Locate the Westerner

“As the soil, however rich it may be, cannot be productive without cultivation, so the mind without culture can never produce good fruit.” –Seneca Quote

81 Degrees

80% Humidity

One of the things that I have been enjoying the most since arriving in Hong Kong is the opportunity to explore. The work day ends at 1830pm and I sit down in the arm chair in our room and flip through my guide book. I’ve only been here a month and it is already looking like a well used, well traveled document. 

That’s something I love to see in a book, pages dog eared, smudged written notes in the margin. That’s when you know you’ve been making the best of your location. The book comes alive with the experiences that you have had, the personality of the reader coming thru in the scribbled notes. 

Since arriving, I have had a lot of down time. Something I didn’t necessarily expect. While in Antarctica I felt like I was on non-stop go, little breathing time between work and sleep. Granted, I know this will soon change as we prepare to go into full time program mode. At the moment, however, we have been going at a snail’s pace. There’s been plenty of time in the evenings to relax and get caught up on this blog, but I have found myself with little inspiration. Why? I don’t really know. Maybe it’s because I can’t decide what to write about since there is so much to think about. More of my time has been spent with my nose buried in a book enjoying a little peace and quiet, letting my brain meander thru the world of the written jungle rather than write my own written jungle. 

However, when Sunday, our day of rest, arrives, it’s up at the crack of dawn to load the day pack, eat breakfast and hail down the first bus of the day, heading out into the humid world of Hong Kong. The mindless book of the night before replaced by guide book and with map and passport in hand, off I go. 

What am I in search of? 

Cultural Immersion. 

Searching for cultural immersion.

Hong Kong has opened new doors to my idea of adventure. Past journeys have primarily involved time in a remote, backcountry setting doing some intense recreational activity. Here, however, the hiking boots have been replaced with lightweight trail runners, my day pack the only pack resting on my shoulders, my legs exercising the streets of hidden communities around the islands of Hong Kong as my taste buds get a work out sampling the street market wares. I have realized that it is still adventuring, just a new angle off of the old. My lens shutter on my camera has been getting more of a workout than I have, but my heart is content. My brain overloading with the knowledge it is storing away for future use. 

I am ready to expand my world. My current list of goals looks like this: 

• Master the use of chopsticks—ongoing
• Learn Cantonese and use it to get around the city—so far I have mastered hello, how are you, two ways to say thank you, and turn left and turn right
• Eat a variety of diverse ethnic foods—I am hesitant when it comes to things like snake soup and animal guts, but one of these days it may happen J
• See a Fire Dragon Ceremony—Done! Witnessed this at the Mid Autumn Festival
• See a monkey—Done! Came face to face with a curious Macaque Monkey at the 10,000 Buddha Monastery
• Temples—on going—getting a fair amount of temple time where I go
• Water Buffalo—Done! Saw the real thing in Mui Wo after a week of being in Hong Kong
• Meditate while surrounded by the chatter of a foreign language—Done! Sometimes Cantonese can be music to your ears and sometimes it can make your ear drums ache, but it is still beautiful to sit in silence and let the sounds of language flow around you
• See/hear the barking deer that reside in the countryside of Hong Kong
• Hike the longest trail in Hong Kong, the MacLehose Trail which is 100km long

The list will expand as time passes. 

One of the many temples I have stepped into.

A Hong Kong sunset

An interesting mixture going on in this photo.

An interesting game I have found myself playing has been: Locate the Westerner. I have quickly discovered that the closer you are to the main metropolitan parts of Hong Kong the more Westerners are spotted. As you progress out into the outlying islands and the land of the New Territories, the sightings become fewer and fewer. Why, I’m not really sure. Those are some of the areas I enjoy exploring the most. 

Whenever I spot a fellow westerner I find myself smiling. I have to admit, we stand out like a sore thumb. Height, skin color and hair color are a dead giveaway. For one who likes to blend into the crowd, I have come to the wrong continent. Being a westerner, I have gotten my fair share of penetrating, inquisitive stares from locals. It makes me squirm to be under such thorough scrutiny, despite the fact that I know the person isn’t doing it out of rudeness, it’s simply curiosity. My facial muscles twitch with the urge to scrunch my face up and stick my tongue out. The temptation is strong, but I have no desire to insult my hosts while I am a visitor in their country. 

