The Trail Left Behind

Hangzhou, China

A famous Chinese proverb says, "Reading ten thousand books is not as useful as traveling ten thousand miles."  In other words, one learns more by traveling than by sticking one's nose in a book. After teaching in Shanghai, China, for about six months now, I find this proverb to be true; however, it is only true if one actively takes the time to become immersed in the Chinese culture. It is easy for me, or any of my colleagues from America to go to work, teach, and come home to a nice apartment and fill our time with TV shows on Hulu or Netflix, Skyping with friends from home, or grocery shopping in the imported section. If I were to do these things all the time I wouldn't learn much more about China than if I had read a guidebook. To meekly observe isn't enough; one must live it. 

The Great Wall

Macau

That is not to say that in my time here I have not given in to pointing at things on menus or in stores instead of using my limited Chinese words, preferred the company of my English-speaking friends to new Chinese ones, or that I did not  feverishly eat all the Pop-tarts my boyfriend brought me when he visited. Still, I try to experience as many new things as I can. I can now add bullfrog, seaweed, chicken and sheep hearts, egg tarts, a full fish (including head and with a ton of bones), fried dumplings, Beijing duck (which is different from normal duck), eel, jujubes, red bean paste, moon cake, and probably some other things that I didn't even know I was eating, to my repertoire. Unlike any fictional character, I have actually hiked The Great Wall (yes, hiked), been to Hong Kong Disneyland, played mahjong, performed in front of Chinese teachers, interned at the largest English magazine in China, have gotten lost on so many occasions, and took pictures with tourists who have never seen a blonde-haired girl in real life. What's even better is that there are more adventures to come. Now that I have been to Bejing, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau, I have booked my flight to Tokyo, and will soon book my flight to Bangkok. 

My students in costumes at Halloween

Big Buddha, Hong Kong

Before coming to China, I was apprehensive about teaching. I thought I would be placed in front of a packed classroom of children without knowing what to say. Instead, I found that teaching came easy and that I had more than enough to impart to my students. I am now teaching an AP English Language and Composition class along with my second grade classes. My students are some of the sweetest, excited children I have ever seen. I was overjoyed when one of my second graders gave me a stocking with candy as a Christmas present, and then told me I was her favorite teacher she has. Sometimes you have to go to the places where you are needed the most.      

I have spent a lot of time reading, being an English major, but I would never substitute my adventures for the comfort of a book, regardless of my love of literature.   

Through these experiences, I would like to create my own proverb (if the masters would be so kind): "It is not the traveling that you do, but the trail left behind."  

Shanghai

Hong Kong and Macau

Ever wonder what "Asia's World City" is like? Ever wonder if people have British accents there? Ever wonder if Hong Kong is a part of China or actually its own country?

Here is some trivia:

All the signs jutting out

• According to the UN and WHO, Hong Kong had the longest life expectancy of any region in the world. 
• Hong Kong is one of the Alpha+ cities (a city that greatly enhances the global economy).
• 90% of the population uses public transit--the highest in the world (and let me tell you-those metros were SUPER clean and roomy).
• Hong Kong became a colony of Britain after the First Opium War (1839-42).
• Britain controlled Hong Kong until 1997, when China regained control, although Hong Kong follows its own political system (It is considered a Special Administrative Region in the People's Republic of China. I had to pass through immigration coming and leaving Hong Kong).
• People mostly speak Cantonese.
• It is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. World's most "Vertical City."
• "Hong Kong" means "fragrant harbor."
• Nicknames include: "Pearl of the Orient," "Golden Egg," "The Orient Manhattan," "The paradise of shopping," "Food Paradise," and "City of Life." 

Hong Kong was definitely one of the cities I wanted to see in Asia. I had been told that it felt like New York, but with an Asian flair, something I had to see. I also was told that it had a mixture of British and Asian traditions. I like seeing the clash of different cultures, and thought it would be proper to travel there for Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). I went with my friend Tahnesia. Together, we decided to go for four days, visiting Hong Kong Disneyland for one, and Macau for another.

