Here is what we did--carnations out of carrots. It seemed that the people with the thinnest slices of carrot had the best results. Mine sort of fell apart after I took a picture, but it was a hoot!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Thai fruit carving
Every Tuesday night there is a Thai fruit carving class right in my dorm. Basically, it is equivalent to a "residence life program," as we call them in Bowling Green. I didn’t make it last week for the tomatoes, or the week before when the apples transformed into swans. When I saw a picture of the swans, I decided to show up for class!
Here is what we did--carnations out of carrots. It seemed that the people with the thinnest slices of carrot had the best results. Mine sort of fell apart after I took a picture, but it was a hoot!
Here is what we did--carnations out of carrots. It seemed that the people with the thinnest slices of carrot had the best results. Mine sort of fell apart after I took a picture, but it was a hoot!
Friday, February 27, 2009
home away from home...
under the south tower, looking towards the north tower
north tower-dorms
view from south tower-19th floor balcony
“A tree trunk the size of a man grows from a blade as thin as a hair. A tower nine stories high is built from a small heap of earth.”
Lao Tzu
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Upgrade
I took these pictures on my way to pick up my student Octopus card for riding the MTR. Students get every single fare for half the price, which really adds up, and we have picture identified cards. I don’t mind if anybody knows I went from Kowloon Tong to Tsim Sha Tsui, but it's interesting how much data in general could be tracked. Seeing the MTR headquarters (which was a different occasion) made me think about IT on the planet Camazotz. A Wrinkle in Time sure was a great book. Hehe, food for thought.
It has been really hazy here the last few days..and it sure is getting humid!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The case of the yuanxiao dumpling
Not too much new to report here...I was a little lethargic last weekend due to feeling a bit sick and a book that sucked up my attention. It all started after eating a sesame filled dumpling in red bean soup--called a yuanxiao dumpling or 粽子. We had a floor party celebrating a holiday for the mainland students, and this was the traditional snack served.
Basically, we’re talking black sesame powder inside of sticky rice flour, all floating in a bowl of red bean soup. Here is a photo I found online...looks appetizing, huh?
Here is the recipe if you actually think so:
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/r/yuanxiao.htm
(sorry, dear reader, I tried and failed to insert the link properly)
Thankfully, both the nausea and the book are history..hahaha. So maybe this weekend will yield greater returns. Oh no, that phrase made me think of accounting--midterms in 2 weeks!
Well, there are two new photos to share:
Inside Kowloon City Plaza
I know I already posted a pic from my room, but the sky was purple!
Basically, we’re talking black sesame powder inside of sticky rice flour, all floating in a bowl of red bean soup. Here is a photo I found online...looks appetizing, huh?
Here is the recipe if you actually think so:
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/r/yuanxiao.htm
(sorry, dear reader, I tried and failed to insert the link properly)
Thankfully, both the nausea and the book are history..hahaha. So maybe this weekend will yield greater returns. Oh no, that phrase made me think of accounting--midterms in 2 weeks!
Well, there are two new photos to share:
Inside Kowloon City Plaza
I know I already posted a pic from my room, but the sky was purple!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Macau
With the weather still being cool, and a free day to make plans, Liana and I decided to take the one-hour ferry to Macau and see what we could see. Technically speaking, we left Hong Kong (passport stamping involved). Upon arrival we found a tourist information center and picked up a few pamphlets to browse though and plan our day. I’m pretty sure half of Liana’s info ended up being in Portuguese, which was humorous.
We decided on 5 spots that looked interesting, and got on bus 28C. This one looked like it would go near the Templo Kun Iam, which was the first place on our list. Here is the thing about the buses. Even if you know where you want off, it’s basically impossible to know the number off stops the bus will make first, and when is the right time to ring the buzzer and get off in the desired location. Only the main stops are listed, and there are tons of little stations everywhere. We basically just guessed and got off. After lunch at an unnamed restaurant franchise that is the epitome of globalization, we found some street signs and navigated our way to the temple. I was surprised to walk under the incense coils and see that they were actually burning on the ends.
