CLIFF LEE

One of my college roommates, let's call him "Doug," used to be a Miami Heat fan. But after this off-season, which saw a large influx of Talents to Miami, Doug quit. He's not a Heat fan anymore. Most Heat fans were pretty excited when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwayne Wade in Miami, so I was pretty confused by this. Shouldn't you be happy when the team you root for ends up with two top-five players?* Apparently, Doug had been having "very mixed feelings" about The Heat for a while. He could never get past his shame of his fellow fans, clearly the worst in the NBA, if not professional sports. He pined for the Antoine Walker glory years. Plus, he really, really was going to miss Daequan Cook. So he quit on The Heat. He roots for a new team now. I'm not sure which one, but I don't really care. Why? BECAUSE DOUG IS A DOOFUS.

See, it's good when your team gets good players. Take the Phillies, for instance. They just signed Cliff Lee. This is good. I'm very happy! If I wasn't in Hong Kong, I'd call right now to renew the season tickets that I would have bought last year had I not been in Hong Kong.** The Phillies arguably have two of the top-five pitchers in baseball and four of the top-twenty. I couldn't be more thrilled!

Obviously, there are numerous differences between the Phillies and The Heat. Baseball and basketball are nothing alike. Lee didn't completely betray his fans and become the country's biggest sports villain overnight the way LeBron did. Most importantly, perhaps, the Phillies generally have good fans while The Heat have terrible ones, again generally speaking. But, there are some similarities. Both situations involved a top-five talent turning down guaranteed money (in Lee's case, quite a bit of money). In both situations, the player wanted to go play with his friends in a city he liked. Most wonderfully, both players basically told New York to eff off.

When I heard the news that Lee was headed to Philly, 99.99999999999% of me was absolutely ecstatic. The other .000004% of me, I'm ashamed to admit, had doofy "Doug" thoughts. I was a little worried that this signing continues the Phillies on a possible course of becoming the next Red Sox, who in turn were the next Yankees (at least as far as the way they assemble a mercenary team that can be tough to root for and their fan bases go). I started to notice more and more pink hats at games. The crowds could be somewhat muted. I could see empty seats after the 7th inning and before the 3rd. Could this signing be the tipping point that makes the Phillies completely unbearable?

NO! Or, perhaps I should restate: Probably not, but I DON'T CARE. The Phillies, and The Heat for that matter, both did what any reasonable fan would want them to. They did the absolute most they could to put their team in a position to win a championship. I don't about the media or general public's perception of the team. I don't care if this team is "likable." Doug's a doofus because it's CRAZY to walk out on your team after they did exactly what every other team desperately wanted to! What do the circumstances have to with it? Who cares if LeBron's kind of a prick? Will anyone be talking about The Decision in two years?

If Doug had let the national uproar over The Decision die down a little, he could have had himself a fun little team to root for. That, or he could have walked out after Fan Up. Now THAT's a reason to quit rooting for The Heat. Anyway, Doug's a doofus. That's all I really wanted to say.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee



*Pau and Kobe are one and two, respectively.

**Actually, that's not true. I would have already renewed by now.

Pop Culture

In class today, students gave presentations about an English song of their choosing. Here are the songs they shared:

"In the Morning" by the Bee Gees

"Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" by Air Supply

"On the Line" by Michael Jackson

"Stand" by Jewel

"Love Story" by Taylor Swift

"Perhaps Love" by John Denver

I continue to be baffled by my students' pop culture education. They've never heard of Bruce Springsteen, they think that Green Day's first hit was "American Idiot," and any conversation about The Who would most likely be humorous, but ultimately frustrating.

Let's consider these song choices. The Taylor Swift song makes sense since she's so popular with the young folk and whatnot. The Michael Jackson song sort of makes sense since he's so popular here, although "On the Line" goes a little deeper into his catalog than I would expect. But an obscure non-disco Bee Gees song from 1972? An equally forgotten Jewel single from her pop-vixen stage? John Denver? What gives? Why are students so in to soft rock?

Lest you think that this was an isolated incident, maybe I should mention that last year, I witnessed an entire auditorium sing along to this song:



Think back to 10th grade. If you gave a presentation about your favorite song and then played anything by Michael Learns to Rock, how many of your classmates would have known all of the words? Zero? Less than zero? Would they share your love of the Danish pop outfit? Is there a chance that you might have received some ridicule?

Getting back to my original question, one possible explanation for students' soft rock preference involves their language ability. Being non-native English speakers, students often have trouble understanding the lyrics in faster, louder songs, so they gravitate towards soft-rock and power ballads. My problem with this argument is pretty basic: Any sane person would rather lose their sense of hearing than have to listen to Michael Learns to Rock for more than 15 seconds. I'd also love to chalk up my students' odd taste in music to cultural differences, but Asian pop music isn't really similar to any of these bands.

I think the explanation is actually a little more simple. You see, I've been hitting the "streets," asking the youth what's hip and what's total grade a square city. Turns out most students don't listen to English songs unless it's for a school assignment* That John Denver song? They heard that from their S1 (approx. 6th grade) teacher. The Bee Gees? They learned that song during a class in S3. In fact, English language acts that seem to be most popular with students include Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne, and the Black Eyed Peas. As usual, I have to throw my initial assumptions totally out the window and ask a new question:

Why are teachers so into soft rock? Unfortunately, I have no idea. But hey, on second thought, Michael Learns To Rock isn't so bad, you know? I mean it's got a nice hook and it's really easy to sit back and listen to. Kind of catchy, actually.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee


*Most of them prefer J-pop and K-pop. The language barrier doesn't explain this, because last time I checked, people here don't speak Japanese or Korean.

For All The Young Entrepreneurs Out There

Just finished a discussion with some S7 (approx. 12th grade) students about an article from November 2002 about the youth unemployment rate in Hong Kong. I love talking about articles that are eight years old, because digesting the news really takes some time. Tomorrow we're going to discuss United Airlines' recent bankruptcy filing.