The harbor from Ritz Carlton's Ozone Bar

I know that Hong Kong is one of the most densest cities in the world, but I was still shocked when I arrived and Tahnesia and I were first walking through a street of fruit vendors. You couldn't cross the street from one vendor to the next because there was a steady flow of people. You had to walk with them like robots that are all programmed the same. There seemed to be much more people than in Shanghai. On the other hand, the air quality seemed better and the temperature was definitely warmer…although I still wore my coat. I can't wait for spring time in Shanghai….something that I won't get until March because February is cold! In fact, it snowed today! It was the first time I saw falling snow! Perfect timing too because my roommate and I saw Disney's Frozen today!

Signs light up the night 

Anyway, back to Hong Kong. What's more than the massive amount of people, were the massive signs that jutted out into the street….talk about the spirit of capitalism. Hong Kong's motto could be "The Bigger, the Better," because nobody could miss these signs. Even a blind person would run into them. The hostel we got seemed nice on Hostelworld.com, but it turned out quite pathetically small and dirty, located in the center of downtown Kowloon. Even though we paid for a separate bathroom and $25 US dollars a night, we had a bathroom where the shower hung over the toilet so the toilet so get all wet, and we found about four roaches in the time we were there. This was probably the worst hostel I've stayed at (and I've stayed at quite a few by now). It was Tahnesia's first time staying at a hostel and now I'm afraid she's turned off by them. Don't ever stay at Dragon Hostel!

On top of Victoria's Peak looking at the skyline

The first full day we were there, we decided to check out Victoria's Peak, which overlooks all of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. We took this cable car all the way up the mountain and looked out at the spectacular view. Hong Kong is made up of little islands that are surrounded by the Pearl River Delta and the South China Sea. Hong Kong can sure be a beautiful city with a skyline like that! While we were at the top of the peak, we ate at Bubba Gump, where I had pasta with scampi (there's good seafood in Hong Kong).


Next, Tahnesia suggested we go to the Ritz Carlton for some drinks at the Ozone Bar, Hong Kong's highest bar at floor 87 (I think). The drinks there were really good, but really expensive. The bar itself was fancy and offered a stellar view of the harbor. We stayed up there for a few hours, waiting for it to get dark so we could see the nightly light show (that didn't turn out to be that grand). We did get to see the sunset and the regular lights of the city to pop up. Afterwards, we wandered around the Ladies Market by our hostel where I bought my traditional spoon and magnet for my collections.      

The next morning we got up super early to take the metro to Hong Kong Disneyland! Yes, you can take the metro there! Can you imagine how fun that would have been as kids, if you didn't need your folks to drive you there? So, Disneyland always reminds me of home because I live so close to it in California. Still, I had not been in about three years (a record for me). I am a Disney fan, as well as my brother who studies animation, so to say the least, I was excited. 

It was cool to notice all the differences. Unlike the California Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World in Florida, Hong Kong Disneyland is pretty small…you can definitely do everything in a day. We went on all the rides except for two and saw the parade and the Lion King show, which was epic. Also unlike the others, HK Dland has a Toys Story Land, Mystic Point Land, and Grizzly Gulch land. My favorite new ride was the Mystic Point Mansion (I think it should come to America). Even though I didn't get a picture with Mickey and Minnie, I caught them in their Asian garb. We stayed all day and even caught some of the fireworks. It was a great day!  

Wynn Hotel and Casino

The Ruins of St. Paul's

For our third day, Tahnesia brought up Macau. I had never even heard of the place before this trip. It turns out that alike Hong Kong, it is a Special Region of China as well. It is also the location of the largest casino in the world (located at the Venetian). Basically, it will be as big as Vegas someday soon. In Macau, people speak Mandarin and Portuguese, since there is a large influence there. It's crazy how different it is than Hong Kong which is just an hour's boat ride away. Tahnesia and I took TurboJet over to the island which we also had to pass through immigration for. We spent a little time at the casinos, but mostly we walked around Macau. Strangely enough, Macau felt more like an European city than an Asian one. And like all cities in Asia, the new is blended right in with the old. The Ruins of St.Paul's Cathedral is a famous and religious site and from the top of the mountain it stands on, one can see the popular casinos rising up in the distance. Senado Square was decorated with a bunch of lanterns for the Chinese New Year and they looked so colorful against the yellow buildings. Macau was beautiful! A strange mix of cultures and a strange mix of eras. I loved it! 