First of all, I never thought I would consider myself tall, but living in Hong Kong, I feel like a giant. It’s a weird feeling. I just make the cut for “average” height, but here I find myself sometimes towering nearly two feet over the adult locals. Many westerners are taller than my 5’5”, so it is easy to look down the aisle of the train and spot all the westerners stooping so they don’t hit their heads against the roof of the MTR. 

I have mastered my fear of the big city already. I have discovered that despite the fact that I am not a city person whatsoever, I can navigate my way around by myself comfortably. It feels good to be able to wander around a city the size of Hong Kong and “know” my way around. Reading a map in the city is the same as reading one in the wilderness, you just have to dodge massive crowds and loud traffic while you’re at it. 

I have learned to tap on the table with one finger when someone asks if I would like tea at meal times. This is the Cantonese way of saying thank you and if you are single it is with one finger. I now cover my mouth when eating if I happen to talk to someone or if I need to use a toothpick to get something out of my teeth. I have become aware of the fact that Westerners have a grip of a handshake that makes Hong Kongers cringe so my handshake has become a brushing of fingers. 

I’ll admit Asia was never necessarily on my list of places to travel until this past summer. Why, I don’t really know. Maybe it was the language barrier factor? For some reason places like South America had always appealed to me more, although I don’t speak Spanish any more than I speak Cantonese. Either way, here I am, in Asia. Whether I found myself in Asia or South America, there was one thing I had been determined to experience, culture. I love the experience of loosing oneself in the midst of the life of someone else. I wouldn’t consider myself a “local” but I feel at peace with my surroundings. 

One of the cutest little old men I've ever seen

The First Month

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”—John Steinbeck

86 Degrees

54% Humidity

It’s nearly been a month since I’ve been in Hong Kong. It’s been a whirlwind to say the least. I feel like I keep saying that, but it’s the truth. My feet have barely rested in one spot since the plane settled on the ground. That is not a complaint; mind you, simply an observation. Despite all my fears and apprehensions about this urban jungle, Hong Kong is definitely satisfying my hunger for adventure, much to see and much to do.

Just a few of the locations I have been since arriving on Sept. 4th.

The majority of the month of September has been dedicated to Dragonfly specific staff training with several days off to venture out into the unknown. Six days were spent on Lantau Island in the small village of Mui Wo doing all the policy and procedure side of things. We then moved to the miniscule village of Hoi Ha where we commenced our site specific training. I will be calling Hoi Ha home for the remainder of the season as long as I am not needed elsewhere.

Hoi Ha is a village consisting of about thirteen houses that virtually all belong in the same family, that being the Yung family. Many of the small villages within Hong Kong are all one family. Hoi Ha was started by the Yung family and has remained in their hands roughly for the last 200 and some years. Everyone carries the same last name, Yung, yet they are all separate from one another so you have to remember who you are doing business with. It’s Mr. Yung, who runs the restaurant, and it’s Mr. Yung who runs the kayak shop where we store our kayaks for programs, yet they are two different men.

Hoi Ha. My home for the next three months.



Our kitchen up on the roof.



The view from our open kitchen out on the roof.

In as small of a village as Hoi Ha, good relationships with the few business owners that reside there are extremely important. Burning bridges in Hong Kong don’t get you anywhere. That’s the Chinese way it seems. If you go up to someone with your western ways and pressure them into getting something that you want, you might get it, but you might get it for a hefty price as well. Whereas, if you are introduced to them by someone and you bide your time, you also get what you want and you save your money too. If you consistently do business with one restaurant and then you suddenly go to the neighboring competing restaurant, the next time you go back to the former restaurant, expect the food prices to be higher than they were the last time you were there. That is just how it works. It’s a delicate situation, despite the fact that the competitor might also be their relative.

