Blogger's block

So after a crazy Thanksgiving, a hectic few weeks at work, and a trip to Nagano to go snowboarding, I've finally found some time to peaceful free time to blog.

To my fellow bloggers, I don't know if you get the same problem I do...It's strange , in the past few weeks, every time I sit in front of the computer to write something, I can't. And because I had so much time since my last post, I keep saying to myself, I'm gonna write something amazing. Spectacular. Something to blow your mind. And with that expectation, I just don't write anything because I feel like it has to be Perfection.

So instead, I've decided to just bombard you all with a bunch of memories I've captured via my trustworthy Canon. Enjoy!

20061126 Yokohama Dessert Tabehoudai

I went to Yokohama again to have "All you can eat Dessert" with Kaori. So stuffed but "Oishii" (delicious)! Also realized at that point that I really need to kick my Japanese into high gear.

20061127 HIV-AIDS discussion at GSK

I attended an HIV-Aids seminar at work and I saw a friend from RTP. :-) It was nice to see a familiar face in an unfamiliar country!

20061127 Tori no ichi (Chicken Festival)

This was the Chicken (or Hen) Festival that my colleague loves to go every where. Check out some of the movies cause it's really cool to see the Japanese people go up to the gong and ring the bell for their wish. It's amazing how faith is so universal across cultures. Btw, the food was amazing here. A little bit pricey but well worth it. The beautiful ornaments that people bought were to entice good luck to come to their home or small business.

20061203 Jeremy Chapman & friends first contact

So a friend from work introduced me to his fellow Dook friend who happens to be teaching English in Japan. I got to meet Jeremy and his whole gaijin (foreigners) crew. It was nice to reunite with some young blood again! I went down to Shimo-kitazawa which is about a 10 minute express train ride from Shibuya. An amazing neighborhood with a lot of fun things to do.

20061204 Good bye to Adrien Chevallier

Last good bye to a fellow colleague who was interning at GSKJ from France. Adrien was in the military and earning his Engineering degree by completing an internship here. During this night, we went to an Okonomiyaki restaurant (japanese omelet) with so much different stuff filled inside. The last couple of pictures are of the IT Infrastructure group.

Memory from the past

My friend from studying in Beijing Fall 2002 sent me a link when we were in Shanghai! He's going to post many more videos...

In the mean time, I'll post them for those who are interested in China, of what I did 4 years ago!

Japanese fire drill

Today, we had an unexpected fire drill. I noticed an interesting difference between fire drills in Japan and one back in Philadelphia. When I was in Philly, when the fire alarm went off, everyone just sat at their desk, trying to ignore the annoying high pitched siren, and just suffering with a sign and people rolling their eyes giving the look, "When is this going to end?"

In Japan, we had a much pleasanter announcer giving us instructions over the PA system. In addition, I started to see people put on their helmets. My manager put his on but stayed a bit to finish up some work. I had to snap a photo of him at work with his helmet. Oh, and he has a yellow one because he's supposed to be a fire marshal.

Afterwards, we all went downstairs to listen to the fire chief tell us how wonderful we did. If you were anything like me, I was a little bit confused as to why we had to wear helmets during a fire drill. I later found out too that the helmets were for earthquakes in case of falling debris.

I enjoyed the nice break in the middle of my work day.

20061120 Japanese Firedrill

Fuji-san

People at work say that on a clear day, we can see Fuji-san (Mt. Fuji) from our building. One early morning right before Japanese class at work, I walked over to the window to do my usual daydreaming. It look small, but I actually managed to see Fuji-san from our building. I quickly jolted back to my desk to grab my camera to grab a picture. You can barely see it but I think it looks good. It's the tiny tiny white crest above all the trees....


I told my teacher about Fuji-san and she was happy I got a chance to see it. But she injected some reality when I told her I was planning on going with some friends in January. She explained to me that it's really pretty from far away, but when you get up close, it's not really worth the trip. She was saying how it's just rocks and tree stumps. A little bit sad to hear that, but her explanation reminded me of beer goggles when clubbing.

