Incredible...Cringy
Wish I had pictures to show but maybe later. Took a tram up that steep steep mountain called the Peak. INCREDIBLE. You see the length of Hong Kong plus Kowloon. It spans forever, it seems. Tonight was a little foggy actually, so it added this nice, mystical touch to the view. The buildings seemed to push up against each other, like there almost wasn't enough space for all of them.
Emma, the English girl, looked out and asked me, "Wow...how do you feel knowing that this is your new home?" I told her I'm happy, it's exactly what I had hoped for and more. That this was what I needed at this time in my life. To be in the middle of this energy that only an overpopulated, tight little city can muster up. She said she felt the same when she moved to London. And that her eyes would well up when she'd walk along the Thames, overwhelmed that little ol' her was in the middle of such old and new beautiful things. That you never get used to that. It's breathtaking every time. I believe her...I don't ever think I could get used to the magnitude of the Central buildings or that view from The Peak. At least I hope I don't.
Before that, I had hopped on the MTR over to Kowloon to check out a hip hop dance studio. I've decided to pass a crapload of time with hip hop...a perfect plan to me. The studio looks great and I've already plunked over $1100 HKD for 12 classes...which is about $12 or $13 each class...not too bad considering a good class over in S.F. is $15. When I got there, I was just in time for this one class taught by "Eg"...the girls there literally call him egg in Chinese. The class starts and we do stretches. Good. Isolation. Good. And then more isolation. And then more?! Wait a minute there mister...what is going on?! We literally bobbed our heads to "feel the beat" for 5 minutes. Then swung hips. Thrusted pelvi. AHHHK. What was I doing in there?! I signed up for some routines man, not exercise for my goods! So...I got up and left which was a faux pas because the instructors know you pay a hefty amount and he stopped me, asking what the heck i was doing, and I told him "I thought we were going to learn some routines" and he said "This is the first class and I have to break it down". Ok yeah so I went into a beginner's class...the VERY beginner's and only realized it 45 minutes in, which is 44 minutes TOO long. I left feeling jipped like crazy...but thank god there are REAL classes later on in the week.
I met a cab driver and had a drink with him at a local hotspot for youngsters a couple blocks down from my place. We had good conversation and he seemed nice enough, just a humble and honest young man of 26 who doesn't get out much...just a decent looking kind of guy. We meet and the first thing I notice is the bags under his eyes. He reminded me of my dad...and his name is Sing...which is ALSO my dad's name. It was interesting hearing him tell me about his life - he's always loved driving (vehicles of every kind) and so went to Hong Kong for job opportunities. He dropped out of school because he was never good at it and the only things he's ever passed with flying colors were his driving licenses. He works 12 hours a day ...mostly at night...and sleeps in the daytime. He gives a ton of money to his mother. Leaving him no room for that much time to go out and socialize. I looked at him...and thought about some of the 26 year-olds I know...or at least the ones around that age. Lai travels the world and is currently doing human rights bidness in Uganda. Erin is at med school. Emma is taking a 6-month break to teach and travel and will soon go back home to do some PR jig. It goes on and on... exactly the way 26 (or around there) -year -olds should be living, in my eyes. Not working hours and hours, leaving no room for anything else at all but a conversation with some random girl from California. Well anyway...it was going really well, chattin' it up in Cantonese and learning some new vocab...until that fool soured it all at the end of the night by asking some INAPPROPRIATE questions. No signs whatsoever before that...just great story exchanges and even a few wholesome little jokes here and there. Then he steers it away and asks "Do you have a boyfriend?" "You should dump him" "Can I see your room?" WHAT THE F-- S--M--F---!! Can somebody PLEASE explain to me this ridiculous behavior? Yes, I'm a girl and he's a boy...but there IS such a thing as a 'nice chat', plain and simple. Why are there underlying motives...that taints a perfectly lovely experience by needing to go more and more and more? Is friendship possible between male and female who have just met? Why does it have to be uglied up with those kinds of questions? Of course, with the first sign of anything, I shut him out and treated him like a stupid child "No, and if you ask me again, I won't be your friend" "The more you say those things, the more I won't trust you" "No, and no". Welp, I was successful at the end...it was all safe. I have become paranoid of this from past experiences - the greasy men in Paris and southern Italy, horror movies, Ted Bundy, and Jiin's advice. But in my mind, I was so let down. It was going so well and then he had to go and turn it all ugly. What a disappointment. The way things go...and ALWAYS seem to go. cringe.