Anyway, there's a subheading towards the end that reads, "Try the business option." The article relays the success story of Joe Chan Kwong-chun, who as a recent S7 graduate started a travel agency. I did a little research and was able to verify that the company was still in existence as recently as June, 2008. Obviously, starting a company is not easy. Luckily, the article warns that, "Youngsters [should not start a] business without careful planning." I would even extend that warning to "oldsters," as well as "middle-agedsters." Still, the article raises a good point. If you have a good idea, some money, and a plan, there are plenty of opportunities out there.

Well, I don't have any money, and god knows I don't have a plan, but as I always say, "I'm an ideas guy." Living in Hong Kong for a year has given me a unique and borderline unheard of insight to the inner-workings of the city and the local business environment.

THE REMAINDER OF THIS POST IS FOR POTENTIAL INVESTORS ONLY. INVESTORS ARE FORBIDDEN BY LAW FROM STEALING MY AMAZING IDEAS............ OR ELSE.

1) Burrito Stand. Who doesn't love Mexican food? Burritos are cheap, convenient, massive, and delicious, yet there's no Chipotle equivalent in Hong Kong. What gives?? Investors should examine the area near the Prince Edward MTR. I feel like this location is ripe for burritos.

2) Used English Book Store. I know, I know. Print is Dead. But English books are so expensive in Hong Kong, and if the books are second hand, you don't even need to print them, right? I hear that there's a big market for English literature in the Prince Edward area.

3) Bagel Shop. Ted, this is all you.* I'd suggest the Prince Edward area as your first location, preferably near my apartment, with goals of expansion in the Kwun Tong area, preferably near the school where I work.

4) A Spanish Language Newspaper. I know, I know. Print is Dead, but Hong Kong's silent but maybe existent minority deserves a voice! You can set this up wherever you want.

5) A website where people can go to buy all of their pet supplies, food, and products all from the comfort of their own homes!

Ok, that's enough ideas for today, I think. I'm singing off until next time, but remember, "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons."

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

*As some of you might remember, my business associate Ted and I once made the most half-assed attempt in the history of the world at starting a bagel shop.

Is Justin Bieber Actually a Cleverly Disguised 51-Year-Old Pedophile?

No, but during a lesson with one of my S4 (approx. 9th grade) classes, no fewer than 10 students asked me if this were true. I thought it an odd question, considering the assignment was for students to give a brief presentation on a fictional country of their own design. I told them that there's no way Justin Bieber is 51 years old, but they kept insisting they saw it on the news and I started having my doubts.*

Turns out that one of their friends had found this news report from way back (September 28, 2010) and posted it on Facebook:


Justin Bieber Found To Be Cleverly Disguised 51-Year-Old Pedophile

Now everyone in the school has seen it, and from my unofficial survey, 100% of them think it is a real news report. Since everyone who reads this blog most likely knows me personally, they also most likely know that I'm a huge fan of The Onion. I've read/heard/seen stories about people confusing an Onion article or video for an actual news report, but I never expected to have one of these misunderstandings interrupt my amazing English lesson.**

The whole incident, I think, raises a larger question: What does this say about the overall intelligence of Hong Kong students? My initial gut reaction is to say, "not a lot." Let's look at this objectively: My students don't know enough English to know the word "pedophile." So right off the bat, the most ridiculous thing in the video, the thing that makes the whole thing obviously fake, is lost on them. Many of the jokes are spoken too quickly for my students to catch, and there are no subtitles. What's left? A professional-quality news report with fairly convincing photos that aesthetically gives no clues as to being fake. The music, the anchors, the "experts" all sound and look real enough. Throw in the fact that they're probably only picking up 1 out of every 4 or 5 words, and I understand how this could confuse them.

But still. Why would anyone believe a video on YouTube that says that Justin Bieber is 51 years old from a news organization named after a vegetable? Aren't people a little internet savvy? These aren't kindergartners; these are high school kids. My measured reaction after some consideration is, "I shouldn't think too much about this, but come on guys. Use your brains."

Some conclusions:

1) Critical thinking and media literacy should be stressed more in Hong Kong schools.
2) Students should probably use a little more common sense.
3) The Onion is awesome and students in Hong Kong now know what it is and how awesome it is.
4) Students should probably use a lot more common sense.


Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.


*Probably because I'm a moron.

**I stopped the lesson to show the students the video in question, explain what The Onion is, and show them a few China related articles, as well as that video about Disney Stars being manufactured in a lab. My students aren't usually too interested in English-language pop culture, so I took the opportunity and ran with it.

Apartment Tour 2

Hey gang,

Here's what's becoming an annual tradition for me: Apartment tour! I need to stop moving and/or stop blogging about it.

No real complaints so far about the new place. There seems to be some good food around, including a won ton place right downstairs (score!), although no take out sushi near by, which is kind of a drag. One minor complaint, actually: Most of the places here are Chinese, often times without an English menu. Last year, there was a really wide variety. I had Japanese, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, American, Taiwanese, Malaysian, and BBQ options all within a 10 minute walk. On the upside, double bed, $1000 less per month, and it's 15 minutes closer to my work.



I'm swamped at school right now, but I'll try to be back soon with my thoughts on Muslim America, mosques in NYC, and abortion. Happy New Year!

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Don't Fly Air China

Welcome back, everyone! Sam, here- your lovable (albeit sometimes unreliable) Hong Kong tour guide. I've returned to the Beast of the East for another year of teaching, exploring, and just, you know, living my life.

Since we last met, I spent a summer trying my best to teach a bunch of lovely campers how to play tennis and get a lake named after myself. I'd consider both efforts a modest success.

Me and my little angels down by Wachs Pond

But summer's over and I need to work for a living, so I signing on for another year English teach at Lui Kwok Pat Fong College. I'll once again be teaching 9th-12th grade speaking lessons as well as heading up the EAT (English Ambassador Team for all you newbies). I also for some reason told them that I'd start an English movie club as well as a tennis club. Anyway, since I'm back doing all of these exciting things, I figured why not blog about it some more?

I'll tell you what, though. I'm sick of hearing all these complaints from everyone (i.e. my parents) that I don't blog enough. I'll admit that I slacked off a bit last year, but I am a slacker no more! From here on out, you can expect AT LEAST one post a week for as long as I'm in Hong Kong.* That's the Sam Wachs Guarantee-- you can take it to the bank.**

*For all the crap you gave me last year about not blogging, mom and dad, I did finish with 46 posts, which averages out to well over one post per week, especially when you consider that I was only here for nine and a half months. IN YOUR FACE!