We decided not to brave the bus again, and walked to the next destination, Jandim Lou Lim Ioc. This was a lovely garden in the city, and certainly a haven for those who live in the hustle and bustle every day. I saw several people meditating and making the most of the atmosphere. This was my favorite stop of the day!
Next, we walked to the Guia fortress, near the center of the city. The view was spectacular from the top. We sat down for a minute to look at the map and decided that the next stop looked a bit far away, and that some of the streets were not labeled. We decided a taxi ride would be nice, and I proceeded to hail a taxi for the first time ever. The map I had was nifty because I could point to the destination in English, and the Cantonese version was right next to it. The driver took us to the Ruin’s of St. Pauls Cathedral. This was an interesting stop, and there was a room underneath called the Museum of sacred art that struck my fancy.
View from the ruin's of St. Paul's
Liana and I were able to continue on the walking journey, and we arrived at Senado Square, a very popular tourist attraction! I bought a tea (no idea what it was called) and it tasted like rose water, which surprised me…I think I liked it? A group of kids asked if they could interview me for a class project, and we had a little chat about the Chinese New Year festivities. Will I celebrate the New Year back home?? Well yes, but I doubt I will get any red packets…
The light was fading and the twinkle lights over Senado square where pretty grand. I have always been a fan of twinkling ambience. We stayed for a while and then decided that we were ready to find our way back to the East side of Macau for the ferry terminal. This meant another bus ride, but we picked the right one and our location was really easy to spot, so everything went fine. A very enjoyable day!
Kung Hei Fat Choi!
As an addition to make this post even looonger, I enjoyed going to Bro. Rodney and Sis. Grace Ralee’s house for church last Sunday. My friend Wendy (from HK and currently living in Ohio) knew them and gave me the contact info. Hong Kong is surprisingly safe, and I knew I would be just fine on a Sunday morning with angels by my side, but it still took me a while before I felt comfortable enough to travel there alone. I rode the MTR and then took a minibus to get there. Bro. Rodney told me in his email where to get off, and I searched online to see exactly what stops I would be skipping (a bit easier in HK), and the approx. time of the drive. You can never be too prepared, right?
We sang Amazing Grace and a few other songs, and Sister Grace played the piano beautifully. The Ralee’s 6 year old son sat in the front and changed the power point words while singing with enthusiasm, and his 7 year old sister sat beside him and kept looking over at me. It was cute. During the sermon, Brother Sam stood off to the side and translated into Cantonese.
After church everyone was sweet and hospitable and they said typically they serve lunch, but the kids had a Tae Kwon Do performance that afternoon. After fellowshipping for a while, Bro. Ralee walked me back to the bus stop and waited till I was safely on my way, which is always a good thing. The Ralee's are currently out of town for two weeks, but now that I know how to get there, I want to go back!
We decided on 5 spots that looked interesting, and got on bus 28C. This one looked like it would go near the Templo Kun Iam, which was the first place on our list. Here is the thing about the buses. Even if you know where you want off, it’s basically impossible to know the number off stops the bus will make first, and when is the right time to ring the buzzer and get off in the desired location. Only the main stops are listed, and there are tons of little stations everywhere. We basically just guessed and got off. After lunch at an unnamed restaurant franchise that is the epitome of globalization, we found some street signs and navigated our way to the temple. I was surprised to walk under the incense coils and see that they were actually burning on the ends.
We decided not to brave the bus again, and walked to the next destination, Jandim Lou Lim Ioc. This was a lovely garden in the city, and certainly a haven for those who live in the hustle and bustle every day. I saw several people meditating and making the most of the atmosphere. This was my favorite stop of the day!
Next, we walked to the Guia fortress, near the center of the city. The view was spectacular from the top. We sat down for a minute to look at the map and decided that the next stop looked a bit far away, and that some of the streets were not labeled. We decided a taxi ride would be nice, and I proceeded to hail a taxi for the first time ever. The map I had was nifty because I could point to the destination in English, and the Cantonese version was right next to it. The driver took us to the Ruin’s of St. Pauls Cathedral. This was an interesting stop, and there was a room underneath called the Museum of sacred art that struck my fancy.
