Christmas-Obsessed

The holiday season in China is huge.  Like, ppl got into it.  Here follows my collection of photos of Chinese people enthused about Christmas.  People wearing Santa hats in McDonalds, children dressed up as Santa as if this was a hybrid holiday with Halloween, HUGE Christmas trees and holiday events not just on Christmas but in the days following... I have no other words.  I must let the images speak for themselves.

Our Faces

This is a post filled mainly with pictures of me and Joel at places of interest. Selfies!. It's just something you have to do! I think some people do it for the proof that I've been there thing. I tend to think of selfies as a lottery; if I take enough of them, maybe one of them will make me look cute! ^^

Here goes. 
ps, this was a beast to organize and I don't do html, so I wash my hands of the formatting of this post.

Selfie number one. This is us in Chengdu just before going out for some pretty not great hotpot. We are posing in front of this bower overflowing with little red pouches filled with wishes! And Joel wrote one for us and we tied it on. Isn't that the sweetest!!

The hot pot was bad in that we ordered too much, the fish tasted like dirt, and a giant shrimp's head exploded in our broth.  BUT there was a performance with bits of Chinese opera and the mask-changing dance! That was super cool :)  

Selfie number two. IN THE AIRPLANE ON THE WAY TO HONG KONG! Yay Christmas!!

Selfie number three. This was when we were eating that amazing sushi. There was another sushi restaurant downstairs (apparently malls are legitimate locations for fancy restaurants here) that looked half empty, but they said they were full. This one looked full, but they said they still had space at the bar. It was the best thing that ever happened to us.

Selfie number four. Showing off our Hawaii outfits. Joel's mom sent us a joint package (*yay!!*) with a Hawaiian shirt for him and a tropical scarf for me! We are so ready for day two in Hong Kong.

Selfie number five. On the adorable ferry that shuttles people between Hong Kong island and Kowloon. That Hawaiian shirt is the best. He wore it allllllll day. 😍

Selfie number six. (These likenesses of me keep getting worse and worse! I'm telling you, selfies are a lottery. And I don't often win... Joel, on the other hand, looks totally great! Sigh.)  This is right after riding an *awesome* roller coaster!! It had been something like ten years for each of us since riding a 'coaster. It felt good to get back in that harness.

Selfie number seven. Waiting in line for the Raging Rapids ride, and then...wait for it.....

Selfies number eight, nine, and ten. These goofy pics are from the thrilling initial climb, just before I tucked my phone away so it wouldn't get wet.

And...the piece de resistance....

Picture number eleven. This was the shot taken just before the final plunge. Joel insisted that we spend the $15 for a copy because our resting faces are priceless. Mostly his. What an abiding glower!! Money well spent, I must say ^^

Selfie number twelve. After a full day of amusement parking, a mad dash to make our dinner reservation, and a deliciously hearty meal at Dan Ryan's, I was pooped. Jet lag might have still had something to do with it.. This is a shot from when we were heading back to the hotel, just before I started looking like a zombie and turning into a pumpkin at the same time. Joel took such good care of my sleepwalking self and didn't leave me on the subway or anything! Partially couldn't be helped, since I was napping on his chest the whole ride. Boyfriends can be pretty nice.

Oh, and I have to add the pics from the restaurant--it was just soooooo good!

    

The potato skins that changed my life, Joel's rack of ribs, and my beautiful beautiful steak...  That night it was go big or go home. In the end, we did both!

Selfie number thirteen. Us with our new friend Sol (short for Solomon) from New York. Riding the tram up to Hong Kong's peak! It was unfortunately quite rainy and bleak that day, but it was a cool ride and the views were still solid, even if a lot of it was white. Sol was nice and took pics for us: 

And I, of course, also needed to take one, selfie-style. 

And with that, I'm out.

Dear Sugar Cane Juice Seller:

Repeating the words louder and louder will not make me understand you better. I wasn't trying to cheat you, I was just stupidly ignorant (the nerve of some people, I know) of the fact that 'kuai' is a measure word for money and is often used alone implying yuan. And it's hard to ask clarifying questions on the spot. Maybe I could've cobbled something together had you not been increasing my anxiety with your yelling. In the end you got your money and I got my juice. You taught me a vocabulary word I'll never forget, and I suppose I can be grateful. I just wish I could have taught you some patience--and perhaps a few miming ideas--in return. 

Yours truly,

That Silly American Girl With The Blank Look

Hitler Fish, Bamboo Scaffolding and Star Wars: Christmas In Hong Kong

Hong Kong was, in a word, crowded. 
People everywhere!  Lines lasted for ages!

