Classes? I Thought This Was Vacation...

I had my first day of classes today, which was just two Mandarin Chinese language classes in a row. Normally I'd have a third class in the morning, but it was cancelled today. We are given fifteen minutes between classes, which is NOT enough time to make it across campus, especially when navigating the campus bus system, among other reasons.

Some observations:

1) Cryptic Casino-Style Buildings from which you can't escape

This one relates to not being able to make it to class on time. I'm not sure if it is specific to the university, or a general architectural principle in Hong Kong, but the buildings are EXTREMELY confusing. Sometimes, what seems to be one building on the outside will actually be two completely separate buildings on the inside. Transferring from one to the other requires walking outside. Or, being forced to take astoundingly slow elevators. Pretty sure my average wait for an elevator to arrive today was over 150 seconds.

Or, it is just impossible to get out of a building, because of random dead-ends and staircases that don't go all the way down to the street-level. For example, I was released from my first class today at 2:15PM. I did not escape from the building until 2:25PM... Hopefully, I will master the labyrinth.

2) CUHK students don't listen to iPods or wear sunglasses

I perhaps encountered one or two other students over the course of the day that had either sunglasses or an iPod. From speaking to some Singapore students, it sounds like they generally regard it as stupidly dangerous to drown out the ability to hear what is going on around you, for fear of getting eaten by a dragon or hit by a bus.

And, it sounds like sunglasses are regarded as frivolous. Which is odd when considered alongside my next observation:

3) Umbrellas are primarily used as a provider of shade.

Many people walk around the campus on a bright, hot day with umbrellas. It hasn't rained yet really, even though it is monsoon/typhoon season, but I am excited to see if umbrellas are ONLY used for sun protection. This would amuse me.

4) Learning a foreign language in English with a bunch of people whose first language is German/Cantonese/Finnish/Spanish/Korean/French is supremely awkward.

I am the only native English speaker in one of my sections of Mandarin Chinese.

Finally, a picture:

This women makes REALLY delicious thousand-year-old preserved egg tarts. I don't know how old the rotten egg actually is, but when you bite into it, it gives off a bit of an ammonia aftertaste...and it is supremely delicious. The place is called Tai Cheong Bakery. In the picture, she is baking egg tarts, which are much less weird, and equally amazing.