Uncle Richard the sequel

Tonight was by far one of the funnest I've had since I came to Hong Kong! Emily and I went to meet Uncle Richard (it seems so funny to call him Uncle) and he took us to the Zhongshan Fishing Village restaurant.

I've never eaten so much seafood. Ever. He ordered around 10 dishes for the 3 of us! I didn't even know what half of the things I tried eating were. Most of you know that I was anti-seafood for quite a few years, so I think I made up for it all tonight.

The restaurant was amusing in that they brought our seafood out before cooking us to show us what it looked like... And it was still alive. The crabs were tied up and trying vainly to make an escape. That was surprising, but I guess I'm getting used to being shocked here, since it didn't bother me at all.

Anyways, I ate: shrimp, chinese brocoli, some kind of Australian crab, a double-shelled crab (it's a seasonal crab that's captured just before it finishes growing a new shell), some kind of mussel, sweet & sour pork, scallops, and mango pudding. Gah! The food didn't seem to end, and Richard was insistent that we keep eating. He'd keep serving us despite our protests.

True to his word, he paid for the entire meal. And he's still excited to take us out again next week when Kimberly's along. Throughout the meal, we discussed cultural differences and he explained things about Hong Kong from a business owner's perspective. Also, according to him, the price of a small one bedroom apartment with open kitchen is $1000CAD/month. GAH! My plans to work in Hong Kong just got a little less enthusiastic.

After the meal, he invited Emily and I to go to his old Kung Fu school. We said sure, and he paid for a taxi to go to a random section of Hong Kong. I was a bit worried when we went up the stairs of the building, because the building was super decrepit and sketchy looking. I actually had my hand on my personal alarm just to be safe. (This is being put in for my mom's benefit.

Luckily I had no reason to be afraid. We got into the school and it was so cool! He introduced us to all the students. (Introductions went along the lines of, "This is the most handsome student here!" or "This is the student with the most potential!" "This is the oldest student here! He's 70 years old!") Emily and I got to sit down and Richard badgered everyone into demonstrating various weapons and forms. Cool cool cool! The people were so friendly! I felt bad because they were performing for us rather than training, but they seemed to be having fun. We're going to go back again next week so Kim can see.

When we were done at the kung fu school (it's actually some other martial art that I can't remember the name of) Richard led us to the Prince Edward train station. He gave us a hug and made sure we knew how to get home. (Bah, the trains are our second home! Of course we know how to get around them!) A few seconds after we seperated, he phoned Emily to make sure that our phones were working in case we got lost. LOL, he's so funny.

There were some awkward moments though. Throughout the night he had been joking with us, but in a non-Canadian approved manner. For example, in the taxi ride to the school, Emily didn't have her seat belt on, and I joked that I would be her seatbelt, and put my arm across her stomach. Richard laughed and eagerly asked if he could also be her "seatbelt". She and I were kinda weirded out by that, and I responded by laughing and saying that she'd be safe enough with just me. That would have been kinda creepy, but he told the people about it at the school, so it seems like it was just generic fun for an old man in the presence of young women.

When I got back to my dorm tonight, Pei-chin and I started talking. She didn't realize how big Canada was. We got out a world map, and I was giving her examples of how long it took to drive to locations in Canada. She was surprised to find that the trip from Owen Sound to Moosonee took 15 hours... Her response was, "Wow! When I go to school in Taipei, it takes me 5 hours to drive there and my friends think it's so far away!" I then started showing her pictures of Canada and my hometown - whatever I had in my Pictures folder on my laptop.

I also explained to her about the co-op system and jobs in Canada. I was trying to describe my previous jobs to her. Do you know how hard it is to explain what a Nuclear Power Plant is to someone who's second language is English? I tried various tactics, including going to the Simpsons website and pointing to Homer's workplace. I finally resorted to using an online translator and typing in "Nuclear Power." I don't think she believes that I worked there.

It was a fun and long conversation. We discussed transportation differences and job aspirations and so on. It was really interesting and informative. I'm so lucky she's my roommate - I've met a few exchange students who aren't getting along with their roommates. :(

Anyways, it's 1:17am right now and I should go to bed.

P.S. Oh yeah... And I've been invaded by ants! :( Our apartment and the one across from us have a major ant problem. :( The ground looks like it's moving! They seemed to have made a nest in the drain in our Kitchen floor. I shoved a towel into the drain (my luck, we'll have a flood and nothing will drain) but today, they had found another way into the apartment through the baseboards near the bathroom. Gah. I went to Lok Fu to buy some ant traps, but I think I'll need more.