End of the Year

Christmas rolled along nicely. Woke up to a breakfast of eggs, french toast, and bacon, before opening presents from the girls. Gifts included a Dizi (chinese flute), crystal, fossil, and a magical bean seed that has a cool design imprinted into it as it grows. Off to work for an hour, before coming home to relax. Today was the foggiest day since I arrived, making this indeed a white Christmas. I couldn't see the water, and only barely could I make out the life as it passed by below on the street. In the evening, we took a taxi to the Holiday Inn to feast on numerous delicious dishes, including turkey and stuffing. Didn't win in the raffle, though.

It's been sporadically rainy and cold, and sunny and warm. Christmas Eve I spent at the beach getting a little bit darker (although I still haven't made it into the ocean. I keep hearing bad things about it) My hair is growing quite long, and I refuse to cut it until I get back to Canada. Weekend Class exams begin the weekend after next (upcoming weekend we have off) and then a final class, before the real vacation begins.

Really hope to make it out to Jilin next weekend. Cheap, and beautiful, I'm told.
Looking forward to my Canadian arrival.

Waking up to an eerie Christmas morning...

Mayon Volcano, Phillipines

Being approximately 1432 km away from the most (almost) currently erupting volcano, I hope to get some photos.



This was shot in 1987, and I am not nearly as close now as the view is when this photo was taken. Some of the more extreme volcanic explosions have been able to carry ash thousands of kilometres away, and almost 80 kilometers up into the sky, creating notiluscent clouds, depending on the wind. As mentioned earlier, I'm about 1432 km from the detonation site, which may or may not even be powerful, as volcanoes go.



Here's hoping

A Drier Macao

What's better than waiting in line to go through customs in an airport?

Waiting in line to go through customs in a LANDport.



After class in Gongbei I walked the few blocks to the Zhuhai-Macao border crossing, waiting in line for an average time, and met my friend John, who had already crossed over. This was my second time visiting, and the first with clear weather. I cringed from the sunlight, it was so bright and warm this December day.


We crossed the bridge to Taipa and made our way to the Venetian, where John wanted to buy a new Ipod. Although out, we
a) saw a decadent Christmas display

b) saw a funny store window sign

and c) got hit on by a prostitute. She was pretty, but seemed taken aback when I told her my boyfriend would mind.


We passed a hillside graveyard, which we didn't get to see, but I'd still like to. It looked different, first of all because it was on a hillside, but also because the tombs jutted out and almost resembled sarcophagi lying above the coffin. We had a nice view, similar to the ferry ride a few days ago, but much less obscured by fog and nighttime. Casino shuttles are a great free way to get around.


In fact, here's a good time to show just how sm/foggy it can get. This is looking out from my apartment toward the ocean. You can normally see mountains in the distance, along with the road stretching a few dozen miles.


We walked around Macao. Many people ride scooters, because this is one of the most densely populated places in the world; as well the streets are narrow.


We came across an art gallery. The artist inside let us sign our names on some red velvet (mine was the only English name) and in addition let me take photos of his paintings. These were done on some type of cloth; the tigers were painted in such detail. Every hair was accounted for.




This is a new science museum opening up later this year. Unfortunately I won't be able to see it. Included is a giant telescope (although I wonder how they'll be able to see through all the light and air pollution... Rarely do I see more than one star in the sky).


The roads are very narrow, due to Portugian influence. I think I made that word up. I felt like I was walking in Spain, or in a maze, as I walked through Macao. Old buildings are either renovated or adapted to fit with a fresh theme; history isn't repaved as is the case with mainland China.

Of course there were many people, tourists and locals. Hundreds of shops containing anywhere from a plethora of desserts to baked potatoes, dinner, and shoppes. Everything seemed happy here, like everyone was on vacation.



We stopped in an Italian restaurant owned by some Fillipinos called Cafe Toscana. I splurged.
A grand serving of the cheesiest lasagna I'd tasted in a year. $90.00
A glass of red House Wine. $28.00
Two chocolate brownies. $20.00
Grand total of $138.00 Patacas on an excellent meal, and some fine company. The Fillipino owner had a hint of "Louigi" in him, and we met two Belgians who spoke Flemmish rather comically. (and an overspoken well-speaking English Chinese man who was trying to spread the spirit of Christmas by bringing up jovial accounts of his knowledge of Canada and Belgium)
To be fair, translated, I spent only $21.29 CAD, but it's been one of my top three most expensive meals here. Western food preparators seem to be rare and thus the food is marked up, though ingredients (excluding cheese) are mostly easy to come by.


There were three churches we visited, all in varying degrees of operation. Large, stuffy, and Catholic, they were still interesting remnants from a historical perspective. You can see the famous Lisboa Casino in the background here, as well as a large part of the central district.

We approached the ruinous facquade of St. Paul's College. A lady was having her wedding photos taken, in the mileu of the crowd, snapping photos and eating BBQ. There were bones of martyrs inside, but upon arriving we realised we'd only have enough time to see the front. It was an amazing archaeological feat for a church that had burned down nearly 200 years ago was still standing in midst of a bustling city.

John was approached for a survey. Ferry ports, hotels, tourist spots, so many surveys!


At a foreign food store I finally found sweet and sour sauce. You'd think, China? of Sweet and Sour Chinese Chicken Balls? No, that is western Chinese food, and cannot even be found in the foreign food stores of Zhuhai.
I also found this mystery cloven foot, which I'm guessing is a pig's, wrapped in tin foil and fastened in.

Good place to put, I had a pig brain for lunch today at a Korean BBQ. Texture and taste, similar to an egg. Nearly puked, but three bites later, had it all down.

Made our way over to the dog races at the "Canindrome". (play on canines, and thunderdome) lol...
Only to find that it was closed. On a Friday night! I must see this before I leave. Disappointed, we walked back to the border and called it a night.


