5 January, 2007
As I sit here, writing these memoirs, I come to a sort of mental block. Yes, it could be due to the cold on this frightful day, but it could be that the itinerary and the actual events no longer coincide. For you see, the itinerary says that we met at 0900 and discussed Confucianism and the Chinese impact on Hawaii, but I have no recollection of it. The only memory that I can conjure up is one of a strange tasting cream filled muffin that was supposedly filled with Green Tea. From what I can remember of that, I think that Green Tea should stay in the liquid form. If anything else was going on around me, I must not have been conscious to it, after all, we were all starting to become wired into survival mode. Whatever was discussed at this meeting, and whatever random strange and posibly damning comment that I may have made is now lost to the breeze. There may have been a strange movie dealing with the Chinese during the Communist takeover and what not, but my mind was in no mood for this. What I do remember was our departing for the infamous spot where Jake Gittes lost that special part of him: Chinatown.
I remember many things, like once trying to hang a clock in my bathroom when I slipped on the wet procelin and hit my head on the sink, and when I came to I had a vision, a picture in my head. But a flux capacitor would do me no good in this recolection of what we did on this day. We were all pretty hungry, so instead of wandering through Chinatown, we went straight to the restuarant.
The tables were large and had the lazy susans of acclaimed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom fame. I sat at a table of my peers (in age, I have no peers when it comes to my level of sanity, at least those who are not currently living in a rubber room) and we looked over the menu. At first I was confused, because I was informed that we would be eating authentic Chinese dishes, not the kind that any average joe could get at a fast wok down by river. But when I looked at the menu, the majority of the dishes in the Queen's English were the normal "Chinese" dishes. After pndering what I would get, I ended up getting the same thing I always get at a strange Chinese place; Kung Pao Chicken. I would have prefered that the Professors order for us, but such was not to be the case on this day.
When the selected dishes arrived, I had no intention of sharing my meal, after all, that's why I ordered it. However, Roger asked if he could try it, so I spun it along the lazy dame towards him. We must have had about 8 or 9 people at our table, and by the time my dish returned, it was nearly picked clean by the others. Since I'm not one to sit back and not seek revenge, I began to eat other people's dishes; not because I was hungry mind you, but for sweet revenge! Ol' Paulie had an issue with the chopsticks, and since this place had no other utensils, he simply gave up and later ate his rice at the Hotel.
After we ate, we were set loose to run amuck in Chinatown. We went into several shops that sold dried fruits and even the elusive deer penis, which I'm told can help in hair rejuvenation. We were warned by a strange homeless person with only 1 tooth to not walk in a certain direction, so after we assured her that we would not go that way, we began to walk in the direction that she indicated. She had said that we would be stabbed, but after walking until we ran out of streets, and not being stabbed, we began to walk back. When the time came for our rendevous, we met up at the Great White Whale and headed back for the hotel.
Once we were there, Dr. Littlejohn asked if we were wanting to go to the Punchbowl and later to go hiking on another expedition into Dinosaur land. Of course we jumped at the oportunity. The Punchbowl was quite interesting, seeing as how it was a now defunct crater of a volcano used as a cemetary. As strange as it was, we took many pictures of the area and then went off to find the ever elusive and cunning Velociraptor.
This trail was quite muddy and narrow, and after nearly slipping a baker's dozen times, we turned back and returned to the hotel. From there, we all began to take it easy, and several of the guys, including myself, went out and marveled at the level of randomness that appears on a Friday night in Hawaii.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 14
1. The movie portrays the traditional Chinese moral values by showing the hardships that Fugui has to go through. From his gambling problems all the way to his having to adapt to living in Communism, through hard work he is able to produce enough to allow his family to survive, and he is able to build a place for him among the communists.
2. The Chinese philosophy of life is one that the person must continue to live, no matter what happens.
3. The philosophy of life is that a person must live virtuously and will be rewarded as such.
4. I think that it is related to the yin/yang in the way that there is both good and bad choices that can be made.
5. It is seen through the movie in the ways that Fugui gambles everything away and then looses his wife, but then she comes back once he starts to make an honest living. He is spared during the civil war because he gives entertainment through hard work to the communist troops. Even after his son is killed, since he chooses the better path of not seeking vengeance, he is rewarded with a better paying job.
Prompt 15
1. Chinatown, and all other ethnic neighborhoods, were originally established so the immigrants could band together and share something in common together. They stand out because they are an autonomous cultural body that has its own culture that differs from that around it. In Chinatown, there were many people of Asian decent, shopping for items that they can not find among the more “popular” stores.
Prompt 16
1. The Chinese restaurant was a unique experience; however, the table that I sat at did not fully get to experience the uniqueness of the atmosphere because everyone ordered the typical Chinese food that can be had at any Chinese restaurant in America. The appetizers came first and were on a rather large plate and were shared among everyone at the table. The utensils used were chopsticks, which was unusual to many at the table, but not to me since I come from a household where they are used on a normal basis.
Prompt 17
1. As a person who is a mix of two different cultures, I can understand the torn identity of trying to identify with one of the backgrounds. While they may not describe themselves as Asian since they do not speak the language, they are still not considered “white” because they obviously don’t look like it.