**Chong Hing Bank

I arrived yesterday and have spent the last 24 hours being jetlagged, moving into my apartment, cleaning, unpacking, etc. I'll be back soon with the always-highly-anticipated apartment tour, some thoughts about Air China, and my living and blogging plans for the year.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Thank you, Shmatteris

Has it been 9 months and 3 weeks already? Where does the time go? It seems like only 8 months, 2 weeks ago I slapped on my first surgical mask and was fed my meals during orientation. But alas, it HAS been 9 months and 3 weeks, meaning my time in Hong Kong is almost up...or is it? Some good news, after the line break:

I'm staying in Hong Kong for another year! A few months ago my school, Loi Kwok Pat Fong College, offered to retain my services for the 2010-2011 school year, and I recently accepted. Even better, I'll have the same position and only slightly more responsibilities, but with a 70% pay raise! It sounds too good to be true, right? Unfortunately, it is. It absolutely breaks my heart to say this, but as of 4:00 PM today, upon the receipt of my release letter, a yearbook, and a Certificate of Achievement for, "English Room/Corner," I am no longer an employee of the Shmatteris Educational Foundation.

Given that this is a day not only for celebration, but also for heartfelt goodbyes, I'd like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you, Shmatteris, for everything you've done for me this past year. You were willing to hire me over a webcam from Israel and give me a foot in the door to Hong Kong, and by extension, Asia. After a very intense 30-minute discussion, you begrudgingly allowed me to take off work for Yom Kippur. Serving as a SHMNET (read: "shmee-net") in the GISHMP (read: "gee-eye-shmee-pee") program while implementing the ELEEP ("e-leap") Action Plan with help from my TIC, MT, PM, PD, and EAT really made my year official-sounding. Your shyness around the media is actually kind of cute. I could go on and on, but I know how you hate it so when I flatter you.

I never thought I'd so soon leave the company-that-won't-let-me-use-its-name-in-any-outside-media-source-even-though-I-love-it-so-much, but life's filled with all sorts of unexpected twists and turns. I guess you just try to take the good with the bad. For nine months and three weeks, you were so, so good.

Thank you, Shmatteris. I will love you forever.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Molding Young Minds

Last week I taught a lesson to my Form 4 (approx. 9th grade) students about comics. After teaching some vocab and going over some concepts, I divided them into groups and gave each group two cards. One card would give a location such as a school playground, library, or hospital. The other card would give characters, like aliens, or cops and criminals, or teachers and students. They would then make a short comic strip using the given location and characters. My students did not disappoint:

Click to view full size:

Byeeeeeeeeee.

Improve Your English

A practical reason to improve your English, courtesy of Benji:

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Day 10 - end of trip (Max)

For day 10, Sam and I smashed together many last-minute miscellaneous activities into one glorious day. Starting the day off Sam and I traveled back into Central for Victoria Park. Highlights include the foot massage rocks (Wearing socks, you walk on top of pointed rocks, creating some discomfort initially but hopefully feeling better afterwards. Sam did this with flip flops on, causing some locals to correct him - I told them we were westeners trying not to hurt our feet!), observing people lounge/sing/dance (there seemed to be a congregation of pacific islanders throughout the park) and bumping into some of Sam's british co-workers, where we engaged in pleasantries and played the UK-US cultural exchange game of "what do you call that?" (Is it a trolley or tram, air-con or air-conditioning, chips/crisps/fries, etc.).

Finishing the park, Sam and I looked for a massage clinic (A note about this - I saw signs throughout Hong Kong advertising massages, especially feet massages. To avoid any tourist traps or illegitimate operations, Sam did some research and found a legit place.). For $208 HK (about $27 US) I received an hour long Thai massage while Sam went back to his place for a trip to the gym. I thought the massage was a very professional and enjoyable experience.

Massage completed, Sam and I met up again in Central for some Fish and Chips. Although a bit expensive (~$13 US), I ate grilled cod, fries and baked beans (it was satisfying but not very memorable otherwise). Sam told me that his British roommate Rob recommended this place, as it had a very authentic UK feel to it.

Leaving Central, we arrived at Kowloon Park for yet another gigantic mall. There was a very modern-looking video-game arcade, with some very Chinese-feeling entertainment. We played games that used plastic hammers to kill cartoon ghosts and plastic balls to smash bottles on a television screen. I also took a stab at the local street fighter 4 machines, pitting me in one-on-one combat against one of the local ringers (with a respectable 1-3 match outcome in favor of my opponent).

Later that night, Sam, Paul (the roommate) and I went out for sushi, where I gorged myself on familiar and exotic sea-faring creatures. Bed-time approaching, we headed back where I packed and reserved my flight.

Unfortunately, this is where my trip ends (the next day I simply got on a plane, watched movies for 15 hours and arrived with a predictable but manageable case of jet-lag). As a fan of narratives and detesting abrupt ends, I'd like to briefly reflect on my overall impressions of Hong Kong:

-Simply in terms of height and density of buildings and public transportation, I have yet to see any other city that comes close to achieving what Hong Kong already has.
-Air pollution can be terrible and directly impacts how you feel (nausea, difficult breathing, etc.)
-Hong Kong schooling can be more difficult and unforgiving in ways that are unfamiliar to me, speaking as a former USA student. That being said, I have enormous respect for those students who come here as foreign exchange students and those students who manage to survive through Hong Kong's Universities (who, in addition to their own major, manage to learn two or more foreign languages with more than bare-bones fluency).
-Life feels more efficient. I'd also say less stressful/more affordable/more manageable but I'm not sure if that's an artifact of my vacation or foreigner status.
-Food and meals requires different and flexible expectations. Having bread as a main course for breakfast (with eggs as a side), eating with a focus on utility and not placing chop sticks in rice bowls are examples that stick out to me.
-People, at their core, tend to be similar in familiar ways. Cultural and language barriers can profoundly obscure this idea in first impressions.
-Having someone who can speak Cantonese to a Hong Kong cab driver is a life saver! For that matter, my most fulfilling and interesting experiences were facilitated by people who, without compensation, translated my experiences (both lingually and culturally) and took me beyond the normal tourist/vacationer spots.


