Kung Fu

Neo: I know Kung Fu.
Sophie: So do I.

OK, so maybe I don't really know Kung Fu quite yet, but the last two nights I have been going to Kung Fu classes organised by IASP and taught by the brilliant Shane Yan. I really enjoyed it - so much so that I have signed up for 6 weeks of classes! I've never been really interested in martial arts (apart from my love of the the Matrix movies) and so when I signed up for just the 3-evening short course, my only thought was that it would be good exercise. But Shane is a great teacher, and we use a little bit of Mandarin in class (just for greetings and counting the moves and for some positions) so it feels good to hear and use the little Mandarin I remember. It's weird how, even though I can hardly speak or read any Mandarin, after listening to it twice a week for ten years in school, it feels far more comfortable than Cantonese, which I listen to every day.

The exchange program at CUHK - the International Asian Studies Program - is really REALLY well organised. Although before you arrive here it might seem like they are really slow to process documents and then they require a hundred things from you in a week, once you arrive it's a different story. There are free tours organised during the Orientation Week (the trip to Stanley I wrote about also included stops at Victoria Peak, Aberdeen and Avenue of Stars), but all through the semester the people in the i-Centre who run the IASP send you emails about upcoming events and opportunities and tours and all sorts of other good things. There has been a trip to the Hong Kong History Museum, and a trip to the Hong Kong Museum of Art (Warhol's 15 Minutes Eternal was showing). This short-course Kung Fu was $200 for 3 1hr lessons. On Saturday I'm going on an excursion to the 'Big Budda and Tai O Village', with Vegetarian Lunch included, for just $175. For me, this set up of having lots of things organised by someone else and letting me pick and choose the activities I want to try is FANTASTIC! I don't have the time or the inclination to search out the best yoga studios in the city, or where to hire the cheapest bike etc - but note that if you DO want to do these things, chances are other students in the IASP program would want to do it (we are all part of a Facebook group, so every day there are new requests by students asking if anyone knows where is the best place is to do certain sports or activities).

So, all in all, things are going well here. My 5 subjects have been finalised and I'm into a routine of going to classes, studying, seeing friends, and doing activities that I can remember as: I did that in Hong Kong.

Veggie Dinners - Harvester

Friday nights are now Vegetarian Restaurant Night. Emilia is our proud, fearless leader, and we follow her to wherever she recommends in Hong Kong's meat-free landscape.

Last week we went to Harvester, a self-serve buffet-style, vegetarian/free trade/organic, Chinese/Western restaurant in Sheung Wan where you load up your plate with whatever you like and pay per 100g.

Pros: The food is really great! Look here and here for reviews. Also there is unlimited soup, rice and congee that you help yourself to after you have paid for your main plate, so you definitely won't go hungry.

This was my meal, and it cost $75. Not bad at all.

Cons: The chairs are pretty uncomfortable. You don't notice it when you first sit down, but by the time you've finished eating and are feeling happy and content with the world from all the delicious food, you realise your bum's gone to sleep.

Although the people in the shop don't speak much English, they are very accommodating. When the 11 of us filed in the front doors (we had a lot of interest for Veggie Dinner this week!) they immediately started pushing tables together for us.

There is apparently also the option to have a hotpot if you have a large group of people, but we only know this because a group of elderly people sitting at the table next to us were eating this. However none of the reviews I've read on the Internet have mentioned this. Next time we plan to go with a Cantonese speaker!

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Here's the thing. I LOVE food, but I'm not a 'foodie'. If it doesn't taste awful or too ridiculously bland, I'll just eat it and say it was a nice meal. I'm not going to write reviews of restaurants because there are enough people out there on Foursquare etc who have already done this and can do it far better than me. I'm just going to write where I've eaten, and any comments I have about the restaurant.

Breakfast

Just wanted to share with you my typical breakfast, all purchased from the Park N Shop supermarket on campus: normally fruit, yoghurt and crackers with nutella or peanut butter (they only have Skippy brand).

Bananas, oranges, mandarins, about 5 kinds of apples, red grapes, dragonfruit and a few kinds of pear are available at the Park N Shop, and depending on the day/time of day, with varying degrees of quality. Note: you won't find bananas after 6pm - they sell out pretty quick. Also at the supermarket, every shelf has a little flag on it to show you where the product is from if it is imported, so if you are really picky about your food and where it comes from, at least that helps.

Also, as cute as these little milk cartons look, note they are not vanilla flavour, or malt flavour - they are plain soymilk. I had bought the same brand in a brown pack before, and it was chocolate soy milk, so I guess I just thought all that brand was flavoured. But plain soymilk as a snack? It just isn't to my taste.

Normally I buy a few days supply of breakfast, but the supermarket is open every day until 9pm or 11pm, so it's pretty convenient if you have just finished your homework and have a craving for pistachios or chocolate milk.

Shopping in Mong Kok

Although most exchange students would rate Lan Kwai Fong,  Causeway Bay or Wan Chai as the best areas (read: party areas) in Hong Kong, I'm completely sold on the charms of crowded, smoggy, lively Mong Kok.

Case in point - Aussie Kitchens. On Australia Day. Just made me smile.

There is even an ANZ branch!

Courtesy of Google, below is a Mong Kok area map. Note that there are two separate train stations - Mong Kok and Mong Kok East. A walk between the two will only take about 10-15 minutes, but that's not taking into account the busy-ness of the streets. Mong Kok Exit C4 is actually inside Langham Place (shopping centre) - helpful if it is raining and you don't want to get wet.

View Larger Map

The first night I arrived in Hong Kong I came to Mong Kok for dinner with John and his friends, and after just a few visits now I feel like I really know the place. Today I went shopping with my friend Heilie, an Aussie-raised Hong Konger who I first met when I started studying Japanese at Adelaide Uni's PCE. She's finishing her PhD in pharmacology, and spending the next month with her family in Hong Kong. 

Having a snack at Hui Lau Shan, Argyle St.

A few notes first.

1. A large number of shops, actually I'd say the majority of shops, don't open until 2pm on Saturdays.

If you want to act like a tourist and only shop in the shops that can afford the prime real estate that is THE GROUND FLOOR, (Chow Sang Sang for jewellery, Broadway for phones etc) then by all means, turn up in the morning. But note that even H&M in Langham Place doesn't open until 11am on Saturdays. Most of the shops in places like Sino Centre and Argyle Centre don't open until 2pm, so don't worry about waking up early to go shopping and avoiding crowds. It just isn't going to happen in Hong Kong.

2. Do not wear open-toe sandals or thongs. Your feet WILL get run over by heavy suitcases. Confused? Let me explain. Imagine every 3rd person is wheeling a suitcase or large bag etc around with them - in the shops too. THIS happens in HK because lots of Mainland Chinese come to HK on the train to shop for the day, and as they shop, they just fill up their suitcase. I went to Sasa to buy some eye make-up remover (Sasa is kind of like National Pharmacies, but sells 90% make-up) and I saw no less than 4 people with large-size wheelie suitcases totally blocking the aisles wherever they walked. Heilie said that the Chinese like to come to Sasa because they know the cosmetics sold there are not fake versions of the brands.

Where else did we go?

Sino Centre (aka: Otaku heaven) where you can buy Japanese manga in Chinese (traditional characters). Apparently there are two publishers, one based in Hong Kong and one based in Taiwan, and Heilie's verdict is that the Taiwanese produce better translations. One day I'm sure I'll be able to form my own opinion too.... one day! In Sino Centre you'll find lots of CD shops, figurine shops, trading-card shops, hair accessory shops, phone accessory shops etc. Essentially its pop-culture central. I bought this nifty Shinee-themed MP3 player for $150. 

It holds 2GB of songs and is light as a feather. Because my iPod died a while ago I've been playing my songs on my phone, but it does make the battery drain quicker. Now, problem solvered! The place had a zillion designs to choose from - 2PM, Super Junior, DBSK, JYJ, SNSD, AKB48, Lee Min Ho, Nickhun (but no Woo Young, sadly) etc, plus a lot of Japanese pin-up girls in suggestive poses. 