At least now, I'll will know what to expect when I go.

Karaoke with work!

This is the second time I've been to Karaoke with work. The first time was a nice department welcome by my manager, and that was quite an experience. The second time round, we had more people and out-of-town guests, the lovely internal auditors as well as finance folks from the business side. It's amazing what a couple of beers, sake, and a sound system can inspire in Japanese people.Picture of Shinjuku, the bright lights and the really wide cross walks.




There's me, singing James Blunt's "You're Beautiful"...

The videos are a little bit more hilarious and there one that is a must see!



I've included the photo album to check out from the night!

20061110 Karaoke with Work

Japanese Anime

My friend sent me this link and for all you Anime lovers or satirist, this is for you!

YouTube video: A tribute to Anime Japanese culture

Thought you would enjoy it. Manga/Anime is everywhere. On the train, you can find many men (in suits) reading anime. There are tons of shops dedicated to little figurines, entire Manga collections, and games to this fantasy world.

I'm trying to find an Anime series I can get into so I can be more Japanese. So far, I've really liked Miyazake's "Spirited Away."

Any suggestions?

Photos of Yokohama and Shinjuku

I promised to bring pictures so here they are!

Yokohama is very well known for the largest Chinatown in Japan. I visited an old friend from Beijing CET 2002 who was teaching down there. She actually just moved there not too long ago so we were both exploring the city together. The city is supposed to have great shopping, host the tallest building in Japan (Landmark Towers, #36 in the world), and great Dim Sum! We went to an all-you-can-eat Dim Sum in the late evening this past Friday and it was good (although not as good as HK, but it'll hold me over till I go back). Funny how I'm in Japan yet I still see my "family" everywhere.

We went out afterwards to drink in Yokohama and go to these bar/snack restaurants which are very popular in Japan. After missing our last train, we decided to take a break in the ever popular 24-hour Manga shops which give you all the access to Internet, video games, movies, and of course, the entire collection of Manga you want. For those who don't know what Manga is, it's basically Japanese anime comic books. We camped there for about 3 hours, and then I took the morning train back to Tokyo. It's actually really neat cause you get your own chair, computer, blanket, free drinks (non-alcoholic), and just lounge. I paid about $9 for about 3 hours which was cheaper than taking the taxi to our friend's home.

This Monday, I've asked a friend from work to help me look for some common items to supplement my home like a Mahjong set, tatamei tiles (Japanese floor tiles), and various other items. We went to Shinjuku which is one of the most crowded places in Tokyo. I love being in Shinjuku as it truly is the symbol of Tokyo. The mixed color lights, tall buildings, and lemming-like crossroads is unique and cannot be found anywhere else. Some of you might say HK, which I'm tempted to agree, but the specific colors and wide streets are like none other. While we were shopping for various items, we ran into a little food shopping area in which we got to try a lot of neat foods! What I'm eating now in the picture below was the raw wasabi octopus. (quite delicious actually). We went to Korea-town after our 3 hour shopping. Kubuki-cho (where Koreantown is located) is known for it's mafia and prostitution ring. Despite such, we still found amazing Korean food!

















More pictures are posted online: Visit in Yokohama, and Shopping in Shinjuku

Gomen nasai!

So it's been a while since I've updated my travels in Tokyo. I appreciate your concerns and comments...I've finally gotten a kick in the butt by my cousin who said something along the lines of "how am I supposed to keep up with you if you don't write..." and another friend who was a little bit more polite and just asked "how's it going in faraway Japan".

Well, Cecilia and Anna, thanks for your thoughts so I will write although I can't write much now. The company here is currently going through an internal audit and I've been asked to sit in to learn about the IT services here and how audits take place. Basically, my entire day gets sucked out and I'm having to stay later than I normally do.

