In Haiphong, i looked around the street with wonder seeing locals and some foreigners do their thing. When i was walking around, i see tourists drinking out or having lunch in restos, students and business attire clad people dash out to the bus stop or MTR station in Nathan Road, while i was walking around, i never felt this kind of belongingness before. As if im just a local girl there while in the Philippines, most people discriminate me for having Chinese blood but the sad part is, im just a fellow Filipino just like them. But in Hong Kong, i may not be a China girl or a girl with a British Overseas citizenship but they considered me like i live there.
All in all, i felt the sense of great excitement, curiousity, freedom, independence and security merged together, forming some very excited but weird state in me.
When i reached Park Lane, i sprinted out to Lacoste where i quickly found the exact polo that my sister wanted but it costs the very expensive price of (buh-nah-nah-nuh...) HK$ 750 but my dad just gave me a pocket money of HK$500 to buy it so i went out and back to Haiphong Road where i walked around, took a turn in Hankow Road, Ashley road, Langham place and exited out the Sun Arcade and back to Canton road. where i quickly sprinted back to Harbour City in case Aunty Shirley will call, then i ran off to Gateway and back to the hotel room, where my dad have no clue about my crazed shenanigans against his rule about going out of Harbour City. I just told him that i went around Harbour City and discovered from a saleslady in Lane Crawford that there's a Lacoste shop in Kowloon park and the polo shirt might cost HK$750 so he just nodded merely as i watch mythbusters on TV while waiting for Aunty Shirley's call.
"Wei... can i speak to Yue?" Aunty Shirley called from my phone. Aunty must've have known the phone isn't dad's so i quickly gave the phone to dad, who talked to her in English and some Fujian Chinese. After they called, dad told me that she's already in the Tsimshatsui Station of the MTR and she thought that we are staying in Marco Polo Hong Kong, but we are really staying in Gateway.
15 minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I sprinted from my bed to the door. The moment i opened the door, i saw a Chinese woman with wavy hair and small stature. I finally met a foreign relative for the first time in my 15 years living on earth. Dad introduced me to her and she was my Aunty Shirley-who was calling us since yesterday. Then we went out of the hotel and into Nathan Road where we waited for a bus that will take us to Laguna City(Laguna? are we going home AT THIS VERY MOMENT?? No!!!!!) in Hung Hom. At first i thought that we're going to her home(or her mom's home) since dad told me they live in Hung Hom but we were wrong. As Aunty and dad were talking happily in Chinese and some English, i looked around the road-listening to my ipod(mostly Tokio Hotel and German songs).
When we finally reached Laguna City, we went to a fruit store where we brought some apples, grapes, oranges and pears for Aunty Shirley's dad who's now dead. I noticed most fruits are bigger than their counterparts at home like strawberries and oranges but the apples took the cake. Some are very huge(roughly the size of a melon here in the Philippines) and my aunt said they're imported from Japan where there are a lot of those- proved by my sister some weeks later after she came home from Japan. And i also noticed that the sales lady was very kind that when she noticed some bad apples from what we picked, she quickly replaced them with better ones. It was a kind of attitude which will never be found here in the Philippines.
After buying fruits, we took a taxi where we went up the Wilson Trail in Tseung Kwan O where the Chinese Permanent Cemetery is. My grand uncle must've been buried there.
We arrived at the cemetery and there i got to meet my other uncles Rocky and the one who looks like dad's dad(which i forgot his name) and my grand aunt who is their mum. We walked a great distance before we reached the columbarium where my grand uncle's remains are. From the moment i saw the whole cemetery, i noticed it looked so neat and organized-especially the
columbarium. But the flaw is that i never seen a cemetery so crowded before. It was so elbow-to-elbow compared to San Pablo Public Cemetery and Manila North Cemetery combined. And when we reached the Columbarium, i noticed some vending machines at one corner and you can use your Octopus card to pay your coke, sprite or some Chinese fruit juice on the vendo. It's so amazing how convenient the Octopus card is, you can use it on the MTR, Mcdonald's, 7-eleven, Wellcome(i think...) and some more stores. When we arrived at my grand uncle's niche, i noticed that it got some little toys placed on the niche- and not only his niche but also all of the other niches of all dead people there have toys. I admit that it was a very fascinating experience being in a Chinese cemetery. Then we offered on my grand uncle's grave the fruits we brought and some food that my grand aunt and my uncles brought, burned some incense, some money that hell issues (It says "Hell bank notes" with a picture of some Chinese empreror guy on it-lol) and the golden papers that my Chinese side of the family burns every All Saints' Day for my dead granps.
