Jetlag

My last (and only) cup of coffee in Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Jetlag.

I've returned to this place I currently call home. I had an amazing time in China. I miss Hong Kong already.

Classes commence first thing Monday morning. The joys of class and sitting in lectures, of seeing good friends and not paying attention to the lecture; the joys of my typical university life. Returning to the daily rituals and study sessions. Missing friends, old and new, experiencing great things overseas. Looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends at the start of this fresh academic year.

Details of my trip to come once my circadian rhythm has lined up with my current time zone...

Shanghai In One Month's Time!

It's been over a week since my last post and I feel like I haven't been posting as much as I should lately! For that, I apologise.

In precisely 1 month, I'll find myself on the other side of the world. It's so exciting to think about! I've said it before but, in case you don't know, I'll be making my way over to wonderful Shanghai to head out to the Shanghai World Expo that I've mentioned before and visit some other lovely sites in the city. I'll also be making a one-day stop in Hong Kong so that I get to see my family and breathe in the city air I love so much. One day in Hong Kong, surely it will satisfy me until my next visit, right?

Sometimes, I miss it there so much it hurts.

The research course that I've been doing the past 5 weeks is driving me crazy. I have a test on Monday that I can only pray for the best for. So, until next time!

*scurries off to cram*

On this day 13 years ago...

...Hong Kong was no longer under sovereignty from the United Kingdom and was handed over to the People's Republic of China.

Today is Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day. Quite a mouthful, isn't it? Basically, on July 1st 1997, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (or HKSAR) was established as it was returned to the People's Republic of China.

People often say to me "I thought Hong Kong was China." I usually reply with, "It isn't." It is a country on its own. You're probably wondering, "But how? You just said it was given back to China." In the same way, colonialism worked with the British and the Caribbean, and even the British and Hong Kong, a country remains a country on it's own. Or, at least, that's how I see it.

To be clear, when people think of China, they think of the People's Republic of China (PRC) because that is what China is portrayed to be...and that is exactly what China is. It's a country and a region on its own. Hong Kong is not a part of the PRC. And, hence, it isn't the same thing as China. The PRC has two special administrative regions: Macau and Hong Kong. They are a part of, yet separate from China. Get it? =)

At the Shanghai World Expo, you would find that Hong Kong and Macau have pavilions of their own as they are countries with cultures and practices of their own. But you would find that they also stand right beside the China pavilion as they are China's special administrative regions.

Get it now? =)

Hong Kong. Why?

So, I've been asked this question a couple of times and I thought I'd share my response with everyone else: Why do you want to move all the way to Hong Kong? Why Hong Kong?

The shortest possible answer I could give you: My family is there and I'm comfortable.

Yeah, so what? You were born in Barbados...it's your home...aren't you comfortable here? Honestly. I'd have to say no.

Sure, I do feel a sense of comfort here. It's the place I've grown up for more than half my life. It's safe. I have my friends here. I have that comfort. But living my life here, I'm not truly happy; I'm not comfy...I'm just living it and dying to leave it all. This place...I don't like it.

I don't like standing out like a huge zit on someone's nose. I hate that strangers walk past me while cat-calling all sorts of things like "Ching Chong! Ni hao! Konnichiwa! Chiney!" in complete ignorance. I hate that when I walk through any place, I feel people (adults and children alike) staring at me and when I look them in the eye they suddenly turn the other way and shuffle along their business. Would you feel comfortable living like that? Just because I'm a Chinese person living in a predominantly Black country.

When I was about 12, I hated that I was Chinese; that I was different and attracted all this attention; that I just stood out in the population. I didn't want to be different. I wanted to fit in. But I can't change what I am and what I look like. Eventually, I came to embrace my culture and my differences and, now, I couldn't be any more proud to be Chinese.

Of course, I've visited countries where I didn't stand out. So, why not live in one of those? Why go to Hong Kong when I don't even speak Cantonese? Because the environment doesn't feel right. England is lovely but something about it keeps me feeling unsettled. New York is cool but the city looms over my back and I wouldn't go anywhere there on my own. Miami is nice but something about the air keeps me on my toes. Hong Kong is amazing and my only "but" is that I don't speak the language.