Senado Square

 Other highlights of Macau was the tower that kind of resembled the Seattle Space Needle, the mermaid  swimming around in the fish tank at the MGM Grand Resort, and the same canal rides in the Venetian like the hotel in Vegas.

 That brings me to our last day in Hong Kong. We saved the Big Buddha for the last day, the day of Chinese New Year. We got up early and had a big American breakfast at this place called The Flying Pan. It turned out that the owner, who came to our table making small talk with us, was from Huntington Beach! What a small world…she had first came to Aisa to teach English as well…12 years later and she was still there. Crazy how that happens. The breakfast tasted so good because it's hard to find an American-style breakfast place in Shanghai (although there is one called Mr.Pancake!).

Once we were full, we took another "cable car"to see the Big Buddha, whose official name has left my head. We had to wait in a long line to finally get to the cable car, but when we got there, it was worth it. The cable car took us high above the sea and we could see the Big Buddha from a distance. There was also a temple we checked out on the "Big Buddha" island. It was cool to see people lining up to worship the statue and people burning huge sticks of incense at the temple in honor of their Gods. The incense sticks looked like huge pencils that were being sharpened and there was so much smoke everywhere! It was kind of hard to breathe because of all of it. Thousands upon thousands of people visit this Buddha every week and especially on the week of Spring Festival, when everyone is praying for good luck for the upcoming year.



On top of the Buddha Mountain…what an experience!

Overall, Hong Kong and Macau was a cool trip that I will never forget. I honestly like Hong Kong better than Beijing and maybe even Shanghai even though I have spent more time there. Tahnesia and I took Spring Airlines back to Shanghai and made it there at 2 AM, so we had to wait for the metro to open at 6 AM…thankfully there is a 24 hour Burger King at the airport. I miss the Hong Kong dollar where it is: $1=$7 HK dollars. It's good to be back besides that…it was even warm in Shanghai for a few days after our trip. Now onto teaching AP English courses….and planning for my next trip to….Tokyo!  

People celebrating the Chinese New Year…along with their dragon!

Sean Visits Shanghai

As I said before, these past three weeks Sean visited me in Shanghai during his winter break…how I miss those long winter breaks at USF!. He came three days after Christmas so we could spend the New Year together. I can't believe it's already 2014! It had been four months since I had last seen him!

His plane came in right after my last class at my weekend school so I took the metro the long way to the airport to pick him up. He had previously been to China in high school, but had forgotten some of his experiences, so he didn't mind coming to Shanghai again. It was pretty late by the time we got back to my apartment and he was feeling jet lagged, so we went to sleep and slept in for the majority of Sunday.

The next week, I took him around Shanghai, visiting the famous Bund, the Buddhist Jing'an Temple, and the road where a bunch of "antiques" are sold. We also went to a few bars like Zapata's (the expat bar) and this one his dad told us to check out in the Xintiandi area. Also, in the Xintiandi area I took him to the Merry Kissmas tree that was still up for a few more days after Christmas.

Throughout these three weeks, we had a lot of dumplings. I took him to this famous restaurant called Din Tai Fung, Yang's Dumplings (juicy fried dumplings), and this chain dumpling place by my apartment where you can buy 10 dumplings for less than $2. He couldn't believe that we could both eat dinner for about $4. The cheap food is definitely something I'm going to miss when I come back home. Besides dumplings, he wanted to treat me to food that I normally can't afford on my teacher's salary, like Mexican food and pizza, both more expensive than normal Chinese food here, since they are "western." Sean was happy to eat all the "western" food because he really didn't like the authentic Chinese food (besides the dumplings of course) especially the meat on a stick or "street meat" part. I hadn't eaten pizza in about three months (that has to be some sort of record for me), so I wasn't complaining. Authentic Chinese food is certainly very different than American Chinese food. Sad to say, but I have been craving some American Chinese food for a while now, especially orange chicken.

