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Signs like "20% off, 50% off or even 90% off" are seen everywhere....
Can't you believe that? Yes, everything is so cheap and bargainable, but will you buy something superfluous at the time of economic slowdown?
It seems that everyone does plan carefully before they go shopping excluding somebody who is extremely well-off or hardly affected by the global financial crisis.
However, do all of them need to be so frugal as if they were broke tomorrow? In my opinion, for those who work in a field which is relatively stable such as education and government sector, they can still buy whatever they like or need since they afford to do so. Oppositely, for those who become jobless or unfortunately lose a lot of money in their stock or bond investment, they may think about how to save for the worst such as not eating out so frequently nor buying any brandname products. I bet Hongkongers need more confidence under this adverse situation. Surely, things will become better tomorrow!
'Are you still young?' is an interesting question that many people have asked themselves or have been asked by others. Then, what is the answer? You may say, 'I don't know. It's because whether one is young or not is not absolute.' Definitely it is. For instance, if you are 35, and most of your friends are 20 something, of course, you are the oldest. In another case, if you are 40 something but you work in a profession which most of your colleagues are over 50, you are no doubt very young or probably among the youngest. Back to the question, it's actually easy to know whether you are still young or not. You don't need to look at the mirror and see if you have wrinkles around your eyes or mouth. There is also no need to count how old you are by this time next year. Simply think about if you still have idols. Why? It's easy. No matter how old you are, if you still have idols, it means that you know how to appreciate others. But if you realize that you have no idols, it is not because you are too jaded. Instead it means you probably know the world better than anyone in the world and you no longer have this 'capacity' to appreciate others. Then, it is very likely you are no longer young, sadly speaking. I do hope that the picture I presented here isn't too pessemistic, but it is a fact or a stage everyone will arrrive at after a couple of years! I think learning how to appreciate others is an art which may be difficult for some people to master!!
This morning, HAAL committee organized a sea cruise outing in Sai Kung. All participants met around 11 am and then we headed for a place called 糧船灣, an offshore bay near Sai Kung Pier. The boat ride took 40 minutes. We got off the boat and rode on a sampan to reach the seafood restaurant located on another side of the island. The weather was perfect though it was a bit windy. Grace and I had fun and good time. We felt a bit relaxed. What's more was that I could chat with my colleagues in IEd that we seldom talked to each other as we are busy and have very different teaching schedules. Thanks HAAL for organizing such a great day for all of us!
Do you believe someone was a born teacher? I am not sure. Some people can be trained to be a good teacher but some were a really born teacher. Yesterday, I observed one of my students for her final year teaching practice. This young lady, practising her teaching in one Tai Po primary school, is a bit different from others. Actually, the school she was allocated to is a not a Band 1 school. I bet students there are average and well-behaved. Against my expectation, once I stepped into her classroom, I realized that she could make her students quiet and settled down without yelling and screaming. Instead, she just looked at the whole class for two times and remained aloof and calm. Simply her gestures and eye movements could control the students very well and they were also obedient. This process just took her fewer than 1 minute! Then, the lesson went on and she taught comparison of different people. The pupils she taught are at P3 level who are still very naughty and inattentive in class. Regardless of these disadvantages, she played two games with the students to illustrate how to use adjectives comparing old and new friends and asked them to do pair work in a very disciplined fashion. Usually, according to my experience, primary school pupils can get very excited and out of place once they are assigned to do pair or group work. But this young lady could make her students do whatever she wanted so easily without any discipline problem. Is she talented? Very likely. Is she experienced? No. Is she charismatic? I guess so. Is she a good teacher? Wait and see. Do we need teachers like her? Surely.
