Are you cow?

That's how my name translates into Korean. One friend informed me of this fact after another had already written the characters across my notebook.

See for yourself:

In all fairness, she hadn't recognized the translation. Probably because "Are you cow?" isn't a common Korean phrase.
Also, the heart at the end isn't a character. It's just a heart.
Actually, the heart does serve some sort of mysterious (to me) purpose related to saying the name.

And in the continued interest of fairness, this same friend also wrote me a very useful guide to writing my Chinese name. The Korean language uses a lot of Chinese characters, so my friends have no trouble writing them. I, on the other hand, would never have learned my name without help from the below scrap of paper.

(my name/are you cow? is written along the top)

Previous attempts at learning my name had ended quickly in a sigh of defeat. No longer!

I also began yoga today! My friend and I missed the last class because of the HK ID card appointment, but so did three other girls so I felt better. Our instructor = amazing. She switched seamlessly between Cantonese and English (I'd been worried about being a burden/not being able to follow along) and her sense of humor kept us from feeling like failures even as we toppled out of ridiculous poses. And I always thought I'd had somewhat good balance...I guess my legs and abs must be weaker than I realized.

My favorite pose? The resting one we used for catching our breaths. So wonderful...

And I left class feeling in tip-top shape. Actually, I'd felt tip-top before class too--it was a fabulous weather day. I could enjoy the sunshine without melting and every now and then a nice breeze...

In the evening I watched a couple of the races in the huge inter-hostel swimming competition. There were crowds of people, loud cheering, a winner's podium, flags and large cardboard letters representing the hostels, the national anthem, medals, and everything.

Then at 10 (p.m., because everyone stays up late; including me, apparently) I met with my group for a preliminary planning of our subprime mortgage presentation. Yay!...except not.

On my way back to the hostel, I ran into some friends and tried a Korean snack. Kind of like crunchy cheese curls, but seafood flavored, so my hands didn't turn a disgusting shade of orange. Yum!

The Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum

No, the museum didn't misspell their welcome sign. It's the name of the grocery store I needed to investigate on the way.

!
If only all grocery stores were converted from houses...
Instead of walking down aisles, you walked into shelf-lined rooms of rice or canned veggies or red bean ice cream. Oh, speaking of red beans, I tried red bean dumplings for lunch today--the microwavable kind. Not bad...but I don't think I'll buy them again.

Woo hoo! I'd wanted to visit the museum during our last trip to Stanley, but there hadn' t been enough time. It isn't one of the more popular destinations--I only knew of its existence because I frequently and intensely scour the Hong Kong Tourism Board website.

I think the people behind me were annoyed that I stood in front of the door without opening it.
But look! The hamburger bun even has sesame seeds!

On the first floor of the museum I kept hearing creepy Halloween music. I couldn't figure out its source (possibly my imagination) but it added a nice touch.

A Cat O' Nine Tails. We also saw the contraptions prisoners being caned would have to lean on, and the medical reports doctors needed to fill out before the punishment could take place.

And did you know (I didn't):
Hong Kong didn't ban corporal punishment until the early '90s.
(Of course, the museum didn't use the word "until")


The mannequin officers showing off their snazzy uniforms.


Poor guy...
There's a noose outside his cell...
(Hong Kong abolished capital punishment, but this mannequin's from before then)


During the Vietnam War, floods of refugees poured into Hong Kong. Riots broke out all the time in the camps; the refugees were scarily creative in converting garbage into weapons, shields, gasmasks (also space heaters, irons, playing cards, roulette wheels, stringed instruments...)


In Gallery 4 there were a pair of hooks with a sign that said, "Can you guess what these hooks were used for? Find out at the 1st floor staircase!"
...
Coats.


The return of Stanley Market! We didn't stay as long this time; we were basically looking for sturdier bags to replace the ones the school gave us. I couldn't find the perfect one, but at least my friend did.


Pretty building!


Yummy food!
The restaurant offered a variety of Asian and Western dishes.
I chose this Thai dish because it included genuine lychees.
Now I've seen them in person.
(they're the white fruits in between the tomatoes).

Of course, the roast duck and curry were extremely tasty too.

I go to church

Specifically, a Korean Catholic church located on the somethingth floor of a building in Central.

But first...

I learned all these banners lining the road are for National Day, celebrating the creation of the People's Republic of China.

I see more amazing views out the bus window.