Moving around Hong Kong is easy. Heck, I even led the way when I was told where we were going sometimes. I didn't have to tag along behind, unsure of where to go. The city is as gorgeous as any other with towering buildings and architecture. Yet it doesn't have the incredibly scary and dominating feel to it. There, I'm just like anyone else. No one gets nosey and fixes their eyes at me. I'm not afraid or uncomfortable.

On my trip to Hong Kong last December, we had a family dinner to attend but I was feeling unwell and I everyone to go on without me. I wasn't feeling well and I wanted to stay home and rest. So, I did. My Mom brought it up with me the other night asking "Weren't you afraid to be home alone that night? And we were out so late too." I hadn't realised it until she asked: I wasn't afraid at all. In fact, I felt right at home. I answered the phone when it rang and walked around a bit. I didn't once feel afraid or worried even though I was in a country that I visited only two times prior to this trip. I was practically in a country I was unfamiliar with but it really didn't feel that way.

Since my return in January, I've been saying that I want to live in Hong Kong..for a number of reasons. But it wasn't until two nights ago that I realised just how happy and comfortable I am there. It's a comfort that I haven't felt anywhere else. A sense of belonging.

In short:

• I'm comfortable and happy in Hong Kong.
• I want to get to know my family there better. Because even though we don't speak the same language, I'm closer to them as family than I am with my family here in Barbados. Language is a barrier that is simple to overcome.
• And, of course, I can't possibly forget the weather. The summers are really hot like Barbados can be...or maybe even a little hotter...but there is a winter. The half-a-year or so of perfectly cool temperatures makes me happy. It's good to know that I won't have to feel like I'm about to suddenly burst into flames 365 days a year.

There are also a number of trivial reasons for my wanting to live in Hong Kong. When I move away from Barbados, I believe there are two things that I would truly miss:

1. Fresh coconut water
2. The beaches (even though I rarely go, it's nice to look at.)

Sorry about the somewhat long post. I felt like sharing a piece of myself with the world.

This is who I am. This is how I feel. This is me.

I'm going!

I'm going! I'm going! It's all confirmed and there's nothing stopping me! Oh yeah.

Where am I going? Here:

I said in a previous post that I wish I had the luxury to go to the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Well, I've been blessed with so much fortune. I'll be going to the Expo after all! I'm so super excited about it. I'll be going with my Mom and it'll be so much fun. So much. There's just so much to see there and we'll have 3 days to see all we can.

As my Mandarin is mighty poor (so poor, in fact, that I cannot even greet anyone with anything more than "Nǐ hǎo"), I'll do my best to learn even more of the language over the next few months before the trip.

"Integrated City" - This makes me so nostalgic of my winter trip to Hong Kong. It just warms my heart and makes me miss Hong Kong even more every time I watch it.

No doubt I'll be stopping in and checking out the wonderful Hong Kong pavilion at the Expo.

As the flight we'll be taking makes a connecting stop in Hong Kong as we go and come from Shanghai, we'll be spending an entire day with my family (just one) before we return home. I can't wait to see Hong Kong again. It overwhelms my heart to know that I'll have the opportunity to visit again in just less than a year.

My question to you: Are you going (or already went) to the Shanghai Expo?

Ching Ming Festival

The Ching Ming Festival, as it is known in Hong Kong, is a public holiday that takes place on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox.

This is the day for families to remember and honour their ancestors. It's often known as Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day in English translation. Families visit and tend to the graves of their loved ones and pay their respect and well wishes. They clean the graves and place offerings of foods, drinks and, of course, incense.

This year, the Ching Ming Festival falls on April 5th. It's still the 4th where I am, but in Hong Kong it's currently the 5th. I don't believe I'll have much time to post about it tomorrow so I figured this would make a fairly good compromise.

I don't live there so I'm not accustomed to the usual things in Hong Kong. I learn of these things from my Mom. I remember visiting my grandfather's grave in China when I first travelled there. We cleaned the grave, placed our offerings and incense and prayed. I figure, this is basically all that happens on the day of the Ching Ming Festival. We weren't able to make it to China to do so on recent trip to Hong Kong, unfortunately.

