Musings of a university student – undecided everything.
Since exams ended in late April, I’ve been counting down the days until this course started (or, more accurately, till my flight to Hong Kong). To pick up school after a month’s worth of sleeping in and eating breakfast at lunchtime was tough though. This week has been a huge learning curve and the thing I’ve enjoyed the most is learning about things that are relevant and can observe in my everyday life. I’ve also found really interesting the topics that we covered this week. Discussing transnational migrants, the factors that influence their decisions, conflicts of preserving cultural heritage and traditions in this day and age, and today’s lecture on real estate and the impact of Hong Kong Chinese immigrants in the 90’s were all topics where I had related life experiences to draw upon and contribute to during class.
In my Geography 380 class last term, our final term paper was titled Asian Modernity, with a subtitle of our choice. I had actually focused on Hong Kong Chinese immigrants and their influence on the development of Vancouver for my paper, and had done previous readings of Professor Yu as well as David Ley and Kathryn Mitchell which were all helpful in increasing my insight into the topics we touched on in the second class. The readings that were assigned furthered my knowledge in those areas, and seeing the timeline of immigration policies helped to put things into a more visual perspective. I also analyzed Richmond’s development of the Golden Village, which sort of became an extension of Chinatown, but in a more modern Hong Kong way.
In my research, I read a lot about the Expo 86 land bid by Li Ka Shing and after I read an interview of Mr. Stanley Kwok, I saw that there was an event which he was going to attend at the Museum of Vancouver and I brought my dad to the salon-like event. A journalist/reporter moderated the night and Mr. Kwok spoke of his background and how he became part of the Expo project, as well as his experience working with a team of architects to make a successful bid for the massive site. Hearing him describe first-hand the planning of the original Blue Scheme and the later revision to the Green Scheme to ensure that the waterfront was shared and accessible was fascinating. Mr. Kwok shared photos of some of the drawings and building plans and Concord Pacific was obviously a dominating force in Vancouver’s real estate market.
I brought my dad to the event because he’s a contractor. I’ve always grown up around construction sites and new homes across the Lower Mainland. I observed that 10 years ago, my dad would have worked mostly in West Vancouver for Iranians, and then around Burnaby and Coquitlam, and recently in and around Vancouver, specifically the west side, interacting with Mandarin speaking clients. I think due to this environment, I am really inclined to looking at houses and making criticisms and observations offhandedly. I can’t wait to go to Hong Kong and see the different housing neighbourhoods and make comparisons to what I see here in Vancouver.
I’m also really looking forward to the tour of the Strathcona area next week. I found Jessica’s experiences to be very interesting and I’ve become open to possibilities of working in municipal governments or other organizations in city planning and development. I hope that my ENDS 221 course content will also be brought up, in regards to how city planning can be used to reduce waste and make a city more sustainable. I used to go to Chinese school five days a week in Chinatown, right across from the Strathcona Elementary School. I haven’t been back in the area really since I was in grade 4 though, so it will be interesting to notice the changes, as well as the still standing landmarks that I recognize from my childhood. My parents wanted me to be able to speak and write the language and I’m glad they brought me to the school and encouraged speaking Chinese at home. We also have incredible access to ethnic media here in Vancouver, a crucial link to making our transnational identity so viable.
Applying for this course has been the best academic decision I’ve made thus far! I’m excited for the rest of my time with my class, Wendy, and Henry.