Then after the offerings and burning of things, we ate some of the food and talked a bit and then left to go to my grand aunt and uncle Ah-Pong's family's (another uncle, auntie Shirley's eldest brother) pad which was near the old Kai Tak airport, where i met my cousins Lily (14 years old, uncle Ah Pong's daughter) and Jamie Wong(2 years old, aunty Shirley's son). It was kind of a shock for me that my fan fic character Jamie coincidentally shares the same name(and surname!!) with my cousin of second degree. I never told my aunt about it, she might get angry- writing things about my cousin being a Germanized 16 year old Chinese girl who was a witch; a far cry from the real Jamie Wong, a two year old boy who goes to school at a very early age and had a Kowloon Motor Bus toy.
When we finally reached Laguna City, we went to a fruit store where we brought some apples, grapes, oranges and pears for Aunty Shirley's dad who's now dead. I noticed most fruits are bigger than their counterparts at home like strawberries and oranges but the apples took the cake. Some are very huge(roughly the size of a melon here in the Philippines) and my aunt said they're imported from Japan where there are a lot of those- proved by my sister some weeks later after she came home from Japan. And i also noticed that the sales lady was very kind that when she noticed some bad apples from what we picked, she quickly replaced them with better ones. It was a kind of attitude which will never be found here in the Philippines.
After buying fruits, we took a taxi where we went up the Wilson Trail in Tseung Kwan O where the Chinese Permanent Cemetery is. My grand uncle must've been buried there.
We arrived at the cemetery and there i got to meet my other uncles Rocky and the one who looks like dad's dad(which i forgot his name) and my grand aunt who is their mum. We walked a great distance before we reached the columbarium where my grand uncle's remains are. From the moment i saw the whole cemetery, i noticed it looked so neat and organized-especially the
columbarium. But the flaw is that i never seen a cemetery so crowded before. It was so elbow-to-elbow compared to San Pablo Public Cemetery and Manila North Cemetery combined. And when we reached the Columbarium, i noticed some vending machines at one corner and you can use your Octopus card to pay your coke, sprite or some Chinese fruit juice on the vendo. It's so amazing how convenient the Octopus card is, you can use it on the MTR, Mcdonald's, 7-eleven, Wellcome(i think...) and some more stores. When we arrived at my grand uncle's niche, i noticed that it got some little toys placed on the niche- and not only his niche but also all of the other niches of all dead people there have toys. I admit that it was a very fascinating experience being in a Chinese cemetery. Then we offered on my grand uncle's grave the fruits we brought and some food that my grand aunt and my uncles brought, burned some incense, some money that hell issues (It says "Hell bank notes" with a picture of some Chinese empreror guy on it-lol) and the golden papers that my Chinese side of the family burns every All Saints' Day for my dead granps.
Then after the offerings and burning of things, we ate some of the food and talked a bit and then left to go to my grand aunt and uncle Ah-Pong's family's (another uncle, auntie Shirley's eldest brother) pad which was near the old Kai Tak airport, where i met my cousins Lily (14 years old, uncle Ah Pong's daughter) and Jamie Wong(2 years old, aunty Shirley's son). It was kind of a shock for me that my fan fic character Jamie coincidentally shares the same name(and surname!!) with my cousin of second degree. I never told my aunt about it, she might get angry- writing things about my cousin being a Germanized 16 year old Chinese girl who was a witch; a far cry from the real Jamie Wong, a two year old boy who goes to school at a very early age and had a Kowloon Motor Bus toy.
I never got to hang out with Lily since she speaks little English and she have to study for her exams. I bet studying in Hong Kong is a very big challenge, i read at wikipedia that students' survival in their educational system is essentially place in heavy Rote Learning- instead of understanding the lesson, just memorizes it.- It's like you're competing on a long declamation contest; only that you don't have to speak in fact you shouldn't speak out the answers or else.
This kind of learning is something not encouraged by Brain Train or the University of the Philippines since they believe that memorization is the lowest form of learning.-lol
While hanging out in my grand aunt's crib, me and my uncles Rocky and "Grandpa lookalike" watch TVB; mostly children show like After School ICU- where there is a weird onion head alien and some students randomly being asked to answer Sudoku on the street-, the Cantonese version of Doraemon- where me and my uncles are howling in laughter watching Nobita mum's guest turning into a frog as a result of eating Transformation biscuits- and some business news saying that the DAX, Dow Jones and Hang Seng went up the stocks while eating some sliced apples and fruits. What was really fascinating about it was that the fact that i was hanging out in a really small Kowloon apartment watching Doraemon with two business attire clad Chinese men and laughing out loud at some parts.- A memory that i wanted to recall again and again.
