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wherestip United States Local time: 20:50 Chinese to English + ...
话说当年
Sep 9, 2006
Angus Woo wrote:
Oh yea, that's true. Culinary-wise, indeed, actually we have a saying here 民以食為天. You see, to make a living, here we say 搵食 which literally means to find something to eat.
It's been more than 20 years since your last visit. HK has changed quite a lot. The air is comparably much worse but the food is much better. Today, the breeze of friendliness combined with carbon dioxide from the heart of this metropolis will undoubtedy present you with a new definition of HK.
The tram is still there. But the peak has been transformed into a modern glass-walled commercial complex which attracts tens of thousands visitor every day. There is even a Parken shop in it. The old resturant is still there (I forgot its name), the legacy of the past, just outside the mall, where one can still enjoy a delicious dish while feast your eyes with the gold-kissed sky and the panorama of the victoria harbor at sunset. At the peak, nowadays you would surrounded by numerous Mandarin speakers which if you turn the clock two decades back would not even have happened in people's wildest dreams. Stampede of vsitors stream in and out.
The old aiport and 九龍城寨 are both history now. 海城大酒樓 at Tsim sha tsui east went for chapter 11. Even 新同樂酒樓, the restaurant famous for its shark fin soup and abalone dish went down during the economic downturn following the 98 economic crisis.
Come again. Mandarin has put on a patina of prestige lately. It won't be a problem if you don't know a single word of Cantonese. Speak in Mandarin and put on the dog, the salesperson will treat you like a king.
Thanks, Angus. I would definitely like to visit Hong Kong again someday.
I wonder why air pollution became such a problem. One would think the frequent rain and seabreezes would rid the air of most of the pollutants. Perhaps it was caused by the modernization of Shenzhen and its surrounding areas? The constant on-going construction couldn't have been of much help.
I vaguely remember some of the details of crossing the border at 罗湖 in '79. It happened to be at night, so I fell sound asleep. But according to Sis, who stayed awake throughout, we had to wait for the boxcars to be switched over to a different gauge undercarriage, or some kind of hassle to that effect. It could even have been that the boxcars had to be ferried across in sections...I'm not exactly sure anymore, because I could have things mixed up with our trip on the way in to China years earlier. Anyway, when I woke up, gone were the acres and acres of farmland sitting in the dark, still night. Everywhere it was bright lights, big city, an entirely different world.
In the morning, a girl sitting in front of us was having her breakfast, casually munching and drinking away. Not being able to speak the dialect, the two of us sat idly by without buying anything (plus all we had were U. S. dollars). Next thing you know, a cop showed up and ticketed the girl for littering, after having the girl show her ID. I think the gist of the lesson he gave her was that she should have known better since she was local and not fresh off the boat, so to speak. It was a first for us
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Angus Woo Hong Kong Local time: 09:50 Chinese to English + ...
Please come and see the new HK
Sep 10, 2006
wherestip wrote:
Thanks, Angus. I would definitely like to visit Hong Kong again someday.
I wonder why air pollution became such a problem. One would think the frequent rain and seabreezes would rid the air of most of the pollutants. Perhaps it was caused by the modernization of Shenzhen and its surrounding areas? The constant on-going construction couldn't have been of much help.
I vaguely remember some of the details of crossing the border at 罗湖 in '79. It happened to be at night, so I fell sound asleep. But according to Sis, who stayed awake throughout, we had to wait for the boxcars to be switched over to a different gauge undercarriage, or some kind of hassle to that effect. It could even have been that the boxcars had to be ferried across in sections...I'm not exactly sure anymore, because I could have things mixed up with our trip on the way in to China years earlier. Anyway, when I woke up, gone were the acres and acres of farmland sitting in the dark, still night. Everywhere it was bright lights, big city, an entirely different world.
In the morning, a girl sitting in front of us was having her breakfast, casually munching and drinking away. Not being able to speak the dialect, the two of us sat idly by without sbuying anything (plus all we had were U. S. dollars). Next thing you know, a cop showed up and ticketed the girl for littering, after having the girl show her ID. I think the gist of the lesson he gave her was that she should have known better since she was local and not fresh off the boat, so to speak. It was a first for us
As for the air pollution, I am told that it's the result of over-use of auto vehicles, the use of fossil fuel by the eletric power plant and year-round free gift from nearby mainland factories. A term subsequently was coined, 人肉洗塵機 meaning we are all but living vacuum cleaners walking around. You get the picture. The situation is getting worse year by year, especially in the commercial hubs, places like Central, Causaway bay, Wanchai, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok.