Snack #2 was a happy-looking red-bean bun from Bread Talk.

We also went to Muji in Langham Place for stationary (the shop has Japanese stationary, bedlinen, furniture, clothes, organic snack food and cosmetics, but it is all so seamlessly laid out that it feels totally normal).

And to H&M. I really really hate clothes shopping, but at H&M it seems bearable, and I really like the style (plus everything is comparatively cheap). But note that the lines for the changeroom can be up to 20 people long, so either get there as soon as it opens, or buy lots of things and try them on at home. 

Drinks, ladders, plants

Just a few observations I wanted to record before heading to my Semantics tutorial.

Vending Machines are pretty plentiful around campus, not only inside the buildings, but also outside (like this one outside Sir Run Run Shaw Hall). But it seems that MOST vending machines only dispense drinks (both hot and cold), not food. The only one with food I've seen so far is in the Maurice Greenberg building of Morningside College, which has chips, chocolate and cup noodles. Maybe I should make a list of the locations of all food vending machines....
Oh, and most vending machines take Octopus Card. 

Moving on to ladders. This isn't really CUHK-specific, but growing up in Australia where few people live in apartments, ladders such as these (with the cage around them) was something I only saw on American TV. My question: why is there a cage around the ladder?

(Picture: behind the Y. C. Liang Hall)

Finally, greenery. One thing to love about HK is that wherever there is the tiniest bit of space for a tree, shrub or potted plant, there will be a tree, shrub or potted plant! For example, between two power-generation-machine-things to the right of Y. C Liang Hall.

And at Hong Kong University too! (photo courtesy of Aleksis)

Burns Night

There is a tradition at Morningside College of holding a 'Burns Night' in honor of Scottish poet Robert Burns during the week of his birthday. Last night, Master of the College and Head Scot, Professor Sir James Mirrlees read Selkirk Grace (with a beautiful Scottish lilt) before an Asian man in a kilt playing the bagpipes performed the "Piping-in of the Haggis". Seriously. The bagpipes were played, and the haggis was rolled in on a silver platter by the chef. (Well done to John for capturing the moment, as it all happened so fast!)

An extract from the Address to the Haggis was then read, then we toasted the Haggis. Then we ate the haggis (with mushed carrot and mushed potato-cauliflour).

Well, most people did. They also served fish with vegetables, plus the table staples of rice and soup (last night was regular Asian-style chicken soup. More on irregular Asian-style chicken soup to come!)

For the third out of four nights my vegetarian meal was... pasta! But sadly it was not Scottish-themed. So far I've had spaghetti in napoletana sauce, spirali in yellow curry (that was interesting) and penne in napoletana-with-broccoli-and-carrot-chunks. I'm not complaining. The serving is huge and my food is never cold (unlike some of the regular meals that can take a while to get to your table and become cold in the process).

We also had two of the resident professors give speeches - Professor Simon Haines spoke of Robert Burns and his achievements (both literary and... extra-curricular) and Professor Colin Graham - who actually grew up 8 miles from Burns' hometown - read To a Mouse. We were given a program:

And in the program there was a copy of the poem in its original form (as it was read on the night), plus a "Standard English Translation".
Anyone who has ever read Burns and tried to figure out what 'skeekit', 'whyles', 'daimen' and 'cranreuch' means will appreciate the gesture.

We then all stood up and sang Auld Lang Syne (again, the verses were in the program, and some of us sang more heartily than others!) then it was trifle for dessert.

I thought the whole occasion was thoroughly enjoyable! The case for Morningside College being the best of the residential colleges is, in my opinion, getting stronger by the day... but I won't give my final analysis until I've lived here for at least one month.

Bad Morning

Sometimes you have a bad morning. The bus driver closes the door on you while you are getting out and you get squished and he barely lets out a 'sorry' before driving off and you know you will get a huge black bruise on your thigh (and it still really hurts!).
And then you get totally confused about where the English Department is because you are standing in Leung Kau Kui when you want to be in Lee Shau Kee (the buildings are next door to each other).
And then you trip down two stairs and get scared and the person at the bottom of the stairs on their phone laughs at you.

This is the map I have to work with.