The village of Hoi Ha fulfills my need for seclusion. Thirteen homes and only one restaurant that is just open at the lunch hour, serving local Chinese fare. If you don’t have a car you have to catch the bus to Sai Kung, the nearest largest town for any supplies. The bus costs $10.70 Hong Kong dollars which is like $1.30 cents U.S. dollars. It swings thru 20 and 50 minutes past the hour, its last departure from Hoi Ha for the day being at 1850pm. If you miss that final bus your only option is a taxi which will cost $100 Hong Kong dollar.

It’s only twenty minutes to Sai Kung but on occasion it can be a hair raising twenty minutes. The public transit drivers can be a force to reckon with. The driver’s priority is to make money since jobs in this area of Hong Kong are a bit limiting. In order to make money, they need to be efficient with their time. Needless to say, Hong Kongers do not dally. Everything is business to them. You do not hesitate in the grocery line; you do not dither at the taxi door unsure as to your destination. They will shoo you out of their vehicle, castigating you with their rapid flow Cantonese.

Bus drivers will often drive at break neck speeds. When you factor in the obstacles of narrow roads, oncoming traffic, moseying feral cattle in the middle of the road, the need to go to Sai Kung to the wet market no longer feels like a priority. Staying alive, however, does.

The speed that the drivers go at is visible above the rear view mirror for the passengers to see with a large sign saying the following: Maximum speed for this vehicle is 80km. This is posted right next to the digital speedometer, but how often it is enforced is another story. I spent one bus ride to Choi Hung from Sai Kung gripping the “Oh shit” bar for dear life sure that that day was my last. The driver careened through the tight turns, his finger permanently attached to the horn, blasting at anything that considered nearing his front bumper. I sat in the seat, my eyes fixated on the digital speedometer over the driver’s head, watching as the numbers kept a steady 90km when the speed limit outside was 60km. Amazingly enough, I arrived in Choi Hung without a scratch and ten extra minutes to spare. Despite the efficiency, it felt good to set foot on solid ground, I won’t lie.
 

Our days at Hoi Ha have been filled with familiarizing ourselves with site visits to the locations we will be running programs at. We’ve also been prepping ourselves for the experience of working with students that come from an ESL background. ESL meaning: English as a second language. I have worked with ESL individuals before, guiding in Alaska often puts you in contact with many different clients from all over the world.
 

However, having the opportunity to instruct a day program of 80 Japanese nine year olds who don’t speak English was truly an educational opportunity. Despite the language barrier, you can still get young children to understand the necessities. All you had to do was smile and start cheering and you were surrounded by giggling, cute, little, dimpled Japanese imps eager to chase you in a silent game of tag. If you picked up a slow moving beach snail to show them you quickly had more beach snails presented to you than you knew what to do with. Despite the language barrier, they loved us.
 

So, what do I think of Hong Kong? Well, to put it simply, I am not sitting here disappointed. I’ll admit, I can recognize the fact that before arriving, I had actually succumbed to the stereotype that many Americans fall to when it comes to the idea of Hong Kong. I had been convinced that I would be living amongst towering sky scrapers and I wouldn’t see a blade of grass. Boy was I ever wrong.
 

Employed under Dragonfly’s wing, I have had the great opportunity to see the “hidden” side of Hong Kong. It’s rural side.
 

It’s amazing.

Street vendors in Central.



Sky Scrapers in Central.



The other side of Hong Kong...the villages.



Tai O...a little fishing village where they live in stilt houses.



















 

It’s still vastly different from anything I’ve experienced recreationally, but this journey can still be classified as a step into remoteness, something I need. I feel humbled to be wandering the little concrete trails that bisect the countryside of the New Territories, rambling in and out of the small cramped villages that are barely hanging on by a shoestring. It gives one a glimpse of how tough it is to survive here if you don’t make the commute to the big city to work.
 

Hong Kong is a mystery, an intriguing one. The name Hong Kong came from the Cantonese word, “heung-gawng,” meaning “fragrant harbor.” The story behind this christening is a specific tree, the Aquilaria sinensis, also known as the “Incense Tree.” The incense was exported as far as Arabia back in the day.
 

