Goodbye American Asia, Hello Other American Asia
I spent the month of February in
the Philippines, a fantastic country with amazing people. It is hard to put a
finger on the exact culture of the group of 177 islands bunched together in
south-east Asia that make up the country. There was Spanish settlement on the
Philippines several decades ago which gives the atmosphere a Latino flair. It
initially reminded me of Nicaragua and other Central American countries
especially because of small nuances and phrases like, ‘Hola’ or in counting
numbers, ‘uno, dose, tres’. The Philippines is also hopelessly in love with
everything American, from Western entertainment, to lifestyle, to clothing, to
slang.
American flags, signs and pop culture are plastered all over Jeepneys,
limousine jeep vehicles used for local transportation. (Maverick, going supersonic, see you in 30 seconds)
As an American I was placed on a
pedestal with near celebrity status as I walked around the city we stayed in.
We were in Asia, but the Philippines felt nothing like the foreign Eastern
world that I have heard so much about. It was a pleasure to be there and to be
treated so well, truly the Philippines is an amazing place, but deep down I
wanted to experience the real Asia.
Our teams were informed that we would be going to China for the month of March
and I was very excited.
There was a lot of secrecy
surrounding what exactly our month would look like because China is a communist
country that has a questionable, problematic government. Applying for tourist
visas was a nightmare, it has only been very recently that the government has
released a vice-grip over the borders of the country. For the longest time no
one was let in or out and even though the reigns have been let up, it is still
difficult for outsiders to enter. Thankfully, we were all accepted and we flew
from Manila, Philippines to Hong Kong in early March.
Most of
the teams hopped onto trains and traveled north up into mainland China as soon
as we landed. A few teams stayed behind in Hong Kong, my team being one of
them. My teams plan was to stay in the city for a week before taking a long
train ride up into the mainland. Upon arrival in Hong Kong I realized that I
was still not in the real Asia that I
desired to experience. The verdict over whether Hong Kong is or is not a
part of China depends on who you ask. You see, Hong Kong is like its own
separate country, separate from the mainland. It has its own currency, the Hong
Kong Dollar as opposed to the China RMB, its own official language, Cantonese
as opposed to China’s Mandarin, and its own governing authorizes that are not dictated
by China’s Communist government. There is a border between Hong Kong and China
that is recognized and secured. A strange fact is that vehicles drive on the
left side of the road in Hong Kong, while in mainland China they drive on the
right side of the road.
Hong
Kong was under British rule until just a few decades ago, so there is a subtle British
influence here, much like the Spanish influence in the Philippines. This would
explain why cars are driven on the left. Yes, I know, it is quite strange. Hong
Kong is a metropolitan, commercial, financial hub that is a major player in
world trade and economics.
This is a picture taken from International Finance Center building number 2,
the 8th largest building in the world, aka the Batman building. The
real reason we went here was because this is the building Batman jumps off of
in the Dark Knight movie. He jumps to closest building with the spikes on top.
So being in Hong Kong… are you really in China? Yes, no, maybe…. I don’t know.
All I know is that Hong Kong is not the real
Asia that I longed to experience either. It really just exemplifies America’s
capitalism and advancements. Some have dubbed Hong Kong the place where ‘East
meets West’.
Keep reading-
The Chronicles of China:
