Roommate Quotes

1) We could be the pied piper of alcoholics...

2) I'm not opposed to gold digging. Everyone has the right to be happy.

Hong Kong and Guilin

I went to Hong Kong for three days to go on a networking trip with the Robert Day Program at CMC, and then spent two lazy days in Guilin.

The Hong Kong part kind of reinforced how I already felt about the program. First interaction at Dinner:

Student: Macau! Do you gamble?
Me: No
Student: Oh, why are you there, then? What else is there to do?

or

Student: Does Macau have good nightlife?

Me: No

Student: Oh, so you come to Hong Kong to party.

Me: No

Student:

It's kind of funny that these people come so far...to go to a club. No experience or even awareness of local culture. (Although to be fair the trip was so structured that you really couldn't). It also made me realize two things about myself:

1) I was the only person to treat our ESL guides as individuals. Actually, this is really kind of bizarre: most Americans who aren't used to being around people who's mother tounge is not English as a kind of non-person. There was no attempt to interact with them on the part of the students.

2) I have become used to more service roles. I.e., at lunch, I won't pick up my trash in the cafeteria. HK has a more colonial/serivice mentality. When I first got here I would, and the employees would be PISSED because I was 'taking their job'. It's true, but depressing to realize that I've gotten used to it while my American counterparts have not.

Of course this is all very judgemental and probably more reflective on a few people (the undergraduates rather than the graduate students). I have been quite privileged to be living and working with girls who really do care about cultural interaction and helping our students. It will be a little sad to go back into an atmosphere where people are mainly focused on having fun and making money. It's something that I've gotten used to and probably have taken for granted.

Just to be hypocritical, I did go out in Wan Chai and Lan Kwai Fong, drank Long Islands and danced terribly in crappy clubs. And I had a great time.

Here is my new favorite person:

Bruce ('97 CMC) is a successful hedge fund manager in HK. He literally took a week off of work to party with students. And he drinks fruity drinks. This is my new role model.

I sprinted from Morgan Stanley in Kowloon back to central to pick up my passport, which was at the consulate to get new pages added. Arrived at 4:06, had to beg the guard to let me in to get it back. Sprint to Wan Chai to get my bags, change trains to get on the blue line to Lo Hu, run through the border crossing into Shenzhen, get lost on the metro, find the airport bus, just miss my flight, buy a first class one-way ticket to Guilin on another flight, meet Emily in a small hostel. Take a bamboo raft down the Li river (beautiful) and almost lose our bags, stay in a hostel in Yangshuo. Get lost on a bike in the countryside-- so happy and free feeling.

Summer Job

So, I told my students that I would be leaving in June. We talked about my new job at an investment bank in New York. One student is now convinced that I have a jewish hereditary disease; the other student misheard the second word as "Sex" and now thinks I am going to be a lady of the night.

With failure,

Holly

Guangzhou

We went to Guangzhou this weekend with our language partners. It was a good trip. Just leating, shopping, and going to the zoo. The zoo was actually pretty depressing. All of the cages were tiny and the animals looked really really skinny. The big cats looked terrible and were constantly pacing back and forth.

More emails

Dear Holly,

Hi Buttface~Thank you for you debate blouse. I love it. It is a busy and exciting day.

After we met at dinner, we went to attend "speak with confidence" and there were not enough people, four and no interview. And my friend Ivy wants to give it a try, could you give me Jaramy's e-mail, so I can ask for his permission?

Best!
Dorothy

Korea

MC Hammer Dance off

I just got back from an amazing and incredibly intense week in Korea. I taught from 9 am to 7 pm every day. After which was dinner and far too many rounds of soju every night. I have been sleeping and drinking tons of water for the last two days, and think I could do so for another week before feeling normal again.

Many of the teachers in Korea looked unhappy. Teachers get paid well, but work long hours (14-16 a day, 6 days a week). The society is fairly racist/xenophobic and sexist (I don't mean to dwell on the negative; there are also many positive aspects of Korean culture as well). The stress over a long period of time really seems to get to people. Getting out of Macau and it's own culture-specific difficulties was really nice for a change, but I saw it wearing thin on local teachers.

I had a lovely lunch today with my bosses. I really like them personally, and I feel like quite a brat for being unhappy with certain aspects of my job. Still, I think it's fair to feel unhappy if I'm not given any work, have no communication with others at MPI, and have no control over the activities I am expected to be responsible for. My moods the last couple of months have alternated between boredom, anger, and feeling guilty becuase of the first two emotions.

Being White

Emily, Holly, and Amy are looking at the blog 'Stuff White People Like'. Emily and Holly are white, Amy is Chinese

Holly (reading): "White people like Manhattan.

Amy: I don't like Manhattan.

Holly: You're not white.

Emily: Yes you aaaaare!!! (hug)