canto-fran

right now, i'm in my canto phase. that means that i'm enthralled with everything and anything hk.

once in a while, i get into these cultural phases. i'm interested to learn if anyone else is like that.

like back in college, i was totally in my japanese phase. took a number of japanese history courses. watched japanese mini-series on ksci (channel 18 in the LA area). listened to japanese music. dreamed about returning to japan for holiday. i loved everything japanese.

after college, i was in my english phase. of course, some of my close friends would argue that i've always been in my english phase, and they are correct. but i think it was more prevalent after college. loved brit pop, so that's nothing new. got into bbc tv series such as "couplings" and "as time goes by." got an english flag (not the union jack but the actual english flag - white background with a red cross) to hang up at home. i went as far as to get little english flags to put on my car antenna during the 2002 world cup.

so now i'm in my hk phase. it hasn't been too wild though. i mean i am from hk, so it's not like i'm doing anything out of the ordinary. but i've been listening to cantopop more. that is... old school cantopop. not that new shit by the cantonese versions of a britney or an ashley. hey, i'm even into cantonese food. hahaha.

i think the souvenirs i brought back from hk were a big hit. people seemed to enjoy the little hk taxis and light buses. it's funny how no one wants the buses though. i mean, come on! a double-deckered hk bus and a bus that goes to the airport? priceless.

i have half a mind to learn cantonese. i really do. but christ, chinese characters are a fucking bitch to learn/memorize. speaking isn't too much of a problem. when kimmy, tiffany, bi and i went out for chinese food two nights ago, the waiter asked if i was from hk. he said that he could hear my hk accent by the way i speak. i don't know how much stock you can put on his comment, but according to most people i've used cantonese on, i don't have much of an accent.

so, the question is how much time and effort am i willing to put into doing something as difficult as learning how to read and write chinese? i don't even want to get into the learning mandarin business. somehow, i think that's a lost cause.