As far as I can remember, 羅湖 has been expanded and renovated twice since late 70s. Currently there is a fully air coned building on each side of the bridge. The bridge itself has also been recontructed. Now there are two one-way bridges to and from Shenzhen, one on top of another, a two-storey structure. I have no idea what it was like in 79. The first time I ever saw the LoWu bridge was 85 or 86. Even then, it was not an attractive sight, to be honest. Nowadays, it's an entirely different story. During public holidays, especially the Chinese new year, more than 100k people would cross the border every single day, a Guinness record for sure. You should see it youself one day, a real spectacle. Think of the collective spending power of those holiday-goers. Back in the 90s, the situation was more or less like a one way traffic, not many mainlander would come to HK to spend a few days and their fortune. Now, quite a portion of big spenders are actually mainlanders. They buy everything ranging from digital camera to listed public companies. Talking about change.
There are still some, although just a handful of them, obstinately believe or wishfully believe that no matter what HK people is superior over their mainland countrymen. To me, such notion is the product of a pathetic mind. Yes, most of the mainlanders are noisy; yes, most of the mainlanders are tempted not to obey the rules, yes, most of them tend to ignore the propriety of standing in a queue, but take a second look, being snobbish won't make HK people better either.
Take seafood for example, ten years back from now, you won't find many good seafood restaurants over the border. The price was good, but definitely not the food. Now, I don't see a really big difference, unless you are a food gourmet looking for trully high end products and services. I doubt any of our dear colleagues is. As a capital-oriented nation, the Chinese are still quite under-experienced if not inexperienced, a toddling child. Just walk in any seafood restaurant you can find on the other side of the border and order steamed-fish, you will see what I am talking about. Taste buds are better than my words.
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ysun United States Local time: 20:50 Member (2006) English to Chinese + ...
Homeland
Sep 11, 2006
wherestip wrote:
I vaguely remember some of the details of crossing the border at 罗湖 in '79.
Wherestip,
I don't know what your feelings were like when you crossed the border to Hong Kong and arrived in the United States months later. Did you feel happy to come back "home" or feel sad to leave "home" behind? Probably, the feelings were mixed. Anyway, it would need a lot of courage when facing so many unknowns at tha time.
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wherestip United States Local time: 20:50 Chinese to English + ...
Milestones and challenges
Sep 11, 2006
Yueyin Sun wrote:
Wherestip,
I don't know what your feelings were like when you crossed the border to Hong Kong and arrived in the United States months later. Did you feel happy to come back "home" or feel sad to leave "home" behind? Probably, the feelings were mixed. Anyway, it would need a lot of courage when facing so many unknowns at tha time.
Yueyin,
Indeed my emotions were mixed. I always find sudden changes in life and big transitions in career physically hectic and mentally stressful. And as it were, I had already been through the upheaval of the cultural revolution and 上山下乡 leading up to moving back to the United States.
Arriving in the U. S., the immediate challenge was to find a job, earn some money, and get situated. The language was not a problem for us, and there really was not much of a cultural shock to speak of, so in that sense we felt easy-to-adjust. However, with no marketable skills and the lack of credentials in higher education, we saw no short cut but to start at the very bottom. As I recall, minimum wage at the time was $3.20/hour. And that's where we began. To practically start one's life over doing menial jobs, undoubtedly brought days of homesickness and moments of regret.
To enter UT, I needed a high school diploma. Knowing the red tape in China, I figured it was much easier just to take a test and get my GED to prove high school equivalency. But according to the advisor, GED tests were only for those who never graduated from high school. Eventually I had to ask a friend to jump through hoops and get a letter of proof in Beijing. Fortunately, taking the SAT posed no problem for me. So within a year I was enrolled in UT, Austin.
Although work-study was hectic, school went relatively smoothly otherwise. I thought I had my last ordeal upon graduation when I landed a job with IBM in Fishkill, NY. Imagine my surprise when the prestigous company hit the skids in the early 90's as the industry model of client-server took hold and the cash cow of mainframes fell to the wayside, a "curve ball" that precipitated my taking a transfer and moving to Austin.
In today's economic globalization and the current environment of non-stop industry off-shoring and corporate down-sizing, I'm glad to say I remain unfazed
As Forrest Gump quoted his mother, "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get"
[Edited at 2006-09-11 16:21]
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wherestip United States Local time: 20:50 Chinese to English + ...
Chapters
Sep 11, 2006
Yueyin Sun wrote:
Did you feel happy to come back "home" or feel sad to leave "home" behind?