But that is not to be the point of my post. 
Hong Kong was also a study in contrasts.  Near the harbor it was built of huge shining skyscrapers that lit up with Christmas gaudiness when the sun went down (more on the apparent Chinese obsession with Christmas later).  Further from the harbor, I suppose it was technically in Kowloon, the buildings were covered in scaffolding or air conditioners or peeling pastel paint.  I thought it was beautiful in a try-to-see-the-best-in-every-situation and my-those-subtle-colors-are-lovely kind of way.  My iPhone can't really capture what I saw, but I'll share anyway.

Do you see what I mean?  Also, that bamboo scaffolding was held together with plastic lashing.  It was terrifying-looking.  Joel says it's economical and environmentally friendly.  Ok.  I hope it is also structurally sound.  Apparently it is, because we saw multiple buildings entirely swathed in bamboo scaffolding and natural-colored hemp-like cheese-cloth-texture gauze, as if they were cocooned chrysalises waiting for their transformation to be complete.

But we didn't just see cool retro buildings!  We also toured the Goldfish Market and the Flower Market and the Bird Market! 

note the Hitler 'stash on this inquisitive goldfish

see the wild bird taunting and/or bolstering his caged brethren?

The bird market was kinda sad.  Lots of birds in cages.  Like Joel said, a fish in a bowl can still swim, but a bird in a cage can't fly :(  Of course, there were plenty of beautiful and empty bird cages for sale and those aren't sad at all!  I would have bought a bunch, but I'm not rich enough yet for such an eccentric purchase.  Instead, Joel got me a little wooden cricket cage!  Just like the one in Mulan!!

Ok, now that I see it again, it's not like that one, but it's the same idea!

Also, there was a cage full of lizards at one place, and one of the lizards chewed off another lizard's hand.  It was horribly graphic.  We saw the bloody stump when the dust settled, and I had to leave the store.

BUT THEN!!!!  We had the most delicious sushi ever.  No joke.  We decided we like marinated tuna, fatty tuna, and salmon the best.  Regular tuna is just eh.  An 'eh' at this place was still a 'mmmmmmmwow' at any other, though, so no complaints.  ^^

AND THEN FOR THE FINAL ACT OF CHRISTMAS DAY IN HONG KONG we watched Star Wars.  :)  So good.  Loved it.  Loved the day.  That day was good.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Beijing

On the plane from Boston to Beijing, a stewardess worked her way slowly down the aisle, picking up bits of lint and litter BY HAND.  She was literally on her hands and knees with a little tray upon which she deposited little bits of garbage from the carpet.  It couldn't wait, I guess. 

Adventure Time!! Chinese Edition

This year's adventure is Christmas in China!!!  My boyfriend Joel just started a new job in Chengdu, and since he doesn't have much vacation time accrued to go home for the holidays, I brought Christmas to him :)

As soon as I bought tickets, I started plotting how I could fill his apartment with holiday-ness using only what I could pack in my small suitcase.  Turned out the simplest ideas have the biggest impact!  This next part is going to sound like a DIY tutorial; please bear with my boasting ^^.

I noticed a couple fashion magazines in the break room at work that had been sitting there for months.  I pulled out all the brightly colored pages, imagining that I'd ball them up or origami them into ornaments.  What I ended up doing was cutting them into three-ish inch circles and sewing them into garlands!!!  I love them, and I plan on using them ALL THE TIME when I get them home.  I will have the coolest looking parties.  See?!



The other main thing I did was make a portable Christmas tree.  I got the idea from IKEA.  Apparently back in 2012 or something they printed a fabric with a full size photograph of a fir tree, but they haven't done it since.  I checked Ebay and found a flourishing but expensive market--someone in Canada seems to have bought a whole bolt and has been making bank on these trees ever since!  I didn't want to spend 60$ on a fabric tree (of course, as all seasoned crafters might guess, the final iteration of my project probably cost me not much less), so I decided to Make One Myself.  First I checked out buying a digital photograph of a tree and having Spoonflower print it out for me on the fabric of my choice.  That started looking pricey and also very, I don't know, theoretical.  I like doing things myself.  I can make sure it gets done that way.  And done in time to pack in my suitcase.  Until this point I had been actively telling myself that I wouldn't paint it because it would just end up looking dumb, but in the end I painted it.  And I don't think it looks dumb!

stage 1: neon green spray paint as base!

stage 2: paint dark green with dry brush for fur effect

stage 3: pump-spray-bottle of emerald green for depth

And this is the tree in situ:

 I pinned it to Joel's curtains!  And it turned out just right that his mom sent him the most perfect gold glittery star!!  Not to mention bells and mini candy canes, which I just safety pinned to the tree.  Oh and of course Joel's elephant stocking.  ^^
Tah dah!  Add an evergreen smelly candle and the illusion is complete!

