My Newest Self-Indulgence

...can be viewed HERE. Do vanity and obnoxiousness know no bounds? (rhetorical question) Saturday is sight-seeing day so I took some more pictures of the amazing architecture of the city...

Pieces of Home

I did a very brave thing tonight. No, I did not eat any haggis (I have already sampled that... Haggis looks like dog food but surprisingly it tastes quite like a cross between turkey stuffing and meat loaf... They even have 'vegetarian' haggis. I must say that its notoriety, like that of deep-fried mars bars, is over-exaggerated.) And no, I did not purchase a kilt (they cost upwards to a 1000 pounds) and wear it to a pub. I DID buy a pack of raw salmon fillet and a bottle of amoy light soy sauce and attempted to 'create' my own version of salmon sashimi. I mean, how hard can it be? I just selected a pack of salmon that resembled the colour and texture of that which I've seen so often in Japanese restaurants back home... A fish is a fish right? So I got home and carved off the skin and cut the fillet into strips and ate the pieces with soy sauce (but sans wasabi). I suppose I'll have to wait until tomorrow find out if I'll survive this little experiment but two things are certain... 1) The salmon was damn good. 2) If i'm not dead this time tomorrow you can be sure i'll be going back for more...

Edinburgh is a strange place for me to be. I spent the last 8 years of my life on the west coast of Canada and now I live on the EAST coast of Scotland. I thought I knew English but I often find myself scratching my head at odd expressions or at normal expressions oddly pronounced. I've been told that Edinburgh is the "multicultural centre" of Scotland but compared to Vancouver it really isn't much to write home about. I suppose there is a big mix of Europeans and Scandinavians here but I sure haven't met many asian people. Besides, most of the international community here are visitors, either tourists or students, and don't really count as people who *live* in Edinburgh. Being somewhat of a westerner myself, I feel like this place should feel more familiar but instead I often feel a profound sense of disorientation. The bus drivers speak English but drive double decker buses on the *other* side of the road. I know 50 fish and chips and baked potato places but not a single sushi restaurant or a non-buffet-style Chinese place. A Korean Tapas place? Forget it. On the supermarket shelves, I find bottles and bottles of yakult and ribena but not a single drop of teriyaki marinade for my stir-fry. My supervisor, the head of the postgrad program at the U of Edinburgh, Scotland, is an American who taught at the U of Manitoba in Canada, and, incidentally, Regent College (unlike Rikk Watts, the australian-born cambridge-educated canadian lecturer). On many days I find Edinburgh to be more like Hong Kong than Vancouver... It is British, crowded, people don't tip, traffic drives the other way, has shops like Marks & Spencer and St. Honore Bakery (!). But on other days, not: Edinburgh has similar climate to Vancouver (colder and rainier), people speak english, people are caucasians, etc...

It's funny how there are some things you never thought you'd miss... I mean, I knew at the start I'd miss my siblings and my friends, my electric guitar, skating on ice. What I didn't count on sorely missing were things like...

*** Christian music - I used to be quite down on listening to contemporary Christian music outside of church; worship music or otherwise. I felt it was gimmicky, artificial, and generally not very original work. But since coming here I feel like I could listen to it all day and maybe sing along to it. Maybe it's because it reminds me of home (?) or because I haven't found a community to worship here but it's doing things for me I never thought Christian music was capable...

*** Having a car - Since I live in a historical (i.e. touristy) part of town, we have many shops that sell kilts, tartans, and other Scottish trinkets, and bagpipers on every corner, but the nearest grocery store is a good 15 minute walk away. I also live on the top of a mound and this means that a walk back from anywhere is going to be a bit of a workout. This means that if I really wanted to stock up my fridge I have to carry the bags of stuff by hand back up the hill to my place. On days that I do my shopping I dream of the *slightly* cluttered trunk of my 1991 Nissan Sentra.

*** Asian Food - I didn't think I could miss it THIS much. I'm not even talking things like Gyoza King or Ben's Upstairs Place or Fish on Rice or even the fancy Gloucester Cafe. I mean basic things like congee, wonton noodles, bbq pork/duck, fried rice... I hate to be such a wimp but I cannot deny what my body so strongly desires. Both Vancouver and HK are great places for all kinds of food and I now realize that I have been spoiled to have lived in those fabulous cities for as long as I have.

