Just as Crazy as Everyone Else

A writer friend of mine at Holden Village once told me that often you need some distance from a place before you can write about it.  I am going to blame my inability to write good blog posts about Hong Kong on that fact.

So what have I been up to?  That is a good question.  Umm, well, there has been class.  And sleep.  And class. 

Ok, but seriously, what have I done with my time here?  I went out to lunch once with Sherry, I went out to lunch with Stephanie and her sister Maria.  I went to 180, the young adult bible study.  I went to church.  I am starting to sense a pattern here…

They say that people who are involved with religious communities are happier.  It might be because of religious belief, or that it brings people together.  I am not exactly sure which is affecting me more.  But the fact that religious event and hanging out with the people I met at them were the things that immediately popped into my head does say a great deal about my psyche at the moment.

Ok, but actually.  The big event of the last week and a half is that a bunch of us went to Ocean Park, a mixture theme park and aquarium and zoo.  Whoever came up with this mixture was an absolute genius.  You get off a roller-coaster and are feeling a little tired.  No worries.  Go look at the seals for a few minutes, then you can go back to the rides.  The only problem was that there was so much to do that we could not do and see it all.  But we were able to prioritize, and do a great deal.

We had a field trip to a Daoist temple.  Daoism is the 21^st century, hybridized indigenous religion of China.  The Chinese, for the most part, love to take pieces of their past and modernize them.  To sum up Daoist beliefs briefly.  Everything is made of Qi (or Chi). Light qi goes up to heaven, dark qi sinks to earth.  The movement of qi is the ying and yang of the universe, which drives all change.  One can be free of this change and become immortal if one aligns their qi with the cosmic qi (become closer to nature through mediation and austerity and all that jazz).  There are gods, but they don’t really have names or do much.  They accept Buddha as a god (or immortal, I’m not really sure which, or if they even know). There are immortals (humans that have achieved immortality) who have adventures that kids read about in story books.  There are guardians based on the year you were born.  There is a mother goddess (very Neolithic tribal religion ish).  It all becomes very nebulous.  The hard core Daoists are vegetarian, but I don’t really understand why.  I am sure it has something to do with non-violence.  But they didn’t really explain it. But we had a very yummy vegetarian meal there.  The religion reminds me a lot of Jainism in its practices.

We had eggroll night!  Sherry was really confused when we tried to explain eggrolls to her.  She decided that it must be an American thing.  But actually, we made Hmong eggrolls, which are the same size as American eggrolls.  Which makes me feel a little better about American culture.  We may be crazy in what we eat, but we are not alone! 

It is really funny though to see what the Hong Kong people think of American food.  We had “authentic New York style” pizza, which had a diameter of two feet!  Do the Hong Kong people really believe that all of our food is that supersized?  If my world travels have taught me anything, it is that Indians eat a lot more food than Americans do.  Again, we might be crazy.  But we are not any more crazy than the rest of the world.  We are just the most public.  And our public image is not the most endearing.

Museums are free on Wednesdays, so we have been taking full advantage of that.  Last week we went to the Space museum, which was actually pretty lame.  They had a good Imax theatre though.  This week, we went to the science museum.  The museum itself was not great, but they had a spectacular temporary exhibit about dinosaurs up.  They had a few animatronic dinosaurs, a huge number of recreated skeletons, and some amazing fossils.  I have not been this excited about dinosaurs since I was a little kid.

This week we have been learning about Chinese painting and calligraphy, with demonstrations.  The artist who came in was amazing, and made everything look super easy.  I wish I could paint like that.  And write like that.  And play a Chinese instrument.  And appreciate good Chinese tea.  Man, China is making me feel so inadequate and uncultured.

It has been almost three weeks, and the number of malls still makes me uneasy.  In our class on modern art, we started talking about how China has embraced some of more vicious parts of capitalism, such as unadulterated consumerism.  And then I open the International New York Times to seen an article about how austerity measure seem to be helping Britain’s economy.  Then I start thinking about Holden Village, and all of the discussions we had there about consumerism in America.  It is a lot to think about.

But I am on the verge of falling asleep on the floor, so I think I am going to go to bed now.

