Well, Hong Kong finally got some rain in the form of Typhoon Nesat. Let me tell you, it has been brutal: I slipped and fell while running.
As any good North Carolinian knows, severe storms require precautionary measures. When we have a hurricane on the coast, we assess the danger well ahead of time and maneuver as prudence dictates. We stock up on batteries and non-perishables, check our first-aid kits, fill our bathtubs with water, and move into the safest room in the house to wait out the storm (unless we evacuate). Some of us may even board-up our windows depending on the situation.
Here in Hong Kong, with the exception of how far in advance people prepare, the same actions are usually taken in response to the presence of a typhoon. The major difference is that a typhoon seldom reaches even Category One status when compared to a hurricane.
If you look in the news you will see that Nesat has left a pretty devastating path through the Philippines, killing at least twenty and injuring many more. The amount of structural damage is estimated to be around USD 2.3 million. The thing to remember is that the average structural integrity of a building in the Philippines does not necessarily equate to that of a building in Hong Kong. That is to say, these skyscrapers are much more adept at taking a beating.
Oh, and what a beating they've had: 80 km/h winds! Do you know how harsh 80 km/h is? Less than 50 mph! I understand that in some areas winds almost got up to 75 mph which puts them at the low end of a C1 hurricane, but that was not the case for most of Hong Kong Island. For most of Hong Kong, winds barely even reached light gale force. Ah, and now the sun is peeking out from behind the clouds...
Nevertheless, our pessimistic flatmate (codename "Beanpole") decided to take matters in his own hands and set about making the apartment as safe as possible. He shut and taped-up all of the windows and has been listening to the live-stream about the typhoon all day (also sucking bandwidth). I took the liberty of undoing most of his handiwork when the humidity in the apartment became unbearable and took to enjoying the first real sight of extended rain that we have had so far.
I think it's hilarious. In North Carolina even the possibility of snow is cause for schools to shut down, and that's a laughable practice. To shut things down for rain, though? I know that there are potential landslide areas in some regions, but for the most part Hong Kong gets drizzles, not downpours. This "typhoon" has been no exception. The only semi-gale I encountered was when I was out running this morning. The best part? That's not even what made me fall! The city's poorly designed sidewalks with no traction basically had me hydroplaning on foot all morning; I'm better off just running in the street. Mind you, not like there's any traffic. One drop of rain and most people shut themselves up in doors until it all passes. What a joke.
Oh, there was one casualty that I should mention: our fun. We were planning on going to several discussions this evening but, due to the phobia of wind and water, everything has been closed down...despite alternating periods of sun and cloud. So, yeah, it has been a pretty boring day and being left with nothing to do hasn't exactly been fun. At least the temperature is down.
Trivia: Apparently "Nesat" is Cambodian for "Fisherman".
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The week of busyness
This week has been crazy for both of us! We just didn't seem to spend that much time in the apartment.
Monday: I had a test, which meant studying in the morning and then going up to the university so that Colin's adviser, Chris, could proctor my exam for me. Luckily it only took 15 minutes and I got a good grade. Colin had Chris' class that he's TAing for. This felt like the least busy day this week. That night I got an email about a last minute interview from a friend, so I had that to look forward to the next day at noon.
Tuesday: Colin had his first tutoring session and I had to prepare during the morning for an interview up at the university in the linguistics department. Emailing resumes, getting there on time without asthma attacks to make all the makeup and getting well-dressed worth it, arranging schedules for after interview... Finally, I got up to the interview which went very well. I was offered a full-time position on a two month trial basis with the option of extending it after that. Olga is an interesting person - very intense. She's always got a hundred and one things going through her mind and her to do list would put many listers to shame. She expects good work done independently and in good time. Granted, she said this from the perspective of the people that work for her now.... so she expects it in a reasonable amount of time. After my interview, I met up with Colin for a few minutes before his tutoring group, which also went very well. It was a little unexpected, but he was pleased with his group of students.
