I am all shopped out. I never thought I would say this – but Hong Kong has shopped me out.

I don’t think I could live in this city. Good food, good shopping but I can’t really run outside. There are nice views in this island city, and lots of gorgeous places I am sure on the many little islands…but I miss Vancouver with its grass and clean air!

Gosh what am I going to do in Toronto!? If Toronto is a global city like Hong Kong, with food, shopping, culture and humidity…I better learn to play more indoor sports.

To be honest, I am a little homesick already. I never thought I was ever much of a homebody but I am. I miss my cat and my family. I think it’s also knowing that when I come back, I will only be home again for three weeks before going to Toronto for grad school. A big part of me is thinking this is it, do this trip and do grad school and then settle somewhere in Metro Vancouver with a job and a down payment for a house. It’s not so much the “stuff” but I think I want to start a family of my own soon too. I guess family has become more and more important to me, or maybe it’s because I had never given it much of a place of importance in my heart until now. I don’t know how it will all work out, I pray for God’s leading and I am so thankful for a supportive family.

I almost didn’t want to go on this trip right before I left, which is my normal reaction to things. Five days in, already I feel like each day has been a hundred like Sean said it would be in traveling. My brain and my heart can’t help it but my eyes and my thoughts run across politics, social welfare and the like with every new scene in Hong Kong. How accessible is the city for the disadvantaged? (do you know how FAST the escalators on the MTR go? I am still afraid of tripping) Is the city designed with a socially conscious mindset? (much more green, probably because it has to be) What is the prevailing ideology? (ummm..anyplace where your head of state is called “Chief Executive”…says something) I can’t help but to think of these questions…probably makes me a not so fun travel partner, or maybe, depending who you are I suppose. I just spent some time looking up information on the government’s website just to see what the official documents say. “Non-compulsory contributions” to social welfare and all. Everyone says that Hong Kong is the capitalists’ dream, with personal income tax rates capped at 16% (which is around the lowest bracket in Canada), also very local corporate taxes and no sales tax (which is great for shopping). It’s like HK’s welfare is so different than the one I know, paid by for taxes. With its religious schools (my mom and grandmother taught at Christian schools in HK) and hospitals, there is so much more private philanthropy here and I like that because people care when they make these investments. The government is probably the worse provider of social services but we also need the government (or so my neo-liberal ideology has taught me to think) to regulate and to stimulate. It’s a delicate dance I think, when it comes down to it nonetheless…lots of thoughts…

Again, I realize I really need my Anna time. So my time journaling everyday continues, in order to preserve my sanity and the sanity of those who have the pleasure of traveling with me.


This is KFC in HK...they have chicken wings! And Portgeuse egg tarts!


This is a Shogun burger meal (sooo Japanese style paddy with an egg!) at McDonald's with a side of corn. I also had a green tea and red bean ice cream sundae the other day....Micky D's...the king of globalization with its brand recognition and localization...! Starbucks here also has mango frappes!

A part of me...

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View from great grandma "Ta ma"'s grave, nice eh?

Though I think I’ve been to a cemetery once in Toronto when I was a kid for my grandpa’s funeral, I have no recollections of a cemetery save what I’ve read in books and seen in movies. Going today to “Bok Fu Lam”, a Chrisitan cemetery at the edge of Hong Kong Island overlooking the South China Sea to visit my grandpa and great grandma was a completely new experience for me. I never met either of them, but I was standing there by their wall (they were cremated, only rich people have full graves in HK), I couldn’t help but think about the generations that have come before me, and that have made me who I am.


I never knew that my great grandmother was a Christian. I never knew that my dad looked so much like his dad. I took pictures of their grave sites to show grandma, and also so I won’t forget. It took a heck of a time getting to the cemetery and there is no way I could have gotten there without Pastor Li taking me there, me not knowing how to read any Chinese and the cemetery being so isolated. Because she is a pastor, she knew the caretakers there, and providence would have it so that when it started to pour (and it POURS in this part of the world) and I was starting to get bitten from mosquitoes…as we were waiting for the bus (that only came once every blue moon) the owner of the place drove by, and him knowing Pastor Li, gave us a lift down to the MTR wayyyy down the hill. Crazy eh?


Seeing Pastor Li this morning and having dinner with Auntie Chick last night, both of whom I have barely any recollection of, though I have often heard their name spoken at home, was…I can’t put a word to it…special? They are both people who know my family well, and Auntie Chick was in the delivery room actually when my mom gave birth to me! She’s like my mom’s best friend, from high school to now! Being in HK and seeing these people, it’s like adding pieces of the puzzle that is me, that many often many people don’t start to put together until after their parents die. You know what I mean? I think I am seeing nearly ALL of my family this year (HK, Singapore, Toronto)...which is an area that I haven't touched, and that I have always cited as a sore spot in my family. I guess I am no longer afraid, and I am even eager to face it, skeletons and all. To see the beauty in the broken, and to find joy in it.


I think Mendel got it right about the genes. Genes do pass down the generations, things like the fact that I am studying the social sciences like my mother, the long line of teachers from both sides of the family, the faith. Pastor Li was saying how I look like mom but my mannerisms are similar to dad. It’s kind of cool, because I never really took much of an effort to get to know my family (or maybe even wanted to know) until the last few years.


Lots to write and lots going through my head.