I spot some cube- and pyramid-shaped watermelons.

Actually, a friend pointed them out, with the reminder that I'm probably a watermelon expert on account of studying watermelon martial arts...

At the church everyone wondered what my American friend and I were doing there, or so the Korean friends told us.

It's true, I'm neither Korean nor Catholic.

The visitors sat in a room behind the regular church-goers, connected by a doorway and a large window. We only got to enter the main area once, to place envelopes with coins in the basket. I followed everyone's lead for sitting and standing and bowing and kneeling (which I probably would have needed to do even if it'd been in English). Luckily we only knelt once, because I was in the first pew and kind of squashed against the dividing wall.

I could understand "thank you," which was useful because they said it a lot, but not useful for overall comprehension of Mass. When we asked a friend, he admitted he hadn't exactly, sort of, really been paying attention. Something about guilt.

I liked all the singing though; sometimes there were even accompanying hand motions.

For dinner we went to La Comida, a Spanish restaurant along the Mid-Levels. One day I'll ride the escalators when it's light enough for clear photographs.

I realized I'd never eaten Spanish food before, just Mexican. The Ensalada de Valencia was delicious. I didn't know vegetables could taste so good! (it might've helped that I hadn't eaten a salad in forever).

Lettuce, tomatoes (plus extras from a friend), Parmesan cheese, peppers, avocados, and oranges or clementines, I don't know which. Oh, and olives, but I gave those to a friend. I tried one, thinking maybe these olives could win me over...but no. I will never understand olives.

I also sampled my friends' squid (unless it was octopus, I forget), chicken, and Spanish rice (por supuesto!).

Here's the view looking out the restaurant.

Afterwards I thought we were going to take the ferry, but our leader (probably to return in time for the soccer game) chose the bus. Although we stopped off at the Town Centre, where we wandered through the Halloween section of Toys R Us. And more shoe stores.

When we returned we watched the second half of the soccer/football game (Manchester and Bolton). In Korean, of course.

And a shout-out to Grandma! :)

Pig's feet!

I love Fridays.

After class we (I and two other friends also stuck with evening classes) headed off for Mong Kok to meet up with a group already there. We rode the bus--faster, cheaper, and less complicated than the MTR. Also: we sat in the first row of seats on the upper deck!

Like a roller coaster!

During the wait for and on the bus my Korean friends taught me:

• That they're learning more about North Korea at Lingnan than at home, where doing so is discouraged. The government will think you're a spy.
  
• The North Korean refugees in South Korea can't believe their eyes. Their government made them think South Korea had been worse off.
  
• Soo Bahk sounds like the word for "watermelon." All those years I thought I'd been learning a martial art...watermelon art...what a disappointment.
• Not to watch some movie that's boring even though the lead actor is handsome. But I forget the title so hopefully I don't see it accidentally.
• The word for traitor. So I could point an accusing finger and yell it to our friends who ate dinner without us.

We got off the bus at the Ladies' Market, but we needed to eat first.

The place we chose reminded me of lunch on Monday. The waiter kicked a lady out of a booth, wiped off the table, and brought us steaming cups of water.


I was feeling very brave.

I ate pig's feet (and I ate them so I could write that). They tasted fine, and probably would have been better if I could have stopped visualizing a pig trotting about. Or gotten over the incredibly-difficult-to-describe texture.

Actually, in Korea they also eat pig's feet, but not in a soup with noodles.

Liers! Reliable sources told me the above photograph is not of Korean food.

For dessert we did not have cake.
We shared coconut milk with small, round, jelly bits (?) and a custard filled bun.


We bought the bun from this bakery selling the cutest tuna fish buns.
But not cute enough to make me choose tuna over custard.


We found the Goldfish Market!
Store after store selling (live!) fish.


Not a goldfish.

Along the same street were a series of pet stores filled with kittens and puppies! In huge glass display cases! We couldn't just walk past... (although if they hadn't been behind glass I probably would have). Ahh--so cute!

The website's being annoying and not letting me rotate this video.
So just turn your head or flip the computer on its side.

After we'd had our fill of cuteness (if that's even possible) we continued on our journey to reunite ourselves with the group of traitors. Along the way I saw:

a VERY wide crosswalk,

a group of people absorbed in a game,



mesmerizing signs,

and lots of streets like this one.

