In short, I got a call from Professor Chen, the head teacher of our program, to come immediately to her office. In order to attend the competition in Beijing next month, we need Visas in order to enter China. However, due to the strained political climate and strange laws in Taiwan, it is impossible to obtain the Visa here to go to the mainland unless you are a resident of Taiwan. Apparently, this meant that me and the one other guy who needed a Visa had two options: become residents of Taiwan, or go to Hong Kong to get a Visa.
When I got the call to go to Professor Chen's office, I was told there were decisions to be made. When I arrived that evening, it turns out this wasn't true at all. They told me I had a ticket booked to Hong Kong for less than 12 hours in the future, and was handed a packet of documents I would need to complete the Visa process. Included in these documents is one signed by the TV company (CCTV) saying they will cover all of our expenses in traveling and obtaining the Visas in Hong Kong. All things considered, one of the coolest feelings I've ever had.
At the same time, however, it's starting to bring the reality of this competition to the forefront. The fact that they're spending time and money to bring us to Beijing and put us on (what I recently found out is) prime time television is hard to reconcile. As confident as I am with my Chinese, it's going to be almost unbearably difficult and in front of a lot of people, and the chances of making a fool of myself are staggeringly high. It's becoming a sort of duty to ICLP though, and to show something for all that my teachers have done for me. The plan is to tear up the place as best I can, with results pending. I've come a long way in the last month towards fluency, and this will be a checkpoint to remember.
I spent the rest of the evening in the office, getting ready and talking with the teachers. One last thing had to be booked, and Professor Chen, while on the phone with the booking company, briefly asked, "Oh, and you'll come back Friday afternoon then?" On a split second decision, I replied "Actually, Sunday evening would be better."9 am the next morning, here I am.
The Visas went smoothly; we'll pick them up tomorrow morning. For now, it's time to explore the city. So far adventures in Hong Kong have discovered:
- Hong Kong is a giant mall.- Buildings in HK are very tall.
- The high-speed trains are the cleanest and most efficient I have ever seen.
- Running looks okay on the map, but consists of charging up and down hills continuously.
- "Octopus" cards are used at subways and convenience stores here, like an easy pass or credit card for everything. I've heard of these before, and wondered why no other city has these yet.
- The tri-language system of Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, and English is startling. The "local" language is Cantonese, but most people can speak English and Mandarin as a second language, so I'm never sure what to use.
- Hong Kong has the world's only still-running double-decker trolley car system.
- Hong Kong is, as my traveling buddy Bryan described, "like if New York's China Town took over New York".
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