6.23.2008

Chinese Enough.

After landing in Hong Kong exhausted and confused about the time of day, we realized we'd missed our shuttle to our hostel and so took an $8 cab ride instead. Our hostel was at the top of Davis Peak, and by top, I mean Very top. The narrow rode was scary and steep in the night time and I think our cab driver thought we were trying to take him to the remote wilderness to rob him or something. Our hostel was alright, very rustic and outdoorsy, and for one night as exhausted as we were, it did the job. And the view of Hong Kong was amazing! I'll post pictures probably when I get home.

We decided that it was way too far to Anything for us to stay there another night, so we found another place and left the next morning for it. We had awoken at 6:00am ready to go, but had to wait for 7:30am for our shuttle to the city. On our way to our next hotel, we saw early morning excercises, some doing Tai Chi. Our new place was in a bustling city street, much more diverse then any of the other areas we'd seen, and defintely a little Shady, but we had our own room and bathroom, so it worked. It is an odd thing to see so much of one race in one place, it really makes me realize what a melting pot the US really is. It also makes me feel a lot less Chinese being around so many Chinese people at once, all looking at me as a white tourist. It's something I've wrestled with before with my family, not feeling "Chinese" enough, mostly because I was often told I was too American or that I don't look Chinese at all by my family. When I was younger I'd desperately try to point out my Chinese features to my family, "See my slanted eyes here? See? That's Chinese!" But they would just shake their head and say, "Nope, not Chinese at all." I don't believe they said it to hurt me, my family is just brutally blunt and say what they think without any cushioning, a trait I have picked up myself.

Getting ready to head to Thailand tonight... will write more later.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mai, I completely understand this entry! I feel the exact same way with my family (mother's side), but I do want to travel to the "motherland" one day in the near future before gas costs too much for me to get there!

Jamie

mai wen said...

Seriously, the only thing that was expensive about this trip was the plane tickets. You'll have to let me know if you ever go to the "motherland." I'd love to hear about it!

 

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