Thanksgiving in Macau

So on Thanksgiving Day I bunked off classes and went to meet our domestic helper in Macau. Jacky, our Filipina maid couldn't get another visa to return to China so I was meeting her to give her plane fare to return home. I'd never been to Macau before, but it is an hour ferry ride from the port 5min from my apartment.
As we left the port, I could see my apartment complex(small whitish ones) the Shenzhen Bay Bridge to Hong Kong and the distant skinny high rise apartments of the Ha Tsuen neighborhood in Hong Kong, barely visible through the suffocating South China smog.

As I rode the ferry I got to see the industrial side of Hong Kong: gas banks, electric power stations, and the oyster beds of the Pearl River Delta. I passes many container ships heading all over the world; Panama, Los Angeles, Hamburg, Sydney, Columbia etc. I waxed philosophical about all the things humanity has accomplished and yet the tender thread that we still hang by. A situation that was at the front of my mind since the bombing in South Korea two days prior. We have done so much, I live in a place that sends products to all ends of the earth at record speed, but malaria still kills children; millions per year, and no matter what we will grow, love, age and die. Somber I know, but the power and the beauty of all we have done is a result of our fear of mortality. We want to do so much, make so many things, experience more and more, create more and more, because we all know our time is finite.
Out of my thoughtful mood, I arrived in Macau for the first time - breezed through immigration and met Jacky our maid. We at lunch/dinner at the Sands Macau, I had sushi for Thanksgiving day. And I saw a Michael Jackson impersonation concert. I missed my first ferry trip, so I bought the next departure, and found a toy store in the ferry terminal!
Optimus Prime!!!
Star Wars Legos!
and Board Games!



silly I know, but I don't get to see things like Harry Potter Clue and Pirates of the Caribbean Life everyday!

Island Fun

So the previous weekend(not the most recent one) I visited Hong Kong again, for a Temple trip but also to meet some other YSA from Guangzhou and grab some Mexican food on the Island and do some touristy things. My Dad has seen everything and my Mom isn't all that interested in waiting in a long line to go up a mountain. So after getting lost in Soho for a little while, we found the Mexican restaurant, ate amazing Mexican food(I had a pork chimichanga) and we lucky enough to happen upon a street fair on Elgin St. while we were there. I bought a beautiful handmade necklace from this artisan selling her beautiful wares. And we saw some singers advertising their Macau show.


Kenya, Sharah and I went up Victoria Peak to take a look at Hong Kong and enjoy some actually brisk autumn air.

We hunted down dinner at a place called Modern Toilet...and Taiwanese chain...however, the location that we found seemed to have been closed for good(it seems that some people don't appreciate the novelty of eating their food out of miniature toilets)?
We were all pretty bummed, but Kenya most of all :(

The Art of Subway Flirting

When riding the metro, perchance you spot a young coed that catches your fancy it is important to meet their eye and hold their gaze for a bit...release.
In a minute or so, before the next stop meet their eye again, allow a coy pleased smile.
Wait.
Glance again.
Catch a thinly veiled grin.
Enjoy.

Canteen Craziness

So today I decided to eat on campus. The closest canteen to my classroom building is for teachers, but students are allowed to eat there too. The food is a little better, a tiny bit more expensive and people wait in line better. So I usually eat there. Today, I was planning on going there for lunch with my Mexican classmate Josimar but he told me that the system of payment had changed. Instead of just paying at each booth with you student card, quite easily after pointing to what I want, I must tell a cashier at the front, where I want to get food from and how much money worth of food, pay him, he gives me a receipt and then I can go and ask for my food at the booth that is written on my receipt.
Evidently this is because the teachers were complaining that too many students were eating in the "Teacher's Canteen," but the management likes the students eating there because they make more money. So making it more difficult for everyone to eat there was the compromise.