Yueyin,
I know I didn't provide a very good answer to your original question. Not that I wanted to be evasive, but spontaneous emotions are hard to describe.
Suffice it to say, there's always a certain sentimental feeling associated with the closing of a chapter in one's life, even when the period has been miserable and things are changing for the better. I remember tears streaming down my face when the few of us lucky ones left 延长安沟 and headed for 汉中. The same happened when I drove across the Newburgh Beacon Bridge leaving the Hudson Valley heading for Texas.
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ysun United States Local time: 20:50 Member (2006) English to Chinese + ...
It's really an encouraging story!
Sep 11, 2006
wherestip wrote:
Milestones and challenges
......
As Forrest Gump quoted his mother, "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get"
wherestip,
Thank you! It's really an encouraging story! We should always stand up to challenges and strive for the better. BTW, I also like what Forrest Gump quoted.
Likewise, as Mid-Autumn Festival is near, when you buy a box of mooncakes, you never know what you're going to get!
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xxxlilyjoy China Local time: 09:50 English to Chinese
Really classic lines from Forrest Gump
Sep 12, 2006
I like this line either: Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get... Life is miraculous. We never know what it would be. The only thing we can do is to stay as we are and come up to any challenges in our usual way.
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ysun United States Local time: 20:50 Member (2006) English to Chinese + ...
蹉跎岁月
Sep 13, 2006
wherestip wrote:
Yueyin Sun wrote:
Did you feel happy to come back "home" or feel sad to leave "home" behind?
Yueyin,
I know I didn't provide a very good answer to your original question. Not that I wanted to be evasive, but spontaneous emotions are hard to describe.
Suffice it to say, there's always a certain sentimental feeling associated with the closing of a chapter in one's life, even when the period has been miserable and things are changing for the better. I remember tears streaming down my face when the few of us lucky ones left 延长安沟 and headed for 汉中. The same happened when I drove across the Newburgh Beacon Bridge leaving the Hudson Valley heading for Texas.
Wherestip,
I can understand your feeling very well. I had a similar sentimental feeling when I left Gobi Desert in 1970. I was there in a military base with about 300 college graduates for "re-education". When I parted with my schoolmates at a railway station, some of us burst into tears. Everybody said "后会有期!" However, with most of them, I have never had a chance to meet again. I had the same feeling when I was transferred from Lanzhou to Beijing in 1984. I always want to visit those places again.
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wherestip United States Local time: 20:50 Chinese to English + ...
Memories
Sep 13, 2006
Yueyin Sun wrote:
Wherestip,
I can understand your feeling very well. I had a similar sentimental feeling when I left Gobi Desert in 1970. I was there in a military base with about 300 college graduates for "re-education". When I parted with my schoolmates at a railway station, some of us burst into tears. Everybody said "后会有期!" However, with most of them, I have never had a chance to meet again. I had the same feeling when I was transferred from Lanzhou to Beijing in 1984. I always want to visit those places again.
Yueyin,
Exactly... Memories of friendship that's formed in good times, and moreover bad times, are treasured forever. For me, even the simple foods of the poor peasants in the remote countryside of 延长 are unforgettable.
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ysun United States Local time: 20:50 Member (2006) English to Chinese + ...
Agree!
Sep 13, 2006
wherestip wrote:
Yueyin,
Exactly... Memories of friendship that's formed in good times, and moreover bad times, are treasured forever. For me, even the simple foods of the poor peasants in the remote countryside of 延长 are unforgettable.
患难之交见真情！
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Wenjer Leuschel Taiwan Local time: 09:50 English to Chinese + ...
絲路也是思路
Sep 14, 2006
樂音：
看你說戈壁沙漠，想起八零年代日人井上靖為 NHK 策劃拍攝的一系列影片「絲路之旅」；我有那麼一套片子，不時拿出來一集接一集一看再看，回想自己在那一帶遊蕩了將近一個月的日子。
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Chinoise Canada Local time: 22:50 English to Chinese + ...
TOPIC STARTER
Agree---
Sep 14, 2006
BTW,I like FERRERO ROCHER chocolates...
lilyjoy wrote:
I like this line either: Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get... Life is miraculous. We never know what it would be. The only thing we can do is to stay as we are and come up to any challenges in our usual way.
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The translation workplace 
Think of the collective spending power of those holiday-goers. Back in the 90s, the situation was more or less like a one way traffic, not many mainlander would come to HK to spend a few days and their fortune. Now, quite a portion of big spenders are actually mainlanders. They buy everything ranging from digital camera to listed public companies. Talking about change. 
