The start of something new

I am finding it difficult to come up with a project creative enough that will keep me inspired. I have found that while in China I discovered some new CAiD skills and drawing skills that I am now confident that what ever I design on paper I can recreate in 3D on the computer. I know I want a strong social element tied into my project along with sustainability. Though the idea of an object still can’t capture my attention for a year.

I feel less and less inspired as I left the lower pool studios into upper pool and for me there was something lost. I don’t feel as creative or inspired as I once was. I just don’t want to get to the end of the year feeling I have nothing to show, didn’t learn anything new or it was a waste of time.

Ideas about China

Standing out so significantly in China has had its ups and downs, it is very flattering to be called beautiful as it never said in Australia. The hardest thing though is to loose all privacy and I have struggled at that time and felt utterly embarrassed, my first and only time so far swimming in Foshan universities pool was quite an experience. The only bathers I own are a bikini but I always where board shorts with them. So as I practiced swimming a few laps and the staring still hadn’t stopped I still felt uncomfortable. When I actually started swimming and I noticed very few females in the lap pool, then I noticed that men would literally stop swimming mid lap to have a good stare at me as I swam by, it was so unnerving and men generally stare at woman in their bathers for different reasons.

5 good things about China

My 5 good things about China are:

1. Being tall its so awesome I get to look over peoples heads and I am the tallest girl in the class by about 10mm yay! I also get to by large clothing and shoes now something I have never experienced before being short my whole life

2. Getting to know Lawrence, Raph, James and Nick better

4. All the students in our class and the lectures all have been very accommodating

3. Being a 5 minute walk from out school building instead of an hour and a half, I can even walk to shopping malls! Also the bell at night for bed time at 11pm

5. Being treated a bit like a celebrity, I stand out everywhere. The Chinese guys in our class always insist on carrying anything heavy for me to the point they take it out of my hands, and trying to communicate in broken English or the few words of mandarin I know.

Email to Family

I have been keeping a small diary only writing a few sentences from each day in it so I know what I have been up to Also lots of photos to what is different. It’s still very interesting here and have been getting out to see a lot more of the city, and off to the capital city of Guangdong called Guangzhou it was a lot bigger and had more tourists. There where the old gates to the city from the Ming dynasty. Around Foshan in the old bit of town the buildings are over 100 years old. The new bit has everything even a Wal-Mart though I haven’t been there for shopping as it’s a bit far from uni.

I also went out to sing some Karaoke or KTV as it’s called here. It’s huge we went during the day at 11am and the building was 5 stories high full of individual booths with a TV to show the words and film clip to the music, surround sound, 2 microphones and a huge couch to sit on. All the workers there where dressed up in ball gowns and there was a buffet lunch you could take back to your booth as they sing there for about 5 hours. The only songs in English where classics and mostly redone with Asians singing them to. There where also a lot of boy bands too.

I have also had the chance to get to know Lawrence, James, Nick and Raph more to so that’s been nice. We always seem to have a bit of a busy schedule, with class though managed to go and do a little shopping for myself I went with one of the girls in my class and one of her Friends who is majoring in English.

Tomorrow night we are having a Chinese Barbeque with the 3rd years in Industrial design, they are all keen to meet us. We some times feel like minor celebrities with people shouting out hello and lots of people stooping to look at us or when we sit on the bus to look our way. Today as a man was parking his car instead of looking forward just kept on staring at us.

Though Tuesday morning an old woman was demanding to know what we where doing here as we where buying breakfast on campus and was quite rude. Only Lawrence could translate for us. I also was asked why I was in Foshan as it’s a small university and is not really known to overseas.
The traffic here is crazy with people changing lanes all the time across double lines, riding on the footpath, if someone honks at you while driving its an I can see you so don’t move its normally to the scooters and motorbikes. You can never cross the road in one go it’s a one lane at a time process as it’s just to busy especially in peak our. There is a giant roundabout near uni to cross the road its under a freeway and is on a main road there are no pedestrian lights and you cross the road four times to get to the side we need in peak hour its so full you kind of step out wait for a few scooters to cross take another step and do the same as it’s a constant steam of traffic. Foshan has the greatest number of scooters and bikes in China.