But work aside, I'm starting to make friends which I couldn't say that as much a couple of weeks ago. I really felt like "Lost in Translation" where everywhere I went, I was shocked at how many people there were but still felt like such an outsider, especially by not being able to communicate at all with them. Two weeks ago, I made a decision to start taking Japanese courses at night (2x/week) to give myself more practice and it has helped. I've also combined with listening to JapanesePod101 via podcast on my brand new iPod (courtsey of friends in Philly) on the train to work and back that I'm definitely feeling more confident in speaking to shopkeepers, restaurant staff, and just people within my department.

So those are what consumes my life so far...which is not as exciting but I will write a more interesting entry about some of the cultural differences which I find so tantalizing and I've promised to show/tell you...but so far, it's work, Japanese lessons/courses, and then clubbing on the weekends in Shinjuku ni-chome!

Btw, I do have a digital camera now and I've just received my SD card so pics to come soon! I have some crazy ones of food which I bet you will never eat! ;-P

In the mean time, please look at a good friend of mine who posted amazing pictures of the "Sayonara to Chris" party in Philadelphia via the blog entries below. She made us all look *hot*!


http://www.xanga.com/DaYipsta/545183982/item.html

http://www.xanga.com/DaYipsta/539201613/item.html

http://www.xanga.com/DaYipsta/538609990/item.html

Oh, and gomen nasai means sorry!

Randy neighbors or earthquake?

I forgot to post this in my last entry.

Last night I woke up to some pretty heavy shaking near my head. My first thought was "omg, my neighbors are going at it at 4 in the morning!" And it's really loud too. So loud, that it's practically banging against my side of the wall. It went on for another 30 seconds and then it stopped. I couldn't tell but I thought I would have to move to another apartment if I had such randy neighbors. After waking up though, I wonder if that was my first earthquake experience or just really active neighbors...I'll have to confirm later today.

Drinking with colleagues (Kam Pai 喝采!)

This is where I get the name of my blog. Unfortunately, the URL was taken so I had to be creative with chrisintokyo. This is where you laugh.

On a Friday, I expected most people to leave work early around 3 or 4pm like we did in the States and then get ready for a wonderful evening. In fact, I stayed until 7:30pm and was one of the first people to leave! It was the strangest feeling to me. Friday night, everyone is still at the office, and in fact, meetings were still taking place everywhere! It actually made me feel more comfortable working late knowing that other people were also working late. I don't think I would mind this schedule, especially since most people don't come in till later in the morning anyways, which really is how I like to work. I'm a night owl at heart.

I'm glad one of my colleagues, Adrienne invited me to go out to dinner with him and two other Japanese colleagues. We went to a Brittany restaurant (province in France) and had really amazing crepes accompanied with chilled apple cider. It was nice to just chat outside of a work setting. It's so different outside of the office because the Japanese colleagues really opened up and were so honest. I was very fond of how they "let down their hair" over drinks. At our table, we had French spoken because Adrienne is from France and helped us order, Japanese between the ladies, and English when we all wanted to converge our conversation. Ah, I miss the international-ness so much. I felt like I was at the UN .

Near the end of the dinner, this was the first time I had another Asian woman who asked for more drinks while we're drinking. I hope I don't sound too racist or sexist but when I was in Philadelphia, I was never surrounded with women who could drink so it just surprised me. I get the feeling she could out-drink me....looks like I will need to practice more.

Kam pai!

A Hong Kong Wedding, Lan Kwai Fong, and more shopping

So during my trip to HK, my aunt told me about a wedding I have to go to because it is my distant cousin's wedding. I wasn't particularly fond of going to a wedding of whom I don't know the bride or groom or anyone else there but to behave on my best Cantonese behavior. It was really nice to see a HK wedding though and I made particular good use of the wine bar. I did not know how much they would feed us but it was like a 12 or 13-course dinner! I had a good time as my aunt Jeanette and I gossiped about everyone there. It was fun just catching up with my aunt over red wine and discussing the differences between American and HK weddings. Also, it was fun to just gossip about other people at a wedding. I noticed a few visual differences:

- the groom wears a lot of glitter...as much if not more so than the bride. Perhaps he liked how it looked on him?
- Weddings can be very casual...I saw many jeans and t-shirts from people my age. The shirts weren't even tucked in either!
- I was the only wine-o there

Afterwards, I met up with some HK friends in Lan Kwai Fong. We went to this one bar Fong, which resembled an Asian fusion restaurant but played really good music. C-club, for those who were in CUHK 2003 is still there but I didn't go in. I can't go back without you. :-) After Fong, we made our usual bar-hopping to bar 7-11 and just drank on the steps overlooking LKF. Ahh, the memories....


