Last night was another milestone in my food experineces in Hong Kong. Shirley took me out for sushi and I had salmon sushi and a cucumber salad with these bright orange fish eggs. I really like the salad thing we got. I took pictures of what we ate just so I can prove what I ate. Then we had this amazing fruit dessert with all kinds of fruit. All I could identify was coconut, banana, papaya, watermelon, and lychee. Other than that I have no idea what I ate, but it was good. I find that if I don't let people tell me what I eat, I enjoy things more. I can't even begin to describe how good the food is here. Its just fantastic and insanly cheap.
Today my classes went well. I was the only exchange student in my Statistics class, and some of the other students didn't seem to be happy to see me. I guess its because they don't want to use English. My professor was messing with me a little too, because everytime he would ask a rhetorical question he would turn and zero in on me. I was given an intense stare down at least 3 times in that class alone today. My other class of the day was Film and Cinema Studies. Its going to be such a fun class. The professor is hilarious! I'm in the class with another exchange student, Jessica, and we were giggling through the whole class today. He asked us to raise our hands if we didn't speak Mandarin and when I did he just laughed at me and said "well, of course you don't" and laughed at me. (They speak Cantonese here, and some students also speak Mandarin, so they have to explain everything in 3 languages sometimes) So that was my embarassing moment for the day. Its was fun though.
Tonight I am going out to dinner with Megan, her roommater Jess, and Karen. I am trying to convince my roommate Terrance to come with us, because I never see her or get to spend time with her. She is a 3rd year student here and she is incredibly busy. Everyone seems to be busy during the New Year. Speaking of, I've been invited to 2 of the International Buddies houses for dinner and Shirley is also going to take me to her relative's house to see the fireworks! There are going to be so many awesome pictures to come, I assure you!
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
First day of classes
My first day of classes is finally here! I only had one class which was Survey of Indian History. I was the first person there, and there turned out only to be about 10 people in my whole class. At first no one would sit next to me, and it hurt my feelings. Then Sunny, one of the Korean exchange students came in and sat next to me so I wasn't alone. It was a little surreal because I felt like none of the other students would really even look at me. The professor seemed happy to see me though. I guess he must be a little tired of teaching in Cantonese. The class seems to be pretty easy so far. That was my only class of the day so I got to goof off for the rest of the day. Once Megan was done with classes, her roommate Jess took us out downtown so that Megan could do some shopping and we also did some sight-seeing. We went down to Victoria Harbor, where the famous skyline is and watched the light show that they put on every night. We also met up with some of Jess' friends and I have some great pictures of us infront of the skyline. Later after the show, we all went to the Jade Garden restaurant for some Shanghai-style food. It was one of the best meals I've had in my whole life. I really liked the food there. One of the dishes was so spicy that my face stayed pink for about an hour after dinner. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love love love the food here. I really want to get some good recipies to take with me when I come home.
Today was my second day of class, and once again, I only had one class at 3pm so I definatly slept in. The class I had today was Cultural and Historical Writing. There are only 3 people, including me, in this class. I really hope that the University doesn't cancel it because not only do I need the requirements for my major, the class looks like a lot of fun. All my professor wants to do is watch a bunch of movies and talk about them. Tomorrow is going to be a bit busier because I have two classes, Statistics and Film/Cinema Studies. The classes here are pretty much the same as classes back home with an addition called tutorials. Tutorials are when you meet in small groups during the week to discuss and go over the material of the previous week. They are also manditory. 3 out of my 5 classes have tutorials, and after the Chinese New Year I will be a lot busier. Helen is coming to see me tonight, and then I am going to go pay a visit to Shirley, one of the exchange students who was at St. Mary's last semester. My roommate hasn't been back for about 3 days, but I think that its just because she is really busy with New Years.
