Casual International Teacher Conference Day 0, 1, & 2: LA to Beijing to Hong Kong
9:28 PM
LAX Airport, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Several months ago, while I was still working at High Tech High, I had the opportunity to apply to run a workshop at an education conference in China. It was about PBL and AI in the classroom (PBL is project-based learning and AI is, well, artificial intelligence, or machine learning). For the past several years, I have done a climate change project in my Integrated Math 3 class, where we use mathematic functions to predict carbon emissions from particular food sources in the upcoming years.
The "AI" part is that we use technology -- in all honesty, I do not seek out AI, and I'm sure I use it (in fact, I definitely do, as Gemini in Google has gotten much better since it first came out), but I don't typically search for it. I'm not opposed to AI. It's what Kenny does for work, so I appreciate that it is a big reason why the two of us can afford to pay rent. It's a tool, and it's capable of some pretty cool things. It is, perhaps, hubris that stops me from using it more. While I think it's helpful to help you organize your thoughts when approaching a big project, I don't want to outsource my writing or my work in any way. Even grading, which I absolutely loathe with every fiber of my being, I like to do myself because I refuse to relinquish any ounce of control that I can actually hold on to in a job where I am dealing with teenagers every day.
This is all to say that, when it came to the "AI" portion of my project for this workshop, I focused my application more on new capabilities that the website Desmos (a free online graphing calculator) has recently come up with, since Desmos plays a central role in the project. I know enough about machine learning to make the argument that this is AI, but I also have to admit I am not 100% sure what the actual definition of AI is, and -- perhaps, again, the hubris -- I don't think anybody else is either. At my least self-aware, when I give myself over to the worst of my condescending virtue-signaling impulses, I would point out just how bad for the environment it is, how much water is wasted, every time someone uses ChatGPT or any other AI for a simple question or task they could probably do on their own, but this would require me to turn a complete blind eye to how often I order things off Amazon delivered directly to my door because literally everything -- every single thing I swear to God -- is locked up at my local CVS, and I hate waiting the 5 or 10 minutes it would take the employee to come by and unlock it for me (seriously, why is the toothpaste locked up?? Who is stealing enough toothpaste to warrant this security??).
At any rate, my workshop was accepted, my project is, frankly, pretty solid (a rigorous high school math project), and I got a free trip to China out of it.
Kenny, unfortunately, has to stay home, because he has -33 hours of PTO. I am proud of him, because it was previously around -80, so it's going in the right direction. He is currently playing Diablo IV. I am currently asking TSA if I have to remove my beanie and am being told "I don't care if you do" by an employee who seems to want me to know that he's a very chill dude, which is both a valid and bewildering response to my question.
I haven't traveled by myself in a long time, but I'm hoping it's like riding a bicycle, in that people will give me a wide berth when it's clear I have no idea what I'm doing. My first stop is Hong Kong, where I will be entirely left to my own devices. I then head to Guangzhou, the third largest city in China (a casual 19 million people live there, and I'm not sure I knew what Guangzhou was before I applied to this workshop).
I left for LAX right after work, having packed my bags last night. One of my students recommended that I don't speak English in Hong Kong because they will charge me more money, but the only other language I speak is high school French, which I don't think will be much better. This is what Alanis Morissette refers to as "ironic," because it's good advice that I just will not be taking due to a complete inability to do so.
We're boarding. I've had too much caffeine. It is almost 2 PM on Saturday in China. I will be there on Sunday.
I haven't worn jeans in a long time on a plane, and I realized about halfway through the flight that it was a mistake. My leggings are packed in my checked luggage, and as I sit here, everything feels fine, but it is definitely something I will keep in mind for the flight home. Leggings or sweats for flights, always.