Historians state that Hong Kong was incorporated into the Chinese empire as early as around 200BC, yet it was considered a “remote pocket in a neglected corner of the Chinese empire” for many, many years. China as well as Hong Kong remained separated from the outside world for many centuries until around the 1500’s when Portuguese explorers set up a trade center on a small island called Macau. Today, Macau is the gambling center of China, bringing in more revenue than the glittering strip we call Las Vegas (more to come on Macau in a later post). The Dutch, the French, and then the British soon followed the Portuguese. By the 1700’s mainland China and the south lying islands consisting of Hong Kong were open to European trade.
Once the invasion of the West came, it was all downhill from there for the Eastern culture.
 

Today, Hong Kong can be broken into five different regions: the main island Hong Kong, Lantau Island, Kowloon, the New Territories, and the Outlying Islands. Hong Kong Island is most commonly known as the “central district.” Central and Kowloon is where you can find the impressive towers of sky scrapers and streets packed with bargain shoppers, the Hong Kong that we all hear about back in the states. Despite its metropolitan feel, it’s a sight to see. Little alleyway street vendors selling dried fish right next to glamorous Prada wanna be’s.
 

The New Territories and Outlying Islands is where Hong Kong’s “wilderness” is at and that is where I am located. The region consists of designated areas called Country Parks which is equivalent to National Parks back in the U.S. The sky scrapers were left behind and the land was reclaimed for recreation and preservation. This is where many of the small villages can also be found. It is a different lifestyle. There is very little “old growth” forest left in Hong Kong. The land was virtually clear cut during the Japanese invasion of World War II and has since been re-established mainly with non-native species unfortunately due to the fact that no native plant species remained.
 

This region consists of a myriad maze of hiking trails, some on beaten earth and many on a foundation of concrete. It took a bit to get used to the idea that the majority of the trails here in Hong Kong are on wide paths of concrete, but at the same time it is nice. It lets you cruise along at a good clip, left to enjoy the scenery.

Dim Sum Yum Yum

 "Good food ends with good talk." - Geoffrey Neighor

Air Temp: 82 degrees

Humidity: 50-75%

My second morning in Hong Kong I was treated to my first dim sum experience. My friend, Turk-A-Lurk was eager to show me the wonders of Hong Kong so we woke early before training and hit the streets of Mui Wo to break our fast. Turk has been in Hong Kong since last September, and is an intrepid traveler. I trusted his judgment and followed faithfully. I soon found myself sitting down to a table with a bowl and a set of chopsticks and a plethora of mouthwatering Chinese yummies. 

Dim sum refers to a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. It is also well known for the way it is served in some restaurants. Fully cooked and ready-to-serve dim sum dishes are carted around the restaurant for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables.

Mui Wo Dim Sum

I dug in wholeheartedly, my stomach growling.

Eating dim sum at a restaurant is usually known in Cantonese as going to "drink tea" (yum cha), as tea is typically served with dim sum.

The History of Dim Sum:

Dim sum is usually linked with the older tradition of yum cha (tea tasting), which has its roots in travelers on the ancient Silk Road needing a place to rest. Thus tea houses were established along the roadside. Rural farmers, exhausted after working hard in the fields, would go to tea houses for a relaxing afternoon of tea. At first, it was considered inappropriate to combine tea with food, because people believed it would lead to excessive weight gain. People later discovered that tea can aid in digestion, so tea house owners began adding various snacks.

The art of dim sum originated with the Cantonese in southern China, who over the centuries transformed yum cha from a relaxing respite to a loud and happy dining experience. In Hong Kong many restaurants start serving dim sum as early as five in the morning. It is a tradition for the elderly to gather to eat dim sum after morning exercises.

In an essence, it is the eastern version of the western idea of a diner. Back in the states, the little local greasy diner is the gathering for all the senior citizens to get caught up on the local gossip of the area. Or at least this is how it was where I grew up in Afton, NY. 

The Dim Sum Menu:

A traditional dim sum brunch includes various types of steamed buns such as cha siu baau, dumplings and rice noodle rolls (cheong fun), which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options. Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, roasted meats, congee porridge and other soups. Dessert dim sum is also available and many places offer the customary egg tart.