Us at The Vue Bar (Sean blinked!)

On New Year's Eve we decided to celebrate by going to The Vue Bar at the Hyatt on the Bund. The Vue Bar is constantly rated as one of the best bars/clubs in Shanghai. Of course there was a New Year's Eve party with free-flowing champagne all night long. Before we left, Sean gave me my Christmas/New Years gift--a necklace from Tiffany and co! :) The view from The Vue Bar (a perfect name) was extraordinary. We danced, drank champagne, and wore flashy gold hats until we counted down to 2014, which still sounds like a year in the future to me. From one of the windows we could see lanterns flying by. For the New Year, and especially the Chinese New Year, people light lanterns and let them go flying up into the sky. There was also a firework and light show over the Bund, but we were too busy dancing to notice. After about 1AM we decided to go home, but couldn't find a cab because it was so busy. We were basically stranded at the Hyatt. At one point Sean was going to get a room, but we weren't able to because we didn't have a passport. Finally, after about two hours of half-sleeping on their couches in their lobby and standing outside in the cold, we hailed a cab and made it back home without the driver getting lost (something that happens often).    

Our view from The Vue Bar at The Hyatt on the Bund

Hangzhou: 
 The last weekend Sean was visiting, we decided to get out of Shanghai and visit a city that was a little bit more on the country side. We decided to go to Hangzhou, a smaller city that is home to a giant lake called West Lake and the "Tea Capital" of China where they make pan-fried leaves--longjing tea, also called "Dragon Well tea," mostly by hand. Before coming here with Sean, I had not thought about adventuring outside of Shanghai to visit other little cities. Now, I'm really glad that I did. Hangzhou is a peaceful place. It was good to get out of Shanghai for a little bit and enjoy some nature. We took a train to Hangzhou and it only took a little over an hour. In Hangzhou we stayed at this nice bed and breakfast where the host actually had an app that allowed him to translate what he was saying into English--pretty cool. The room was really nice with our own little tea set and everything.

Our first day there, we got up and went to the front desk to see if we could get any breakfast. The guy gave us some toast, two eggs, and some sour milk. We had no choice but to go to the Starbucks that was outside of the temple we were going to check out. I joked, "What would we do without Starbucks?" But when we went walking through this park/garden next to West Lake, one of the old buildings there had been transformed into a Starbucks! The building was right in the middle of the garden as though it was supposed to be a memorial or museum or something. This was the first time I have been mad at Starbucks and/or the capitalism in China. People can come up to me all day in the streets trying to get me to buy something from them, but when people start to transform beautiful and historic places into places for profit is when I have a problem with it.

Besides the Starbucks though, the garden was beautiful. It began to rain and was pretty cold that day, but it made everything look five times prettier. There were little "teahouses" everywhere along the lake and a little path you could take to cut through the lake. The reeds in the lake were what really drew my attention. They added some color to the gray day and made it took beautiful. Apparently the views in Hangzhou have inspired poets and painters for decades.

While we were there we also checked out the Temple and had some more fried dumplings. The Temple here was not as epic as the one in Shanghai. Instead of deities, the main statues in this temple showcased a revered warrior. Later that night, we decided to take a boat trip around West Lake. The boat ride was so calming, but it soon got cold (Sean was even colder than I was). There are little islands in the middle if the West Lake and usually they put on a show that Sean's mom raved about but since it is winter time, the show is temporarily put on hold.

The next day, we went to see the Leifeng Pagoda. It was originally built in 1942, but was then reconstructed in 2002, to look like it does today. We went to the very top of the Pagoda and saw all of Hangzhou spread out before us. It was a great trip and I was really sad to see him go, not to mention slightly jealous that he was going back home which I won't see for another five months.

