Greetings from Bangkok!!

Hey guys!

I landed in Bangkok last night! I'm staying in Bangkok until Friday morning, then we're going to Ko Samet (island off Thailand's coast) and staying there until Saturday, then coming back to Bangkok for my roomate's ex-girlfriend's friend's birthday party, then leaving town Sunday afternoon! This is gonna be a fun trip! I'm with the usual Asian crew that I roll with in Hong Kong, so I'm with good company. And we're staying at a Marriott Courtyard, which looks either brand new or newly-renovated, and has a funky, youthful contemporary decor! And our room is huuuuuuge, largely because we got a nice hookup from my roomate's ex-girlfriend's friend who's a Sales Coordinator for the property! So I can get my Hotelie networking game on a lil' bit if I want...

To those of you who don't know, Thailand is extremely hot! Like Miami in the heat of the summer hot, plus slightly higher temperatures and a lil' extra humidity! Actually, now that I think of it, Bangkok reminds me of Miami, because of its urban sprawl with clusters of office buildings/condos, low-rise buildings in most places, tropical scenery, and an elevated train. So far I'm feeling Thailand, even though as in Hong Kong, it's hard for me to find kicks my size! I had to settle for a pair of classic beige Chucks, which is a good look at 890 baht ($29-30 US), but it's rough when you go to a CONVERSE store, see all kinds of limited-edition and Jack Purcells and crap, and then told that because of your shoe size, you have about 3 options to choose from! It's hard out here for a pimp, real talk! But I figured, it's nice to have a classic, all-American pair of kicks in my sneaker collection....

Don't expect many blogs this week! Internet access for me will be kind of limited, and mostly restricted to checking emails! Unless, of course, you wanna slip me some bahts....

Peace

Going 2 Thailand! (N' Everybody's Jealous)

So I sit here in front of my computer, attempting to complete my long-ass Putonghua (Mandarin) HW assignment...

I'd thought I should tell you guys, I'm going to Thailand in two weeks, from March 17th-23rd!!! We're going to Bangkok for the first few days, and then we're spending two days in Ko Samet, an island off the coast that's 2.5 hours away from the city. My roommate's ex-girlfriend has a house over there, so we're gonna crash there and just chill. And in Bangkok, we're staying at a Marriott Courtyard for cheap! The amount that I'm gonna spend for accommodations amounts to around $115 US! Ok, there's gonna be 3 other heads in the room, but that's still an excellent deal! As you guys can already figure out, I can't wait!

I'm also trying to make plans for Singapore and possibly Tokyo. I'll keep ya'll posted...

Useful Background Knowledge

Hey guys,

When I write my blogs I will often to refer to things as Cantonese or as Mandarin, then other things as simply Chinese. Some of you may not know what I'm talking about exactly, so let me provide some brief background knowledge. I am in Hong Kong, China. Hong Kong used to be a British colony, but was handed back over to China in 1997. Ok. But Hong Kong remains a automonous region of China, so HK has its own curriencies, legal system, the whole nine yards. AND they drive on the left, which indicates previous British imperialism. So when I refer to mainland China, I am NOT referring to Hong Kong. I'm referring to the big ass country that you see on the map.

Ok. So, the official dialect of China (mainland China) is Mandarin. The Chinese language has several, several dialects, and Mandarin was made the standard dialect that all of mainland China should speak, in addition to their native dialect. Now, as I said, there are mad dialects in China. In fact, each province may have its own distinct dialect. The dialect that I will focus on now is Cantonese. Cantonese is the dialect native to the Guangdong (Canton) province in southern China. Now, this happens to be the very province that Hong Kong is in, technically. So, Hong Kong people are Cantonese in origin (mostly) and speak Cantonese.

Ok. So, when the Communist party took over China, they made Mandarin the official dialect. This meant that all provinces had to acquire Mandarin as well as their own dialects, if that wasn't the case already. So, people in the Guangdong province know Mandarin and Cantonese, even though they are Cantonese and NOT Mandarin. Now this is where HK's unique status comes in. Since Hong Kong was always a British colony, the official languages were always Cantonese and English. HK is geographically in the Guangdong Province, but the Communist gov't, of course, had no jurisdiction over Hong Kong.

But now, Mandarin is being pushed more and more as a language to learn in Hong Kong. Of course this is so, as Hong Kong is China now and Mandarin is China's language. You may not want to admit it, but this post has helped clarify a lot for some of you readers...

Thee Countries in One Day

Thought you had to be in Europe to experience three countries in less than 24 hours? Think again! Today I went from Hong Kong to Macau, then to mainland China, back to Macau, then back to Hong Kong. Ok, all three locations are technically part of the People's Republic of China. But, as Hong Kong and Macau are considered "Special Administrative Regions" of China, they have their own passport/visa requirements and currencies, and you have to go through customs to go back and forth.