The pollution was worse last few days and you never see stars at night, there is constant smog around the heat and humidity seems to keep it in more too. You can smell it at times too. I miss clear sky. I have gotten a bit more adjusted to the food though had Mac Donald’s here! Different burger flavour of course.

Glad that the rain is there, and every one is ok and that mum liked her play. Hope you have fun up at mount beauty say high to everyone for me including the Mc Nelly’s for me I will email when ever I can I have been very busy at the moment!

KTV

Today as James, Nick, Lawrence and I went to do some KTV (karaoke incase you are out of the Chinese loop hehe) Raph was too tired to come as he was shooting hoops and playing basketball with one of the guys who works in the coffee shop for over three hours. Yes that was one of James’ missions finding a good coffee shop.

So a guy from our class called Ching and a girl called Bou came with us. It was a huge massive building about 5 stories high, and as we where shown to our private booth we walked down a long corridor, with fancy paintings on the wall. The workers of the place wore dresses like ball gowns in satin material, the people that go to these places really take it seriously.

Walking past the rooms we noticed each one was full this is at 11.30am, music was blaring out from each of the rooms. Our room contained a long couch, two touch screens at either end of the room to choose a playlist of songs and a huge projection screen TV, two microphones and surround sound speakers.

It was the most serous thing, we where given Chinese tea, and told where the food is. It isn’t something you do for an hour or two we ended up there for just under 5 hours, two more girls from our class also joined us. But it was worth it to here Nick sing hehe, James didn’t in the end and Lawrence is a natural KTV lover. The Chinese music only really had two distinct styles for the pop music, and was pretty much the same as you love to play for us in class, with a few random English words thrown it spots like letters numbers and three letter words.

Living in China

Today I have had a break from to catch up on sleep and to do some washing. It seems that at our hotel they don’t really like to do things even though we are paying them a lot of money… (just over $5oo Australian Dollars a month) Its so annoying and then they seem to forget things like more toilet paper. I have been asking to get a light fixed as when I first got my room it was dead since the morning of day two and still haven’t got it done. Though he came up to look yesterday and said he will fix it Sunday.

Though the Chinese students who we are sharing a class with are very nice and helpful if we have a problem they are onto it. They also stay with us showing us around. Yesterday I brought some books on design (in Chinese) and they offered to carry them for me all the way home. They give up their seats for us to so I feel very welcomed. It is hard not being able to talk Chinese too and at times a little isolating but now they all seem to want to try things in English I don’t feel as out of place.

My Welcome to China

I have discovered the joy of luggage running around the station carting everything I need for the next few months. We had pre booked our tickets online for the train encase it was a busy train and was hard to catch. We had nothing to worry about as it was mostly empty. My first glimpse of mainland China is just boring buildings, then into the poorer farm areas, with rice paddies and huts. 

After clearing customs I was told that I looked beautiful as one of the ladies was looking at my passport. So as we all carted our luggage to the front of the station expecting to see Scott, Soumitri and fan waiting for us. Though there was no one. We where all a little unsettle after a fight had broken out as a beggar was asked to leave and didn’t so they proceeded to hit him and he fought back. Then a lady hopped of a bus as it pulled into the station and vomited all over the road.      

We had all become very unsettled by every one staring at us just standing out side the station, their heads and eyes would follow us as we stood stationary as they passed by us. Two little children stood on the rail in front of us eating icecreams, and looking at us we where like a zoo exhibition.  

After a conclusion that there had to be a reason why our lectures where not there yet as we had been waiting about half and hour we gave Fan a call I had written out his number from Mark into in my trusty book. So Lawrence been the less conspicuous of us went to make the phone call. It turns out that the time had been confused and they where expecting us later in the day. So we continued out our wait at the station keeping a close watch on our belongings. Some girls waved at us and giggled. 

