we haven't drank on this side of the mall yet!

ah yes, shatin... town of a billion inter-connected shopping malls. my happy place....
hit up an orientation seminar yesterday and discovered that the university watersports centre is pretty much across the road from our residence. i want to go kayaking!
there are 400 exchange students at cuhk this year and most of them seem to be american or european. we're in the process of finding the other MBA exchange students... most of them seem to be here somewhere or are arriving this weekend. there doesn't seem to be any sort of welcoming event for us from the MBA program, so we're gonna hold our own, in combination with one of the first year guy's birthday next friday. should be fun!
the international office bussed all 400 of us over to a floating restaurant in shatin for dinner last night.

we were in a private room, and some of the undergrads were.... well, they were being undergrads. two of our guys were resourcesful and got us buckets of cheap beer (skol - fine european brewing tradition - 5 for $50).

our table was mostly MBA exchange students, but a couple of French law students joined us. one of the danes was trying to gross overyone out and succeeded in making his friend leave the table and finally just cab it home. poor guy felt so sick....


dennis and i didn't feel like going out with all the scandinavians afterwards - my swedish is ruuuusty - so we ditched everyone, walked along the waterfront to the centre of town and guess where we went...? the mall, of course!

daikon ashi!

they're back! i had them in 'nam, again in tokyo this summer and yesterday, i got them in hk. stupid heat edema gives me disgusting swollen feet when i'm out in the heat without enough water. i would have posted a photo but i think some people would be less than pleased. bill - i'm sure you can just close your eyes and picture them!
went to the mall for breakfast yesterday and drank an americano...hadn't had real coffee for a few days and immediately felt the effects. tried to have a nap in the afternoon but my mind was going a mile a minute! this trip may be the perfect way to detox....
leanne - i went by snoopy's world for you! it's this odd little kids' area on the patio of the local mall. there's even a three minute boat ride and a peanuts school bus to play in.

seems that i have been pretty lucky so far this trip. my room is ok, i got a cellphone that works, my internet connection is functioning.... some of the other exchange students seem to have it a bit worse. it's interesting to watch people from a number of different cultures arrive with different expectations. especially about getting things done... some of the other students need to have their rooms cleaned but are quite frustrated at the chain of command here. it's very different from North America, in that if you need something done, a smile and some patience, or often just doing it yourself works a lot better than straight-up trying to deal with the issues at hand. we westerners are so much more aggressive than the locals, which freaks them right out. this, in turn, is frustrating for us, but it's hard to change your habits when you are jet-lagged and hot and confused.
went to a kaiten sushi place in tsim sha tsui last night... pretty good. they had little dango desserts that were mochi filled with ice cream! i never tried anything like that in japan, but i sure wish i did! it was delish!

apple 1 pc 0

so, the mac has done it again! she had no problem finding the internet here, whilst the kids with pcs are stuggling to figure it out... ate lunch in one of the staff canteens yesterday. pretty good food - got some singapore noodles for $20. was quite interesting though as the staff eating at noon were primarily construction workers. they weren't quite sure what to make of me, but were nice enough to help me figure out where to pick up my food, etc...
went in to the mall in shatin again and discovered a whole new area, with starbucks, lots of restaurants, a japanese depato and a grocery store to rival capers! yay! on my way back, i ran into the three exchange students from denmark. they seemed to be having some room/computer troubles, so in the afternoon, they, along with dennis came over to my room for a little internet session. we got all the macs online, still trying to figure out the pcs. i already met mia at orientation and the two boys seem nice - super euro style...almost mullets!
went down to the kowloon waterfront for a little walk. it was so nice and breezy and not even too crowded although there is definitely a mary kay conference going on somewhere! the little salesladies with their big pink bags are everywhere!


dennis and the IFC building

jackie chan!

view of central from the kowloon side

the chunking mansions

as we walked up nathan road (the main street in kowloon), i happened to mention my dislike/fear of the chunking mansions, so dennis convinced me to go indside with him. we walked all through the shopping arcade on the first floor... tons of little booths owned by foreigners, including some tasty looking indian food. but such a sketchy place. then over to the much nicer ashley street to an aussie bar for victoria bitter and meat pie. mmm! met up with the danes again for beers at another place on ashley and then headed for home. it was past our curfew so we had to get the security guy to let us in, and even had to sign in!!! funny.

