Hong Kong
It’s Monday and Robyn’s Wanderings is broadcasting from Hong Kong. That’s right the blog is expanding.
First it started with Bermudian Nicola Arnold (who will soon be transplanting herself to Canada) and now we’ve added Emily Ross.
Another Bermudian, Emily Ross will be reporting from Hong Kong every Monday. What’s it like there? What’s it like to live in another culture? Tune in every Monday for her latest.
And to start: Who is Emily? Here she tells us:
Everybody said, ‘Oh, Hong Kong, you’ll be tall there.’
LIES.
I am five feet tall. I blend into the crowd round these parts. I’ve been here three weeks and my fellow exchange students have already lost me in the crowd at least a dozen times. Tall! Hmph. I’m not tall, I’m just not short anymore.
The stubbornly politically correct part of me wrestles with penning my observations about my relative height
Skyscrapers in Hong Kong
round these parts. But then again, I had a massive internal battle after watching Mulan on the plane on the way over here. Is that racist? So far everything I know about China I learned from Eddie Murphy.
As I’m trying to catch you up for three weeks worth of roaming, here’s a quick rundown:
-It is cold here. They told me it would be warm. I did not pack for this.
-Everything is out of context in Hong Kong. Start with a skyscraper. Turn the corner and there’s a beach. Turn the corner and there’s a mountain, turn the corner and there’s a village, turn the corner and there’s an island. Everything is extreme and everything is here.
Random scene in Hong Kong
-I’m on an exchange between the University of Bristol in the UK and City University of Hong Kong for one semester (January to May). Before you get too excited, the lectures are in English – so far the only Cantonese that I know is ‘Tsing mat kau gaun tsae mun’ which according to the recorded English translation means ‘Please stand back from the doors.’ The underground or ‘MTR’ is familiar ground to me now.
-I have to say, I expected the lecture environment to be somewhat…well, different. People are talking, they leave early, they answer their phones, they go on Facebook…and the lecturers merely raise their voices to be heard over the din rather than tell them to kindly please SHUT UP. At first I was concerned about the two or three hour lectures I had scheduled (I’m used to 50 minute lectures at Bristol) but then I realised there wasn’t necessarily more content; the lecturers simply speak more slowly. I don’t mind of course, you’ve got to give these kids credit – they’re studying in a second language! Maybe the chatter is them translating what the lecturer is saying. Not sure I can justify the Facebooking though. Sorry, guys.
-They LOVE Hello Kitty here. Seriously.
-They’re preparing for Chinese New Year or the Lunar New Year at the moment. Are you ready for the year of the rabbit? Everything’s decked out in red and gold. Gorgeous!
-Old people take their birds for walks – they sit in the park and bring their bird in its cage with them. Adorable.
-In order to get a space in student housing, you have to show that you actively participate in student life at CityU. So everyone is super enthusiastic – floor gatherings, hall meetings, societies, inspirational posters. My first hall gathering is at the end of the month. Something tells me this will be different from the ‘British experience.’ The words ‘Happy and Free’ are written in giant letters on the side of the hall building. I don’t think that would be taken too seriously in Brizzle.
So there’s a quick summary! Until next week!
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