We found our friends in a shoe store (one of the many lining both sides of a long street).
So we looked at shoes for awhile.

And then we wandered through one of the markets--the one I'd been to on my last trip to Mong Kok, but more exciting at night.

At this point we wanted to head back to the University, but we couldn't find the bus stop for 67X.
So after some walking and more walking and waiting and walking and waiting (that I didn't really mind because we were walking through a city and I love walking through cities) we found our bus. And arrived at Lingnan. And slept.

Yes, those are drawings of Albert Einstein on that billboard.

I almost forgot to write a post

Because there's nothing to write about. But that can't be true.
Maybe if I try to compose a list of things I've learned today...

• Postage stamps should be placed lightly on top of the sponge to avoid soaking the entire top-right corner of the envelope (if you're confused, it's because you've forgotten stamps don't always come in peel-off sticker form)
• I like books about Depression-era circuses
• 1 minute is the perfect time for heating up fish balls
  
• Scallop-flavored noodles do not taste like scallops; but at least they taste like noodles
• Every time it rains it doesn't mean I'll get soaked--today I didn't need to go outside until after it stopped
  
• I need to improve my white-board writing skills
  
• 30% is incorrect
• If the stock is expected to increase, writing a call option is riskier than buying a put option; regardless of the class's majority opinion
  
• I have 3 more weeks to complete a subprime crisis presentation than I previously thought
• My defense in fencing has gone seriously awry. And by that I mean it's currently non-existent

• 手 sau2

is Cantonese for "hand." Glove translates as "hand covering."

• When I read "Italic" and "Publish" as "Italy" and "Polish" it means it's time for sleep

Rain, rain

The storm signal was lowered from an 8 to a 3 this morning, so classes continued as usual. Except usually I don't arrive to class dripping wet.

I think today is a list day.

• Prepared for class by wrapping everything up in plastic bags
• Worked on homework while half-listening to Mrs. Doubtfire
  
• Learned about "Divorce, Fertility, and Women's Labor Market Participation"
• Learned about asset substitution, underinvestment, and call options
• Avoided a large puddle
• But still returned to my room soaking wet
  
• Decided not to venture to the gym for badminton
• Planned a group paper on Australian trade
• Picked up a pretty flower from the ground
• Someone stuck it behind my ear
• Someone else told me it probably contained ants
• Went to a briefing on International Day
  
• We need to feed 400 people
  
• Met with the other Americans and planned nothing conclusive
• Wandered Fu Tai
• Stared blankly at homework
  
• Figured out that the 100 in (50-42.5)x100x28.57 represents the number of shares in each call option
• With this new insight, will now progress rapidly on homework

Storm signal No. 8 hoisted

This means the typhoon is near enough that the buses shut down.

Is it terribly exciting?

In theory it should be...in reality it's just really rainy and a tad windy. Once in awhile a strong gust of wind blows by. But now it's too dark to really see anything. No thunder or lightening though; I don't know if they accompany typhoons or not.

It had been at signal 3 for most of the day (although I'd somehow missed seeing the signs in the lobby and on the canteen door) which just means that it's within so many kilometers.

Oooh! HUGE wind now!

Golden Bauhinia Square

But first--I have my Chinese name in written form!

Surname first, given name second.

The Q has a "ch" sound.
The lines above the letters are tone marks.

After class I went with a friend to Wan Chai so she could complete her application for a Hong Kong ID card (she's staying two semesters). We'd actually been to Wan Chai two weekends ago, it's in between Causeway Bay and Central, but that didn't remove any of the adventure!

First: lunch. Somehow I've been eating a lot of western food lately = boring. So the cramped restaurant and its windows papered with Chinese characters seemed like a good bet. Actually, we would have walked on by if the lady in the doorway hadn't stopped us and said there were English menus.

She led us in and sat us down at a table (after wiping off the soy sauce) where two other people were already sitting. Waiters delivering dishes squeezed between tables and talkative people. Several tourists. Bottles of soy sauce on every table (like ketchup. the soy sauce, not the tables). I'm having trouble capturing everything...[insert frustrated growl].

I ordered "fried noodles with three kinds of meat" because I'm not yet brave enough for a fish head. At least my dish had some element of surprise, even if the meats could be quickly identified as ham, pork, and beef. It was the kind of place where I actually would have liked a cup of hot water to dip my chopsticks into...figures they'd give us tea. We were brought hot dishrags though. And what yummy food!

