Heard your voice through a photograph...

2008-07-06T11:41:00.002+08:00

I'm back in the States, after nearly thirty hours of travelling. I'm still a little out of it in terms of jet-lag, but I've been able to get up and do things (Fourth of July at the waterfront, Holiday Park or something, shopping at Target, lots of family time, eating), and starting Monday will begin all the getting-my-life-in-Louisville-up-and-running ordeal. Banks, licenses, cars, insurance, jobs. In other words, fun to the max.

America feels so much different in ways that I can't begin to describe. And I've gone from a city of predominantly Asian people to one of predominantly...not Asian people. Which is always something of a shocker. Anyway. Really out of it right now, should probably hit the sack. Suffice it to say that I think I have finished with this blog. *tears* So if you've been reading all along, hope you enjoyed!

A bientôt, mes amis.
~Laura

2008-06-30T18:36:00.039+08:00

I am almost at the end of my Hong Kong ETA experience. And what an experience it has been. Unexpected events, happenings, and growings up (hopefully). I will not be updating this blog too much after I get back to the States, since it was created for the sole purpose of tracking my time in HK. I feel the need for some closure on my time here. I've still got two and a half days, but that's nothing. I also still have to pack my room, which is a slightly larger something.

I have spent eleven months outside of the United States and my family and friends back home. I've made new friends here, predominantly among the other ETAs. I've learned how to eat all kinds of food that first off I never thought I'd eat (shark fin soup once only, jelly fish, chicken's feet, etc.) and second off always with chopsticks. I appreciate how wonderful the mass transit system is, though no doubt true appreciation won't arrive until I get back to using not so great and/or non-existent public transit at home. I've discovered new favorite drinks (iced lemon tea, which I can actually say in Chinese, gasp), new favorite restaurants and types of food, and the glory of arriving back in the gray box that is my room after a two hour trek from the main island or Lantau or wherever I've gone. I've eaten more instant noodles than I ever thought I would, a feat for me, since I've always been fond of ramen. Interestingly, I no longer eat cup noodles....I think I burned out after the, oh, I don't know, thousandth cup. I know and understand the glory that is 7eleven, and the fact that it stocks incredibly useful and incredibly bizarre things. I appreciate the various promotions said store(s) have done (Doraemon stampers, Hello Kitty whatever they were, and Paddington bears). I love the prevalence of taxis. I enjoy being able to go to the beach, even if it takes forever to get there. I love the shopping situation here, including my love affair with the store Esprit. *sigh* I got my hair chemically straightened here, and it still looks good even though it's grown out for several months now.

This seems a list of trivalties and not at all representative of what a trip to Hong Kong should be like. And true, if I think about the other 'big' things I did, I come up with lots more: teaching trips in China, Aladdin Jr. choreography and performances, SAPs/WAPs, developing and teaching modules, Self Access assignments, seeing pandas at Ocean Park, formal dinners/meetings with US consulates and donors to the program, two invasive knee surgeries and months of physical therapy, visiting Beijing, teaching primary school children English and seeing how excited they got to see us and play English games, shopping in the markets, eating a lot of interesting and usually enjoyable food, etc etc etc. And these do shape my perception of Hong Kong and my year here. But it's the little things that come to mind as I sit at my desk in the ETA office and think back on what I've done and experienced here.

I know that much, or even all, of my postings have been less reflection and significantly more recounting of this that or the other. This post isn't much different, only more comprehensive.

Also, let me bring something up that dominated my posts from 2007 and even into 2008. I tore my ACL in August of 2007. I had an initial arthroscopy in early September and reconstructive surgery at the end of October. It seems like that was all a bad dream now. Even the constant twinges of pain and the fact that I can't sit or stand or walk for extended periods of time (completely dreading the flights back, by the by) don't serve to make the experience more real to me. At the time, there was nothing more real, more terrifying, more lonely. I remember, feeling helpless and alone after my second surgery, when I had no visitors to the hospital, when all I had was a book (Starship Troopers I think) and a pain that shot from my toes to my hip, when my only visit was the hospital chaplain who came by and spoke with me for almost ten minutes and made me feel that I was not going to die and that this was not the end of the world. All a bad dream now. Admittedly, a dream that can still wake me up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, but a dream nonetheless. Even the painfully bland and unemotional letter from my surgeon means nothing to me anymore. The scars on my knee are vivid and noticeable, but they don't hurt. The feeling in my leg is coming back - it's not completely numb anymore. I can wear heels, I can run down a flight of stairs (not while wearing heels, obviously, being one of the most clumsly people I know), I can dance, and I can go on a trip to China without feeling like I might fall over/not be able to use certain bathroom facilities. I know I've talked about it a lot. But it was a big deal. I had to grow up a lot, I had to put up with a lot of pain, and I had to do a lot of it alone. I was knocked out twice and woke up, feeling awful, but never so happy to be awake. Although it might have been easier, in the short run, to have torn my ACL in the States near people who could take care of me and where the doctors and nurses first language was English, I'm so grateful that it happened abroad if it had to happen, in a country where even though I'm not a permanent resident, they paid for my surgeries. I only had to front the cost of Physical Therapy, overnight stays, and 2/3 of an MRI scan. And I am without words to describe how thankful I am that I had a surgeon who knew what he was doing and did it well, to have had a physical therapist who kept pushing me even when she knew I was in pain and didn't want to go on. Without them, I can't imagine what sort of condition I'd be in now.

Once again, I've lost myself in a torrent of words and have no idea what my point was to begin with. Hmmmmm.

Well, we'll do this in list form for now.

Favorites
Restaurants: Curry King (Tai Po), Ajisen Ramen (all over), Lemon Chicken restaurant (Sha Tin), Funny Drink Restaurant aka Blue Mountain cafe (Tai Po)
Stores: Esprit, Page One, Tai Po Plaza (series of small shops with amazing and ridiculous finds)
Mall: Festival Walk (Kowloon Tong)
Bus: 275 hahahaha, especially on Sunday, ha. ha. ha.
Beach: Lantau one (can't think of the name) or Shek-O
Amusement Park: Disneyland
Prominent animated character: Stitch
Food: dim sum!, chicken curry fried rice with an egg, chicken with lemon glaze, noodle dishes
Music Video: Jay Chou's Cowboy on the Run
Drink: Tung leng cha (spelling?) Iced Lemon Tea
Hospital: Nethersole Hospital Tai Po
Place to be at night: my room, one of my neighbor's room, the office
Chewing gum: Airwaves Herbal Mint

Most useful
Item from home: ipod speakers
Piece of advice: calling cards are a lot cheaper than just calling straight from your phone
Word: mgoi
Article of clothing: umbrella
Store: 7eleven
Book: Lonely Planet China
Thing: Pack of tissues. Always always carry tissues.

Most interesting
Comment: Your face looks fatter.
Outfit (that I have not worn): shorts, boots, and something glittery/frilly/ruffley
Outfit (that I have worn): leg warmers, heels, black halter dress
Bus ride: E41? Any minibus ride, because it feels like death coming at you at every turn
Things I have bought: all my souvenirs, my bright yellow jacket, and my huge silver bag
Trait that I picked up while over here: saying hai-a in a really whiny way

Most common
Comment: You look Chinese.
Food: Rice. And tea.
Difficulty: Lack of Chinese language knowledge/heat/humidity/rain

I'm sure I'll think of other things later on, but this will do for now, since I've been pecking away at this post for almost an hour. Should probably go work on packing. Or dinner. Either would be advisable.

Song I've listened to too many times while writing this: Bleeding Love
Why, why am I listening to this song?

2008-06-26T21:16:00.002+08:00

The sky cleared enough to go to the beach on Saturday, which was lovely and clear and beautiful. Went to Lantau and did some swimming and lying out - but mostly just fell asleep for about an hour. I was feeling pretty sick.

Sunday was the kindergarten graduation. So adorable! They were wearing black robes with bright green bowties. And then they did their 'show,' and the class that I worked with was winter. They were wearing Christmas-y costumes and winter wonderland outfits. They did a 'dance' that I helped with. :) It was a music medley starting with a Disney version of 'Step in Time' which sounded oddly and suspiciously like a very bizarre and fast version of that song in Mary Poppins. Then, it moved into 'Jingle Bell Rock' and then into a Chinese version of 'Amazing Grace'. Very pretty. The other classes were the other seasons, including one season which used 'All for the Best' from Godspell. Pretty awesome. Felt awful after that (head swimming, feverish tendencies, etc) but had work to do in the non-airconditioned office, and then took a looooong nap. Then more work. Then more sleep.

Monday, hmmmm, Monday. Oh, I had to go to Wan Chai to take care of some businessy stuff related to taxes etc. Then went to lunch at a Sichuan restaurant in Soho. From there, back to campus, and then! And then! Monkey Mountain! hahahahaha. Serious hardcore monkeys everywhere. Some of which hissed and assumed attack positions. When they dropped down on the handrails next to you, it was pretty much terrifying. They were eerily human at times, especially the babies.

I went into the mainland on Tuesday with a couple people. Back to Guangzhou! My first China visit, and probably my last. *tears* We stayed overnight at a hotel. The first day it was really really hot and sunny, and we walked around, did a bit of shopping, ate some good food, and went on a cruise of the Pearl River. The next day it was raining. We went to a couple temples, the art museum, and dinner. We took the train there and back. Good times.

Today I had my last class with the kindergarten. Even though they've graduated, they still have three weeks of school left. I don't think these poor children are ever done with classes. We played games, and I had made candy bags for all of them. So it was a good time. Went bowling and had dinner. Good times.

Must needs get up early and pack a box and do laundry. Lots to do before I leave for the States. *meep*

Books I have Read in Hong Kong

2008-06-20T15:38:00.001+08:00

Guide:
Bold – Read more than once (and probably more than two or three times)
Italics – Had read prior to coming to HK

Achebe, Chinua
Things Fall Apart

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
Purple Hibiscus

Anderson, Kevin J.
The Emperor’s Plague
Darkest Knight
Heirs of the Force

Ba, Mariama
So Long a Letter

Binchy, Maeve
Circle of Friends

Brown, Dan
Deception Point

Browning, Robert
Collected Poems (working on it)

Card, Orson Scott
Ender’s Game
Speaker for the Dead
Enchantment

Chang, Iris
The Rape of Nankin (working on it)

Coetzee, J.M.
Age of Iron

Cushman, Karen
Catherine, Called Birdy

Dangarembga, Tsitsi
Nervous Conditions

DeMaurier, Daphne
Rebecca

Dick, Philip K.
Solar Lottery

Dostoevsky, Fyodor
The Brothers Karamazov (working on it)

Eco, Umberto
How to Travel with a Salmon
Faith in Fakes (working on it)

Grahame, Kenneth
The Wind in the Willows

Gregory, Philippa
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Virgin’s Lover
The Boleyn Inheritance

Gristwood, Sarah
Elizabeth and Leicester

Hardy, Thomas
The Woodlanders

Heinlein, Robert A.
Starship Troopers
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Requiem
Methuselah’s Children (working on it)
Space Cadet
The Door into Summer
Glory Road (working on it)

Hughes, Thomas
Tom Brown’s School Days

Iyayi, Festus
Awaiting Court Martial

Jacques, Brian
Mossflower
Outcast of Redwall
The Bellmaker
Marlfox

Juster, Norton
The Phantom Tollbooth

Kidd, Chip
The Cheese Monkeys

Lee, Harper
To Kill a Mockingbird

Neruda, Pablo
Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair

Ngugi
I Will Marry When I Want

Orwell, George
Down and Out in Paris and London

Palahniuk, Chuck
Rant: An Oral Autobiography of Buster Casey

p’Bitek, Okot
Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol

Proust, Marcel
Swann’s Way (working on it)

Pullman, Philip
The Golden Compass

Ransome, Arthur
Favorite Russian Fairy Tales

Roth, Philip
Portnoy’s Complaint (did not finish)

Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Rushdie, Salman
The Moor’s Last Sigh

Sachar, Louis
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Wayside School is Falling Down

Sayers, Dorothy L.
Thrones, Dominations

Shaara, Jeff
The Rising Tide: A novel of WWII

Silverstein, Shel
A Light in the Attic
Where the Sidewalk Ends

Smith, Alexander McCall
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Soyinka, Wole
Death and the King’s Horseman

Tartt, Donna
The Secret History

Waugh, Sylvia
Mennyms in the Wilderness

Turner, Megan Whalen
The King of Attolia

Alison Weir
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Innocent Traitor
Elizabeth, the Queen

Yolen, Jane and Robert J. Harris
Queen’s Own Fool

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm

At least a dozen Agatha Christie Books
Scores of illustrated children’s books
And others I may have forgotten

2008-06-20T13:12:00.003+08:00

Less than two weeks left in Hong Kong. Ahhhhhhhhh. It's a hard concept to wrap my mind around. I can't imagine what it will be like to not be able to hop on the bus/KCR and go somewhere with fantastic stores, food, sights, etc. Not knocking the States, but it's just a whole different world here.

The LSAT is mercifully over. And I'm already starting to count down days till I hear back. But not quite. It's more that it just matches up almost perfectly to the days till I'm back in the States.

I feel that the next thirteen days are going to be crazy hectic, running around taking care of paperwork, packing, seeing the last few things, trying to figure out what all is happening in the States upon my return, etc.

Bit jittery at the moment.

2008-06-09T21:54:00.002+08:00

Flash floods, sea sickness, gambling, and Portuguese/Chinese encounters, also known as my weekend. :)

Friday went to pick up my glasses...awesome. Statement making in that they're black plastic frames and have glitter/rhinestones on the sides, but they fit and although they did make me dizzy and gave me a headache the first day, it went away relatively soon. As opposed to my other pair of black glasses which gave me a three day headache and made the world look a lot taller and further away than normal.

But the fun stuff! Macau.

I had originally planned to go just for Saturday. I was going with some people who were overnighting it, but I wanted to get back, be able to study, and not drop a ton of money. Went to bed late late Friday night, woke up earlyyyyyyy to the rain that seems to never stop. Didn't think too much of it as I got ready to go, but as I left the building the security guard gestured emphatically and excitedly to the door sign, which said that a black rainstorm warning had been issued. So I nodded and breezed right on out.

Taxi to Tai Po Center, 307 to the Central Ferry Piers. Should have been around an hour on the bus. Ended up being much more, because apparently a black rainstorm warning means A LOT of rain. The roads flooded in Central. We saw taxis stopped in the middle of the road with water up to their bumpers, trashcans floating down the street, restaurants/hotels/stores with the water lapping inside and sometimes even covering the floor. People were knee-deep in water and sloshing around. Luckily the bus got through a lot of the deep water, and we got out on a part of the street that wasn't incredibly flooded. Dashed through the rain to the ferry pier and managed to catch the boat we were supposed to take even though we were running late. I've been on a fair number of ferry rides in my life (around here and then out to Bald Head), but this one made me sick. Thought I was going to be violently ill, but managed to drift off to sleep for a bit.

Woke up to rain in Macau. Got off the boat, went through immigration, then wandered around in the rain trying to find the free shuttle bus to take us from the pier to the hotel. Had decided by that point to spend the night. My ticket was originally 11pm Saturday night, but the weather in HK being what it was, I thought it wiser to just stay in Macau. Anyway, finally decided to take a taxi to the hotel which wasn't that far away. Checked in but couldn't actually get into the room till after three. So we went to the Venetian. Which is a very large hotel/casino/shopping center. We took the free bus back to the pier and then another free bus from the pier to the Venetian.

How to describe the Venetian? Expensive, but almost gaudy. Really high ceilings with creepy chandeliers that were made of something that almost looked as though they could have been highly polished bone? Not sure. Bathrooms were nice. We wandered around and had lunch at a sort of all-you-can-eat buffet, only a very nice and classy one. Didn't eat a terrible lot because my tummy was still feeling funny. Then we wandered around the shopping mall. I assume it was built along an Italian theme...river with gondolas etc. Lots of shops, lots of people, the ceiling vaguely reminiscent of HP (painted to look like the sky). Finally went down to the casino. I played some of the slot machines which was fun. Lost of course. One of my friends played Blackjack, which looked like fun, but for my skill at playing it and the price of the buy in - wasn't worth it for me.

Left the Venetian and went to the hotel. Dried out for a bit. Then went for dinner at this Portuguese style restaurant. It was good. Walked around, saw the different casinos, and then went into the Wynn casino. We walked around it and ended up at the Starbucks there. :) I got id-ed going in. Not sure why. None of the others were stopped, but the guard looked my passport over. *sigh* Got back to the hotel at a reasonable hour. I didn't have any clothes with me as I hadn't planned to spend the night. I bought a tank top at the Venetian (at a 'cheaper' store) to wear under my jacket for the second day.

Woke up somewhat late on Sunday. Watched a bit of TV - we saw the dragon boat races! Then checked out of the hotel and went to Las Ruinas de Sao Paulo. Walked around, bought some things including a present for someone! ;). We stopped by a church. I can't remember the name of it, but it was a Catholic church. I don't know if I've seen an actual old-fashioned confessional booth in real life. The rain at least had stopped, thank goodness. Instead the sun was incredibly hot and the humidity intense. But still good to be hot than soaked. We had dinner at this little diner type thing. Apparently restaurants are not open between 3-6, and we had to eat early so that we could get to the pier by 6:30. I didn't eat much because I was afraid the voyage back might be sick-making. Had essentially a drink with frozen fruit in it. Tasty.