Oh and something weird thats been happening- everywhere I go on campus people have been stopping and saying "Hi Becca" to me even though I have no idea who they are and how they know my name. Is there like a secret fan club for me on campus or something? Its both cool and weird at the same time. And since I've put my address up, I am hoping for lots of love to come in the mail. (Hint: I could really kill for hot chocolate and jelly beans) And I will also be sending out lots of love too, as soon as I find the post office.
Today was my second day of class, and once again, I only had one class at 3pm so I definatly slept in. The class I had today was Cultural and Historical Writing. There are only 3 people, including me, in this class. I really hope that the University doesn't cancel it because not only do I need the requirements for my major, the class looks like a lot of fun. All my professor wants to do is watch a bunch of movies and talk about them. Tomorrow is going to be a bit busier because I have two classes, Statistics and Film/Cinema Studies. The classes here are pretty much the same as classes back home with an addition called tutorials. Tutorials are when you meet in small groups during the week to discuss and go over the material of the previous week. They are also manditory. 3 out of my 5 classes have tutorials, and after the Chinese New Year I will be a lot busier. Helen is coming to see me tonight, and then I am going to go pay a visit to Shirley, one of the exchange students who was at St. Mary's last semester. My roommate hasn't been back for about 3 days, but I think that its just because she is really busy with New Years.
Oh and something weird thats been happening- everywhere I go on campus people have been stopping and saying "Hi Becca" to me even though I have no idea who they are and how they know my name. Is there like a secret fan club for me on campus or something? Its both cool and weird at the same time. And since I've put my address up, I am hoping for lots of love to come in the mail. (Hint: I could really kill for hot chocolate and jelly beans) And I will also be sending out lots of love too, as soon as I find the post office.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Mailing address
Alright people here it is, my mailing address for Hong Kong
Room 702B, Hall E
Lingnan University
Tuen Mun
New Territories
Hong Kong
I expect lots of love letters and such. Jelly beans would be nice too ;)
Room 702B, Hall E
Lingnan University
Tuen Mun
New Territories
Hong Kong
I expect lots of love letters and such. Jelly beans would be nice too ;)
Thursday, January 19, 2006
So Much to Share
I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a couple of days, but I've been off having adventures here, some a little more crazier than the others. Would you believe me if I told you that I've already had 3 run-ins with Security/Police? The first night one of the other girls tripped and fell off a curb. She cute her head and the Police wanted to call an ambulance and I spent a good deal of time convincing them not too. She's perfectly fine, with just a little bruising. The next time I had an encounter was when we came back late, and Security followed us back to our hostels. Then the next day I tried to go down the outside stairwell, but apparently you can't do that and no one thought to tell me. So I was locked out, and trying to get back in on every floor. (Keep in mind that I live on the 7th floor, and that the 1st floor is not the ground floor) I got down to the ground floor, and still couldn't get out. Then when I called one of the other girls who lives in my building, she told me that she was at the beach, and that I should just run out the emergency exit. Just as I was about to do that, security slams the door open and starts yelling at me in Chinese, demanding to see my passport and acceptance letter. I was ready to cry because the one guy wouldn't stop yelling at me. Once he said all he wanted to say, the other guard lead me inside and took my name down, so now I'm on a list somewhere.
But I have been having some pretty awesome times outside of locking myself out of places. A huge group of Lingnan students took a bunch of us exchange students out to a hot pot dinner which is where you put whatever you want in this boiling water in the middle of the table and everyone eats, a little bit like fondue. We took a lot of pictures, and I made a huge group of friends. I even tried octopus ball stuffed with pork and it was damn good- this coming from the girl who never eats seafood. It was such a fun night.
We've also been taken out in smaller groups by the International Buddies who are Lingnan students who volunteer to look after/help exchange students. Our guides, Sofia and Bobo took us down to the ladies market in Mongkok and Avenue of Stars where the statue of Bruce Lee is. I took plenty of pictures of Bruce Lee too, because, lets just face it, he is the man. Bobo and Sofia, my guides, even helped me to pick out a cheap cell phone. I made my first attempt at bargaining on the street and I did pretty well. Granted that it was just for an alarm clock, but I am still pretty proud of myself.
