1/4/14
It has been a couple days since I have been able to
update. We have been keeping everything
pretty jam packed, so I rarely get a chance to sit down at a computer. Perhaps the hand written diary would be
easier, but I would also have trouble trying to figure out my handwriting. Two days ago, I wrote a blog entry about how
I had the day off. I spent most of it
reading Survival in Auschwitz by
Primo Levi, which is pretty light reading.
I find the barter system in Auschwitz to be fascinating. One not only had to survivor the terrors of
their captors, but also they had to integrate themselves into the black market
in order to survive. It really puts my privileged
life into perspective.
So, after a day
of reading about dark things and when Deborah finally got back from Ocean Park
(which I thought was a water park, but apparently is an amusement park – I am
very happy that I didn’t go) we met up with my boss, Beatrix (who works in our
office at CTY Hong Kong), the former office manager of CTY HK, and a friend of
Jon’s. I apologize for that last
sentence – remind me to edit this later and by later I mean never. I feel like Mike Chin would totally not
approve. Anyway, we went to an amazing
Indonesian restaurant called Indonesian Restaurant 1968 near midlevels in
Central. I would put it in the top 10
eating experiences of my entire life.
The spicy fish dish altered me in ways that I am still trying to
comprehend.
The
following day, yesterday, was probably my favorite of the trip. We started off the day by going to the jade
market, which is near Tsim Sha Tsui. It is an inside market with dozens and
dozens of individual stalls, all selling the same jade trinkets. We found that
it probably isn’t the best idea to go to one of these markets in the middle of
the day because we were the only couple there.
The vendors jumped on the opportunity to hock their junk to some stupid
white Americans. We were able to confirm
their believes pretty quickly. I knew
that I was supposed to barter, but when you are the only people there, you
can’t even check out the different shops without people jumping all over
you. Old lady after old lady ran up to
us with their calculators and their “morning deals”. Deborah was not prepared for this type of
interaction. Now, I watch a lot of Pawn
Stars, Storage Wars, and American Pickers.
TV has taught me to never take the list price; in fact, in some cultures
it is disrespectful to not barter.
Deborah, on the other hand, doesn’t really know what a TV is and still
thinks that Bruce Lee is alive. We were on a bit of a mission at the jade
market; we wanted to find a bangle for my cousin as well as some other jade
things to give to people. I believe that
I made our first purchase of a couple jade turtles and I got the price down to
maybe a 100 HK dollars. I am for certain
sure that I was completely ripped off, but it was really exciting to go back
and forth with the woman. “Great morning
deal! Oh nooooo! Can’t do that! You make poor!”. We passed back the calculator several times
and I won my first cheaply made jade set of turtles. Deborah’s turn was a bit less successful. I had to remind her that we wanted to work
the price down, not up! She did get a
few dollars off of her goods, and we do have to keep in mind that we are not
talking a lot of money. I believe we
spent about 100 dollars US for 8 pieces of jade. My favorite vendor was this young hipster guy
who explained to us the different types of jade, and why certain types were
more expensive than others. In between
talking to us, he was chatting with someone on his giant phone (everyone has a
giant phone here- if you don’t have a
Samsung phone that is the size of your head, you ain’t nothing in HK, son!). I liked his style so we returned to by the
bangle and some other junk that we don’t need.
I heart shopping. I talked to my
boss later about our successful trip and he explained to us that you should be
able to get at least 1/3 off of the price with bartering. Well, everyone has to start somewhere! Perhaps I am not very good at bartering
either…
From the
jade market, we hiked on over to the ladies market. This one is outside on a long and narrow
street with thousands and thousands of people milling about. My first experience of it was pretty
overwhelming, but after awhile you begin to realize that market places in Hong
Kong actually aren’t that stressful.
While there are lots of people, they tend to be pretty polite and don’t
run you over too much. I feel much more
comfortable here than I would in a large crowd in NYC. Anyway, Deborah was transfixed by old lady
scarfs and picked up another one for far too much money. We figured this out
because when Deborah gave the woman a figure, the woman exclaimed, “For just
one!?!!? Yes!” As we walked, I found a stall that sold toys, comic book
toys. As a browsed through the
selection, I saw a transformer figure that looked like the joker and started to
get excited. Just a few steps away from this toy was a box that would make the
entire trip worth it. In a strange
packaging that included both Marvel and DC characters lay a Green Lantern
figure. I bartered the woman down to 35
HK dollars (which is like negative 5 cents American) and skipped away with the
love of my life. I then remembered to
grab Deborah and we rode off into the sunset.