Got to the ferry pier, checked in, boarded the ferry, and THEN they announced that "There is rubbish in the intake" and we had to turn and go back to Macau. They made us get off and board another boat. But the passage was swift, didn't get sick, and they gave us complimentary Oreos. Took the bus back to Tai Po, stopped by McDonald's for a snack, and then back to campus.

I liked Macau. I also really enjoyed trying to figure out what all the Portuguese signs and menus said.

Today was another public holiday. I slept in, went to the grocery, studied for the LSAT etc. I teach tomorrow, only day this week since I took vacation because the test is Sunday. *meep*
Terrified out of my mind.

Lots of things that need to happen between now and when I come back home. But none of it matters till after this test. Wish there were going to be people around the Saturday before the test, but most people will be on an outing to Sai Kung. Didn't want to run the risk of getting back at midnight the night before the test, and Sai Kung is pretty far out. It's okay. I'll have time to do stuff after the test. I hope. *fingers crossed*

And I'm once again at the end of a long rambly recounting of things I've done.
*deep calming breaths*
In the immortal words of the Little Engine Who Could: I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can....

2008-06-03T13:03:00.002+08:00

I'm down to the last month in Hong Kong, which is crazy. My time in college flew, but this! This was ridiculous...seems like only days ago I was getting back from our China trip, and not that long ago that it was still 'cold' out.

Now, it's humid, hot, rainy, and bug-infested. But that deters me not at all...well, okay, actually it deters me a bit. Hate bugs and go into panic mode at sight of them usually, rain has prevented the beach excursions, and the humidity just makes it hard to see (when I come out of the AC, or the air-con if you will, my glasses fog up preventing sight and encouraging near death encounters with large busses). But! Life is good. And KY humidity probably won't feel half so bad...maybe.

Have not managed to do many of the things I mentioned in the last post, except study. Putting in anywhere from two to four hours a day, and it's helping. *fingers crossed* Have also read three and a half Heinlein books since I think Thursday. No, I haven't finished Brothers K, but am working on that too.

I bought new glasses yesterday. Made the (correct) choice between getting my hair chemically restraightened and spending the money (plus some) on a pair of glasses that I will be able to use for years. Love the ones I have, but I need the new prescription. And it's cheaper to buy them here. At least the lenses are by quite a bit. If I'd buy cheaper frames, it would help, but hey! I think that the total price is still under what my current ones cost, just not as cheap as I could have gotten.

Have discovered that 7eleven sells frozen xiao long bao. It's not the best ever, but it makes a nice snack change to cup noodles. I cannot wait to get back to the States and have a few American dinners. The food here is great, but sometimes, you just want a steak. Or a brautworst (spelling?). Or that pasta dish with brie. Or cheese. Lots of bread and cheese. ANd to drink water at restaurants. I like tea a lot, and coke is okay, but I grew up drinking water with my meals, and I miss that. Or to make cookies, brownies, and cake with home-made icing. Yum!

2008-05-18T21:52:00.002+08:00

So yay! I had my birthday, obviously, and it was good times. I celebrated by teaching a couple classes at the primary school (they both sang happy birthday to me because my co-teachers knew it was my bday), a rousing dinner at McDonald's, and then bowling!

Since then, I have been predominantly working in the primary schools both on this campus and the other. I have also been to the beach a few times...back to Repulse Bay, then Shek O, half-hearted beach trip to an island whose name I forget, and Lantau. I think I could make a habit of going every Friday, assuming it doesn't rain. I've been wandering around Hong Kong some, doing a bit of shopping, sightseeing, eating. I went to the Bun Festival on Monday, which was at the above island. It was crazy crowded, there was a long parade, lots of buns, etc. It was fun, although incredibly overwhelming.

I've been doing a lot of reading and studying as well. I started Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov about a week and a half ago. It's really good, but of course incredibly intense. And sometimes, I'm just not quite up to a good theological and psychological discussion of everything and anything. Which is why I got The Phantom Tollbooth from the library today. I'm partway through several books right now: Brothers K, Phantom Tollbooth, The Woodlanders by Hardy, starting a book of Robert Browning's poems, have started Umberto Eco's Faith in Fakes, am almost consistently somewhere in the middle of The Secret History, and I'm about to start a Concise History of the Catholic Church. I really do need to make a list of what all I've read in HK. I think it would be illuminating.
The LSAT studying is happening, and it's having a slow but much needed effect. Although I'm still missing quite a few questions, first off I'm missing less, secondly I feel like I have a better grasp on the test (that is to say, I'm not guessing on half the questions), and finally I don't hate it quite as much as I used to. Today alone I've spent about three plus hours with it. Yesterday I worked for about three as well. Either Monday or Wednesday I'm going to make myself sit down and take a full-out test (five sections instead of four). Less than four weeks now...the panic has *finally* kicked in.

Many primary school lessons this week, lots of studying, hopefully a beach excursion, and I'd like to knock out a couple hundred pages of Brothers K if possible, read some poetry, finish the Hardy book because it's not long or hard but I've been reading miserly bits for almost three weeks, etc. And I want to take either the 271 or the 307 and get lost in TST or Central respectively. I mean, my purpose is not to get lost, but rather to wander. Although knowing me, the getting lost is bound to happen.

2008-05-02T15:24:00.002+08:00

Been awhile.

So China. I went there again. We had our second teaching attachment trip, and I was in Nanjing. We flew out of Hong Kong on Thursday morning and came back not that Sunday but the Sunday after that. So 10 days.

We were lodged comfortably in Western style at the Green Tree Inn, which, unlike the hostel in Guangzhou, pretty much opened onto a main street with stores, taxis, and food. We were responsible for most of our own meals, although we did have some arranged dinners which were usually Chinese style banquets. And the hotpot we had the first night. Solid mushroom hotpot. I've never eaten that many mushrooms, being not a huge fan, and to be honest, I'm not sure I even was aware of the fact that there were so many edible mushrooms.

I got, as expected, what I shall refer to as the Tour Guide syndrome while in Nanjing. Hanging out with a bunch of people who, not to put to fine a point on it, are clearly foreigners, all people turn to me to translate. Which makes it even funnier when one of the other ETAs busts out their putonghua instead. I can pretty much only say thank you, and even that I manage to mess up by thanking people in Cantonese instead of Mandarin. Of course, now that I'm back in Hong Kong, I want to thank everyone in Mandarin now.

Our duties were pretty straightforward. We were teaching at an Institute that was across the Yangtze River, so we took a bus back and forth twice a day. It is a huge river, and the bridge is forever long, and the traffic is crazy. Also, interestingly, there are bus stops in the middle of the bridge, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. You'd think that once you were on a bus on the bridge you would just want to cross all the way over, not get off midway and catch another bus. Anyway, we mostly worked with small groups of students...intensive talking and such. They had some questions already developed, but a lot of it was just impromptu. We also did a games morning which was pretty fun. Sack races, three-legged races, limbo, relays, etc. We ate at the canteen on campus for lunch. And we had a guest room on campus so that during our long breaks we could go chill out (literally...I was not prepared for how cold it was).

I also went to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, twice actually. Once with just a couple other ETAs and once with my group of eight. It's intense, gloomy. I have no idea how it compares to the Holocaust Memorial, but this one did not beat around the bush and had a fair amount of brutal photographs and stories in addition to more innocuous artifacts.

I got sick upon returning...tummy troubles. Went to the ER and when I had told them that I had been in China, they just nodded and said 'Ah, so you ate dirty food.' *shrug* I'm feeling better, but still pretty shaky. I just ate my first decent meal in a couple days, and it may or may not have agreed with me. But then again, curry fried rice may or may not have been the nicest thing to give it. I'm just so sick of bread and crackers.

We're starting up projects at new primary schools next week in addition to continuing our duties at the primary school on campus. Much of the other responsibilities are falling off as students leave campus. And I...I need to crack down on the whole studying thing.

Anyway, it's Friday, I've spent the majority of the last five days in my bed feeling miserable. It reminded me uncannily of the early parts of September and November. *shudder*

2008-04-07T23:11:00.002+08:00

The weather, after several days of blah and rain, has brightened up and is wonderful again. In spite of my illness, I took advantage of it this weekend to go for a hike/walk at the Peak and then to go to the beach! I hadn't been to a beach in Hong Kong (except that disastrous attempt to Sai Kung shortly after my surgery when I couldn't go in the water...see one of those November entries about that), so this was my first proper time to the beach. It was nice. We went to Repulse Bay which like everything awesome in HK (except Festival Walk) is a good two hours from campus. Anyway, we read on the beach, went swimming, and built a large sand wall to prevent the tide coming in. It reminded me of being at Bald Head and the many times that I would do said activity, or just dig really big holes in the beach for no good reason whatsoever.
What I liked about Repulse is that I felt safe, which is odd, because I usually feel incredibly unsafe at beaches. The waves were not strong, there wasn't really an undertow at least where I was, and the water is 'fenced' in. Normally I don't like to go in much over where I can touch, but I felt comfortable swimming out.

Anyway, I got a fantastic tan and the sun, sand, and water cleared up my head for a bit, although by the time I got back to campus, I thought I was going to die from my headache. But it was totally worth it.

Chill day today...called in sick to the primary school since it sounds like I'm trying to cough up my lungs. Taught a class here. Went to the grcoery. Cleaned my room. Took an LSAT test....well, 3/4 of one. I'd done the first section last week. I need a lot more practice, suffice it to say. Took a two and a half hour nap where I had strange dreams about books I've been reading. Incredibly disconcerting.

I can't believe it's April. I feel like time has been steadily increasing in speed since I went off to college. Freshman year was so quick, soph/junior year even faster, senior year a blur, and this! Sometimes it feels like I've been here for years, and other times it feels like I just got off the plane and am still jet-lagged. Of course, the hint of the Aug/Sept weather helps that sensation.

Oh! And I can not only jog and wear small heels...I also *finally* broke myself of the habit of using my knee brace.

2008-04-01T23:06:00.003+08:00

So Easter Holidays. Two weeks. Crazy lots of time that I thought would be spent loafing, reading, etc. And there was some of that, of course, but there was also lots of other exciting and novel things as well. To begin with, I had to get a new Visa to China due to an unfortunate set of markings on my previous Visa. This involved two trips to the main office branch in Wan Chai (about an hour and a half from where I live...a bus, a train, and a ferry away). There was a long wait, mostly due to the fact that we went on a Monday morning with public holidays approaching. We had to go back that Thursday to pick them up, and we were lucky enough to get multi-entries! Which means that for the next six months, I can go into China as often as I like. The first week of break involved hanging out with some of the other ETAs who were on campus. There were multiple bowling trips (one night that included playing pool), shopping excursions, and meals of course. I went hiking finally! After the last disastrous attempt two and a half weeks after surgery in Sai Kung, this one was pleasant and not as challenging, although there were still stairs, hills, and dirt paths. The thing about HK is that it seems at times deceptively small, yet it takes ages to get anywhere. It took I would say a good two hours to get to the place (bus, train, ferry I think, bus, and then taxi). But it was worth it. Parts of it reminded me of hiking in Bernheim Forest, of which I have many fond memories. Of course, we didn't stop to search for shale or attempt to make arrowheads, but still. After the hike, we swung by a beach and soaked our feet in the ocean for a bit. I can't wait till it's warm enough to go to the beach properly since I missed all that this summer what with the surgeries and all.

Let's see, what else did I do? Tutored, started studying for the LSAT with a little bit more serious attention than I had shown before. I learned how to knit! I am in the process of making a reddish scarf that has the misfortune of fluctuating dramatically and frighteningly in width. But as it's my first one, I can only hope that I shall improve over time. I read a lot, but that's hardly surprising. I'm back in my Tudor England kick again after reading a lot of African Lit and History in preparation for my module. And I think my next 'reading project' if you will is Korean history. I've forgotten everything that I learned about it in college, and I remember that I liked reading it, so I'm going to try to add that to my schedule.

Anyway, the really fun stuff: Beijing!!! Four of us went, which was the perfect number. We took a hard sleeper train up. There are six beds to a room, and we had the two middle and two upper bunks. We couldn't actually sit up properly in them, but we mostly sat out in the hallway blocking the way and playing cards which was fun. The trip took approximately 24 hours, which is a long time to be confined in the amount of space we had. We got into Beijing on Tuesday afternoon and took a harrowing bus ride to our hostel. The hostel was called the Red Lantern. The four of us shared a co-ed room with two bunk beds. We unpacked, went out for dinner, and then walked around Beijing. It was much colder than I expected it to be...I guess I've gotten used to HK weather or something.

On Wednesday we woke up, had breakfast at the hostel, and then left to go to Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. We took a bus there, walked around, took pictures, etc. It was really impressive. I had no idea how big the Forbidden City was (I'll post Beijing pics at a later time, after I load them to my computer). It was imposing, austere, and amazing. Then we went to a late lunch/early dinner and had Peking duck. Quite tasty. From there we took a taxi to the Temple of Heaven. It was this huge circular building, painted with brilliant blues, reds, and golds. It was surrounded by other buildings, long paved pathways, and a park that we walked around. The park was disturbing, and at first we couldn't quite place what it was, but we finally figured it out. We think they buried the trees. Like maybe by several feet. There was no sign of roots, and the huge branches that I normally associate with being higher up on the trees were significantly and bizarrely close to the ground. Then we returned to the hostel and rested for an hour or two, then headed out for dinner and to check out the night life of Beijing.

Slept in on Thursday, rolled out of bed and had a very slow start to the day. I was already starting to come down with a cold from no doubt being improperly clothed for the cold weather. We rented bikes and biked around Beijing, and honestly, that may have been my favorite part of the trip. Biking around Beijing is craaaaazy. There are biking lanes, but there are pedestrians there as well. And in some areas, you don't have your own lane, or even if you do, the buses pull into it and honk at you to get out of the way. And while I don't mind too much playing chicken with pedestrians, other bikers, and even cars, playing chicken with the buses is just a bit too much for me I think. It was also wonderful for me to be able to do that kind of physical activity I think...it made me feel less like a hopeless cripple and more like my normal relatively active self. We went out for dinner, but I can't remember where....all in all a chill day.

Woke up at 6ish on Friday to go to the Great Wall. We went to Mutianyu (I'm sure that spelling is atrociously wrong), which was a popular area, but not overly touristy. We took a cable car up the mountain to the wall, and with my dislike of heights, it was a somewhat frightening ride. Unfortunately, the weather decided that it wanted to rain after three days of nice sunniness. So we did the Great Wall in a cloudy misty haze, which lent it an aura of mysteriousness and gloominess. Then, because we were up so high, the misty rain turned to snow. Which was actually quite magical. We were on the Wall for almost four hours. There were lots of stairs and ups and downs, so it was challenging without being overly so. However, towards the end, the snow had melted and made the walkways quite slick and after I slipped and fell, we decided to go back down and have a hot cup of tea. We were also by this point all sick. :)
We returned to the hostel and napped, then we got back up to go out to dinner. We picked this great Sichuan restaurant. It was cheap and the food was great. And before I can continue my story of the night, I must say a little something about taxis in Beijing. They do not exist. We tried to flag down a taxi after dinner for almost half an hour...we were walking around looking for them and they were either all full or they wouldn't stop. Of course, it was night and rainy, so that didn't help. Anyway, we finally stopped outside of a hotel and decided that our best bet was to see if they would call us a taxi. So I went up and asked the concierge, and apparently in Beijing they don't actually telephone for a taxi. So one of the staff went outside and hailed us a cab. Which was great. Thanked him for that. And luckily, the concierge had asked us where we were going and was able to communicat that to the driver much better than we would have been able to.

Woke up on Saturday, packed, checked out, and went to the train station. We had gotten a soft sleeper going back for just a little bit more than we had paid for the hard sleeper (the hard sleepers all being full for the most part except top bunks which we didn't want). So it was just the four of us in a car and we had room to sit up in the bed. We slept a fair bit because we hadn't been sleeping a lot in Beijing and because we were all sick. We also played round after round of Hearts. And I shot the moon!! Arrived back in HK Sunday afternoon, got back to campus, did laundry, and then went to the office to do work to prep for the week.

So that's that. Photos will be up soon. I'm going to Nanjing soon with the ETA program, so I'm looking forward to that too. And since I have a multi, I may try to pop into China for weekend trips (weather, leg, and finances permitting) before I leave. I can'tbelieve it's April. Three months left in HK. And only two and a half left till the LSAT. That's terrifying. I'm really going to miss living here.

But all in all, a great break. Looking forward to whatever comes next!

2008-03-09T17:19:00.003+08:00

With the end of Aladdin, one would assume that time would suddenly be a bountiful commodity, but alas, such is not the case.

Interestingly, dance things have kicked in. I did an African dance workshop on campus on Thursday. Six people showed up and we danced ourselves silly. I was impressed with how quickly they picked up the moves! It was a lot of fun...and a lot of work. I'd forgotten how exhausting teaching/learning that dance is. Then, another ETA and I are working on some dances for a thing (apparently my new favorite word, on this day) in April. Indian dance, which to use an expression from my PT I've only touched. We worked two and a halfish hours on Friday, and it was good. Also a workout, which is what I need. Not quite related to dance, but physical movement none the less, I can jog! Not long or quickly, but I can do it!

I volunteered to do a Primary School Easter party on Friday afternoon. We had the students decorate paper eggs and then had them hide and find them. We also did an egg toss with hardboiled eggs. It turned into more of a throw-the-egg-as-hard-as-you-can-while-screaming-or-giggling-hysterically event, but was amusing for us.
I will also be doing (with other ETAs) an Easter party in the dorm on Tuesday. And in preparation of that, we 'blew' eggs today. This involves making two small holes in an egg and blowing out the contents then cleaning them in preparation of decorating them. This makes them last longer. Although I miss making Easter eggs back home and having contests with them.