Good Night

Andrea

Our Dysfunctional Family

Hong Kong!  I have lived here a week and a half and still have not blogged.  How awful is that?  But there has been so much to do here.  I haven’t had much time to myself since arriving.  Which is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Walking around Hong Kong feels reminiscent of walking around in a big city in America.  The streets are clean, the people are dressed in a mostly western/ cutesy Asian inspired fashion (it comes with being a fashion capital I guess), and the streets are safe.  I cannot emphasis enough how much safe streets has put everyone in our group at ease.  It is truly a wonderful thing, and something I will never take for granted again.

The weather here is in the 70s everyday, never rainy and always beautiful.  Which makes walking to class quite nice.

A quick rundown of what I have been up to.  Some of the highlights from the last week and a half include hiking around Lamma Island, a nearby island that does not allow motorized vehicles (a few exceptions of course).  On the island are two small fishing villages with really good seafood.  Heather, who hates seafood, even liked it.  We took a cable car across the mountains of Lantau Island to see the giant Buddha there, then took a bus to the other side of the island to see pink dolphins (yes, we did see some!).  We visited the market at Mong Kok (I don’t know if it was the Lady’s Market or not, but I don’t think it was). A few of us lay on a beach for an hour because we missed the ocean, and it was too cold to swim.  A few of us went to see the Symphony of Lights, a nightly light show up on by the buildings of Hong Kong Island.  We visited the history museum, which is free on Wednesdays.  The Hong Kong Cultural Association, our liaisons here, treated us to Thanksgiving dinner. 

At dinner we met Sherry, possibly one sweetest people I have met on this trip.  Sherry is from Mainland China originally, but university and then job prospects brought her to Hong Kong.  She invited us to her church.  The church, call “The Vine,” attracts mostly (but not exclusively) young adults, about equal parts Hong Kong people and ex-pats.  Services are in English and us contemporary music from the west.  There is also a Saturday night bible study.  The people there are extremely nice.  We met and went to dinner with a few of Sherry’s friends, all of whom were incredibly fun and talkative.  One of them, Stephanie, is a missionary’s daughter turned missionary herself, has lived her entire life in Hong Kong.  Then there were John and Isabel, both native Hong Kong residents, both of whom are in fashion.  They gave Elena some wedding fashion advice.  Ef, another Hong Kong native, took us out to a great Dim Sum place, and I got to try jellyfish (it was really good).  I also met a British girl (I never got her name) who was interning before going back to school to be an occupational therapist.  Basically, all really awesome people.  I am definitely going to church next week.

Class is daily at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, or CUHK.  The university has about 13,000 students.  The campus takes up an entire mountain.  Our classroom is about half way up.  Our hotel is at the bottom.  But there are free shuttle buses to take us up the mountain, which is wonderful.  You just have to be careful though.  People cram onto the buses, making it very hard to get off at your stop.  Heather and I once got trapped on the bus and had to ride to the next stop before we could get off!

Class is like in India, where we have different speakers come and talk to us about different subjects.  So far they have all been very good.  It is also really nice that the Hong Kong accent is not a very strong one.  And that many of our speakers have lived for prolonged periods in English speaking countries.  Our class here is art history, which is very interesting.  We have learned about everything from Jade to Tea (yes, it is an art). 

One visitor to China in the 18^th century commented that coming to china makes a western visitor feel as though they have come across a much more sophisticated culture.  I am starting to understand why that is.  To everything there is a hidden meaning and a subtlety that is hard to pick up on.  Nothing in Chinese culture is ever overt, as that could be offensive.  On the simplest level, words are never direct.  A phrase such as “the dogs bark at the sun after the rain” actually implies that someone is so stupid that they cannot recognize the sun.  Beyond that, if you are given the gift of a vase (a common gift), the picture on the vase suggests how you feel about them (there is a very long list of symbols we had to learn).  It reminds me of India.  No one at the ECC spoke directly either.  It really tests one’s perceptiveness.

There is also a deep level of sophistication in other areas of life.  There is a proper way to grow tea, process tea, brew tea, smell tea, hold tea, and drink tea.  If you do it the right way, you will be invited back.  There is a proper way to view art, talk about art, shop for art, bargain for art.  If you mess up on the first two steps, you will never be taken seriously. 

