A huge moment! The Roanoke Island Bluegrass festival! Thank you Steve Harvey for making this possible. The setting was beautiful beyond words, on the edge of the United States of America, in the same spot as the Lost Colony (that I had never heard of, unfortunately) arrived and disappeared. It’s really just a tiny sand spit on the edge of a grey and menacing Atlantic.
And guess what, nearby was the very spot that those crazy Wright brothers flew up from the ground – and stayed up! I tell you, this trip is so great in every way. Historically, culturally and emotionally. Yes, some of those bluegrass songs brought tears to my eyes! And that only a few days after crying because I was bourbon-shitfaced and one day after tearing up when I had to leave my beautiful Mexican friends. All in all I’ve cried more on this trip than in the last two years put together.
And the beauty is astounding everywhere we go. Even the toilets!
This whole trip I’ve only seen one toilet that wasn’t 100% pristine and beautiful; I think it was in a truck stop in Alabama.
USA! USA! USA!
飛 (Fei – to fly)
美國 (Mei Gok – USA)
蘭草 (Lam jo – bluegrass)
Last month I went to Hunan province and after a few minutes there was overcome with shark flu (or some other fierce animal) – awful. Just awful. Anyway, so today, instead of advising you on →
Oh China. I love you so much. This is Siu Heng, the town where, on top of the many scraggy crags, there are signs (signage) exhorting people not to “parapet”. No Parapeting! the signs say →
No one can call me a Luddite anymore! Only 7,000 years after the invention of the computer I’m doing screen grabbing! I’m looking through my two Cantonese teaching videos Cantonese – The Movie and Going →
Yesterday I dragged myself up Lantau Peak to scatter the ashes of a dear friend who died in April. It really made me admire even more those brave souls who participated in the Moontrekker thing →
I can’t control myself – I must show it: Mister Public Security Uncle photographed by a professional photographer! It was the night before Halloween and I was strolling around Central with my vice-Security officer, Bak →
Just because I’m a Cantonese fundamentalist and don’t want Hong Kong to be taken over by Mandohooligans, it doesn’t mean I don’t feel a huge pull from the wild almost daily. Yes, I’m talking about →
No, not the city Honolulu where I’ve never been. The phenomenon Honolulu! Nestled between a parking house and some building, probably a hole in the ground pounded by pile drivers by now, lies 33 Stanley →
The last few days I’ve been trying to catalogue my films. When I say “trying to catalogue” I mean “watching Breaking Bad to get ideas for angles, film techniques etc”. Breaking Bad – it’s really →
I had forgotten how much I like making films, and how those I cast in the various roles grow to hate go on to mega-stardom. Take one of the girls in this Halloween-themed film for →
Let me just say, any town where this is the central post office has my vote! Yesterday as we were driving and walking around downtown Mexico City, I shouted out loud with joy several times. →
Have just come back from yet another extremely fulfilling and surreal trip to the hinterland – this time Shaoguan in the north-west of Guangdong province to which only the coincidence of October 1st, China’s national →
I’m going back to those scraggy crags today! Now you can come too. Just click on China Tours and you’re there!
Did you know that “Good Friday” is called “Jesus experiences difficulties festival” (耶穌受難節）（ye sou sao laan jit) in Chinese? I bet you didn’t. But now you know, and by going on an Easter trip with →
Come with! Come with!
You thought it would be something about fog again, didn’t you? No, it’s about clothes. Not sure what the above item is, so let’s just call it: 一件衫 （yat gin saam) A piece, or item, →
Yesterday, Gweipo agonised over her own and her son’s struggle with pesky Mandarin. She invited her readers to comment on who or what’s to blame for us foreigners not being able to learn Cantonese and/or →
Are you going into mainland China on a tour (with me for example), travelling for business or going there anyway? Even if you’re driven around by a personal guide, waited on hand and foot by →
Hello, my name is Cecilie (pronounced “Cecilia”) and I’m a China-holic. And Hongkie-holic. I’ve been living here for more than 20 years and speak, read and write Cantonese and Mandarin fluently. More than 20 years →
嘩！今日好大霧呀。Wah! Gam yat hou daai mou ah. (“Wow! Today well big fog ah”) – My but it’s foggy today. Oh, and if you’re surprised that it’s foggy, you could say: 咦？咁大霧嘅？ Yi? Gam daai mou geh? →
Do you want to learn some survival or day-to-day Cantonese but can’t commit to regular, weekly sessions because you’re just too damn busy or simply can’t be arsed? Guerrilla Cantonese may be the answer for you. Guerrilla means: →
– from a Norwegian! A glimpse behind the scenes of Happy Jellyfish People’s Democratic Language Bureau:
