January 2010
20 posts
16 tags
Fotanian!
Some items of note:
1) Softball here is the greatest thing ever. All the expat players are in the same boat—abroad and looking for a taste of home—and they’re all very educated and well employed and incredibly nice and easy going. There’s none of the stultifying provincialism and attitude that’s found in some small pockets of my stateside league. And the...
14 tags
"The gweilo won't . . .
… eat that.” Gweilos don’t like it. Huh. I’ll get to it, but first let me say that class was interesting yesterday. Lecturing here is so strange. There are no questions from the students whatsoever. They just sit there and occasionally smile, but for the most part they look confused. There’s very little of the eye contact that connotes recognition and...
30 tags
In which I learn that Darth Vader, like Jesus, is...
I taught class again this week and it was a different experience than the last time. For starters, I had 31 students instead of 11. Additionally, I only began class about 15 minutes late and told all comers that beginning next week I begin class on time every time (or at least as on time as I ever do) and that roll will be taken then and if they aren’t in their seats when I call their name, then...
19 tags
It's something unpredictable . . .
… but in the end it’s right. G$ got rolled into the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental (http://www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong/) at 8PM Thursday night, where I was already waiting for him. His work put him up there and it is an amazingly beautiful and decadent hotel and the service is incredible. If you’re ever in a position to have someone else pay for it, I highly recommend staying...
4 tags
In which I go to the liquor store . . .
… and learn that Jack Daniels costs an arm and a leg and is under lock and key and it’s really the best sour mash you can get here. Huh. On the flip side, guess what country isn’t under a Chinese trade embargo and guess who loves himself a good Cohiba cigar? Goes better with whiskey, but this going to work out for me. Just fine.
3 tags
Sunrise in Sha Tin . . .
… looks like this from my flat’s living room windows:
23 tags
Pettin' in the park . . .
… and living the high life. I tied up my last administrative loose end from Bedford Falls U. yesterday and am just finishing up a new book proposal this morning, and then it’s on to finishing my current book project, which I plan on doing while I’m in HK. Easy peasy, right? Well, maybe not so much, but that’s still the plan. While working yesterday I listened to an interview (yup,...
10 tags
a meeting at which I discover academic rigamarole...
I went to a meeting of several of my fellow grantees yesterday, all of whom are here on the same grant but for a different purpose than me. Specifically, most degree programs offered by HK and Macau universities are currently 3 year programs and they are all trying to transition to the four year US model (or five or six if you went to my beloved California alma mater back in the day, which still...
10 tags
I eat with sticks. And like it.
I’ve got guide books and the internet and all the modern accoutrements that allow me to figure things out and get where I’m going (although a working knowledge of Cantonese would help a lot), so I’ve already been out and about in various parts of the city quite a bit. In addition to teaching a class, I’m writing a book that’s due to the publisher by June, so I’m plenty busy, but I’m still...
4 tags
On the list of a few of my favorite things . . .
… along with cream colored ponies, crisp apple streudels, doorbells, sleighbells, and schnitzel with noodles, is this poster, which is everywhere in HK MTR stations:
12 tags
Wayside/Back in time . . .
Well, I had my first day of class today. Things are starting to come together as concerns the stuff I need to do my job. I received all my keys, I have a TA named Cherry (Chinese women pick the most awesome English names) who is smart and really on top of her game and incredibly helpful, I am settled in my office, and I have a great Mac tower that’s up and running and which I’ve configured to my...
7 tags
Softball in HK is like American softball. Only...
I’m an avid softball player, which has as much or more to do with my love of the postgame camaraderie as it does with playing the game itself (although I do love to play too), so prior to coming to HK I did research to see what the situation for softball was in HK. I figured I could play cricket if I couldn’t find softball, but I did find a men’s softball league in HK and discovered that their...
2 tags
The flat phone rings.
My flat phone rang last night (!) and it was a gentleman from whom I’ve been hoping to hear. He’s in charge of a program at another HK university that is very much aligned with my intellectual interests and he’s invited me to a meeting of 7 other grantees this upcoming week, which means I have a thing besides teaching on my calendar! Furthermore, he’s also asked me to dinner at his home with...
8 tags
Hiccups with which I will roll . . .
Interesting day yesterday. No phone, but I’ve scouted out the place where I will get one and it’ll happen soon, so that’s good. I also met with the department administrative assistants and got my office and keys and met with my TA. Pretty much none of what I’ve asked for is ready and the time of my class has been changed four times and no one told me that every class has an “assessment plan”...
2 tags
““I need a drink.”
“Honey, we’ve got beer and wine at...”
– Conversation between Coach Eric Taylor and Principal Tammy Taylor, Friday Night Lights, Season 3
8 tags
This is different . . .
It’s commonly said that HK is the most “western” city in Asia, and that’s partly true. As you take the MTR towards southern Kowloon and, especially, northern HK, you begin to see a lot more westerners, especially in Central and other business districts. But it’s very clear that the opposite is true as well. As I make my trek back north to home, other westerners quickly disappear, until I am...
6 tags
Immersion therapy . . .
That first night here I passed out about 9:30PM. I’d been up for the better part of 30 hours, so no surprise there. But what was a bit of a shock is when I woke up wide-awake at 2:30AM. Dammit. However, it was 8:30AM back home in Bedford Falls, so my body already thought I’d overslept my normal wake-up time by a couple of hours. I read and tried to get back to sleep but by 4:30 that seemed...
10 tags
Oh, the urbanity!
My trek to HK started with Obi Wan (who is officially the man, and received a well-earned bottle of fine Hendrick’s gin for his efforts) picking me up at 4AM and driving me to Pasco, WA for a quick 2 hour jaunt to SF, which was followed by a 3 hour layover and then a non-stop but still solid 14 hour flight to Hong Kong. My last act on native soil was to buy a litre of Woodford Reserve so I can...
4 tags
““Are you sure about this?”
“No, Let’s go!””
– Woody answering Jessie in Toy Story II.
8 tags
The HK countdown begins
Leaving for Hong Kong in two days, at which time I will begin my time as a senior scholar grantee at a university in HK. I said goodbye to my kids in person for the last time for who knows how long this morning, which is, sans the death of a family member, by far the most emotionally brutal thing I’ve ever done. We’ve had a wonderful last couple of days, playing, running, sledding,...