Movie Going in Taiwan

I am not a big moviegoer when I am in the states.  Normally I cannot justify spending $20 going to a newly released movie when I can just wait a few months and see it for $3 at the dollar theater or on Redbox.  Call me a cheapskate, lame, or whatever you want but it is simply the reality.  Going to a movie in Asia, however, is so much fun.

Close to where we are staying there is a giant Japanese mall with a huge movie theater on the top floor.  Last year when we were in Taiwan I noticed that Avengers came out a week earlier in Taiwan so we saw it and it was amazing.  Last week we actually went to the movies twice and saw Iron Man III (very good) and Star Trek II (Even better than Iron Man III).  Besides the fact that the movies themselves were all really awesome, the experience of going to a movie theater in Taiwan is quite awesome.

First, the movie theaters are massive, clean, and air-conditioned.  The seats are very comfortable (and assigned so you are sure to get a good seat if you buy your tickets early) and the sound system is ridiculously amazing.  After seeing tons of badly down Korean and Chinese Dramas is it nice to see professionally done Hollywood movies with great acting, good special effects, and beautiful soundtracks.  It is also nice to hear English for a few hours.

Second, because the movies are in English with Mandarin sub-titles interesting things happen.  For instance, sometimes they use an English idiom or saying that is only funny if you are from the United States or are a native English speaker.  This almost always means that I laugh quite hard, out loud, while the entire rest of the theater is awkwardly quite.  At other times the rest of the audience will read a joke that they say before the actor actually says the joke, which means that I have a delayed reaction, and again am laughing when other people are quite.

For the first time in my life, someone actually answered their phone during the movie and had a 30 second conversation with them!  Apparently I was the only one appalled by this because everyone else just kept staring at the movie and not even noticing this total breach of movie etiquette!  I’ve seen people answer their phone in movies on TV or in comedies but to actually experience it in real life was sort of perplexing!

Finally, remember how I said that the movie theaters were pretty clean?  That is because they actually clean the theater in-between each showing, but also because people clean up after themselves.  In case you forget to clean up after yourself, right after the movie ends and the lights begin to fade up a little Taiwanese lady walks out and yells in a high pitched voice that everyone should remember to clean up after themselves and pick up their area.  This doesn’t sound that bad, but think about what we normally do at the end of a movie in the States.  If you are like me, it is a time to think about the movie, make some comment to your number, and return to the real world where your legs barely work and you have to stumble into the bathroom because of the huge soda you just drank.  There is no time for reflection in Taiwan, and the first time the little lady came out and screamed at us I almost had a heart attack and thought she was saying Taiwan had just been attacked!

So there you go, that’s what seeing a movie in Taiwan has been like.  It may not be what you thought you would read from me but maybe more will come in the future as we get better internet connects.  If you ever get to see a movie in foreign country, do it, it is really fun and is a cultural experience to boot!  

Hong Kong: Not the Asian Manhattan

Hong Kong Skyline from Kowloon

This past week saw my wife and I visiting the beautiful and exotic Hong Kong.  As a former British Colony, semi-autonomous region of China Hong Kong has become an economic powerhouse in the Far East and along with Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore is known as one of the "Asian Tigers".  Hong Kong is known as financial city and is often referenced in the same breath as New York, London, and Tokyo.  All of this things meant that I was expecting Hong Kong to be very similar to any and all of those cities that I have previously visited.  I was very wrong.

One amazing thing about Hong Kong is that as far as I could see there were not any bridges to Hong Kong Island.  There were tunnels, mass transit, and plenty of boats but not a bridge.  This lends the skyline an amazingly pristine look and probably makes traffic to and from the port a lot easier to manage.

All of the black in this picture is wilderness (except the water)

Second, Hong Kong is not as large (space wise) as London, New York, or Tokyo.  Each of those cities has a downtown or central area that everyone associates with the city.  This is where rich people live, tourists visit, and major companies have their offices.  However, around these central locations there are usually sprawling metropolises that go on for miles in every direction as smaller towns are eaten by suburbia and the infrastructure of these mega cities.  In Hong Kong it is very different.  The city in Hong Kong is very compact and is scattered around the edges of the main island and the associated areas but never more than a half-mile from the water after which is almost complete wilderness and isolation.  No sprawling suburbs and no shantytowns on the edges of the city.  The reason for this is geography, after about half a mile the sides of the mountains become much too steep for people to travel up in anything other than the funicular railway to the city's highest observation point.  This interesting geography was completely unexpected and made this major city appear to be both isolated and pristine even though it housed millions of people and tourists.

Our Cable Car to the giant Budha statue

 The geography of Hong Kong also means that space is at an even higher premium than other big cities so almost every building is a skyscraper.  Manhattan is probably the best known town for skyscrapers in the USA but it has nothing on Hong Kong because not only is the financial district crawling with massive buildings but apartment complexes are regularly more than 50 floors tall in every part of the city.  Although buildings in New York, London, and Tokyo are usually 4 or 5 stories it is nothing compared to the sheer height of the buildings in Hong Kong.

