The End (and sorry for the delay)

Part I: Stuff you missed because I locked myself in the library for two weeks.

Not much. One day I went for a walk before my exam and found a temple (that I didn’t enter because lots of school-aged children were exiting) and a park with a “pebble path” that beginners could only walk on for five minutes at a time. Another day I really really really wanted french fries so I bought some from McDonald’s along with a shrimp burger. Also: I ate more than usual quantities of fish ball soup and absorbed more than usual quantities of information (since forgotten). I had conversations with people I’d never talked to before and never will again. Probably. I folded every single article of clothing in my drawers. I gave away three textbooks, a small quantity of laundry detergent, two bags of brown sugar, cinnamon, and a beach ball.

Part II: Last day in Hong Kong (almost)

I ate pig brains.

I needed to because two months ago I’d said I would. Also, I was curious.

I’d found the restaurant online, on the website for one of those travel book companies. Fodor’s, maybe? Or Frommer’s? Anyway, I’ll have to go back and post a comment because they neglected to mention that the name of the restaurant is, in fact, displayed in Chinese characters.

First, however, we needed to leave campus, and as I am recording my absolute (almost) last day in Hong Kong I will leave out no details except for the really boring ones and those I’ve forgotten. So: I headed towards the canteen at 12:20, not knowing who to expect because I’d asked one of my friends to round up all the others. Actually, I wasn't heading towards the canteen, but towards the library (for online check-in) but I ran into a friend on the way. This time she’d cleverly told everyone to meet at 12:15, knowing with Korean time this would have them there by 12:30. But—of course!—nearly everyone was already waiting for us and I dashed off to the library. For the last time.

And for the first, only, and last time left my Octopus inside the printer. I discovered this when attempting to board the bus. Luckily, we phoned a friend (hah—like on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”) who said it would be his pleasure to rescue my forgotten card.

We left the bus outside the Prince Edward MTR station—I’d looked at googlemaps and falsely concluded that this would be the fastest station. I need to learn to read the scales on maps. We were walking FOREVER. However, in our exhausted and starving state the food couldn't be anything but delicious.

Mmm...pig brain omelette. I always imagined brains as squishy and soft but they were almost crunchy. Like radishes.

And frogs. Which I also ate even though I love frogs and even though some of the pieces of meat very clearly contained portions of spine. Actually, the menu said "frog" but I'm 99% positive they were formerly the brown toads I always see in cages near the chopped-up fish.

We also ate victory. In melon form.

After lunch we headed back to campus—we ended up having to walk all the way back to the East Mong Kok MTR station (ten minutes closer than the Prince Edward Station) to find the bus that would take us back. Maybe there hadn’t been a faster route of arriving at the restaurant after all.

So as it was we arrived on campus with a little less than an hour before our plan to meet up with more friends for sushi. I went to Fu Tai to buy snacks for the airplane, breakfast for tomorrow and chewing gum. Goodbye Park N Shop!

Then, after some delays and miscommunications and losing people and finding people we entered the sushi restaurant. I liked this place best of the ones I’d been to (even if I’d only been to two others) because we took off our shoes before stepping up on a low platform where a bench with individual cushions wrapped nearly all the way around a table. We left most of the ordering to my local friend—I ate sushi with salmon and crab and a sweet-tasting tofu, and I forget what else. And we had a salad that was really more like cole slaw, except better because I don’t like cole slaw. And dumplings that needed a name other than "dumplings" because, well, they weren’t dumplings. They were fried and stuffed with chicken and would possibly have been really tasty if I’d been in the mood for fried chicken. Which I’m generally not while eating sushi.

We returned to campus and sat in front of the main entrance for as long as possible. In other words, until the next day. So:

Part III: In reality a continuation of Part II because I never slept

However, eventually my friends needed to go to sleep so most of them headed back except a couple who hung around to wait for two more friends and my Octopus to return (he'd gone to the Mainland).

And the rest of the night/morning proceeded as follows:

• friends returned, said goodbye

• packed up a few more odds and ends

• watched You’ve Got Mail

• watched some random television show with evil horse-race gamblers
  

• watched the sunrise

• discovered chopsticks I’d forgotten in the sink

• stuffed bedding into garbage bag and turned in to the security guards
  

• and every once and a while sobbed hysterically

• brought down stuff (with help from friends)

• turned in room key

• walked to bus stop and waited and waited

• said more goodbyes

• stuffed stuff into bus

• rode to airport

• unloaded stuff

• confirmed that stuff wouldn't wind up in Baltimore

• said final goodbye

• read text message and dropped boarding pass

• bought bag of Toblerone chocolate and Tiger Balm with remaining Octopus money

• accidentally spent $18HK more than remaining Octopus money

• survived the most miserable plane ride of my existence

• crunched through the crispy snow of the airport parking lot

• and now I’m no longer in Hong Kong, so:

The End.

Exams weeks

Blech.