The other day Megan and I spent all day on Lantau Island, and I am in love with the place. Lantau is the island where the world's largest outdoor bronze Buddha is. And let me tell you, it is freaking huge! First you have to walk up all these steps, because everything in Hong Kong is on the side of a mountain, and then Buddha just towers over you. On the platform there are other smaller statues that are just as beautiful. We picked a beautiful day to go because it was slightly misty, and since its all on the top of a mountain, the clouds come rolling in and its just so lovely, quiet, and still. You get the feeling that you are the only person in the world. The Po Lin Monastary is on the mountain as well, so we headed over there for lunch and also more picture-taking. I acidently walked into a courtyard that I shouldn't of, and some monks looked very surprised to see me. They just smiled and pointed me in the right direction. I also took some pictures of the gold Buddhas inside the temple, and then I saw the sign about no picture-taking. So as of now, I am probably going to Buddha-hell for that one. There were flowers everywhere, and incense burning in big metal containers.
After the monastary, we took a short walk up a side of another mountain to the Wisedom Trail. The Wisedom Trail is sutras carved on giant logs and erected in the symbol for infinity. The logs that they are carved on are so big that I can't even get my arms around one side. We walked around it and up to the very top of the mountian it sits on. The clouds kept rolling in and the path below us was getting hard to see through the clouds. It was just amazing. We managed to spend all day on the island and I took about 135 photos. (All of the good ones are online) Then it was back on one of the craziest bus rides I've ever been on, and another hour back to school.
Yesterday was spent at Ocean Park with Megan, Ashley, Jessica, Christine, and our guides Carol and Pamela. Ocean Park is a combination zoo, aquarium, and amusment park. Its also the place in Hong Kong where the only pandas are. They only have 2 pandas in Ocean Park, and I took lots of photos of them both. They have some crazy rollar coasters there as well. My favorite was the one that drops you from about 10 stories and then bounces you a couple of times. We also saw the dolphin show and the bird show. Ocean Park has a great aquarium, and I got plenty of pictures there too. While we were in the aqaurium a sea turtle sawm up and bit one of the sting rays. Thats one mean sea turtle! We also had to take a tram car across a mountain to get to the other side of the park. It had such a gorgeous veiw. Almost everywhere in Hong Kong has a great view of something whether it be mountians or water or both. Its fabulous. On the other side of the park are the pandas and some other attractions. Once again, we managed to spend all day there. Those are my big adventures so far.
Other places I have been:
But I have been having some pretty awesome times outside of locking myself out of places. A huge group of Lingnan students took a bunch of us exchange students out to a hot pot dinner which is where you put whatever you want in this boiling water in the middle of the table and everyone eats, a little bit like fondue. We took a lot of pictures, and I made a huge group of friends. I even tried octopus ball stuffed with pork and it was damn good- this coming from the girl who never eats seafood. It was such a fun night.
We've also been taken out in smaller groups by the International Buddies who are Lingnan students who volunteer to look after/help exchange students. Our guides, Sofia and Bobo took us down to the ladies market in Mongkok and Avenue of Stars where the statue of Bruce Lee is. I took plenty of pictures of Bruce Lee too, because, lets just face it, he is the man. Bobo and Sofia, my guides, even helped me to pick out a cheap cell phone. I made my first attempt at bargaining on the street and I did pretty well. Granted that it was just for an alarm clock, but I am still pretty proud of myself.
