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Published: July 31st 2006
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Now, it’s time to relay the happenings of the Chinese New Year! Thanks to Dr. Lian and Alison from the Centre on Advancement in Special Education (CASE), I had places to go and food to eat during the Chinese New Year! The meals normally delivered to me from the Asia Pacific restaurant on campus were not available during the holiday. Saturday night I went out with Dr. Lian and his daughter Kuo-Hsin to visit a long-time friend of Dr. Lian’s. They went to university together in Taiwan during the 1970’s. Ms. Yang and her son Anson live in Kowloon near a subway stop. Their domestic helper, Thelma from the Philippines, joined us for the dinner she had prepared. Thelma has been with Anson and Ms. Yang for 9 years and has watched Anson grow up. Here are some pictures from that night.
Our meal started with fresh shrimp dipped in soy sauce. We were then treated to many Chinese delicacies. For dessert, we had a kind of Chinese pastry that’s toenail-moon-shaped and crunchy on the outside. Inside, there’s a dollop of peanut butter. They are quite tasty!
We stayed at Teacher Yang’s home until 1:00 a.m. on New Year’s
Day! Then, since the MTR subway system was open all night for the New Year, Dr. Lian, Kuo-Hsin, and I rode from Kowloon back to the Admiralty stop and caught a taxi from there to HKU.
The next day was church and lunch with the Abraham family as previously described. Then, Thomas Abraham dropped me off at the Admiralty MTR station, and I embarked upon my first independent MTR ride! Piers and I had practiced this route, but I couldn’t find the file in which I stored the notes I took of how to get around in the station. So, from memory, I descended several flights of stairs and then applied my considerable skills of looking like a helpless blind person. Someone took me to the escalator which let me off on the platform. I then consulted my BrailleNote computer and learned which subway line I was to take. An English-speaking subway staff member took me to the right train. I boarded and rode several stops to North Point. . I called Alison, my friend whom I was going to see. I got off at the appropriate location and, with someone’s help boarded another train to the New Territories. After
yet another train switch, I arrived at the station nearest to Alison’s home. She, her husband Alex, and their baby Corliss picked me up, and we drove to their home. By this time, I was getting fairly used to the driver being on the right side of the car.
At Alison’s house, I was given a juice box of grapefruit tea - very delicious! Alison’s domestic helper, Amy, made me some turnip pudding. That’s a traditional New Year’s treat. It is a square piece of turnip paste that is roughly the size of a piece of white bread. It has small bits of meat in it and is yummy. Amy fried it in oil for me.
Alison, Amy, and I talked for an hour or too, and I stayed awake despite tiredness from my late night.
We then drove to Alison’s Uncle’s home. Alex works for him at a company that makes Black and Decker irons in China. Alison’s Uncle, Charles, and his wife, Connie, have a large home with many rooms and three domestic helpers. In one room, people were playing mahjong. The staff prepared a lovely dinner in the kitchen. Charles and I had an invigorating and truly fascinating conversation about world politics! He has traveled widely, and we compared stories about Paris and the U.S. As a member of the Hong Kong Lion’s Club, he would like me to speak to them at some point. After our meal, Alex drove me home, and I fell into bed - content and very sleepy!
The second day of the Lunar New Year was spent with Amy, Alison’s domestic helper. She met me at the APM mall in Kowloon. I took the MTR again to meet her. She was waiting for me right outside the turn style at the MTR station. The APM mall has only opened within the last month and is open 24 hours per day. We dined at a Thai restaurant called The King and I. I had Pad Thai, of course! That’s the fried noodles with bean sprouts and crushed peanuts. Amy and I chatted and got to know one another. We then went shopping for a few hours before Alison and Alex picked us up. Because the is the Year of the Dog, there was a huge dog built in the middle of the mall. One could walk around inside the dog and hit a drum! Just as kids in the U.S. flock to the mall to visit Santa Claus, they were at APM in force visiting the dog and getting their pictures taken.
While shopping, I purchased some lotion for my hands. Because it is so humid here, I thought that I wouldn’t need lotion here. But, my hands still get somewhat dry. I also got Oolong, green, and black tea. I bought some toothpaste as well.
Alex offered to buy me a hot water pot that allows me to boil water to ensure that it is safe to drink. They picked us up at APM, and we drove to Alex’s father’s house. He lives in public housing in Hong Kong, as do many people. Even the public housing elevator has braille and voice cues that notify me of the floor the elevator is on when the door opens.
At least 20 people were at Alex’s father’s house. Again, a spirited game of mahjong was being played, and I tried to call Dad to let him hear the mahjong tiles being clicked together. We had another nice meal there, and I studied the sounds and cadence of Cantonese being spoken all around me.
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