How do you pay your respects to your ancestors?

Bird's Nest Soup

Many people have had a thing or two to say about a wonderful Asian delicacy that I had while I was in Hong Kong: bird saliva...or more commonly called bird's nest soup. Everyone's had this to say about it: "Ew!" or "Yuck!" and other such related terms.

This lovely bird on the left is called a swiftlet (no need to get into it's scientific name because it's super long) and it is in its nest. The nest of a swiftlet is made, not of twigs, branches and leaves, but of it's saliva. At certain times of the year, this little bird's salivary glands expand and produces copious amounts of saliva. This produces thicker, stronger nests which are harvested 3 times a year.

The bird's nest has a number of benefits on one's health (plus, it's yummy). To keep it's health benefits short and simple, the bird's nest:

• facilitates growth
• replenishes strength and vital energy
• increases immunity (thereby allowing for a speedy recovery from illness)
• regulates endocrine function
• enhances metabolism
• moisturises the skin

Bird's nest is expensive but contains numerous health benefits without tasting like medicine. It can be served with milk, rock sugar, oatmeal or may be served in a chicken broth or congee.

While the bird's nest is made from the saliva of the swiftlet and used as a soup, I don't see why it should be so...gross to think of as a source of food and nutrition. It is just like any other animal product. Milk, too, is produced within an animal yet we all drink it without a second thought.

If you're interested in reading up more on the bird's nest, be sure to check out this site: Natural Nest

A Difference in Classes

I've mentioned it before and speaking about it to a friend gave me this sudden urge to go into so much detail about the flight between Hong Kong and New York that I decided I'd blog about it. =]

I flew Business First Class on Continental Airlines to and from Hong Kong and it was amazing! We've flown in Economy on Cathay Pacific for our previous trips and it was ok. We were considering treating ourselves and flying Business First on Cathay Pacific...the prices were incredibly high but the features available seemed to be worth it. The level of privacy on Cathay Pacific had Business First Class passengers almost in little cubicles and First Class had much larger cubicles. But alas! We decided on Continental Airlines because it offered a special at the time and we grabbed it while it was still hot, saving quite a bit of money.

We got 3 meals on the flight and were very well kept hydrated. Got a choice of a drink before take off, a refill after take off and about an hour after we got our first meal.

The first and third meals started with warm roasted nuts with a beverage. This was followed by an appetizer consisting of a small cup of soup and another item of choice, then onto a salad with your choice of dressing (or no dressing at all, as in my case) with your choice of assorted rolls with butter. The salad was then followed by the main course, which of course differed depending on your destination and about 3 meal choices were given. After the main course, we enjoyed some lovely fruits with crackers and assorted cheeses along with the option of wine. And last, but not least, came the dessert, which was merely vanilla ice cream with a choice of toppings and an assortment of pastries.

The second meal was merely a mid-flight refreshment and, to and from Hong Kong, we had a Taiwanese-style noodle soup with a slice of cake. I didn't have the refreshment on my way to Hong Kong because I was sleeping at the time but I certainly had it on our way back to New York.

Everything was delicious! The food alone makes Business First Class heavenly compared to Economy!

Our seats extended fully almost into a bed at about 170˚ which was comfortable enough with our spacious seating space. I got a good 6 hours or so of sleep on the way to Hong Kong...at just the right time so that I wasn't drastically jetlagged upon arrival. On the way back, however, I didn't sleep any more than 4 hours and spent the rest of the time eating and watching movies and TV shows. Took myself a few days to readjust to the time zone.

I had an enjoyable time in Hong Kong as well as an enjoyable flight there too!

A New Love In My Heart...

...a love sparked by Hong Kong

Having arrived in Hong Kong on the night of the 22nd, we had a 15 hour flight that was just slightly delayed at Newark Airport on the afternoon of the 21st.

view from The Peak on the night of Dec. 23.

Thursday December 24th 2009

"It's 2:45pm on Christmas eve and we're at Ocean Park having fun! Well actually, we're in the sun in the line to watch a show...not too sure which one it is but the queue is SUPER long! Feels like it's 27 degrees out with the sun hitting me and all.