I (finally) started LSAT prep. With the assistance of another ETA who has already taken the test, I started working on the Logic Games section. And it's so much easier to understand what's going on when someone maps it out and helps you work through a problem rather than trying to figure it out through a book. I've still obviously got much more work to do, but at least I don't feel quite as helpless as I normally do when faced with those questions.

I also went to a karaoke place last night! We got a room (seven of us) and sang loudly and no doubt offkey for close to three hours. It was a hilarious and good time.

Easter break is in a week. It seems like we're always having breaks. Ridiculous. I plan to study/explore Hong Kong. I was in Wong Tai Sin today looking for the place where I'll take the LSAT (yes, I know the test is in June, but one of the other ETAs has a test there in a few weeks, so I tagged along for the finding of it), and I realized how much I don't know Hong Kong at all. We'll blame my knee.

The weather is being simply stunning. Warming up, sunny, a little snap in the air. :)

And classes are going well.

So I guess my week can be summed up as a week of egg-blowing, scream singing, mall shopping, lsat studying, Easter partying, random dancing type THING.

2008-03-03T11:04:00.006+08:00

Random (Aladdin) Picture Time!

Guards, Narrator, Townspeople, Carpet, Parrot

The Guards

The Dancing Girls on the Balcony

ETAs!

Trying on other costumes after the show

Jafar and me

The only place I had to put my lovely flowers was the extra garbage can

Sultan, Jafar, Aladdin, and choreographers

Guards and Parrots (one of my fav dressing room pics)

Yes, I wore this for a dance....

Genie, Cloud, Jafar

All Hail Prince Ali!

Parrot and a Cloud

Cast and Production Team

2008-03-02T13:33:00.002+08:00

And it's March! I used to be much better with keeping this updated. I'll blame Aladdin for it...it seems to be the convenient scapegoat for why I haven't studied for the LSAT, sent out resumes, etc. But Aladdin is over, sadly. It was really fun. The performances went well, the audiences were pretty good, and there are going to be some great pictures from pre, post, during, and post-post show. And we're getting copies of Thursday night's performance, so everyone who wants to see the ridiculousness that was Aladdin Jr can. :) And the cast got us (us being the choreographers and the directors etc) beautiful bouquets of flowers! It was so sweet of them. I didn't have a vase big enough to hold them (there's so many), so I used the extra trashcan in my room. I'm so incredibly classy.

The weather is starting to warm up and yesterday and today it has been absolutely gorgeous! I went to Yuen Long Saturday with another ETA and the teacher we work with at ECLC. We had Thai and Vietnamese food, which was really good. And then we went to Wong Tai Sin temple and then to a garden place in Diamond Hill. It was so nice to be off campus and outside in the nice weather.

Easter break is in two weeks...it's two weeks long. I feel like we just came out of Chinese New Year vacation, so it's odd to have even more time off. I plan to wander around HK, study, read, and honestly probably do a bit of shopping.

We got our assignments for the next China trip. I'm going to Nanjing! Very excited about that. We're going mid-April and that is pretty much the extent of my knowlege on this particular subject.

It seems so weird to not have Aladdin anymore...it hasn't quite sunk in yet. I've been working on it for six months or so. Odd.

As we go on
we remember
all the times we've
had together
and as our lives change
from whatever
we will still be
friends forever
(albeit perhaps facebook friends)

Ohh!! Random note. I saw my surgeon again on Tuesday. According to him, I'm still fighting for the last 2-5 degrees of straightening on my knee. But! I don't have to see him again till the end of May, which indeed may be the last time I ever see him. *sniff* And my PT, who I saw on Thursday, says I can start doing once a week PT visits, as long as I keep up the exercises at home and start going on walks/jogs. So cheers!

Photos to come at a later date.

2008-02-17T20:35:00.006+08:00

It's mid-February! How crazy is that?

They started me on the treadmill this week, at a brisk walk of 5.5 kph. Being on a treadmill is an incredibly disorienting and yet somewhat enjoyable experience. Like the stepper. But I feel both would be enhanced if I were allowed to listen to music at the same time. I see my surgeon in a week and a half again. So we'll see how that goes.

The three modules are going well, although one of the Spanish classes was really quiet in terms of participation. I started up the next round of Social English, which also went well. Aladdin is one week till opening night!

I bought another LSAT prep book, this one specific to logic games, as I'm not really having much luck with them thus far at all.

We had a great Valentine's Day party at the dorm last Tuesday. Cookie decorating, card making, and music...quite a few people came, they seemed to enjoy it, and we didn't have an excessive amount of candy leftover, surprisingly.

I restart classes at the Primary School tomorrow!

And now random picture time again!

2008-02-10T10:53:00.000+08:00

Happy (belated) New Year!
It's the Year of the Rat!

We had the week off because most students go home for the holiday. I went shopping earlier this week. :) Partially for sweaters and t-shirts (I realized I have only one warm sweater and only black t-shirts) and also to get things for our dorm Valentine's Day Party. It reminded me of being an HA again, buying arts and crafts supplies and a vast amount of candy. So that should be fun.

On Thursday some of us went into TST for the parade. We waited for almost an hour and a half, and then the thing kicked off. Some of the floats/performances were really interesting, like the one where a collection of children perched precariously on sticks or something several feet above the ground. There were dancers, elaborate costumes, dragons held by people on rollerblades. The floats were essentially a showdown of major companies or attractions in Hong Kong, such as Cathay Pacific and Ocean Park. There was one that was an ad which read "Shop for Real" meaning don't buy fakes. I couldn't see too well because we were three or four rows back from the parade and everyone had huuuuuge cameras that they shoved up as soon as anything approached.
Oh, and we also went to the Wishing Tree at Lam Tsuen. Supposedly, at one point, you threw oranges at the tree and if they stuck then your wish came true...? Or something. But when we went, the tree was pretty much tied up and there were signs asking that things not be hurled at the tree.

Today I have a half day practice for Aladding, 2-9. Weeeeeeeee!

2008-01-28T10:43:00.000+08:00

I'm soooooooooooooo cold.

And I figured out how to upload pictures! It was really easy...it just must not have worked the first time I tried. So here's a little bit of randomness from Hong Kong:

Costumes from Aladdin, "Friend Like Me"

Costumes from Aladdin, "A Whole New World"

My room when I first moved in....it's a lot nicer looking now.

The view from my room.
The view from my room.

Me as Stitch at Disneyland!

PS! My bamboo! Alive and well!

C-block at IEd (canteen, library, etc)

View from LP, outside C-Block.

My campus is so fun! I post more pictures later, when I take some more good ones. :)

2008-01-24T22:12:00.000+08:00

First week of full schedule. I had my Spanish modules with the other ETAs, and those went well. We have some new students in Spanish 2 who have never had Spanish before, which is mildly problematic, but we'll work that out. And then today I had my Intro to African Lit class. Only nine people signed up for it, and only 7 showed, so it's like a small intense lit course back at Bryn Mawr. It's actually kind of nice, because we can circle up and discuss. I just hope everyone sticks it out through the semester. They're all nice though, so we'll see how things go.

I had my first reading back at ECLC today, the kindergarten. They're all so adorable. They were New Year's greeting cards to put in little red envelopes. Ooh, and I have a lead on a volunteer opportunity while here. More about that if it works out. :)

2008-01-18T21:12:00.000+08:00

Long time no update....craziness.

I went to Ocean Park last weekend. We saw the pandas! And we totally saw the pandas taking care of their daily business, heeheehee. And we went on a few rides, played a few games, ate a lot of food. Tried to find a panda stuffed animal. Well, found lots, but they were all either huuuge or not soft at all. I suppose I shall just stick to collecting stuffed penguins. Went to the dolphin show as well. They're so cute! And when they flip up in the air, they remind me of wontons. *shrug*

Speaking of things in HK that remind me of really odd things, I finally realized what's bothered me about the apartment buildings (besides the fact that I'm scared of heights). They remind me of the scene in The Matrix when Neo wakes up and looks down, and you see all those pods of humans being raised. Sometimes, the apartment buildings look like that, especially ones that aren't just very tall rectangles, but have more angles and stuff.

The semester has started up again, but slowly for me, which I guess is nice. Classes started two weeks ago in the Primary School and Aladdin rehearsals, then the workshops kicked in last week, and next week my modules (the co-taught Spanish ones and my Intro to African Lit one) start this week. Yikes! Much to do. This will be a busy working in the office weekend I think. Which is all right with me. It's gray (or at least it was today) and it's cooooold. The fifties. Freezing at night, without AC. But I'm enjoying it, since it's much easier to layer on warmth than deal with the heat of the summer.

I saw my surgeon again on Tuesday. I didn't have to wait long this time to meet with him, and then he told me that my knee was still lacking the last five degrees but that he wasn't worried about the bending bit. I see him again in six weeks. Ooh, which I think is the same week as Aladdin. Mmmm, well, I assume the appt will be in the morning, and the show is, oddly, at 4:30. Still doing PT. Same old same old there, only I think my PT thinks I'm not trying. *meep*

I read a really interesting book last week...Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. Terrifying, if you think about it, but engrossing. Then I read the second book of the series...not quite as good in my opinion, but that might be because it's a bit harder to follow and the violence (though significantly less in quantity) was much worse in quality.

Oh! And I've purchased something fantabulous. I think it ranks in the top three most awesome items I've bought in HK (it's pushed the blue glasses off the list); I got a striped sweater hoody with a Hello Kitty on the pocket with a fuzzy pink bow. Hahahahaha. But it's very comfortable...not terribly warm, but I figure it'll warm up again soon.

For a man of your charisma and mystique
It's taken far too long for you to reach your peak
Why is my status always quo?
Why does no one want to know?

~Jafar, "Why Me", from Aladdin, Jr.
(The lyrics just take over my mind sometimes)

2008-01-04T10:03:00.000+08:00

Happy Belated New Year's!

I didn't do much of anything for New Year's, but that's okay with me. I'm not a big New Year's person to begin with, and the crowds and the money and all that...meh.

Let's see. I went to Disneyland on the 30th! It's tiny compared to the Disneys in the States, but that was okay because I was able to get around the park in a day. Stayed until the the sun set, and then the castle at the entry to Fantasyland lit up in a dazzling array of glitter and lights. Saw Disney characters (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, Mulan, etc) but sadly no Stitch. There was a 'ride' that had about an hour line for Stitch Encounter. We had no idea what it was, but as a fan of the Stitch, we waited. It turned out to be an interactive Stitch ride, where they must have had several cameras hooked up so that the 'actor' who was voicing Stitch could talk to the audience and respond to what they said. It was pretty hilarious. Then there was a ride on a 'river' complete with fake animals that sprayed water or popped out of the river, dolls that 'shot' at you as you passed, a fire breathing um cave, and garbled narration.

I finally went to one of the markets, in Mong Kok. I bought some presents, including a pair of sunglasses for me. Merry Christmas me! It's funny, you walk down this long street with a lot of people and stalls on either side, and you come across several places selling the exact same things...the beaded bracelets, the jade keychains/cell phone charms, the embroidered bead bracelets for lack of a better way to describe them, really nice jade and wood figurines, fans, etc. And tons of Gucci bags. I kinda want one, although I'm totally not the type who goes for namebrand prominently displayed all over something. Had good dim sum that day too. :)

I saw the Golden Compass!!! *Spoiler alert/if you don't want to hear me go into the details about book-to-movie things you should skip the next two sections*
All right, so let me preface this with two things: 1) I read His Dark Materials Trilogy (Golden Compass, Subtle Knife, and Amber Spyglass) a long time ago...I remember waiting for the third book to come out with the same fervor that some people awaited HP7. I have reread Golden Compass more times than I care to count, judging by its broken spine, the evidence on its pages that I read it while waiting for bloody noses to subside, the softening pages from constant handling, etc. And I really really like those three books. 2) I think that some book to movie endeavors work really well. HP, for example, I think works. I'm not sure about LotR because I never actually finished one of the books, but they were still good movies.

With that said, it was a highly disappointing and unexpectedly so movie. Lyra was all right..she wasn't like I pictured her, but that's to be expected. I liked the character of Roger. The daemons were amazing. And I want one. How the daemons die I thought was well done. Nicole Kidman, although I do not really like her as an actress, was amazing as Mrs. Coulter. The sets were interesting, and I think they did a decent job of trying to create a world like ours but not. The way they did the reading of the Golden Compass was interesting...confusing but interesting. The plot! The dialogue! My goodness! What were they thinking? Putting aside the book, the movie plot was terrible. It didn't make sense. The transitions from Svalbard to Bolvangar...that makes absolutely no sense. The character of Iorek was contradictory and ended up just being wishy washy. He's a warrior by trade and personality, yet rather than being a compassionate warrior and caring for Lyra, he becomes some sort of overly parental overly worried character. And the way he delivered his lines, and admittedly he had some ah interestingly worded lines and by that I mean just terrible lines (an example? "Do you wish to ride me? We will go faster without armor."), just made everything more cheesy. And the movie was just one big lead up to a climax that never really came. It kept you worried and for me on the edge of my seat because it was quite suspenseful, but it seemed to be only that. It was event after event, with no down time...I was constantly worried about what would come next...and I even pretty much knew what was coming. And back to the book version, they didn't end the movie!!! Spoiler! You have to kill one of the characters off and rip open a gateway to another world at the end of this movie, or else there's no way to start the second movie! Yes, while it made the book unbearably sad because of it, it has to happen! Oh, and the whole dance around the "Authority/Magisterium" thing...fffft! Did not work. Oh well. Oh! But the way they construed the process of intercision was creepy and scary and hearbreaking.

All right, I'm through ranting. I just hope The Other Boleyn Girl is less disappointing. If nothing else, I'm sure the costumes will make up for it. :)

Wow, I'm listening to Jay Chou, and this song sounds like a song by Manau, who are French. Or is Manou? I forget...I lost the CD. *tears*

2007-12-25T23:01:00.000+08:00

Happy Holidays!! Merry Christmas!!

I had TGIFridays for Christmas Eve dinner...and even more surprising I had a salad. *gasp*

And just think: "It's Christmas, for goodness sake. Think about the baby Jesus... up in that tower, letting his hair down... so that the three wise men can climb up and spin the dradel and see if there are six more weeks of winter. "
~Karen Walker

2007-12-23T22:26:00.001+08:00

An uneventful week. Wednesday night, I went to see the Nutcracker done by the Hong Kong Ballet. It was good. Very different from what I'm used to, and I didn't tumble to what was queer about it till halfway through the second act. They're not much for petit allegro. There's not a lot of footwork or anything, it was much more elaborate lifts, impressive leaps, and series of turns. The pas de deuxs were all fantastic strings of lifts and dangerous looking poses. The Sugar Plum Fairy's pointe shoe ribbon wasn't tied correctly, and she had to run offstage during the big duet to retie it. The Prince walked, literally, in circles gesturing grandly but awkwardly. Heehee.

The Stuttgart Ballet company is coming to HK in February. They're going to do Swan Lake and some ballet called Onegin. I think I'll go see it. And then the HK ballet is doing an All Tchaikovsky show in March, which I will also try to get to. We had tickets for the second balcony, which is farther from the stage than I've ever seen a show, but it was nice. I could see all the formations (speaking of which, I wasn't terribly impressed with the Snowflake scene or the fight scene...the choreography didn't seem to match the music at times and the fight lacked a certain je ne sais quoi...liveliness if you will. But the Arabian dance was quite fantastic. And the costumes were gorgeous...although tending to run in the white/pink/yellow range, and all very pale). Anyway. Yes, I forgot what I was saying. Oh right, the tickets were only 75 HKD which is crazy cheap, because we got Student Discounts.

For the most part, I've spent the last week reading, watching Friends, and sleeping. And I've done a bit of shopping/making Christmas cards. I sent a package home on Wednesday with Christmas cards for everyone...I hope it makes it there before everyone leaves town.

Mmmm what else...I guess that's about all. Done a lot of Agatha Christie reading, started reading Proust which I enjoy. He's a bit dense to read though. And I took out a Faulkner, just to give him another try.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to everyone!!

2007-12-18T21:04:00.000+08:00

So the lack of updates has been due partially to lack of internet/computer access and partially to laziness. I was in China last week, Fulbright related, so that was pretty fantabulous.

We left for China at the crack of dawn on Monday. A van picked us up from IEd and took us to the Hung Hom station where we indulged in early morning greasy McDonalds. The train took us from HK to Guangzhou and we got in around lunchtime. We stayed at a hotel/hostel that was on the Sun Yat Sen University's campus. It was nice...two ETAs to a room, tv with Chinese MTV!, our own bathrooms, etc. One thing I will most emphatically not miss about campus living be it IEd or BMC is communal bathrooms. Anyway, we had lunch at the restaurant that was about one minute from our dorm (we had most meals there). It was...an interesting meal. Family style with the lazy susan turny thing. Chopsticks, tea, only spoke Chinese, that sort of thing. Then we had a tour of the campus and a tour of a connected campus. Then we had dinner. Then I think we just had free time after that. Or something. Was pretty much exhausted (not used to getting up at 5:15 in the morning), so I went to bed early. Which leads me into the next awesome thing that occurred.

Mosquitos. Or gnats. Or some sort of insect that ate us alive. And we all know how well I react to any sort of bite. It was a bit cold, so I had bundled up in long pants and a long sleeve shirt and was curled up in my blanket, with only my face accessible. And was it ever. Woke up Tuesday morning with about five bites on my face. Itched infernally.