The next day, I went shopping with my aunt cause it was my last full day to go shopping in HK. My aunt and I didn't know it at the time but the mall in which we ate breakfast that morning had a G2000 outlet! It's really bad when you unleash me on an outlet beccause I cleaned out the store of clothes in my size. I bought another 5 blazers, 6 dress slacks, 3 more dress shirts, and various other items. I feel so guilty but at the same time, all cost me less than $300 for a week's worth of business attire. I like to think that I'm helping Hong Kong's economy grow; one business suit at a time. Also, I would never find a size 29 in America with as many options as I do in HK. I had to take advantage of the fact I was in HK.

That evening, I treated Aunt Jeanette, Aunt Christine, and a few of their friends to a good bye meal. It was partly to show that I'm now all grown up and can pay for others. I feel like this was my rite-of-passage into the adult world. Last time I was in HK, I was still a student and everyone pitied me (which was nice). Now, everyone's expecting me to play in the major league and hold my own (which is also nice) but it's quite a shift in mentality. I didn't mind as I did have the money and actually, I wanted to return the favor because of how nice they've treated me over the past 3 years. I even offered my mileage to Aunt Jeanette to come to Tokyo for all that she's done for me.

Afterwards, I got a chance to hang out with Wynne one last time. We went to her friend's apartment near Wan Chai. It was nice because all we did was chui shui (吹水）which literally translated means blowing water. I felt like we were in colleage again just chatting, and gossiping. I think my Cantonese improved so much so in HK that even her friends natives started to question my 'American' identity...it was a nice to know sometimes I can "pass" in HK as a HK'er. ;-)

Pictures to come soon...after I steal them from the other people who took them and didn't email them!

Cantonese all the way 没有不可能！

One of the best parts of Hong Kong for me is the fact that I can morph several identities at once and pull them out on demand. Most of that included switching languages when I needed to; so mostly Cantonese with my family; English with my American friends, and semi-Cantonese/English with my HK friends. I spent most of the day with Felix today with occasional breaks back at home with my aunt. We went suit shopping again today and bought another two sets of really cheapo suits. I didn't really have time to get a custom-made suit with all the works...next time, I'll have to spend a lot more time out here in HK to really make good use of my shopping experience.

I met up with three old friends today! Felix: American exchange student with me at CUHK; Adith: very nice local HK student from CUHK met on tour trips; and Vincent: my roommate who we would debate in Cantonese about societical norms. It was really cool and such an amazing flash back to meet up with them again.

Adith, Felix, and I met up first to go shopping in Sha Tin, an old CUHK favorite and in fact, one of the largest indoor malls in the world. She introduced me shops that were more upscale and places I should go to for real designer suits. We had a good time catching up over shopping ideas and let me know her bf knows how to shop for suits well. I'll have to hook back up with her for suit places next time with more time to do a better search. We offered Salsa dancing tonight but I think she was a little bit nervous about it. Next time, I'll have to use a better bait. :-)

I also met up with my former roommate at CUHK, Vincent. It was really nice to meet up with him again as I haven't talked to him in about 2 years but we caught up like we never left the dorms...we discussed everything from fashion, the job market, our own jobs, relationships, traveling...in Cantonese (with English words sprinkled throughout). It was fun to have someone who knows exactly what I'm saying with me feeling comfortable discussing fun topics in CATNONESE! The timing was almost too good as he was leaving tomorrow for mainland China and I got a chance to see him on mid-Autumn's festival. He's also planning to visit Japan sometime within either late this year or early next year which I'm so excited. I love hosting guests but after I can pretend like I know the area well. So I wouldn't let him come until at least the end of the year, but it's nice to know some more people who are definitely coming!