who can be homesick with the swedish embassy around?

dennis is here!
rodrigo - don't worry, i'm taking good care of him!
so, yesterday i was kind of lazing about my room enjoying the cool air and my new books when i realized that the orientation people probably sent dennis to the orientation dorms instead of over to the jockey club. the realization that he was probably surrounded by a bajillion other foreign students led me to think that he was either a) in need of rescue or b)having more fun than me! i immediately got on the shuttle bus and headed up the hill to find him. luckily, as i was walking over to the orientation dorm i ran right into him, on his way to the mall with a huge posse of other new kids, mostly undergrads. i joined the parade, and when we got in to shatin, he and i took off to get cell phones, SIM cards, beer, etc... he's gonna move down here today - i'm excited! we found the ikea, which was lovely and just exactly like ikeas everywhere else. the hotdogs here are $5(didn't have one, but i'm sure i will...) and there is also a baguette set, which i may try someday. we also tried macdonalds' (i was hungry! jeez!) chicken burger with rice patties in lieu of buns. delish! and our octo cards worked there!
everything is coming up robin!

Everything is Rocks: The Global World

Ngo n sek tang gandong wa
Sei sow gan
So far that's the extent of my cantonese. "I don't understand cantonese" and "washroom". both useful.

woke up sunday morning feeling a billion times better than i did on saturday when i wrote the last post. the bunch of us headed back into town for the second and final day of orientation. on the schedule for the day - talks about eastern philosophy, poverty, psychology and a wrap-up.
the talk about eastern philosophy in a management context was really interesting as he suggested that management is a combination (he made a nice grid) of experience, science, philosophy and art. lots of comparing western attitudes of right vs. wrong to the eastern yin and yang.
mostly, i used the seminar to practice my chinese characters and have decided to actually study cantonese. dunno if i want to take lessons or do self-study but today i bought a workbook and handy little dictionary.
the speaker actually spoke a bit about chinese attitudes towards plagiarism and counterfitting... his perspective was that knowlege is meant to be shared and that intellectual property and money are artificial. i didn't buy it.
i also learned that the symbol for Tao (Dao) is the same as Do in japanese... meaning road.
the next speaker was ok, but a bit of a slow talker so i concentrated on eating the mentos and dried apricots that the hotel provided.
lunch was good - sat at the head table and completely monopolised the dean. he knew quite a lot about UBC and is working with the CUHK alumni quite a bit to improve their program. we talked a lot about that and school rankings, etc. they suffer a similar problem to Sauder in that salaries in Asia are generally much lower than in the US. He seemed to have a lot of good contacts at Deloitte, Booz, Allen, etc... I warned him that i'd be back to pester him with more questions and he seemed quite open to that.
sunday afternoon was fantastic - got the results of our personality tests (keep in mind that the tests are standardized against regional representative samples of chinese people.... some highlights from mine:
Meticulousness scale (20th percentile) heedless; works in a disorderly and unsystematic manner, unorganised;negligent; forgetful; more flexible.
Inferiority scale (13th percentile) self-accepting; confident; deciseive; accepts criticism.
Leadership (98th percentile)positive and agressive.
Graciousness scale (20th percentile) mean; harsh on others; demanding; caustic; finds opportunities for revenge; feels happy when others are in trouble.
Veraciousness-Slickness scale (58th percentile) Average level in truthfulness and smoothness (take that Saltspring lady!)
Thrift (12th percentile) Free and easy in spending money.
I won at being mean and the whole class is teasing me! ah well, gotta scare some sense into the first years.

the day's finale was a powerpoint slideshow, complete with music from the Nutcracker on the topic of rocks. Everything in rocks. Rocks, rocks, rocks. oh my god.

