money. Sure, they accept HK dollars, but they give change in MOP (Macanese Patacas, almost equal to the HK dollar). What's more, MOP aren't accepted at the Casinos, which is Macau's main attraction (it's like Vegas, really, truly), and so I still have around 75 MOP just sitting around (any takers?).

Well, there's my great adventures. Hope all is well! As always, comments are welcomed!

Lamma. With one L.

Hello Everyone!
So, this weekend, my friend Drew had what turned out to be a fantastic idea.
Let's go to Lamma Island!
Where? Exactly!
It's an island off the coast of HK. We took a ferry from central, and 25 minutes later we were on an island with no high rises, no hustle bustle, and nope, not even cars.
Basically, one lands in one of Lamma's two villages, and then follows a cement path across the island to the village on the other side. For us, this trip took several hours and involved a wonderful stop at the beach. But why tell you? I'll show you! Enjoy the pictures!

Chung Chau Fai Lok!

*Translation: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.

So, let's start with some Background on the festival. Mid-Autumn festival celebrates the moon, and the harvest, similarly to our Thanskgiving. People light lanterns, eat mooncakes, gather with their families and watch the moon (Not so much last night because of clouds, but I did see it!). Our Chinese professor told us that many people with family overseas enjoy this holiday because when they look at the moon, and then their relatives in the UK or US or wherever look at the moon, they're looking at the same moon. Awww.

My festival fun started last Saturday when I participated in a volunteer project to deliver mooncakes to Senior citizens. A friend and I went to The New Territories, Hong Kong's suburban area, to a 'town' called Tsuen Wan, the very end of a subway line! There, we went to a seniors' centre, and were split into groups of two, one of whom would speak Cantonese. My partner and I visited two different Apartments. The woman in the first apartment was so friendly, she felt bad not to speak English, but smiled big and gave me a thumbs up when I stumbled over a few Cantonese words. The couple in the second apartment were friendly too, and so impressive! In their 70's, they bike two hours every day to the ocean! I was so lucky to have a fantastic partner who translated better than the translators at parliament-Wendy, if you're reading this, thanks so much!

Some of the seniors had mentioned a fruit called a Pomelo, which, when they were young, they would carve to make the lanterns. So, I purchased one of those, along with a lantern and a mooncake.

Minor Segway here in the middle of the week-Arabic class was set to start Tuesday, but instead we got all dressed up and went to a fancy reception hosted by the Saudi Embassy at the four seasons hotel, with important ambassadors, and even the chief-executive (governor) of Hong Kong!

Back to Chung Chau Fai lok. Wednesday, the day of the festival, my buddy Tracey ,and her Friend Francesca, took me and a few other foreign students from my hall to Victoria park to see the festivities, including a 'fire dragon', chinese acrobatics, and of course many lights and lanterns. We took my lantern (although candles were banned this year), and a few of us ate our mooncakes.

It was a great time! I'll post pictures soon, I promise!

Lay Ho!

*Translation: How are you? (Hello)
Hello Everyone!
I apologize for the delay in updating; I've been too busy enjoying Hong Kong!
Over the course of the last few weeks since I updated:
1)I visited the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens (HKZBG for short, not that it's that short anyway). Already, this is one of my favourite places in Hong Kong! The gardens are beautiful and the animals are fascinating!
2) I visited the beaches on the south side of the island: Repulse Bay and Deepwater Bay. The beaches here are absolutely amazing! The sand, the warm water, staring out at islands on the South China Sea. Life's Good!
3)The Hong Kong Museum of history, where my roommate Andrew and I got better acquainted with the history of HK.
4)Rode the Mid-Levels escalator from bottom to top. The world's longest escalator, people actually use it as a way of commuting, sort of like the Rideau Canal, I suppose?
5)Went to the Horse Races at Happy Valley. Gambling feels better when you realize that loosing thirty Hong Kong dollars is only losing 4 Canadian.

Also, I've hiked to the Peak, twice, and it's something that a friend and I are endeavouring to do daily, if possible.
Also! I've seen a fair bit of 'Canadiana' Here, and will be making a Facebook album, so check for that.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Gam Yat Ho Yit Ah!

*Translation: Today is very hot.

Y'know, I wondered why the Learn Cantonese Podcasts I listened to before coming here (which have proved invaluable, by the way!) Only taught me two types of weather:
Gam Yat Ho Yit Ah
and Gam Yat Lok Yu Ah (It's raining today).
I no longer wonder-these are the two options for weather in Hong Kong.