So far we've seen a dolphin and seal show, all sorts of jelly fish and all sorts of other aquatic animals. Just got me this little purple jellyfish keyring. I'll probably hang it up in the car =).

I went on the Raging Water ride with my uncle and aunts. We got wet but it was fun. Including the rapid steep fall at the end. Yikes. Falls aren't my thing at all. Still fun though...adrenaline rush and all.

Last night we went to The Peak and saw these amazing views from one of HK's mountains. It was cold, foggy and beautiful. We also went around a bit and saw some really nice lights around Kowloon. We were in Admiralty and I'm told that it's the tourist's area. Everyone who works there must speak English and the environment is just totally different. The buildings in that area are also commercial so they all held stores and offices. Some stores were brand name like Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani and some others so they were, of course, expensive as well. We didn't stop off in any of them though. Just passed by them while riding a tram. My first time on a tram too!

A nicely kept place. Completely different from our area. Might've seen a few more private cars around too. Private cars aren't very common in Hong Kong.

I was rather sleepy last night...too much so to make an entry. Since about 8:30pm I was ready to knock out and managed to survive getting home around 11:00 pm even though I took short naps on the train and taxi ride home. Haha.

More later..."

And I never really got around to saying more about the day later on. I was really tired (again around 8:30pm) so I couldn't make another entry. But I kept up the next day =]

Friday December 25th 2009

"8:30 am on Christmas morning. We're going out for breakfast today. Wonder where to.

Yesterday after my entry, we went down the enormous length we climbed (by escalators) by cable car. It was quite nice. Then we went into Santa's Illusion place. It was incredibly fun! Then we went to look at the great pandas. They were both eating. I loved it. I love pandas. Got me the panda stuffed animal that I've been wanting, as well as a couple other things for people back home.

Then we left and went to have a bit of sushi. I didn't eat much since I still felt full from lunch. We went for dessert too. And we went to this super busy mall -Wachifield Mall- to see some lights. Glad we went even though there were so many people."

I didn't really make an entry on the evening of the 25th. We were home mostly. A friend of mine who's at university in Wuhan, China, was coming to Hong Kong to meet us on the 26th. That day I ate this sweet soup. My Mom told me what it was made of...most people wouldn't want to eat it but she said it was sweet and was good for the body. Oh yeah, and that it was expensive...really expensive to get. Bird saliva. Mmmm. Yup. A soup made of bird saliva.

Saturday December 26th 2009

"10:07pm Boxing Day. Spent the day with Justin today. It was super awesome. It helped that I had someone to talk to for a change =D

Justin speaks such good Mandarin...I honestly couldn't help but be amazed at how well he interacted with my uncle. He's my inspiration. I'd love to be able to be somewhat fluent as he is someday...although...that might be a bit hard to accomplish. My plan is to focus more on being studious for the next year (my new year's resolution) and restart learning Mandarin and keep up with it...somehow...

We took a tour bus around Central and went to the HK Space Museum then we walked around quite a bit looking at lights in the evening. We saw a lights show around 8. It was pretty cool. I love the idea of displaying lights from buildings for like 15 mins. Caught most of it on camera. Most..not all since the battery was dying.

We saw about 4 couples who just had a wedding. Four beautiful brides with four handsome grooms. Awwww. =]

All in all I had an amazing day! I love Hong Kong! And Justin does too!"

Sunday December 27th 2009

I wasn't feeling too well today...I started getting a cold. Either that or my nasal sinuses were really bothering me. Probably the reason I didn't bother making an entry this day. Whichever it was, I decided to stay home that day and sleep it off for a bit because my head started spinning when we went out for lunch. After my little nap, I felt better and we went out to a couple of malls to check out the Christmas decorations. The first one we went to was my favourite. It was Telford Plaza and there were stuffed bears everywhere!

Oh how I love stuffed animals! =D

Monday December 28th 2009

"11:39pm December 28th. We went to Disneyland today. I had loads of fun!

I took loads of pictures and videos! Lots to look back on in time. And to show off to people. =)

I went on Space Mountain! The boldest attempt at adventure I've had...ever. I normally don't do stuff that initiates tachycardia at the thought of being on it. It helped that I couldn't see what was coming being in the dark and having my glasses off. It was sooo much fun though!!! xD.