After this
glorious event, we decided to kick it up a notch and find a British Pub. Some of you may know that I lived in London
for a semester in 2006 and have yet to get a chance to return. London burned deeply into my soul during
those few months and whenever I get a chance, I try to relive my experiences
there. Those of you who have read any
history, would know that Hong Kong was once a British Colony, so there is still
a lot of that culture on the Island.
Near mid-levels (which is a shopping/restaurant area that is built on
huge hills connected by long escalators that stretch on for miles) stands a
magnificent restaurant called The Yorkshire Pudding. I had my first Fuller’s London Pride pint
since leaving London and we had amazing fish and chips. The only disappointment was that they didn’t
have any vinegar. How does one eat their chips without any vinegar!? However, they had HP sauce and they had
cricket playing on the telly. I
pretended to watch/care just like I did in London. Of course, I go all the way to Asia to eat in
a British Pub with a bunch of white old dudes.
Next trip: London, England 2015!
That night,
Deborah and I got dressed up for an alumni networking event for Johns Hopkins.
Hong Kong is interesting because you can get terribly lost on your way to an
important event and still easily be able to correct your mistake and only be
five minutes late. I love the public
transport here! I will not bore you with
all of the details, but President Daniels gave a speech with a shout out to
CTY, we talked to a woman who was our age that works for a toy company that
produces Star Wars and Star Trek toys (I got her card and totally e-mailed her
as soon as I got home), and I ended up having a long conversation with a CTY
parent who has sent her twins to CTY for 3 years. She was incredibly nice and I tried to
explain to her that her 13 year olds would safely be able to travel from Hong
Kong to JHU by themselves with the help of CTY.
We have been doing crazy things like that for years. I really enjoy
talking to parents because it reminds me why I love the organization so
much. At the end of the day, we provide
a really important service to these kids and it always amazes me how much I can
nerd out over CTY. I think I really sold
her on the traditions and experiences at some of our older sites. The night gave me a taste of what
international work would be like and I am so excited to be a part of it. Part of me is nervous that they will suddenly
decide that I should be moved to a domestic site, but I can’t worry too much
about that. I really want to be at the
forefront of the growth of gifted education in Asia. Next week, I get to tour our new site at the
University of Hong Kong and build the parent/student handbook. It will be a challenge, but I so happy to
have such an interesting project to work on.
Anyway, we had a few drinks after the event with my boss and his friend
and ended up taking a taxi home.
The
following day (today) we met up with Selena and Daniel and made the long trek
to see Tian Tan Buddha (AKA the Big Buddha) For more information, check out: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/see-do/highlight-attractions/top-10/the-big-buddha-po-lin-monastery.jsp. We took a bus, then the MTR, and finally a
bus that went up and down huge hills with the ocean at our side. It was a very curvy and bendy trip and I
tried to forget that sometimes I get motion sickness. Before I talk more about the trip, I just
want to note that Selena (the three year old) is like a real person. She has her own purse with her old bus card
that she touches to the sensor herself, she calming sits on the bus and plays
quiet games/sings to herself during super long trips, and she practices
speaking in different languages on a pretty regular basis. I am quite impressed with the child and I
hope that my kids are as city savvy as this kid. Also, I think that she would find it important
that I mention her real name here. She
prefers to be called by her full name, Ariel Rapunzel Fairy Princess, just
something to keep in mind when you have your next business meeting with her. I
hear she that just invested in Coach stock…we should probably all do the same.
We ate our
vegetarian lunch at the base of the hill, which consisted of giant spring
rolls, tofu, and soup and then headed out on our adventure. The big Buddha is really f’ing big! It is at
the top of 100 and some stairs (I forget the exact number, but Selena and
Daniel counted them all in German, Spanish, Cantonese, and English) and is at
the top of a huge hill that is surrounded by multiple other green rolling
hills. It is an amazing site and the
experience is made stronger by the sounds of the monks singing. I would love to spend the night there at the
hostel and do some of the many hikes that wind through the thick forest.
Pictures do not do this place justice.
Another short hike on the wisdom trail takes you to an area that is breathtakingly
beautiful. We climbed to the top of a
large hill and had a three hundred and sixty view of the ocean and
mountains. The space is almost completely untouched by
man. The beauty of this island is just
too hard to describe.
We stayed for a few hours and then we had to get the baby
home. My only regret is that we didn’t
take the gondola for a 25-minute ride over the mountains. Next time!
We ended
our night with sushi in Aberdeen. I
really hope that this vacation never ends.
I might not go back to the United States…
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