Thank you for taking the time to read about my Hong Kong experience. Let me know what you think in the comments sections below.

Day 9 (Max)

Sam rejoined my daytime adventures today as the weekend arrived once again. After getting a quick bite to eat at a local chinese diner (I had a prawn for the first time - basically a bigger, similar tasting version of shrimp), we decided to explore the outlying islands, using the fishing village of Cheung Chau village as our focal point. Our day's journey started with a "fast ferry" from Kowloon to Cheung Chau, arriving in a blisteringly quick half hour.

The goal for Cheung Chau was simple: explore the island...until we get bored/tired. Our guide books suggested hiking wherever we felt comfortable and some maps on the island suggested trails for viewing. Sam and I walked along the various trails (some more advertised than others) and into the labyrinth-like city, exploring its claustrophobic alleyways and dusty foot-paths. I thought the city had character and a certain mystique not seen in the other areas of Hong Kong.

We returned back to Kowloon via our second "fast ferry" for some delicious Indian food - garlic naans, lamb curry, etc. Sam decided on the restaurant because, of the two Indian restaurants in the area, this one didn't have people in the streets aggressively harass you into their restaurants (They'll say anything, short of being offensive or illegal, to get a person into their eating establishment. Thankfully, the street hawkers nearby Sam's apartment recognize him, so they're a bit nicer.).

Most curiously about the meal - there were Bollywood videos constantly playing in the background. Culturally, the indian people tended to use indians for their models, whereas in Hong Kong, they tend to prefer caucasians (or chinese who look similar to caucasians). In fact, Sam and I saw a large advertisement for eye plastic surgery that helps chinese people look more like caucasians (it was all in Cantonese, so I had to look at the before and after pictures a couple times before I knew what they were selling). I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.

Cheers!

Max

Day 8 (Max)

Day 8 was a return back to Central in Hong Kong Island to catch up on missed attractions. First I walked to a nearby noodle shop for a quick bite to eat. A vegetable and rice noodle soup was my dish of choice (the lighter meal was a nice change of pace from the richer protein/fat meals I have eaten since I've gotten here).

After eating, I strolled over to the Man Mo temple. It is a place of worship for both the Man and Mo chinese gods. The temple is known for its decorations, statues and constantly burning incense candles. Although tourists regularly go through the building, I found the smells overwhelmingly irritating and left soon after arriving.

My next destination was the Museum of Medical Sciences. I learned about the Chinese perspective on medicine - including an analysis of SARS, the logic and structure of eastern medicine (with western equivalents), the outbreak of plague in China, and how/why China performs quarantines. My studies and background in biology/chemistry certainly helped my appreciation of the museum, along with my fascination of medicine and science.

Returning home, myself, Sam, Sam's roommate Paul and Sam's friend Kathleen/Kathy (the english assistant from earlier in the week) all went out for Hot Pot. Hot Pot is a popular Hong Kong meal where everyone places a type of uncooked food into a boiling communal soup. Think Melting Pot with chinese food/vegetables, far more popularity and affordability. Thankfully for our group, Kathleen was fluent in Cantonese, a veteran of Hot Pot and understood Hong Kong culture, so we let her order the majority of the food. I didn't recognize everything she ordered, though some of the highlights of the meal included beef, squid, and a type organ meat (Kathleen didn't know the english translation but my suspicion was a type of intestine). One of my favorite meals of the trip so far!

Kathleen left our group and we completed the night's cabal with Sam's other roommate Paul, Sam's friend Taylor (with girlfriend) and Sam's girlfriend. The group traveled to SoHo in Hong Kong Island (think Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia but more intense/Chinese) and visited a couple of bars. The first bar was just a standard open-air sports bar with an impressive beer collection (Chimay Blue was my favorite) and mounds of discarded peanut shells on the floor. The second bar fostered a sense of mystery and confusion, as large curtains covered and obscured the door. Once in, victorian-era furniture defined the interior decoration, with strawberry and chocolate margaritas as the drink of choice.

We left the second bar close to 3AM, heading home for some sleep and declaring the night a profound success!

Cheers!

Max

Day 7 (Max)

Day 7 became a foray into the New Territories. The New Territories is an area that was initially developed as a placement response to the many chinese refuges caused by World War 2. It is less of a tourist area, focusing more on the needs of the Hong Kong citizens and those of us who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

I started the day by dropping off my laundry (washed, dried and folded for $5 US), eating breakfast at Toast Box and taking the MTR to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, near the city of Sha Tin. The ticket to the museum was just $10 HK (~$1.25 US). I learned about chinese opera/movies from the 1940s and 1950s (it didn't resonate strongly with me) and the history of the New Territories (very interesting!).

From the museum, I hopped back onto the MTR to the city of Tai Po. Lunch became a priority, as it was around 2PM and I had some significant hiking ahead of me. I ducked into a local noodle shop in the MTR terminal. After failing miserably with a Cantonese menu, a local guided me through ordering a vegetable soup and ramen with shrimp dumplings (all for naught, as the english menu was right below my Cantonese one). BTW, the ramen, unlike the horrors inspired by our styrofoam american college-student version, was delicious with a pleasing texture.

Taking a five minute taxi ride, I arrived at the Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve. According to my guide book, this reserve began in 1926 as an effort by the government to reforest and restore some of Hong Kong's lost forests (resulting from normal human activity and the Japanese Occupation). Through the hour and a half stroll, I learned about the biology of the area, including special birds, plants and trees. The area was breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful, especially considering it was only the second time in my trip that I left the chaos of the city. Bizarrely (at least to someone from the USA), there were monkey control problems in this forest. Interactions with monkeys had specific instructions (Don't feed them or look at them - otherwise they may intimidate you for food).

