My day with Youtube

Let me share some nice links

• Holarious satire and great music: Adolf - Ich hock in meinem Bonker (German)
• An animated Science Fiction shortmovie by Till Novak "Delivery" kind of reminds me of Chinese air pollution.
• Support the US troops: Asylum Street Spankers - Magnetic Yellow Ribbon
• For true English speakers truely ROFL: Subtitles
  
• For Atheists: Jesus Christ Superstar King Herod, George Carlin on Religion
  
• For Playstation Addicts: Computer Games lead to violence
• For Alcoholics: The magic Fridge
• For Star Wars Fans: Chad Vader the Dayshift Manager
• For smokers: Smokers' Balcony
• For Realists on the weapon industry: AK47 promotion
• For sarcastic Pessimists: End of the World
• For Cat Holders: Cat Cowboys
• For serious people: Road to Guantanamo, End of Suburbia, The Cooperation

As my chinese teacher says: Are you having fuuun?

Shantou

The lonely planet does not spend much time on Shantou and there is realy not much to see. I spent only a few hours in town. It has an very old and rundown western part, on the markets you saw raw pigheads and feet lying uncooled on tables. But the other part consist of the typical skyscrapers, some more beautiful than in Hong Kong, shopping Malls und streets. McDonalds is there and it's Pepsi not Coca Cola who sponsors all outdoor furniture and the fridges in Shantou.
We were in the area to teach a day at a school close by. I am not sure, wether our 1day attempt to communicate some English skills was worth it, but it was interesting to get together with students. The students were shy to speak in class though they knew the vocabulary. Furtheron we did not know what they are interested in or what the normal teaching style was. It was funny how reluctant we were to discuss a family tree (using words like brother, sister, aunt etc.) just to find out that the one child policy is not realy like we think it is: most kids had between 2 and 5 siblings! The living standards were simple but we got food like nobles and could enjoy how Chiu Chows are preparing their famous KungFu tea.

Me and some of the students, showing us around.

Western Part of Shantou, the complete contrast to the modern skyscraper-rest!

Did you know, that...

1. Sweden and Switzerland are not the same country. I understand that it's confusing because they both start with S but still they are at different places.

2. Some news: certain countries within the European Union abolished border controls and you apply only for one visa.

3. Some countries allow their students to study for free... realy, no money. But No: free education is not a new and recent idea, you heard about it right now, when its almost outdated.

4. There is no such language as ISLAMIC and therefore people in Malaysia do not speak it.

5. Furtheron Iran is not Iraq with a spelling mistake. The people in Iran are not Arabic, neither do they speak Islamic (compare Malaysia) nor Arabic.

5. The systematic of a language is often 3 persons singular and 3 persons plural.

6. The Americans were in Japan because the former nuked the latter. Twice.

7. Nietzsche was not a Nazi, I will neither go into details of his philosophy, nor into the existence of time.

Isn't that good to know?

Lan Kwai Fong

Todays post is devoted to HKs party area Lan Kwai Fong

Lan Kwai Fong is at the center of many legends. Completely hammered Brits are lurching about. Arriving at L.K.W. the impoverished hordes of exchange students and foreign trainees, who cannot afford 6 Euros for a beer, gather in front of THE notorious 7eleven. I assume its the best going one in town, selling loads of beer 24-7. From there on students, expats and foreigners are moving up the street where there liason breaks up and they spread into Heyhey Club, Sugar, the ice bar (it's truely freezing) or club 1997.

So you're in the picture: a handfull of streets with exquisite bars and loads of elderly, drunk foreigners - do I need to say more? I refrain from any further judgements...

Nevertheless, I'm having a great time in LKW, normally on Thursday when everything is for free for girls: clubs and lots of drinks.
I consider this policy is a sign of masochism and there are probably some ulterior motives behind getting girls drunk, BUT during my lifetime little will change anyways: Except as I just got ensure by famous Nobelprize winner Rowland yesterday: the hole in the ozon layer will still be there and global warming will continue. ... Isn't it great that some things are stable and foreseeable?

