I tend to take water for granted. Lots of people do and it is particularly easy to do so in a place where it is humid and rains a lot. But this complacency is not a good thing. Water matters hugely. It connects us in ways we might not even imagine. It is a real problem when there isn’t enough. It is a real problem when the water we do have can’t help us to meet our needs. According to Water.Org more than 780 Million (780,000,000) people worldwide, do not have access to clean water.
Spicy Eggplant and some questions of lack.
Hong Kong claims a cosmopolitan food culture. Indeed, many Hong Konger‘s claim that not only can you try a new food culture in Hong Kong, but you can get a better version. It is a point of pride. What is surprising to me, then, is the fact that while you can easily access other cuisines and often in artfully decorated jars or in ready made portions in the refrigerated section of the upmarket stores, it is difficult to find Chinese food that is similarly packaged. This is not because food gifting is not a big deal here, giving food baskets is huge at certain times of the year. Maybe this lack has something to do with Continue reading
Entering Shenzhen
Lo Wo MTR station at the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China
This is the platform at Lo Wu, which is the end of the East Rail Line of Hong Kong’s MTR. Once you pay your fare you enter the border crossing to China. The first thing you must do to proceed with your journey is go through the HK SAR passport control. As an ID card holder of Hong Kong, I am able to progress through an automated gate at this point and enter the bridge that marks the space between Hong Kong and Mainland China. On the other side, I queue in the foreigner line to show my passport in order to complete the crossing. Hundreds of thousands of people cross this border every day. It is a fascinating place. Continue reading
“Mean Professor” and the context of rudeness
Mean Professor Tells Student to “get your sh*t together”
This story appeared a couple of years ago and soon after NPR did a musical version (http://tinyurl.com/cgwww3o). The blogger received hundreds of comments and likes. More recently it appeared on my facebook page, posted by another academic. The story, and the sentiment, still have currency. Indeed, the rudeness of students is often something discussed by university teachers (and I suspect other teachers as well). We talk strategy for getting students to be on time (and be quiet and turn off their cell phones). We lament a situation where we do not feel as empowered to say what we feel as this particular professor did. We wish we could be Professor Snape or Lord Sugar and cut the-one-who-must-be-silenced down to size. Continue reading
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