We walked through the nearby market; it covered more streets than I realized! The last time we'd been to Wan Chai we'd only been down one.

And we definitely hadn't walked down this street...

But I didn't photograph the more gruesome sights (half of a flopping fish...)


Here, look at dragon fruit and pears instead!


Next we walked a few blocks to Central Plaza.

We still had time before the appointment, so we explored the building for a bit.

And--of course--it had a shopping arcade. Which ended at the third floor because we took the escalators to the floor above and found only intimidating wood paneling and a person in an intimidating doorway.

Then it was off to the Immigration Tower where we went up several flights of escalators because we couldn't locate the lift. We waited in a room reminiscent of the DMV...

And then...bump badda bum!...the Golden Bauhinia!

A gift from Mainland China when Hong Kong went from being a British colony to a Special Administrative Region of the PRC.

So know I've seen what all the fuss is about.

Alas, I never saw any garbage-collecting boats...

Repulse Bay and Stanley

Near disaster!

Yesterday I forgot my memory card in my laptop and feared an entire day's worth of memories would go unrecorded. Then! I remembered I had an extra one! True, it couldn't hold hundreds and hundreds...but I managed to contain my photo-taking frenzy (with help from numerous "No Photo" signs).


After leaving Hong Kong station we needed to take a bus (there were several options: 6, 6A, 6X, some other number with a 6...) to Repulse Bay. I liked the bus ride, but nearly every time I tried photographing the view out the window a cluster of trees would interfere. Turns out the window was dirty anyway.

One of the latest editions to my collection.

The Pacific Ocean, or something like it.

We got of at a stop that looked right, but we weren't sure until we saw the beach. And wriggled our toes in the sand...it felt absolutely lovely. For about twenty seconds. Then the bottoms of our feet started burning and we ran to the water.

No, I don't know this child.
But if I'd worn a swimsuit I'd have done the same thing.

After walking along the beach for a bit and slurping 7-Eleven Slurpees we hopped on a bus for Stanley Market. From the map I'd thought the distance might have been walkable...definitely not. As before, we left at a stop that looked correct, if not entirely so. The sign said "Stanley Plaza" and it looked like a normal shopping center. However, we figured Stanley Market must be nearby now--why not step inside the air conditioning? Besides, I spied escalators I needed to ride.

Then, by some amazing amazingness it turns out we were in EXACTLY the right location. I peeked over a railing and...the Murray House with the Maritime Museum inside! And the Taoist temple (possibly the one honoring Tin Hau, goddess of the sea, but possibly not)! And a large friendly arrow with "Stanley Market" written across it!

I think this building used to be a store, but a sign in the window mentioned a closing sale so it probably isn't any more.

I've gotten very good at noticing the "No Photo" signs as I'm leaving. Sigh...
And yes, of course tigers eat Ritz crackers!

The Murray House, according to guide books, used to be an important British military building.
Now rich people dine there.
And ordinary people visit the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.

The museum was smaller than I'd thought (...so that's why it only cost 10 HKD...) but filled with, well, a variety of stuff requiring a range of adjectives. I checked the signs on the sliding doors before entering, and sure enough...

List of Objects I Couldn't Photograph:

• Intricate models of ships
• Some of them carved out of shells
• Creepy masks
• An old British advertisement for tea
• Pieces of a dragon boat
• A large scroll documenting a pirate attack (and neglecting the Portuguese forces who saved the day)
• Out-dated submarine gear

Here's a pier on the way from the Murray House to Stanley Market. I love that the roof fits matches the mountains.

I didn't/couldn't take many pictures of the markets, but it was AWESOME.
Tourists flock here, but most of the stuff was still cheap and fun to browse through.
Chopsticks, jewelry, kimonos, coin purses, shoes, paintings, statuettes, sandlewood fans, pillowcases, lanterns, calligraphy, Christmas ornaments, cell phone charms, parasols, silk scarves, swords, T-shirts, fancy dresses and a very fat cat (not for sale).

After we might have seen everything (there were so many intersecting streets, we must have missed something) we returned to the street with food.

We returned home with a few hours before bed. I talked with my roommate for a bit (about the concert she went to; the floormate who props the bathroom door open--her hands may be clean, but her heart is dirty; and Japan) before falling asleep.

I went on another adventure today, but I'll need to write about that tomorrow.