The other day Megan and I spent all day on Lantau Island, and I am in love with the place. Lantau is the island where the world's largest outdoor bronze Buddha is. And let me tell you, it is freaking huge! First you have to walk up all these steps, because everything in Hong Kong is on the side of a mountain, and then Buddha just towers over you. On the platform there are other smaller statues that are just as beautiful. We picked a beautiful day to go because it was slightly misty, and since its all on the top of a mountain, the clouds come rolling in and its just so lovely, quiet, and still. You get the feeling that you are the only person in the world. The Po Lin Monastary is on the mountain as well, so we headed over there for lunch and also more picture-taking. I acidently walked into a courtyard that I shouldn't of, and some monks looked very surprised to see me. They just smiled and pointed me in the right direction. I also took some pictures of the gold Buddhas inside the temple, and then I saw the sign about no picture-taking. So as of now, I am probably going to Buddha-hell for that one. There were flowers everywhere, and incense burning in big metal containers.
After the monastary, we took a short walk up a side of another mountain to the Wisedom Trail. The Wisedom Trail is sutras carved on giant logs and erected in the symbol for infinity. The logs that they are carved on are so big that I can't even get my arms around one side. We walked around it and up to the very top of the mountian it sits on. The clouds kept rolling in and the path below us was getting hard to see through the clouds. It was just amazing. We managed to spend all day on the island and I took about 135 photos. (All of the good ones are online) Then it was back on one of the craziest bus rides I've ever been on, and another hour back to school.
Yesterday was spent at Ocean Park with Megan, Ashley, Jessica, Christine, and our guides Carol and Pamela. Ocean Park is a combination zoo, aquarium, and amusment park. Its also the place in Hong Kong where the only pandas are. They only have 2 pandas in Ocean Park, and I took lots of photos of them both. They have some crazy rollar coasters there as well. My favorite was the one that drops you from about 10 stories and then bounces you a couple of times. We also saw the dolphin show and the bird show. Ocean Park has a great aquarium, and I got plenty of pictures there too. While we were in the aqaurium a sea turtle sawm up and bit one of the sting rays. Thats one mean sea turtle! We also had to take a tram car across a mountain to get to the other side of the park. It had such a gorgeous veiw. Almost everywhere in Hong Kong has a great view of something whether it be mountians or water or both. Its fabulous. On the other side of the park are the pandas and some other attractions. Once again, we managed to spend all day there. Those are my big adventures so far.
Other places I have been:
- Mongkok
- Ladies Market
- Night Market
- Yuen Long
- Central/ Lan Kwai Fong
All I did today was head into Mongkok to do a little shopping and just to get out. The weather kinda sucks today so I really haven't felt like going out. So thats the updates for all my adventures so far. I have dinner at a professors house tomorrow night and I am going to have breakfast with the President of Lingnan this month as well. Apparently in Hong Kong he is a very famous economist. Not my cup of tea, but I am really interested in meeting him and possibly getting some New Year money out of him. Chinese New Year is going to be crazy! I am going to have so many more pictures to share. I miss everyone but I'm not getting too homesick right now. Hong Kong is just amazing right now.
Monday, January 16, 2006
My first night in Hong Kong
I finally have internet access in my room now so I can keep up with everything and my interesting adventures, of which I've already had tons. I guess I should start with the plane flight over, which was about 19 hours total traveling time.
Mom and Herman dropped me off at the airport around 4am, and then I took an hour flight to Toronto. When I landed in Toronto I had to go through customs with my luggage. I thought that they were going to pick through my stuff and give me a hard time, but all that is consisted of was "fill out this form, walk over here, carry your bags over here, then get on the plane" I made friends with the woman who drove the airport trolly and she gave me her business card if I ever need a ride again. For such a huge airport, Toronto seemed pretty abandoned. I had a short wait and then I got on my plane to Vancover, which took about 4 hours to do. Vancover was also a huge airport with tons more people. It was about a 20 minute walk from my landing to the gate where my next flight was departing from.