Breakfast (which is an unusual occurrence in my life) was in the restaurant. Since I don't normally eat before 11 or 12, greasy food was kinda rough on my tummy. But it was good. Then we went to the secondary school where we were going to be observing and teaching that week. We sat in on three classes (two junior classes so I think they were like junior high age and a senior class which was more like 16 or 17 year olds maybe? hard to tell...I'm terrible at guessing ages). Then back to the restaurant for lunch. Then back to the secondary school to meet with the headmaster and watch a bit of a performance that the school had brought in.
At the meeting, our contact lady opened up the Fulbright newsletter that had brief bios of all of us. Fulbright had requested them last summer, and I had written mine knowing that people would see it but not realizing that it would be the defining summary of my life for people. And she asks, who is Laura Brymer? And I raise my hand, and then she says something along the lines of oh I see you do hip hop and dance...would you like to do a dance on Thursday at the junior talent show? And because I am not gifted with the ability to say no apparently, I said sure why not? Literally, I actually blushed beet red and stammered out "Sure why not?". *sigh* Anyway, having committed myself to that, I was now stuck with the problem that I didn't have any of my music with me. After dinner, we were allowed to go to their computer lab...where the internet moved at about the pace of snail mail. Once we were on, it picked up a little (an infinitesimal little), and so I found a youtube clip of Justin Timberlake's "My Love" and sent it to our contact and told her that I'd dance to the first three minutes of it. Please keep in mind that I had not choreographed anything to it nor ever performed to it, and that I am not really trained in hip hop, but am in fact and mentality a modern/ballet dancer. We also had to work on a presentation we were going to do on Wednesday...the 16 of us had to talk to the Junio class (around 250-300 students) about school and life in America. We broke into groups, and my group had weekends, family, and recreation to talk about. Rather than straight-up lecture, we had three activities. But that comes later...suffice it to say that we rehearsed for a couple hours that night to the intense amusement of ourselves and fellow ETAs.

Tuesday night. The little bugs were back with a vengeance. Not only did they bite me, they bit my eyelids. I woke up in the morning and my eyes were different shapes because the lids were so swollen. It looked like I had smeared red eyeshadow onto them after I punched myself. And they itched itched itched. I had 11 bites on my face. Half of which have scarred and left marks.

Wednesday morning, I think at breakfast we had egg tarts. Or maybe that was Thursday. Anyway, breakfast, back to the secondary school. Two groups of ETAs taught two different classes while the rest observed in the back. Lunch. Back to give the talk to the students. Okay. What my group did was start off with a cheer, one about spirit, which we taught to the entire group. Then we went into handclap games played by students at school, which they also imitated. And finally, we sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Hahahahaha. For those of you who don't know, I cannot carry a tune for my life (or so I've been told and to which I wholeheartedly agree). Anyway, it was pretty fabulous. The kids got a kick out it I think. Then I got my hair cut after that! There was a haircutting place right out the door of our hostel, right next to the convenience store, which was really a cluttered small room. It was the most elaborate fantastic hair cut I've had. They shampooed my hair/massaged my head for almost twenty minutes. I've never had a shampoo done while I'm sitting up in the chair...an interesting thing. Then the actual cut, wow. They pretty much followed my previous cut, but they did it slowly and with great concentration, to every single hair, I kid you not. The whole deal took an hour and a half...and cost 25 yuan. That's about 3 dollars. Crazy. Then we had an "English corner" which was incredibly misnamed. There was no corner. There was a huge pagoda like thing with a bell and no lights outside, and we were thrown into it. We gathered and talked to people in the dark, whose faces we could only barely distinguish. Perhaps talk gives off the wrong impression. We shouted for an hour and a half. Soooo many people, all chatting away. And most of them, actually the majority of the ones I spoke with, were not students of the university, but just business people, students from other schools who just wanted to practice English. We finally excused ourselves. Some people were going to get massages. I opted out...I'm not keen to have my muscles beaten to a pulp. I talked with a couple ETAs who stayed behind and went over the lesson we had to teach the next day.

Thursday, breakfast, back to the secondary school. We were the second group to teach a lesson, senior students. We had been assigned the topic of global warming. *shrug* So we did a powerpoint (I thoroughly enjoyed doing the the animation sequences for it) and then had them make posters with ways to exhort people to save energy or save the planet, etc. They got into that, which was good. Always stressful to get up in front of a lot of students and your peers. Lunch yadda yadda yadda (I'll write about the food later). Then the talent show. It was called the Foreign Talent Show or something, so all of it in English or English culture related (mostly American, though). The students were really good. There was some singing (karaoke and then a duo singing Phantom of the Opera), some skits, a duo of hip hop dancers who were great! And my favorite event: they take a movie (we saw Finding Nemo, Ice Age, and Ratatouille I think?) and mute it and then they do the voice of the characters. Pretty funny. Other talents included recitation of memorized speeches. And an impromptu sing-along by two ETAs...they were having computer trouble and asked us to fill the time slot....so it was done with I think Jingle Bells. :) And then me. I did my dance...was crazy nervous. I realize, I'm so not a hip hop dancer. I can do it if choreographed, but I should never never wing hip hop. Ugh. They seemed to like it all right though, so that's good. And then they convinced my co-choreographer and I to get up and do Magalena, which is a song both of us have danced to in our respective College dance careers. Good times. Not so much for the knee though. But! I can say that I have danced to Magalena and Justin Timberlake...in China. :) That night, the secondary school took us on a dinner cruise on the Pearl River. It was great. Buffet style, went up and down the river, lots of lights, good company. I like boats.

Friday morning, breakfast, then we went to a primary school and observed a lesson and talked to students and teachers. We had lunch there...they give you huge portions of rice. I don't know if they do this generally or if it's just us, but we get huge portions of rice. I could eat it maybe over the course of three meals. And I always feel bad about not finishing it, especially since the lesson we sat in on was called "Saving is a Virtue." After that, we went on a tour...kinda. We went to the museum of the tomb of the Nanyue kings, the Chan family temple, and then shopping. Oh and dinner. First time I've been served chicken feet in my soup. We also saw monkeys on a leash! Just walking around the shopping square.

Saturday morning, breakfast, bus ride to another college, talked to some students and teachers, took some pictures, and then came back to our hostels to finish packing. We had lunch in the VIP room of the restaurant with the VP of IEd who was a visiting lecturer that weekend and the Dean of Sun Yat Sen's faculty I believe. A very nice meal, a very nice send-off. Then we checked out, got on a bus to the train station, on the train back to HK, then a taxi back to IEd. Was wiped out by the time I got back. Unpacked and then crashed.

The food. All right, the food was good. But it took a bit of getting used to. I'm still trying to acclimate myself to seafood, the most I will normally partake on my own is a bit of shrimp or some calamari. But they had some great spicy meat dishes, greens of some sort every night, rice of course, huge bowls of congee in the morning, fruit at the end of every meal (and they have these great little oranges that are so sweet and yummy), often a noodle dish, egg tarts twice, lots of grease and oil, yum yum yum. And all incredibly and almost surprisingly filling. But tasty.

Okay, so that bring me back to HK. Sunday I stayed close to campus I think. Actually, I have no idea what I did other than sleep in. I went shopping today for card-making materials.
OH! Wow, totally slipped my mind. Last night, Monday, we were taken out on another boating outing. A yacht, I believe, took us to Lamma Island for a seafood dinner. The ride was so pretty...I love being on the water, with the wind blowing in your face, although as per usual, I wasn't dressed warmly. That seems to be my major issue with boats...the last three I've been on, I've practically frozen. Anyway, the dinner was goooood. Elaborate, well presented, yummy. Started out with ginormous prawns, moved to cuttlefish fried I think, then scallops with tons of garlic, then duck which was fabulous, then ummm spicy I think, then grouper a huge monster of a fish with the head and eyes and all that still attached, then dessert I think. Oh, and a small bowl of fried rice. I couldn't eat the prawn, I couldn't. It had legs, long antennae, and eyes. I just couldn't. Ate everything else though. :)

And that's that. What an incredibly long post. I wonder if it makes any sort of sense. I've been making dozens of tiny paper snowflakes, and my fingers are all cramped. Not that that would affect the coherency of this post, but you know. Yeah I have no idea either.

I need to end this post.......

"His destructive programming is taking effect. He will be irresistibly drawn to large cities, where he will back up sewers, reverse street signs, and steal everyone's left shoe."
~on Stitch

2007-12-05T11:35:00.000+08:00

Things that amuse me:

1) I was leaving the hospital this morning and saw a bus which said: Spastic Association of Hong Kong.
2) My PT today asked me which exercise hurt more: the one where they rig me up to a pulley or just pulling my bent leg into me. I said the latter. She then told me "Oh, then you need to try harder. You must hurt yourself more."
3) Making gingerbread houses and decorating cookies! (or rather, watching students make gingerbread houses and eating all the cookies)
4) my new boots! Fantabulous. They completely change the way I walk, and I realize how much I've missed making click-click-clicks as I walk.
5) Students mispronouncing (in a story they have to read for a pronunciation test) words. Eeyore is really hard. And another ETA heard 'Pignet' for 'Piglet'.
6) Adorable kindergarten students. Every time I work the kindergarten class, it makes me want to be a young-children's-teacher. Hahahahahahaha. Can you imagine?

Things that are frustrating and yet still amusing:

1) Waiting an hour to meet with my surgeon for him to spend less than five minutes with me. And then he just tells me that I'm still off on my extension by 5-10 degrees and he'll see me in six weeks. But! He makes me so nervous! And it's hilarious! On a medical level, I completely trust him and think that the procedure went quite well (as far as I know)...no massive swelling or bruising, off crutches within two and a half weeks, etc. But on a personal level, he makes me nervous...he seems flustered (maybe because of the English, but his English is really good) when he meets me, and then he stares me straight in the eye when I'm talking but his eyes flit all over the place (wall, charts, ceiling, papers) when he's talking. He also told me that if the screw in my leg bothers me, they can take it out in a year. Hahahano.

I guess that's the only thing I find frustrating at the moment.

Things that make life awesome:
1) Watching the scene with Genie and Aladdin Monday night. And then teaching and practicing "Friend Like Me". Let's say that during one of the run-throughs we couldn't even finish the song because I was laughing so hard I couldn't count it out for them and they missed the musical cue.
2) Going to China on Monday!!!!!
3) No PT for twelve days!!!!!!!! :-)
4) Getting a real meal for the first time in four days tonight!!!!!!!

Sometimes I have to go through and remind myself that there's so much more to my life than the hospital and my stupid stupid knee. I've been three times this week already to the hospital. *sigh* It hurt so bad today. I blame having to be on my feet for work for several hours yesterday.

But but! Life is good! Fun! Awesome! And pain that makes you cry isn't enough to be a problem, yeah?

The sun on the meadow is summery warm
The stag in the forest runs free
But gather together to greet the storm
Tomorrow belongs to me
The branch of the linden is leafy and green
The Rhine gives it's gold to the sea
But somewhere a glory awaits unseen
Tomorrow belongs to me

2007-12-03T13:37:00.000+08:00

Music I have heard in the last couple days:

- A Tori Amos song from the album "Little Earthquakes"...sung in Cantonese.
- "Amazing Grace" at PT, sung in Cantonese and English
- "Phantom of the Opera" immediately following "Amazing Grace". Nothing like balancing on the Biodex while the best duet ever comes straining through a tinny boombox.

I returned my crutches today! I saw some other kid, probably at secondary level, getting coached on how to use crutches today. I felt so sad for him.

2007-12-02T20:29:00.000+08:00

Sunday night again, and the days are just flying.

The week went fine. Nothing terribly exciting Mon-Thurs. We got to try on our costumes for Aladdin. The white ones are really pretty...long silky white skirts and short tank tops with sequins. The ones for Friend Like Me are hilarious. Bright Christmas red frilled button down shirts with paper-thin glittery silver tuxedo jackets. And silver top hats with glittery. Amazing.

Tuesday night there was a nail painting event at the dorm...I did French tips! :)

On Friday a few of us went on a shopping trip for our dorm Holiday party. We had to go to Ikea far far away (all right, Kowloon Bay, but it's a lot farther than Sha Tin) for gingerbread house kits. We're going to make houses, decorate cookies, make snowflakes, and have holiday songs. I've been making snowflake decorations yesterday and today. I'm getting better at them, which doesn't say much considering how the first ones started out.
On our trip, we swung by Taste at Festival Walk and got a baguette, Brie, and Edam. Yum! Haven't had cheese like that in ages. So delicious.
Friday night I went bowling! My first game was terrible, even by my standards. My second game wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. The place was really nice...clean, brightly lit, etc. It was also in a place called The Wonderful World of Whampoa. Across from a mall in the shape of a boat, sitting in about half a foot of water.

Saturday I went to Tai Po for a bit of shopping. I got boots! Boots that I can actually wear...ie without enormous heels like the ones I have. And opaque tights for warmth! I might even go back and get another pair. I've been wearing a lot of skirts here (my dress pants are too long to be worn without heels, can't wear heels because of my knee, and so), and with the weather getting 'colder' my legs are always cold. And a great black and white skirt...a little thin and perhaps thus summery. But considering it really isn't that cold here, it shouldn't be a problem. I also got a new blanket, and I've realized that one of the reasons I haven't been sleeping well the last couple nights is because I'm cold. I slept so well last night. Despite the fact that I am coming down with a cold. *pouts* Sore throat, sneezes, head and body aches. Hopefully I can shake it before China! We're leaving in a week. Very exciting!!!

Today I slept in for hours...and then I got up and did laundry and went back to sleep. So I've been awake for a total of maybe five hours today. *beams*

Arabian niiiiiiiiiiights
Like Arabian daaaaaaaaaaaays
More often than not
Are hotter than hot
in a lot of good waaaaaaaaaaays
Arabian niiiiiiiiiiiights
'Neath Arabian mooooons
A fool off his guard
could fall and fall hard
Out there on the duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunes

*pleased face*

2007-11-25T19:12:00.000+08:00

So it's Sunday night, I'm doing my typical at the office, which is a combination of getting a lot done and getting nothing done all at the same time. Oh and Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone!!!

Anyway. Let me tell you about Saturday. *takes a deep breath* But first let me remind you that I had knee surgery three and a half weeks ago.

An excursion, if you will, had been arranged for us to go to a beach with someone who had a lot to do with the creation of the program here. It was a beach/hiking day. Now, what we all assumed was that it would be a beach and then hiking for those who chose. I checked in with our contact here and asked if she knew anything, and she said no. What I should have done, of course, was to get the contact info for the person who arranged the trip, but I didn't, assuming that since we were taking a boat to the island, there would be somewhere that I could hang out and read while others hiked. Such was definitely not the case.
We got on the bus at 745am. Arrived at the pier at 815. A group of college JYA students show up (Junior Year Abroad) to go with us. Good times. The boat ride is a good hour and a half, and it was incredible. Islands, wind, sun, etc. A little chilly, but that's a boat for you. It finally pulls up at a concrete pier. No beach or anything remotely akin to it within eyesight. I'm thinking, mmkay, maybe it's a short walk away, I can do that, no big.
It's a 5 km hike up a mountain and down the other side. And I'm not talking about a little hill. I'm talking about a fairly steep incline. And I have to go...because there's nothing else around. Anyway, to spare you the details, some of the other ETAs walked slowly with me and we got there. We got lost and ended up in a rocky trench and a cow field at one point, but we got to the beach and it was beautiful. Goregous day, gorgeous view, wonderful in general. Of course, to get to the right beach, I had to either backtrack (fortyfive minutes probably) or go up another large rocky hill. Did that. Was fun. Reminded me of Bernheim forest, which I like.

Anyway, got there, ate, lay on the beach for a bit and then had to hike the 5k back to catch the boat. But before that, I had a bit of a brush with one of the other students. I believe she was trying to be nice, but it didn't work, whether intentionally or I don't even know what. (I actually had it written out here, but decided not to be petty...I mean, I'm not in college or a small petulant child anymore, so you'll have to take my word that she was rude) Actually, I think I am a small petulant child. But I'm trying to get over that.

All in all, despite the pain, it was a fun day. An adventure. And while my body hates me, I'm still glad that I went. Mostly. Kinda. :)

Totally different but equally important:
I'm looking for a picture book that's easy to read to the little ones (age 5) at the kindergarten. And I was looking online for ideas, and came across all these wonderful wonderful books I read as a kid. We had tons of picture books back home, and I didn't realize how many of them were so widely acclaimed. I think I've settled on "If you give a mouse a cookie" or one of the Curious Georges. I may end up sitting in the library rereading half of them tomorrow. Except, of course, that I have work to do.

I got my glasses, but I have to go back and get them adjusted. They're too loose...I kept trying to tell the person that, and he kept fiddling with the bit that goes behind your ears. But I've worn glasses long enough that I KNOW that on my face, you have to tighten it at the front or it's just going to fall off. *sigh* On the bright side, I can see. I didn't realize how much I actually needed the stronger prescription.

Let me see, what else?
My optional module got approved, so cheers.
Aladdin is going well.
We're going to China in two weeks.
I celebrated Thanksgiving with ETAs at KFC (good except they had no biscuits. What is the point of KFC without biscuits?).
I currently have a ginormous headache from the iced coffee I just drank.
I also have an unfortunately long list of things to be done tonight/tomorrow morning in terms of lesson prep.
I'm back to three times a week for PT. They are now attaching me to a pulley to work on range. I hate them sometimes. I mean, don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything, but sometimes it's really hard to like someone whose job it is to physically hurt you in the name of making you better. But I will reiterate once again that I really like my PT. She has a no-nonsense way about her that is exactly what I need. Now if I only actually did everything that she told me to do, I'm sure life would be better.

**edit**
Hahaha, so I edited the post right here. Why? Because I realize I made the same observation about this being the 3rd Tday away from home. Apparently I have a terrible memory. I could have sneakily deleted evidence of this and you would have been none the wiser. But I think it's funnier this way. Plus, it will amuse me a year from now when I go back and reread parts of this.
**end of edit**

Here I am again, trying to figure out how to end this post and rambling myself off into oblivion.
I guess I'll end with one of my favorite quotes from Lilo&Stitch.
*clears throat*

"Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind."

Come to think of it, that may be the only quote I know from Lilo&Stitch.

2007-11-17T22:50:00.000+08:00

One of our directors for Aladdin had asked if we would be willing to help out a former student (we being me and the other choreographer for Aladdin). She's teaching at a middle school and is directing a play. And we agreed, and so this morning we caught a taxi to somewhere in Tai Po. I don't remember the name of the school, mainly because it was written in Chinese, but it was one of those seven or eight story buildings, staircases interspersed at what seems to be random intervals, bball courts and playgrounds, and a gorgeous view of the ocean. We were on the top floor and looked out and could see the water (it was a really clear day) and the little islands...if that's what they are. So, the play that was being done is a 7-page version of Romeo and Juliet. Hahahahaha. Amaaaazing. Since Shakespearean English is a bit of rough going at, really, any middle school, a narrator was added: a student who is supposed to be reading it for class and then falls asleep and has a dream in which Shakespeare walks her through the play. But! Okay, they show (briefly) the actual ending, you know the whole Romeo and Juliet die and it's sad. And then, the student goes no no! Too sad. And so it's rewritten, and I would like to excerpt from the actual script here:

Tybalt: Romeo, you and your family are crazy. You should go to Tsing Shan Hospital!
Romeo: I'm not crazy. You are crazy. Now go away before I get upset.
Mercutio: You can't talk to Romeo like that! I'll fight you!
Tybalt and Mercutio fight kung fu style. Romeo tries to part them but all three end up hurt. Make it slapstick. Finally, Romeo saves Tybalt as Mercutio is about to kill him. Juliet enters, with her father.
Lord Capulet: What is going on here?
Tybalt: I was just about to be killed when our enemy, Romeo, saved me.
LC: What? A Montague saved you!! This is wonderful. Romeo, is there anything I can do to repay you?
Romeo: You could let me marry your daughter Juliet.
LC: Never. She loves a man named Hilton. I mean Paris.
Juliet: No father. I love Romeo. I have loved him with all my heart for two minutes now so I think it is serious.

~From "Romeo and Juliet Revisited" by (I think) Cora.

Pretty awesome. Anyway, the play ends with a party/dancing. So, there are two 'dances'. The first, of course, is the scene where R&J meet the first time. It's about a minute long to a slow song. I actually drew on my experience when my middle school did R&J (which, for those who saw it, was ridiculous and unfortunate), and used a few moves from the dance sequence there...only this was much shorter and easier. I saw in them the same reluctance and ooh-he/she-has-cooties-I-don't-want-to-dance-with-him/her that affflicted our version. The second dance is the ending. Apparently, our director had suggested the song "Livin La Vida Loca". No. So, we go through my ipod, and come up with (are you ready for this...): Do Wah Diddy. Hahahahahahahaha. It's fantastic. The dance is all of thirty seconds and it's absurd. Love it. So that was a fun start to the weekend.

After that, we left and went back to Tai Po KCR station and bought tickets for The Nutcracker!!! So excited! I'm pretty sure I haven't seen it since I was in it. So actually, I don't know if I've seen the whole thing straight through since before I was in it. We are going to see it on the 19th December, it's the HK Ballet Company, and I'm very excited.

After that, we decided that pizza was the best way to go. So we went to Pizza Hut and had yummy cheesy pizza. And on our way out, we decided to go look at glasses. And I got a pair. :) I don't have them yet, because the lenses have got to be put in, but I'm excited. They're blue, somewhat rectangular, and are awesome. The salesman really wanted the two of us to buy glasses, so he gave us a special discount. Price breakdown: 480 for the frames, 880 for the lenses (which is 400 more than most people would pay but because my eyes are so bad, I have to get special thin lenses so that it doesn't look like I'm wearing Coke bottom glasses), and then a 360 discount. So it came to a thousand even. Which is, what, 130 USD? My last pair of glasses were 99 just for the frames, so I'm quite content with this. I had my newest glasses prescription, which I hadn't gotten filled yet, and they went ahead and gave me an eye test just to verify. So sweet. Should have them Friday.

Then I came home and napped. And then I wandered around my room, read, watched movies, painted my nails, and did my PT exercises. My PT would be proud. Tomorrow is going to be chock full of lesson planning etc.

WooOOOoooOOOoooOOO!

2007-11-16T14:35:00.001+08:00

Graduation is today and tomorrow here at IEd. There's crazy madness. I had PT early this morning (a whole story in of itself) and by the time I got back, there were security guards, police, taxis, people running around in robes with flowers and large stuffed animals. Next time I graduate from somewhere, I would like a two foot stuffed animal with a graduation cap...preferably a Hello Kitty or Stitch graduate. Anyway, I didn't actually go to graduation (mine was long enough thank you very much), but I peeked over to where it was being held. It's in the Central Plaza, outside, near the Canteen. And if you've not been to IEd's campus that means nothing, and if you have, then you probably didn't need me to tell you where it was. Anyway, it seemed quite nice. I like their hoods better than the ones I had at graduation...mainly in that they're not made out of rabbit fur. They all look like they could be teachers. When I graduated, I didn't look like I was ready to go out into the workforce. Sometimes, the students here look so young, and yet the graduates looked like they had the confidence I lack. Although this could be because they know they have been trained for the profession they are about to enter, as oppposed to me. So since I didn't see any of the ceremonies, all I can say is that they blocked off the short way to get to the office and my knee locked going the long way and there was no food for lunch, and believe it or not, I think I may need to eat something other than Cup Noodles.

Now then, on to the never-ending-somewhat-amusing-sometimes-depressing saga of my knee.
They came up with a new way to erm help me today. It involves electrical stimuli. They attach electrodes to my thigh and I get 10 seconds of electric waves or something during which I have to hold my leg off the table as straight as I can get it and then 10 seconds of a break. For fifteen minutes. And having electricity run through your leg is weird. It tingles, kinda hurts, and feels odd. And then the pain from having to hold my leg up didn't help. *sigh* Oh well. I got a new expression about pain though. "You have to touch the pain." I like this one. You know, you don't go up and shake pain's hand and say "how the hell are you doing pain?" You get to just poke it, maybe with a spoon? Like a badger, really. :)

Thanksgiving is coming up. How bizarre.

I slipped this afternoon. They were washing the floors on my hall, and I knew they were wet, so I was walking very slowly and carefully with one hand on the wall, and I still slipped. I'm so clumsy sometimes, it's hard to believe I can perform onstage.

We blocked "One Jump Ahead" last night. It pretty much looked a hot mess. But then again, "Prince Ali" looked a good bit worse when we started it, and it's cleaned up quite nicely.

I realize that as I write these entries, I can't figure out how to stop talking/writing, assuming I'll run out of steam sooner or later. So I just keep going. But I have a meeting sooner rather than later, and so I have to end this thing somehow...

je suis venu mais je suis pas venu tu penses

2007-11-14T23:21:00.000+08:00

What a long week, especially considering it's only Wednesday. I guess because this is the first week where I've not skipped out on stuff post-second-surgery. Stitches came out yesterday. My surgeon confirmed what the PT (not my normal one) said, that I am about 10 degrees off on the straightening of said knee, and waaaaay off on bending. He said it seemed stable and that there wasn't too much swelling. I saw my PT this morning. She ripped the bandages off my stitches and said they were good to go. She also put a weight on my leg to press my knee to the bed. *sigh* I really like my surgeon and PT...they feel almost like family, even though my interactions with them are infrequent and short (my doctor) or punctuated by their trying to hurt me and vehemently insisting that I can do better (my PT). I mean, where else in HK am I going to get someone to tell me "Off! All four limbs!" or "If it hurts too much you stop. But if it only hurts some or little bit, you push more until it really hurts"? Also, I really appreciate (in that I think it's funny and will laugh about it years from now but right now it just makes me sad) that the last two times I've gone to the hospital, the PTs take my crutches away and hide them and won't give them back until I leave.

So I started a new activity this week...reading to the kindergarten children. So adorable. I read "The Sneetches" and "What was I scared of?" by Dr. Seuss. And next week I get to read "The Hungry Caterpillar" (an old friend of sorts) and then they're going to make their own caterpillars. They were all kinds of shy/energetic/bouncy/adorable. And some of them look eerily like pictures of me when I was little and had a short haircut and chubby cheeks.

Let's see...oh. Last night I got an email from another ETA with a request to help a professor with some French Christmas carol that she was teaching her choir. So I went and read very slowly the French while she recorded it/repeated after me. Thank goodness she didn't make me sing it. *shudders* It amazes me, sometimes, that I've been in musicals considering my incredible inability to sing. So it was good times. And on the note of foreign languages, my HP Spanish came in! And yes, there are many many words I don't know or verb tenses I struggle with, BUT! I understand most of it. I suppose it helps that I read it once, a couple years ago, in English....

We started teaching the last dance to our dancers on Monday. They have expressed the sentiment that they like this one and that it's cute. *yay* It's to "Friend Like Me" which is a great song, although this version, being's as it's in Aladdin, Jr., is cheesetastic.

PS is still alive, although I am somewhat worried about him. He's starting to look not quite like he did when he arrived. I may have to take the pink bow off...

Thanksgiving is next week. How weird is that? This won't be the first time I haven't had Thanksgiving dinner...actually, it'll be the third year in a row. But it still feels weird. Especially as I have to work on Thursday. *gasp*

Ummmmm, what else? Ohhh, I got "Black Skin White Masks" by Fanon from one of the other ETAs...I've been meaning to read it since I was introduced to Fanon with "The Wretched of the Earth," so I'm interested to see what this much lauded book will say. Speaking of books, when I was in the little kids' section of our library picking out stories to read to the kindergarten, I came across "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Wind in the Willows." I haven't read either of them in so long. I checked both of them out...I read most of TWitW (wow that pretty much spells twit) in the forty-five minutes while I was waiting for the surgeon to see me on Tuesday. I love finding old books that I read back in the day and that are buried somewhere in my collection of novels back home. A few weeks ago, I came across "Island of the Blue Dolphins" in the LLC, and read that while I sat at help desk (which only one person came to in two hours...oh Saturday work shifts). Good times.

I had ramen and deep-fried-boneless-chicken for dinner. Serious yum. And then I bought a lip gloss and a small bottle of eau de parfum...Bulgari (spelling?). I love that store...they have a whole bin of samples of parfums, and they cost anywhere between 30 and 40 HKD. So far, I have treated myself to Escada, Estee Lauder, Marc Jacobs, and the one I got tonight.

Anyway, now that I'm talking nonsense, I should go to bed. I've been having bad dreams again and then my knee will wake me up if I stretch inadvertently in my sleep. I'd like to end with something inspiring, but unfortunately the only thing that comes to mind is: *cough cough*

Jasmine: Where are we going?
Aladdin: Where would you like?
Jasmine: Anywhere. Everywhere.
Aladdin: Funny, that's just what I had in mind.

(please read that in the most exaggerated and ridiculous middle-school-drama fashion possible)

2007-11-11T14:56:00.000+08:00

I just realized I've lost feeling in part of my leg. The surgeon warned me of this before the surgery...he said sometimes people get a sort of numbness in their leg, and that sometimes it takes months to go away, and sometimes it never does. I noticed it last week when they were cleaning my stitches. The sanitizer they were using was cold, but on certain parts of my leg, I couldn't feel that it was cold or wet. I didn't get a chance to investigate then, but as I was rewrapping it after my shower today, I realized that it's kind of numb and tingles a little bit if I touch it. *meep*

I just want to be better. I just want it to all be over, to not have to do PT, to not spend the nights tossing and turning to find a way to sleep where it doesn't hurt, to not ache all the time. I just want the pain to be done.

2007-11-10T22:01:00.000+08:00

The weather has been gorgeous the last few days. Sunny, no humidity to speak of, breezy, in the upper seventies. I had my windows open and the fan going today and it was wonderful.

Let's see...since Wednesday, I've gone to rehearsal, gone to class/workshops, been to a couple meetings, etc. I think next week is the photo shoot for Aladdin. Which is kinda exciting. I'm interested to see how the costumes actually look, after so much discussion on what they should be.

The stitches come out on Tuesday (I think...it's when I see the doctor again anyway)!!

2007-11-07T10:36:00.000+08:00

And so it's Wednesday morning. I 'slept in' after going to bed late last night. Woke up several times in the middle of the night, and was pretty much awake by 8 something anyway. It's cool outside, there's a bit of breeze coming through the window, and I don't have to be anywhere today until 2:30.

So yesterday one of the professors at IEd invited some of us to a dinner at her apartment in JC. I've seen the student apartments there, but this was really nice. And she had it decorated with all sorts of collectibles, paintings, and embroidered squares of cloth that she had gotten in China. They were so pretty. I wish I could embroider like that. Anyway, she's Australian and the dinner was in honor of the Melbourne Cup, a horse race. Maybe I should make my birthday something in honor of Derby. Because we ALL know how COMPLETELY into Derby I am. *scowls* Anyway, the meal was delicious. We started out with a drink, because apparently a beer or a bundy (spelling? Rum and coke, leastwise) is how you should start a meal in honor of the race. And then there was roast lamb, a plethora or vegetables, and cake. And then we had a mock race. It was really fun. I had to leave early to go to my JC hours, but still. A good time, good company, wonderful food. My first real meal in a couple days.

I had PT yesterday morning. I didn't meet with my normal PT, as she's still on vacay. But the one I met with told me that they're going to take it easy on me for the first two or three weeks after surgery (how considerate of them), and then after that the recovery process for the ACL reconstruction surgery is much more aggressive. Much more? I mean, he took my crutches away from me and made me walk the length of the room, telling me to stretch my leg and not hold it in a bent position, then he made me get on the little bike pedaling thing. He checked the angle of my knee, it's at 75 degrees, and said that for this week my goal should be to get it to 90 degrees. Last time I couldn't get my leg to like 50 degrees for weeks after the arthroscopy. He did, however, say that my surgeon had done a good job. Apparently there is very little swelling or bruising...I mean, I didn't notice any at all. Which is indicative of a masterful job done on behalf of my surgeon. So well done him. Anyway, I go back on Tuesday to see the doctor and then on Wednesday to see the PT.

Work has gone as well as work can go when moving hurts as much as sitting and standing still hurts twice as much as that. PS is doing well. :) I think. My room is a mess because I haven't put things away for almost a week, and I have about twenty books scattered within easy reach of my bed. On the bright side, I'm allowed to take off the wrapping to shower, which means that I only have to wear like two bags instead of four. *beams* It really is the little things, sometimes, that make getting up easier.

Off to do that getting up and ready thing, office work perhaps, help desk, Spanish class, and then a meeting...at McDonalds. Weeeee foooooooood!!

2007-11-02T13:45:00.000+08:00

I'm back. Wrapped from toes to hip on the right side. On crutches, but at least able to put weight on the leg. Hurts, all the time. More than last time. Sometimes the pain is okay, just a sort of in-the-background type thing. And other times it's a lot worse. But hey! I can just focus on recovering now. :) And I'm just glad it's over. I'm so glad it was early. I'd have been quite the bundle of nerves right now if it was still looming on next Tuesday. I suppose my only regret is that I didn't get to go to Page One and buy a bunch of American magazines for when I'm too out of it to focus on books.

I met with a teacher today who told me two interesting things. First, that she couldn't tell that I wasn't Chinese. And was surprised, as everyone seems to be, that I can't speak Cantonese or Mandarin...wondered if my parents spoke it back home. Which of course led to a brief discussion of how I was adopted, so no. Second, she told me I was gaining weight, and that I should be careful how much I eat. *sigh* Maybe I just never noticed this back home, but people are very much interested in weight issues. And now I get to be all worried about how fat I look again. *taps self on the nose* No, I'm not fat.

Anyway, this weekend will probably be spent in my room. The weather has gotten a lot cooler though, almost chilly, and there's a breeze. So much nicer than the last time when I came out of surgery and got sick from the heat. I have my window open and the fan going, and it's almost too breezy. I have work work to do this weekend, and if I thought I could sit in the office, I would go there. But sitting with my leg down hurts a lot...needs to be up, so I should probably stick to my room where I can prop it up on the bed. Sadly, I am using my pillow to cushion my leg, and thus have no pillow to cushion my head. *sad face* Ah well, there are greater hardships and tragedies in the world.

I'm off! To...continue sitting on my bed...maybe I should read all those African literature books I checked out of the library. Or I could just reread my friend's copy of Harry Potter 7 for the third time since I've been here. I think I want to try reading HP in Spanish. I've read the first three and a half books in French, which was actually really hard for me (even then, when I was taking French) because it's written using the passe simple, which I never really had a grasp on because you don't use it in speech and the level of writing I was doing at the time. But I think I know my past tenses well enough in Spanish to make a go of it. Perhaps I'll get HP 5 in Spanish (if I can find it), and then eventually I can own 1-7 in Franish! And own only 1-3 and 7 in English! I suppose I could get it in Chinese. But besides making me feel cool, it wouldn't really do all that much for me, since I can't read characters.
Right. I'm rambling and delusional. As Karen says, "Oh come on honey, we've got to, there's a, something's happening, I don't know what."