Returning home exhausted, I briefly relaxed before preparing for dinner. Sam suggested we try a very popular Dim Sum restaurant named Tim Ho Wan. Dim Sum is basically Hong Kong's interpretation of unhealthy but delicious food - dumplings and pastries filled with meats, sweets and the occasional vegetable thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, in exchange for Tim Ho Wan's excellent food and prices, the restaurant is fairly hostile, hard to find, and requires long waits (up to two hours according to Sam). Due to getting lost a couple of times, Sam and I missed our reservation and decided to go to another less famous Dim Sum street restaurant. The food was decent but was a bit rich for my tastes (maybe just a response from all the unhealthy food I consumed in the last week or so). We returned home soon after eating, as my feet howled from today's hours and miles of walking.

Cheers!

Max

Fart Chart

None of us are sure where the smell came from, but for the last month or so, Rob's room has really stunk. I mean it really stinks in there. It smells like a mixture of b.o., mold, more b.o., more mold, and mold. So when Rob went on vacation to Switzerland last week, the first thing I did was close his door to trap the smell in there (sometimes when the door to his room is open, the fumes seep out.) Then later, when I farted in the living room, Paul and I got to talking. Why stink up the apartment with our farts when there's a room that smells so much already? We might as well keep it all in one place, right? We both agreed, right then and there, that whenever either one of us had to fart, we'd take a deep breath (you don't want to breathe inside of Rob's room), walk inside, and let it rip.

But what's the point farting in Rob's room over and over again if he never

finds out about it? That's why I made the Fart Chart. It's pretty simple. Every time Paul or I fart in Rob's room, we mark it on the chart and

when Rob comes home, he sees that we've been farting in his room over and over again. As you can see, I'm winning.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Catching Up With School

Phew. Now that Max is gone, we can finally talk- right? Well all I want to do is share some photos of what I've been doing at work and in Hong Kong. We can talk later.

First, photos of our Easter Egg-Drop Competition.

Ashley and Joann applies some last-minute tape.

The students crowd the judge's table to see if their eggs survived.

Wrapping the egg.

The winning group, led by Ting and Jerry, hard at work.

Me with the Final Four teams*

*left in the LKPFC Easter Egg-Drop Competition.

Earlier in the week, Max came to the school to watch a drama lesson and meet some of my students.

Peter, Simon, and some chick perform as a dog, a husband, and a wife, respectively.

Dorothy and Ian as wife and husband.

Yo, Teach!

Before that, it was my form 5 students' last day. They get some time off to "do revision" (review) their work before they "face the exam" (take the exam). Even though school runs until From 7, this was an emotional day for them. This year, there were 168 Form 5 students. Only about 62 will be invited back for Form 6, so this was the last day of classes at LKPFC for many of them. Good luck on the exam, Form 5 Students Who Read This Blog!

Ms. Ng's 5AB class

Before that, we had Sports Day, a two-day track and field event. The school was divided into 4 houses: Blue, Yellow, Green, and RED HOUSE.

Hey, that's me running in a 3k race. I finished 12th (I think) out of 42 (approx.)

Feeling a little over-heated.

Cooling down.

Dim Sum Lunch with Form 7B students on day 1 of Sports Day. Same deal for them as Form 5 students, except only 10 percent will go on to college next year.

Lois, Mr. Ho, and I were the judges of the high jump competition.

Lunch at Pizza Hut for a mini-Form 1 reunion with Mr. Ho.

This pizza has ham, mushroom, olives, onion, crab, prawn, tuna, thousand island sauce, and sweet mayo on it. Doesn't that sound like the best pizza EVER? No? Are you sure?

Okay, that's all for now. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Day 6 (Max)

I started the day by going to Hulu Cafe for breakfast, where I purchased my (now) standard meal - peanut butter toast, two eggs and coffee. The meal was decent, though it was more expensive than the always reliable Toast Box! The popularity of bakeries (encompassing both sweet and savory bread-related dishes) in Hong Kong dwarfs what we have in the USA, so I purchased a quick after-breakfast "coconut bread". It was like a croissant/french doughnut with some mild coconut and butter flavors. In my opinion, the subtleness of the ingredients makes the baked goods far more enjoyable than the over-the-top, almost overwhelmingly fatty/sugary equivalents in the states.

A half hour bus ride from Sam's apartment led me to Sam's school. We started the day with a visit to his office, followed by a trip to his classroom. There Sam and I met his english assistant (a local student at a nearby University) and Form 6 students (17,18, 19 year olds). Hong Kong forms are not a perfect correlation to USA grades because students are held back in forms more frequently and for different reasons than in USA. After waiting 15 minutes for the students to arrive (a shocker for me, considering I grew up in the "zero tolerance" philosophy of schooling), the students read through and performed a play they previously practiced. Completing that activity, we played a quick english game and I did a Q&A session with the class. I told them a little about myself and why I was in Hong Kong. Half way through my speech, Sam interrupted me because I needed to speak slower (the students would continue to nod even if they had no idea what I was saying), so I did.

Interestingly enough, although I spoke slower, I did not have to simplify my English. Hong Kong english speakers have trouble with syllables, unknown sounds (the very popular "L replaced by R" problem) and use unfamiliar (but grammatically correct) sentence constructions but otherwise are very fluent.

Overall, the students were very impressive, especially with respect to behavior. This class structure was repeated again with another Form 6 class that arrived shortly after the first Form 6 class left.

Sam's assistant Kathy took Sam and I out to a local restaurant that spoke exclusively in Cantonese . Thankfully, Kathy took care of all the ordering. We got grilled pork chops with spices (my favorite!), a sweet and sour chicken (without bones!), a vegetable and beef dish and topped off with a bowl of white rice for everyone. We dug in, making sure not to leave our chopsticks in the bowls (a sign of death and very offensive) and discarding our cleaned-off bones on the table. Sam and I went on to grill Kathy a bit, learning that she knew three languages (Cantonese, English and Japanese) and some of the culture clashes she encountered on a trip to Japan as a Chinese person.

Leaving lunch, Sam and I spent time talking to and playing games with form 3's in a non-classroom time period. They asked several bold questions, including whether Sam or I did better in high school. Shenanigans ensued. Afterwards, I was informed the rest of Sam's day would encompass lesson planning, so I purchased some local baked goods and headed off back home on a express bus (a smaller bus that goes more directly to big locations than the standard double decker busses).

