National Day Extravaganza

October 1st has just gone but all of Hong Kong warmly and resolutely and enthusiastically and revolutionarily welcomed the grand celebration of the great and noble motherland.

Pui O’s many newly(?) converted communist party supporters came out in force, covering our sleepy backwater in red flags. It was all very festive.

Dominating the festivities was a big, nay, enormous poster of Mao Zedong and his underlings, complete with LCD red Chinese characters congratulating the communist party on its great victory over evil freedoms. In front of Tiananmen Gate all the ecstatically happy minorities had gathered under his phlegmatic gaze, dancing and smiling as if their lives depended on it.

The Yi, the Hui, the Miao, yes even the Tibetans had been allowed in, dancing energetically to welcome in yet another year of excellent Han/communist stewardship.

I couldn’t see any Han in the poster, but maybe they were represented by Mao himself? Also they are of course not a minority, they don’t have a national costume (in other similar posters they are often shown wearing suits and ties) and they don’t dance much, if you don’t count the aunties dancing around every open space in the mornings and evenings in public squares in all the cities and towns, of course. But no one pays to look at their dancing.

I couldn’t help but notice one significant minority missing though: Me! Whitey! Don’t I live in China too? Grrrrrr

中國國慶日 – Jung Gok gok heng yat (China National Day)
十月一號 – Sap yuet yat hou (October 1st)
跳舞 – Tiu mou (dance)

Siu Heng! 肇慶

In the column below I bemoan the fact that my first Inner Guangdong town, (where I coined the phrase ‘hovelage’ – excellent traditional Chinese architecture made to last but a little careworn) has become a roaring modern monstrosity.

That’s all true, but it also has really … special sartorial style as well as haircuts, notably in the youth discos:

Also, its former rather over-colourful water show with pounding military music is now all in white and with proper soothing muzak

BUT! The eight-lane highways through the formerly sleepy little town, the faux luxury condos all empty and the removal of all the outdoor restaurants – all is forgiven! Because everybody spoke Cantonese. When we talked to people in Cantonese, the just answered us in that, their own, language, as if we were normal human beings! Not in English. Not in Mandarin.

That’s worth a bit of mindless destruction, I reckon.

肇慶 – Siu Heng (Initiate Celebrations/”Zhaoqing”)
馬路 – Ma Lou (Horse Road/highway, any road with traffic)
大廈 – Dai Ha (Big Building/High-rise, skyscraper)

哎呀，落雨呀！Bucketing Down

Yesterday I went on a high-speed boat trip ruining my hair, but it was worth it. As soon as we got off the open boat, it started raining like – well, normal Hong Kong style. Nothing special. But going home I felt it safest to put my watch in my bag

If you’re learning Cantonese, 落雨 (Lok Yu, ‘Falling Rain’)is one of the best ways to strike up a conversation. Every time I go out in a downpour carrying a rather large umbrella, several locals helpfully tell me that it’s raining. 早晨！落雨吖！Jo San! Lok Yu Ah! (Morning! Falling Rain!) can often be the beginning of a deep and meaningful conversation about water.

When I first heard or saw 落雨 I looked up the word 落 in the dictionary and saw it meant fall. So imagine my mirth when I spotted the word on the front of a tram! 落車， (lok che) Fall Out of the Car, ha ha, excellent! Then I realised it means ‘descend, come down, get out of’ too. Oh well.

But when it rains various animals like cats, dogs and zebras, (or 落狗屎, lok gau si, Falling Dog Shit as it’s called in Cantonese) there’s only one thing to do! Play cards!

P.S.
If you want to know more about Hong Kong weather and other things, take a Cantonese course this summer! Now you can take lessons from all over the world, through the excellent medium of Skype

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