Greetings my loyal reader(s?). Things have been going well for me in Beijing. Life has returned to its normal predictable patterns. My students are doing well, most of the time listening and paying attention. They are still highly entertaining at times, with hidden gems of insight into the world (in a second language) that make me laugh out loud from time to time.
Student names continue to be highly entertaining. Some of my favorites this year are... Lake, Fly, Nike, Bean, Spy and of course Sit. In addition I have a Lindy (pronounced Linda), 2 Yuki’s in the class and a class that features Dran and Duan. These lead to such situations as yelling sit Sit. It has become a favorite activity to go over the English names every year to find my favorites. One name disappointment this year is that my friend Coffee has changed his name. He did pick a good one though, Matthew, but still. Matthew is no Coffee. My Chinese name translates to Tall Sky. Last year, every time that I walked into his class he would say hello tall sky, which I would reply with hello tasty drink. I miss that ritual this year, replacing it with hello me. Not as good, but an able substitute.
In addition to their English names, this past week brought additional entertainment. I had my students fill out a sheet with information about them. This led to a wealth of funny answers. One of the questions asked them to list three things they would like to bring to a desert island. In addition to the normal answers, iPod, computers, cell phones I also got the more creative answers like a camel, a ship and captain, airplane and pilot and finally, my favorite, sexy girls. This sheet also gave me such nuggets as (favorite food section and where) KFC being from France, a wide variety of spellings and general confusion at the failure to follow directions. All in all though, this exercise gave me a bit more insight into what makes my students unique, rather than a mass of faces and bodies that all wear the same uniform, have the same color hair, same eye color and in general, a similar upbringing. Over 100 cities within China are represented within the 7th and 8th graders home towns. This is an impressive list, though the majority come from Eastern provinces. While the majority of the students do hail from China, there are an additional 15 countries represented among the students, including Sweden, Italy and Bahrain. In addition to coming from a wide variety of cities and provinces, they have also made great strides in visiting the world, having visited over 55 countries.
3.31.2009
3.30.2009
Hong Kong Part 1
I spent this past weekend in Hong Kong, a place that I have wanted to visit since I first came to China. I was amazed at both the similarities and differences between this great city and Beijing, constantly remarking on the ways that Hong Kong felt both intensely Western while also leaving no question that it was an Asian city. This juxtaposition left my head spinning at times, though by and large this combination made me very happy. Throughout the weekend, I tried to approach my time as if I had just come from the west instead of another Asian capital. I was constantly amazed by the ways the city was western, though I suspect that had I arrived from home, instead of Beijing, I would have noticed many more Asian aspects of the city.
Small things, things that I never realized how much I miss, constantly reminded me of the differences. People waited in lines, they did not push, even when in a hurry, and generally behaved in public situations. Spitting was noticeably absent, as was loudly clearing of the throat. This does not even begin to address the ease of getting around, the english that accompanied Chinese on all signs of the very convenient subways. These were the ever present reminders that even though the Chinese government is in charge of Hong Kong, there is still a large degree of Autonomy.
It was, however, at the same time an Asian city. Hong Kong resembled the great Chinatowns of the U.S., filled with neon, restaurants emitting intoxicating smells and crowded with life. The streets of Hong Kong are more narrow, more filled with life than most streets in Beijing. Hong Kong surrounds you, takes you in, constantly reminding you that you are in one of the leading cities of the world. The skyscrapers rise up everywhere, reminding you of the business and shopping that the city has built its reputation around. The government has done a much better job protecting the legacy of Hong Kong, keeping the old to complement the new, allowing history to sit side by side with progress, something that seems to have been forgotten in Beijing, where the only thing that matters is the new, the shiny, the innovative.
Throughout my two days in Hong Kong I was reminded of the little decisions that had been made, the focus on making the city as accessible and livable as possible. The subway system matches any found throughout the world. It is clean, fast and convenient, actually dropping you off close to where you want to be. Transfers are easy, a walk across the station instead of out the station, up the stairs and finally, after a ten minute walk, another 5 minute wait for a train, Beijing’s idea of a subway transfer. The airport express offered a quick, comfortable, cheap trip into the city, with trains leaving every 12 minutes, ensuring that you are able to get into the city quickly and easily. The city government though, did not stop at mass transit, they also made sure that on the ground level people could get around easily. There are pedestrian bridges and subways throughout the city, making the compact city very walkable. There is, however, the difficulty that the city is on the side of a mountain, with the inconvenience of walking uphill a constant reminder of the topography. There is a solution though, a series of outdoor escalators that whisk you up to the mid levels of Victoria’s Peak. These run down the mountain during morning rush hour, reversing course and going uphill the remainder of the day. This is a perfect way to get home, get to hotels and visit other parts of the city, neighborhoods that would be excluded from most people’s trips simply because of the difficulty in going uphill.
I am sure that Hong Kong is not a perfect place, but there were times throughout my weekend there when it felt that way. In many ways, this place seemed to encapsulate my life, the mix of east and west, an appreciation and focus on architecture,a place filled with adventure and excitement, but at the same time a comfortable one.
Small things, things that I never realized how much I miss, constantly reminded me of the differences. People waited in lines, they did not push, even when in a hurry, and generally behaved in public situations. Spitting was noticeably absent, as was loudly clearing of the throat. This does not even begin to address the ease of getting around, the english that accompanied Chinese on all signs of the very convenient subways. These were the ever present reminders that even though the Chinese government is in charge of Hong Kong, there is still a large degree of Autonomy.
It was, however, at the same time an Asian city. Hong Kong resembled the great Chinatowns of the U.S., filled with neon, restaurants emitting intoxicating smells and crowded with life. The streets of Hong Kong are more narrow, more filled with life than most streets in Beijing. Hong Kong surrounds you, takes you in, constantly reminding you that you are in one of the leading cities of the world. The skyscrapers rise up everywhere, reminding you of the business and shopping that the city has built its reputation around. The government has done a much better job protecting the legacy of Hong Kong, keeping the old to complement the new, allowing history to sit side by side with progress, something that seems to have been forgotten in Beijing, where the only thing that matters is the new, the shiny, the innovative.
Throughout my two days in Hong Kong I was reminded of the little decisions that had been made, the focus on making the city as accessible and livable as possible. The subway system matches any found throughout the world. It is clean, fast and convenient, actually dropping you off close to where you want to be. Transfers are easy, a walk across the station instead of out the station, up the stairs and finally, after a ten minute walk, another 5 minute wait for a train, Beijing’s idea of a subway transfer. The airport express offered a quick, comfortable, cheap trip into the city, with trains leaving every 12 minutes, ensuring that you are able to get into the city quickly and easily. The city government though, did not stop at mass transit, they also made sure that on the ground level people could get around easily. There are pedestrian bridges and subways throughout the city, making the compact city very walkable. There is, however, the difficulty that the city is on the side of a mountain, with the inconvenience of walking uphill a constant reminder of the topography. There is a solution though, a series of outdoor escalators that whisk you up to the mid levels of Victoria’s Peak. These run down the mountain during morning rush hour, reversing course and going uphill the remainder of the day. This is a perfect way to get home, get to hotels and visit other parts of the city, neighborhoods that would be excluded from most people’s trips simply because of the difficulty in going uphill.
I am sure that Hong Kong is not a perfect place, but there were times throughout my weekend there when it felt that way. In many ways, this place seemed to encapsulate my life, the mix of east and west, an appreciation and focus on architecture,a place filled with adventure and excitement, but at the same time a comfortable one.
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