Our residence is the Hyatt Regency, a very, very nice hotel right outside of campus and a two-minute walk from the train system.  The apartments here can be rented for either a normal amount of time, or leased long term.  The head of our program is staying in the Hyatt for a year.  I didn’t ask how much that cost, but I can’t imagine it is cheap.  Despite the fact that this is long-term residence, we are still treated like hotel guests.  Our towels are changed daily, whether we want them to be or not.  Our rooms are cleaned weekly.  We are given water bottles daily (even though tap water here is basically safe). 

All of this is a bit of a culture shock after India and Thailand.  Who am I kidding?  It is a huge culture shock!  Hong Kong has a strong tradition of consumerism because of its British influence and position of being a prominent trading port for the last 100 years.  We are also staying amongst the affluent here in the Hyatt.  But after India, the rampant consumerism is a bit jarring.  It probably comes from the territory of being a fashion capital.  A lot of globalites feel pressure to buy new clothes in order to be fashionable, since everyone here dresses fashionably.  Finding clothes is not difficult, since there is a mall every mile (you think I exaggerate, I don’t).   It also bothers me that my apartment at the Hyatt is so much nicer than most of the staff housing at ECC.  Money may not buy happiness, but every so often, when I think back to the India, I am outraged that we can live so large while others do not.  What is most frustrating is that about half of the globalites seem not to notice.  They seem to treat the living conditions in India as a bad dream that they have woken from and are trying to forget.  The sheer amount of wastefulness is really getting on my nerves. 

It has gotten to the point where everyone is getting on everyone else’s nerves.  It is really frustrating.  We all know each other enough to know each other’s faults and to be annoyed by them.  And people have just about run out of patience to deal with other’s shortcomings.  But I guess that comes with the territory.  No one is perfect.  We are just one dysfunctional family.

In the Land of Smile

“Thailand” translates to land of the free.  Siam, the former name for the country, means the land of smile.  And from a tourist-marketing standpoint, the second one is better.

Actually, the land of smile is not unfitting for Thailand.  Graced with beautiful beaches and rainforests, cheap prices, cheap medical care and a lax legal system when it comes to pleasures like sex, alcohol and flying lanterns, Thailand has set itself up as the ultimate tourist destination of Eurasia. 

On the plane flight over, Annika, who is sitting next to me, faints.  After waking, she is still disoriented, prompting the flight attendant to call overhead for a doctor.  A nice doctor from Miami comes back from first class to help.  For anyone who is curious, this is one of my arguments for why I want to be a doctor summed up. 

Arriving in Bangkok is a real shock after India.  The airport is filled with Caucasians and East Asians (read Japanese, Chinese and Korean).  The line for Thai passports is deserted, to the point where the worker comes over to help with the international arrivals.  I get stopped at passport control because my arrival sheet does not have a departure sheet attached, and I am forced to refill it out.  Julia left her phone on the plane, but the airport staff quickly return it to her.  Like India, Thailand is a place where people will bend over backwards to help you.  Perhaps an extension of the famous eastern hospitality.  Marty warns us that such services are not free, and that we should always tip.

On the bus, around 9pm, we are welcomed by “Sam,” our tour guide for the next 24 hours, with a bow and a grin that seems artificially big.  Which makes me a bit wary of him.  But it is not artificial, and I am a bit wary of him.  India has made me suspicious of overly friendly people.  But this is not India.  This is the land of smiles, and Sam is doing his best to get 18 sleep-deprived people excited about Bangkok.

We arrive in a hotel that looks like a 6-year-old girl designed it.  But it has a pool and free wifi, and the staff is extremely chill.  That is another eccentricity of Thailand.  For the most part, people are very lax about everything.  You want to check out late? No problem!  You want to store your stuff here for a week? No problem!  You want to stay an extra night? No problem!  You left your key in your room? No problem!  They also have the wonderful policy that if someone says “never mind,” the topic in question is never thought of again.  There is some confusion about lost bus tickets? Never mind.  Here is a new ticket.

