Stars and Fortunes

I ended up working the night of the candlelight vigil instead of going as a spectator. Although I was frustrated at not being able to have dinner with the girls and really experience it as an observer, I was grateful for perhaps the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see it as a member of the press.



I saw it from the front lines, so to speak, in the area right in front of the stage. There were people leading the masses in song - both Mandarin and Cantonese - with supporters waving their candles. From an AP perspective, we wanted to interview those who were younger. A mother bringing her daughter who couldn't have been more than 10...a teenager there with his friends. These children, myself included in a way, were not old enough to really "get it" when it happened. Maybe they weren't even born. So why were they there? Well...the interviews were done in Cantonese, so I can't tell you what they said. But it was moving nonetheless.

This is the video I slapped together out of the crappy images I took from my digital camera: http://usc.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=508552289973

On June 6, our class met at the wonderful hour of 7:30 a.m. at Dot Cod (a seafood restaurant but in this case serving normal breakfast) in Prince's Building to meet none other than Alan Leong, the only man to ever run against a Chief Executive in Hong Kong. For those who aren't familiar, Hong Kong does not have universal suffrage. There's a Chief Executive who's the top boss in town, and a legislative council with members from various parties who believe different things - but neither the CE or the Leg Co is elected by the people. The CE is elected by the Leg Co.

So for the first time there was a race, and debates were televised. From what I hear, it evoked murmurings like the Nixon/Kennedy debates, in the sense that it was a new way to play the game. Sorry I'm really bad at describing the scope of the matter. But the bottom line is that Leong was impressive as a person. He says he tells it straight to whomever he's talking to. In other words, he doesn't change his tactic, manner or content based on the person sitting in front of him.

On the night of June 7, I went to my first movie premiere as a member of the press. First of all, let me explain that Hong Kong cinema is huge. BUT Hong Kong movie premieres are generally teeny compared to Hollywood broohaha. I went with Tony (entertainment staff reporter) and Phoebe (fellow intern) to the premiere of "Kidnap," starring Rene Liu and Karena Lam. It's ok, I didn't know who they were either.




But that actually made my job easier. As you can see, I had to interview the two main actresses of the film for AP Clients in mainland China. Thus, in Mandarin. Because I hadn't heard of them at all, I wasn't hyperventilating or asking for autographs like some fans were nearby. It was a test of my language abilities. If they didn't look at me funny or misunderstand my question, then I was home free. I verified certain vocab with my colleagues (what kind of American-born Chinese kid would use the words "genre" or "tempo" in Chinese at home?) and did my best. As far as I could tell, I wasn't singled out as an American, so I passed.

Over the weekend, I did some very "Hong Kong" things. Dim Sum at Maxim's at City Hall (thanks to Shira's suggestion) and Temple Street Night Market. I had been to dim sum with a teacher, co-workers and family friends, but they had all been at relatively fancier places where you ordered by marking things on a sheet. My friends and I were wondering, where were these elusive carts rolling by so pervasive in U.S. dim sum restaurants???

Lo and behold, they are at Maxim's. And Maxim's is your good ole' Cantonese dim sum place - huge and crowded, noisy, pushy...David, Laura and I waited for half an hour to be seated. And it was worth it. Scrumptious shrimp dumplings, great pork buns, good tea, mango pudding. The best part was seeing a slice of everyday Hong Kong life; families were seated at tables nearby with both parents reading the paper. Larger groups chatted boisterously for hours. That's the way to dim sum.

Temple Street Night Market was like Ladies' Street in Mong Kok, a haggling bazaar, only it operates at night. Call me silly, but haggling has become - like gambling at horse races - a source of excitement and a test of my "Chineseness." The sellers seem to be more keen to drop the price if you speak Mandarin or Cantonese - they probably just take advantage of anyone who looks like a foreigner. I got some pretty great little deals. But the most fascinating bit was my encounter with a fortune teller.

This old man looked at my hands and sweat-stained face. And speaking Mandarin, the first thing he said to me was, "Stay away from younger men." Apparently my ideal guy, the "right one" is 3-4 years older than me. Gentlemen reading my blog, take note. Just kidding. I don't really believe anything this man said, but it was one of the most amusing moments here in Hong Kong.

I was told I would be very successful in my profession, that I would have a long and healthy life, that I would be married between 27-29, that my husband will be very good to me, that I'll have two children, at least one of them a boy, that people born in the year of the horse are my enemies, that I have problems saving money (I like to spend it)....what else. He said my parents must have spent lots of time and effort raising me as a child, that I was obviously college educated, that 2008 would be a dangerous year for me (be wary of my friends, my money, etc.), but that 2010 would be fabulous. That I would meet the right person then, that everything will fall in line. Wow.

As funny as this all is, hearing an old Chinese man tell me these things with such certainty was a relief as well as entertainment. After all, who wouldn't want to be told that life will turn out ok if you just sit tight?