After orientation, 14 of us took the ferry over to Central (on HK Island) for eats and a tram ride up to Victoria Peak. Will post pics when I get them from other people. the view of Hong Kong from the Kowloon side was amazing, and it finally hit me that i live in a city of 7 million people and a crazy mix of cultures! we went to a cool restaurant frequented by locals and ate all sort of weird stuff, including a whole stuffed and pressed duck. the stuffing was lotus seeds and was quite delish! found out after i ate that the cooks were only wearing shirts and speedos.... had i known that in advance, i may have had second thoughts about eating there. no idea what the restaurant is called but it's on wellington street, a few blocks west of peel.
the view from the peak was spectacular, and the tram ride up was quite something - rickety and scary! i was certainly glad to get home around 11, shower and go straight to sleep.

today is monday, so i was finally able to get my student card, load 200hk dollars on to it and get hours and hours of delightful airconditioning! i'm in heaven. i'm actually considering putting a t-shirt on over my tank top. nuts.

am gonna go read a bit and while away the last few hours sans dennis.
r.

Continental at the Intercontinental (I FINALLY HAVE INTERNET!)

Ok. So I’m writing this in word and will post it once I get internet in my room. Monday is gonna be my magic day – I’ll get a student card which will get me air conditioning and internet access and dennis will arrive! Ooh – Kelly from across the hall just came by and refreshed my air-con credits. She uses her card to give me credits and I give her cash (1 hk dollar/hour - .15 canadian dollars)… not super convenient since it means I have to ration it. Now that I have three more blessed hours, I can stay up a bit later tonight!
got to my residence yesterday around lunchtime – the cabdriver and I had a heck of a time finding the place. Much easier by train. My room is on the fifth floor and overlooks the track. I’m right beside the lounge which has nothing but two plastic couches and an instant noodles vending machine. The other side of the building overlooks tolo harbour, which is quite scenic. My room is pretty small, though bigger than a totem park single. I even have a little sink area! The rules here are very strict – no boys in my room with the door closed, no boys after curfew, no booze, no overnight visitors of any kind…. All of the international students are in shock – there are cameras in the hallways and elevators that prevent any sort of shenanigans or tomfoolery.
Walked down to the train station to get my octopus card… it’s a card upon which I put credit and can buy tickets for any sort of public transit or make small purchases with a 7-11 and such. The train is great – gets me into the heart of kowloon in 20 minutes and the station is only a five minute walk from the dorm. I can already tell that it’s gonna be a lifesaver! First matter of business once I got the card – hit the mall in shatin (pronounced saa-teen…much like Nicole kidman in Moulin rouge). Other than the crowds, it’s paradise!!! I’m gonna hit up ikea after the seminar tomorrow.
The welcome dinner was delish. Turns out the 1st year class of mbas is only 23 students! They seem nice enough – they just got back from an outward bound trip and are all nicely bonded. Most of the foreign students (5 germans, 2 americans and some Taiwanese) live in my building. So far, only four exchange students have arrived; a Danish girl, a French girl, a Chinese girl and myself. We seem to get along well so far, but are a little out of sorts at orientation since we are second years, and all of the other participants are new students. I’m excited to meet the second years in class.
This morning we had a continental breakfast at the intercontinental hotel where the orientation is being held. I had forgotten about awesome asian continentals – real cake! Mmm…. Had two great speakers; Bernard chan and CK Chow. CK Chow spoke about MTR, and building new railways. He also used a lot of concepts that we worked with this summer – it was pretty cool to see a very well-respected (and knighted) CEO going all leadership vs. management on us. Lunch was dim sum and was 9 courses long! It’s now 9 hours later and I’m not even hungry yet!!! We had 4 assorted dumplings, scallop dumplings, grouper, chicken, seaweed salad, soup with tofu, fried rice, anko with dango (but the Chinese version) and petit fours. We then had to do exercises with a sports psychologist. Seriously. Now, none of you are going to believe this, but you should – it’s too absurd for me to make up. I was called up onto the stage today to demonstrate bicep curls. I apparently have perfect form. Turns out I also do fantastic oblique stretches…. I knew it!
Went wandering about tsim sha tsui after orientation. Granville street/Chatham street area down by the golden miles and chungking mansions (which still scare me). So many great shops full of weird Japanese clothes! And it’s all dirt cheap! I can’t wait to go back alone and spend some time actually looking at stuff. There were four of us tonight, and only two real shoppers. Not a super dynamic. i really could have used some of my Vancouver ladies tonight.
Tomorrow I get the results of the weird personality test. Everyone is super excited but at the same time half expecting to have secret police start following us around.
So, essentially (haha), I’m surviving in a slightly-maladjusted but pretty much expected kind of way.
Also, erin should be credited for the sleeps on a plane title.