The next morning, Sam takes us to the Royal Palace, a complex of living, administrative, and religious buildings.  It is an odd mix of Thai, Chinese and European decoration.  My favorite is the Thai colored glass.  The main temple plays host to the Emerald Buddha, which is dressed in gold clothing that reflects the season.  Thailand has been blessed with a huge amount of precious stones and gold, and walking through the palace museum rivals a walk through the tower of London’s vaults.

A boat ride across the river and we are exploring another Buddhist Temple with some of the steepest steps that we have encountered on this trip.  Almost all of Thailand is Buddhist, and it shows.  But for the all of the austerity that Buddhism preaches, the temples are extremely ornate.

After lunch, we are free for a week.  Cassie, David and I have decided to travel to Chiang Mai on the night train.  But ops, the train is not running.  Sam stays and helps us figure out a bus alternative.  We try to tip him, which he only excepts after our insistence.  When we get to the bus station, we find out that the bus is full.  Can we wait until tomorrow?  No, we have nowhere to stay.  The bus station makes some calls, and soon we find ourselves on a shuttle bus to a different bus station and on a private bus to Chiang Mai.  We also book tickets for the way back.  We are given blankets, snacks, and a voucher for free food at a rest stop half way.

Chiang Mai is best described as Ely on steroids.  Its proximity to the rainforest makes it a jumping off point for everything from trekking to zip lining.  It is also a RIYP haven (Random International Young People), whose average age appears to be 27.  We met a lot of people from around the world at our hostel, mostly on vacations. The hostel where we are staying is a family owned, out of the way place.  Only the husband and wife speak English well, but the girls (one is only 8 years old) are helpful to the extent they can be.  The wife becomes our main liaison.  She calls taxis for us and makes sure that they give us a good price, straightens out reservations for some of our last minute escapades, and answers our endless questions.  Every morning the family cooks breakfast for anyone who wants it (fried egg and toast).  The family even helped us out with a couple of bigger issues, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Because we took the bus, we arrived earlier than expected.  The hostel stored our bags, and told us to take some bikes and explore Chiang Mai.  They also gave a simplistic map.  A couple hours and several one-way streets later, we are hopelessly lost and off the map.  In an act of desperation, we go into an insurance agency’s office to ask for directions.  They end up calling the hostel, which sends a truck to pick up the bikes and us.  The insurance people will not accept a tip.  They are just being helpful.  The girl who picks us up asks how on earth we got here.  We aren’t sure.  We ask her if this has ever happened before.  She says no.  Well, first time for everything.  That evening, we go out for Italian for Cassie’s birthday.

The next day we go white water rafting.  In Chiang Mai, most companies will pick you up from your hotel/ hostel.  We are picked up around 9am, and drive far up into the forest.  We get to base camp just in time for lunch (most places will also feed you extremely big and delicious meals).  After a quick safety lesson we are thrown in a raft with a British couple and our raft guide and are sent down level 3 and 4 rapids.  We get stuck a couple of times, we flood the raft twice, we almost lose our guide once, we go swimming a couple of times, we pull each other in the water, and we have splash wars with the other rafts.  After a few hours, we get to the end and get cookies and pineapple.  After a power point of humiliating pictures, we get back in the van that picked us up.  But we are not headed home.  We stop at a gas station, where we meet another van that takes us up into the mountains.  We have a homestay tonight.  We are put up in a nice couple’s house in what I am guessing was once their children’s bedrooms.  They speak no English, and we no Thai, but other than that they are wonderfully nice.  She is an amazing cook.  We go to bed early.  The next morning, up early for zip lining.  3.1 miles of zip lining. Our guides love to mess with us.  Actually, that turns out to be pretty universal.  All of our guides love to mess with us.  Which is awesome and fun. 

That night was Thailand’s festival of lights.  The sky was filled with flying lanterns.  The creator of movie Tangled must have visited Thailand.  We bought two, one we let off in memory of Cassie’s grandfather.  We managed to stumble upon a huge fireworks show.  We met a British man, who told us that this year the festival was a little smaller because the country was technically in morning of a prominent monk that had just died.  I have a hard time imagining how the festival could have been any grander than it already was.  I will just have to come back some time.

