Cultural Musings

So it has been nearly two weeks since I’ve arrived on this side of the world, and I think I’m pretty much settled in.  Now, I want to take some time to consider my new culture and shed some light on the things that I’ve found interesting here.

First off, I’ll say that I don’t feel very culture shocked – or at least, not nearly as much as I expected.  Things here are pretty westernized.  A key example would be that 95% of signs are printed in both Chinese and English – the tough ones are a lot of the neon street signs like you’ve seen in previous pictures, that are not comprehensible.  But things like menus, street signs, instructions, etc are mostly bilingual.  This has made the transition much, much easier.

(Main road on Central Campus)

(Main area on Central campus, CUHK equivalent of Brookings quad)

(106 stairs up and down every day)

(I-House in all its glory)

Quick Comparisons

-HK has a population of about 7 million

-HK is +13 hours in time zone from EST

-HK has the most people living above the 14th floor in the world

-I did three loads of laundry today and it cost me under $5US

-Really “cheap” beer will cost about $2US for a liter, and tastes a hell of a lot better than Natty Light or Keystone

-A bottle of Heineken costs ~ $2.50 US

-Big Mac Value Meal = $32HK = $4.50US

-All buses in HK are double-deckers

-Their GDP ranks around 45th and per capita is about 22nd ~$30,000 per person

-Cab fare from University to HK Central (~40 min) = $150 – and can fit 5 people in a cab

-MTR fare (student rate) from University to Central = $6.50

Weather

So to clarify a bit, Hong Kong is located on the southern coast of China, and as an analogy, is located in roughly the same latitude as Cuba.  Yes, I’m living in a Caribbean-like climate for the next few months.  Score one for me.  The winters are supposedly “very cold” as described by locals.  This translates to balmy.  The first week temperatures were about 60 F and it was very cloudy, and drizzled a lot.  In fact, I didn’t see the sun until 6 days after my arrival.  It was a welcome change of pace.  Since then, it’s been a bit cooler earlier this week, around 55, but beautifully sunny and has warmed up to an incredible 75 today (Saturday).  While I wear jeans and a t-shirt and fleece most days, the local people hear are literally deathly afraid of the cold.  I was told by someone I met that the people here, especially the elderly (something that transfers across our cultures I think) are afraid of freezing to death.  Given that some may not have children to take care of them, and that there is no heating anywhere here, as the summers are blisteringly hot and humid, this kind of makes sense.  But only for old people.  It boggles me that on a 65 degree, sunny day, that most of the people my age are wearing scarves, hats and parka jackets.  Absolutely crazy.

(I was in short sleeves that day)

Thankfully, the temperature is supposed to stay around where it is now, and not get much colder throughout the winter.  I’m predicting my first beach day (in HK) to be somewhere around March.

Transportation

As I’ve mentioned before, the public transportation here is absolutely incredible.  On campus, there are buses (look like coach busses) that run to many different spots on campus along the many altitudes.  They actually run on a schedule, which is a breath of fresh air from WashU, and come about every 5-10 minutes.  These buses are packed.  Every time.  Just like the trains.  It’s really amazing to see how probably 100 people cram into a bus made for 60.

("School bus", aka campus bus)

Otherwise, public transportation is a way of life here.  People don’t drive cars, and I must say, I would be scared to, seeing how the people drive around here, let alone the whole “left side of the street” thing here.  Thus, the trains that arrive every 3-5 minutes are literally ALL packed.  It doesn’t get old.  I don’t mind so much because I tower over everyone and get some pretty fresh air.  I can actually see from one side of the car to the other unobstructed by other tall people.

Money

The money here is hard to keep in perspective for me.  With the exchange rate being what it is, I find it difficult to gauge how much I’m spending.  I always revert to thinking of converting the price into USD, but I think this is a bad practice.  I’m trying to do more of comparisons within HK, like comparing my canteen to a meal I can get at a restaurant in the mall, instead of thinking that the $18 (~2.50 US) that I pay for meals here is super cheap, or that paying 100HKD at a restaurant is not bad because it’s only about 15US.

Physically, there are coins and notes.  Coins have values from 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, $2, $5, and $10.  Notes have values 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000.  What is interesting is seeing the different look of coins from pre-1997 (i.e. when the British were in control) which show up from time to time and have the Queen on them.  Also, the bills are printed by two different banks - HSBC (Hong Kong –Shanghai Bank Corp) and the Bank of China.  This means that there are different versions of a lot of the bills.  I think I’ve seen two or three versions of the 10, and two 20’s.  They kind of feel like Monopoly money, which is somewhat fun, but a bit bad because I don’t feel as bad spending it sometimes.  It’s a good thing that the 100 is only really equivalent to about $15US.