View from the ruin's of St. Paul's
Liana and I were able to continue on the walking journey, and we arrived at Senado Square, a very popular tourist attraction! I bought a tea (no idea what it was called) and it tasted like rose water, which surprised me…I think I liked it? A group of kids asked if they could interview me for a class project, and we had a little chat about the Chinese New Year festivities. Will I celebrate the New Year back home?? Well yes, but I doubt I will get any red packets…
The light was fading and the twinkle lights over Senado square where pretty grand. I have always been a fan of twinkling ambience. We stayed for a while and then decided that we were ready to find our way back to the East side of Macau for the ferry terminal. This meant another bus ride, but we picked the right one and our location was really easy to spot, so everything went fine. A very enjoyable day!
Kung Hei Fat Choi!
As an addition to make this post even looonger, I enjoyed going to Bro. Rodney and Sis. Grace Ralee’s house for church last Sunday. My friend Wendy (from HK and currently living in Ohio) knew them and gave me the contact info. Hong Kong is surprisingly safe, and I knew I would be just fine on a Sunday morning with angels by my side, but it still took me a while before I felt comfortable enough to travel there alone. I rode the MTR and then took a minibus to get there. Bro. Rodney told me in his email where to get off, and I searched online to see exactly what stops I would be skipping (a bit easier in HK), and the approx. time of the drive. You can never be too prepared, right?
We sang Amazing Grace and a few other songs, and Sister Grace played the piano beautifully. The Ralee’s 6 year old son sat in the front and changed the power point words while singing with enthusiasm, and his 7 year old sister sat beside him and kept looking over at me. It was cute. During the sermon, Brother Sam stood off to the side and translated into Cantonese.
After church everyone was sweet and hospitable and they said typically they serve lunch, but the kids had a Tae Kwon Do performance that afternoon. After fellowshipping for a while, Bro. Ralee walked me back to the bus stop and waited till I was safely on my way, which is always a good thing. The Ralee's are currently out of town for two weeks, but now that I know how to get there, I want to go back!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Lantau Island
Yesterday, Liana and I decided to explore Lantau Island and finally see the “Big Buddha.” We got all the way to the Island riding the MTR and then headed right around the corner from the station to get in line for the Ngong Ping Cable Car ride. This was a 25-minute ride over beautiful scenery up into the mountains. (Your computer screen isn't dirty, it was the glass window =)The 85-foot high Tian Tan Buddha statue appeared in the distance and we were soon back on solid ground and ready to explore. After some spaghetti, which was delicious by the way, we followed the crowd and started ascending Buddha’s steps.
My final paper in a “history of architecture” class entailed researching "ascendance" in both the ancient and modern world. I was definitely aware of the effects of such a grand staircase while I was the little tourist climbing up. Besides the function of being stairs, there was aesthetic and religious meaning embedded in the journey.
The view from the platform at the back of the statue was stunning. The South China Sea was in the distance, and little islands appeared in the haze as the horizon faded into the sky. I had one of those moments where everything sort of stops, and I just stood there and took it all in. Truly Beautiful.We also went to the Po Lin Monastery and checked that out, but I can’t really think of anything to blog about for that stop…
When we were ready to return to Tung Chung on the cable car, the line wrapped through the street and a sign at the end said, “approximate queuing time from here to boarding--60 minutes.” We got in line and pretty soon after a guy walked by with a sign for the express line, where you volunteer to stand up for the whole ride. The wait time was 5-10 minutes!! After a wee bit of coercion I convinced Liana that it would be totally worth it, and it was! We didn’t get a chance to go to Tai O, on the NW side of the island. This town is famous for being a fishing town with a bunch of stilt houses. So, we have a reason to go back to Lantau Island!
