Firsts

So this weekend was full of firsts for some of my new Chinese friends. On Sunday my Mom and I were having English conversation practice with an adult student who is relatively fluent in English, her english name is Amy. Her and one of the bilingual teachers Xaoting were talking and got onto one of my favorite topics...movies. And to my surprise I met my first two people who had never even heard of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. So we showed them some photos, and I saw their faces as they saw a lightsaber for the first time, and I demonstrated my lightsaber app on my iPod. On Monday night we had Xaoting and our Chinese tutor and her family over for Memorial Day dinner. I made BBQ pulled pork sandwiches topped with spicy slaw, potato salad, lemonade and watermelon for dessert. The pulled pork sandwiches, slaw and potato salad were a first for our Chinese guests. They really liked the potato salad, they kept eating it and we showed them the ingredients I used to make it, sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard are hard to find in China. Also for our little dinner party I got the wii to work. So it was great fun and everyone excluding me saw wii games for the first time, and almost all our chinese guests played table tennis, sword fighting, bowling, tennis, boxing etc. They really liked the boxing. My Dad had an upset stomach, but in a testament to his love and longing for comfort foods, he ate two large helpings of potato salad. During dinner we spoke about Memorial Day and why we celebrate it, and how it is the "unofficial start of summer" it was really fun, it was the first night since coming here that I didn't get a little homesick for my friends and the fun evenings I would have with them. I lived in Provo for almost three years, and I built myself quite a life there. I have to remember that when I first moved back to Provo in July 2007 that I didn't go out every night and I even had a few friends(plus I had the advantage of speaking the language that everyone there spoke). I must work harder here, first to learn the language, and second to become more self-reliant, then I can start filling my evenings with social plans. One step at a time :)

Hong Kong Take 2

So I've been to Hong Kong a couple of times now and I've done some shopping.
Hong is a crowded messy and civilized place. It is a mountainous concrete jungle surrounded by actual jungle mountains.
High rise apartments and office buildings back-dropped by green Mountains and smashed together between the sea and the Chinese.
Where I live(Shenzhen) just barely north, it takes 10min to get to the Hong Kong border from my apartment via taxi. Shenzhen is much cleaner, newer shinier and orderly. Hong Kong is this remnant of the British Empire and still has a definitely post-Imperial vibe to it. There are metro stations called Prince Edward sandwiched between Shek Kip Mei and Mong Kok station.
Near these stations is a vast open air market that spans for many blocks. My Mom and I went shopping for prizes for the English students, and watches and scarves. I also introduced my mother to Milk Tea.
Right by this bustling dirty open air market is an upscale mall with designer stores and restaurants...like Starbucks and a Crepe Cafe. This really is the essence of Hong Kong, they are a progressive sphere right next to a world super power and enjoy freedoms that few of their Mandarin speaking comrades to the north do. In Hong Kong I can shop at The Body Shop, use Free Wi-Fi to get on Facebook, YouTube and many other blocked mainland sites while ordering a sandwich made on real bread. China is a lot more capitalist than many in the West realize, they have a history of Capitalism, especially on the coast - they are naturally entrepreneurial and very resourceful.
While my Mom and I were looking for the Church's Distribution Center in Hong Kong we got very lost and found a turtle pond in the middle of a courtyard. It was bustling with turtles and I snapped some photos of the pond and some signs that were posted by it. Seriously, Asians are the inventors of cute.

Photos and the neighbor's front door

From the great land of China

These first few days in China have gone by quick. After cleaning my parents apartment and helping with a few English classes, I'm trying new foods and I have about eight Chinese words memorized(Hello, Left, Right, Straight Ahead, I'm sorry, Don't Mention it, Mom, Dad).
I ate Dragonfruit on Monday night and it was really good - I've also eaten Mangosteen, Lychee and Sweet Potato Noodles.
It is so humid and hot - which I haven't experienced in quite sometime, especially since summer was slow in coming to Utah this year.
My flight here was rather eventful but that drama soon faded, crossing the border with 5 iPads proved not difficult at all. They didn't even check the car. Now when I go out I feel like a movie star because everyone stares and says hello to me, not gonna lie - right now I like the attention - but I'm sure it will wear on me.
The air is heavy with humidity and often the smell of sewer. But other than that, my world is still new and exciting. I haven't ridden the public transport yet - just taxis. When I am brave enough to ride the bus and rapidly expanding metro I'm sure that will be a whole new ordeal to write about.
I've participated in the Kindergarten class, yesterday we played with water with Chris and Wilton. Both are cute kids.