The previously mentioned Giant Budha Statue

Finally, I was impressed and surprised by how easy it was for a non-Cantonese speaker to get around and function in Hong Kong.  There were a few times when Jade's Mandarin came in very handy to people who could not understand English very well but overall it is a city that is easy to manage and quite enjoyable.  One thing to note, however, the hostels in the Tourist district are really expensive for what you get (basically a cell).  It was difficult to make this our first stop after massive jet lag because we did not want to spend any time in the nasty hostel but also needed to rest earlier as we got our clocks on the right schedule.  

Hong Kong was an amazing place and 3 days there was absolutely perfect for how much we wanted to see, spend, and do before our main destination of Taiwan, which I will write about soon.  I hope you enjoy the post and if you ever need any pointers about visiting Hong Kong just ask!  Also, feel free to ask me any questions about my travels or the photos included, it's always nice to know that people are reading your blog ;-D.

The janky little "cell" at our hostel

American Politics.....

Well, it has been quite a while since last I posted on here. Like many people, real life got in the way of my blogosphere life and I didn't have much to comment on that I couldn't say in public. However, recently I have realized just how much I don't like American politics.  Many people might wonder about this comment because I am an international relations major, read the news incessantly, and usually use my facebook page as another avenue for posting slightly inflammatory political news.  However, I still don't like politics... I like government.

  For me, there is a clear distinction between government and politics, which people don't always see.  I would generally define government as the acts, institutions, and theories behind governance whereas politics are the thoughts, arguments, theories, and ideals which help people influence governance.  Specifically in America, I dispise the fact that our politics are so marginalizing.  Look at President Obama's most recent act to provide work visas to illegal alien youth and the hatred it has caused from many people in the opposition.  Members of my family have said that this is tantamount to high treason, that Obama is a fascist and many other things.  Do we even know what treason or fascism is?  Our political discussion in our country is no longer a discussion at all, it is simply a Facebook page filled with knee jerk reactions full of hatred, bigotry, and stupidity.  I like government, and studying it, because government is how we solve problems and help people.  Politics is how we fill up the evening news and make friends and family angry at one another for almost no purpose.

My Travels!

Life is Crazy

Hello Blog-o-sphere!

  I doubt people read this, but I started it and I'm gosh-darn gonna post on it when I get a chance!

Since getting married back in December my life has been crazy and awesome at the same time.  Being married is awesome, and while a challenge, is both amazing and simplifying at the same time.  It is quite wonderful and I am grateful for it.

"Luke, I manage your 401K"

  On other notes, I'M INTERNING WITH GOLDMAN SACHS THIS SUMMER!!!  Now, If you would have told me two months ago that I was going to seek an internship with one of the largest and well-known financial institutions in the world, or that they were going to give me a full-time offer once I graduated I would tell you that you were nuts!  Me in BANKING?  Are you kidding?  Most of my family and friends think of this infamous man to the right when they think of Goldman Sachs and have ribbed me extensively about seeking this internship.  Although I don't know if I want to work for Goldman for the rest of my life I think this is a wonderful opportunity for me.

1) I hate ignorance and one of the biggest things I am ignorant of is business.  This is especially problematic for two reasons, first 80% of International Relations majors end up in the business world and second, I make fun of business majors all the time but I don't know anything about them!  That's really dumb and unfair, so I need to learn before I judge!

2)  Goldman Sachs is one of the most prestigious and successful businesses in the world.  By interning at Goldman I we not only see the best of the business world, I will learn amazing professional skills, first-hand experience, and a certain amount of prestige for earning one of these extremely difficult positions.  All of those are great reasons.

3)  It pays.  Really, after getting married it is difficult for me to justify a lot of unpaid internships or trips and this was an opportunity to do reasons 1 and 2 while getting paid for it, pretty sweet right?

Overall, I am excited about my internship this summer if a little scared about working in such a professional atmosphere and with so many successful people.  I expect to be overwhelmed but also to learn a lot and know whether or not business is a good fit for me.

I think one of the goals of an undergraduate education is to understand what I'm interested and good at so that I can focus better in graduate studies and career aspirations.  I'm grateful that I get to try so many different avenues and am blessed with wonderful family, a supportive wife, and a religion that guides and supports me.  I know that this blessing, like all others, is a gift and a privilege and for that I thank Him.  I hope all of you are doing well and have a wonderful weekend!

We all need a little happiness during the season!

It isn't Hitler, it's Charlie Chaplin!  I love this video and it definitely fits in with this blog.  Check it out!

A new article on National Security and the Situation in Syria!

Hey everyone, I just finished an article on Why Syria is different and how this affects the United State's response to the unrest there over on praemon.org.  Here's the official URL:

http://praemon.org/2011/12/08/why-is-syria-different/

Sorry I haven't been posting much, it's finals week right now and I'm getting married in two weeks so things are bit crazy for me but when are they not?  Anyway, I hope you read the article and if you have any comments you can leave them here or write a response article on the website!