Dim sum can be cooked by steaming and frying, among other methods. The serving sizes are usually small and normally served as three or four pieces in one dish. It is customary to order family style, sharing dishes among all members of the dining party. Because of the small portions, people can try a wide variety of food.

Dim sum brunch restaurants have a wide variety of dishes, usually several dozen. Among the standard fare of dim sum are the following:

• Gao, or Dumpling is a standard in most tea houses. They are made of ingredients wrapped in a translucent rice flour or wheat starch skin. Though common, steamed rice-flour skins are quite difficult to make. Thus, it is a good demonstration of the chef's artistry to make these translucent dumplings. There are also dumplings with vegetarian ingredients, such as tofu and pickled cabbage.
• Bau : Baked or steamed, these fluffy buns made from wheat flour are filled with food items ranging from meat to vegetables to sweet bean pastes.
• Phoenix claws: These are chicken feet, deep fried, boiled, marinated in a black bean sauce and then steamed. This results in a texture that is light and fluffy (due to the frying), while moist and tender. One may also sometimes find plain steamed chicken feet served with a vinegar dipping sauce. This version is known as "White Cloud Phoenix Claws".
• Steamed meatball: Finely ground beef is shaped into balls and then steamed with preserved orange peel and served on top of a thin bean-curd skin.
• Spare ribs: In the west, it is mostly known as spare ribs collectively. In the east, it is Char siu when roasted red, or when roasted black. It is typically steamed with douchi or fermented black beans and sometimes sliced chili.
• Lotus leaf rice: Glutinous rice is wrapped in a lotus leaf into a triangular or rectangular shape. It contains egg yolk, dried scallop, mushroom, water chestnut and meat (usually pork and chicken). These ingredients are steamed with the rice and although the leaf is not eaten, its flavour is infused during the steaming.
• Congee: Thick, sticky rice porridge served with different savory items.
• Sou: A type of flaky pastry.
• Taro dumpling: This is made with mashed taro, stuffed with diced shiitake mushrooms, shrimp and pork, deep-fried in crispy batter.
• Crispy fried squid
• Rolls

Desert:

• Chien chang go: "Thousand-layer cake", a dim sum dessert made up of many layers of sweet egg dough.

• Egg tart: composed of a base made from either a flaky puff pastry type dough or a type of non-flaky cookie dough with an egg custard filling, which is then baked. Some high

Tea With Dim Sum:

The drinking of tea is as important to dim sum as the food. The type of tea to serve on the table would be typically one of the first things the server would ask dining customers. Several types of tea is served during dim sum:

• Chrysanthemum tea – Chrysanthemum tea does not actually contain any tea leaves. Instead it is a flower-based tisane made from chrysanthemum flowers, which are most popular in East Asia. To prepare the tea, chrysanthemum flowers (usually dried) are steeped in hot water in either a teapot, cup, or glass.
• Green tea – Freshly picked leaves only go through heating and drying processes, but do not undergo fermentation. This kind of tea is produced all over China and is the most popular category of tea.

Dim Sum Etiquette:

There are common tea-drinking and eating practices or etiquette that Chinese people commonly recognize and use. These are practiced not only during dim sum meals but during other types of Chinese meals as well.

It is customary to pour tea for others during dim sum before filling one's own cup. A custom unique to the Cantonese is to thank the person pouring the tea by tapping the bent index finger if you are single, or by tapping both the index and middle finger if you are married, which symbolizes 'bowing' to them.

This is said to be analogous to the ritual of bowing to someone in appreciation. The origin of this gesture is described anecdotally: an unidentified Emperor went to yum cha with his friends, outside the palace; not wanting to attract attention to himself, the Emperor was disguised. While at yum cha, the Emperor poured his companion some tea, which was a great honor. The companion, not wanting to give away the Emperor's identity in public by bowing, instead tapped his index and middle finger on the table as sign of appreciation.

Leaving the lid balanced on the side of the tea pot is a common way of attracting a server's attention, and indicates a request for more hot water in the tea pot.

The Turk in the flesh!

A glimpse of Mui Wo

A little Mui Wo magic

More to come :)