This time, I would like to talk about shopping in Japan. During my trip to Japan, I went to two big outlets. I've mentioned one called Gotemba Premium Outlets in the previous entry; while the other is called Mitsui Outlet Park. During the past decade, 'outlet' culture has become more and more popular in Japan though I am not saying that shopping at malls or shops is not unwelcome. The major features of these 'mega'-outlets are three-fold. First, they all sell brandname products, but probably not the most updated ones. Second, some of these items such as handbags or shoes are less expensive than the regular prices listed elsewhere. Third, they tend to cater needs of all walks of life from toys, ladies' wear to men's wear. Because most of these outlets are located in a bit remote areas, they are normally big in size and some areas are solely reserved for picnic. Dogs are also allowed in these mega outlets. I witnessed Japanese families having their packed lunch after shopping in some open areas. Gotemba Outlet targets at high fashion. To name just a few, Gucci, Prada, D&G, Ralph Lauren, Bally and Armani can all be found in this outlet. For Mitsui Outlet Park, this one is more down-to-earth and aims at office ladies. Brandnames such as Nike, Adidas, G-shock and some cosmetics brands can be found in this mall. Though Mitsui Outlet is much smaller than Gotemba, the items of the former are more reasonable and affordable. In addition, Mitusi is located near one of the JR stations, so it is much more convenient. Apart from outlets, shops in Japan are full of beautiful products but their prices are relatively more expensive than those of Hong Kong. Think thrice before you shop in Japan!!
Lately, something very bad happened in my family. I didn't cry nor complain anything. What I think is to look forward. I'm still optimistic and positive though there is no laughing matter this time. Grace and I have been married for almost 8 years. We were and are still very happy about our life. In these years, we encountered a number of 'ups and downs' both in our careers and personal life. But in most people's eyes, our roads are still very smooth. However, this time, I know we truly meet some challenges, especially me. I am always very lucky and loved by many people. But, this time, I really have to meet this 'challenge' with Grace and learn how to overcome barriers in life. We are no longer young and we should understand that life is not at all easy! I believe more we have gone through, more wisdom we might gain eventually. This is life which is full of happiness as well as challenges...
Today, I did my first school visit in this academic year. What a coincidence! In the last academic year, my first school visit and actually my 'real' first one in my career fell on the coldest day in January 2008. I remember on that day, it was only 8 degrees Celscius. And today, when I headed off to the school, it rained cats and dogs. Perhaps, heavy rain or freezing weather is with me whenever I have my first school visit. Who knows?
In Japan, I visited two famous tourist spots. One is called Hakone 箱根, formerly a national park owned by the royal family and now a holiday resort for both Japanese and foreign tourists. The park, embedded in a big forest with artificial planted pine trees, surrounded a beautiful lagoon called 蘆之湖 where Grace and I could get on board and enjoy a light breeze of autumn (you can see the scenery from the pictures next to this entry). The sea cruise took us only 15 minutes to travel from one side of the lake to another and we could overlook the day view of Mt. Fuji. According to the local people, it's hard to see the full view of Mt. Fuji as it was usually covered by rain or 'thick' cloud almost throughout the year. If one can see the full view of Mt. Fuji, he or she must be very lucky on that day. Actually, on the second day of our visit, I could see the full view of Fuji from a shopping outlet called Gotemba located at the bottom of Mt. Fuji. I thought I was lucky on that day!
The second place I visited was called 'Kyoto gate side' which was very near the Hakone lagoon. In the old days of Japan (around 1600 - 1700), there were two tribes of people who were governed by two big military leaders. As these leaders conquered their own lands and properties, they designated their own borderlines near the centre of Tokyo, today's Hakone. People, living at the east of the gate, were called 關東人 and those living at the west of the gate were called 關西人. These two groups of people could visit each other but whenever they travelled from one side to another, they had to go through what we call today 'customs' or 'checkpoints' and showed necessary identification documents. It's an interesting place!
Last few days, I had a short trip to Tokyo, Japan. The purpose of this trip was to take a break out of my hectic teaching and administrative schedule. In addition, Grace and I will be very busy in the next couple of months. We attempted to select a hybrid tour, blending the special features of both 'free tour' and 'package/guided tour'. During the first two days, we mainly followed Tommy, the tourist guide travelling around the outskirt and downtown of Tokyo and then on the last two days, we planned to go to the places we preferred. In general, the trip was relaxing and eye-opening because Tokyo is a gorgeous and lovely city for everyone especially those who like beautiful things and people. Everyone on the street, regardless of gender or social classes, is clean, tidy and well-attired. Apart from people, places are clean and easy to find as the city planning was comprehensive. With highway, JR (trains) and metro, one may get access to any places they like without any trouble. The wide coverage of JR and metro can make people arrive at every single destination they want! When Grace and I took the JR, we had to be extremely carefully as there are tons of JR sub-lines interwoven throughout the city!Will tell you more about the places I visited in the next entry.