The LAX airport had some pretty abysmal food choices, and I ended up with a mediocre poke bowl that cost me about $20. The only other options that I would have been open to were either a $14 uber-processed ham-and-cheese sandwich from Hudson News or a mediocre bowl of mac n cheese that also would have run me $20. There was the option of Panda Express, which, without any context for why I was at the airport, felt like the most appealing option, but I think the idea of having Panda Express right before going to China would have haunted me for the rest of my days. I would have had to wake up every morning, knowing that I had Panda Express less than 24 hours before going to China, and, while the shame may not have killed me, it surely would have made me a shell of my former self.
The flight was easy, even in a middle seat. International flights have bigger seats, I think. Air China was pretty comfortable. The girl to my right mostly slept, or tried to. The man to my left occasionally played audio out loud on his phone (video games and once a short internet video), and he also opted for a coffee about 7 hours into our 14+ hour flight. This is all psychopathic behavior, so I did not engage.
I took a zzzQuil shot as I boarded, so I fell asleep right around when we got to cruising altitude and woke up about 6 hours later when they were offering beverages. This is, I think, about as good as it's going to get on one of these flights. The rest of my time was divided between playing stupid games on my phone, reading about Nature Boy (a cult leader who believed we should all poop outside and showers are not necessary as long as you only eat fruit and is now spending life in prison for rape), and taking short naps. Honestly, it's about as good of a flight as I could have asked for.
The Beijing Airport was quiet when we landed. We got in right after 5 AM, and there were three different checkpoints it felt like to get through to the actual airport. I had a Costa Coffee, which doesn't exist in the US but I really like (introduced to it when we were in London), and then had a congee (rice porridge) for breakfast. It was 6 yuan -- that's less than a dollar! And the bowl was huge! I added some soy sauce and chili sauce and it was very good.
The bathrooms here are so fancy. Plants and greenery. So clean. Big stalls, walled off. And then, the optin -- do you want a toilet, or do you want to squat over a hole in the ground? I genuinely don't know why anyone would choose the latter. Maybe nostalgia? Or they like the challenge? Or maybe the airport couldn't afford to put a toilet in every stall, so they split up the stalls? I have a lot of questions, and I may never get answers.
I don't think I can post this from Beijing because Google is not allowed here, so I can't save it until I get to Hong Kong, which is not behind the Chinese Google Firewall. I am very reliant on Google, so Guangzhou should be an adventure just for that alone. However, in Guangzhou, I will be with the conference, and also, I am an adult person, so I should be able to figure it out.
I'm more glad than ever that I decided to spend these first 2 days in Hong Kong. It feels like China Lite, since it only reintegrated into China 28 years ago after the UK forced China to give it up back in the 19th century until the year 1997. They even have a different currency. I am, as always, benefitting from the audacity and Caucasity of 19th century English-speaking empires.
Some confusion with the uber driver on whether to pick me up on the ground floor or the first floor of the car park. I am very American, because I forgot there was a difference.
The drive was uneventful, over a long bridge to get from the airport to Kowloon, which is the neighborhood where I'm staying. I'm at the Eaton HK, which I picked because it seemed like it was close to a lot of cool stuff. It turns out the hotel itself it pretty cool! I stepped out of the Prius and was immediately hit with the smell of incredible Chinese food. I wasn't quite hungry yet, but I certainly am now. The hotel was playing Adele and had multiple levels of cool stuff, including a food court (God, I love a food court) and a very hip bar called Terrible Baby that I'll probably check out later tonight. They also have some events, but I don't think any of them happen tonight or tomorrow, so I'm SOL on that front. Oh well.
I spoke with a porter on the way up to my room. He has lived in Hong Kong for 10 years and absolutely loves it but is originally from Sudan. If things continue as they are, he says, he doesn't see himself ever returning. But he loves Hong Kong! So that was a nice note to end on.
Okay, I desperately need a shower and some food. And then also to check everything out. I'm gonna meander toward the Kowloon Walled City. It's 2 miles, but it's a beautiful day today -- 76 degrees and sunny -- so I think I'll walk. Hong Kong, baby!
Excellent. So glad you did not get Panda Express😉
ReplyDeleteI love a food court too!
Enjoy HK