That night, Sam and I went out to the outdoor seafood restaurants in the temple street night markets. We together purchased a single dish of fried crab (looked like Alaskan King Crab). It was delicious, though it contained some of what I call the "deadly food groups" - cayenne peppers and excessively fried garlic (Funny story - I ate half of one cayenne pepper for kicks as Sam and I left the table. One of the short, old ladies who worked at the restaurant quickly said in a broken english "why you do that?!". Why indeed! I thought her quote was funny, at least at the moment, until the burning and numbness set in my mouth for the next 20 minutes or so. I think I'm slowly building an immunity to all food spicyness - that or an unwillingness to change my food eating ambitions). Lacking carbs and feeling still hungry, Sam and I split a medium portion of sushi at a take out sushi place. Finishing the food, we went to bed for an early-ish night.

Cheers!

Max

Day 5 (Max)

G'Day!

The focus for Day 5 is the central district on hong kong island. I started by taking their subway system, known as the MTR. The MTR puts any form of public transportation we have in the USA to shame. You can arrive just about any time of the day and be on a train within 5 to 10 minutes. Furthermore, it is very inexpensive (less than $0.50 a trip), extremely clean, safe, fast and spans many different areas. Also, the credit card used for the trains (known as an Octopus card) can also be used for and refilled in many different parts of Hong Kong. A must for locals and tourists alike.

Once arriving at Central, I walked around the areas immediately surrounding my MTR stop. Areas of interest include the HSBC building - according to my guide book, it cost $1 billion US when it was built in 1985 [my guess is that it costs probably around $2 billion in today's dollars/value], making it the most expensive building at that time), the bank of China, and Chater garden. Although relatively small compared to the larger Hong Kong Park nearby (which I didn't have the time to see... yet), the garden still managed to impress me with its diverse tree population and attention to detail.

After Charter Park, I quickly wandered my way onto the suspended pedestrian bridges (I believe they are called "sky ways" but the actual name escapes me at the moment). These bridges are a necessity for two reasons. First, it is not uncommon to see roads that do not allow pedestrian foot traffic - a big plus, btw, if you are taking a bus or taxi anywhere! To get around these roads, a walker can either take a "subway" (it is not our definition of subway - the term refers to an underground walk-way that frequently contains air conditioning, shopping/stores and are very clean to boot) or one of the aforementioned suspended walkways. Second, at the ground level, the air quality can be very uncomfortable due to humidity and air pollution (the air pollution gets so bad that it can cause allergy-like symptoms, creates smog/fog and can make breathing more difficult than normal).

Additional meandering and general tourist inclinations led me to a trolley car attraction known as The Peak Tram. The Peak Tram is a trolley car, suspended at a 45 degree angle to the. It is used to help people go up and down the tallest mountain of Hong Kong island. At the top of the tram, there is a building (devoted to "tourist trapping") but with some interesting perks - namely you can go to the roof where you can see all the way to mainland China. Unfortunately, all I saw (mostly) was white clouds, as the pollution creates a dense fog that usually goes away only after a heavy rain.

On a side note: Hong Kong is another city that has significant elevation changes between a relatively small area (similar to Pittsburgh but on a much larger magnitude). Interestingly enough, people would strive to live at the highest elevations, initially to help avoid malaria and heat of the lower areas. Over time, as air con (as the British here call it) became more prevalent and malaria was managed, this preference for higher altitude living remained, as a symbol of status/success. This can be seen as more expensive hotels and living areas are correlated with higher areas.

Coming down from the building and going to ground level via a second ride on The Peak Tram, I quickly hopped on a tour bus. The bus ride, yet another tourist trap ($200 HK, which is way too much for a normal hong kong native to afford for an hour-long bus ride), also had perks. I discovered some cool facts about the various parts of the city, including significant buildings, what each area of the city did and historical information.

Realizing I was hungry from walking around all day, I decided to search for some decent western food. Sam recommended going to SoHo via the Central-Mid Level escalators. According to my guide book, the escalators cost about $245 million HK and is 2,625 feet long. My sense of curiosity got the better of me, as I convinced myself to put off eating and to travel the entirety of the escalators from bottom to top, to see what it was like! At the top of the Central-Mid Level escalators, curiosity was replaced by anguish. I quickly realized that no downward facing escalators were present and that I would have to traverse the 2,625 feet of stairs/ramps downward without mechanical help.

Half-way down the stairs, my newly formed blisters on my feet allied with my now-revived hunger pains, petitioning me to find somewhere to eat - immediately. I settled on "El Taco Loco". Although humored by the dish named "Nachos Gringos", my focus became eating something not awful, so I ordered the Carnitas Burrito. Hands-down this meal was the most mediocre burrito that I also sincerely enjoyed. In retrospect, I'm just grateful it was edible and that I'm still food-poisoning free. Huzzah!

I headed back home quickly after the meal, eventually meeting up with Sam for dinner. It was a trip back to a mall in TST for Triple-0 burgers. The food was unremarkable, somewhat expensive but fulfilling. Sam explained how this mall rivals the size of the KoP mall - on each floor. It's unreal.

Leaving the burger joint and the accompanying gigantic mall, Sam and I met up with about 10 of his co-workers for poker and beers. The company was excellent, the beer delicious and the night overall very similar to anyone who ever played in a large friendly poker game - specifically, most of us are confused at first, the pacing becomes sluggish, and people quickly lose all their money to the poker shark and/or lucky guy , and everyone talks about their bad hands (or other general topics, once people come to terms with their wins/losses) for the rest of the night. Trust me, guys think this is fun. If nothing else, it gave me an excuse to socialize and interrogate some more people about their lives in Hong Kong, which is all part of my enjoyment.

Tomorrow, I go to school with Saaaaam.

Cheers!

Max

Day 4 (Max)

Today was my first day in the city by myself. To keep things simple, I decided to travel more locally. I started my day by walking down Nathan Road from Jordan to TST, which would take approximately 20 minutes. Pollution warnings aside (though I would only learn about this after the day was over), the day went off without a hitch.