Don't get me wrong, there are things I have really enjoyed about being in Scotland but you'll have to wait for the next issue of this thing to come out. Until then... Live long and eat lots and lots of sushi.

Day One in Ed

My first meal in Edinburgh was in a little soup & coffee place called "The Grape and the Bean" on the Royal Mile. I ordered a Potato and Leek soup (comes with bread and butter) for £2.80. The bread was good and the soup had a made-at-home quality to it. I took out my computer and started to recount my first day in Edinburgh...

After I unpacked and settled into my room, I spent my first afternoon in Edinburgh exploring. It is a spectacular city unlike any I had ever seen. The guide books I had read about the city failed to emphasize the fact that the entire city is an attraction in and of itself. At every step is a majestic building and around every corner a panoramic view of the city. At first I frequently took out my camera but after a while I accepted the fact that the whole city actually looks like that and tried to put my camera away. The great thing about the city is that it is fully accessible on foot. Everything is so close together and only a walk away. My residence, Mylnes Court, is on the Royal Mile, a one minute walk from Edinburgh Castle and so when I come down from my room I can see visitors walking up to the Castle. The Royal Mile is a mile-long street of cobble stone, stretching from the grand Edinburgh Castle atop the Mound hill all the way to Holyrood Palace on the other end. On the mile of narrow road between these two landmarks are a myriad of churches, museums, restaurants and stores. The sound of bagpipes can be heard and street musicians and performers are scattered along the mile. There are no high-rises or department stores to be seen; only heritage-looking buildings and independent businesses. The street is bustling and full of visitors from every country; sounds of cameras clicking and pieces of conversations in different tongues fill the air. The Royal Mile is filled with a number of "Closes", a narrow strip of cobblestone alley that winds its way into the adjacent streets. Many spots, such as the tour of the castle and the open top bus tour of the city, attracted me but I had resolved to walk through the entire Mile and get an idea of the whole area before I got caught up in the little things. When I had reached the end of the mile, I was surprised to find a big hill that people can hike up. The majestic mountain, green and lush, and juxtaposed with the historic buildings and grand Holyrood Palace is truly a sight to behold. The view from atop that hill must be amazing but again I pressed on. At the end of the mile I turned around and returned along another famous street of Edinburgh, Princes Street. Princes Street, marvelous in its own right, is starkly different from the Royal Mile.... On this street one can find the fancy stores and restaurants but they are only on one side of the street. On the other side is a park overlooking Old Town, with flowers, terraces, and statues. There is a train station called Waverly station and looks just like a train station should.

At night I met up with the people in my residence for an organized "Pubcrawl". I had heard so much about the night life and pub scene in Europe and besides it was a good way to get to know some people here. I live in a residence reserved for postgraduate students and it appears a good many of them are also from overseas. My roommate, Chris, a Canadian from Victoria, is one of the student deans and as a result has a much larger room that boasts a view of the city. I also met two other Canadians from Toronto. Tim is a Tall Englishman from Reading and is studying Environmental Conservation. William is from Detroit, studied at Mody Bible Institute, and is also in Biblical Studies. Berian is from Australia and studying Cosmology (a concentration within Astronomy). Hillary is from California studying International and European Politics. Jordan, from NY, creative writing. Sarah, DC, Nationalism. Zape, India, Law. Yunus, Turkey, ?. It was neat to go around to the different pubs of Edinburgh. The streets that the bars are on were teeming with people and the atmosphere is festive. The bars here have a different feel to the ones in North America... It is more obvious that the people are out for a good time and the scene lacks a certain creepiness that a lot of clubs in NA have. Tenants beer is the staple drink but I also tried a Scottish beer called Douchard's IPA (?). Tim the Englishman displayed his disapproval after I ordered a Stella bemoaning the high cost and sh*tty taste of the Belgian lager. I did my share of drinking but the best part was just soaking up the moment of being in Scotland. After the third pub I really started feeling the effects of the long flight and opted to go back to my room. After all, there is ANOTHER pubcrawl planned for the next night. I think I will attend one of the services in one of the fancy cathedrals on the Royal Mile tomorrow...