Basically, I arrived on Wednesday night and spent Thursday morning transforming Joel's apartment while he was at work.  His shipment of all of his worldly belongings had come in the day before, so I gleefully unpacked brandy-new kitchen stuff, hauled all the other boxes into one of the spare bedrooms, rearranged his furniture, and hung lights and strew candy everywhere!  Christmas Eve in China was lovely cozy :)  We drank fancy spicy drink from IKEA and opened presents and watched Scrooge and went to bed early IN PREPARATION FOR: Christmas day in Hong Kong!!! 
(To be continued)

Synesthesia And Learning Chinese

I have synesthesia.  Specifically, I have associative color-grapheme synesthesia.  That means that when I envision letters and numbers (graphemes) in my head, they are colored.  A is red, B is purple, C is grey, D is blue, 1 is white, 2 is orange, 3 is light green, 4 is red, etc.  The colors have remained the same over time, for as long as I can remember.  "Associative" means  that I don't see the colors superimposed on written letters with my physical eyes, but they appear in my mind's eye.

I think one of the reasons I did well in school (reading was easy, math wasn't a total mystery, languages are fun to learn) is because I have a mnemonic device built into my brain!  Not only are letters and numbers formed of a bunch of little lines, but they are color coded!  When I do my job at the museum, for example, I take advantage of this, usually subconsiously.  I'm an art handler, so I'm always looking for objects and locations by number and letter.  If I have to find bracket 3B, for example, the colors light green and dark purple come to mind.  Scanning over the rows of brackets, my eyes will catch on the 3B because those graphemes almost immediately shoot my brain color signals which match the colors I was looking for.  (When I put it that way, it sounds more complicated than people who just see little clusters of lines, but whatever.)

Words work the same way.  A word is a collection of letters (obviously) and my brain picks out certain "dominant" colors or the colors of "dominant" letters from a word.  Thus a word like "phone" creates a mainly orange-brown impression from the "ph" combo at the beginning even though the "n" is quite green.  The "o" and the "e" hardly register at all since they are neutral colors; creamy yellow white and palest yellow green, respectively.  The word "rose" is handily colored like an actual rose, since "r" is fushia red and "s" is deep green.  The word "drink" is odd because the "k" sticks out, even though the "dr" is mostly dominant.  It becomes a veritable rainbow of blue, red, green and brown, though if I think about it quickly, the d's blue stands out the most.

Numbers are unique because each number has an Arabic numeral and a written-out spelling of that numeral.  "5" and "five".  The colors of the numerals are dominant over the words.  "5" is very clearly a bold, almost-navy blue, and so is the word "five", even though, when I think carefully about it, "f" is a forest green, and "v" is a shade of silver (again, the vowels are nondescript).  Not sure why the numbers are dominant.  Maybe I learned them first as a kid?  Maybe because they are mono-graphemic.

This has all come to the forefront of my mind recently because I've been learning Chinese.  It's a really hard language to learn.  Like, really really hard.
Firstly, the grammar is really easy.  Which is hard!  I'm used to all kinds of rules and structures!  I learned German, for heaven's sake.  Conjugations, declensions, AND genders.  It was marvelously complicated!  Chinese is confusingly simple.
Second, Chinese has four tones that you must vocalize as you are speaking the words.  First tone is a straight high pitch, second is rising, third dips down and back up, and fourth is an almost staccato downward sound.  These tones change the meanings of words.  Like a lot.
The final difficulty to Chinese is reading and writing Chinese characters.  Who ever thought that a non-phonetic system where each symbol stood for a completely different word was a good idea???  I can't read anything unless I have memorized the symbol.  I can't sound anything out!  You just have to already know!  Or have a dictionary handy.  So far, this first semester of Chinese, I think I have learned about 300 words.  That's 300 sound combinations + differentiating tones + UNIQUE characters!!!

It's hard.

And my synesthesia hasn't caught up.  I'm so used to seeing words and letters in color, that Chinese characters throw me for a complete loop!  I don't have associated colors for the thousands and thousands of unique non-phonetic identifiers!  How am I supposed to learn things without colors to help me?!?!

Chinese characters, as I mentioned, are not phonetic, but there is a system of romanization of the words to make learning easier for Chinese children and foreigners alike.  It's called "pinyin".  Pinyin is written with the familiar Latin alphabet, so it is colorful in my head!  Will Chinese characters remain black and white to me?  I'm already detecting hints of color when I picture them, so I can't quite imagine that happening, but how will it work??

My questions are these:

• Will my brain come up with colors for the four tones?  
• Will it come up with colors for the characters and the radicals (building block characters that go together to make other characters)?
• If radicals have their own colors, will characters made of combined radicals be multicolored?  Will they, like words, have "dominant" colors?
• Or will the colors of the pinyin spellings "bleed" onto the characters so that they are colored phonetically?
• For numbers, will my Arabic numeral (1, 2, 3, etc) colors "bleed" onto the Chinese numerals?  Or will the pinyin of the Chinese numbers determine the color of the characters for the Chinese numbers?

I am fascinated.  I'm going to check back in a couple months and see what my brain has been up to.  Don't mind me if this is boring.