When I got to the terminal, I was definatly the only Westerner there. People were staring at me like I had wandered in somewhere where I didn't belong. It was more than a little surreal. But then there was the 14-hour planes trip, which was a little more surreal. I was still the only Westerner on the plane, and all the movies they showed were dubbed in Catonese with English subtitles. Every hour they would come buy with the duty-free cart and try to cajol people to buy perfume or booze. We also got Cup 'o'Noodles for two of our meals, and of course all the food came with chopsticks. I was hoping to impress all the people on the plane with my super-cool chopstick skills, but I failed miserably when I dropped some of the noodles in my lap. I didn't sleep the whole time on the plane either, because I was told that it makes your jet lag go away quicker if you stay up all night and then just crash the next night. I'm pretty much over my jet lag now.
So fast forward to 14 hours later, when I am ready to kill people in order to get off the plane, and nervous about trying to find the people who are there to pick me up. I was standing in line in the longest customs line and it took about 2 seconds to actually get everything stamped. The offical didn't even check to see if I matched my picture! Christine, (the woman in charge of the International Program), was waiting about 5 feet away with a student named Tim. We picked up a Canadian girl named Sarah and were driven to the University. Hong Kong is so beautiful at night. Its all either mountains, high rises, or the ocean. People here build up, not out.
When we got to the university I was shown to my room by my Hostel Tutor, Garry, who was a little sketchy. I feel the need to stay away from him. He gave me a key to my room, and all I did was unpack. Tim came a knocked on my door to make sure I got in ok, and he tried to help me set up my internet, but we failed miserably. I was introduced to Dwayne, and Seet, and then back on my floor I ran into a girl named Cindy. After I unpacked, I watched a little bit of videos on my computer and crashed around 1am.
As for first impressions, I was perfectly terrified for a while, but the students were really nice and talkative with me. I felt a little bad because I was too tired to carry on conversations with anyone. Everyone is a little shy, but once you get them talking, its all good. My room is on the 7th floor with a great view of the mountain and skyline here in Tun Muen. Its a little bit smaller than the rooms in St. Mary's, but I like how the storage is set up here. My roomate hasn't come back yet, but from the stuff she has on the walls, she looks like a really fun person. My favorite is the poster of some male pop star that is wearing a dress shirt with super furry sleeves.
I don't know who he is, but he's wonderful. I had a little trouble with the bathroom door, because they require a numeric code to get in. I felt a little stupid not knowing how to get into the bathroom. It bums me out a little bit that I can't see a lot of start, but the lights at night make up for it. My first night here was allright, the mattress are pretty hard. More crazy adventures to come! I got a cell phone, so if you want to call me you have to do the whole international dialing thing, and then dial 97856910. It will also cost you a bundle, so I expect more love letters than calls, as soon as I figure out what my mailing address is. I am missing everyone terribly, and I will have more pictures up soon.
Mom and Herman dropped me off at the airport around 4am, and then I took an hour flight to Toronto. When I landed in Toronto I had to go through customs with my luggage. I thought that they were going to pick through my stuff and give me a hard time, but all that is consisted of was "fill out this form, walk over here, carry your bags over here, then get on the plane" I made friends with the woman who drove the airport trolly and she gave me her business card if I ever need a ride again. For such a huge airport, Toronto seemed pretty abandoned. I had a short wait and then I got on my plane to Vancover, which took about 4 hours to do. Vancover was also a huge airport with tons more people. It was about a 20 minute walk from my landing to the gate where my next flight was departing from.
When I got to the terminal, I was definatly the only Westerner there. People were staring at me like I had wandered in somewhere where I didn't belong. It was more than a little surreal. But then there was the 14-hour planes trip, which was a little more surreal. I was still the only Westerner on the plane, and all the movies they showed were dubbed in Catonese with English subtitles. Every hour they would come buy with the duty-free cart and try to cajol people to buy perfume or booze. We also got Cup 'o'Noodles for two of our meals, and of course all the food came with chopsticks. I was hoping to impress all the people on the plane with my super-cool chopstick skills, but I failed miserably when I dropped some of the noodles in my lap. I didn't sleep the whole time on the plane either, because I was told that it makes your jet lag go away quicker if you stay up all night and then just crash the next night. I'm pretty much over my jet lag now.