From the moment I arrived I fell in love with the city and am thrilled at the prospect of living here for the year... My only desire is to be able to share this with my family and friends back home... It really is an amazing city. I took a lot of pictures but they don't really do the city justice... The buildings are so... 3 dimensional and made of different materials... and the views are so panoramic that it is difficult to capture on film (or memory card, as it were). My school is closed on the weekends but it also looks spectacular from the outside. It is a castle and right next door!! It really doesn't get any better, except I wish my family and friends were also here to experience it. Please come and visit!!! End of Day One. Please stop the tape and turn it to Side 2. I have to many pictures to post... Check them out @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonwlo

Bye bye for now!

It Begins

I'm writing this at the British Airways transfer lounge in London as I wait to find out from which gate the flight to Edinburgh will depart. We got into Heathrow airport at 5:07am and with the exception of the airport lights it was dark as night. It appears our airplane had beat the sun to the city. The plane ride was without incident but I found myself marveling at flying through countries like Russia, Germany and France. I have had to do a lot of flying but it is usually over the Pacific; this is my first time flying through Europe and it was so exciting to be passing over places like Luxenburg and Copenhagen. The flight was long (around 12 hours) and it occurred to me that from Vancouver to Hong Kong to London I had almost travelled around the world in less than thirty days. If I were to continuing flying from London back to Vancouver I will have circled the globe. That's so exciting. On the flight, I met Martin and Lucy, a wonderful couple who were returning to Ireland after visiting Australia. I exchanged a couple of card tricks for some chocolate they had bought in Australia. They informed me, as many others have, that Edinburgh is a fantastic city and that I would love it there. I have heard and read so much about Edinburgh I wonder if my hopes are set too high. I can't wait to get there. It is so monumental. It is like a dream unfolding. I take with me so many new hopes and expectations, and so many people's support, money, and prayers. It's all happening. I know double homesickness (for YVR & HK ) will eventually set in but at the moment I am too preoccupied with the excitement of the adventure before me because at last it has begun.

I think I will go buy a danish and listen to some Avril Lavigne.

Hong Kong

IMG_3426.JPG
Originally uploaded by Jon Lo.

I'm only back for two weeks but in this short time I have come to realise that I really love the city of Hong Kong. It is so crowded (full of crowds) and so lively (full of life). It is a city of people and pollution, of litter and lights. It is the fragrant harbor and the home of fads. There is also more good food here than I can sample in a life time. Due to reasons unknown to me, I have developed some sort of tolerance for the heat and humidity here. I used to complain about the heat ad nauseum but now it seems like even when the locals are talking about how hot it is I am still doing ok. I mean, I still sweat buckets, but it is not unbearable. Uncanny. I have also come to appreciate the beauty that is Hong Kong. Things that I used to take for granted I now find to be impressive and breathtaking. It is amazing to me that people here lead completely different lives from Canadians, with completely different worldviews- differing opinions regarding what is valuable, differing perspectives on what happiness and success look like, how to raise children, what to look forward to and what to hope for, etc. I guess you can call this reverse-reverse-reverse culture shock. I suppose it's not so much of a shock as it is a reminder that the world is a big place and other people are very different from ME and so I have to approach others with understanding and due respect for their equally legitimate way of thinking and upbringing. I have no idea where I will end up but I do love it here.

In addition to rediscovering all this... I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with my parents and dear, dear Jane. Time spent together is a precious thing and once it has vanished it will not come again. There were many times that I wish Joe could have been back too but I suppose that will have to wait. It's also been great to see my grandma, aunts and uncles, and cousins [who have, incidentally acquired a keen interest in magic], and to meet up with many old friends here (Sam, Sal, Kai, Michelle, Wibles, Janice & Derek, Ephraim). It is with no small sadness that I have to pack my suitcases once again to get back on the jet plane. Don't know when I'll be back again...

NEXT STOP: Edinburgh, Scotland. (Sept 8th)

ps. For all my supporters- I am still waiting on some pledges that people have promised me but I have reached my financial goal for this first 12 month period of study. THANK YOU so much for making this possible. And thank YOU, Jesus- I'm not worthy of such lavish grace and wonderful opportunity. I will be sending y'all an update once I have reached the UK and have met up with my supervisor LWH. I miss you guys & gals!! mwah..