sleeps on a plane!

i have arrived. ahhhh....
am currently sequestered in my air-conditioned hotel room so that i can live out my jet-lag in peace. actually, i've got a three hour internet card and am putting it to good use. just remembered that i need to print out a map of the university... how did i think it was a good idea to get on the plane with no contact info/maps for anything...?
so, the last 30 hours or so were fairly eventful...
hit up oakridge centre one last time before leaving vancouver. have heard reports that erin went out and bought leggings as soon as i left the country. oh jeez.
learned tuesday night at the bar that rodrigo and i would be sharing a plane to shanghai - yay! arrived at the airport on wednesday (three hours early!) to find ahuge lineup. thankfully, my fantastic chilean friend arrived even earlier and was about two people away from checking in. i scooped the lineup and we even managed to get seats together... enjoy the scary pic! that flight awas about 12 hours but didn't feel like it...chatted, slept, read... of course, i had an old guy in front of me who reclined his seat right into my knees - and i'm not exactly known for my long legs. couldn't decide whether to be mad, or to feel sorry for an old guy on such a long flight. was mostly mad.
looked out my window as we flew over japan - we flew right over gifu! not that i recognized the mountains (i bet matt would have) but the little flight tracker said so.
the next flight was delayed an hour and a half, and fatigue hit me hard. i was doing the head-bobbing, fighting-to-stay-awake dance at the gate. there was the greatest guy though - wish i had a cell phone cam. he was rocking a fierce mullet with a fancy suit and cufflinks. also saw the best sign about separating garbage... the categories were organic, inorganic and pernicious. pernicious garbage sounds frightening! sitting in the airport brought back a lot of memories of being confused and illiterate in asia and i almost immediately started tuning out any announcements that weren't in english... unless people around seemed to find them important. i also started asking questions instead of trying to figure anything out! i really got used to understanding everything while i was home.
anyways - as soon as i boarded the flight from shanghai to hong kong (and let me tell you that people DO NOT line up nicely here) i fell asleep. woke myself up by snoring (awesome!) and realized that i was leaning into the aisle and that the flight attendant was performing the safety demo.... it was not subtle. i was right up front!!!
landed in a thunderstorm, got out of the airport in 20 minutes and was in the shower by 1am. felt like i had a second wind, but was determined to sleep. got up at 7, watched some tv, drank some instant coffee and now am playing on the information superhighway.
more adventures to come as i head out to the university today and have a reception at the intercontinental hotel downtown tonight. i'm gonna have to meet new people! ah!

yvr vs. robin

so, 1 sleep 'til i go!!! woke up this morning at 655, no alarm. got packing immediately. now it's 822 and i'm done. i'm fairly surprised that my bags are not stuffed beyond capacity, just nicely full. split up each category of clothing anad accessory between the two bags just in case one gets lost (they are being checked straight to hk even though i've got to change planes in shanghai. throwing a dress and some heels in my carry-on for the same reason. just got an email from cuhk with more information than "sure..." (am still smarting from that). i've got times and locations for orientation, info about school starting.... it's all too much!
i love that it didn't even occur to me to pack anything remotely school related until my dad asked me if i was bringing my calculator. i decided to bring it, but to get a new pencil case, etc over there.... just like back-to-school when i was little! plus i'm sure that i can get better stuff there... but not better than my $490 calculator - that came with a free binder full of MBA readings...boo!
i also got an email all in japanese from yo-chan this morning and had a complete kanji mental block. i could recognize the characters but couldn't make myself think hard enough to read it. instead i sent it back. and decided that it was not meant for me. awesome.
i'm not excited yet cause it doesn't feel real even though i've said lots of goodbyes and packed my room up. it'll hit me mid-september... i'll wake up one morning and think " holy crap. i've gone and moved to hong kong." and then i'll settle in.
i need to check the news to see how the security guard strike at yvr is coming along. wouldn't you just know it, that they'd decide to walk off the job the day before i leave.... of course!!! i know they have a contingency plan, but in some ways i'm sort of wishing that all the flights get delayed and that i can stay in vancouver a little longer...not that it would change anything, but the weather is so fantastic, and i've really taken advantage of what the city has to offer this summer. erin - don't laugh. i went to the beach a couple of times, and the park too. so there. and i ran. i'm very outdoorsy.
ok. i can do this. gonna drink a bunch more coffee and head over to the notary's to pick up my power of attorney form. when i went to order it, the lady asked me all sorts of questions about trusting the person i'm giving it to.... kinda gave me cold feet. ah well, not like i actually have any assets anyways!
and on that note, i'm out.
r.