2007-10-29T23:30:00.000+08:00

I'm going in for surgery tomorrow. They called me during class, and when I picked up, it was my surgeon asking could the procedure take place tomorrow, rather than next week. After several confused and anxious phone calls, I worked stuff out, and it's a go. And then it will be over.

I'm anxious, nervous, worried. But I guess that's just the way some things go. At least they didn't make me check in today...I'd be there now, in a cold room with several other people, covers pulled up to my chin, book in hand, reading light bent down over my shoulder, trying to plow through something, anything to take my mind off the next morning. At least I got to eat real food tonight. Lucky me, I get wonderful hospital food tomorrow for dinner.

Anyway, outside of that, life is good. My workshop went well today, rehearsal wasn't really rehearsal, and there were Halloween activities in the hostel this evening. Now I need to go take the nail polish off my nails, make sure my bag is packed for the hospital (I've overnighted there twice now...you'd think I'd know exactly what I need, but alas, such is not the case), and um, not worry. Hahahahahahahaha. Ha. Ha.

:)

2007-10-26T22:49:00.001+08:00

Long time no update. Not that I've been terribly busy, just not a lot terribly exciting going on. So let's see.

I went to the grand old hospital four times this week. My "score" (whatever it's measuring) is a 77, which, as my PT pointed out, is better than the 34 two months ago, but still much under the 80-something she was hoping for prior to surgery. I saw my surgeon for all of two minutes today, and he confirmed the date of the surgery (Nov 6th) and told me that they are going to use the tendons from my hamstring to reconstruct the ACL. Or something. My surgeon makes me so nervous, that I forgot to ask him when I was going to be discharged. It's not that I don't trust him, not that at all. It's just he gets flustered, seems puzzled by me, and talks really fast and then pauses for a really long time. I think it's the whole English thing/I'm an American girl who shows up with her nails painted and short hair and stuff. Or something. Anyway, he reminded me again not to wear nail polish to the surgery (which I know from last time) and then said he'd see me in ten days. WoooOOOoooOOO. So, yeah, surgery on November 6th. And then I get to go through the exhausting-waking-up-from-general-anesthesia-can't-take-a-proper-shower-have-to-use-painful-crutches-
can't-do-much-on-my-own-feel-drugged-and-useless-have-to-go-to-pt-all-over-again thing. I look forward to it.

Aladdin is going well. We got to see some of the costumes the other night. Maybe I shouldn't say it's going well. It's going. Not terribly, not wonderfully. It gets frustrating at times, and I have to keep reminding myself to step back. A lot of them have never worked onstage before, many of them have no idea what stage presence is, and most of them have never done a musical before. So it's understandable that it's slow going. It just gets frustrating sometimes. And I just have to remind myself to chill out. Hardcore.

So! We start a new round of workshops next week, and I'm doing two on 'Exchange English/Social English,' which is essentially English prep for people going to English speaking countries for exchange studies. Should be fun. Even more exciting is that I get to teach a ten-week course next semester on Introduction to African Literature (and by default some history and culture)!!!!!!! I'm uber-excited about this. I know I want to do Soyinka "Death and the King's Horseman," Ngugi's "I Will Marry When I Want," something by Achebe, Coetzee, and probably Gordimer. I might excerpt something from Fanon. Then there are poets I can't remember who I'm going to look up. I just don't want everything to come from Nigeria, which is the country with which I am most familiar, being's as my thesis was on it and I did my research fellowship on Nigerian lit. Anyway, I'm going to do some research/pull some books to prepare my curriculum while I recover. The Spanish classes are going well. The primary school courses are too. *nods*
I've been thinking whether I want to go back and get a teaching certification...for high school English. Would that be crazy? Do I want to deal with adolescents for the rest of my life? But I love doing literature, and I love reading and talking about it...I just don't see me in the strict world of PhD academia. Then again, I also don't know if I have the patience to work with 14-18 year olds. I've still got some time...we'll see how it goes.

Ummmm, what else? Putonghua classes have started. I find the tones easier than Cantonese, but that doesn't mean I'll be able to learn it well. But I try.
Oh! There was a dance show here the other day. All the colleges/universities around Hong Kong are sending their dance societies to the different campuses to do performances. Most of it was hip hop type things, although there were some other styles. It was really fun, hype, exciting. And they were pretty good...some of it was amazing, actually. Their costumes were on point! They must have spent a small fortune on them. Craaaazy. I remember with ours, it was more of a what do you have in your closet that's jeans and black thing for most of the pieces. Except Magahlena. Which is just special. And wonderful.

Not going to lie, I'm really freaked out about the next surgery. Waking up from the anesthesia was so hard last time and the pain was so bad. And I didn't know what I was getting into last time, so I could only dread it as a great unknown. And now I know what it's like. Maybe it won't be as bad this time. *crosses fingers* I can do this though. After this surgery, I just have to do all my PT and work on the recovery. And then I can be okay again.

2007-10-16T23:54:00.000+08:00

So I've noticed something. And it's not a phenomenon limited to Hong Kong. Or foreign countries. This may sound like a sweeping generality, BUT, Americans are really loud. And I completely include myself in this category. When in groups with other Americans, we talk loudly. On campus, around town, on the bus, etc so on and so forth. We were coming back from an activity at the JC Student Quarters tonight, and we stopped outside one of the dorms (where some of us live) and were talking. The volume escalated to unbelievable proportions considering we were all standing within a few feet of each other and it was a quiet night, no background noise. I notice it in myself all the time...and it's one of those irritating aspects of my personality that I am aware of (at the time, prior to, immediately after) and yet cannot seem to control. Part of it is that I can't hear very well, or don't listen very well, and so I guess if I talk louder then maybe other people will as well. Such is life. I've been telling myself for ages that I need to speak quietly (and carry a big stick! Name the quote!...wow....new depths of dorkiness...of course, in three weeks, I'll be carrying two big sticks...made of metal...to wit, my crutches).

Speaking of crutches, which I also do a lot, I need to stop that, um, lost my train of thought.....
Oh right. I've decided that during the few days of convalescence where I am mostly incapable of motion (from experience, the first two or three days), I can study for the GRE/LSAT! I mean, I know I nap a lot in the first couple days, and what quicker way to knock myself out than to study vocab, apply formulas, and play logic games! *beams*

I wish I could say I had done lots of crazy things, gone somewhere, done something, seen someone. But sadly, the last however long, I've stayed close to home. I don't feel comfortable out and about right now for some reason. Partially because my left knee is starting to hurt, I think from over compensating for the weakness of the right knee. I hope it's fine. *knocks on wood* Anyway, have plans to go out Thursday night, but am thinking of bailing, because of my knee. And because we wouldn't be leaving till 10ish at night, to travel over an hour to go walk around/stand up for several hours. After three hours of rehearsal. It's tempting....I really would love to get off campus. But I'm thinking, since I have to meet with the surgeon soon, and I want to make sure everything's good with my knee so he clears me for the November 6th surgery, the sensible thing would be to remind myself that, while I may be bored off my rocker now, health should come first. I keep telling myself that I will be back to normal or thereabouts by New Year's, and that I'll have six more months to get my fill of Hong Kong. It's just hard right now.

I overuse parentheses.
Goodnight!!!!
(And by that I mean I'm off to read)

2007-10-14T23:46:00.000+08:00

It occurred to me today that my Bryn Mawr email is probably about to be deactivated. And with it would go all the papers, applications, etc. that I did the past three years. So I proceeded to go through my email folders, helpfully labeled "Academia" and "Apps". I pulled several essays, some random writing pieces, and a few letters that I had written in word, printed out, and mailed. One of these days, when I'm feeling inspired or depressed I'll read through them.

I downloaded the Scrabble application on facebook. It's kind of amazing. I wish I had a scrabble game on my computer.

I started reading another Alison Weir book...Eleanor of Aquitaine, which takes me back a couple centuries earlier than I normally read as far as British history goes. Interesting thus far...all thirty some odd pages that I've read. Sometimes, when I think about what I'd like to do with my history degree, I have to admit that it's already been done: take some of the interesting/scandalous/shocking/dramatic/old-fashioned tales of history, and write novels about them. Then I realize the reason I want to do this is because someone (by name Philippa Gregory) has already done this. And she's not the only one, of course. I mean, obviously, there's a ton more history out there, and a million stories to be written about them. I just have to find another area/era that captures and holds my interest like Britain in that time.

I'm really into the soundtrack of Cabaret right now. And by that I mean I've listened to "Wilkommen," "Mein Herr," "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," and "I don't care much" over and over today. *sigh*

The week begins with a bang...PT at 8:45am. And ends with yet another public holiday. And the students here have another reading week, so no workshops or Spanish classes. Craziness!

So goals of this week: choreography for Friend Like Me, planning next weeks classes/workshops, write that thing I've pseudo-started but not really, survive PT. Reasonable, right? Doable, even? :)

2007-10-12T22:18:00.000+08:00

The good and the huh.

The good: The workshops went well this week. We also started the Spanish classes. Two different classes, an hour and a half each. Most of the people showed up, and they were really enthused, participated a lot, and all that. Aladdin also is going well. We choreographed the two different versions of A Whole New World. I'm excited to start doing Friend Like Me choreography next week. It's going to be jazzy, with top hats! I also got some more books out of the library...which is always cause for excitement.

The huh: Apparently, my physical therapist suspects that I have sprained my Patellar (spelling? I actually don't even know if that's what it is called...the tendon on the front of your knee, essentially) tendon. This would account for both the swelling and the pain. She says it would have happened at the same time that I tore my ACL, and they just never picked up on it. The only concern now is whether this will affect the time schedule for my next surgery. *sigh*

Anyway, outside of that, things are going well, enjoying going into Tai Po and Kowloon Tong (I really wish I trusted my knee to go further about in HK), etc etc etc.

2007-10-09T16:15:00.000+08:00

So work is going well. I've done one session of each of my workshops so far and one session at the Primary School. Spanish courses start tomorrow. We're doing two classes and each have twenty people registered for them. *gulp*

Shanita and I worked for almost four hours last night. We worked with the Genie, Aladdin, and the Carpet for an hour or so on "Prince Ali" and then spent the rest of the time developing the 'gestures' for the choral version of "A Whole New World." Then we proceeded to the dancing version of it, which I'm happy with. And the costumes for that scene are those really fun skirts with lots of extra fabric so that they spin out and can be incorporated into the dance. So we did.

I had PT again today. Despite their telling me last week that I only have to come in once a week, they now decided that I should start doing twice a week again. They also informed me that my score was up to 64, where it was 38 when I first came in. This score is based on a variety of things...pain, range, intrusion of injury on daily activities etc. So, as my PT said, I am improving but I have to make quite a bit more progress before the surgery, that she would like to see it up to 80 or 90. She then also told me that the next surgery will be much worse than the last one and that the recovery will be worse. She must have seen terror in my eyes or something, because she hastened to add that the surgery is not dangerous and that the doctor is very skilled, but that it's a tricky procedure. That will help me sleep at night. weeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Having received that wonderful news, I solaced myself (can I even use 'solace' as a verb?) by purchasing acrylic paint and two paint brushes and doing two paintings. Which admittedly took me close to three hours....shhhhh. They're pretty generic (read not good), but I enjoyed doing them, and it got my mind off my stupid knee. And how they're now telling me that when it hurts...push a little bit more.

I was looking at some pictures I had put up on the cork board in my room. I miss Taia and Grace. There's one of us in the pool from this summer, goofing off, you know. They'll be so much older by the time I get home. Craaaaazy. But then again, I suppose I will have grown up some too. Maybe. :)

Perhaps I'll go into Tai Po for dinner. Ramen with pork? McDonald's? Curry? Random place with good food? Yum!!!
I love eating. *happy dances*

2007-10-02T10:51:00.000+08:00

Things learned in hospitals:

1) You can return your crutches two days late as long as a national holiday falls in between the due date and the time you turned them in. Or as long as they don't look at the due date.
2) If they tell you to come twice a week, and you skip for twelve days because you're sick and there are two public holidays between then and the next time you go in, they'll let you start coming in once a week after that.
3) If you can't straighten your knee, they'll put a pillowcase full of ice directly on your knee for fifteen minutes, then sandbags, then you'll miraculously be able to straighten your leg for the first time in weeks.
4) I got a 350 HKD refund for returning my crutches. Food! :)

My knee hasn't felt this loose in ages. Very nice. Of course, there was a bit of oh-my-ga-you're-trying-to-kill-me-aren't-you leading up to that.

Not much doing today, at least not till this evening. Going to go to the office and do some work, get some lunch, take a little nap.....

2007-09-29T14:23:00.000+08:00

It's another hot Saturday afternoon, and I'm neither incapacitated and confined to my room or wandering somewhere in Hong Kong. It's a peculiarly refreshing sentiment. I wouldn't mind being out and about today, but at the same time, my knee has re-tightened and hurts pretty badly, so I daresay sticking close to home is probably my best bet.

Thursday started with a meeting, then work in the office, then Aladdin rehearsal (more about that later). Went out after the rehearsal to Wan Chai, and didn't get back till late. Meeting on Friday, then Cantonese class. Went into Tai Po for dinner and bought pants!!! Which is good, since I haven't been able to wear most of the pants I brought with me because they're either too long to wear without heels or too tight around my knee and thus uncomfortable. So I got a pair of grayish slacks and a pair of guys' cargo-ish khakis. They were a bit long, but I tacked up the hem on the inside, so they work. Came home and read some of Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose. I read it a few years ago, remember liking it, and as I'm rereading it, I'm wondering what attracted me to it so much. It's a very odd book. Fell asleep around midnight, only to be woken when my room heated up around 7 in the morning today. Putzed around my room, had lunch, and have been in the office for awhile now, dealing with emails, organizing my schedule, and trying to determine what needs to be done, when, and how. And this brings me to Aladdin.

SO. Thursday was the first dance rehearsal for Aladdin. I have the Aladdin soundtrack, because as we all know, I love the music from the 'classic' animated Disney movies. Shanita and I had been working with the movie version of 'Prince Ali' which we were teaching them. Unfortunately, in the movie version, the Genie does most of the singing and the beat is relatively slow. In the musical version, the chorus does most of the singing and the beat is quite a bit faster. So we had to readjust to the tempo and the fact that they had to sing and dance at the same time. Admittedly, the dance moves are pretty basic, but from previous experience with musicals, singing and dancing simultaneously is quite a trip. Especially for those who haven't done much if any stage work. Further, we had choreographed the dance with the idea that we had most of the stage space, only to find that we had about a third of that space. *eeks* It went well, but it was very slow. And part of that was because of having to reformat and fit the dance to the new guidelines and dimensions. Not to mention blocking which is a huge pain.
Anyway, so that's that. We're going to finish choreographing it this weekend (that song, I mean). I finally got a copy of the script. The movie Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney movies. I can quote huge chunks of it. Sad, I know, but what can I say? As I was reading the script just now, I was struck by several things.

1) There's a lot more songs. They weren't kidding when they said it was a musical, as opposed to a play/movie with songs. Luckily, with the exception of a new song "Why Me?" most of the songs are musical reprises of the big numbers, notably "Arabian Nights" and "Prince Ali".
2) The chorus sings as much if not more than the title characters. This is not a bad thing, particularly if, like me, you have spent your musical theater career in the chorus. It's just quite different from the version with which I was familiar.
3) There's a lot of odd humor in it. Sarcastic asides, little quirks and such that do not appear in the movie.
4) As I read the play, I hear the original cast's voices, most predominantly with the Genie. Again, not a bad thing, just disorienting then to hear it live.
5) It's shorter than I thought it would be.
6) There's no Abu!!! I still haven't gotten over this tragic omission.
7) I love this movie/musical. Reformatted, different, odd, doesn't matter. I'm so psyched to be involved.

On other business related notes, my most recent duties (at least for the month of October) are as follows: Aladdin, Help Desk(possibly in French and English), Arts&Crafts in the primary school, English Ambassadors also in the primary school, workshops on Social English and Have you heard the news, a Spanish class (two different time slots for it I think), dorm activities, and Club IEd. Sounds rather daunting, but each is only a few hours of 'class time' a week...and then all the prep time. :) Nice to be doing stuff though.

Anyway, dare say I should get back to doing all the above things, rather than just writing about them. I'm trying to wrap my mind around this new version of Aladdin and the technique/skill of the chorus, because I think we're in for a rather fast round of choreography in the next month or so, since once November rolls around, I'll be relatively immobile for a week or two at least. And I want to be prepped for my classes. *nods*

2007-09-26T23:41:00.000+08:00

So all that stuff I said I was going to do on Sunday? I know this will come as a huge shock, but I didn't do most of it. Did read a lot, but didn't read the things that needed to be read.

Anyway, I'm still feeling sick. It goes off and on, and sometimes I think I'm all right again (like this morning) only to realize that I am still incredibly sick (like tonight). I must have caught something somewhere along the way. *oof*

But! Very exciting news...I got my hair chemically straightened today! But let me back up a bit.

Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Despite stomach trauma, I went into Hong Kong to Victoria Park...met up with some of the other research Fulbrighters prior to that for dinner. We watched some dancing, some acrobatics, etc., and walked around looking at the lanterns and people out celebrating. Then I headed back...all that standing was exhausting.