Felix and I were pondering why we liked HK so much and also the cultural differences we notice since we somewhat straddle the fence. For us, we agree that Mullets are out and shouldn't be a part of HK fashion. The bright colors with the Japanese influence can stay because on certain people, looks really good. The polite culture (ke qi 客气）is a little bit confusing, especially when it comes to money and who's supposed to pay for what but I think we have a gameplan in place. The desserts at Hui Lau Shan is still one of the most delicious places I've been to...and when I retire, I'd like to bring it to the USA. I found out that one of my favorite desserts today doesn't have grapefruit but instead pompello. Maybe it's the same fruit but I just realized they translate it as Pompello instead of grapefruit.

Oh yum!

Arrived in HK!

I just arrived in HK not too long ago. It was one of the longest rides I've taken...probably 28 hours total for an end-to-end cycle time. What I meant was 28 hours from boarding the plane in Philadelphia to getting off the plane in Hong Kong. ;-) I missed my Toronto -> HK flight because the Philly plane wouldn't take off. We waited on the run way for 2.5 hours! They transferred me through Vancouver which added some more time but I'm just glad I could make it to HK today. Btw, don't ride Air Canada if you can help it...I think there's better airlines with better service/equipment. On Air Canada, I felt like I was in a 60's airplane that could fall apart any second in the sky...

As I was taking the bus into HK, I just realized how much I miss the city. Tall skyscrapers, lights decorating the sky, and myself...riding a double-decker bus using an Octopus card brought back so many memories 3 years ago studying abroad here. My 5th aunt met me at the airport and we had what Margie calls "Yum Yum" at the Hui Liu Shan dessertie. I got the "Yang qi jin lou" which is a mix of Mango ice cream, tapioca, grapefruit, and cocunut juices mixed together. My first taste back in HK brought back so many happy memories. It's a shame I am only here for 4 days but I have to work next week so I have to cut playtime. Tomorrow's agenda: suit shopping, fall clothes shopping, meeting up with old friends, celebrating Mid-Autumn festival with my aunt, and perhaps salsa dancing at Wan Chai or watching the American version of the Infernal Affairs called Departed. My offer to you: if you want to come to HK and I'm in the neighborhood, let me know! I love coming to HK and would love to be a guide/host.

Btw, some friends in Philly got me an iPod nano right before I left to board my plane! It was really sweet and I've been listening to it all the time on the way here. There's no way I can forget you all. Thanks Ting, Francine, Vivian, and Will!

I'll write more later but let's just say I'm very excited to be here. At the same time, I miss my Philly friends a lot now and I wish I could have taken you in my suitcase with me. (of which, it's still in Toronto and will arrive tomorrow).

This is a great song for those who want to listen to it with me. I was listening to it the entire time and thinking of all of the great friends I'm leaving behind. I'll miss you...and I wish you could have flown with me.

Gigi D'Agostino: "I'll Fly With You"

Count down in Philadelphia

I am winding down all the things to do left in Philadelphia before I move to Tokyo. Still, some things stress me out such as saying good bye to some close friends I've made in Philly, selling my car, and finding a place to live in Tokyo.

I will make a stop in Hong Kong to visit my aunt and some friends...and to buy some suits and clothes. The dress at my work will be business attire but I received an email saying that it's too warm now so most (male) employees just wear suit trousers and a dress shirt. No neck tie needed.

Current mood: excited yet nervous beyond comprehension.

FYI: I've decided to use a new blogging tool instead of Xanga. I've wanted to have more control of my journal entries and seeing how much Google already dominates my life, I've decided to give them another piece which is to document my travel in Japan. I also think this is a better way since Blogger provides soo many cool tools to use such as audio blogging, mail-to-blogger, and photo blogging.