Top 10 Hong Konger Quirks

Having already done Top Ten Lhasa Quirks and Top Ten TCK Quirks, I am moving on to the Top Ten Hong Konger quirks! I have been waiting on this post for awhile because honestly, it's hard to see the forest for the trees. By that I mean that I was born in Hong Kong and have visited every single year I was alive before finally living there for a year last year. Because of this, it is hard for me to differentiate between peculiar traits and what I would consider normal, non-eyebrow-raising behavior. I enlisted the help of the Boy and a friend and the following list is a mix of us:

1. Food

Hong Kongers are OBSESSED with food. I have never known any other culture (not Indian, not Italian) that is THAT obsessed with all things culinary. While they are eating, Hong Kongers will actively discuss the next meal(s) that they plan on having.  

So much hotpot goodness

Within this food category, Hong Kongers were taking pictures of food and sharing it WAY before Instagram came out. A couple of years ago if you saw an Asian person taking a phone photo of their food, chances were it was a Hong Konger.

I am guilty of this...

Greatest chicken wings in the world. The spicy garlic wings at Bulldogs in Tsim Tsa Tsui!

2. "ar" or "lor" or "la" or "aiya"

Cantonese speakers love adding extraneous meaningless sounds at the end of sentences. This even translates into typing and texting. "Aiya" is one I grew up hearing from my mom whenever the slightest thing went wrong. Here are examples that I took from my friends' Facebooks (thanks guys!). Keep in mind that these are meaningless sounds added to make the sentence flow better:

"more likely advertising for 'kai-ness' lor..."

"kekekeke hubby already la kekekeke"

 "Aiya! Forgot cannot eat beef"

You get the idea.  

3.  Being direct about weight

I'd say Indians do this too but I cannot tell you how many times I have gone back to HK and heard this:


"You are too fat! You gained so much weight since the last time I saw you, what happened?!"

But at dinner it switches to this:

"Why aren't you eating more?! You are too thin and you need to eat more food!"

These aren't even meant to be insulting. Actually declarations of this sort are supposed to show loving care.

4. Superficiality

This is not meant to be derogatory but Hong Kongers love their looks. They love dressing well and they love status and money. Of course the centers of this are Central, Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Tsim Tsa Tsui (to an extent, TST is a bit more seedy).  There are just in your face no-bones-about-it consumerism. Advertisements abound and man do Hong Kongers live up life if they have the means.

You can argue that plenty of other cities around the world have this as a quirk but I have never ever seen a city that has what are called Star Tutors. These tutoring kings are some of the wealthiest in HK because they market an image to high schoolers. While their actual job is getting these kids to pass the rigorous exam systems, their primary responsibility is style. They have to be "ying" (stylish and modern) to attract followers and that entails designer clothes (one woman has never repeated a piece of her wardrobe because she claims her students would notice and be unhappy), designer cuts, and a celebrity style pizazz.

Here are some articles if you don't believe me:

Hong Kong Star Tutors

Celebrity Tutors

5. Karaoke

Again, another quirk that could be applied across East Asia but Hong Kongers love their Karaoke with this very unique drink:

Whiskey (Johnnie Walker) mixed with green tea. Not the hot green tea with leaves but the green tea that comes in bottles that you can put in the fridge. It actually doesn't taste too bad.

BBQ/buffets are also a part of the KTV experience.

6. Weddings

Hong Kong weddings are a trip. I would say Indian ones are more elaborate but Hong Kong ones are definitely in the same ballpark. It will boggle your mind the hundreds of thousands of dollars (HK and US) and up that people will spend on banquet halls in hotels and restaurants.

My friend brought up this one: wedding pictures before the wedding. Hong Kongers love the wedding photos and they take full advantage of the sheer amount of money that is spent on dresses by using them as many times as possible. Thus the pre-wedding photo package where the bride will even wear her wedding dress for the shots.

I recently attended my boss's wedding and it was a whole day affair. Starting in the morning with games wherein the groom and his "brothers" (that is what they are called instead of groomsmen) have to get through the torturous games that we "sisters" (instead of bridesmaids) designed to test their fortitude. The games included bribery (they had to give us money in red pockets before we even let them through the door), eating questionable food while blindfolded and spoon feeding each other, recreating how two entwined stuffed animals fell with each other, fishing mini-mahjong tiles out of ice cold water with their toes... You get the idea. In case you have to ask, this was definitely the funnest part of the wedding!

