Sunday, August 26, 2012

The Accidental Alcoholic

I've never heard anyone say "I think this is malt liquor" before.
But this is Hong Kong. All bets are off. So when one of the more docile members of our group walks up with what appears to be a lemon-lime soda called "Jolly Shandy," and I take a drink and immediately recognize it as beer, things get surprising. Turns out, Hong Kong purveys a .6% alcoholic beverage that can only be described as the love child of Sprite and Coors Lite. And this is how the legend of the accidental alcoholic began, and the reason that every toast is made since is dedicated "to Chris." 

Let's talk about some of my first impressions of HK culture. First off, I am pleased to report that aging Cantonese men go through waste bins digging for cans just as often here as they do in San Francisco. 
Hong Kong has a massive consumer culture. High fashion reigns supreme, with everything from Swarovski to H&M making appearances. Hong Kongers are obsessed with photography- you can find a camera store on every street. They also love watches. 
And everyone is a hipster. Some purposely, others not so much. Everyone sports graphic tees featuring either some obscure Western cultural icon (An E.T. shirt, a shirt featuring the Rolling Stones logo made of sequins) or some absurd English phrase. If San Francisco was as hip as Hong Kong, we would implode. True story, these people rock irony like it's going out of style. I've still yet to see any YOLO gear, but I've only been here for two days and it's bound to happen.

Tomorrow, we get to move into the dorms. I haven't dorm life in three years, and I'm not particularly excited to go back to it. I'm too old for this. 

I ate a sea urchin today. I also met a banana quality inspector from Holland, who "really likes bananas." 
Whatever, it's Hong Kong. 

2 comments:

  1. Sea urchin roe, mang. When you get back we can do uni with quail egg at the sushi restaurants!

    YOU'RE A MAN NOW.

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  2. This may be the most interesting blog on the internet. The foreshadowing of your entrance into a Hong Kong gang is so exciting.

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