As a small edit to a previous blog...there are no llama's on Lamma Island. I spelled it like the animal =D
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The year of the ox
My friend Celia is one of the student ambassadors for HKBU who picked international students up at the airport, and helped us feel welcome. She sent a text to some of us yesterday, and it reads:
Happy Chinese Lunar New Year! “Kung Hei Fat Choi” is a phrase that we use to say to each other most frequently in the new year, it means “Hope you can be rich in all aspects”, now I give this phrase to you with my best wishes =)
So there you have it, “Kung Hei Fat Choi.” If you fold your hands together in front of you and raise them slightly up and down while saying the phrase, you can pull it off. Traditionally, little children are given small red packets with a newly minted coin inside. I was given two!! Although, my coins were chocolate=)
Last night I went to the Chinese New Year parade. I read online that a front row viewing requires a 2-hour early arrival! My group got there about 1.5 hours before the parade, and I was in about the fourth row, give or take some elbows. By the time the parade started, there was a sea of people and I had been standing on the same little square of concrete for what seemed like a very long time. My last memory like this was when our 43rd President stopped in the Troy square and said hello during his “four more years” campaign. After an hour and a half of parade viewing (we are at 3 hours here folks) Whitney was ready to call it a day AND talking about herself in third person. Crowds have never been her favorite way to pass the time.
The parade started from the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and ended up at the New World Centre, which she was directly across from. Ok, ok, I’ll stop that. There were some cool drummers that marched by, and quite a few interesting floats and such.
Tonight continued the festivities with fireworks near the harbor. Again, there was quite a crowd, but not as crazy as the night before, since people weren’t pushing to see. I am still not used to the aggressive ways of the city. People walk straight towards me and I feel like I am always getting out of their way. Some has to yield or there will be a collision!
The rows behind me at the beginning of the parade.
Herding into the MTR station after the fireworks.
Happy Chinese Lunar New Year! “Kung Hei Fat Choi” is a phrase that we use to say to each other most frequently in the new year, it means “Hope you can be rich in all aspects”, now I give this phrase to you with my best wishes =)
So there you have it, “Kung Hei Fat Choi.” If you fold your hands together in front of you and raise them slightly up and down while saying the phrase, you can pull it off. Traditionally, little children are given small red packets with a newly minted coin inside. I was given two!! Although, my coins were chocolate=)
Last night I went to the Chinese New Year parade. I read online that a front row viewing requires a 2-hour early arrival! My group got there about 1.5 hours before the parade, and I was in about the fourth row, give or take some elbows. By the time the parade started, there was a sea of people and I had been standing on the same little square of concrete for what seemed like a very long time. My last memory like this was when our 43rd President stopped in the Troy square and said hello during his “four more years” campaign. After an hour and a half of parade viewing (we are at 3 hours here folks) Whitney was ready to call it a day AND talking about herself in third person. Crowds have never been her favorite way to pass the time.
The parade started from the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and ended up at the New World Centre, which she was directly across from. Ok, ok, I’ll stop that. There were some cool drummers that marched by, and quite a few interesting floats and such.
Tonight continued the festivities with fireworks near the harbor. Again, there was quite a crowd, but not as crazy as the night before, since people weren’t pushing to see. I am still not used to the aggressive ways of the city. People walk straight towards me and I feel like I am always getting out of their way. Some has to yield or there will be a collision!
The rows behind me at the beginning of the parade.
Herding into the MTR station after the fireworks.
Friday, January 23, 2009
The museum and the black hole
There are no classes this coming week due to the Chinese New Year holidays! I’m hoping to do a bit of traveling and go on day trips to Macau, Lantao Island, and maybe Ocean Park to see the pandas!
Today marked my first museum visit in HK. The Hong Kong Museum of Art had collections of Chinese fine art, Chinese antiquities, Contemporary Hong Kong art, and a gallery of Chinese painting and calligraphy. After getting in for the student price of about 3 US quarters, Liana and I headed to the fourth floor and worked our way down. It was interesting to see things from the Tang, Qing, and Shang dynasties. This art museum was very different from ones I have been to in the past. There were no impressionistic paintings and no Mark Rothko or Picasso to be seen. We enjoyed soaking up this different sort of history and culture.