I am now taking the unprecedented step of combining several past and future days into one post. Of course I'm planning on writing a nice conclusion-y type ending to this blog, possibly one that I'll write while surrounded by free time on the plane ride home. Until then, unless something truly fantastic happens (like yesterday when I discovered the Circle K convenience store sells blueberry vanilla swirl ice cream for 3HKD) I won't be writing anymore. This fills me with sadness, of course, but my life has fallen into a horribly predictable pattern involving library desks, notebooks, mechanical pencils, suspicious cheese crackers, and chocolate soy milk...all in all, a boring read.

I can't believe it's only Monday.

TMT Plaza feast

(note the parachuting Santa)

No more classes! However, this fact has yet to sink in, probably because it means the semester is near to ending and my mind is consciously, subconsciously and unconsciously rejecting any thoughts related to leaving.

Anyway, we met for dinner at 7 and waited outside in the shivering cold for half an hour for everyone to arrive. A few raindrops splashed our faces until we told them to go away; if they'd disobeyed I guess we could've been far more miserable. Actually, if I'd brought any sort of coat to Hong Kong the weather wouldn't bother me in the least. I mean, some people are still wearing shorts.

Even though we had a reservation (and on a Friday that's really the only option for any restaurant except that Taiwanese place--empty as usual) we still needed to wait a good while. At least we were indoors, which if not heated, at least felt lukewarm and lacked a breeze.


The restauarant chairs were soft and cushiony (like velvet) and the tea was hot. There were two kinds, and one teapot of hot water to dilute the tea after it's steeped for too long. The appetizers were the mix of beans, tofu and some kind of fruit (apples?) shown above.


Always leave the ordering to a local! They'll choose the right stuff, like fish, the egg whites as delicious as crabs, dumplings, spicy tofu, the meat that gets wrapped in the tortilla, a chicken that I forgot about even though it was sitting right next to me, and spaghetti-like noodles. VERY long spaghetti-like noodles. So long that we decided to cut them, even if it meant bad luck and a reduced life span.

A carrot flower!

The forgotten chicken, an unforgotten dumpling, and the dishes made in Japan.

A most delicious fish. It tasted like sweet 'n' sour chicken. Yum-yum!

I thought the fish could use a little accessorizing.
Doesn't s/he look stunning?

Woah...a mastiff. Glad they aren't allowed outside the mall.
Wait--who in Hong Kong owns an apartment large enough for a dog this size?

I hoped a title would have materialized by now...but no.

Yesterday (Thursday) I finally drank my bottled milk! It tasted particularly delicious because a) it wasn't soy milk b) it wasn't reduced-fat and c) it came in a glass bottle. The bottle requested that I Please Rinse And Return Emptied. Ummm...No way. I guess I should rinse it though...



Also: here are some of the ten-dollar coins that I thought I'd already photographed until I heard otherwise. I like them the best, although the two dollar coins with wavy edges come close. And the ten cent coins are cool because Queen Elizabeth II gets older and then transforms into a bauhinia flower.


I forgot to write earlier that the best part of Wednesday's movie was the detailed references to Hong Kong! "The Kowloon side, not the Hong Kong Island side..." Everyone perked up; we know where Kowloon is! "...the Peninsula..." We know what the Peninsula looks like! (and so do you! I took a photo of the fountain outside it while trying to cross the road to the art museum) "...to some island" "Lantau Island" "To see some Buddha statue at some monastery." We know! We know! A-mazing.

Yesterday's movie was The Holiday, which I'd seen in theaters a couple of years ago (remember, Grandma?) A friend and I waited nearly an hour for everyone to show up, but it was okay because there's a couch in the lobby next to a bookcaseful of books (we couldn't wait in the common room because people were playing Monopoly). For the past few months I've been reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland a couple of pages at a time--but yesterday I made it all the way from the caucus race to croquet with the Queen of Hearts!

Earlier in the day I mostly studied, with a break for fish ball soup. This time I correctly mixed the chili sauce with the sweet (not soy) sauce. And: I ate outside! That's right! I didn't even need my cardigan! Also: it hasn't rained in weeks and weeks! Alright, okay, enough exclamation points.

Wait--I forgot to mention the carolers! The Christian choir stood outside the hostel and sang Christmas songs in English and Cantonese. I always love hearing familiar songs in other languages. And I love hearing Christmas carols. And I love random surprises. So: awesome all around.

Lopped-off limb no more!

I looked out the window and really wished I could photograph these clouds. So I turned on my camera..."lens error."And tried again..."lens error." And again. And just when I'd decided I could no longer justify not studying--! Unbelievable! Utterly astounding! And assorted synonyms.

Economics of the Family finished early, so instead of rushing of to my next class I got to sit by the canteen for a few minutes. At a nearby table people were handing out free apples, a flyer on dealing with exam stress ("start your revision at an early time and don't study hurriedly," etc.) and a red rectanglular piece of paper with an optimistic message. Mine says, "Pass the examinations with Flying Colours" but really I wanted one with Chinese characters. Although it was thoughtful to hand me something I could read.

