Chopstick Dreams and Bamboo thoughts

Through Saturday’s drizzle, on my way to Starbucks, I hurry through the sea of umbrellas. I was hoping to get one of those yummy waffles I’ve have been waiting to try at City Super. The doors were still closed shut. I was out of luck. It’s 10:00am and they are still not open. “What’s with that”? I ask myself. Then I think, it’s Hong Kong, nothing is normal or logical here. Then I have a flashback to many nights that I have passed by the hair salon down my street at 11:30 pm. The salon is jammed packed of stylists cutting, coloring and blow-drying hair at this hour of the night. I stop and stare through the window looking strangely at all those heads of hair being tended. I assume that this is the only time that some Hong Kongers are able to schedule in a new do. I think of many reasons for this weird phenomenon that I am witnessing, but I still haven’t come up with anything logical yet. Anyhow, still thinking about something sweet at 10 am this morning I pushed onward down Leighton Rd. I stumble into a backe shop and and snatch my newfound, yummy treat; a baked soft roll filled with coconut. I stuff my breaky treat into my mouth walking quickly down to the coffee shop. Finally I arrive at my destination, Starbucks. I order up a Grande latte with an extra shot and settle myself down with my laptop and cup of comfort. While I am sitting down and typing, Sarah McLachlan’s song Ice Cream is playing in the background and I find my thoughts drifting and wandering into Halifax and all the things I love about that great little city.

I have been able to get some down time to reflect and to tell about the Chinese New Year experience in Hong Kong. I was able to get most of my information from colleagues, magazines, the local paper and some other odds and ends sources I happened to see in places around the city. Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year becomes a very happening and exciting time of year for everyone; especially for us ‘young people’ I am told. One popular tradition is for others give small red packets or Lai See to unmarried people with hopes of uniting us singletons with a mate. The red packet contains cash and is usually presented by a senior family member to the younger, unmarried generation. Another Lunar New Year practice involves the cleaning of homes one week before New Year so that good fortune will fall upon them. Stores, businesses and homes are beautifully decorated with either Kumquat trees, peach blossom, narcissus or chrysanthemum plants too. Being the year of the Pig, a massive display of miniature pigs was in the entrance of Times Square. In the front of Times Square or at ‘The Piazza’ as I refer to it; pigs everywhere, loads of them. So many pigs I could smell bacon! Times Square is this gigantic 10 + story shopping centre with everything imaginable in it. So busy all the time…so many people all the time…craziness is what I call it. According to the Chinese calendar, the pig is the last of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. Supposedly, this is not supposed to be the best year or ‘lucky’ year to be born. In the Chinese Zodiac, you take on the characteristics of the animal associated with the year of your birth, but there are many other influences that determine who you are as well.

Continuing on with Lunar New, it is recommended that you wear red and lots of it and you are supposed to get a new haircut as well. Out with the old and in with the new, goes the saying. Kung Hei Fat Choi! On the first day of Lunar New Year everyone visits relatives and exchanges gifts. On Lunar New Year’s day, I met Sopna a girl with whom I am an acquaintance, at Starbucks for coffee that morning. I couldn’t believe it; the streets were empty! You never see this in Hong Kong, only on Chinese New Year, I guess. Then, later that night, Sopna and I attended the parade in TST or Tsim Sha Tsui. The parade was nice, but I was very disappointed as I had huge expectations for the parade. I was hoping to see massive floats and dragons everywhere, but the dragons came only at the very end of the parade. What a disappointment I felt! On the second day of Lunar New Year, there is a big fireworks display that I was intending on going to. But, for some reason or another, I totally forgot about it and missed all the loud bursts of colored fire. A lot of family owned businesses close down for a whole week, while other businesses closed for only a few days. I had no idea about the massive shutdown in the city. I thought nothing ever closed in Hong Kong, I was wrong. Important business places like banks, food shops and other essential places reopened after a couple of days and back to business as usual.

Many special foods are eaten over the New Year celebrations and they are consumed for their significance and symbolism. Food is usually served whole, like a chicken with it’s head and feet still on (ewww!) as dividing the food may divide luck. Other food that typically eaten during Lunar New Year include: fish, seaweed, dumplings, mandarin oranges, noodles, seeds and cake. My favorites are the dumplings and the cakes, yum-yum the cakes! Since being here, dumplings have been a main staple in my freezer. I cook them up with noodles and veggies curry style or I just savour them alone with some soy-ginger-garlic sauce. Now, for some reason, I have developed an unusual liking to coconut and coconut flavoured foodstuffs. I find myself searching for a lot of food items; perfume or beauty products smelling like coconut. Why????? I dunno. I just developed a liking to coconut. I mentioned earlier that I was eating a soft bakery roll filled with a sugary-coconut filling that I find so satisfying and delicious. I’m not sure why the obsession, but I seemed to have been stalking out the smell and taste of coconut after smelling it first in the street, then having some coconut Ben &Jerry’s ice cream one time out exploring. Then, last week enjoying some fabulous Thai food in SoHo with some great friends at Café Siam, we all ordered up coconut margaritas. The drink was served up in a real coconut and the taste was everything I expected and more! While enjoying my intense coconut elixir, I thought to myself this is what I love about Hong Kong. But other days, the intense feelings of despise and hate about the city overwhelm me. My friend Wendy in Halifax revealed all about the love/hate relationship that she had with living in Asia and she knew what I was experiencing here. Wendy also lived in Asia for awhile but in Japan. Finally, someone I know who gets what I am still feeling in this insane yet exotic city. As the internal, emotional struggle continues in my relationship with Hong Kong, I will close for now, order up another latte and enjoy the interesting sights through the looking glass at Starbucks.

Small video clip at the parade.

To further your interest on Chinese New Year check out this site
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html