I started by exploring The Park. Actually, I was looking to go to the museums but I saw a rather bland ramp describing how it was a path to a local public area. Seeing as I had a whole day to explore the area between Jordan and TST, I thought, "what the heck, why not?". It was like peeling an onion, as the boring ramp led to a wide open, well-maintained space with a nearby pool. After finding a nearby map, I learned about all the other different areas The Park had to offer. One fascinating exhibit was a nearby aviary. There were giant birds with two massive colorful beaks - one used for eating, one used as a decoy/decoration. Additionally, a chinese garden, a hedge maze, multiple fountains, various tree farms and sculpture gardens all beautified The Park. I also took the opportunity to explore a nearby pier. Even Hong Kong's more mundane buildings tower to obscene heights, with more elaborate "H" shaped buildings and hotels standing side-by-side. It puts NYC's skyline to shame.

Once finished with the Park, I walked the remainder of the distance to the art and space museums. The art museum was smaller than other art museums I've seen but still enjoyable. Their take on modern art seems to be focused on environmentalism, political statements and optical illusions - a bit easier to manage and understand than the modern art I've seen in the USA. Other exhibits included historical ceramic pieces, black and white paintings on parchments and a series of paintings based on China-Western trade (all of which were historical and focused on accurate portayals, rather than something more emotional, abstract or impressionistic).

After the Art museum, I needed to kill some time before the space museum, so I went to a movie walk of fame. It had the same feel as a disney exhibit but, aside from Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, I didn't recognize any of the actors.

Finishing up the walk of fame brought me to the opening time of the Space museum. Unfortunately, the Space museum was a disappointment. After completing the whole museum in under an hour or so, I walked back to Sam's apartment for a bit of R&R.

When Sam returned home, he, his roommate Rob and I all went out for long tail sushi. Long tail sushi is a sashimi/sushi hybrid - the fish/protein used is long enough to extend far beyond the piece of rice it is tied to. I purchased a variety dish, which consisted of 6 normal pieces of sushi, 6 long tail pieces, 3 massive pieces of california rolls (I almost considered getting a fork and knife to eat it!), and two miscellaneous pieces. As the night before, the sushi was extremely varied, fresh, delicious and incredibly cheap - about $18 US.

After dinner, Rob headed back to the apartment while Sam and I went out for drinks. We went to a row of Bars with outdoor seats. Sam and I settled on a bar that was a bit quieter and didn't have someone openly harass us to enter their establishment. We both settled on Hoegaarden, placed in what looked like pint and a half /2 pint glasses. Beers finished, Sam and I trekked back home for some well earned sleep.

Cheers!

Max


**NOTE FROM SAM**
The "Park" that Max refers to is Kowloon Park, the largest public park in Kowloon.

Day 3 (Max)

So we started off Day 3 with return trip to Toast Box for breakfast (you order bread as the main meal and eggs as a complimentary side dish - my favorite is a thick white bread with peanut butter, fried eggs and coffee that can only be ordered with too much sugar) and a trip into Aberdeen via the Star Ferry at Tsim Sha Tsui (Random note: the "Ts" sound in Tsim Sha Tsui is damn near impossible to pronounce with an English tongue at first shot. Sam tells me the English speakers just call the area "TST"). The Star Ferry is a boat that takes a person from my area of Kowloon into the main Hong Kong island. Incredible photos of the Hong Kong island are possible on this trip, demonstrating Hong Kong's city-in-a-mountain theme.

After the Star Ferry and a bus or two, Sam and I arrived in Aberdeen. Aberdeen is a fishing village in Hong Kong. We took a trip on a small boat (after some rather direct and persistent endorsements from an old lady with an umbrella) to explore the nearby harbor in more detail. We saw what Sam described as the largest floating restaurant in the world, whose bottom floor is devoted entirely to a popular dumpling-like dish known as Dim Sum. Although Sam and I deliberated about whether or not we should go on the restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner, our tour guide interrupted us by explaining that Dim Sum is primarily a lunch-time food and that the restaurant would not serve us our meal of choice so late in the day (think 3:30PM-ish).

From there, Sam and I boarded a bus for Stanley. Stanley is a popular beach in Hong Kong - lots of hustle and bustle with the Hong Kong modernization touch but also the occasional local area with porcelain hole-in-the-ground public restroom. Not for those of us with weak quads or stomachs! Young, mediocre street performers peppered the landscape as well.

Sam and I got back on a bus all the way back to Jordan and eventually arrived at a local noodle shop. The noodle dishes are a spicy soup with noodles, vegetables, meats and whatever else you can specify for about $4 US. The food was good but unfortunately flavor was soon replaced by a general burning sensation as the combination of near boiling broth and preponderance of cayenne peppers overwhelmed my senses and general well-being.

Surviving (or attempting to survive) dinner, Sam and I left for a local University to watch his girlfriend's play. The show was called No means Yes and involves a young 20-something who bets his father that he can avoid saying yes while receiving $100HK for every No mentioned. Hilarity ensues. Following the show, a ritual where one performance groups transitions to another took as long as the play itself, as thank-you's and references to destiny became the order of the night. Curiously, the strangeness of the night derived more from normal theater group idiosyncrasies than my lack of familiarity with the Hong Kong culture. It appears that, once you get through the more pronounced cultural differences, we share the same basic needs/wants/beliefs.

The night quickly came to a close as Sam and his roommates needed to sleep early for work the next day. Tomorrow, I will explore some local museums by myself and try not to get lost in Asia!

Cheers!
Max

Days 1 and 2 (Max)

Hi everyone,

First off, I know this (sometimes) bugs him but let me take a brief moment to thank Sam. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to live in Sam's apartment with his gracious roommates for a week and a half. This way I stop living vicariously through Sam, finally get my ass out of "the real world" and into something a bit stranger! Here goes my original post - enjoy.

This blog is for people who want to keep tabs on my trip to Hong Kong. I'll be writing in a stream-of-thought style, so those of you who are easily grammatically offended, consider yourself warned :).

I've been taking some pictures - I'll get those up once I get around to it.

Day 1

The trip started out with a 3:50PM Thursday direct flight from Newark to Hong Kong. The length of the flight is what most people would consider "ridiculously long" - approximately 16 hours long. We actually flew over the north pole! There were several monitors on the plane that would allow you to track the physical location of the plane relative to the ground via GPS. My sense of time was completely shot - I think day and night cycled about twice before I landed - creating a nasty case of Jet Lag for the first night.

