Remember that 90's chick flick
Clueless starring Alicia Silverstone in which she plays Cher who tries to make over the new girl in town. One of her memorable quotes describing her arch-nemesis, Amber, is "She's a full-on Monet. It's like a painting, see? From far away, it's OK, but up close, it's a big old mess." Well, that quote kind of sums up Hong Kong for me. Upon arrival, I was overwhelmed by the glamour and excitment. But you learn fast that people are not so polite, the streets are not as clean (well still a hell lot cleaner than NYC), the air is polluted, and there's not much to do here other than shopping and eating. It's definitely a convenient city suitable for those who enjoy city life. But for me, there's only so much sightseeing, shopping and eating I can do before I get bored. And HK's biggest crime is its utter lack of eye candy. I have yet to see a single native who is a hair above average (expats and tourists not included). Don't they know a little makeup goes a long way?
Furthermore, I discovered that trying to learn Mandarin in HK where the locals speak Cantonese is like going to a French exchange program in Canada. It's much more effective studying in Beijing or Shanghai and costs less too. I did go on a couple interviews for part-time jobs here. One of which is at Kaplan teaching an SAT prep course. It sounded pretty promising at first since I've had a lot of experience with corporate training. I even passed my first interview where I had to do a 5-minute demo on something fun (I chose origami since there was nothing else I could think of...pole dancing perhaps?) They wanted me to come back next week for a demo teaching session with the prep materials they gave me. But after perusing through the 100 pages of studying that I'd have to do per lesson for only $300 HKD ($40) an hour, I'm not sure if I'd want to spend my time in HK studying for the SATs, something I've long forgotten along with prom, zits, and graduation. Nonetheless, I have had a busy week meeting up with friends, sightseeing, shopping, and job hunting, and of course babysitting! That's why I haven't had a chance to blog.
Pictures: 1) Thomas organized a dinner for me to meet 14 of his expat friends living in HK at Frites in Central. 2) Karen, her friend Jenny, and me at Mountain Peak. 3) Me inside a giant pumpkin in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Remember that 90's chick flick Clueless starring Alicia Silverstone in which she plays Cher who tries to make over the new girl in town. One of her memorable quotes describing her arch-nemesis, Amber, is "She's a full-on Monet. It's like a painting, see? From far away, it's OK, but up close, it's a big old mess." Well, that quote kind of sums up Hong Kong for me. Upon arrival, I was overwhelmed by the glamour and excitment. But you learn fast that people are not so polite, the streets are not as clean (well still a hell lot cleaner than NYC), the air is polluted, and there's not much to do here other than shopping and eating. It's definitely a convenient city suitable for those who enjoy city life. But for me, there's only so much sightseeing, shopping and eating I can do before I get bored. And HK's biggest crime is its utter lack of eye candy. I have yet to see a single native who is a hair above average (expats and tourists not included). Don't they know a little makeup goes a long way?
Furthermore, I discovered that trying to learn Mandarin in HK where the locals speak Cantonese is like going to a French exchange program in Canada. It's much more effective studying in Beijing or Shanghai and costs less too. I did go on a couple interviews for part-time jobs here. One of which is at Kaplan teaching an SAT prep course. It sounded pretty promising at first since I've had a lot of experience with corporate training. I even passed my first interview where I had to do a 5-minute demo on something fun (I chose origami since there was nothing else I could think of...pole dancing perhaps?) They wanted me to come back next week for a demo teaching session with the prep materials they gave me. But after perusing through the 100 pages of studying that I'd have to do per lesson for only $300 HKD ($40) an hour, I'm not sure if I'd want to spend my time in HK studying for the SATs, something I've long forgotten along with prom, zits, and graduation. Nonetheless, I have had a busy week meeting up with friends, sightseeing, shopping, and job hunting, and of course babysitting! That's why I haven't had a chance to blog. Pictures: 1) Thomas organized a dinner for me to meet 14 of his expat friends living in HK at Frites in Central. 2) Karen, her friend Jenny, and me at Mountain Peak. 3) Me inside a giant pumpkin in Tsim Sha Tsui.
1 comment:
haha, just last night a group of us were talking about eye candy in various asian countries, and the consensus was that hk is sorely lacking in that department! =)
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