Woke up today, intending to do work. But it was a public holiday (thus no classes) and a beautiful day, too good to waste in the office. So instead I went to Festival Walk, a huge mall on the KCR line at Kowloon Tong. *blush* Got lunch and then! I went to the Esprit Salon and got my hair done. It took, kid you not, three hours. Let me detail it for you, in steps:

1) pick out hair package (1088 HKD for the straightening, cut, and full-size gift product, which ended up being some nice shampoo, pricey, but in my opinion completely worth it)
2) hair washed
3) conditioner put in...thirty minutes spent under a dryer
4) hair washed
5) hair blow dryed
6) chemicals applied (I think to remove the protein or something?)
7) weird heating/drying device used
7) hair washed
8) hair blow dryed
9) hair straightened with a flat iron
10) more chemicals applied (to put the protein back in to make it hold?) and let stay on for ten mins
11) hair washed (again)
12) hair blow dryed
13) hair cut
14) got bottle of product and paid

*whew* Beauty comes at such a price. But it looks good. I mean, I straightened my hair back in the States, but this is wonderfully and evenly done. And it's so straight. And shiny. And silky feeling. I washed it when I got home (it smelled of chemicals and I had little hairs all over me) and I just ran a brush through it and let it air dry...and it dryed to a flawless straightness. At first, I was a little leery of the cut itself...it's really straight cut in the back, which I haven't had for awhile. But it's growing on me, and since I'm growing my hair out, having the layers evened out was probably a good move.

Anyway, a meeting tomorrow late morning, then working on stuff that needs to be done/read/prepared, then Aladdin rehearsal. Off to bed! Or to read for a few hours. Similar, really.

2007-09-23T12:42:00.000+08:00

Three days of activity!! And all off campus! *gasp*

So let's see. Thursday started off with a bang: 9am PT session at the hospital. Then I had two workshops, one on pronunciation and one on linking words. The pronunciation one was hilarious...we were doing tongue twisters, and at some point we started 'rapping' them. It was good fun. Ran back to my dorm to drop stuff off and then to get the van to take us to our dinner with the US Consulate in Wan Chai. It was nice...we got to meet the rest of the Fulbrighters (who are here on research or lecture fellowships) and to chat etc. Had shark fin soup for the first time. It was interesting, not quite what I was expecting, but all right. I had to get up about halfway through the meal and walk around outside because my knee tightened up and hurt. After the dinner, we hung out for a little bit with some of the people we'd met, then took a cab back to IEd.

Friday started out with an oof, sometime around 4:45 in the morning. I was sick to my stomach, so that made for a fun however long. Had lunch and then took off to the hospital to meet with my doctor. Now, I've gotten somewhat used to certain areas of the hospital, mainly the Orthopedic Ward and the PT rooms. But this...this was crazy! Outpatient appointments are chaos! It took me about thirty minutes to find where I needed to be and what I needed to do. Then sat in a room waiting while they called off dozens of names and instructions in Cantonese. Finally, a voice comes on and says "Miss Laura Brymer please to go room 14 and wait." So I limp off to the general direction of a room. I see my doctor and he greets me, saying "Hello, have you seen your doctor yet?" Which stumped me. I thought he was my doctor...and he is. Anyway, finally found room 14 and he looked at my knee, told me to keep doing PT because I was still not at full range (to which I should have said, yes, well, I've been sitting in a chair in an incredibly uncomfortable position for the last hour and it's just tight right now, if you'd quit grabbing it and rotating the knee I'm sure it would work better), and then he told me to go get my stitches taken out. Something about following the red line to the blood something room and then the yellow line to make an appt. Apparently, there are colored lines on the floor which lead you places. Unfortunately, it led me to the wrong place, so I ended up waiting a lot longer than necessary. Anyway, finally got the stitches out. The wounds are in the shape of x's, two of them, and they're scabbing over. (Side note: I took my first non-plastic-bag-taped-to-my-leg shower today....so nice.) Then I waiting for twenty minutes in a line to make my next appt...and the surgery appt. November 6th. Assuming my knee is ready for it.
Anyway, Friday continues...with Cantonese class! Which I hadn't looked at the material since last Friday. And I showed up late and flustered because I was at the hospital a lot longer than I thought I would be. After that, I went back to my room, relaxed for a bit, then a friend and I decided to go out for dinner. We ended up going to SoHo for breakfast foods. Since we were going to be out out, I gave a friend from BMC a call, and she met us there. It was fun...just hanging out at dinner and talking for like, two hours. And we took the bus back, and I think I fell asleep on it. *shrug* The ride's a good forty minutes, and it was after midnight because we had to walk so slow on account of my leg.

Saturday started off ridiculously early, in my books. Out to catch the bus at 8:30 to go to Kwun Tong to pick up my Hong Kong ID card. It's interesting...since having to go out in public with crutches or just awkwardly and slowly because of my knee, I've noticed a lot more signs about 'handicapped' or 'people with disabilities'. At the bus stop, at the Kwun Tong office, etc. Anyway, we decided to go to a temple that was a few stops away on the MTR. It was a beautiful day, sunny and hot, but with a breeze so it wasn't stifling. Part of the temple included this area with pavilions, ponds, fish, turtles, a waterfall, bridges, etc. It was really peaceful, quiet, and I felt at ease, sitting on one of the bridges, watching all the turtles swim into each other. We went out for lunch afterwards: vegetarian dim sum. Some of them were really good...and some were a little odd. Then we got Starbucks. :) Haven't had that in ages. My friend got a call from relatives who were in HK, so we went to TST and met them at the Intercontinental Hotel. It has an amazing view of the Harbor (again, nice day so a very nice view), and we had drinks (I stuck to a mocktail, since my stomach hadn't quite recovered from whatever afflicted it Thursday night/Friday morning) and talked for a couple hours. It was quite swanky. We went back to their hotel (next to that one) and then out to dinner at a Korean barbecue place. I've been to Korean bbq's a few times since being here...and I love the fact that I can just eat a plate of meat. Or more, if I wanted. After dinner, they were all going to walk around, but my knee hurt a lot, so they got me to the bus stop and I went back to IEd. I did laundry, puttered around my room, and then got McDonald's fries at like 1:30 in the morning! We ate outside in this pavilion type thing on campus. The wind was really going and it was actually a bit chilly. Maybe the weather is dropping! *crosses fingers*

Anyway, went to bed last night/this morning around 4 after I read a few hundred pages (don't know why...I've read that particular book a dozen times). Woke up at 7 because my room was hot, fell back asleep and woke up at 11. Have taken a shower, am updating blog, and will then proceed to go out and get some foods and clean my room. My body's a bit sore from all the movement of the last few days, so I think I'll take it easy today, do my PT exercises, read, study Spanish and if I feel ambitious Cantonese, read the paper for the conference I'm going to next week, etc. Although knowing me, I'll probably only get to half that, and then end up napping. Ah Sundays.....

2007-09-17T21:50:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I ventured off campus (in a non-hospital related way) for the second time since the incident. A friend and I went into Tai Po for dinner/shoe shopping. I was looking for flats, because I own none. With the exception of flip flops and the white slip-ons another friend bought for me shortly before surgery, all my shoes are heeled. That's not true. I do have one pair that's flat..slip on, close toed, black. Typical me. Even my tennis shoes have a rise in them. So I bought a pair of dressier sandals, mostly because I have a formal dinner on Thursday and because we're not allowed to wear flip flops or tennis shoes to the primary school. Anyway, they're cute and comfortable. I also bought a hello kitty phone charm. And had dinner at a ramen place. Can I just say that, as a die-hard fan of ramen noodles, I am delighted to find a restaurant devoted to dishes made with ramen? I had ramen with deep-fried chicken pieces (yum!) and we split a small serving of garlic and beef (yummier) and then had a soft serve ice cream from McDonald's. I think I'm gaining back the weight I lost during my hospital stay. Which is probably good.

Planning for the Spanish module goes into effect tomorrow. I'm going to go through some ideas tonight, and I also just want to brush up on my Spanish. I wish I had some of my Spanish novels from college with me, just to be reading in it so that when we (three of us) teach the class, we can comfortably speak Spanish the whole time.

The cast for Aladdin is set. That's exciting. And the other choreographer and I will be in probably two dances...and I suppose the company bow. I think we'll be in "Friend Like Me" and "A Whole New World". I'm excited. I mean, this all assumes that my knee turns out all right. Regardless, choreography is going well thus far. It's not as hard as I originally thought, partially because the dancing isn't anything like the difficulty I'm used to and partially because we're working together, so we can bounce ideas off each other and when one person gets stuck the other can work through it. We saw the prelims for the sets. It looks amazing from the sketches. Intense. Elaborate.

I cleaned my room today. Swept, reorganized, tidied up, etc. Thank goodness...I was beginning to feel like a mess.

What else is there to say? Thursday will be my first time to Central since the injury...have to take a cab back, which is pricey, but at least they're providing transportation there.

Oh, injury update. I had PT today (gag) in which I explained to the therapist that one of the exercises hurt a lot. She told me that there are two reasons my knee gave out and that I was unable to complete it: 1) that the pain was too great and so my knee reflexively gave out so that it wouldn't be hurt anymore or 2) that I'm weak. Apparently, if it's the latter, I'm supposed to keep doing it. If it's the former, then I'm only supposed to push it till it hurts. I couldn't quite seem to get the point across that it hurt because it fell over because I couldn't control it. Anyway, I'm supposed to keep doing it. I did some of the exercises tonight, but that one...I'm still scared of it. They're making me come in twice a week now, and I was informed that while building up my strength is important, the range and mobility of the knee is a greater concern at the moment. I was told that if I did not have full range within ten days, that would be bad, and I would be "below average." They also made me walk sans crutches, which I had been doing anyway, around the dorm. She said I was "stiff but stable" so I'm supposed to go without them when I can. I tried that today...and now my knee aches and my calf has tightened up because I can't straighten my knee enough to stretch it out. I think I'll use one crutch tomorrow.
All in all, it's just frustrating at this point. Knowing that I'm putting myself through all this stuff, only to have to repeat it in less than two months, probably with even more pain. C'est la vie, non? Et il n'y a rien que je peux faire pour changerla.

I'm making a list of the books I read while I'm here...I go through four or five a week, although part of that might have been due to the limited movement and ability to do ANYTHING on the weekends when other people go out and do fun stuff. Such is life, and that which cannot be cured must be endured. Or something.....

Right. I'm away laughing on a fast camel.
*gallops off majestically into the smoggy sunset and humidity*

2007-09-12T23:26:00.000+08:00

So I had Physical Therapy today at the hospital. It went well, in that painful sort of way. They gave me exercises to do at home since, as the PT pointed out, I can't get the second surgery till the swelling all goes down and I have full range of motion (at the moment I can't bend my knee even to 90 degrees, nor straighten it all the way). Anyway, minus the pedaling activity, they all seem to be good ideas.

Being the good patient I am (insert skeptical laugh here), after I got back from dinner (side note: first time off campus since the injury, if you don't include hospital visits...curry in Tai Po...yum!), I took care of a few tasks related to Spanish and my life, and then proceeded to do the exercises. As they are boring beyond all belief and essentially require me to be lying down either on my back or side, I read while doing them. The first three were fine, peachy keen, painful, but okay. The fourth one...my knee gave out. It's fine now *knocks on wood*. Essentially, I have to lie on my stomach and bring my right knee up towards my head...just as much as the pain will let me do. Unfortunately, what the PT neglected to tell me, was that I have NO STRENGTH OR CONTROL whatsoever of my knee. Perhaps this is one of those self-evident things to which I am completely oblivious. Regardless, my knee fell...it went sideways and towards my head in a way that knees should not move. And it hurt. I screamed (hopefully no one heard) and I seriously thought I had broken something. Five minutes of pain later, it lessened to tolerable, and now it just throbs as per usual. But the pain was something I cannot accurately describe. It's happened once before, to a lesser degree. I was going to sit down and forgot to move my leg so that I didn't bend it to sit, and the pain shot up my leg. Luckily I was able to take the weight from it quickly, so it wasn't bad. But this time, due to gravity and the fact that I was in essentially a helpless position, it hurt. It feels like a weakness that burns, running from your knee up to your hip. It's not the kind that makes you cry (unlike that pedaling exercise); it's the kind that makes you scream. *shrug* I'll not be doing that exercise for a bit. I'll come up with another bending one, cause that was too risky.

I know it seems as if all my posts are about my injury. In a way, this record is as much for me as informative for others. I feel that, as a writer (sorta), this experience is a cache of material for future pieces. Not, of course, that they will all be about knee injuries. Yet as the novels I've been reading suggest, pain, courage, and helplessness generate great stories. "Terrible yes. But great." (Rowling, HP and the Sorcerer's Stone, some page I can't remember which). I'm such a dork.

Anyway. Onto more exciting things. One of the ETAs and I have been offered the chance to run an 8-10 week class on basic survival Spanish. Incredibly psyched for that!!!! I meant to go to French today, but it didn't quite happen. We'll blame PT. Or something. Also, I'll sit in on my first workshops tomorrow (I missed my first ones for the very good reason that I was getting surgery and was confined to a bed in the Orthopedic Ward...like you do). So that's exciting. Also, final callbacks for Aladdin are tomorrow night, and we should have the cast set after we meet with the directors and the musical director. We (myself and another ETA) are merely the choreographers. Which admittedly is no small task.

I'm hoping my schedule fills up...I've spent a lot of time brooding, partially induced by the can't-move-anywhere-been-in-a-hospital scenario. But I'd like to be up and about and getting things done. Doing something. I'm used to running a Bryn Mawr schedule...this time last year, I had four jobs (Dining Services Supervisor 8 hours, Hall Adviser undisclosed time req, Peer Mentor 4-6 hours, and Human Resources student receptionist 8 hours), was dancing between 9-12 hours a week, taking a full schedule of classes, starting research for my Senior Thesis, and applying for the Fulbright. I mean, it drove me crazy sometimes. But that's what I want again...that kind of busy. Well, almost that kind of busy. ;)

Mmmkay, my knee has finally stopped throbbing, though my leg still feels weak. I suppose I'll do something more productive than update my blog. Like discover the meaning of life, the universe, and everything...in Spanish.

I'm having some trouble sleeping again. I don't know what it is. I'm physically tired, of course, because hauling myself around is wearying, but for some reason this doesn't translate to a nice sound sleep. I had terrible dreams one...maybe Monday night. The kind of dreams that could be scenes from horror movies that I don't watch...torture, agony, etc. And then last night I just couldn't sleep. I laid in bed for two hours, just staring up. And the first few nights out of the hospital, of course, were bad too, because of the pain. And I'm clenching as I sleep. So sometimes I jerk my knee in while asleep...and that wakes me up.

Meh, I think I'm just pitying myself. *snaps out of it* Things to do. Places to go. People to see. Courses to design. Dances to choreograph. Books to read.

2007-09-12T00:20:00.000+08:00

What a fantabulous day, all said and done.

I had my first solo Help Desk shift (IEd students sign up and come talk to us about questions specifically, a writing sample, or just to talk to practice their English). It went well...I had two for a half hour each, and the conversation went relatively well I think.

I met up with peoples for lunch. I then proceeded to go get my dressing from my surgery changed at the campus health center. I walked back to the library afterwards, because I've read everything in my room except for some of a book on Post-Colonial Lit and part of a Roald Dahl (spelling?) short stories collection. The one depresses me, the other scares me, and thus neither are appropriate for pre-bedtime reading. I got a few books, including "When We Were Orphans" which I just started and am thoroughly enjoying. It's funny...here, with the selection of trashy quick reads greatly decreased, I've turned to Brit Lit mysteries (Agatha Christie) as my fast reads and just a lot of 'big name' authors to pass the time I spend in my room: Saul Bellow, Woolf, Ben Okri (if you read PCLit), Thackeray, etc.

So, I was out of my room for about four hours, which frankly, is about the longest in almost two weeks. I'm able to put weight on my right leg, which helps take the pressure off my arms, and so I'm able to stay out and move around better. Still incredibly exhausting, of course. But good.

It was wonderful, to be honest, to see people. To be a part of society again. On my way between the Health Center and the Library, I stopped to talk to three people. I caught up with someone else on my way to auditions. It's just nice to be out again.

Came back to my room for a few hours...couldn't nap although lying down made my arms/back feel better. Read some (no surprise). Got up and meandered out again...met up for a brief meeting with peoples then went to the second day of auditions for Aladdin. It went well...we have a rough idea of casting, though nothing definite, of course. Having spent so many years as a performer, be it a musical, play, or dance piece, it's incredibly interesting to be on the other side, to essentially dissect and discuss each person's capabilities, express doubts, praise, without worrying about gossip. Interesting. We'll see if the cast gets - well, cast, as I think would be good. If not, we work with what we get.

I went to the other dorm where I work after auditions (which went 6:30-9:30). Was there till 11 for 'English Coffer Corner' or whatever it's called. Talked with students, played cards, socialized again. We played spoons. I haven't played that in aaaaages. We had a tournament of Spoons, eliminating people as we went. It ended with a face-off of the card game Speed between myself and another ETA who had beaten me in several previous games of it. And I won. :) Granted, the cards lined up nicely, but hey. It happens.

I'm a little sore. Who am I kidding, I hurt quite a bit. I have Physical Therapy for the first time tomorrow at the hospital. An hour of it. I just hope it doesn't totally knock me out. I'd like to go to an Elementary French class in the afternoon and then work on my Spanish SAP, maybe finally get the books from the library. And Thursday will be a long day. And you know, maybe I should eat. I don't eat much anymore. I mean, one 'meal' a day. And a snack or two. I need to go buy food....*sigh* No wonder nothing fits.

that which don't kill me
can only make me stronger
i need you to hurry up now
cause i can't wait much longer

Ah Kanye...
That's addressed to my knee. Yes.