Had a really enjoyable time today teaching. Classes are nearing completion for the first semester. For my last class of 12 year olds I stayed playing soccer with them after I'd finished teaching. I've got a sweet deal here because I can teach the things that I enjoyed so much as a kid in highschool, and hopefully influence their learning so that it's also enjoyable.

Tomorrow I'm going to teach the younger ones to sing John Jacob Jingle-Heimer Smith.

A Day in Hong Kong

I sit in my windowsill, the air moist with a tropical mist that coats everything in a fine, slippery-as-silt layer. Earlier today it began to rain for the first time in a month, sadly coinciding with our trip to Hong Kong. We left at 7am, weary eyed and scared of the camera.

Whenever I leave down the alley behind my apartment, I always come upon these young pups playing on the sidewalk. They're the cutest dogs I've ever seen, and if I weren't afraid they or their owner had rabies and might make me crazy if they bit me, I would pet them.

We stopped in for a breakfast at McDonald's, met Alyssa (who's staying at the Chunking Mansion tonight) before buying our expensive tickets for the expensive city of HK. (things are nearly the price of the West)

Despite HK being perhaps the most advanced city in China, there were still plenty of English Follies. This sea vest manual was very comforting.


Apparently you might pee out your baby.

We took a ferry just over an hour away to the island of HK, amid mist and fog that enshrouded the cabin in a twilight, similar to the Matrix when they fall into Purgatory. We sped over what I thought were small waves, but with our speed the bumps became more pronounced, causing an extreme sensation of turbulence.

I caught a photo of this young lady as she was exiting the ramp. This seems to be the newest fashion trend in China: large glasses with no lens.


A few words games and a nap later, we docked.



Exited out onto the street and found many cool little shops. There were literally hundreds of Middle Eastern men offering to handmake entire suits for cheap, every few feet. Also, the entire time here, I encountered only one beggar, a grumpy old woman incessantly pulling on sleeves and getting nowhere.
There were a couple of these hourly hotels, but this one caught my eye. Armenia, anyone?

PS, EVERYwhere in Canada has them, too.

We walked a great distance today. With the rain, we sometimes had to run for cover inside, and therefor couldn't get a good view of the ocean, or much of the scenery. This ingenius man turned briefly into a superhero to escape the rain.

There are a few islands nearby, and this busy roadway led to an under ocean tunnel connecting one of them.


Can you imagine working on this? It's put together with bamboo, and tied with string at each corner. That's nearly ten stories high, and I didn't even trust to walk underneath.


We were getting hungry, and after saying goodbye to Alyssa, we made our way to the subway.

These are always fun to ride. My first experience was in Beijing; that was an efficient sub, and a good time.
Briefly today, however, there was terror in the streets of Hong Kong. Boarding a state of the art subway at Tseu si Tan station, Kristen entered. The door beeped.
Heather entered. The door shut.
I stood, there just as the door closed, and I missed it. The girls got off at the next station to wait for me, but I somehow missed them and went on to our original destination (not as scary as Final Destination... 1, 2, or 3-D).
I tried using my phone, but being in 'a different country' I was unable to get a dial tone. Similar with the pay phone. Being lost in Hong Kong, being lost on the other side of the world, with nothing whatsoever familiar, is a curious sensation. Anger, which passed, and the feeling of being adrift in the Pacific Ocean; screwed, but you somehow feel fine because you have no choice but to go with the flow.
A nice Citiphone clerk allowed me to use his phone to get a hold of Heather, whose phone luckily worked, and we reunited, tearfully.

Among the many advertisements were these seemingly mundane posters. I passed them numerous times before I realised what the message was implying.

And this poster I just didn't understand.

In one of the mall areas of the underground was this ridiculously ghetto Christmas tree.

Beer and Christmas, only fond memories?

In some places there were many restaurants, Greek, Italian, and of course, Chinese.

This place had a unique system of playing a video of what the cook was making, live. Didn't seem appetizing, however. We stopped in a generic diner. I had an omelette, rice, and meat.
Out on the street, it poured occasionally.

Luckily, 'this book, can be, a hat'.
I'm not usually one for shopping, but even for me there were some cool items. I've started souveneir shopping, and in some of the markets I found some unique stuff.

I took a picture of this because I thought it was funny the picture was wet, and outside it was wet.

I saw a girl wearing a white shirt, with a black Mickey Mouse 'hugging' the girl from behind. The shirt said, "Mickey is always by you." (creepy? religious?)
This speaks for itself.


The only little person I have seen in China (excluding beggars who are missing their legs)


This graffiti was interesting; I think there was a comment on women's place in society, and how that affects them.

Leah?


It was starting to get dark, so we headed back to the ferry. The last ferry left at 530pm. HK is not 'China' for economic reasons, so we had to go through customs. This sign aided the hilarity. I shudder to think that it's relevant here in China.


In Saskatoon I was used to buildings 15 stories high. Moving to Zhuhai, 35 stories high. Hong Kong?


A concert video of this dude played for the tired crowd heading home to Zhuhai. The music was actually quite good, despite the .. peacockish outfit. He might have been Richard Lam (from the 'wet' poster mentioned before), or I might just not be able to tell the difference.


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Here it gets better. Having arrived home, I went and had one full hour of full body massage, followed by one full hour of foot massage. Yes, at times it was awkward. But I've grown accustomed to accepting that it's different in China. Taking the bus home from the ferry port I actually felt a reminiscient twinge of bittersweet that I had missed Zhuhai, having only been gone for one day. And, as my time here gets closer and closer to leaving for back home, I think I will miss the experience I had, the differences. People here seem genuinely happier than in the West, despite having less. I've learned a lot coming here.



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oh and Happy Birthday Colby!