After hanging around in my grand aunt's crib, we went out to eat in a Chinese resto. It was a short walk from my grand auntie's house so it was okay. While we are waiting for our food, auntie Shirley's husband and Jamie's dad uncle David came from work and a few moments later Lily's dad uncle Ah Pong came from work as well. Then after the kinda reasonable long wait, we finally got to eat. The food that was served to us are (i think) Cantonese cuisine with the exception of Peking duck since most of the food are seafood, kinda steamed or stir fried- the usual Cantonese cuisine description. Uncle Rocky poured our tea in our wine cups-which was kinda weird. And then he and uncle "Grandpa Lookalike" shared a bottle of Heinaken(So now those guys are Bill and Tom Kaulitz respectively.-lol) and they drank together. When my dad left with uncle Ah Pong and "Grandpa Lookalike", uncle Rocky suddenly spoke in English!! it was a miracle... all the time i was with him, he never spoke a word in English even if he reacted with aunty Shirley upon knowing that i know the "MTR song" by Steve James and a lot about Hong Kong back at my grand aunt's house. When we are finished eating, he asked me "want to eat some more?" and i said "im full..." Too bad, dad didn't get to witness that. and much worse uncle Rocky spoke English when we're about to depart, so i didn't get to know more about him-his work, his wife, his daughter and such unlike aunty Shirley!!
When me and my Chinese relatives are about to depart, we shaked hands, bid good bye to them and promised them that when we come back, we will visit them. Definately i would visit them when i get back. ;-)
Sigh, it was one of the most memorable days i ever had. That one whole golden day i spent and lived like a regular Hong Konger and meeting my Chinese relatives for the first time. I've been waiting for that day to come since i was a kid- to meet them. And when i met them, i kinda feel weird at first, as if they are just family friends. I tried to tell myself that not all of my relatives are Filipinos and speak Tagalog, and those Chinese people i hang out with are relatives like Lolo Abong, Esol, Lola Sonia, Frollo and such who happens to be Chinese and don't speak Filipino.
And with me becoming a "Hong Kong expat" with Bill's influence (like ruining my first trip to Hong Kong, ect...), my relatives was impressed with what i know about Hong Kong, especially the MTR song and Steve James with what i said a while ago about aunty Shirley. Dad said that they say i was like him when he was younger; always looking at maps and loves to travel to places.
All the troubles and shenanigans i had are all worth it. I am looking forward on my next visit to my relatives again. this time i'll try talking to uncle Rocky(and maybe get to see his family like aunty Shirley), hang out more with Lily( i hope she'll not rote learn English before i visit her-lol) and meet the other side of those relations who lives in North Point- uncle Simon and his siblings.
After hanging around in my grand aunt's crib, we went out to eat in a Chinese resto. It was a short walk from my grand auntie's house so it was okay. While we are waiting for our food, auntie Shirley's husband and Jamie's dad uncle David came from work and a few moments later Lily's dad uncle Ah Pong came from work as well. Then after the kinda reasonable long wait, we finally got to eat. The food that was served to us are (i think) Cantonese cuisine with the exception of Peking duck since most of the food are seafood, kinda steamed or stir fried- the usual Cantonese cuisine description. Uncle Rocky poured our tea in our wine cups-which was kinda weird. And then he and uncle "Grandpa Lookalike" shared a bottle of Heinaken(So now those guys are Bill and Tom Kaulitz respectively.-lol) and they drank together. When my dad left with uncle Ah Pong and "Grandpa Lookalike", uncle Rocky suddenly spoke in English!! it was a miracle... all the time i was with him, he never spoke a word in English even if he reacted with aunty Shirley upon knowing that i know the "MTR song" by Steve James and a lot about Hong Kong back at my grand aunt's house. When we are finished eating, he asked me "want to eat some more?" and i said "im full..." Too bad, dad didn't get to witness that. and much worse uncle Rocky spoke English when we're about to depart, so i didn't get to know more about him-his work, his wife, his daughter and such unlike aunty Shirley!!
When me and my Chinese relatives are about to depart, we shaked hands, bid good bye to them and promised them that when we come back, we will visit them. Definately i would visit them when i get back. ;-)
Sigh, it was one of the most memorable days i ever had. That one whole golden day i spent and lived like a regular Hong Konger and meeting my Chinese relatives for the first time. I've been waiting for that day to come since i was a kid- to meet them. And when i met them, i kinda feel weird at first, as if they are just family friends. I tried to tell myself that not all of my relatives are Filipinos and speak Tagalog, and those Chinese people i hang out with are relatives like Lolo Abong, Esol, Lola Sonia, Frollo and such who happens to be Chinese and don't speak Filipino.
And with me becoming a "Hong Kong expat" with Bill's influence (like ruining my first trip to Hong Kong, ect...), my relatives was impressed with what i know about Hong Kong, especially the MTR song and Steve James with what i said a while ago about aunty Shirley. Dad said that they say i was like him when he was younger; always looking at maps and loves to travel to places.
All the troubles and shenanigans i had are all worth it. I am looking forward on my next visit to my relatives again. this time i'll try talking to uncle Rocky(and maybe get to see his family like aunty Shirley), hang out more with Lily( i hope she'll not rote learn English before i visit her-lol) and meet the other side of those relations who lives in North Point- uncle Simon and his siblings.
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