From the Hood to Hongqiao to Ho Pui

I celebrated my golden birthday with a two-year teaching contract in Shanghai. One thing led to another, and I somehow became an expat with a blog. This visual diary chronicles my perpetual vacation in and around China, and the art, food, and outdoor adventures that give it meaning.  

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As soon as I was back in town, we went to Sham Shui Po to buy the parts for a sweet gaming rig. I picked out a gaming mouse that lit up blue, and a keyboard that was backlit green instead of blue, and then tried not to get all OCD about it.

The desktop was my way of reassuring Husbandy that I was serious about putting down roots here. 

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I went to Michigan for Christmas. The obstetrician fretted over my long-haul flight, pregnant and without my husband; difference of cultures, I guess. But she convinced me to travel with compression stockings and blood thinner injectables, which I appreciated for the peace of mind. 

It was a quiet holiday spent with family. The only photos I took were of foods that I’d missed, the JC Penney curtains that I bought to take back with me, and—yes, I took JCP curtains halfway around the world in a suitcase and yes, I’m well aware Hong Kong has curtains for sale too—this maternity clothes haul. 

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When designing units, I pull from a variety of sources—my own art education and practice, my museum background, student teaching, Chinese art lessons I co-taught in Shanghai, and so forth. This activity came straight out of a book, though, specifically from a photo and blurb that I happened across in the Kindergarten section of Frank Wachowiak’s Emphasis Art. 

It takes roughly three class periods to complete and what I like best about it is the way it allows me to assess drawing, coloring, cutting, and pasting skills all at once. Everyone has seen cats before, so everyone can draw one from their imaginations, and it creates a great opportunity for me to teach the difference between realistic and fantasy colors.

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My pregnancy cravings included tomato dishes, sparkling water, salmon sashimi, and did I say tomato? I hated tomato. That one sort of came and went.

The YOHO Mall addition had recently opened in Yuen Long, and we spent a lot of time at their restaurants after work, given that I could get there directly by either MTR or bus. 

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Third-graders, making a winter-themed greeting card out of cut paper. 

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In November, we did the 7th Annual Harbourfront Bike Ride for a Pollution-Free Hong Kong. It was organized to show support for a proposal to build a dedicated cycleway along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island. 

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Husbandy was working in Quarry Bay. Sometimes I’d meet him there after work for Hong Kong’s best burgers, or for the occasional plate of immaculate sushi. 

No, I’m not just going to casually suggest that Q-Bay Burger does Hong Kong’s best burgers and then leave you to your own devices, thinking that I must never have been to the no-option-having-ass Butchers Club, or that I have but was fooled by the duck fat fries and the fact that they are one of the few other joints in Hong Kong willing to cook their patties to temperature. Like, I see you, Butchers Club; but you don’t have the best burger in town.

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We took advantage of the fall weather to draw from observation outdoors.

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My third-graders learned about symbols, then how Aboriginal Australian “country” landscapes presented a bird’s-eye view of the desert, with food, shelter, and other important sites clearly marked. They then took to Google Maps or their imaginations to create their own meaningful dot paintings with original symbol designs.

Can anyone guess where in Hong Kong this is?

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Suddenly blue ice cream was on trend in Yuen Long; the Michigan child in me approved.

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Visual art vocabulary.

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At work, I used several virtual worlds—including Minecraft—to help my students understand the horizon line, vanishing points, and how buildings change in appearance as the viewer moves through space. 

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Back in Hong Kong, we found ourselves missing the Indian food from our fave restaurant at Chungking Mansions. 

We didn’t feel like sharing the tiny elevator with ten dudes and a mattress, so we opted for the stairwell instead, where I found this gem of wisdom scrawled on a door. If you’re planning to take the stairwell yourself one day, wear sensible shoes and don’t make skin contact with any of the dried blood. Ain’t nobody vaccinated against hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E.

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Unfortunate that we didn’t have time to explore further south into Taiwan, but we enjoyed the few days we’d had and made sure to bring back some goodies.