3 Sleeps

So, my room is a disaster and i'm doing everything i can to avoid packing. i've carted most things i'm leaving here down to the storage room, and sent my sewing machine off to the babysitter's - thanks jess! decided to get a hotel for my first night in hk... actually, my mom made that decision for me and it has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. i love that my mom is making decisions for me and that i'm going to live in a dorm with no boys allowed! how old am i??? the office at cuhk was giving me answers like "sure..." when i asked about arriving around midnight on the 24th. it was making me a wee bit nervous. i'm staying in shatin at the swanky-looking regal riverside hotel. man, am i ever gonna love the king sized bed that night!
as one of my final activities here on the westcoast, i tried the famed (infamous?) hot torta sub at duffin's donuts (main and 33rd). interesting. the sando was delish, and only 3.50, but the ambiance left a lot to be desired... lots of dirty kids, dirty looking people, even a dog inside the shop. ew. but again, delicious sando. my conclusion? i would let erin go in and get me one anytime! said goodbye to rob and tracy today. odds are good that they'll have a kid by the time i get back. i don't even own real furniture and rob will have a kid! this is nuts.
tuesday is the talk to the 1st years. should be good - 4 of us talking. very diverse group. and still, the only advice i can think of is about BC Packers... and I guess about teamwork. i'm guessing that cuhk groupwork is gonna be just as interesting. i have no idea how many people in the class are foreign or local, or what the english level is.
so, tuesday after the talk, a bunch of people are going to hit the bar at ubc. should be good - i hear that the word has spread far and wide... will try to take pics. should be a good grand finale before taking off.
back to procrastinating...
r.

summer 2006.... why can't it be endless?

home for a year

so, tomorrow is my last day on the job, and i think i'm really going to miss it. i know that i've only been there for ten weeks, but it feels like i've been there forever. in a comfortable way, not in a stuck-in-a-rut kind of way. over the past couple of weeks, i've really felt like one of the gang (what a nerd) and i like it! yesterday i trained some of the hr managers in the company on a new workshop about stressful conversations and one of them has already put the training into practice and told em today that she felt way more confident about having this kind of talk! so nice to hear that my work this summer is making a difference. i love getting that kind of feedback.
i've spent the last year really appreciating all the fantastic things about vancouver that i took for granted before i went to japan. things like really good falafel, the view from the lion's gate bridge, drinking beer at locarno, shopping on main street, strolling around kits (making it maybe a block or two in an hour - leanne), tiny kids and their parents at soccer practice on saturday mornings, delicious muffins, live music at the commodore, eavesdropping on the bus and a million other things...
and i really do keep asking myself why i'm leaving again... i know that 4 months will fly by, but i just don't feel ready to leave. it's probably just that last time i left (to move to japan for two years), i was leaving a job that i hated, a boyfriend that wasn't right for me and was generally dissatisfied with my life. i was nervous, but excited and had no idea what it was like to go off into the unknown without a family to support me. this time, i'm well aware of (and thinking a lot about) the first week away. in japan, the first couple of days was a jet-lagged gong-show of foreigners carousing around tokyo, then a quick train ride out to the country where i was dropped off at my apartment in the middle of nowhere. the first two days were pretty intense... i definitely had second thoughts about being there. i know that once dennis gets to hk and i'm settled in i'll love it, but i just hate the feelings of chaos that come with change.... as we in HR like to call it - the valley of despair...working on change management doesn't actually hep you bebetter at it - sometimes it's worse cause you know all the stages that you'll go through... ugh.
otherwise, things are great! peach pie and cheesecake in the fridge, lots of free time as of saturday, enough cash to support myself for a few months and great friends that i'm looking forward to seeing in january.