Wednesday: I had to get up early to go to immigration to get my Hong Kong ID (a city ID card can get you so many benefits). They open at 7:45, so I was there at 7:30. After waiting in line for an hour so that the building could have a fire drill, it took 2 minutes to get the card. By the time I got home, Colin was ready to head to the university, so up the hill we went. He printed my resume off for me and went to class while I started the employment process of trying to get a work visa via university sponsorship. Brand new HKID in hand along with my resume and passport, we started working it out with the department of humanities. Not long after all of that was finished, Colin made it out of class and we ate a quick lunch before the next two classes that we're both auditing/sitting in on. That's a 1pm-5pm venture, followed by coffee for an hour of more, so we didn't make it home until 7:30 at which point my not-quite-yet employer had already put a journal article in my inbox for proofreading, which I put 3 hours in on.
Thursday: I had a skype session with my professor back at NCSU from 8 to 8:30 and then put another three hours into the journal article before Colin and I had lunch with our friend Donald. Luckily, we met him at the Thai restaurant at the bottom of our building, so I could work all morning. After a quick lunch, I left the boys to talking while I completed another journal related assignment. In the afternoon, I started feeling ill, so Colin went to this week's lecture alone.
Friday: It's Friday morning and I can only imagine what Olga might have for me today. She said she would probably send me a more complete draft today to be proofread one more time. Colin's starting to feel what I felt last night and has a tutoring session today from 4- 5:30 and it's date night. It might be a good time to actually do some grocery shopping for this week so that we have food for the weekend. We spent all week up at the university eating at Oliver's Super Sandwiches, which is a lovely change, but doesn't need to become a habit.
How busy has your week been?
Monday: I had a test, which meant studying in the morning and then going up to the university so that Colin's adviser, Chris, could proctor my exam for me. Luckily it only took 15 minutes and I got a good grade. Colin had Chris' class that he's TAing for. This felt like the least busy day this week. That night I got an email about a last minute interview from a friend, so I had that to look forward to the next day at noon.
Tuesday: Colin had his first tutoring session and I had to prepare during the morning for an interview up at the university in the linguistics department. Emailing resumes, getting there on time without asthma attacks to make all the makeup and getting well-dressed worth it, arranging schedules for after interview... Finally, I got up to the interview which went very well. I was offered a full-time position on a two month trial basis with the option of extending it after that. Olga is an interesting person - very intense. She's always got a hundred and one things going through her mind and her to do list would put many listers to shame. She expects good work done independently and in good time. Granted, she said this from the perspective of the people that work for her now.... so she expects it in a reasonable amount of time. After my interview, I met up with Colin for a few minutes before his tutoring group, which also went very well. It was a little unexpected, but he was pleased with his group of students.
Wednesday: I had to get up early to go to immigration to get my Hong Kong ID (a city ID card can get you so many benefits). They open at 7:45, so I was there at 7:30. After waiting in line for an hour so that the building could have a fire drill, it took 2 minutes to get the card. By the time I got home, Colin was ready to head to the university, so up the hill we went. He printed my resume off for me and went to class while I started the employment process of trying to get a work visa via university sponsorship. Brand new HKID in hand along with my resume and passport, we started working it out with the department of humanities. Not long after all of that was finished, Colin made it out of class and we ate a quick lunch before the next two classes that we're both auditing/sitting in on. That's a 1pm-5pm venture, followed by coffee for an hour of more, so we didn't make it home until 7:30 at which point my not-quite-yet employer had already put a journal article in my inbox for proofreading, which I put 3 hours in on.
Thursday: I had a skype session with my professor back at NCSU from 8 to 8:30 and then put another three hours into the journal article before Colin and I had lunch with our friend Donald. Luckily, we met him at the Thai restaurant at the bottom of our building, so I could work all morning. After a quick lunch, I left the boys to talking while I completed another journal related assignment. In the afternoon, I started feeling ill, so Colin went to this week's lecture alone.
