Semester at Sea Fall
2006 Voyage
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TABLE
OF CONTENTS
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Migration as a HobbyBeijing, China
by Lara Callaway Amidst
all this, there rises a huge arc bearing the legend in blue lettering,
“International Beer Market.” Intrigued, I pass underneath the arc into
the
outdoor-pub area and walk past several counters advertising and serving
up
brews from all over the globe. Off in a corner an Indian man is
skewering
tandoori chicken, and across from him in another booth, sashimi is
being sold.
The area is strewn with plastic tables and chairs, bustling with
typical pub
activity and boasting and array of predominantly white faces. I’m
confused,
wondering if this is simply a foreign attraction in the downtown area.
A
familiar scene designed to attract tourists, like the ungodly amounts
of Irish
pubs that I’ve seen scattered in distinctly non-Irish countries. I buy
a “Uh… does anyone speak English…?” I try feebly. All six heads at the table I was timidly hovering behind turn to look at me.
“Aaaaaaaay!”
They all give me a welcome shout and one kid pulls me into the seat
next to
him. “We’ve got a newbie, boys! First night in town? Lemme guess--
Hearing
his
explanation and peering around, I was strongly reminded in a distorted
way of Nicole
Constable’s description in her article Made
to Order in Hong Kong of Filipina migrant workers spending their
Sundays
together in the parks, bonding and allowing themselves to be immersed
in their
own culture for some time, before returning back to the daily struggles
of
being a working-class minority in Hong Kong. Of course, “I’m
also
learning Vietnamese. Maybe once I get sick of “That’s
it?” I
asked. “So you came to “Of course. I graduated from UGA with a degree in English like thousands of others do semester after semester. Who wants to stay and teach English to unappreciative American kids?” |
Return to course home | Send me
your
comments: lac04f@fsu.edu |