If you couldn't tell from the title, today was Independence Day here in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The history behind it isn't as exciting as America's little brush with the British over 200 years ago, but here's the deal: 13 years ago, based on an agreement signed back in the mid-1980s, the British formally handed sovereignty over Hong Kong back to the People's Republic of China at midnight on the first day of July. So, yeah, no revolutionary wars or declarations of independence, just a rather businesslike exchange between two civilized modern-era countries. Still, in Hong Kong, any excuse for a public holiday is a valid excuse. Literally, every single Sunday is blocked out on the Hong Kong Governmental Event Calendar as "Public Holiday," which means that buses and trains run at weird hours, stores open and close when the owners feel like it (no matter what the sign says), and nobody's awake before lunchtime.
Originally, some people had been tossing out ideas for how to celebrate the occasion. Usually, when you're in a foreign country during a holiday, it's best to try and celebrate it in the same way as the locals. That way, you really get the true experience. The only problem with HKSAR Independence Day is that no one really celebrates it, they just watch the parades on TV in the morning and take the day off. So that's what I ended up doing.
I woke up around 9:00am, but Nicole was still trying to sleep so I quickly (and quietly) got dressed, brushed my teeth, etc. and left the room. I took my book with me down to the TV room (where no one ever actually watches TV) and read until it was time to watch the parades. Then, as soon as I turned the TV on and got it to the right channel, I was suddenly flanked on all sides by local students. We all watched the parades in silence for approximately 5 minutes before one of the guys reached for the remote and asked "Keyi?" (May I?) Not wanting to be rude, I replied "Mei wenti." (No problem.) Without wasting a second, he changed the channel to (I kid you not) BET and said in English "Parade. Too boring." Of course, as he and the other 7-8 local students watched BET like they were in church, silently and with hands folded in their laps, I realized with horror that I could no longer contain my laughter. With a stifled snort-laugh, I excused myself and went to read elsewhere.
Interestingly, I was able to finish "Bold Fresh" today. I thought it was a good read and, as expected, O'Reilly was O'Reilly and I was glad for it. However, I did feel like it read like one long Reader's Digest article, which isn't necessarily bad, but I tend to crave novels more as fodder for my reading habit. To make a long story short: I enjoyed the book. Not relished, enjoyed.
Of course, this led to a minor problem. You see, I was now without sufficient reading material. No problem, though, because I could just take a shuttle bus down to the library and find a new book! I even did my work before getting there. Let me just say that I love the Internet because I can access the CUHK University Library Card Catalog from my own laptop. Since I was in the mood for some good horror but had overdosed on Edgar Allen Poe shortly before leaving the states, I checked to see if the library here had any novels by Edogawa Rampo translated into English. It was a stretch to expect that, but it turns out that they had his largest collection of short stories, "Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination," in English...with multiple copies even! I happily wrote down the location of the book and waited for 15 minutes for a rogue bus to escape from the Train Station Route and find its lonesome way uphill to Shaw College. Finally, one did.
As hard as it may be to believe, I actually look forward to riding the bus. Even though the suspension's shot and the brakes are possessed by the Witch King of Angmar (not to mention a certain stereotype about Asian drivers), riding the bus is fun and made even more fun when you're squeezed in so tight that your head's hanging out the window or you're sharing a handle-bar with 4 other people half-standing in the aisle and half-sitting on people you don't know. Since today was a "Public Holiday" and buses had overnight become an endangered species, those suckers were packed way beyond the 68 person capacity printed on the outside of the bus.
I did make it to the library in one piece, ready to return my book and check out some classic Japanese horror. Unfortunately, the library was closed so my journey was for nothing. Unable to gather new reading material, I spent another 30 minutes in round-a-bout bus routes because no bus went to Shaw College without first stopping to change destinations at the Train Station. I know this routine by now, but it can be a little annoying to go from one side of campus to the other just to wait on a bus that will take you back to the side you came from, except it will also take you up the mountain. I'm glad I'm living in United College for the year. It seems like all the buses go through there.
Anyway, I really just kicked back and relaxed the rest of the day. I'm still not feeling in tip-top shape, if you know what I mean. I had decided in advance to eat-in for dinner so I had peppered shrimp dumplings with enoki mushrooms, onions, and chinese cabbage in soy sauce. This dish is actually really good, very healthy, and takes 5 minutes to make with the hot-plate. It's a keeper. Also, I found out from Rachel that the campus Park 'n' Shop sells frozen Siu Mai that she says is very tasty. I'm slowly being drawn into the world of frozen dim sum, and my initial thoughts are that this is a good thing. I'll let y'all know when I can have a more legitimate opinion. For now, though, just pray for me to finish out the week of not-feeling-good and I'll be very thankful.
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