Friday: It's Friday morning and I can only imagine what Olga might have for me today. She said she would probably send me a more complete draft today to be proofread one more time. Colin's starting to feel what I felt last night and has a tutoring session today from 4- 5:30 and it's date night. It might be a good time to actually do some grocery shopping for this week so that we have food for the weekend. We spent all week up at the university eating at Oliver's Super Sandwiches, which is a lovely change, but doesn't need to become a habit.
How busy has your week been?
Thursday, September 15, 2011
A Good Week
This week hasn't been super exciting, but it's been good.
Colin met up with his adviser and is starting to get some of the details he needed about completing his project here. He's also gotten his first taste of being a TA. Students have been filling his email all week and about half of them didn't follow directions. He finally sent out a class-wide email explaining the process again (to good reception from his adviser).
The two of us have been attending two classes given by Chad Hansen, one of the big names in Chinese philosophy. Great classes. One is on Chinese Humanism and the other is a comparative of Western Rule of Law and Chinese 'fa'. They've both been providing us with some good food for thought. We've also attended the coffee sessions after class, which have led to us meeting a study abroad student from the US, Larry. We had a great meal with him last week. Very funny and articulate.
I've been trudging away at my classwork as well. This week we discussed students with behavioral and emotional disorders (BED to those in the teaching world). There was a lot to learn about an extremely heterogeneous group of students that I'll no doubt encounter in the classroom. Next week is my first test, so we'll see how I'm retaining it all.
I'm pretty excited about tomorrow. Saturdays are usually lounging/working days for Colin and I. We don't usually plan too much, particularly since Friday nights are date nights (good food) and Thursday or Friday nights are lecture nights with the department. This week, we're going to be meeting up with a couple we made friends with in the airport on our way to Hong Kong. Jodi and Jennifer are both professors on exchange/sabbatical trips to the Hong Kong Institute of Education and they brought their adorable daughter, Beatrix, with them. She's really verbose and articulate for a two year old (I originally thought she was four or five!). We're looking forward to walking around the neighborhood and park and eating Thai with them.
Have a good weekend!
Colin met up with his adviser and is starting to get some of the details he needed about completing his project here. He's also gotten his first taste of being a TA. Students have been filling his email all week and about half of them didn't follow directions. He finally sent out a class-wide email explaining the process again (to good reception from his adviser).
The two of us have been attending two classes given by Chad Hansen, one of the big names in Chinese philosophy. Great classes. One is on Chinese Humanism and the other is a comparative of Western Rule of Law and Chinese 'fa'. They've both been providing us with some good food for thought. We've also attended the coffee sessions after class, which have led to us meeting a study abroad student from the US, Larry. We had a great meal with him last week. Very funny and articulate.
I've been trudging away at my classwork as well. This week we discussed students with behavioral and emotional disorders (BED to those in the teaching world). There was a lot to learn about an extremely heterogeneous group of students that I'll no doubt encounter in the classroom. Next week is my first test, so we'll see how I'm retaining it all.
I'm pretty excited about tomorrow. Saturdays are usually lounging/working days for Colin and I. We don't usually plan too much, particularly since Friday nights are date nights (good food) and Thursday or Friday nights are lecture nights with the department. This week, we're going to be meeting up with a couple we made friends with in the airport on our way to Hong Kong. Jodi and Jennifer are both professors on exchange/sabbatical trips to the Hong Kong Institute of Education and they brought their adorable daughter, Beatrix, with them. She's really verbose and articulate for a two year old (I originally thought she was four or five!). We're looking forward to walking around the neighborhood and park and eating Thai with them.
Have a good weekend!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Little Red Dot
You know the track-point buttons on Thinkpads? In Chinese they are referred to simply as the "little red dot." Funny, eh?
Okay, Carina has been a bit slack with updates and I am STILL waiting for feedback on my thesis. In the midst of applying to graduate school (namely Duke) I am also in a bit of a lull. I figured I would use this time to be productive with a blog post for the folks back home.