(There's a $10 coin too but less common.  All of these coins are worth less than 1 USD)

(It's all about the lions baby)

Having said all this, Hong Kong is a very high-tech city, and has a lot of opportunities to use RFID-enabled cards to pay for things.  As I've mentioned before, there is the Octopus Card, which is mostly used for the MTR, but can be loaded with money to be used at grocery stores, vending machines, canteens etc.  Also, I have a CUHK student ID card which can be filled with money to be used for laundry, printing, library books etc.  As we have just switched to at WashU, printing is not free here, and we actually get a pretty good deal at WU.

People

The people in Hong Kong are extremely nice.  I have had no problems at all, and they are seem very willing to help me when I’m lost.  The students at CUHK all speak some English, but many of them are very embarrassed to speak it with a westerner.  This is one of the reasons a lot of local students choose to live in the I-House – they see it as a very good way to improve their English quickly.  This is the case for my (ex) roommate Sam, from Hong Kong.  He is studying Sports Science here at CUHK, and is going to become a phys-ed teacher.  Also he is on the varsity soccer team.  Currently, he only takes one class on campus, and spends the other four days teaching physical education to students at a local high school, which is closer to his actual home.  This is why he is moving out this weekend (which I’m a bit sad about).  But, he was telling me that he has to teach these classes to local students in English, which he is still not confident in his abilities.  He is upset that he is leaving I-House, but it will save him many hours of commute each week.

(Me and Sam, what a G)

Some interesting quirks I’ve found here.  The locals have very bad walking etiquette.  First of all, they are very slow walkers.  This is especially problematic for me as my average pace is above average as it is.   They are slow, unless they are in a rush, in which case they are almost at full sprint, and have very little regard for others.  The other part of this is that they don’t seem to get the courtesy-system of moving out of the way of people walking in your direction.  Even if I’m on the left side of the sidewalk (which I’m pretty sure would be the correct way here), I always seem to be the one moving out of the way.  Little things, but noticeable.

Otherwise, I have met a lot of locals who have been as interested in interacting with me, as I have them.  This has been great for me.  On multiple occasions I’ve gone out to eat with locals, or spoken to some of them in class.  They have been very open to discussing issues that may seem more sensitive like politics or cultural things.  I’ve been able to learn a lot from them, and I am grateful.  A lot of the locals and mainland students that I’ve been meeting have nearly perfect English, which I constantly let them know about.  They, of course, think it’s not very good.  Also, they love to be corrected, which is certainly nice to see that they are striving to be better.  Even small things like pronouncing sesame as “See-sum” as opposed to “se-sumy” is appreciated.

International Students

Similar to the local students, the people on my program are super-friendly and also looking for a lot of cultural exchange.  I always seem to forget that all of these people are speaking English as a second or even third language.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the great conversations I’ve had about other countries, my country, and the societal issues that we have in common.  I feel like a lot of these kids are so much more cultured and worldly than myself, and it makes me want to learn even more, and exchange even more.

(Some friends at the Happy Valley Horse Races, every Wednesday night.  Great place to see only white people and degenerate gamblers)

One conversation that always comes up is American drinking.  Everyone is amazed, or rather in awe, of our drinking age, and thus our drinking habits.  I find it even more difficult to defend when I hear first-hand, the arguments that I’ve been making for years.  It is such a stark cultural difference.  On the weekends, it is very easy to spot the Americans by who is being the loudest and drunkest.  It’s hard to want to be a part of that culture, and I think we can change it.  But not by giving more education, or creating more barriers.  I really think it’s time to rethink why we upped our drinking age, and start treating drinking as another thing that adults do, and introduce it earlier, and not create a taboo field around it. It’s about parenting.  It’s about introducing your children to responsible ways of drinking by showing them – by giving them a glass of wine or a beer at dinner.  Then, there won’t be this rebellious feature of going against the rules, which leads to not only excessive drinking, but the fast-paced binge drinking that college campuses have become so used to, only because there is the constant threat of getting “caught”.  Ask any 21+ year-old how they drink now, as opposed to when they were 18, and you’ll find that it has calmed down quite a bit.  Bottom line, experienced drinkers are safer drinkers – so maybe we should let kids experience it safely from an earlier age.  Just some food for thought…

 Things I Miss from Home

-Bread.  They just don’t have it here on anything.  And, when I order from the “Western” menu, it only consists of ham and cheese, egg and ham, or tuna and cheese.  Also, they cut off the crusts on everything – still can’t figure that one out

-Cheese.  Also nonexistent.  Gotta go pick up a block of Vermont cheddar sometime soon J

-TV.  Until my Slingbox starts working, I’ve been out of touch with the important end to the NFL season and my beloved basketball.

-Heat.  Not that it ever worked in my room at home, but it doesn’t happen hear, so sitting at my desk can get pretty frigid.

-Chocolatey things.  There’s just nothing as rich or creamy in the dessert section as there is at home.  Look for me eating copious amount of cakes and cookies when I return.

-The right side of the street. Still not getting used to looking right instead of left, and have come pretty close to getting run over.

-Most of all though, is you guys! Sappy, but true, it’s weird having this life without my friends and family from the US here with me.