A typical day for me now. Instead of waiting for something significant, or exciting, or newsworthy, I'll just write. Here I am in Hong Kong and everything I do is in another country. This might show how Hong Kong is different.
Today's story starts with Hugo going to scouts and playing some kind of rough-house game with scouts that are twice his size. After all the excitement was over, and while we were waiting to catch a bus home, he noticed that his phone was broken. The screen was cracked. I thought that Hugo could learn a valuable lesson by not having a phone for a few weeks while it is being repaired and this experience might make him realise that it is important to keep breakable, valuable things out of his pockets while playing a scout game that involves him being hurled around a gymnasium. Today I took the bus into the city to the Nokia repair centre. It is located in a hotel - they don't seem to have the same zoning laws in Hong Kong - people, shops and factories are all bundled together wherever it all fits. People live in the centre of the city, about a milion people. I was expecting the repair to be expensive and to take about a week. Hugo's phone was fixed in one hour and cost AU$40.
I mentioned that we were waiting for a bus - there is a bus every 5 minutes so there really is no waiting. The buses can be treated like taxis - they will stop anywhere along the route to pickup and deliver. I have not missed having to park a car. I certainly have not missed paying for petrol and tyres.
I mentioned that we were at scouts - I have joined the Boy Scouts of America as a scout leader. Hugo is also in scouts, he is a cub-scout and has earned badges for engineering and citizenship. He is working at getting the cub-scouts top award called the "Arrow of Light". 
Rachel Ruby has a school excursion to China tomorrow - the trip is for 5 days where Rachel Ruby and her fellow classmates will work with Chinese orphans as part of a fascinating subject called Humanities in Action.
We are going to Australia for Christmas. We will arrive in Brisbane on Saturday 22nd of December and stay until about January 4th. In that time I am going to eat whole cans of Heinz All Day Breakfast. I would like to drive a car, which is something that I have not done in six months for a long drive somewhere.
Work - I have had a few job interviews - one particular interview was for an engineer/technician with a company that installs fancy telephones for stockbrokers. I have not had a conversation with a technician for a long time so it was good to be able to talk shop about some computer stuff. I asked to see the server room and the routers. I wanted to see the instruction manuals. I asked it they used 802.5 at all and then asked why. Either I have the job or he thinks that I am some sort of over-enthusiastic tech-loony.
The real job that I want is with Marriott hotels - the interview is on Monday.
I had lunch at a typical Hong Kong restaurant today. Its like this - compare the hamburger that you get at a milk bar to a Big Mac. The milk bar hamburger is huge - it has bacon, pineapple, beetroot and a fried egg. That is what it is like when I go to one of the small restaurants in Hong Kong. I can get a huge meal of fried rice and something that surprises me. I order by the numbers - everything on the menu is food - I say three numbers in Cantonese and then see what they bring me. Today I asked for "Saam Gau Ye" which means 392 and had a fantastic meal. There were things in it from the sea and something that looked round and shiny. They serve a glass of hot water with some meals - I just see what everyone else does with it and follow like a local. I can get by with very little language skills - enough to be polite is all that I have needed so far. I always tell the good people at the immigration office that they speak English very well.
The Chinese are really polite. I have not studied Chinese history, all that I know about the history of China is what I have stumbbled on from the news, but I see it this way. The British invaded Hong Kong and took over the same as they did with Australia, New Zealand, India and other counties that play cricket. The Chinese, instead of starting a war over it, decided to negotiate with the invaders and signed a lease for a hundred years. Meanwhile the English, not satisfied with Hong Kong Island, decided to cross the harbour and setup colonies. The Chinese were very patient and allowed more land. In 1997 the Chinese, wanted the land back according to agreements. The English seemed to take great offence at this. I agree with Eric Idle - I like Chinese.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment