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