Next day are elephants.  We are going to an elephant rescue, which apparently rescues elephants from abusive owners.  Although the conformation email says 8:45, the truck shows up at 8:30, leaving us scrambling.  In the morning, we feed elephants and learn how to ride bare back.  We have lunch, then we go out for a trail ride. Although we are the ones that are supposed to be controlling the elephants, in reality it is the Mahouts, the elephant’s individual trainers that are doing most of the work.  We soon give up trying to use the commands that we have learned, and instead just go along for the ride.  At the end, we give the elephants a bath, and begin an all out free for all water war with the Mahouts and the other people in our group.  A quick shower, and we are done for the day.

Tuesday is tiger day.  We head to Tiger Kingdom, a reserve where they breed tigers to help preserve the gene pool, and so that tourists like us can see them.  And pet them. And snuggle with them.  We start out with the 2 month olds, which are the size of house cats, and end with full grown 16 month old tigers. 

That evening, all of the globalites who are in Chiang Mai get together to celebrate Cassie’s birthday.  It was very nice to see everyone again, and we spend the evening together.

Wednesday morning is chill, and we go out for an American brunch.  I get chocolate chip pancakes and a mango smoothie.  Actually, I have had about a smoothie a day in Thailand.  It is a vacation after all.  In the afternoon we go to a spa for a Thai massage and hot herbal press.  It is heavenly.

Arriving back at our hostel, we try to decipher the return ticket we have.  It doesn’t have a time on it, which is a little disturbing. After a confusing phone call, the husband owner of the hostel takes David on his motorbike to the bus station.  Apparently our ticket had, for some reason, been invalidated.  The husband argued long and hard for us, and we got a new ticket without having to pay for it.  After this, the three of us caucus.  We were going to tip the hostel owners already, but how much?  We agree on about 1,000 Baht. It was about what we paid for one person for any one of our excursions, about $30 or so.  But it was also about what we paid in total for our hostel stay.  Needless to say, the wife was stunned.  But we were adamant.  We had been so much trouble, and they had helped us so much, it was only fair.  She would not take such kindness lying down.  She paid for our taxi to the bus station, despite our protests.  It was a good, Minnesota style kindness competition.

But it does bring to life the wealth discrepancy even within Chiang Mai.  We could easily spend close to 1000B on almost every activity that we did, but to our hostel owners it seemed like a ridiculous amount of money.  Thailand might be growing rich off tourism, but it is not even by any stretch of the imagination.

So here we are, on the bus again.  They served us a strange green drink that tasted like bubble gum.  Actually, there are a lot of weird herbal drinks here.  It is pointless trying to ask what they are, since the answers usually are something to the extent of “its an herb found in the mountains.”  Thanks, that is so helpful. 

Overall, Thailand has left me feeling warm and fuzzy.  Chiang Mai might be one big tourist trap, but it is the nicest tourist trap I have ever seen.  People were always nice and helpful, and in general were not trying to rip you off.  Except maybe the tuk tuks (auto rickshaws).  No one hawked products at you on the street.  No one creepily followed you.  And despite Marty’s warning, very few people expected tips, although we were sure to tip whenever it seemed appropriate. 

I am sad to leave Thailand.  It has restored my faith in humanity, which was much needed after walking through parts of India.  But we must keep moving forwards! Tomorrow we are off to Hong Kong

Good Night

Andrea

What Just Happened?

I haven’t blogged in a while.  I am out of practice.  And I have the colossal task of cramming 4 weeks and two cities into one blog post.  As I am writing this, I am on a bus driving from Bangkok to Chaing Mai for my fall break.  The story of why I am on a bus is a bit of an interesting one, but I think that will wait.  My next post will talk about Thailand.

So lets get started.  The unfortunate part about the last few weeks is that I really have not been keeping a record of what we have been doing.  Part of that is because it was really difficult to post blogs.  Part of it was because I was too busy playing hide and go seek and volley ball.  When we left ECC, there was a feeling among all of us of “What just happened?  Where did the time go?”                             

A typical day at the ECC consisted of waking up for 7:30 breakfast, then having an hour before class to shower and get ready.  We had an hour and a half of class, then tea break. Another hour of class, then lunch.  After lunch, if the kids were not in school we would play with them for two hours.  There were many days that they were not in school, either due to religious holidays (there are a lot of them) or because of the weekend (we usually had class on Saturdays, while they only had half days).  2:30 classes started up again until 4:30 tea.  After that we were free to play, or walk to the main street where there were stores that sold anything and everything.  There were also three major western malls that we visited a few times, either to shop or eat out when we were sick of Indian food.  Dinner at ECC was at 7:30, and the evening we spent in Dialog House, which acted as our dorm for the month. 