We took a late morning ferry out from Hong Kong (Tsim Sha Tsui) to Macau. Ferries are the usual mode of transport from HK to Macau, and they run at least every half hour, from early until after midnight. The ride was approximately an hour long. Once we arrived, we met up with my friend's dad who basically showed us around the city. We started with the Fisherman's Wharf, which was cool and cheesy at the same time because it had replicas of architecture from different places, such as Trinidad, Amsterdam, New Orleans, and Africa somewhere. All in all, not that serious. Then we walked around the modern part of the city for a bit, which was quite dead, despite Macau's reputation as a gambling capital. Macau's "downtown" kind of reminds me of Kowloon in Hong Kong, without the beautiful mountains in the background. We went to this random local restaurant which is supposed to have the city's best barbecued pork, chicken and duck. One thing I wanted to do in Macau was explore its unique cuisine, which has Portuguese as well as Cantonese elements. I did not get to do that today, unfortunately, as lunch was great, yet standard Chinese. However, I WILL find a restaurant that has what I'm looking for next time.

After we filled up on good barbecue, we explored the older, colonial part of the city, which was a goal of mine that I did accomplish today. Since most of Hong Kong is so tall and new, it felt good to see a change in scenery. I guess that the neighborhood resembles old Portugal, as they were the ones to colonize Macau. Speaking of which, every sign in the city reads in English, Chinese, as well as Portuguese. But what's funny is that most everybody there is Cantonese, and Cantonese is all I heard on the streets. We went to this historical fort building and this other building and blah blah blah. Then my friend's dad gave us the bright idea (no sarcasm) to go to mainland China! Macau sits directly across the border from Zhuhai, China (pronounced Ju-hoy), and a free bus shuttle from any of the casino hotels will get you right to the border entry. We went through Macau's customs AND China's customs and there we were. Right off the bat I knew we were in mainland China. After spending two weeks there and then coming back to HK, I've come to realize that mainland cities just have a particular look to them that's hard to really explain unless you can relate. It could be the open squares and wide streets that definitely characterize Beijing more than anything else. Or maybe its the disorganized, chaotic, haphazard traffic. Hong Kong has heavy traffic and drivers that drive really fast, but at least you can look at the traffic and tell that they follow strict traffic rules. Not so in mainland. Oh, and only in mainland China will ladies holding little kids follow you around asking for money. In fact, that's pretty ubiquitous in mainland cities, as I've come to realize. My friend's dad told us that it's all a business, and that the kids are usually borrowed so that unaware pedestrians gain sympathy for the beggars. Damn, and I thought Harlem people made hustles out of everything. Maybe they have (or had) the crack game on lock, but the Chinese can outhustle anyone anyday. Real talk.

In Zhuhai we went to a seafood restaurant that was nothing like your average seafood restaurant. You don't choose what you want from the menu; instead, you buy what you want from seafood vendors outside. Then you come into the restaurant and tell them how you want everything cooked. Pretty gully, isn't it? We had prawns, razor clams, more types of clams, steamed fish, crab legs, and chicken (??). And I chipped my tooth from biting on that damn chicken! Seriously man, I lost 1/2 of my tooth! That was the tooth in the back that needed that root canal; I guess ain't no need for that no more! And the fact that it broke so easily proves that it was seriously a dead tooth. But damn, I have to figure out what I'm going to do about the fact that I lost half my tooth...

Once we were full and merry we crossed the border back into Macau. We went over to the Venetian because we've always wanted to scope it out. Not for the gambling though. I hope this statement won't bit me in the a** a few years later, but I don't have a real desire to gamble at casinos. Losing money ain't cool, unless it's at the kitchen table with your grandmother and aunt and you know that the few dollar bills you lost during pitty-pat (card game) will come back to you in the form of food, financial aid payments, or gifts. So I'm gonna travel to a location and lose money (you most likely will lose, how do casinos make their $$$?) over some funky games?? I'd rather lose it to a pair of sneakers. I keep my money how I keep my style: tight! I was willing to play the slot machines with the spare change I had in my pocket, but the slot machines only took tickets, so I didn't feel like going through the work of exchanging like $10 HK ($1.30 US) for tickets. So I just took pictures of the shopping area, which replicates Venice with the canals and gondolas and architecture. I now know why people love the Venetian!

And then I came home and wrote this blog. I'm tired of writing now.

Gangsta Hike

So far this month is pretty memorable...

