man i've been neglecting this thing even more than usual
only a week back at school and i've already been soo freakin busy. of course, i had a scholarship portfolio due, paperwork to get through for an independent study/tutorial thingy, and books to hunt down. still hunting actually. i miss break.
speaking of which, i've been wanting to talk about china, at least a bit anyway. overall, the trip was pretty good. my first nite there was in hong kong and it also happened to be new years eve. of course, the people of hong kong took to the streets, and i was among the swarming crowds going into stores and looking for stuff to do. yes, this was 3-4 hours after i got off the plane. next day, bought a suit (yes, one that finally fits me well), and left for the mainland. also saw an absurdly large 3 liter bottle of jack daniel's being sold at the port, along with many other 3 liter bottles of other stuff. (please pardon the fuzzy picture and the lack of reference to any scale. just look at the bottom right corner of the box).
i was less than prepared for the lack of indoor heating in houses though, so i wore lots of clothes over and over again. my orange vt sweatshirt got worm a lot, not to mention attracted quite a bit of attention sometimes. why don't people wear bright orange in canton more often? hehe one of my favorite parts of the trip was my cousin's wedding. she found a really nice guy (who, to my misfortune, doesn't speak a bit of cantonese). he did invite me up to their new place when we were preparing to roll out and pick up the bride, which was also followed by him offering me a cigarette in the most polite manner. i was also given the honor of lighting the firecrackers as the bride and groom left the bride's house. honestly, it was more like no one else wanted to do it. my aunt later told me that my dad use to light firecrackers, put cans over them, and watch things go flying everywhere. THE MOST BASIC FORM OF A ROCKET!!! i knew it was genetic. there was also a huge dinner that nite, where the family had lots of pictures taken.
got to talk to my grandfather, whose hearing is getting worse but not at the rate it use to. it was actually a rather important and deep conversation: marriage. well...more specifically, "who is this girlfriend of yours?" i, for my own sake, carried a picture of Mooshy in my wallet, and thus, with the "encouragement" of my aunts, i showed Mr. Don't-Look-Further-than-Hong-Kong himself. his reaction: "wow this American girl's really pretty." thus followed the explanation that my grandparents just want to be able to talk to her, thus the geographic constraints, but all that doesn't really matter as long as i'm happy. my grandmother also told me later that night that grandpa was now excited about becoming a great-grandfather. looks like support of fuzzy babies has gone international. had to request some patience with that. he also asked me when i thought i'd get married, and i told me maybe 26 but that i really didn't know. "26. you'll be turning 20 this year. so that's 6 more. 6 years is a long time, but it'd make me very happy to see you get married before i go." don't put it that way "2 more years after that, you'll probably have a kid. i think i can make it." he's always been a fighter.
my other grandfather's health is getting worse too. they put him in a home, which i saw and loathed. not too sure what's affecting him but it's very much in his head. alzheimer's, i've been told. he and i got to talk too though. still remembered those 6 years he lived with my family in falls church. taught me how to fish, a lil kung fu (his dad was the shaolin master), a lot about Christian faith, and quite a bit about living life in a basic manner. i wish my relatives didn't put him there, but he's just too much to handle in his current condition. his mind's changed a lot, but i can still feel his old self at the center.
although they are younger, my grandmothers are the healthy ones. although they too are starting to use canes, they still make up a good deal of the energy in the family. my mom's mother likes to laugh a lot. i guess she's where i get that from. my dad's mom liked to talk to me a lot. i regularly heard about her day, the people she knows, and a lot of gossip. her traditionalism radiates around her too. no wonder my dad's so liberal in comparison.
well anywho, after chilling with my family, seeing Kung Fu Hustle (hilarious movie!), spending a day in Macau, and saying lots of goodbyes, we left for one last day in hong kong. my dad, a frequent guest at hilton-brand hotels, got enough points for a free night at the Conrad in the city. it was one insanely nice hotel, and it also gave me my first look at american tv in two weeks. didn't actually find out if tech won the sugar bowl until i got back home, which was insane. to end this post, i'll link to my last picture. i hope these haven't been ridiculously large. this was all over hong kong but was taken at the airport. next time i go there, it'll be crouching-tiger style.
nite all