So fast forward to 14 hours later, when I am ready to kill people in order to get off the plane, and nervous about trying to find the people who are there to pick me up. I was standing in line in the longest customs line and it took about 2 seconds to actually get everything stamped. The offical didn't even check to see if I matched my picture! Christine, (the woman in charge of the International Program), was waiting about 5 feet away with a student named Tim. We picked up a Canadian girl named Sarah and were driven to the University. Hong Kong is so beautiful at night. Its all either mountains, high rises, or the ocean. People here build up, not out.
When we got to the university I was shown to my room by my Hostel Tutor, Garry, who was a little sketchy. I feel the need to stay away from him. He gave me a key to my room, and all I did was unpack. Tim came a knocked on my door to make sure I got in ok, and he tried to help me set up my internet, but we failed miserably. I was introduced to Dwayne, and Seet, and then back on my floor I ran into a girl named Cindy. After I unpacked, I watched a little bit of videos on my computer and crashed around 1am.
As for first impressions, I was perfectly terrified for a while, but the students were really nice and talkative with me. I felt a little bad because I was too tired to carry on conversations with anyone. Everyone is a little shy, but once you get them talking, its all good. My room is on the 7th floor with a great view of the mountain and skyline here in Tun Muen. Its a little bit smaller than the rooms in St. Mary's, but I like how the storage is set up here. My roomate hasn't come back yet, but from the stuff she has on the walls, she looks like a really fun person. My favorite is the poster of some male pop star that is wearing a dress shirt with super furry sleeves.
I don't know who he is, but he's wonderful. I had a little trouble with the bathroom door, because they require a numeric code to get in. I felt a little stupid not knowing how to get into the bathroom. It bums me out a little bit that I can't see a lot of start, but the lights at night make up for it. My first night here was allright, the mattress are pretty hard. More crazy adventures to come! I got a cell phone, so if you want to call me you have to do the whole international dialing thing, and then dial 97856910. It will also cost you a bundle, so I expect more love letters than calls, as soon as I figure out what my mailing address is. I am missing everyone terribly, and I will have more pictures up soon.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
There is no turning back now folks! Herman is coming to pick Mom and I up at 3am, and then we are headed to the airport. I don't think that I am going to sleep at all tonight, or on the plane for that matter. I have to stop in Toronto and Vancover before I get on my direct flight, so I'm putting Canada on the list of countries I've visited in this trip. I'm flying on Air Canada, which is a new airline for me. I bet they'll be tons nicer than American airlines. I hope that I get one of those huge airplanes with a 2nd floor- That would be so freaking cool.
I spent last weekend with Wende and my little nephews Adam and Jack. Those are some cute little boys. We opened presents, and I got a pretty cool digital camera. Now I can take pictures of my trip and share them with everyone. Jack loved his DVD that I got him, and Adam's hat fit perfectly, and now Jack is getting one because he really loves hats. Those boys are going to be so grown up by the time I get back. They've already grown up so much. Spending time with Wende was great too, since we hardly see eachother these days. We've know eachother for like 10+ years at this point. She went to SMCM as well, and is one of the main reasons why I chose to go there.
With the new digital camera, I spent most of the day taking pictures of my puppies. Its a great camera, and if Tucker would only sit still, I could have some great pictures. Here is the best one of Bertie. She's my Puerto Rican puppy. The camera also has video too!
At Lingnan, I'm going to be living on the 7th floor of my building, and my roomate is a third-year business major. I will get there at 6:55pm on the 12th. Someone from the school is going to come and pick me up from the airport. Gina is already in Spain and sent her first email of events. She seems to be doing pretty well there. I guess that it helps when you are fluent in the native language, unlike me. My sister got me some CDs to learn Cantonese, and so far I've picked up the word for English.
Well kids, I need to get back to all my packing. I am really going to miss everyone so much that I can't type. As soon as I get my mailing address, I expect lots of love letters and such. Yes, I'm looking at you when I say this!
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