Tonight's Christmas movie felt more Christmas-y, but I don't know the title because I came at least 15 minutes late [I needed to finish an MSN discussion about a group project. I used to wonder why MSN messenger is so popular here until I realized (duh) why would anyone use AIM (American Online)? I detest question marks after parantheses, but it seems I had no choice]. Oh--found it--The Family Stone. Yeah, so still not filled with Christmas cheer, but getting closer.

And now, I sleep.

Gremlins

Hmmm, yesterday. Mostly filled with classes, and the oral portion of my Mandarin exam. I found my missing Chinese workbook that morning, it'd fallen between my desk and bed. I thought maybe I'd find other cool forgotten treasures, but--assorted clumps of dust have yet to make that list.

Wow. I truly have a horrible memory. I'm sorry. Oh! Okay, I remember a bit more now. After the exam I waited for my friends to finish (we talked to the professor one at a time) and then we went to dinner. I tried barbeque pork with vermicelli noodles in soup because I wondered how they would manage putting barbeque pork in soup (how would the sauce stay on? wouldn't it just be normal pork in soup?) and also "vermicelli" is extraordinarily fun to say. However, I would not recommend it. The soup was basically water with noodles, and they placed the pork on a separate plate.

Then we went to the Park N Shop, and I actually remembered to bring the canvas bag I'd bought three weeks ago to save the environment. I have now remembered twice. On the way there I ate some leftover sweet potatoes a friend handed me. Only I don't think they're actually sweet potatoes, despite being sweet tasting and potato-shaped. The skin is purplish and the inside is bright yellow. Yum! Also, it felt so nice to hold a ziploc bag of steaming hot potatoes. Now that it's gotten chillier (especially at night) there are few ways to keep warm. Holding sweet potatoes is one way. Hot showers are another. And the third heat source I've found are the hand dryers in the restrooms; the one near the front entrance is the best because the dryer doesn't turn off until you've moved your hands.

Were you aware that Gremlins is a Christmas movie? It's true; there's a Christmas tree, carolers, a broken snowman head, and everything! Yeah...but not exactly what I imagined after hearing "we're watching a Christmas movie in the common room."

And now I'll share some videos I didn't have the patience to attach the day I wrote about Monkey Mountain. I think I forgot not to rotate a couple of them, but even sideways monkeys should fill your heart with joy. The wobbling pole is from a monkey that had just slid down it firefighter style. And just when the grooming monkeys start to get boring, one of them eats a bug! Enjoy!

Spring Deer

On Sunday we were supposed to meet the teacher at 12 in the Tsim Sha Tsui station; it turns out the orange line is not faster than the red line, so we arrived 15 minutes late (Duìbùqǐ, wǒmen lái wǎn le). The restaurant was on the second floor (or was it the first floor?) of a building whose entranceway consisted of a poorly recreated Stanley Market. I wouldn't have compared it to Stanley Market at all, except that's what the banner hanging from the ceiling said.

Oh, and the name of the restaurant is Spring Deer, hence the title of this post.


The appetizers. I should have eaten the head of the fish first, to leave a better memory. It didn't taste bad, but the crunchy-squishy texture of the head made me squirm. The teacher told us these fish are only served on Sunday, and we were lucky enough to receive the last dish.

The class was divided between two tables, seven at each. The teacher's daughter sat at my table and did an excellent job of preventing a suffocating silence from settling in. She's actually studied in the U.S. from high school through college, so her English was flawless and she was really curious to hear about our experiences at Lingnan and the hostel life. But you're probably more curious to see the most delicious food in Hong Kong:


Counter-clockwise from ice: shrimp, chicken, duck. We dipped the roast duck in the duck sauce, and placed it in one of those tortilla things you see on the right. Then a slice of cucumber and a slice of I forget what the vegetable was (not anything unusual, either) and it gets wrapped up and eaten like a burrito.


The duck is in the middle; clockwise from duck sauce: not-crabs, very slippery noodles, shrimp, scallion pancakes, the tortilla things, the spicy beef filling for those bread pockets in front of them, meat filling to wrap in the lettuce leaves (behind the spicy beef), spring rolls, cucumbers and forgotten vegetable (leeks?). The stuff as delicious as crabs was [drum roll]...egg whites! It didn't taste at all like eggs, and it was warm and yummy and couldn't have been the least bit healthy. The slippery noodles really were slippery. I tried serving them to a friend and dropped them on the tablecloth a billion times. What made them so tricky was that they were too firm to properly squeeze between chopsticks. Actually, I can't think of any utensil that would have held them.

I ate too many of these. But hardly anyone else was! No way I could leave these battered and fried bananas (dripping with sugar and crispy and warm) behind. No way.