So what've I been doing?
Well, School, for one! Classes are going well, pretty much every class has a tutorial (A small discussion group), which is rare in Ottawa (or was in second year, at any rate). Also, very few text books to buy, which makes me happy (My most expensive was actually an Arabic book I already owned but left at home-and even that was cheap!).
I've also been exploring. I've been to the markets in Mong Kok, the big shopping centres in Tsim Sha Tsui (pronounced Chim sha Choy), Admiralty and Tai Koo, the waterfront in TST, the golden Bauhinia square, Dim Sum with my local buddy and another local friend...the list goes on!
I really like taking the MTR (Underground): it's such a novelty, since we have none in Ottawa (Or Castlegar, or Sydney, or Hali, etc.). I've also been enjoying the bakeries: as some of you know, baked goods are like crack to me, and here you can buy a slice of chocolate cake for about 2 dollars Canadian, even less for Tiramisu etc.
I've even mostly adjusted to the heat (except today, which was excessively hot, even for HK), and have endeavoured to walk home from school instead of taking the bus.

I'll post some pictures of the tourist sites I've seen in another post soon. Also, I'm going to start making posts in French on a regular basis, but these won't replace anything in English, so don't worry.

Leave comments, hope you're all well!

Time for a few pictures? I think so!

Hey everybody!
So, I've finally adjusted to Hong Kong I think. I'm back to sleeping my usual hours, eating three meals a day, and exploring the city. Even the heat seems to bother me a little less.
I figure that this is probably a good opportunity to include some of the things that I've learned or noticed since I've been here in HK.
1)You can use a spoon to eat rice, but you should use chopsticks to put the food onto the spoon. Also, one should eat the rice with the accompanying meat etc., not as separate dishes
2) Not even the local people drink the tap-water without boiling it. Water can actually be ordered steaming hot at restaurants, and bottled water is sold with the distillation temperature on it.
3)One should stand on the right side of the escalator, and leave the left side for walking down. Also, the MTR (underground) escalators are the fastest I've ever seen.
4)Octopus cards are the most ingenious payment method I think I've ever seen. It's a little card used to pay for small purchases and public transit, but all you have to do is tap it to the reader. Best part? You don't even have to take it out of a bag/wallet to use it, just tap whatever the card is in to the reader
5)Rain storms in Hong Kong are insane!
6)A meal at a fast food restaurant is called a 'set', not a 'combo', and the latter will just confuse the staff.

And now, how about a few pictures of my escapades?
Here we have: The View outside my window; the first Chinese meal I ate in Hong Kong,The Castle I live in, and the route that we took on the plane. If you look closely, you'll notice that it goes right over the North Pole!We also have: The A temple we found in the SoHo neighbourhood; The Mid-Levels escalator, which connects some hillsides in the city; The cascading water caused by the massive rainstorm we got caught in; The first of several Geckos I've found in my room; and, last but not least, Bamboo scaffolding, which is all I've seen here thus far!
Hope everyone is well!

First Post!

Hello Everyone!

Well, it's been a busy few days, but I've finally found the chance come online and update a blog with what's been going on over here in HK. There've been a lot of adjustments to make, most of which are, of course, still in the making. I arrived a little more than 48 hours ago already.

Basically, I arrived here after a 15 hour flight from JFK. I was actually awake in Halifax around 3:30 AM local time, and then had to connect in New York. By the time I landed at the airport, I had been up for exactly 24 hours, having only slept a little bit on the plane. Surprisingly enough, I actually didn't go right to bed. Rather, I went and introduced myself to a few other foreign students, and went to the mall with one of them.

Yesterday, I met up with a local buddy assigned to me by the university. She and I went to the campus so that I could register, then we went to an area called Causeway Bay, where I bought a local cell-phone, and then again I went to the mall and went to bed.

By far, the biggest adjustment so far, and the one that's probably going to continue for the longest, is the temperature. HK is not only very hot, but quite humid. On the plus side, the climate being so different than that of Canada makes for a lot of interesting flora and fauna. There is bamboo growing outside my residence, and yesterday a gecko ran into my room, so there's an experience in and of itself.

Another big adjustment is the time change: 13 Hours ahead of Nova Scotia. Currently, I'm about half-way through, going to bed around 8 or 9 PM and waking up around 5 or 6 am. As my friends and family all know, this is not near my usual routine, which is usually closer to sleeping at midnight and waking at 10. Hopefully, though, I'll have my sleeping pattern a little better adjusted within the next couple of days.

Well, I think I'll do more updating later. Hope everyone is well!