Goodness, is it really Monday? I'm losing track of the days...
Emma, the English girl, looked out and asked me, "Wow...how do you feel knowing that this is your new home?" I told her I'm happy, it's exactly what I had hoped for and more. That this was what I needed at this time in my life. To be in the middle of this energy that only an overpopulated, tight little city can muster up. She said she felt the same when she moved to London. And that her eyes would well up when she'd walk along the Thames, overwhelmed that little ol' her was in the middle of such old and new beautiful things. That you never get used to that. It's breathtaking every time. I believe her...I don't ever think I could get used to the magnitude of the Central buildings or that view from The Peak. At least I hope I don't.
Before that, I had hopped on the MTR over to Kowloon to check out a hip hop dance studio. I've decided to pass a crapload of time with hip hop...a perfect plan to me. The studio looks great and I've already plunked over $1100 HKD for 12 classes...which is about $12 or $13 each class...not too bad considering a good class over in S.F. is $15. When I got there, I was just in time for this one class taught by "Eg"...the girls there literally call him egg in Chinese. The class starts and we do stretches. Good. Isolation. Good. And then more isolation. And then more?! Wait a minute there mister...what is going on?! We literally bobbed our heads to "feel the beat" for 5 minutes. Then swung hips. Thrusted pelvi. AHHHK. What was I doing in there?! I signed up for some routines man, not exercise for my goods! So...I got up and left which was a faux pas because the instructors know you pay a hefty amount and he stopped me, asking what the heck i was doing, and I told him "I thought we were going to learn some routines" and he said "This is the first class and I have to break it down". Ok yeah so I went into a beginner's class...the VERY beginner's and only realized it 45 minutes in, which is 44 minutes TOO long. I left feeling jipped like crazy...but thank god there are REAL classes later on in the week.
I met a cab driver and had a drink with him at a local hotspot for youngsters a couple blocks down from my place. We had good conversation and he seemed nice enough, just a humble and honest young man of 26 who doesn't get out much...just a decent looking kind of guy. We meet and the first thing I notice is the bags under his eyes. He reminded me of my dad...and his name is Sing...which is ALSO my dad's name. It was interesting hearing him tell me about his life - he's always loved driving (vehicles of every kind) and so went to Hong Kong for job opportunities. He dropped out of school because he was never good at it and the only things he's ever passed with flying colors were his driving licenses. He works 12 hours a day ...mostly at night...and sleeps in the daytime. He gives a ton of money to his mother. Leaving him no room for that much time to go out and socialize. I looked at him...and thought about some of the 26 year-olds I know...or at least the ones around that age. Lai travels the world and is currently doing human rights bidness in Uganda. Erin is at med school. Emma is taking a 6-month break to teach and travel and will soon go back home to do some PR jig. It goes on and on... exactly the way 26 (or around there) -year -olds should be living, in my eyes. Not working hours and hours, leaving no room for anything else at all but a conversation with some random girl from California. Well anyway...it was going really well, chattin' it up in Cantonese and learning some new vocab...until that fool soured it all at the end of the night by asking some INAPPROPRIATE questions. No signs whatsoever before that...just great story exchanges and even a few wholesome little jokes here and there. Then he steers it away and asks "Do you have a boyfriend?" "You should dump him" "Can I see your room?" WHAT THE F-- S--M--F---!! Can somebody PLEASE explain to me this ridiculous behavior? Yes, I'm a girl and he's a boy...but there IS such a thing as a 'nice chat', plain and simple. Why are there underlying motives...that taints a perfectly lovely experience by needing to go more and more and more? Is friendship possible between male and female who have just met? Why does it have to be uglied up with those kinds of questions? Of course, with the first sign of anything, I shut him out and treated him like a stupid child "No, and if you ask me again, I won't be your friend" "The more you say those things, the more I won't trust you" "No, and no". Welp, I was successful at the end...it was all safe. I have become paranoid of this from past experiences - the greasy men in Paris and southern Italy, horror movies, Ted Bundy, and Jiin's advice. But in my mind, I was so let down. It was going so well and then he had to go and turn it all ugly. What a disappointment. The way things go...and ALWAYS seem to go. cringe.
Goodness, is it really Monday? I'm losing track of the days...
posted by carol at 12:13 AM
1 Comments:
You've never seen Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' have you? ;)
Of course guys and girls can have just 'a nice chat' - just not all guys....the trick is knowing which ones.
Have fun in Hong Kong.
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