Yesterday and Today

Today actually started yesterday.
Friday in Hong Kong I bought a new skirt from the Mong Kok market, at H&M a new coat(it will get cold here), a scarf, sweater, green corduroy skirt, and a wool muffler. At Uniqlo(a Japanese chain, that I’ve fallen in love with) two pair of legging pants, and a smock shirt/skirt. If you didn’t already know this…I have a shopping problem. I actually decided to go to HK because I needed a new pair of loafers, my awesome pre-mish white leather loafers finally wore through on the heels, and I conceded I needed a new pair, I had already checked the big markets here for shoes…alas most were made of plastic and just awful. So I headed to Mong Kok, and started looking for Sperry Top-Siders. After seeing a few, and their price tag – I started looking at other options. I found a pair of Sanuk’s that I really liked and definitely thinking about my friend Randy Hurd and his fondness of these shoes, I bought them. Anyways, heavy laden with shopping I returned home late to Shenzhen, the border crossing I chose was packed with people, and people who kept cutting in line. 200+ people and only 5 open checking terminals to exit Hong Kong. Then to enter China, only one Terminal for foreigners and the guard was getting trained. I nearly threw my shopping down and turned around. But I couldn’t because I needed to return home to stay at someone else’s apartment that night.
I slept at a Branch member’s apartment because both parents were going to be out of town and they asked me to just spend the night, so I watched The Sorcerer’s Apprentice with three of the kids, and slept there. I awoke early to get back home and get showered to head to the Temple in Hong Kong with my Dad. However, when I got down to the parking garage, my scooter would not start, either the cables or the batteries are bad again, or something else. Who knows, it was made in China, not for export….
So, it isn’t yet 6am, and I’m trying to get a piece of machinery to work so I can go to the Temple. It won’t work, so I start walking(I hadn’t brought any money with me at all and I was locked out of the apartment I slept in). It’s about 3km home, so I walk as fast as I can. Even though I speed walked it was really pleasant, the streets in the dusk before dawn in Shekou蛇口(my neighborhood) are peaceful, don’t smell like they do during the day, and they aren’t full of loud spitting people. A few breakfast carts were out early for bus and taxi drivers, smelling of steaming bamboo and warm soy milk. As I pass the wharf on the way to my apartment, it doesn’t smell as strongly as it does in the afternoon, and most of the ships are still out busy over-fishing the Pearl River delta. In the distance I can see trullers out checking the oyster beds on the Hong Kong side.
I get home and my Dad isn’t even awake yet. I hurriedly shower and get ready in a new skirt I bought in the street market in Hong Kong the day before(so awesome, that I’ve lost enough weight to buy things in the South Chinese markets that fit me…even if it is the largest size they have). So I’m rushing to get ready to get in a taxi and head to my Dad’s favorite border crossing(Fu Tian Kou An). I’m about ready, and my Dad knocks on my door saying he was up most of the night throwing up(bad bacon) and isn’t going. I was going to go anyways, but remembering the state of the apartment, and my broken scooter, I decided to stay at home. I sleep a little more, wake up and walk to the import market a km away, get treats for my Dad, and cheese to make quiche for a Young Women’s service project in my Branch. I walk home, do my Dad and I’s laundry as the quiche bakes. Not my usual crazy fancy fare, but I hope it did me proud. I take the quiche to the school, catching a ride with the “Black Taxis”(Gypsy cabs) that wait outside our apartments and the guy driving me drove me once to University when I was running late, and he remembered me, and we were able to talk a little bit, we talked a bit about the weather, about Minnesota, about where he’s from in China(also a cold place) and about how the wharf smells bad. I didn’t even realize it till now…but that’s probably the longest conversation I’ve ever had in Chinese.
After I drop the quiche off, I decide to walk home. Shekou at night is a completely different place. Cafes are open and teaming with people. Men are squatting or sitting on stools on the side walk playing cards for small bets, there is this one restaurant(still have no idea what the big deal is) with huge crowds waiting outside, sitting on chairs waiting to eat there. I side stepped bike shops repairing cables and inner-tubes on the sidewalk. I walked past the Shekou theatre where a movie was playing outside, I don’t know exactly what it was about, but the subtitles I could read kept mentioning Beijing. I bought a sugar cane/aloe/lychee fruit drink and it was bit too sweet, but really refreshing as I walked. I found a restaurant down the street from our apartment complex(across the street from my bus stop and right by the future metro station) that has parts of dogs hanging up to be ordered and eaten. The streets are full of people strolling, and smoking. The site of the future metro station is so interesting. As soon as there were no gaping holes in the ground, the barriers were pushed aside and people have been walking through the construction site to get to their destinations more quickly. Something completely unthinkable to me a few months ago seems obvious, “well of course I would walk through an active construction site to get home faster.” As I walk the song “South China Moon” by Bishop Allen starts playing on my iPod. I look up, and the sky is smoggy and I can’t see the moon. I realized I had made a list in my head of places to go and see all around my neighborhood. Even though technically most of the foreigners in the city live in Shekou, it is still China, and Shekou is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Shenzhen, so it is teaming with nightlife and character. I can get a drink at Starbucks and then walk down the street for dog BBQ. When I got home, my Dad had Mexican take-out waiting for me, and it was still hot.

Bangkok

Ok...I know it's been over a month since I got home - but here are a few photos of Thailand
I had a really great time, being there with my folks, getting out of China was great for my Dad and I was able to see more of Asia. Here are some highlights.

Wat Phra Kaew




Royal Palace


Wat Pho(largest indoor reclining Buddha...also...yes that is sweat on my Dad's shirt)




Bridge on the River Kwai...the REAL one...yeah it was awesome...My Dad and I were in nerd heaven.