After our luggage somehow fitted into the Fans car and a taxi we where travelling to our new home. The traffic was chaotic and everyone was on the move zipping through traffic to where they wanted to be. I felt unusual as we where driving along the right side of the road.  

We had gotten help to carry up all our luggage three flights of stairs we settled into our new rooms for the next three months. We changed ready for dinner and to meet Professor Pei. It was an awesome meal and a great introduction to Chinese Food. It’s hard to communicate not knowing much and Lawrence is getting practice in translating to Pei.  The beds are extra hard in China and there is a hole in my desk that looks like rats have chewed their way through. Though the bathroom is clean so it looks like there good rooms.

Last of Hong Kong

For the last few days in Hong Kong Justin and I did the touristy bits of visiting the giant Buddha and Po Lin Monitory, Victoria Peak which was hugely busy we did the walk around the top of the peak which was fun as the view was always different though walking in the heat makes the 3km feel twice as long. We bumped into Raph at the station with out planning it, and when of to Soho where we found the best Mexican restaurant with not just tacos.

Lawrence, Raph, Justin and I also checked out the Pandas at Ocean Park the music played all day was very tecno as Simon had told us about the Chinese loving it. We found an amusing you are here sign as it pointed out that we where on the cable tram when we where sitting inside it admiring the view. Lawrence also experienced his first real rollercoaster ride. It was amusing to see all the Hong Kong people shielding their skin from the sun using umbrellas I had never seen so many in the one place before.  Visiting Disneyland was heaps of fun as I had never been to one, there where also heaps of theatre performances which we visited. It was funny seeing all the characters played by Chinese people as the cartoons look very different.

Photos in Hong Kong

Out of the tram Window

Day 7

As KL airport is used often as a stop over on international flights we had to carry our luggage through the x-ray machines and walk through the metal detectors twice once while passing through the customs then before boarding the plane. As it’s a giant airport they have trains to get to the right gate across the airport very modern, unlike a crowed and slow bus. Exiting Hong Kong airport we had to walk through heat sensors getting our body scanned. Our hotel is on the beach so we have a great view across the water and we decided to stay off the central island so we have s ferry ride across. We shared our cab with an American Lady from the Airport who is planning on moving to Hong Kong for work.

After purchasing an octopus card the solution to all public transport on Hong Kong and conveniently can be used in 7eleven where I am buying my constant supply of bottled water. That is one thing I miss is tapped water from Home which is practically free. It’s such a hassle to carry huge bottles too but they overcharge you in most places. We had met with Raph and Lawrence at the Science Museum just like science works, then we checked out some markets. There was a giant one three stories high and so hot inside on the first level meat just hung from the roof and butchers cut them up. Other shop keepers where degutting fish peeling and washing vegetables on the third level it was pre cooked meals like a cafeteria.

I have also noticed the amount of air pollution varying from day to day along with the huge amount of rubbish in the water on the ferries across to HK Central. Plastic bags empty bottles, shoes and heaps of polystyrene foam.

After spending an hour trying meeting up with Raph and Lawrence at the train station we discovered that there are two stations almost together Hong Kong station and Central Station. We had found the lettered entry exist point we needed but in the wrong location. We went out to have lunch at the famous Jumbo floating restaurant. We discovered the importance of reading up on transportation to our location when Raph refused to pay for use of a boat of an elderly lady constantly harassing us and following us, as we found the free boat docking up.

Sharing food together was something I was really enjoying, and Lawrence new what was good as many of the food we had never tried. There where also stories surrounding some of the food like rice wrapped in a lotus leaf to feed the dish so they wouldn’t eat the body of a gentleman drowned in the river.

Some of the shopping was very claustrophobic for me with the computer market proving to be a struggle full of little shops swamped by many people along with now windows and a maze of shops to navigate to get out. We also found the best way to keep dry and see Hong Kong was to take a ride on the double story trams, which where very skinny compared to ours.