We have been back for over a week now and more or less readjusted to life in Hong Kong...at least as much as we are ever going to adjust. I am still waking up well before the sun is out so I can have a decent run. Today I made the mistake of sleeping in (5 AM rather than 4 AM) and had to do some considerable dodging of little old ladies. Yep, they're still clogging up the sidewalks.
The good news is that we're doing fairly well logistically. Carina activated her visa when we took a day trip to Macau. The trip cut into our budget, but it was a cheaper option than, say, flying to Thailand again. Unfortunately, we scheduled the trip for early in the day and wound up on the casino side of Macau. This meant nothing was open until right about when we were going to leave. Bummer. Well, at least we had a nice walk through a very nice ghost town.
Things in the department are par for the course as well. This semester's seminar series has already begun (without much fanfare, sadly) and I'm back on my fame for asking questions and taking notes. Even if I don't use any of this information in my thesis, I love to learn. Besides, it's free air conditioning!
We've also been hitting-up the new Thai restaurant next door. It's not Thai quality, but it's about what I'd expect from a mid-range Thai restaurant in the US. I guess we have an Indochine substitute for our time here. Here's to hoping it fares better than the Indian restaurant did (their modest prices should help).
Oh, right, and the reason for the title to this post: I'm getting Cara a new laptop as an early Christmas present. There are some great deals for HKU students on laptops right now and I used my status to pick up a new machine that should fulfill all of her needs and more. I even picked up Adobe CS 5.5 at a heavily discounted price. I like to think this is part of being a good husband...and I'm curious to see how AMD's Llano chipset works out.
So thumbs-up for a decent first week back in Hong Kong.
With any luck, my supervisor (Chris) will be giving me some feedback today on my thesis. I mean, it's doubtful, but a boy can hope. I also need to ask him about a recommendation for my graduate school application. Hopefully my TA'ing for him will sway him to do a few favors for me...
Okay, Carina has been a bit slack with updates and I am STILL waiting for feedback on my thesis. In the midst of applying to graduate school (namely Duke) I am also in a bit of a lull. I figured I would use this time to be productive with a blog post for the folks back home.
We have been back for over a week now and more or less readjusted to life in Hong Kong...at least as much as we are ever going to adjust. I am still waking up well before the sun is out so I can have a decent run. Today I made the mistake of sleeping in (5 AM rather than 4 AM) and had to do some considerable dodging of little old ladies. Yep, they're still clogging up the sidewalks.
The good news is that we're doing fairly well logistically. Carina activated her visa when we took a day trip to Macau. The trip cut into our budget, but it was a cheaper option than, say, flying to Thailand again. Unfortunately, we scheduled the trip for early in the day and wound up on the casino side of Macau. This meant nothing was open until right about when we were going to leave. Bummer. Well, at least we had a nice walk through a very nice ghost town.
Things in the department are par for the course as well. This semester's seminar series has already begun (without much fanfare, sadly) and I'm back on my fame for asking questions and taking notes. Even if I don't use any of this information in my thesis, I love to learn. Besides, it's free air conditioning!
We've also been hitting-up the new Thai restaurant next door. It's not Thai quality, but it's about what I'd expect from a mid-range Thai restaurant in the US. I guess we have an Indochine substitute for our time here. Here's to hoping it fares better than the Indian restaurant did (their modest prices should help).
Oh, right, and the reason for the title to this post: I'm getting Cara a new laptop as an early Christmas present. There are some great deals for HKU students on laptops right now and I used my status to pick up a new machine that should fulfill all of her needs and more. I even picked up Adobe CS 5.5 at a heavily discounted price. I like to think this is part of being a good husband...and I'm curious to see how AMD's Llano chipset works out.
So thumbs-up for a decent first week back in Hong Kong.
With any luck, my supervisor (Chris) will be giving me some feedback today on my thesis. I mean, it's doubtful, but a boy can hope. I also need to ask him about a recommendation for my graduate school application. Hopefully my TA'ing for him will sway him to do a few favors for me...
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