Hiking in a typhoon (Nesat impacts Hong Kong)

It was early 8am when I woke up for my 9am class. And to my surprise, I found out that a Typhoon warning signal level 8 was issued. That's a warning level high enough to cancel classes in Hong Kong, with gale wind speeds greater then 63km/hour (local articles stated that they were up to 100km/hr).

Not surprisingly, there is a popular myth or joke among the locals, called Li's Force Field (李氏力場). The name is adopted from the wealthiest man in Hong Kong, Li Ka Shing, and the basic idea behind the force field is that Li will prevent and steer away any typhoon that will cause a signal 8. It is disadvantageous for Hong Kong businesses to stop even for a moment. For example, during Typhoon Nesat, stock markets were closed and such time-sensitive things in a Hong Kong business-crazy society have the potential to cause a bit of economical damage. Workers get to go home once a warning 8 is issued but the Most Powerful Man in Asia who owns most of the wealth in Hong Kong does not want to let that happen. The force field theory was built on the observation that "typhoon 8 never comes" even if the perceived weather seems to be pretty bad.

So what does a university student do the afternoon a typhoon 8 is issued?

GO HIKING AT HKUST.

First of all, I don't recommend that anyone do this unless they have made sure the weather allows. For example, you shouldn't go when the typhoon is the closest in proximity, but at the time we went, the typhoon had already making distance away from Hong Kong.

My friend, the publication secretary of the Yohoo (Adventure) Club at our university, told of us of the "tallest waterfall in Hong Kong" and suggested we go there after the rains from the day before. It was ill-advised to go out in this weather but Hong Kong hikes, for the most part, are not as challenging as, say, backpacking in Yellowstone. Ergo, I agreed. Plus it was an opportunity that didn't come up very often.

From the bus stop of HKUST, we entered a hidden gate and walked down a staircase hike to a nearby beach.

I should mention that before entering, a laminated sign was posted in front of the gate in Chinese. It said that a skeleton was found in the immediate area and the police were investigating the identity of the skeletal remains and if anyone had any information about it, they should contact the police. Creepy, no doubt. I was under the impression that there was nowhere in Hong Kong that was perilous. Oh well..

The hike down to the beach took about 20 minutes. However, due to the wind and rain, the path that led to the base of the waterfall from the beach was flooded. We tried to take a detour by going through an organic farm we had seen. But first, we had to battle giant red ants.

After going through the farm, we found the river but no path. Not knowing what to do and not wanting to go back, we finally decided we should just travel upstream and see if we can make it to the base of the waterfall that way. Needless to say, we failed.

But we got a lot of good photos and had a really good time jumping on rocks. I think it was mainly the silliness of it all to try a hike during a typhoon signal 8 that made it a good experience. At least we did something with our day off from classes, right?

In the end, we spent 2.5 hours hiking down stairs, upriver, and back. We got to see the waterfall from a distance and got a little workout out of it.

The Sports Hall opened after the Typhoon signal was removed and changed to signal no. 3 instead. I assume that the rule is the same as the library: if the signal is removed at least four hours before closing, then the staff will resume their normal duties. Yeah... Hong Kong is a place that hardly ever stops. It's a meager equivalent to what a snow day feels like in the east cost of the USA, I suppose, except for the fact that people are obligated resume work once it is possible. To close the night, I played basketball in the gym with some of my teammates and roommates. Yay for happy basketball! :)

--Praying that all those truly impacted by the severity of the typhoon are safe.--

Cantonese lessons and my ethnicity

I love my Cantonese tutor :). I think she's a natural teacher and genuinely enjoys helping people.

Learning Cantonese is a lot more fun than learning Mandarin. Though I must admit, it's a lot harder. Phonetically, it's a difficult language to catch on to and the tones are pretty hard to distinguish. Cantonese is such a conversational language, it's nearly impossible to learn it and learn it well in a classroom. In comparison to Mandarin, it's a lot less formal and less organized. And surprisingly, lazy language is acceptable in Cantonese. I've been told that locals generally don't adhere to the normal use of many tones and pronunciations. You know how Americans like to say "wanna," "gonna," or say things really fast that sound like "Calforna? Cantonese has equivalents. I guess that's what also makes it a hard language to learn. Listening is going to be a bit hard for me but with a bit of practice, I guess I'll be able to get by?

Oh, one observation I want to make here is... it's amazing how much money people in Hong Kong invest in education. I've been searching for tutoring opportunities left and right to stabilize my life here, and wow, the great lengths parents will go to just to give their kids an advantage. I mean, having a tutor in America meant you were struggling in school... but a tutor here is essentially a teacher hired because a parent or the student herself believes they don't have a competitive edge in their subject.

I've come across a subtle problem, however. My ethnicity. I'm not ashamed to be Filipino. But I suppose the general attitude towards Filipinos (Filipino women, to be precise) in Hong Kong is very much related to its rather large population of Filipina domestic helpers. I mean, I guess my status as a US citizen and my experience can make up for it on some levels, especially on my resume, but on a personal level when we finally meet, I sense a subtle drop in respect. Maybe it's just the trepidation talking, I don't know. Maybe I'm just paranoid. But my Indonesian friend also experiences the same things. What is it about caucasians that make them so much of a better hire? Meh... I still have confidence in my CV/Resume. So there!

I'm not the new kid anymore

I've always thought of this analogy for my life. All my life, I've been writing lyrics--rewriting, adding new stanzas, and composing new songs. I've always been struggling to find a melody. But the thing is, I'm not a music composer. And somewhere out there, there's someone who can be my melody. That person's gonna help make my lyrics even more beautiful because there would be meaning.

What I've just discovered is that I also need a sense of rhythm. And that's something I decide and develop on my own, whether it's when I have my melody or when I don't.

The undergraduate experience in Hong Kong has been nothing short of amazing and has truly strengthened my character. There's so many things I've had to learn and so many things I'm definitely still working out. Punctuality, for example. Keeping my room clean and doing my own laundry. Managing my own finances. Balancing my commitments. Keeping an open mind and filtering what you can and can't apply to yourself. And oh yeah, STEPPING OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE. In the past, it has hurt to do so. Facing so many things and feeling like I was asking people to stop thinking in black and white (is that so much to ask?). Language difficulties. The adjustment was... a lot more difficult than I had previously surmised.

Okay, so it's the typical experience for an international student. But the international student is not so typical, wouldn't you say? ;)

[Not yet, anyways.]

Anyway, I think I finally found some leverage here in Hong Kong. Life's been pretty busy but I think I like it better this way. It's how I want to spend my undergraduate days. It's learning how to make a big difference. It's making small differences along the way.

I think I've found some kind of rhythm now. Let's go! Welcome to Asia!

Currently Reading: The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

Currently Listening To: Lemonade (Passion)

Mid-Autumn Lights

Moving past the typical experience of going to Victoria Park to see the light show (see last year's post on mid-autumn festival here), I had a mid-autumn celebration in the remote Tuen Mun, Butterfly Beach Park. It took an hour and a half of travel from Clear Water Bay, Kowloon but it was worth it to spend some time with my WBT family. We had a Hong Kong style bbq:

And played with lanterns and candles (a first time for me):
Glowsticks/glow bracelets are also common during this celebration:

All in all, my second year here started nicely. I'm reminded that I have a lot of caring friends in Hong Kong and a place is only as good as the people in it. :)

Love,
Andrea

ps. I love mooncakes!!

All photos credited to MY.