Other notable Hong Kong wedding traditions include the tea ceremony where the bride and grooms families are served tea by the bride and groom and offered gold in exchange as well as the banquet. The banquet is a big deal because it involves food (see quirk #1) and because the guests get to get the bride and especially the groom hammered. The poor couple has to make the rounds to each table and do a cheers while draining a glass full of whiskey. Banquets usually have a lot of tables, you do the math.

They actually managed to get the mahjong tiles out!

7. Kids names

Hong Kongers give their kids the oddest names. Charms, Caesar, Creamy, Nympho, Crispina (not Christina)... the list goes on.

8. Yum cha (dim sum)


Going to yum cha (which is literally translated as "drink tea") is a group affair. You go with your family, you go with your friends and you sit for hours at a round table ordering long (the bamboo steamer baskets) after long of dim sum while drinking tea. This is the quintessential Hong Kong activity.


9. Filipino/Indonesian housekeepers


Most households in Hong Kong have at least one Filipino or Indonesian housekeeper. These same housekeepers also double as nannies/surrogate mothers to Hong Kong children. I wouldn't be surprised if this were Hong Kong's largest import commodity: household help.

If you really want to get an idea of how many Filipinos and Indonesians workers live in Hong Kong, just walk around anywhere on a Sunday and you will see them packed around stairwells, in overpasses and in Victoria Park enjoying an afternoon picnic with friends.


10. Death rites


The way to commemorate the dead in Hong Kong is to burn paper objects. The ash from these is supposed to float and transport them into the afterlife so that the deceased won't lack for any amenities. For my Grandfather's funeral we burned him a paper house, a paper sports car, and paper servants so that he would get the best of the best in afterlife comfort. You can also find paper Rolexes, IPods, IPhones, dress shirts, you name it.

While other cultures may burn incense, Hong Kongers take it to a whole new level.
 

New Gallery, Pinterest, and Istanbul

I have made a few changes to my Unsettled TCK site including adding an entirely new gallery and joining pinterest. I recently found out that I have pretty much maxed out all my free photo storage for this blog. This left me with either spending about $30 to add extra space in google OR opening a completely new photoblog with another account and linking it on here. I chose the latter.

Welcome to Unsettled TCK's Gallery blog: http://ceciliahaynesgallery.blogspot.com/ 

I haven't decided whether or not to spend the $10 and give it a custom domain like www.ceciliahaynesgallery.com but we'll see. I ended up spending money to buy the template since there are no decent free templates out there. I spent a lot of time looking and settled for looking sleek.

I figure I'll concentrate on written posts here and link to photos on the other site. So far I posted some snazzy pictures I took while in Istanbul, so if you are curious head on over and see the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, and a ceiling shot in Topkapi Palace: Unsettled TCK Gallery

Here is a screenshot of the gallery so that I have one picture in here:

What do you think of my new Unsettled TCK gallery?

I also took the plunge and joined pinterest. I was very curious about it and now I will never leave the internet! I haven't done very much but I'll get there.

Feel free to see what I've got so far: http://pinterest.com/unsettledtck/



Well those are my major updates, let me know what you think or if you have any other suggestions. I plan on adding one other website which will be hosted on someone else's domain, but we will see if I have the time...

An International School Regret

A couple of days ago I read an article in Rappler (it is a Filipino magazine) written by a friend of mine from high school entitled "Truly, dreams can come true," and it really made an impact on me. For the first time in a long while, I felt ashamed of myself. If you take the time to read it, which I highly recommend, Natashya Gutierrez writes about how she made a difference in someone's life. And I don't mean that she donated some money or put a few bricks together (which is GREAT if you do because charities are awesome and so are building houses). Just her being alive and putting her story out in the world motivated a fourteen year old boy named Romnick to put himself on the line and push for a higher education.

The International School of Manila has a very hefty tuition fee, especially for high school: $10,780-$12,060. Keep in mind that this is not a boarding school and this is not a university. My parents were able to afford this because they didn't have to. The State Department paid for my schooling. Other ISM kids I know either had parents as teachers (school paid) or were obscenely wealthy because they belonged to the richest families in the Philippines. However, there were one or two kids who were able afford the school's hefty fees because they were a part of the International School Manila's Filipino Scholar program. This scholarship gives these students a full ride to the school starting from eighth grade. 

For those who have never been to an international school and are wondering what the big deal is and why anyone would spend this amount of money to go, these schools are private schools with excellent instructors (usually Master's degrees and up) and a small teacher to student ratio. Graduates from ISM have gone to every single prestigious school you can think of, some with a full ride. Natashya was one such student who went to Yale on a full tuition scholarship. The opportunities that international schools provide is without parallel (at the very least, you'll have an interesting entrance essay to write) and I wish I had done more.  

While I don't think that I squandered my education, I definitely don't think I pushed myself as far as I could have. I can be a pretty lazy person and I have done very well at school because of the sheer fact that I can retain information very well for a short period of time. Not as well now, but in my heyday as my friends sweated over a test for days, I would read the chapter in the thirty minutes before class and walk away with the highest grade. I did nothing for the full year of AP Bio, crammed for two days prior to the exam, and walked away with a 4. The highest score is 5 and I got college credit for my 4. Pretty good for only two days of study. This was all at the American International School of Chennai (AISC and yes, the school's name is ridiculously long) and I know of one teacher in particular who was dumbstruck when I walked out of AP World History with a 5. At the time I was irked by his reaction because, hey, I got a high score, what more was he expecting? Now I understand that while he wasn't exactly hoping for me to fail, he was hoping that I would learn (and this is going to be cheesy) the value of hard work. And now I completely agree with him. It seems like my scores and my diplomas (including college) are a sham. I am still paranoid that people are going to swoop in and take away my degree because I feel like I haven't earned it. Granted, this could all be in my head and I could be a genius, but somehow I doubt that... Although this video by College Humor makes me feel a little better.

For my senior year of high school I went to the ISM. During my time there I went out, I drank, and I watched friends tempt the drug testing policy (I was WAY too paranoid to partake). It felt like half of the school were models and the rest a mixture of sports players, f@ck ups, and the odd theater kid. I was dealing with the bitterness of having to move to a new country my senior year (which I am now VERY grateful for) and so I threw myself into having fun. And looking back, that's pretty much all I remember about my year at ISM. Lounging in the guidance counselors' area and parties (and ICARE, our community service trip). Actual classes, not so much. Life is never wasted and I definitely had some pretty amazing experiences but Natashya's and now Romnick's lives highlight how spoiled I really am.

I exerted myself for my friends, I definitely did for sports because my coaches were tough as nails, and I exerted myself when going out. I cruised with pretty much everything else. And looking back, I am definitely a little ashamed of myself and humbled by those who have worked so hard to get to where they are now.

This young boy, Romnick, no longer has to walk two hours to get to school. He doesn't have to cross a river to get to school. The excitement that he must feel that these two obstacles are no longer in the way is something that I cannot relate to on any level. Thank you to my parents for that and thank you to luck/fate/universe/what-have-you that I was born into my family. This kid wasn't born into an affluent family but he has made the most of what he was given and for that I admire him so much. I also admire the dedication of the Green Earth Heritage Foundation for helping Romnick through the application and selection process.

Not to put too much pressure on this kid but I really do wish him all the best and I hope that getting this scholarship will be a game changer for him, the way it was for Natashya. Thank you both for pushing me to reflect on myself and to put my life into perspective. Again thank you to my parents for everything and for especially not getting upset at the revelations in this post!

Adorable Red Tibetan Mastiff Puppies

The title says it all! As a treat, here are some photos of adorable red Tibetan mastiff puppies. While living in Lhasa during the fall of 2011 for three and a half months, I used to pass by a vet's office every day whenever I left the hotel. Inside there was a giant bear of a Tibetan mastiff (she's the one that I am playing with in the photos) and I always wondered why she/he was there. I assumed that the owner had gone somewhere and was boarding the dog until I saw a spillage of fluffy puppies! I have no idea how she fit so many giant babies in her body...

Giant Tibetan mastiff puppies!

Very sedate red Mastiff

So fluffy!

Their mother had that drugged look as well!

So many adorable mastiffs.

These puppies were surprising calm unlike pug puppies which are insane.

How did they all fit?!

They were so soft

The very cute face of a disgruntled red mastiff puppy

Fiiiiinally curious

These would be great for kids. Completely unfazed.

So adorable!

It's crazy to think how massive these dogs will get.

Sibling solidarity

These were honestly the calmest puppies I have ever seen. Nothing really seemed to rouse them out of a slow stupor. I don't know if this is a breed thing, a genes thing, or just the time of day, but they were basically stuffed animals that occasionally sauntered. Love me some mastiff puppies!

25 Things to do Before 25

I was inspired by a Thought Catalog post by January Nelson who came up with a list of 25 things that people should do before they turn 25 years old. I am currently 23 and will be turning 24 in August. The only issue is that this list doesn't really apply to me. I don't have any problems with my parents, I don't hate myself, I fully recognize the value of my Bachelor's Degree (most jobs won't look twice if you don't have this minimum requirement), I am in a relationship, and I am only okay with brunch (pancakes and waffles are awesome for only so long).

So I have decided to come up with my own list. I am including a mix of things that I have done before and those that I aspire to do. Hopefully this will inspire people to come up with their own lists. I also hate it when lists are too vague so I gave a vague-ish title and then explain what I mean. Feel free to interpret at will. Also, no worries if you are older than 25, follow it anyway! 25 things to do before you are 80, why not?

1. Go bungee jumping, skydiving, jump off a cliff or a high dive. 

I haven't had the opportunity/the funds to go bungee jumping or skydiving so I have made due with cliff diving. I hate that falling feeling and I never go on those rides that lift you up only to drop you. I did it once as a promise to a friend but that was a once in a life experience. Cliff diving can be terrifying but the amazing feeling of accomplishment you get just from landing in water makes the fear worthwhile. The first time I ever jumped off a cliff I was 17 years old and it was in Sagada in the Philippines. I was on a community service field trip and my group ended up finishing our assignment of building a road in a day (I had most of the rugby guys to do all the cement mixing). As a treat we went to a waterfall and took turns jumping off!

First time ever. This was actually the smaller cliff. There was a larger one in the greenery behind me and that took me about five minutes to nerve myself up to do. I would literally run to the edge and stop and stare and start the process over again.

This was a lot of fun partly because my friend shouting directions at me told me to, "jump really far out and aim in between the three jagged rocks at the bottom."

2. Explore a cave. 

Get a group of friends or family and go with guides. I explored the most amazing cave in Sagada which was really intense and required shimmying up and down tunnels to end up at an underground freezing cold pond. I will never forget that experience partly because I fell and broke half of one of my front teeth in that cave.

Photo credit: http://sagadaphilippines.com/2009/07/sagada-caves-inside-the-sumaguing-cave-part-2/

3. Travel. Open yourself up to the unknown, the strange, and try to go to at least one place that makes you uncomfortable. Definitely go to a place where you don't speak the language.

This is where I disagree the most with the link I provided above. Places can't make you change but the experiences you have in those places will. Whether it pushes you out from your comfort zones or introduces you to new ideas, exploring a new culture will have an impact. It may be short lived but those memories will stick with you.

4. Stay up all night talking with friends.

This may or may not include drinks. Feel a connection with your old friends or with a group that you just met.

5. Get lost in a city.

Go to a new place and get lost. Try to find a cool part of the city that you definitely want to explore and put away the map. Bring someone along if you don't want to do this alone. Since I don't like getting lost alone, I brought along the Boy and his family and we went to town in Venice. His father was not the fondest of the without-a-map rule, but we worked around him... The Boy and I and his brother likewise crossed this off the list in Florence. That felt a little like cheating though because all you need to do is look up and you will find a historical landmark that looks familiar.

6. Learn a new language, even just a few words.

Languages are so important to understanding other cultures. If you travel and spend a few minutes here and there trying to learn "thank you" or "hello", it will go a long way to endearing you to the locals. Learning a new language will challenge you and force you to use your brain.

7. Climb a mountain.

Train, use your body, and get to the top of a mountain!

This was the ice/snow mountain that was created in Barracks Center parking lot in Charlottesville, Va. Called Mt. Chipotle, I climbed it along with a friend of mine. Feel free to improvise and to work with what you have to accomplish your goals.