On another note, I am now starting to teach an AP English Language and Composition class, a class I haven't taken in about five years. Still, I loved my AP English classes I took in high school and I hope I can do a good job with teaching my new high school students who are hoping to go to America for college next year. I'm going to have them read The Scarlet Letter and The Catcher in the Rye, two of my favorites I read back then.    

Sean loves to lead dances. He took on the challenge of dancing with all the old women on Nanjing Road, the downtown area of Shanghai: 

Sean likes the workout equipment

2014: Year of the Horse

Happy 2014!

I have spent the last three weeks with my boyfriend Sean who came to visit me in Shanghai. He came three days after Christmas, just in time for the "Western New Years."The Chinese New Year comes at the end of this month (Jan. 31th). This year will be the year of the horse. Sean bought me this cute, stuffed animal of a red horse that street vendors were selling in anticipation for the holiday and it made me realize how little I know about it. I'm doing my research. 

I have received those little red envelopes in the past from some of my Chinese friends and I

know that I was born in the year of the ram (or goat), but that is particularly all I knew about the holiday. That is pretty sad considering that I went to college in San Francisco, which has the largest and oldest Chinatown and Chinese New Year Parade outside of Asia. According to my good old friend Wikipedia, back in 1848, the newly arrived Chinese for the Gold Rush began the parade to teach others about their culture. 

At my weekend school I teach at, I asked my supervisor if people who live in Shanghai celebrate both holidays. She said that they acknowledge the Western New Year as well as the traditional Chinese New Year, but some families celebrate both, while others just celebrate the Chinese New Year, also called the "Spring Festival."

Chinese New Year is celebrated on a different day every year, since it is based off of the lunar calendar, usually it falls sometime between Jan. 21st to Feb. 20th. Although I knew that the Chinese calendar is based off of the moon, I did not realize how the dates in the Chinese calendar differ so much from what is called the "Gregorian Calendar." For instance, some months are repeated twice in one year in the Chinese calendar, according to my supervisor. Wikipedia right now is telling me this is called an "intercalation." This is the insertion of a "day, week, or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases." So, the Chinese calendar has some leap months and days, like the Gregorian one has a leap day once every four years. How do they write and record the double months for the Chinese version? That's my question. 

Wikipedia gives an account of the myth that began Chinese New Year--a beast called Nian:

Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One day people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.

There are traditionally fifteen days of celebration for the Chinese New Year (not practiced by everyone):

Day 1: Welcoming deities of the heaven and the earth. People light fireworks and burn bamboo sticks.

Day 2: Was when married women would visit their birth parents. "God of Wealth" comes.

Day 3: Rural villagers burn paper for the God of Wrath. People should stay home.

Day 4: Spring dinners

Day 5: The God of Wealth's birthday. People shoot off fireworks and eat dumplings.

Day 7: Everyone grows one year older today. 

Day 8: Dinner to celibate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven. Employees are thanked today. Incense is often burnt and food offerings are made.

Day 9: People offer prayers to the Jade Emperor. Incense, tea, fruit, and roast pig are offered. 

Day 10: Jade Emperor's party.

Day 13: People eat vegetarian food to clean out their stomachs. Businesses pray to the God of War for success. 

Day 15: The Lantern Festival: Families walk with lanterns in the streets and put them outside their houses to guide wayward spirits home. Rice dumplings are eaten.  

The Chinese New Year is mostly a time to celebrate with family and big "reunion" dinners are held featuring mostly meat dishes and food that symbolizes prosperity and good luck. For instance, mandarin oranges have a name that sounds like the word for "good luck," noodles represent a long life, and melon seeds means having many children. Red packets containing money are given as gifts. The amount of money in these should be given in even numbers, because money given at the time of funerals is in odd numbers. This is determined by the first digit. The numbers 6 and 8 are considered the luckiest. Also, fireworks are always set off. In ancient China, gunpowder would be placed in bamboo shoots and lit to create fireworks. 

I will be leaving Hong Kong on Chinese New Year, which means that it will be crazy busy, but I'm still excited. 

For now, here is a common Chinese phrase: 

迎春接福 Yíngchúnjiēfú - "Greet the New Year and encounter happiness"