On Saturday I went hiking with associates from Horwath, the company that I'll be working for from April-May. The hike was sponsored by some environmental organization, so it was for a good cause. The hike was 25 kilometers, which converts to around 15-16 miles. That's kinda super OD beast! Well, not as far as mileage is concerned, because I once walked the entire length of Manhattan Island with my two friends (from the Broadway Bridge on 220th St. to the S.I Ferry) for no reason at all. And that was around 14 miles! But what made this hike kinda super OD beast was that we went up and down mountains and valleys and countless steps. But overall, the hike was AMAZING! It's crazy that there are legitimate mountains and greenery adjacent to HK's urban jungle. And on the other side of the mountains were little fishing villages and beach towns that look like they're a world away from Hong Kong. Yet it's all Hong Kong, from the beaches to the valleys to the hiking trails to the miles and miles of wilderness. And all within a 30 minute drive of urban HK. I really want to come to one of those beach towns one day with some friends and a stereo and just kick it. Listen to some old school West Coast and bbq. How sick would that be? I'll get at that once the weather gets hot.

Recent Highlights

Ok so I know it's been a while since my last blog and ALOT has gone on since, so I figured that I'll discuss some recent highlights instead of trying to backtrack three-four weeks. If you have any questions about my adventures in Shanghai and Beijing, then post a comment.

I started classes last week. After checking several classes out and subsequently dropping three of them, I decided to stick with three courses: Mandarin, Southeast Asia & the World Political Economy, and History of Modern China. Mandarin is my favorite class of the three because, of course, one of my main goals is to familiarize myself with Putonghua. My class on Southeast Asia is also cool because the professor just rambles on and on about random facts about the region. I'm not sure if there's a particular topic that he wants to cover in each class; he just talks about whatever. And my History of Modern China class is seriously like watching the History Channel. I LOVE it! You know how those old researchers on the History Channel tell random stories about ancient emperors and etc., as if they were there when it happened? That's how my professor is. And he has a British accent, which makes the class even more engaging.



Now for a few recent highlights:

I'm interning with Horwath for five weeks beginning in April! For those of you that don't know, Horwath is a major hospitality consulting firm, and has offices throughout Asia. This internship is actually part of my study abroad program; during the last five weeks, you either pursue an internship or independent study project. I could work for them during at least half of the summer if I wanted to, but they only give a stipend of HK$4000/month (around $500 US). And NO housing! I really would like to stay in Asia, but I have to find a company that's giving out that $$$$$!

I'm going to Macau on Sunday! Macau is a small city about an hour ferry ride away from Hong Kong, known for Portuguese colonial buildings as well as a casino strip now larger than that of Las Vegas! I really wanna check out the scene there, even though gambling is really not my thing. I never quite found it fun to lose money, but maybe that's just me. I'll be sure to take pics!

All Right It's On!

All right now it's time to start keeping my promise to all of you guys. I'm finally settled in Hong Kong and I have full Internet access so I can now get to work. Since three weeks have passed already, I'll give ya'll a brief synopsis on what I've been doing.

I finished my two-week seminar in mainland China on Saturday. We went to Xi'an (a city in northwest China), Beijing, and Shanghai. The trip was actually a 3-credit class; we had lectures most mornings as well as several field trips. We also had two quizzes (which I found mad easy) and four journal entries where we reflect on our experience. I wish this class counted on my transcript because I'd have it in the bag, but unfortunately it doesn't. Anyway, our program had the great luck of going to mainland China during its worst, snowiest winter in years! One thing I learned about China is that the weather can get a little gully in the winter. I mean, it was pretty damn brick! I'm talking long-johns, double-socks, the whole nine yards. And my dumb-ass decided NOT to bring my Timberland boots, the high ones that go all the way up past my ankles! I had them PACKED in my suitcase, but then I thought, "I'm only gonna be in cold weather for two weeks. No sense lugging these around". And I left them! Trust, I paid for that mistake!

Anyway, Xi'an is not exactly my kind of town. It's considered a pretty average, run-of-the-mill city, yet what's crazy is that it has 7 million people! China has so many cities and people that a city with a population almost as big as NYC is average! But the worst thing about Xi'an is its pollution! The whole city stinks like coal, which is the main source of energy in most Chinese cities. That smell really permeates the air everywhere you go; it's pretty bad. But we went to Xi'an for its historical significance. Xi'an is the ancient capital of China, and has been around since 200BC when the emperor Qin Shi Huangdi unified China and started the Qin Dynasty. Isn't it crazy that what we know as China has been a nation for the past 2,200 years?? Do you know how many monarchies, empires, and civilizations have begun and ended over the span of 2,200 years? Europe alone went from the Ancient Greeks and the Phoenicians to the Roman Empire and barbaric tribes to Charlemagne and feudal monarchies to the Renaissance and Vatican rule to the Napoleon era to the World Wars, which finally established most of the nations that we know of today. And yet while all this chaos and change were going on, China has been the same country with the same people and the same written language and the same religions and philosophies. China has gone through several different dynasties, but even when China was ruled by the Mongols during the Mongol empire, they adopted the Chinese government system and customs to rule over them--basically China set the tone even for their conquerers! So if you REALLY dig history, look no further...

Blog to be continued...