For the first three weeks, we mostly go to know mostly the younger kids and a couple of the men who came out to play soccer and volleyball with us.  Unlike previous years, the staff had been instructed not to invite us to their houses.  Likewise, we were the only ones at our meal times.  After Marty threw a fit about the visits (we had been told by past groups that home visitors were the best part of the trip), the ban was lifted.  But the staff was still skiddish about inviting us over.  I went over to houses a couple times in the first few weeks, but nowhere close to the almost daily visits that years past did.  Elena and Clarissa were the only exception.  Elena was adopted in the second week by Lihket’s family (lihkit was a 13 year old who played soccer and volleyball), and went over almost every day.  Clarissa befriended Jeb and the majority of the kitchen staff.

Then, in the last week, a few of the older girls came out.  They originally got together to do a Bollywood dance for cultural night, an annual event in which St. Olaf and ECC do a variety show.  Elena, who had met two of the girls (sisters of Lihkit), decided she wanted to dance too.  Andrew had gone into watch at the encouragement of Sam (a 13 years old who idolized Andrew.  Actually, all of the little boys idolized Andrew, and the girls flocked to me.  Working with kids over the summer has its advantages).  I was dragged in by Shesmika (8).  Other globalites wandered in, and soon half of the group was learning Lungi Dance (insert link).  Andrew and Elena would also learn another song (1234 Get on the Dance Floor).  Andrew began going over to Lihkit’s with Elena.  Then, after cultural night, I followed them.  Thus began a whirlwind three day friendship.  The next day was a study day before our final.  The three of us instead went to the mall with Lihkit, Hannah, Likha, and Socya.  We watch a pirated Chenni Express (one of the latest Bollywood films), and spent a lot of time at houses or on their street talking.  The night before we left, we stayed up until 3:30 in the morning, then got up to go to tea at 5:00am (we were leaving at 6:30). 

We left with a great deal of tears, both at ECC and again at the airport.  The worst part is thinking what could have been. What if we had been able to go over to the staff’s house right away?  What if the girls had come out sooner?  What if we had been given more of a chance to know the ECC staff sooner?  What if our classes were lined up with the school breaks, so we could play with the kids or hang out with the people our age, instead of being stuck in a classroom?  What if our classes were earlier, so we had more of an afternoon free?  I left ECC with the feeling that I had left something incomplete.  I would give almost anything to be able to redo our time at ECC.

This feeling and the stress of registering for classes colored my opinion of Delhi.  I spent the first evening there feeling sorry for myself.  We didn’t have anything planned, so most of us hung out in the lobby, talking and checking registration.  The next day we visited the Taj Mahal.  That was amazing.  It is one of those sites that you really do not appreciate until you are there.  We also visited the Agra fort, which also doubled as a royal palace.  The next day, we got a bus tour of Delhi.  Dehli is split into two parts: Old Delhi and New Delhi.  Don’t be confused; it is still only one city.  But the new part was built around 1911 by the British.  It’s wide boulevards and ample vegetation are proof of that.  It looks like it could be a “western” city.  It is in this part of the city that the government buildings reside.  Old Delhi is more reminiscent of the other big cities in India, with small alleyways and wires strung precariously between buildings.

The next day we flew for Bangkok for fall break.  But that is enough for now.  I will post about Thailand after break.

I would just like to talk a moment to recognize, here at the half way point of global, how incredibly fortunate I am to be traveling with the group that I am.  I was thinking last night, that if anything ever happened, I could trust and talk openly to anyone in the global group.  I don’t think that I have had that before.  I mean, usually there are people in a group that you trust, and people who are just kind of there.  Especially after our time at ECC, I feel like I am friends with everyone on global.  Not that they don’t drive me crazy daily.  But that comes with traveling with the same people for five months. 

Anyways, I am going to stop being sappy and try to get some sleep.

Night

Andrea