As I sit here, writing these memoirs, I come to a sort of mental block. Yes, it could be due to the cold on this frightful day, but it could be that the itinerary and the actual events no longer coincide. For you see, the itinerary says that we met at 0900 and discussed Confucianism and the Chinese impact on Hawaii, but I have no recollection of it. The only memory that I can conjure up is one of a strange tasting cream filled muffin that was supposedly filled with Green Tea. From what I can remember of that, I think that Green Tea should stay in the liquid form. If anything else was going on around me, I must not have been conscious to it, after all, we were all starting to become wired into survival mode. Whatever was discussed at this meeting, and whatever random strange and posibly damning comment that I may have made is now lost to the breeze. There may have been a strange movie dealing with the Chinese during the Communist takeover and what not, but my mind was in no mood for this. What I do remember was our departing for the infamous spot where Jake Gittes lost that special part of him: Chinatown.
I remember many things, like once trying to hang a clock in my bathroom when I slipped on the wet procelin and hit my head on the sink, and when I came to I had a vision, a picture in my head. But a flux capacitor would do me no good in this recolection of what we did on this day. We were all pretty hungry, so instead of wandering through Chinatown, we went straight to the restuarant.
The tables were large and had the lazy susans of acclaimed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom fame. I sat at a table of my peers (in age, I have no peers when it comes to my level of sanity, at least those who are not currently living in a rubber room) and we looked over the menu. At first I was confused, because I was informed that we would be eating authentic Chinese dishes, not the kind that any average joe could get at a fast wok down by river. But when I looked at the menu, the majority of the dishes in the Queen's English were the normal "Chinese" dishes. After pndering what I would get, I ended up getting the same thing I always get at a strange Chinese place; Kung Pao Chicken. I would have prefered that the Professors order for us, but such was not to be the case on this day.
When the selected dishes arrived, I had no intention of sharing my meal, after all, that's why I ordered it. However, Roger asked if he could try it, so I spun it along the lazy dame towards him. We must have had about 8 or 9 people at our table, and by the time my dish returned, it was nearly picked clean by the others. Since I'm not one to sit back and not seek revenge, I began to eat other people's dishes; not because I was hungry mind you, but for sweet revenge! Ol' Paulie had an issue with the chopsticks, and since this place had no other utensils, he simply gave up and later ate his rice at the Hotel.
After we ate, we were set loose to run amuck in Chinatown. We went into several shops that sold dried fruits and even the elusive deer penis, which I'm told can help in hair rejuvenation. We were warned by a strange homeless person with only 1 tooth to not walk in a certain direction, so after we assured her that we would not go that way, we began to walk in the direction that she indicated. She had said that we would be stabbed, but after walking until we ran out of streets, and not being stabbed, we began to walk back. When the time came for our rendevous, we met up at the Great White Whale and headed back for the hotel.
Once we were there, Dr. Littlejohn asked if we were wanting to go to the Punchbowl and later to go hiking on another expedition into Dinosaur land. Of course we jumped at the oportunity. The Punchbowl was quite interesting, seeing as how it was a now defunct crater of a volcano used as a cemetary. As strange as it was, we took many pictures of the area and then went off to find the ever elusive and cunning Velociraptor.
This trail was quite muddy and narrow, and after nearly slipping a baker's dozen times, we turned back and returned to the hotel. From there, we all began to take it easy, and several of the guys, including myself, went out and marveled at the level of randomness that appears on a Friday night in Hawaii.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 14
1. The movie portrays the traditional Chinese moral values by showing the hardships that Fugui has to go through. From his gambling problems all the way to his having to adapt to living in Communism, through hard work he is able to produce enough to allow his family to survive, and he is able to build a place for him among the communists.
2. The Chinese philosophy of life is one that the person must continue to live, no matter what happens.
3. The philosophy of life is that a person must live virtuously and will be rewarded as such.
4. I think that it is related to the yin/yang in the way that there is both good and bad choices that can be made.
5. It is seen through the movie in the ways that Fugui gambles everything away and then looses his wife, but then she comes back once he starts to make an honest living. He is spared during the civil war because he gives entertainment through hard work to the communist troops. Even after his son is killed, since he chooses the better path of not seeking vengeance, he is rewarded with a better paying job.
Prompt 15
1. Chinatown, and all other ethnic neighborhoods, were originally established so the immigrants could band together and share something in common together. They stand out because they are an autonomous cultural body that has its own culture that differs from that around it. In Chinatown, there were many people of Asian decent, shopping for items that they can not find among the more “popular” stores.
Prompt 16
1. The Chinese restaurant was a unique experience; however, the table that I sat at did not fully get to experience the uniqueness of the atmosphere because everyone ordered the typical Chinese food that can be had at any Chinese restaurant in America. The appetizers came first and were on a rather large plate and were shared among everyone at the table. The utensils used were chopsticks, which was unusual to many at the table, but not to me since I come from a household where they are used on a normal basis.
Prompt 17
1. As a person who is a mix of two different cultures, I can understand the torn identity of trying to identify with one of the backgrounds. While they may not describe themselves as Asian since they do not speak the language, they are still not considered “white” because they obviously don’t look like it.
No comments:
Post a Comment