After everything was said and done, I entered the Hong Kong airport around 8:30 PM Friday, effectively losing one day in the air. Sam met me after I claimed my baggage. After some hellos and unsolicited instruction from a bathroom attendant on how to find soap, we took a bus to Sam's apartment in Jordan (that's the name of the city - one sign of Hong Kong's british legacy).

Sam and I grabbed dinner at a local diner (my dish was a simple beef curry) and called it an early evening. Curiously, their tap water is always boiled before they serve it to you. Actually, many drinks are more expensive if you want them served cold!

A combination of practically no sleep in the past 36 hours and massive Jet Lag confused me into thinking that 3:30 AM is a good time to stay awake. Insomnia is never fun but, like all moments, that one passed into the next and the next day quickly arrived.

Day 2

We started with a very late breakfast at the Toast Box. Sam at this point was kind enough to pay for everything but I needed to take the plunge into HK dollars, so we headed over to an ATM.

As Sam explains it, over the last ten years, exchanging money has become significantly easier. Going to currency exchange places are considered over-priced and, as I understand it, a tourist trap. All that is needed is a quick trip to an ATM, using a current checking/saving account and the bank will take care of the rest. My exchange rate was about $7.75 Hong Kong Dollar for every $1 American Dollar. Overall, getting used to the Hong Kong Dollars can be someone difficult (seeing $20 come up for a bottle of water could give anyone sticker shock at first glance) but it comes easier over time.

Anyway, Sam and I traveled from Jordan to another city [The name escapes me at the moment

] where we saw the 10,000 Buddhas area. Our destination was this quasi-rural village area that had various temples with many different types of buddah statues. Each buddha statue was somewhat different than the last and each looked like they were hand-made. Truly a breath-taking sight to take in.

After our trip with the 10,000 Buddhas, Sam and I went to a local mall for some food. This time I bought a japanese take on chicken and egg dish. The food was raw when I purchased but it was served on frying pan that cooked the food as I sat at the table. Overall it was decent. The only odd thing worth mentioning is that the chicken used dark meat and still had some skin/fat attached. As someone who usually eats leaner cuts of chicken, it took me somewhat by surprise.

Something about Hong Kong is that malls are everywhere, extremely elaborate (marble is used everywhere), and gigantic. As with the street markets and subways/transportation, there is a sense of planning, efficiency and thoughtfulness unlike anything at home, save for something resembling Disney World. For example, it won't be unusual to see a street entirely devoted to selling cell phones. These sorts of things must have been essential to manage what I can only describe as a sea of humanity that bustles through Hong Kong every day.

Sam and I randomly bounced into some students for a quick hello, then it was off to home to recover for the night's activities. Sam, along with his two roommates, and I all went for Sushi for dinner. I got a couple of rolls and pieces of sushi. Not only was the food of a higher quality than the best sushi at home but it was probably a half to a third of the price to boot! For example, my two pieces of lean tuna, two pieces of squid and two pieces of octopus came to a total of $6 US. Incredible.

After dinner, Sam and I traveled through the Temple Night Market. The Temple Night Market, as the name suggests, is only open at night and consists of what seems to be endless rows of vendors selling their various wares. Most places had copied movies, stuffed animals, cheap clothes, etc. Haggling is encouraged, as Sam was able to knock off about 50% off of any list price. It was impressive to see Sam and the store owners go through their negotiations - offers, reasons, precedents and awkward silences were all necessary parts of this most essential of rituals.

That's all I have for now. Sam and I will be seeing a play tomorrow and following day will be my first day alone in the city!

Cheers!

Max

Maaaaaaaaaxxxxxxx

Exciting blogging news! Hong Kong Party Time has a new contributor! Max, one of my oldest friends, will be writing a series of guest posts chronocling his 10-day Hong Kong Party Time Vactation. Hope you enjoy!

Max, right before I picked him up for prom.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Lights Out

The light in our bathroom went out about a week ago. In a normal world, this wouldn't merit my first blog post in a month. But as we all know, this aint no normal world, son. For one, it's not a normal light bulb, it's a florescent. For two, we live in Hong Kong and none of us have any idea where to get a florescent bulb. More significantly, however, is that my roommates and I all still live by a certain code that I like to call, "Mom Will Take Care Of It."

Allow me to explain. Even though I've been out of college for 2 years and have been living away from home since 2004 (the same can be said for my roommates), I still operate under the assumption that my mom will just take care of it. About 5 days ago, it was a little stuffy in our living room, so I opened a window. This morning, I noticed that the window was still open. It's rained 3 times since I opened it. Why didn't anyone close it? Because we all assumed that our mom would close it. All my life, if I opened a window, someone (mom) would eventually walk by, notice the open window, and close it. I never had to do it myself. See, my mom understood that no one else would take care of it. Not me. Not my roommates. Someone else will take care of the light in the bathroom, right?

In the meantime, I've written a song that I sometimes sing to myself at night in our dark bathroom:

Poopin' in the dark
Poopin' in the dark
Can't see a thing
Cause I'm poopin' in the dark
What if I miss?
I won't be able to see
Poopin' in the dark
Is a little risky

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

*****UPDATE SUNDAY MARCH 21*****
We took care of it!

To celebrate, this awesome Korean clip, courtesy of Kristin:

Two Things I Love About Shmatteris

They pay me more than enough and they never waste my time.

Ethical Dilemnas

I'm preparing a class on ethical dilemnas for my S5 class. I'll give a group a scenerio, and they have to discuss possible solutions/decisions. Here's an example:

"You are an employer. Jason and Carl work for you. Jason is a very good worker, but he has a very difficult job and is getting old. He has talked about retiring. Carl is also a good employee, but he has an easier job and is much younger. To reward Carl, you tell him that you will give him Jason’s job in two years. When Jason finds out, he gets jealous of Carl and decides that he doesn’t want to quit. Jason has always been good at his job, but you promised the job to Carl. What will you do?"

To find the answer, click here

I'll be writing a blog post about Beijing uploading some pictures pretty soon.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee