May!

There are lots of exciting things coming up! Including: Shenzhen bilingual poetry event tomorrow; writing a speech for Han Shaogong's book launch at the HKBU library; Art HK and HK Unveiled exhibits; the special Cheung Chau bun festival on the 12th; and Xu Xi's book launch for Evanescent Isles.

At the HKBU library today, I checked out Agnes Lam's books of poems and Xi Xi's collection of short stories (in translation from Chinese) A Girl Like Me. It's been so wonderful to read and talk to Hong Kong writers since I've been here. Even though my Fulbright project is a creative one, I've been actually doing quite a bit of research on Hong Kong writing. I'm really getting a good sense of literature here, and its evolution post-handover.

Pearl soup

At this very moment, just a few feet from my window, my neighbors are making pearl soup. At least that's what my mother called it. I know because I can smell the soothing broth, can smell those little dough balls I used to make with my palm as a kid. I remember trying to make different shapes out of the dough, like people make cookies shaped like trees and dinosaurs, but they always ended up being a globby mess.

A part of me wants to climb into their kitchen, and another part wants to shut the window (this is no time for homesickness).

Taiwan

Dan and I got back from our short trip to Taiwan on Monday night. I really liked Taiwan and could actually see myself living in Taipei - a city that is, in many ways, similar to Hong Kong. Yet, Taipei's air is cleaner and the city seems to have a greater sense of its heritage and culture. Plus, the food is delicious. They're big on snacks.

We started out in Taipei for two days, then took a train down south to Hualien to see Tarako Gorge (about 40 minutes away), an incredible National Park. Then we took a quick trip to Liyu (Carp) lake, then spent half a day back in Taipei, soaking at the hot springs in Beitou.

Some random highlights from the trip:

- National Palace museum carvings: We saw the famous jadeite bok choy/cabbage. My personal favorite was stone made to look like a piece of pork.

- Old men, everywhere: We went to a park near Lungshan temple which was filled with old men spending their afternoon talking and (I think) gambling. Then we walked around the neighborhood and heard old men singing karaoke. Then we saw even more old men at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial, flying kites. And then, we went to the public hot springs in Beitou on a Monday. So, with everyone else at work, the place was filled with, you guessed it, old men.

- Taiwan friends: Taiwanese people are so friendly! In our experience, Taiwan is truly the Land of Smiles, not Thailand (we felt like we were being ripped-off a lot of the time). Whenever we got lost, there was always someone who wanted to help us out, even if there was a language barrier. Plus, when we were stranded at Liyu Lake (a rural area) and needed to make our train back to Taipei, we asked some people in a restaurant to help us call a taxi and this super nice couple offered to drive us 30 minutes back to Hualien! Or when we asked someone how to get to the public bus stop, he walked us all the way there and made 100% sure we knew the arrival time and where to get off. We also made new friends! Kai, a friend of a friend from Bard, showed us around Taipei our second day there. We went out for a delicious lunch and walked around his university.

- Taroko Gorge: this gigantic park was absolutely breathtaking. I'm not exaggerating. It's full of rivers, mountains, tunnels, waterfalls, marble gorges, etc. We also tried some aboriginal Taroko food, which resulted in one of the best dinners I've ever had. We also stayed at this hostel on top of the mountain and could hear the river outside our room.

Lau Fau Shan

Yesterday, I met up with Leung Ping-Kwan, a Hong Kong poet who is also a literature and film scholar at Lingnan University, near Tuen Mun (about an hour away from Central on the west rail). I was first introduced to his work (in particular, Travelling with a Bitter Melon) during an event at the International Writers Workshop back in October. It was great to sit down and talk with him about writing in Hong Kong, Hong Kong's history and identity, and what he's been working on. His concerns definitely echo with my own since I’ve been here: the creation of a bilingual literary festival (there is one in English and one in Chinese; why not combine?) and a stronger community of writers in order to reach the public and share Hong Kong writing abroad (which needs the support of the Arts Council and is currently shadowed by performing art). We also stopped by Xu Xi's Lingnan book launch for 50/50, which is a new anthology of Hong Kong writing.

Afterwards, Ping-Kwan showed me around Lau Fau Shan, which is between Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long in the New Territories. It's an old village famous for its fresh oysters. However, nowadays, the water is dried up and the harbor is at a standstill. First, we walked to the park area, but as we went up, these two men hanging out told us 'no entry'. This didn't make much sense and it was pretty clear that they just didn't want tourists/visitors (which is funny since Ping-Kwan is a local). Anyway, we went and saw a view of the Mai Po marshes, which was quite beautiful. Except, as Ping-Kwan told me, pollution from Shenzhen is an increasing problem. Across the foggy horizon, you can see the bridge to Shenzhen and the city's eerie lights. Heading towards the harbor, we walked through this dried seafood market, which was pretty much empty. With the green lighting and stagnant buckets of water everywhere, it looked like the scene for some bizzare fish horror movie. Once out of the market, you instantly see mountains of chalky oyster shells along the harbor; you can hear the shells crack under your feet as you walk. It was completely abandoned, polluted (old flip flops, soda cans), and the thick smell of old fish filled the air. Nothing moved, save the occasional thin-legged bird digging for food and the strange black somethings hopping around in a trickle of water. Back in the market, we picked out some seafood and took it to the restaurant nearby to cook. Dinner was really nice, with true village hospitality as they gave us a huge pot of free fish, tofu, and vegetable soup. People slowly started coming in and soon enough, the place was packed and howling with conversation (the group upstairs kept slamming their cups, clearly inebriated and still going).

Heading back on the train, I realized how much it meant to see this other side of Hong Kong – a place that used to be a thriving local community, but is now threatened by large container ports and development. It’s a reminder of what will happen if Hong Kong continues to pollute/ignore local culture.

"Home of Overseas Chinese"

I found this website about Taishan (which hopes to teach the second-generation about their homeland) pretty interesting/amusing.

http://www.taishan.com/english/index.htm

It is estimated that over 75% of all overseas Chinese in North America until the mid-to-late 20th century claimed origin in Taishan, the city known as "Home of Overseas Chinese".

A (good) song stuck in my head...

Alley and I found Filfla, a Japanese indie band, at White Noise Records in Causeway Bay. Listen.

Missing before leaving

I try not to think about it. But with just three months left, I keep thinking: I’m going to miss Hong Kong. Just a few months ago, I was ready to leave. But now I feel as if I’m not ready, that I haven’t lived here long enough. I think about how I will miss everyone I’ve met (from my fellow Fulbrighters to all the wonderful local, mainland, international, and expat writers to random musicians/artists/students to chance encounters to the cashiers who work at Wellcome to my the security guard at my building who nods and smiles at me when I come in late at 1am). I’m going to miss the theme song that plays in the MTR station; the plethora of escalators; Vita drinks (specifically soy milk, lemon tea, and mango-orange); the red glow of street markets smelling of durian, oranges, and cilantro; the beautiful beaches where little kids run around with buckets of sand; adorable Chinese kids; the busy streets/buildings of Central and the bright multi-colored cityscape at night; the sudden burst of greenery; visiting the islands (the drying fish and shrimp, the no-car rule, the banana trees); homemade dumpling soup; laundry drying out the window; double-decker buses and trolleys; the Octopus card; the heavy smell of incense and Chinese radio next door; eating dinner Chinese-style; Food Forum (tasty fast food: Korean kimchee noodle pot); the manic markets of Mong Kok selling clothes and tons of other stuff you don’t need; the grime and grit of wet markets; jazz and blues nights; old women and men exercising/hanging out at the parks; the flower markets full of bamboo, orchids, and peonies; temples; the long trek up to Caine Road when the escalator stops running at midnight; the cats in my neighborhood and on Wellington; Japanese candy stores; the crazy haircuts teenagers have; ladies night on Wednesdays (free drinks); cheap and delicious bakeries; walking down the street and seeing so many Chinese faces (strangely comforting); hearing Cantonese...

Office Joy

I’ve started writing and revising at HKU, where Alley is sharing her office with Helen and me. It’s a big difference from writing in my cramped apartment, constantly shaking with construction. Writing in Hong Kong is ridiculously difficult. Everything I write seems fragmented. In my apartment, there’s always something distracting me. I always end up doing domestic things: washing laundry, hanging up laundry, checking if laundry is dry (during the winter, I used my hair dryer), taking down laundry, folding laundry, emptying my drawers and refolding my laundry. Needless to say, it’s nice to be working on a quiet campus again.

Side note

On a side note, my short story "The Loves of Mao" will be featured in Guernica, a magazine of politics and art at the end of this month. And a poem is forthcoming in Berkeley Poetry Review. There's also a poem in Octopus (issue 10).

Plus, I just booked my ticket to Taiwan!

Green and Gray

This past Saturday, Dan and I went hiking near Shek O (on the eastern part of HK island), along the Dragon's Back Trail. It reminded me that Hong Kong is actually a really green place, once you leave the city streets. It was a really foggy day, so we weren’t able to see any of the views. But it was beautiful, regardless. The air smelled of leaves and clean moss. As we climbed higher, the wind grew more intense and we were drenched in mist. All we could see was white. For all we knew, we were in the middle of nowhere, wandering into ocean. Dan threw a rock out into the white. We walked slowly and watched an entire nest of ants walk across the trail. Dan gave me a piece of bamboo and I ran around, poking at things like I was a kid again.

In contrast, Alley, David, and I crossed the border and visited Shenzhen on Sunday, the "overnight city". The city was exactly what I imagined: a frenzy of cheap goods (including piles of sneakers taller than me), huge crowds of people, ugly construction, pollution, and an endless gray sky. And then again, there were other parts of Shenzhen that I liked: the pineapple and sugar cane stands, Lotus Hill Park, and the wide city streets.

At Long Last

It's been a long time since I've updated this blog!

- In March, I went to the mainland to visit family in Taishan, which is about three hours away from Guangzhou. Dan and I took the train, met my cousin at the station, and took a bus south to the small city of Taishan. The last time I saw my family in China was 7 years ago, when I was 16. My grandpa and grandma were also visiting (from Seattle) and it was great to see them again, especially my bad ass grandpa. He started smoking from this crazy old water pipe during lunch, a day before he went into surgery (which I didn't know about until I got there). The second day we were there, we went to the mountain, where my mother grew up. It was the Grave Sweeping Holiday and we all walked up the mountain to family grave sites. We cleared the graves (of weeds, garbage, etc.), offered food, gave respects, lit firecrackers, etc. After going to three sites, we all sat down and had a huge feast. I wonder what it was like for Dan to be there during it all. He was, for sure, the first white guy in the village. Strangely enough, even though I expected to be an outsider, my family treated me as if I belonged there - as if I needed to be there. My uncle told me later to come back to Taishan more often - not to visit, but because "this is your home. And you should always come home." I don't know what to make of this, since I don't know what this "home" means, but I was touched by their acceptance of me: the one who can barely speak Chinese. I also got to see my great grandmother (my mother's grandmother), who is 90 years old. She lives alone in her village, but has many friends, I'm sure. She's super cute and still really sharp. She was cooking rice when we surprised her and she kept moving about, trying to cut us oranges.

My grandmother and my great grandmother (the only one missing is my mom)

Most of our time spent in the mainland was with my family, living the Chinese life: going to my cousin's best friend's nail shop, playing volleyball with some random strangers, grabbing food at midnight at some highway restaurant, yum cha in a crowded, smoky room, staying with my grandpa at the hospital, etc.

I'm planning on going back to Taishan one more time before I leave Asia. My cousin's getting married in June and I can't miss it. She's marrying a Korean guy; on the phone, she spoke to him in English, Korean, and Mandarin.

- The HK Literary Festival (March 2-12) was a blast. I've been volunteering with them since last fall, so it was great to see it all come together. I also participated in a few events, including a reading with local and international poets at the Fringe, an event called "A Sense of Home" with local writers and Yiyun Li (I read fiction), and a PoetryLive! reading for secondary school students. This last event was my favorite. Imagine an auditorium filled with pre-teens and teens cheering for poetry. The energy was incredible.

- I'm figuring out my plans for next year. It was a hard decision, but I've decided to go to Iowa, over Columbia. And the best part? I don't have to take out any loans! I'm going to be teaching in the fall too, in the Rhetoric department. I'm super excited, but nervous. This will be my first time in the Midwest (well, I was in Boulder for a month, but it was such a short time) and far, far away from the ocean. But I think it's time to live in a small town, after living in the city for a year. I also met Xu Xi, a writer here in Hong Kong, who will be a visiting professor in the Non-Fiction program at Iowa next spring.

- Amazing contemporary Chinese novelist Han Shaogong is coming to Hong Kong this month. He's a visiting writer at HKBU and I will be meeting him at the reception/dinner tomorrow! I'm so excited. I read his novel A Dictionary of Maqiao two years ago at Bard and was blown away by. Both innovative and moving, it's the story of a rural village during the Cultural Revolution, written in the form of a dictionary. Read it.

- Check out the new May issue of MiPoesias! It's filled with poems and recipes. It also features a poem I wrote during my lovely summer at Bucknell. You can download it as a PDF or buy a copy from Amazon!

March-ing Along

This past week was the HK-China Fulbright Research Forum, which included 3 1/2 days of discussion groups and reflection on our projects. It was amazing to meet Fulbrighters from China and Taiwan (I believe there are about 80 China Fulbrighters) and learn more about their projects and experiences abroad. I'm so impressed by everyone... what a amazing group of articulate, driven, talented, innovative, passionate, and interesting people! I'm just proud to be a part of it all. The conference also served as a means of mid-point reflection. After filling out my mid-point review, I realized that I have to step it up a notch and stay motivated in order to finish. I can't believe it's March already. Looking back, I feel as if I've accomplished certain things, but need to work on others (i.e. learning Cantonese). I feel disjointed in terms of my creative work, since I've started a few poetry manuscripts and haven't been able to finish them. Hong Kong is shortening my attention span! Also, I have a bunch of individual short stories and poems floating around. I need to really sit down and put it all together. And of course, keep producing work.

On a random side note, we met Martin Yan of PBS's Yan Can Cook during a lunch for the Better HK Foundation! I grew up watching the show and it was pretty hilarious meeting him (my mom used to say she could have a tv show because of him).





I'm also hearing back from MFA programs now and have been accepted to Iowa and Columbia. I'm really excited about this...

Workshops and Art

This past Thursday and Friday night, I taught two undergraduate poetry workshops at HKBU. They both went really well! The theme was “Writing the City” and we looked at contemporary poems by Hong Kong poet Leung Ping-Kwan and did some writing exercises (postcard poems, list poems, writing as walking/running). It was really fun since the students came from all different backgrounds (translation, visual arts, European studies, business, etc.). I greatly appreciated their curiosity and openness. Some really difficult and important questions were also posed; for instance: what is the future of poetry? What is the future of the Book (considering online books, text-message novels, etc.)? This was my first time teaching a college-level class and, I have to say, I really enjoyed it. At the end of one class, I realized my cheeks were flushed…. not because I was nervous, but because I was just so excited to be teaching.

Yesterday, Alley, Michaele, and I visited the Old Central Police Station, which is now hosting (through March 15th) a massive art and architecture exhibit called “Refabricating City”. It’s quite impressive. Great use of the space, plus some really innovative curators. To see an installation in the middle of a prisoner’s cell: really powerful. Some rooms were fun (i.e. an entire floor covered with computer keyboards) and others eerie (i.e. an installation called “hands up, hands down” in a completely dark and barren room, only containing a cross and a touch lamp with clouds).

Back in Hong Kong...

It's strange how relieved I am to be back in this city. Going up the Mid Levels escalator to my apartment, everything just seemed so familiar and real. Which is exactly what I didn't feel during my first five months here. I'm realizing that: yes, I am actually living in Hong Kong. For the time being, this is where I am. And it's great.

Thailand

My trip to Thailand was an adventure for sure: relaxing, emotional, frustrating, enlightening, and most of all, intense. Dan and I only had a week, so it was much too quick of a trip. We mostly spent time on Ko Samet island, Bangkok, and Ayutthaya.

Dan and I caught a really late flight to Bangkok (we arrived sometime around 2AM) and decided to stay in the airport - like true transients - and catch the 5AM bus three hours or so to Ko Samet in Southern Thailand. The instant we stepped out of the airport, we realized how disoriented and in many ways, helpless, we were. We took a sketchy-ish cab to the Eastern bus station, which was a dingy station full of tired people, both local Thai and dirt-covered backpackers. Our bus was being packed full of vegetables from Bangkok, and we all piled in for the trip to Ko Samet. In the early morning, looking out at the Thai countryside, the sky was a brillant white - the kind of white that is quietly frightening - and I remember seeing the blood orange sun and shaking Dan, saying "look at this, just look."

We then took the hour ferry to the island from Ban Phe and, by then, the sky cleared and everything was exactly what paradise looks like: blue water, white sand, etc. We stayed at a small bungalow, which was full of half-stray dogs, like all of Ko Samet. Everywhere you went, there were dogs sleeping, following you, watching you, running around, trying to survive on garbage. There were these three black puppies on the road toward our bungalow that would follow you when you passed. There were all these dogs covered in fleas and trying to find shade from the sun. And all the yawning puppies sleeping under our chairs during dinner. It was so sad and touching.

We spent the next day and a half on the island, enjoying the slow speed of beach life. The main beach was full of tourists (young and elderly burnt to a crisp) and Thais trying to sell you coconuts/massages/temporary tattoos, etc., so we walked around for a while and explored the rest of the island. We found a really nice secluded beach and spent the day there.

After spending one last afternoon in Ko Samet, we caught a bus from Ban Phe back to Bangkok to check into our hostel. Apparently, we didn't know that our hostel was located in Th Sukhumvit, which is basically Bangkok's red light district. Everywhere, there were these disgusting old fat white men with pretty young Thai women. It was really depressing. And since everyone thought I was Thai, people probably thought poor Dan was some sketchy white guy. To say the least, we did not spend much time in Sukhumvit. However, like the rest of Bangkok and Thailand, Sukhumvit had delicious street food. I can not stress how much I love Thai street food! Not only is it freshly made right before your eyes, not only is it the most delicious thing EVER, it is ridiculously inexpensive. The best dinner Dan and I ever had in Thailand cost 50 baht for two (in Chinatown). That's under US $1 for two people! The dishes that we enjoyed included Thai noodle soup with fresh cilantro, vegetables, coconut juice, and pork balls; fried rice with seafood; garlic fried chicken; chicken and beef kebabs with pineapple and hot sauce; freshly made fruit smoothies or freshly squeezed tangerine juice; loti pancakes filled with banana and drizzled with chocolate, ginger fried sea bass; and so much more. It's a good thing that I love spicy food because in Thailand, if it's not spicy, it's not good! For street stalls, if there are seats, you sit down with local Thai and chow down in the sweaty heat. It's really fun to watch the vendors make the food (an art in itself). In Bangkok's Chinatown, the noodle lady kept flinging noodles into the air as she cooked. We were definitely within noodle-throwing distance. It was great. We snacked so much. I would go back to Thailand just for the food.

Since Dan was playing at an ultimate frisbee tournament for two days (which he won, by the way!), I explored Bangkok. For the first day, I went to the typical tourist sites: Wat Pho (with the giant reclining Buddha), the Grand Palace, and Wat Arun. I took the ferry, which was nice as it really gives you a sense of the river. The wats or temples were very impressive and full of beauty. It was nice to see such ancient history right in the middle of crazy Bangkok.

Somehow, when I tried to get a tuk-tuk to take me to another Wat, he took me where I didn't want to go for two hours. This was after he discovered that I couldn't speak Thai and wasn't Thai. It was pretty terrible to say the least. The upside of it all was that I got to see the city in a really interesting way: zipping through pollution and traffic, catching glimpses of daily Thai life (selling Buddhas wrapped in plastic and protection amulets, kids kicking around soda cans, women washing vegetables). I've decided that travelling as a woman can be pretty difficult in Bangkok. But it all turned out completely fine. I really appreciate how incredibly safe Hong Kong is now.