I must admit we weren't all that thrilled by some of the modern art. Sometimes, it takes a special kind of person to really appreciate strange sculptures, and a dark room with eerie music and a film of a tiger walking around on all four walls. Oh goodness. There was one room in the modern art exhibit that really struck me though. The walls, floor, and ceiling were white, and there was a bit of a “black light” glow in the room. The only thing on a wall was at the far end, and was a dark tunnel looking sculpture that extended inward past the wall, ending in a small dark hole. I felt like it was sucking me in--a rather strange feeling. Plus I wanted to stick my hand in the hole; I wonder if any museum patrons have tried.
Check this out--I am getting technologically savvy and putting titles right by the photos =)
The Museum-go figure..
A street view-notice the 7-eleven, they are everywhere!
Decorations for the Chinese New Year
Today marked my first museum visit in HK. The Hong Kong Museum of Art had collections of Chinese fine art, Chinese antiquities, Contemporary Hong Kong art, and a gallery of Chinese painting and calligraphy. After getting in for the student price of about 3 US quarters, Liana and I headed to the fourth floor and worked our way down. It was interesting to see things from the Tang, Qing, and Shang dynasties. This art museum was very different from ones I have been to in the past. There were no impressionistic paintings and no Mark Rothko or Picasso to be seen. We enjoyed soaking up this different sort of history and culture.
I must admit we weren't all that thrilled by some of the modern art. Sometimes, it takes a special kind of person to really appreciate strange sculptures, and a dark room with eerie music and a film of a tiger walking around on all four walls. Oh goodness. There was one room in the modern art exhibit that really struck me though. The walls, floor, and ceiling were white, and there was a bit of a “black light” glow in the room. The only thing on a wall was at the far end, and was a dark tunnel looking sculpture that extended inward past the wall, ending in a small dark hole. I felt like it was sucking me in--a rather strange feeling. Plus I wanted to stick my hand in the hole; I wonder if any museum patrons have tried.
Check this out--I am getting technologically savvy and putting titles right by the photos =)
The Museum-go figure..
A street view-notice the 7-eleven, they are everywhere!
Decorations for the Chinese New Year
Monday, January 19, 2009
Labels
My brother inquired about a photo I took of some citrus fruit on Llama Island, and I didn’t know what it was. Well, at the store I saw a package of them (labeled Kam Quat) for sale. I figured I would try it for $11.3…and before you think I am an extravagant spender, remember this is HK$. It’s equivalent to about $1.46 US after conversion. I still have sticker shock--$100?!! Oh, that’s about 13 bucks.
The interesting thing is that a friend told me to eat the peel. Apparently, it is so thin that it doesn’t have that strong taste like an orange peel. After washing the fruit in water we are allowed to brush our teeth with (but are advised not to drink) I gave it a try. I can affirm that eating the entire thing is pretty good. As far as the water situation goes, there is a purifier in the lounge on each floor—so I’m set for liquidation.
On a different note, I learned today in International Business that Coca-Cola translates in Mandarin into two symbols, which mean “delicious” and “makes you happy.” The sound is roughly ho-how, ho-low. This was a fantastic brand name to choose and a great marketing scheme when created. Most brands get lost in translation.
The interesting thing is that a friend told me to eat the peel. Apparently, it is so thin that it doesn’t have that strong taste like an orange peel. After washing the fruit in water we are allowed to brush our teeth with (but are advised not to drink) I gave it a try. I can affirm that eating the entire thing is pretty good. As far as the water situation goes, there is a purifier in the lounge on each floor—so I’m set for liquidation.
On a different note, I learned today in International Business that Coca-Cola translates in Mandarin into two symbols, which mean “delicious” and “makes you happy.” The sound is roughly ho-how, ho-low. This was a fantastic brand name to choose and a great marketing scheme when created. Most brands get lost in translation.
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