8. Challenge someone who is better than you at a game.

Play a game against a superior opponent. Then practice and practice until you can beat them at least once. I am currently doing this with Scramble with Friends.

9. Listen to new music.

Go out of your way to try to find genres that you ordinarily wouldn't look twice at. You might be surprised. Or take something you have already prejudged and give it a real shot. I will do this with Justin Bieber even though it hurts my soul...

10. Feel like you made a difference.

I know that this is vague but do something that makes a difference in another person's life. Make sure that you are remembered for an act of kindness, even if you decide to be anonymous.

11. Come up with a work out regime that you will actually do.

Physical exercise is so incredibly important and impacts your overall health, including mental. Try to come up with something that works for you whether you can only manage a run once a week or a swim every couple of days. Find something that you can do in your office that won't attract too much attention.

12. Eat healthier.

Try to do the same as working out and figure out a diet where you can cut at least one unhealthy thing out of your life, or at least minimize it.

13. Thank your friends and family with a card or something nice.

Show your appreciation for the people who love you most. It can be a big gesture or a small one.

14. Watch the sun set from a beautiful place.

Go up in a hot air balloon or find a meadow or a place that you think is peaceful and watch a sunset.

15. Feel confident about your choices.

*knock on wood* People are living longer lives and there is so much more time to get to where you imagine yourself one day being. Don't feel old when you are so very, very young. I was constantly afraid in college that I wasn't doing enough or that I wasn't on the right track. It made me feel insecure and unsure of myself and I still feel that way now. But, as I have to keep reminding myself, I can't predict the future, and even if something goes wrong, I will be able to set it right eventually. Or maybe things need to go wrong to get me onto a different, better track than I thought I wanted.

16. Doubt.

Doubt at least one thing that you feel confident about. If you really are sure, then a little doubt won't change anything. If you doubt and the doubt starts to grow, then maybe you were mistaken.


17. Get in touch with someone you lost contact with.

I don't mean just Facebook friend them. Have an actual conversation with someone who you haven't talked to in a while but miss.

18. Forgive someone.

Good for you if you are never mad at anyone or you have never uttered the words, "that person is dead to me"; this one doesn't apply to you. If you have some unresolved anger, be the bigger person and forgive. This doesn't mean that you have to be best buds with whoever upset you, but maybe it will help trying to let go. This won't be a one day thing, it will likely take awhile. Also don't forgive if it will make you end up hating yourself.

19. Make a new friend.

Meet someone outside of your friend zone!

20. Do a new group activity.

I am starting to realize that without a workplace or a university setting, it is a lot harder to meet people. A way around this is to participate in a group activity. I love Pilates and one of my favorite activities at UVA was the Pilates class at the AFC (gym). My goal for this coming year is to join another group activity that I will love.

21. Face a fear/do something that makes you a little afraid/nervous.

This can be a two-for-one goal! If any of the other things I listed seem remotely scary, do that and you will have #21 beat too.

I was with a group of drunk people (mostly strangers) setting off fireworks on a rooftop in India. It was terrifying.

22. Spend a week or two or more reading news articles from a different news source than you usually do. 

The U.S. is extremely polarized right now and I think it would be helpful for everyone to actually take the time to hear the other side instead of blanking it out. The best way is to go to an alternate news source and see if you can find any parallels in how information is presented with the news source that you usually read/watch.

23. Have a civil conversation with someone you disagree with.

This can be a disagreement about anything. Movies, climate change, politics, religion, video games, you name it. Set some ground rules, ask lots of questions (NOT in an antagonistic manner), LISTEN, and try to be as articulate as you can. DO NOT resort to name calling.

24. Try not to get overwhelmed and if you do, find something that makes the mountain of stress go down.

One of my best buds suggested this one (she actually wanted me to say "don't kill yourself") but definitely find a way of dealing with stress.

25. Set your own goal and actually accomplish it.

This is my list and while it will apply to some people, it won't apply to everyone. I feel bogged down the most when I see myself as stagnant and I hate feeling trapped in the same old cycle. What makes me happy is a feeling of accomplishment and ticking off goals. If none of the activities I wrote on my list appeal to you, come up with at least one that you will do.