I also went to the big weekend market up by Mo Chit, which would take me days to walk through it all. It's this winding market full of anything you might want, and is the spot to be for both local Thai and tourists. It was funny to be shopping around since everyone, again, thought I was Thai. I tried to explain that I wasn't Thai; it was strange to explain that I was "Chinese", not Thai. Because, for sure, if I said "American", they wouldn't believe me. One man wasn't convinced at all and I had to lie and say I was half Thai. When I was at the market, there was a sudden downpour and everyone kept shopping, soaked through their clothes and moving through the alleyways flooded with dirty water. There's nothing like splashing through a sweaty, crowded, and gigantic market. When I met up with Dan, we tried to find a place to stay near the train station in Chinatown, as we were planning to leave early the next morning. Wandering around, we ran into a full-on Peking opera show in the street! We walked near the sounds of drums and saw the actors backstage, in make-up and constume, and sat down to enjoy the show with the rest of the audience (mostly elderly Thai-Chinese).

For our last day and a half in Thailand, we took the train up toward Northern Thailand to the ancient ruins of former capital, Ayutthaya. It was about an hour and half ride; we took third-class and further discovered how Thailand is very much a third-world country. Looking out on the countryside, poverty was everywhere. Green fields, shacks with hanging laundry, garbage strewn everywhere, the stray dogs. This was a definite culture shock. In Ayutthaya, we explored the many ruins of the city. We ended up at this one unnamed and quiet wat with the most beautiful smiling Buddha I have ever seen. It was in this crumbling room with no roof, covered with flowers and bright robes. A very old woman came up to us and showed us how to pray and give our respects. In this empty room, kneeling in front of this beautiful Buddha and pressing a gold piece of paper against its arm, I was overcome with a mixture of peace and confusion, as I wasn't sure what it meant. But it meant something.

Orange trees

Happy New Year/Kung Hei Fat Choi/San Lin Faai Lok!

The streets are filled with little orange trees, orchids, and the smell of incense. Dan bought some flowers and plants from a flower market for the apartment. Day two of celebrations includes fireworks and a party at Alley's.

I met up with some friends last night to go to the Tsim Sha Tsui night parade, but I got sick once again from Indian food at Chungking Mansions (why I went back, I don't know) and had to leave early. But we did get to see the start of the parade and some absolutely adorable kids dressed up as mice with lamps in the shape of cheese. Some strange things I noticed: during the parade, we saw a group of Chinese musicians playing the bagpipes! There were also these two old white men dressed in Qing dynasty clothing with fake long black beards glued to their (very visible) white beards. These Western men in Chinese garb were escorted by two pretty Chinese women. What was up with that?!?

The cold spell

What to do in a city without central heating? Drink lots of soup, roll into a burrito and stay in bed.


- The Man Hong Kong Literary Festival, where I volunteer once a week, is coming up soon in March (as well as our 3-day Fulbright China Research Forum). Some of the authors include Ian McEwan, Yan Geling, Anne Enright, and Yiyun Li. I'll be participating in an event entitled "A Sense of Home". At least with my experience, “home” is an exceptionally foggy idea, which is interesting since it’s often thought of as a foundation where we can place ourselves. Yet, because of my upbringing and where I am now, “home” does not denote a place. I can't pinpoint “home” on a map; instead, “home” is a murky sense of something I desire and must create. If anything, my experience living abroad in Hong Kong - a city with an identity crisis, I think -has further complicated that created space...

- Chinese New Year is quickly approaching and I'm looking forward to spending it in Hong Kong. It's the year of the rat (that's me)! Just a few days ago, Dan bought me a cake in the shape of a rat. I was originally planning on visiting family in China, but it's crazy hectic now and I'm waiting until mid-March. I am so glad that I'm not stranded at the train station in Guangzhou, lost in a massive crowd of people and suitcases. On the news, it showed tens of thousands of people stranded there. Everyone's trying to go home for Chinese New Year. It's a mass migration. Here's an article about it in TIME magazine.

- Two of my friends and fellow Fulbrighters are planning on showing a photo exhibition at the Fringe Club. If it all works out, I will be writing some "Non-Portrait" poems to accompany the exhibition. Collaboration is always fun!

- Thailand dates: February 12-19!

Fake Jet Lag

I've been having bouts of fake jet lag. For the past three nights or so, I've been getting up at 5 in the morning, wide awake after 3 hours of sleep. Yesterday, not wanting to wake Dan, I ended up reading on the couch until the sun came up (which is actually a lie since you can never see the sun rise here). Lying on the couch with a thin blanket and a lumpy pillow, I felt like an exiled husband.

I think this city is starting to get to me. I'm ready to leave for a little while. Dan and I are planning our week long trip to Thailand. We just bought our tickets to Bangkok and are set to go on February 12th. Since it's a short trip, we're thinking of exploring the Central Thailand area, including Bangkok, Ayuthaya (ancient ruins of the former royal capital), Ko Samet (a beach), and perhaps Khao Yai National Park (hello elephants) or a floating market.

Macau cricket fights

Dan and I made a short trip to Macau, which is about an hour from Hong Kong. Although Macau is very much Chinese, there is definitely a different kind of culture specific to Macau, as influenced by the Portuguese (signs were in both Chinese and Portuguese). We first went to Largo do Senado and visited the Ruins of St. Paul, which were really impressive. We walked around the street markets for a bit and tried some Macau almond cookies and some sweet dried meat thing. There's an entire street dedicated to these cookies and dried meats, packed with tourists trying out samples. It was pretty overwhelming. Then we went to Monte Fort, a vast fort with an amazing view of the central area of Macau. We stopped by the Macau Museum. My favorite bit of information: cricket fighting. Cricket fighting was particularly big in Macau. At the museum, we saw cricket coffins (yes, they held real funerals for crickets that died in fights) and saw preserved"cricket champions". We had dinner at an unfortunately not so great restaurant and had Macanese specialities like African chicken, which is done with coconut and chillies. Oh well, at least we tried it. We also visited the Leal Senado, Church of St. Dominic and ended up at this park behind this pink building when we realized that, besides the Las Vegas-like casinos, there was nothing to do in Macau at night. When we went, the air was terribly polluted with moped exhaust and I kept walking around the streets with my scarf in my face.

Dear January,

Happy New Year!

I read my horoscope in HK Magazine and it said that my year will be something akin to Lake Vostok, an ancient sub glacial lake discovered in Antarctica 13,000 feet under an ice sheet. The lake is the size of Lake Ontario and was found, untouched, in 1996. Hmmm..

Another Kind of Nation: Contemporary Chinese Poets

My Chinese poet-translator friend, Canran, invited me to a book launch/reading of a new bilingual anthology of contemporary Chinese poetry, edited by Zhang Er and Chen Dongdong. The reading was in Yau Ma Tei and was a great introduction to new writing in China and Hong Kong. It was mostly in Putonghua, so I couldn't understand a word of it; however, it was still great to listen to as I read along in the English translation. I met some great new poets and am excited to encounter them in the near future. I also had a chance to read a new poem I wrote in Hong Kong, although I could only do so in English. I think I will challenge myself and try to translate a poem into Cantonese, well, spoken Cantonese. The anthology is available here at Amazon.

A Hong Kong Holiday

Dan and I were in Hong Kong for the holidays... our roommates left for China and Italy respectively and we had the entire apartment to ourselves. We stopped by my friend and poet Viki Holmes's apartment and shared some mulled wine, mince fruit pies, and chocolate. On Christmas day, I had a lovely dinner with Dan, Helen, and her friends from home in the New Territories. We made a giant traditional Christmas dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc. and watched A Christmas Story. I missed home terribly, but it was great to spend it with great company. For New Year's Eve, Dan and I met up with Alley and her friend from home, Kate, and made a delicious Mexican feast with cherry chocolate chip cookies from our trusty toaster oven. We then met up with Helen and friends at Carnegie's in Wan Chai and spent the rest of the night dancing, laughing, and enjoying the start of the new year. Also, it's getting pretty cold here and we actually had to go out and buy a comforter. Strange how temperature can make you miss home.

Moving Forward

I will be running a creative writing workshop (two sessions) in the spring semester at HKBU, which I'm really excited about. Also, as I'm realizing that I've been in Hong Kong for almost four months now, I am determined to push on and write more. I'm looking forward to travelling more too; I just got my multi-entry China visa!