Ayutthaya - old capital - while we were there, a few of the sites were having water pumped out of them, the river was at flood stage











Random Photos

returning from Bangkok

So, my parents and I went to Bangkok. It was National Golden Week in China and my Dad needed to get away. So we got cheap flights to Bangkok and planned a lovely trip. A following post will express all my love for Thailand, and have photos and anecdotes. This post is dedicated to our return trip that we made today.
The morning started off with me still recovering from too much delicious green chile laden Thai food...I'll leave it at that.
We arranged for our bill to be paid, but my Dad like all great Jews wanted to get rid of as much cash as possible while settling our hotel bill. This prolonged and complicated the process, he also declared that he lost his debit card, because it wasn't in the stack of cards he kept in his pocket. This was the same man that claimed to have been pick-pocketed the day before, only to find the money in another pocket the next morning. So that dilemma aside, we get in our taxi have a few monetary and lingual fumbles with the driver over the payment of road tolls and arrive at the airport. I started to lift suitcases out of the taxi and the driver grunted and me sternly and made it clear that I was not to lift the luggage, which annoyed me greatly - being the strong, proud, able-bodied woman that I am.
We get checked into our flight, move through passport control and get to security at which point my Mom holds up the line a few times, not understanding that yes, an iPad is a computer and must be scanned separately, yes you have to remove your fanny pack/bum bag and it must be scanned. She makes it through and they ask to look at her carry on roller suitcase. She then opens it, and starts taking things out and explaining what they are, what her c-pap machine is etc. mind you there are people piling up behind me(not to mention the back up of items shooting out the x-ray conveyor belt) and I tell her, "Mom, he just wants to test your bag, go over there with him, you are holding up the line" she goes over there and somehow convinces them to let her keep her over-sized Crabtree and Evelyn perfume bottle she thoughtlessly packed in her carryon. I love my Mom, and she is so accommodating that she sometimes doesn't understand what is being asked of her.
We have over an hour till our plane boards so my Dad and I find a bookstore with lots of newspapers, magazines and books to peruse. After about 10min my Mom announces from outside the shop that she is going to get a drink. I said "wait!" and she was off. We get to the check out counter with our over-priced foreign newspapers(the guardian, because I'm a raging liberal and the IHT for my snobbish father) and we realize that she walked off with all the money. So we go on a hunting party for her...but she has vanished down a long terminal lined with one place to procure food and drink and the rest places to purchase any duty free item you could want. After speed walking in heightening frustration and desperation like McCallisters in the O'hara - we find her at very end of the terminal staring at a leader board trying to find our gate number. Still needing a beverage my parents spot a Dairy Queen(wth!) and I head back to get my newspaper.
When we head to our flight my Mom keeps asking me if I need help with her tink roller hand luggage. Finally I tell her, "I don't know if you know this Mom, but I am an adult that has paid her taxes by herself for the past 7 years, I'm a quite capable highly functioning adult and a testament to your skill as a parent. You really should be very proud because I'm quite fantastic." Rarely to I get to toot my own horn so sardonically, but we all have our shining moments.
We make it all the way to the gate(after following a labyrinthine ram and stairs that were make out of metal with a bumpy pattern that didn't really consider what it would sound like with a battalion of roller luggage parading down it) to get in line to have our tickets checked yet again, and right as we get to the front of the line, a Chinese fellow who is standing off to the side, greets his family who have just arrived, and pulls them all in front of me completely cutting in line, in my terrible Chinese I say, "what are you doing?! I am here!" my Dad turned around and in English got rough and angry and said "NO! get in the line! are you children?!" he pushed them physically off to the side and pointed at the end of the line, and they were yelling and I tried to say "rude, it is rude - must begin over there" that only made them yell at me more.
We arrive in Hong Kong, make it through - decide against taking the ferry home, and opt for a "limo van". Limo vans are really nice vans(roomy comfortable etc) that are a bit spendy for most to hire to take them through the border, but you don't have to get out of the car, or be jostled in line by Chinese trying to cut in front of you, you can read and make your way through the border, and they take you all the way to your house if you pay a little more. Each van seats six passengers and the driver. My parents and I were half the passengers. First my Mom had an unholy fight with the seat-belt. Then as we made our quiet journey through the SAR I started hearing fart noises. We are on leather seats, makes sense. Move around, adjust your weight in the seat, and the unfortunate noise comes forth. I noticed them more and more, coming from my Mom's seat...only she wasn't moving. Farting noise + no movement = actual farting. I couldn't believe it. I mean I really could, my Mom feels really free about passing gas, in a vulgar uncouth way, but in a car! A confined space with strangers?!
As we are waiting at the border crossing my Dad starts making this awful lip-smacking, saliva sucking sound. The poor Taiwanese guy next to me looked disgusted. "Dad, what are you doing?!" his reply, "There is something stuck in my teeth."
"So, wait until we get home to get it out, like a civilized adult."
Thankfully he stopped, mostly. Every now and then he'd make an attempt.
We get home and my ability to open the front door is questioned before we get inside. And I escape to my room. Before long I hear my Dad's cackle as he watches his favorite middle-american show Two and a Half Men. I never should have bought him all 6 seasons from the DVD stand on the street for $4. It's probably where he is picking up bad social habits.
Seriously though, I love my parents.