2007-09-08T20:42:00.000+08:00

Had surgery Friday morning. I think it went well. Anesthesia is weird...and coming off it, so to speak, is incredibly disorienting and painful. I think I spent the first hour of it crying and feeling sick to my stomach. They wouldn't take me off the IV until I ate, but the food was so incredibly unappetizing. But I ate just so that they'd take the thing off.

They released me early Saturday morning. I have Physical Therapy on Wednesday, and a check-up with the doctor in two weeks. So we'll see how it all pans out.

Anyway, can't lie...hurts like you wouldn't believe. It feels like my knee is on fire half the time. But I suppose I'll get used to it/it'll wear off after awhile. *crosses fingers*

Off to lie down again and ponder the meaning of something. Maybe read a few more books. I've been plowing through them when I'm not half unconscious on my bed. :)

so kiss me goodbye
i'm going to make it out alive

2007-09-05T22:08:00.000+08:00

It is officially a torn ACL. Almost completely torn, about 90%, which apparently is relatively intense. Nothing else seemed hurt though, which is good.

I am going in for surgery on Friday (assuming the time slot is still available when I go in tomorrow for Physical Therapy).

Hugs to all...hope all is well with everyone.

2007-09-01T00:02:00.001+08:00

The loneliest place in the world, is in the corner bed of a hospital ward in a foreign country where everyone speaks another language.

After much debate and collaborative thinking among a group of ETAs, an ambulance was called. Three people came in, looked at my knee which at that point had swollen up quite nicely and was unable to bend or straighten. They wrapped it up in a huge brace type thing, then brought in the rolling bed and transferred me onto it and rolled me into the ambulance. One of my friends went with me...the men were all very nice, talked to us in English, etc. When we got to the hospital I was wheeled in, they took my vitals, and then sent me for an x-ray. The good news is that there are no broken bones. They then insisted on admitting me to the hospital. So I was taken up to a ward, given a bed, and my friend had to leave. I drifted off to sleep around 2:30 probably, and was woken by the on-call doctor around 6 am. He looked at my knee, poked it, and moved it around. He declared that the regular doctor would be in later to look, but that I might have torn my ACL or torn the meniscus or something.

After about 5 other nurses and doctors filed by, poked at my knee and did things which made it hurt in general, and asked how I injured it, they finally declared that I needed an MRI before they could be sure what was wrong. It's scheduled for Sat. at 1:45pm. They wanted to keep me over night, but at that point, I just wanted out. So I persuaded them to let me go home with crutches, and I have been careful not to put any weight on my leg. The crutches are annoying and hard to use...I don't have the strength for long periods of time on them. So that should make getting to the MRI place tons of fun tomorrow. I also have to return to the hospital on Monday, even though they won't have the results back. They just want to make sure it's not getting worse or something. I get the feeling they're going to try to make me stay the night, which I will fight to the best of my ability. I don't like being there.
Luckily, because I had just applied for my Hong Kong Identity Card, the charge is greatly reduced, with the exception of the MRI which is done via a private agency.

Anyway, that's about all I know. I'm exhausted now...the food in the hospital was icksy, so I hadn't eaten in about 36 hours. When I got home, one of my friends went out and got me McDonald's. :) Nice taste of America. I don't know if I've ever been as homesick as I was in that hospital bed. Although everyone was nice, I was miserable by the time I was finally allowed to leave.

On a completely random note, I've noticed the stunningly stylish glasses that abound in HK and that actually fit Asian noses!!! I'm determined to get a pair while here...after I pay for all this medical stuff. *sigh*

Bed time...lots of limping around painfully tomorrow.

2007-08-30T21:12:00.000+08:00

Wow, was reading the previous post I just did, and I have a terrible grammatical error: It should be, I tore my ACL, not torn, and term started Monday, not today...

2007-08-30T21:03:00.000+08:00

Good news and bad news.

The Good: I am co-choreographing HKIEd's production of Disney's Aladdin!!!!! So psyched. I am thrilled beyond all belief at the moment about it. And we will have cameos in some of the dance sequences, which is also terribly exciting. I saw posters from some of their previous performances, and the costumes look gorgeous, so I have hopes for this one.

The Bad: I may have done something quite drastic to my knee. A group of the ETAs were playing soccer with some of the soccer players (or rather football), and in stealing the ball from someone, my knee made this hideous crack to the side. And down falleth I. I was down and unable to think about even getting up for about thirty seconds, and then I rolled myself up and in the process of trying to cope with it, it buckled sideways (a new experience) and down I went again. So in short, it hurts like no other and is swollen. Will try to get to a doctor tomorrow. My friend thinks there's a chance I torn my ACL (crosses fingers that it's not, knocks on wood).

The Other: term started today, and we've finally started getting our schedules. Nothing too serious till next week, but still, it's exciting to be doing something finally. *nods proudly*

All right, I hurt, I'm going to go lie down and pretend like nothing happened.

2007-08-26T21:49:00.000+08:00

It's another hot Sunday night, and I've just come back from food in Tai Po. I had noodles with 'spicy' pork and tea. Since last I posted, this is what has happened:

1) tour of Central - all the ETAs went into Central and walked around. We had a lovely lunch at a restaurant (some dim sum and then a few other dishes ordered at random). We went through Lan Kwai Fong, which, after hours, becomes a huge draw for foreigners to the bars and clubs. We walked past the American embassy, went to the office of International Institute of Education, etc.

2) barbecue - the students at JCSQ (the student housing where I'm assigned to work but don't live) invited us to a barbecue on Thursday night. We literally skewered meat on metal prongs and held them over the fire. When they were almost done, we spread honey on them, held them over the fire for a bit longer, and then ate them. Tasty, but it took quite a long time for each thing to be finished.

3) became a 'registered person' - went to Kwun Tong office to register as living in HK. I had to fill out a form, then they took my picture, then they took my thumb prints which will go onto a smart chip and be inserted into my id .

4) ate a lot of good food. :)

5) been in a water fight - with JCSQ peoples...and apparently the next gathering we have they're going to make us sing and play telephone...in Cantonese. *faints quietly*

6) played basketball - although the words 'playing basketball' are misleading. I've been shooting hoops. Badly. But still. I'm moving around. I feel very lazy half the time...besides the walking, I'm not doing any dance or anything, so I feel like I'm not getting any exercise, yet eating so much. I've also been swimming. The pool here is really nice.

7) misc other - laundry, room cleaning, a spot of shopping, etc. We had induction to the Centre for Learning Education the other day. We still don't know our schedules, although classes start tomorrow, but we now know where everything is!

8) I miss the laundry at Bryn Mawr. *sigh* You never appreciate how good it is till it's gone, no?

9) Apparently the pics I tried to send out in a word doc didn't go through...and rumor has it that all other Window's office programs before 2007 are incompatible with 2007. Which is annoying beyond all belief. So I shall try to figure out how to add pictures if possible.

2007-08-21T23:00:00.000+08:00

Monday started the last few days of English class/Cantonese lessons for awhile. We'll pick Cantonese back up in September, but only for once a week or so for about a month I think.

Monday night four of us who are working in the Jockey Club Student Quarters met up with their equivalent of Res Life. We had dinner at the Canteen (I had a rice noodle soup with beef balls...odd), and then they took us to a 'performance'. The new students, presumably first years, have started coming in, and so there were lots more people on campus than I'm used to seeing. The show was a viewing of various clubs on campus. So we saw hip hop, more 'traditional' dance, karate, drama, music, etc. Very interesting, actually. The hip hop in particular, for it's almost an entirely different approach to the music, even though they were using American songs ("Ring the Alarm" and "Like a Boy" for example). The only problem with the show was that 1) it was two and a half hours long and 2) it was entirely in Cantonese. Almost a culture shock. Everyone there was so much more enthused than I've ever seen frosh at American colleges. And all of them wear the same t-shirt for orientation apparently. One of the non-performance highlights was when the two emcees pitched (literally pitched) cups of noodles at the audience. One came flying in between me and the person next to me...we both dodge out of the way and it smacked into the person behind us.

Today I went into Kowloon Tong to the mall. I know it sounds like I shop a lot, or go window shopping a lot, but it's only because every single train station has a mall practically attached to it. And I've been to other areas that are non-shopping oriented...being more food oriented instead, I suppose. But in the evenings, there's just not the time to go out on a big excursion of sorts. Plus, it's too humid/hot to do all that much outside without sweating to death. So when the weather cools off and I have a more condensed schedule, I hope to go elsewhere. But I ate at a ramen place, but not like the ramen that we have that comes in those plastic packs back home. These were much more noodley. I bought a messenger bag because the strap of mine broke off and I can't get a needle through the layers of thick material to fix it.

Anyway, came back. Here I am! I should go study. We did numbers and money this week, which will be incredibly useful, if I can only learn how to hear them.

2007-08-19T23:26:00.000+08:00

The days are just flying.

So let's see. Friday, we went on a tour of the New Territories (I think I'll have to send pics out separately, as I can't seem to figure out how to upload photos to this yet). All of us, on a bus, with three guides. It was pretty fun. Some of the places/scenes were 'rural' with great views of natural landscapes, like huge mountains, waterfalls, and the ocean. Others had views of the man-made cities...we went up this one mountain and at the top there was a pavilion with a fenced in area and we could see Sha Tin (I think) and all the tall buildings (maybe it was Tai Po, now that I think about...one of those, anyway). It was awe-inspiring. We also saw China, interestingly. Tshenzhen (spelling?) which is pretty much right next to us. We're closer to the mainland than to Central, which is crazy. We're all hoping to get our visas to go to China within the next month or so. We have to get our ID cards for HK first. Let's see. We ate at this restaurant where we received a 'basin' lunch. It was intense. They bring out a huuuuuge basin of meat including pork, fried pig skin, chicken, squid, fish balls, etc. They put it on a burner, and it bubbles. That is the only way to describe what our food did; it jiggled up and down. It was not appetizing, for me. I ate some, to be polite/be able to say I've eaten at a basin feast.

That night, some of us wanted to go out for dinner, so we went into Mong Kok. We took the bus to Tai Po, the KCR to East Kowloon Tong (I believe), and the MTR to Mong Kok. We came out on this street that was so lit up by shops, ads, and billboards, that it was brighter than day is sometimes. We wandered around in a daze until we saw a sign for Korean food. It was buffet barbecue style. Really good, although somewhat overwhelming. Enjoyable. Afterwards, we again wandered before heading home. It took about an hour or so to get back home, so by the time we got back, I was exhausted. Having been out in the heat all day and then out for four or five hours that night was intense.

On Saturday, I got up early to go with a friend to get his id card in Kwun Tong...wandered around for lunch (dim sum in a side restaurant somewhere). We met up with three other ETAs and one of their friends and went to Ocean Park. They have the pandas there!!! We waited in line for over an hour, but got to see pandas wandering around and eating and being adorable. We then waited in line again for another hour to get on the cable car to cross over to the other side of the park. It was beautiful. It goes up a mountain and then across to another mountain. The line runs right around the coast, and you can see the South China sea from it. Gorgeous. We got over there, but it was so hot and crowded. I've never been in such close contact with so many other sweaty pushy people. I thought I was going to pass out from the heat and being really tired. Anyway, we went to the water show, where the dolphins and seals did tricks etc. We also went to the shark aquarium. It was awe-inspiring....you go in to this dark room and see a huge tank of these enormous creatures swimming in a lit pool. They had your run of the mill sharks, so to speak, manta rays, sword fish, etc. Then you walk through this glass tunnel where they are all around and above you. Amazing. The heat got to us eventually, and we headed for home (bus, metro, train, bus) and had dinner at a curry place in Tai Po where we had been once before. Good food, very reasonably priced. Got home, showered, and crashed. Slept till 10 the next morning (today).

Had a chill day. I did laundry, went to the pool with the people on my hall, made dinner, and ran into Tai Po for a couple hours with a friend. Good times. I needed a chill day.
Unfortunately, I also need to look at my Cantonese. I'm having a lot of difficulties learning said language, but I shall persevere! Until next semester, when I may switch to Putanghua :)

2007-08-16T09:17:00.001+08:00

I suffered my first rain-related injury last night. Coming back from a successful trip to Tai Po in the sudden torrential downpour, I slipped crossing the road to my hostel. Naturally, I was wearing flip flops, so I've taken some of the skin off my toe and I have a bruised knee. When I got back to my room, El Gecko was patiently waiting for me - on my bed. He greeted me shyly before scampering off across my pillow and hiding somewhere in the vicinity of my desk.

Yesterday, all said and done, was uneventful. Cantonese class was cut from 3 hours to just 2 and even so it still seemed long and difficult. Those tones! I cannot do tones! I struggle to hear them and even more so to produce them in conversation. Part of the problem is that I have to change the way in which I study this language in comparison to the way I studied French/Spanish/Latin. I could pick up the vocab with relative ease...but each word is tonal, and and and that just makes it difficult.

Anyway, after class, I read a Philip K. Dick novel. I enjoyed about the first half. *shrug* I went into Tai Po for the strategic reason of purchasing light weight shorts/capris. We have a walking tour of the New Territories tomorrow, and I'd rather not do that in jeans. I found a section of the mall that I didn't know, which is odd, for I feel that I've been all over that mall with people looking for things. This was an almost sketchy section...it reminded me more of a temporary set-up with small stores crammed full of whatever can and cannot fit. I got a pair of capris and shorts...I'm such a sucker for a decent price. *sigh* But they look fine and now I won't roast every day! I went into a few places that I saw to see about getting a hair cut, but unfortunately no one spoke English. I think I'll have to go into Central for that, which is fine; it will prevent impulse hair cuts. :)

Class in half an hour. No idea what is happening tonight. Tai Po? Sha Tin? Kowloon? Oh the possibilities......

2007-08-15T01:59:00.000+08:00

Allo allo allo!

It's 2am, and I have officially created (another) blog, but this one is intended specifically for the purpose of documenting my time spent in Hong Kong as an ETA. With that in mind, a quick recap:

I left for HK on August 2nd. Arriving at the airport on my fourth flight of the journey, the heat and humidity struck me as I imagine the term 'smote' to be used. There are 16 college graduates who were flown from various areas around the States to teach English at HKIED (which interestingly is pronounced Hong Kong Ied). Bundled onto a bus, we arrived on campus and were shepherded into our various dorms. There are four living quarters for students on campus (despite the fact that the 16 of us are technically 'staff'). I'm in the one closest to the entrance and the bus stop which is very convenient both for catching public transportation and for carrying groceries back. My room is equipped to be a double, but I get it all to myself. Facilities is supposed to come remove the extra set of furniture sometime soon, but so far has not done so.

In the last week and a half, we've been in trainings and orientation sessions. I just started learning Cantonese this week, and it's hard! I expected it to be, but having studied Romance languages all my life, I guess I didn't realize how much the tones were going to throw me off (there are 6 tones in Cantonese, and each syllable has a tone, which gives it meaning when combined with the sound...thus dou1 and dou6 mean entirely different things, though at this hour of the night, I have no idea what they might be).

I've also been around and about HK. HKIEd is in the New Territories, and getting into Central is something of a trek. I've actually only been in once. But I have been to Tai Po (the closest area to the school) A LOT. And some other areas as well. The campus of the institute itself is amazing. The mountains are right there, literally backing right up into campus. Hilly as is, the campus is built as a series of levels. Although it was quite complicated to get around at first, I now feel fairly confident wandering around the grounds.

This past weekend, for something fun and exciting, I went to the HK Art Museum to see a special exhibit, the last day of said show. It consisted of maybe 14 scrolls of calligraphy and paintings from ages ago. It was really quite interesting, except the whole having to stand in line for fifteen-twenty minutes at a time to see one scroll. We took the ferry to Central, which I thought was uber lots of fun. I like ferries. And when you get to the other side, you walk across a covered bridge that crosses a stretch of water that the boat can't get through. And I may sound crazy, but it was one of the most awesome travel moments I've had here thus far. I love the scenery (both natural and man-made) here. It was misting slightly (it's an open, though covered, walkway), breezy, and overcast. I remember standing and leaning against the rail, looking out over the water to the skyline, feeling the rain on my face, and just being struck by something I can't even explain. It felt like something out of a movie. I don't even know why.

The food here has been good...not quite what I expected, but good nonetheless. I've eaten in nice restaurants, corner of the street places, and on campus. The one thing that is driving me crazy is the fact that the chicken always has bones still in it. I hate gnawing away at that. It's not nearly as satisfying as having a piece of chicken. On the plus side, I get tea and rice at practically every meal. :) I've had 'Chinese' food, however one wants to define that, Thai, Korean, and Japanese so far. I've walked through countless malls, wandered through streets of shops and restaurants, been repeatedly mistaken for Cantonese, and am starting to learn how to navigate my way around on public transit.

We have another week and a half before classes start. Until then, we'll be doing Cantonese three hours a day and English for two hours. We're also taking two field trips around the sites of HK. I won't get my year schedule for probably a week or so, but the hints given have been that I will work with some French and Spanish, the drama dept, the dance area, and possibly help with writing, this all in addition to working in the primary school, one of the dorms, and the Center for Language Education. Busy busy busy.

Another very important aspect of my life right now is El Gecko. He's been here since I moved in I believe. He likes to run around whenever I come in at night, which is one of the reasons I haven't been sleeping a regular schedule.

But on that note, I think that I should try for some sleep, since I need to be up around 8 to go over some Chinese/talk online/get ready for class/eat etc.

Night night!!!!