8 sleeps

holy crap! i'm leaving a week from tomorrow. one week.
that is not a lot of days. not nearly enough.
being the nervous traveller that i am, i'm starting to freak out.
realized it tonight when patty asked me when i was leaving and my answer came out all loud and warbly.
i hate this period of time right before i do something new. i'm such a pessimist that i expect the worst and get myself all worked up for no reason. by wednesday i should be good and panicky - just the state you want to be in while all major airports are under heightened security conditions.
the girls did bring up a good point tonight - cheap tailors are good for ball gowns as well as suits!!! and ball gowns are so much more interesting than suits!!! maybe i'll try to concentrate on that for the next week.
things are supposed to be winding down at work this week, but then my boss quit and i'm teaching a course tomorrow and i have to cook dinner and i have to go to ubc to speak to the new mba class on tuesday... ahh! it's all too much! and honestly, the only advice i can think of for them is... DON'T SPEND 15 HOURS ON BC PACKERS.
and i'm gonna be 4 months behind on all the good tv, and i'm gonna miss my friends. all of a sudden going away is not very appealing.
good thing i've done this before. good thing i'm going with the most laid-back guy on the face of the earth (excluding rob). good thing i like egg tarts.

asia-lite

second last weekend before leaving town. had a guest here from the UK so we did our best to be uber-canadian. this involved shotgunning beer, hitting kits beach, wreck beach (i declined) and a little hop over to richmond for the night markets. nothing like having meat on a stick in one hand and a bowl of noodles in the other while trying to navigate the crowds. we did note that the stalls are far enough apart that you can give most other market-goers a wide berth...nothing like real asian markets...
my pre-trip shopping is done...some clothes, toiletries and electronics. i'm pretty excited about my noise-cancelling headphones, and hope that i can bring them on the plane. the idea of a 12+ hour flight with just a little ziploc containing my wallet is not that appealing.
am really looking forward to the results of my personality test... we'll see how all that turns out! fave questions included:
1. my food has been poisoned.
2. i have controlled others' mind or others have controlled my mind through electronic waves.
3. i do everything asked of me by my elders out of filial piety.
4. When walking down the street, I sometimes lose my balance.

this is gonna be an adventure!

little ball of stress

as the title suggests, i'm just a little ball of stress right now. less than two weeks to go before i leave, haven't started packing. who am i kidding - haven't even THOUGHT of packing. did my shopping today - shampoo and such. this is so different than leaving for japan... i brought everything i could think of last time. this time i'm only bringing two medium bags of clothes. not saying i'll come back in the same manner... perhaps i should bring my hockey bag just in case!
newest fac about hk - they have white spot!!! who woulda thunk it?
work is winding down and the days are dragging. seems that the hr department is measuring their summer by me. no one can believe that it's been nine weeks. alternately feels like my second day, or like i've been there forever. i'm going to be sad to leave cause everyone is so nice and i'm not positive that my dorm will have goodie day on fridays. (which may actually be a blessing in disguise....)
so this dorm business... i should find out the details this week, but what it all comes down to is this... i'm 29 years old and returning to totem. oh god. fortunately it's a graduate dorm, and i've convinced dennis to stay there too. still apprehensive though - today i was reading a blog about school and it seems that the local students play hide'n'seek and stuff during their breaks. um... beery hide'n'seek is fun, but everyone knows that foosball is the game to be played on breaks!!!
today the pommies foiled some terrorists and a supertyphoon is headed towards Southern China. neither of those things bode well for my upcoming 15 hour flight. after my house in japan filling with rice paddy water, you'd think i'd know better than to head over to asia in typhoon season. ah well, some people never learn.

more news as d-day approaches.
r.