BODY SHOPping

Hong Kong is just a big shopping mall!

Today, I finally left the comfort of Discovery Bay and went into the "Real" HK. I used to get really embarrassed when I take friends to UVic and they get all excited about the bunnies, taking pictures and all. And now, I am jumping up and down seeing the "real" Hong Kong from the bridge after I got off the MTR.

I also saw the Disney MTR, it looks very... Mickey Mouse. At many level...

Anyways, today is another shopping spree. I shopped for a HK citizenship card first thing in the morning, ready for me to pick up on the 17th. I then shopped for cat toys, (got a jade pendant for Kirara >^o^<), for pets (cheating on Kirara already... I even talk my parents into getting a bengal or exotic savannah from Canada!), for eye glasses, and even for laser eye surgery and for dental services. I also made appointment for vaccine consultations on Tuesday. I also almost bought a snake from a snake-soup restaurant. My dad talked me out of it by pointing out how lethagic they are and how they probably have their gall bladder removed for "Chinese medicine" and won't live much longer.

I played with my dad's cell phone camera, I don't know if it worked, if it did, I will load the images online later.

The first image I took was GREAT. I took it off a bridge; it's a picture of a "business building," the awning on the second floor says something about "making successful businesses and trades happen," the bottom sign says "believe in Jesus and receive eternal life." No, seriously, you can even buy eternal life in Hong Kong!

Then I took an image of a bunch of little ladies sitting in the middle of downtown, with little paper voodoo dolls called "little men." These are little yellow paper-doll that you can buy, then you write the name of someone you detest, and you take off your shoes and beat the "little man" with it. Supposedly, "beating the little man" will bring bad fortune to the bearer of that name. No, really, you can even buy revenge!

In Hong Kong, every relation is quid pro quo. Knowing this, I am a lot more able to forgive my mother.

I remember I was really offended at grade 9, when my mom wrote me a cheque for me to hand it to my science tuitor, and she said to me, "this is an investment to me. YOU are an investment to me." Of course our relationship is quid-pro-quo; everything is quid pro quo in Hong Kong.

-Cordelia

Getting Internet access is surprisingly difficult here in HK; looks like I can only blog occassionally.

I am doing fairly well, except it's hot here I can't breath. That, and I miss my Kirara.

Cultural shock begins on the flight in Vancouver; I flew with China airline and I couldn't understand the instructions on board, as I only speak cantonese, not mandarin. They ocassionally suppliment the instructions with English, but it's also thick with accent. I ended up harrassing the Taiwanese people around me to ask them to translate for me.

I stayed up all night the night before I fly; I didn't sleep on the flight either. As soon as I arrived HK in the evening, I (with luggage in tow...) bought a guitar(!). I wrote a lot of songs on the flight for Kirara... well, actually, they were for myself, they are just about kirara >_< Child, I miss you!

After that, I headed "home" for a quick shower. I played guitar until about 11:30pm HK time, then I went to sleep. Now, I am perfectly adjusted to HK time - no jetlag whatsoever :)

The airports are ... very strange. The Taipei airport was so rundown, I felt a bit depressed just being inside the building. Plus, there are chinese signs written everywhere, it was just weird. HK airport seems "cool" enough, it's even all shiny and most signs are still in English, just like the airport in Vancouver. The only thing I didn't like was the police that are littered throughout the reception area, it makes me nervous. Oh, and the duty-free shops in airports are quite different as well. Most of the duty-free shops in Taipei and HK sell alcohol exclusively... if I didn't know any better, I would have thought Taiwan and HK are full of alcoholics!

Speaking of airport security, they seemed quite anal in Vanc airport. I had numerous items confiscated. Since I only have a small daypack full of stuff, I didn't bother to put it in the luggage compartment. What I didn't realize is that things like swiss army knifes and mosquito repellents cannot go on board. I got searched three times before I even stepped into the airplane. (And I am just a little asian wallflower!)

On the Taiwan and HK side though, security seems non-existence. they didn't even look at my passport in Taiwan. In HK, I told the guy I left for Canada before I turned 18 and I don't have a citizen card yet. The officer just chatted with me in Cantonese for a bit to make sure I really am HongKongnese and let me go. No id proof required, nada!

Anyways, it looks like the visa can be time consuming to get. So I posted a few ads in supermarkets here, with my broken Indonesian, hoping some Indonesian home-makers will respond and be my temporary tuitor. Guru Micaela, how I regret not studying harder while I was in Canada ;__;

I also called the Indonesia Consulate, the Indonesian guy was so chatty I couldn't hang up! (and my cell is being charged by the minute!) I even talked to him a bit in Indonesian, that made him laugh, I am not sure if it was a good sign or not ^_^;;; He recommanded a school to me in Lombok; I am going to contact the BI instructor there and see if he can help me secure a longer visa for language study.

That's my plan for now. I must have called my best friend Winnie for over 30 times in the last few days, I still couldn't get a hold of her yet. I hope I get to see her before I go again.

Speaking of, I am living in the Discovery Bay area of HK, it's nice and ... weird. There is a artificial beach! =__=;;; I think, the whole point of going to a beach is to enjoy the nature. There is something very wrong about an artificial beach... I know most of the foreigner populations in HK stay at Discovery Bay, but I was surprised how much foreigners I am seeing, especially since HK is no longer a Brit colony and it's not exactly tourist season. I ran into my first embarrasing experience soon enough. I was waiting in line at the supermarket and there is a foreigner in front of me. I started small talks with her and expecting her to speak in English in return. I think she is French...... >_< (nevermind that I lived in Canada for 8 years, I can't even roll my tongue yet.)

I will go back to make more phone calls etc now; I am at a private internet cafe thing, and there is a huge line-up. I hope you all are well in Canada, and, take care of my cat!

So the rat packs...


Need to have

• Kirara's photo prints
  
• kirara's phone number
• plane ticket
• passport, HKID, ISIC card, + xerox
  
• doxicycline + antibiotics, first aid kit
• insect repellants (citrinella sticker + spray + coils)
• phone lists
• rain gear
• flashlight
• toothbrush/toothpaste
• backpack
• karate dogi pants, two shirts, underwear and socks, flip-flops, lite overcoat
  
• Leslie's checklist
• loonely-planet guide
• SPF 108
• mosquito net
• cash (CND, HKD, RP)

Nice to have

• film camera
• films, camera batteries
  
• MD-player w/ battery pack, mic, MDs
• ear phones
• hammock
• SAS survival guide (!)
  
• e-book
  
• indonesian text books
• one Fouc book
• eng/indo dictionary
• Total_Awareness
  
• guitar
• sheet music
• occarina
• recorder
• hiking boots
• water filter pump
• tilly-hat
• a journal (as in diary, you silly!)
• hairbrush + elastic
• binoculars
• camping vest
• dress suit
• vitamins
  

I spend the last 2 days packing very slowly; I also bought more cat toys, checked some Irian Jaya/ Indonesia books out of the library, and tried (fruitlessly) to shop for travelling guide to the Papua and also Indonesian phrase books/ pocket dictionary. I finally bit the bullet and bought a book on Bali and Lombok today. For the money I paid in that book, I can easily survive 2 week over in Indonesia!

The packing has been really difficult; because I never had time to unpack my worldly possessions from Victoria. I am flying tomorrow morning, and I STILL cannot find my $30 worth mosquito net. (Ryan, did I left it in your place??) I also wanted to take my MD player with me, but I can't find the AA battery back up pack. Then I can't find sunscreen, and the power chord for my printer (to print my kira's photos...) And now, I am overspending before I even get there!

My fear for Malaria and Japanese Encephalitis has proved itself to be ridiculous. The mosquito repellents occupied appr. 1/4 of my travelling pack in bulk, and almost that in weight. (only outweighted by my new bottle of sunscreen and wound disinfectants). Do I really need doxycycline, citrinella stickers, DEET sprays, AND incense coils??? It's one thing to deconstruct it in classroom, it's another thing to suffer the burden of a medicalized society on my shoulder (so to speak).

Andy and Quinnie took me out to Ebei for dinner tonight, which is really nice of them, especially since they both have the flu and don't have an appetite. We ordered a little bit of everything, mostly raw things, I am so full I feel sick.

At dinner, Quinnie was making fun of Andy about his motion sickness. I volunteered that I get car-sick easily as well, and my brother spilled a devastating truth: my whole family on my father's side is like that. My grandma, my uncle, my dad, my bro and I all suffer motion sickness easily. The rebel succumbs to science, medical truth and genetics again. I feel so defeated >_<

Qunnie kept trying to think up embarrassing tales of my brother to tell me, I was bored for most part. Then she started giggling like mad about the sexual jokes that her brother and Andy exchanged. That got my curiosity: I never thought my "proper" brother would talk to anyone about sex! (I mean, he used to scold me for drinking underage, or for joining a fencing club instead of studying at home!) Turns out their story was really lame; they were joking about the biceps on the girls in CSc department of SFU, speculating that they weren't really girls at all. I tried so hard to laugh with them, but I just wasn't getting it. After hanging out with Luke, Cathrine, Jenny and Ryan, I have my threshold for "embarrassing, funny stories" set really high. Either that, or the "cultural gap" between my brother and I is growing. Frankly, I don't get Chinese culture.

In 24 hrs or so, I will be in HK. Would it be an advanture or a nightmare? What does reverse-cultural shock taste like? I don't know. I just suddenly realize I already made an appointment to see my highschool heroine, and I haven't even shop for お土産 yet.

The beginning of an end

I don't know how or when my Victorian life actually ended. Even now, I still feel like a Victorian.

"For a long time, the story goes, Leah's daughter and her cat are going overseas to see the penis gourd..."

And Cordelia is finally flying, on Tuesday 27th Sept 2005. Though many of you will be pleased to know that Kirara is staying. (BTW, guru-Micaela and Tim-sensei, it turns out Ibu Leslie didn't care whether Kira goes or stays, her only concern is health issues such as clean water etc. >^.^< )

I have been urged to blog to stay in touch with you all. It is vitally important that we all call this a blog, and not an online journal; journalists are vermins that are hated universally, bloggers are like good Christians who confess their souls to the world. Bloggers are okay.

The title of this blog is a reminder of our good times together, and my go-away party. After 5 shots of vaccines in two days, plus some more oral vaccines on empty stomach, and a "sip" of our rosehip wine fortified with moonshine, I gulped down the beer like I had never drank before. I can't remember much of the evening, Laura later said a few concerning things about me wrestling with Ryan in the pub that I cannot recall. But not to worry; I remember enough to name this blog after Luke's T-shirt and our first-wave faminist talks that night. (Actually, it was really an anti-Ryan talk. It was good enough to make an episode of Sex_and_the_City.)

I spend a few more days at Kirara's new home. I spend so much time harrassing that poor child that, on the day I leave for Vancouver, the kid was hidding inside the couch from me. I think, now that my daughter hates me, I am ready to go.

So long, my friends. Take care, and more importantly, take care of my cat!