Hi all.
So I have spent one day in Hong Kong- one long day since I got in at about 6:30 in the morning here, which felt like 11:30 pm London time, and then I did not get to bed until about 3 am Hong Kong time ( I did take a little nap though).
Mo met me at the airport, which was wonderful. We went into the city straight away and went to her place- which is also the studio/blackbox space in which her theater troupe rehearses. It is a pretty cool space- sort of in a factory district- and it is made up of three large rooms and an office. It is sort of like a very organized version of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, where people lived, socialized, and worked all in the same space as well. I really love it.
We went out for Dim Sum straight away with Banky (another troupe member and Mo's boyfriend), where I had a challenge trying to use my chopsticks, and Mo continued my chopstick private lessons she had started in San Francisco two years ago. It was pretty hilarious, but I did not give up and use silverware- so that was a success. Also, I had my first experience sampling local cuisine, which included stomache ( which apparently the whole world except for america loves) and chicken fingers ( and I don't mean battered chicken). I did my best- and Mo knew that certain dishes were... a challenge for me. And we all had a good laugh.
Mo is also doing her best to fill me in on certain customs here- a sort of crash course in Chinese culture. One example- when someone pours you tea, you are supposed to tap the table with two fingers to say thank you.
Took a little nap while Mo's troupe performed at a school, and then walked to the shopping district with Mo to her store. Yes- Mo's troupe is not only a troupe, it is a troupe with a store- right in the heart of one of Hong Kong's shopping districts. They sell mostly T- shirts with some sort of message on them- often that has something to do with one of the shows they are doing. And everyday outside the store, one of the troupe members does a little solo- performance on the street. Very cool.
If you want to check out her troupe's website, her group is called FM Theater Power at http://www.fmtp.net/index.htm
Mo is the one in the red
Anyways- Mo had an interview with a magazine ( I am blown away by how successful it seems their troupe is)- so I walked around the district for a bit. Hong Kong- to the observer who cannot precieve the difference between Cantonese and Mandarin- could be confused with New York's China town. Except it is huge. And very very humid (scarily so since this is supposed to be nothing in comparison to where I am going in Australia).
Everyone I asked about things to do in HongKong all responded the same : shopping. It is true- Hong Kong has great deals- and though none of the stuff seems particularly chinese except for the jade and some teasets, the prices are ridiculously god much of the time. So again I struggled to remember my back before buying anything, and ended up only buying a few studs for my ears. Bought some milk tea- and a sort of bubble wrap- looking waffle which is apparently a specialty here. Also I went for a 2o minute massage, because there are millions of little parlors here- mostly advertising foot massage, but went for the back and neck. For an incredible $10 USD or so, I got the most intense, but also probably the best massage I have ever had. This woman was basically putting her whole body weight into me, and I swear at one point she was diggind into my back with some sort of wooden spoon or something. The whole thing was sort of wonderfully painful since I do think that she got through to some muscles that have never been discovered before. For ten dollars, I might go again before I leave.
Anways, after that Mo and I went on the public ferry to see stunning views of the city lights before having a very very ate dinner with her and her theater troupe. Dinner was basically a sort of make your own soup kind of thing- where there is one shared pot and lots of raw ingredients, and you all sit around this pot boiling on the table and dump in ingredients at various moments throughout the night, and pull out what you want to eat as it cooks. Really cool- though again challenging with the chopsticks.
Anyways.. I am going to go and stop wasting away my day infront of the computer. More to come!!
xox
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