A tale of two cities? Look carefully at the top apartments on the picture on the right side.

Yes it is...the Coach store is designed like a Coach signature bag! I have seen brand name stores here that I have only EVER seen in magazines! This is better than New York. This is also my fourth consecutive day shopping...(not in these stores of course) and I do sicken myself a little.

Gotta like them fishes on the street...I like fishes cuz there'll so delicious...LOL

First day in Hong Kong

So I survived the 14 hour plane ride, a taxi and mini bus ride, and the sweltering humidity…and even went on the MTR today without getting lost!

It is surprisingly easy to get around in Hong Kong, and though I can’t read or write any Chinese, I find myself surprisingly at ease in this fast-paced (the escalators go faster here!), rat race chasing (seems like everything is about money money money…they have so many designer brand shops!) of a city. This is my first time coming to Hong Kong since I immigrated to Canada when I was five years old, but I find myself quite at leisure.

Alvina aunt’s place is in Kowloon Tong and it seems like quite a nice area to live. The view from our bedroom window is gorgeous, typical of all Hong Kong night views. As we rode in the taxi today, the gap between the rich and the poor is starkly evident: from the dirty back alleys to the run down apartment buildings to the extensive use of servants by any one who has money.

It reminded me a bit of New York but with an Asian twist, with the taxi driving and feel that “this-is-your-city-if-you-have-money”. Again, I was home once I hit a shopping mall (Festival City today).

I noticed quite a few efforts to being green here, from full and half flush toilets to the “save the trees” signs in the bathrooms. The MTR runs in three languages Cantonese, English and Mandarin, giving Hong Kong quite the cosmopolitan character. The British influence remains and I can see the positive impacts this benign colonizer had on this once little port city.

Can’t wait to see more of my birthplace that I largely know/remember from watching TVB shows, including hopefully visiting my grandfather’s (dad’s dad) grave (never got to meet the man, died when my dad was 18).

The view of the South China Sea and the mountains (or rather hills) on Lantau Island on the airport express from the airport to Tsing Yi was beautiful. The view of the line of palm trees against the sea, divine. Nice city, but I don't think I would live here.

One Year

QT and I at Holt Renfrew downtown...what a wall eh?

Rereading again the emails I got back from my coworkers at HC makes me sad about leaving. Today was my last day of my year as a public servant. Crazy eh? One year already! It seems only like yesterday that I was finishing up my honours thesis at UBC.

I was browsing through my entries this time last year when I finished my last class at UBC, and I was struck at how similar yet different, I have become.

I think I am still an idealist and a dreamer, and insightful but I think I am a bit more focused. Maybe it is because I have finally made a decision about doing planning at UT, which is crazy – maybe it’s because I am going to Asia! This point last year, I had these things floating in the air, but here we are, materialized.

I think I want to teach in some capacity, I will definitely apply to TA during my masters. See how that goes, I know I want to work for a bit, but yeah, teaching will fit somewhere. It’s interesting how I got the opportunity to teach at HC, through giving tutorials and troubleshooting on the Intranet and training my successor. That was really cool, really tiring, but I enjoyed it and I think I’m quite good at it naturally. The organizational skills fit in nicely, and yeah. So funny how the teaching and counselling part has come up lately, in the most random places. I think they will come into play in big ways...I'm not sure how yet, but yeah. Maybe like Mati said in the car, I just want to take it to a higher level than the conventional...or as Nisha said, it's the creative side that kicks in wanting to be more than just a high school teacher.

My coworkers are really going to miss me, they have expressed and I can see it. My office really liked the cards I made for them and I liked making them too, to be able to be creative in that capacity. The emails I got back from people I have gotten to know outside my office, through yoga/pilates, events or whatnot were really great and encouraging too. They like me! And they said I shine – I am shining for Jesus and people see. How special is that.

This is the best kind of parting. I’m sad to go, but it’s time and it’s good. I’ve learned so much at HC, both professionally and personally, and it all just ties up nicely this chapter of my life. What seemed like such a mess and so uncertain then, just a year later, is all fitting into place. That is God’s blessing and provision - and timing.

I was talking to mom last night about Toronto and I really noticed upon reflection that I am defensive. Maybe sometimes I don’t let other people help me and be there for me, it’s like the self dependent attitude that is so hard to break, that Aaron has managed to break, so naturally. I gotta work on this, and it's going to be hard, but I think my family and my friends want to play a larger part in my life. And it's about time that I let them and lower the shields a little.

Life really is a journey as much as it is the destination. I imagine it’s like your wedding day and nothing can compare to the day, but it’s not just about the day, but the entire process that has led up to the day. I feel like in life, most of the time we are spending in the process rather than having arrived at the destination. Our destinations, or train stations if you will, are the valleys and mountains tops of our lives, and are brief. What matters more is the way up and down the mountain. Things have come to a comfortable and such a good place at home, and I have to leave soon. Maybe knowing that time is finite, really having that in your face, totally changes your attitude and approach towards time. I wish I would have this attitude all the time, but I think human beings are just fickle that way. Nonetheless, I will treasure each moment today. Thank you God.

It is 11:21PM PST on a weeknight and I don't have to go to bed! Such a weird feeling that I hadn't had for a year. Finally, for the first time in my life, I have four months to rest. I watched Enchanted tonight after dinner with my mom and sister, such a nice, perfect wrap up to my last day.