Watched a bunch of shows then we stuck around to see the fireworks at 9. They were awesome!!! We got these special glasses..sorta..that allowed you to see lights in a snowflake-like fashion. Video was taken of course...by my phone not camera since my battery was sorta dead. Hopefully the quality's still good though. =)

Tomorrow's our last day in HK then we're off to the airport Wednesday morning. Part of me wants to go back home but another (major) part is begging to stay! It's now somewhat a goal of mine to have the experience of living here. Definitely."

I guess I got a little bold this trip...having gone on two rather thrilling rides that I normally prefer to watch people survive on. =]

Oh How I Love The Cold

You know how people like to ask questions like "Which do you prefer? Hot or cold?" And as I would normally reply to such questions, I say "I'm not sure. I like both. I'm not really one to pick a favourite." But that was 3 years ago. When I didn't have much exposure to colder temperatures. But now I have. And I love it.

It's true...I'm truly not one to pick a favourite. I can't choose between vanilla and chocolate ice cream so I normally take a mix. But I just love the cold. I really hate being hot. Sure being sweaty and feeling sticky bothers me, I only like sweating when I exercise because then I feel like I've really had a good workout and it feels good and, after all, I could easily cool down. But there are the days when the internal body temperature is just soaring (and it's not a fever), I'm not sweating and a cold shower does little to help. Those are the days when air conditioning is most required but what happens if you don't have it? You could strip down and stand in front a fan for all the world but it still won't help because the fan circulates hot air. Not helpful.

So I love the cold. Full stop. And I loved my trip to Hong Kong so much because Hong Kong has, as I've mentioned previously, the most perfect temperatures! With normal winter temperatures ranging from 15-21 degrees Celsius and cooler temperatures that can drop down to 7 degrees Celsius, how could I not love the weather there?

New York on the 19th and 20th were wonderfully cold and snowy. Here is where I'll start posting about my ever wonderful 12-day trip to Hong Kong and back and everything that happened in between. I made little "journal entries", so to speak, while I was gone with the Active Notes application on my new Nokia N97 mini. I'll just copy and paste them here for you to read =]

-------------------------------------

Sunday December 20th 2009:

"Flight to New York was delayed due to weather conditions. We left Barbados 2 hrs late and so we arrived 2 hrs late and then some since we had to circle around a couple of times while they cleared the runway of snow! Then another half hr looking for an open terminal. Then another 20 mins waiting for luggage. Temperature was in the negatives in degrees Celsius! Got out the airport around 11:30 pm. Had to drive slow. Got to the hotel after 3 am. Got the N97 mini."

hotel car park

-------------------------------------

While waiting in New York for my flight to return to Barbados, it snowed again. Snow upon arrival. Snow upon departure. It was my first experience with snow! And I loved it.

JFK upon departure

More to come! Look forward to it! =]

Welcome to 2010!

A Very Happy New Year to Everyone!!!

It's been 5 days since I've returned home to Barbados from my trip to Hong Kong. I've been pre-occupied over the past few days and so I haven't had a chance to come around and make a little post!

Hong Kong is AMAZING!

The buildings, the environment, the people, the language...the culture! What's not to love about Hong Kong?! Truly, the island of Barbados is absolutely nothing in comparison to this city. But then, I was never crazy about my current place of residence to start with. I've said it before: Barbados is a wonderful place to vacation. As for living? Not so much.

I did so much while I was there and I managed to collect a total of about 800 photos and 50 videos! WoW! That's amazing huh? Just a week in Hong Kong and I manage to snap quite a few pictures. I must say that I owe it all to my newest habit: snapping a picture of everything, everywhere. I've been working on compiling it all onto a DVD...prettying it up, adding music and comments to the slideshows, etc. It's been a fun little project to work on.

I probably should...but I'm not going to elaborate much on my very wonderful winter trip to the wonderful country of Hong Kong this time around. This is merely a very warm welcome to the beginning of another year...the year 2010.

It's official. Hong Kong is definitely my favourite country!

More on Hong Kong next time!

I wish you all a very safe, prosperous and healthy year!