Templar

Asia offers a great impression of religion: ideas of funerals, cemeteries and worshipping gods is exotic to me. Temples are smoky and full of golden pomp. Architecture has a completely different concept and nothing in it reminds of the self-potrayal of our cathedrals.

Smoking Kills - Don't go to Temples!

Take a machete to the Jungle

Hiking in the jungle calls for a machete! I've had a good hike here, where you do not see any kind of path!
HK offers an incredibly densly populated town center and the free space of a holiday resort! The number of hiking paths is incredible! Now that the temperatures are cooling down, walking becomes a fun activity and nature is so close - just a few busstops away.
We went to Sai Kung into the nearby Sai Kung Country Park. A nice area near our university. Getting lost in the brushwoods didn't help seeing a lot, but its the way that was so much fun!
Sai Kung offers loads of seafood restaurants and a nice harbour view and a good fresh market. Its a little town, in relation to Hong Kong more a village, without skyscrapers.

I am getting difficulties to post news of exictment and activity. Encounters with unknown cultures and astonishing revalations. Everyday life and routine are spreading their poison. I guess no one wants to hear anything about my midterm in Public Administration or my sleeping habits in Human Ressource Management? No? Me neither! I don't even wanna think about that myself.

But surely I can always post some pictures, though this time not my own but all photography fame goes to: SOPHI!
I ws in Ocean Park last week: an amusement park in HK.
Disneyland is the second one and far bigger, but I have certain resentments against Disney mania (please refer to George Carlin: FUCK Mickey Mouse).
Ocean Park's rides are rather lame but still fun and the jellyfish were definetly my favourites! You can admire fish (though Auckland outshines it by far), check the dolphine shows (the debate: dolphins-captivity and freedom rights of animals is postponed) and the pandas.
For a sunday it was fun!

Mid Autumn Festival

I hope you could all spend a wonderful mid autumn time with your family?
Never heard of it? In that case: I know that question mark emerging in your mind.
I noticed something was going on a few weeks ago: A certain product called moon cakes mushroomed at every street corner and I got suspicious when people were putting up lampions in increasing frequency. Suddenly there were talks about the moon. It was the time when students started having BBQs and joyfully looking forward to weekends with the family...
I knew: something big - something truely important was going on, which they called: Mid Autumn Festival!
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in the Lunar calendar. Asian family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes, star fruit and pomeloes together. It is also common to have barbecues outside under the moon." (Wikipedia)
I must note that my family behaved kind of ignorant towards this news and did not make any offer to take the plane for 15 hours to celebrate with me here in HK but is enjoying olive harvesting season in Greece instead...now I will not join Christmas anymore.

Impressions: Humans

I took the following pictures in China in September 2006
YOU are highly welcomed to comment, suggest titles or add a story to them

Illustration: Human Nature

Zhaoquing

Friday we left to enjoy some nature in Zhaoquing. We decided to go by ferry, hoping to have a good view from the river, but it turned out to be expensive and the landscape you're crossing is not much of an experience. The pollution gets pretty obvious though. Luckily we had reserved a hotel: Jinye Hotel in Gondong Road not far from the ferry-bus stop reachable by foot. The rooms were nice and for 130Y pretty afordable. We drew quite a lot of attention on us, cause Tourists are not very common. As to be expected I had quite some difficulties making myself understood being mute and illiterate in chinese. Only armed with the Lonely Planet it was difficult but generally successful. Saturday we went on to Dinghu Mountain Park, reachable by Taxi for 60Y or even easier and more fun simply by Bus. The park doesn't offer much hiking because all ways are paved but the scenery is very enjoyable. The top is a tourist trap with any activity costing an extra 10Y but in anycase one isn't obliged to engage in that.

We were lucky to be invited for a BBQ with some students. Great to be able to speak to some people finally! It was a realy nice time! The next day we took a deluxe Bus (that includes Karaokee) to Guangzhou and in the evening to Hong Kong to watch the fireworks! What a price shock to come back here....