All my pictures from my trip will be on here. Enjoy!
http://badpixy798.zoto.com/user/public_view/
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!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Leaving on a jet plane....
I've got my plane ticket, my visa, and almost all of my bags packed. Its only 10 days away but its almost here! Well, close enough for me to start getting seriously scared about going to Hong Kong. And I'm definatly not looking forward to the long plane flight. I think that its rounding out to be 19 hours now. I've got 2 guidebooks, and a CD set for learning Catonese that I can work on, but I don't want to be sitting for that long. I got home yesterday from spending Christmas with my Dad. Boy has everyone changed. Those little sisters of mine grew up very fast. I had a blast with them, playing Uno, and the Tycoon games, (which are only fun for the disasters). I got to see the Narnia movie with Elena, and Hannah caught me up on my dragon-info. I spent Christmas Eve with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was really good to see everyone. Everything changes so quickly though. I also took my first photo with Santa, well with the girls and my stepbrother Aaron. I can't wait to get it because I know that it is going to be extra-cute. (Santa asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said tution payments.) All-in-all it was a very nice trip and I really enjoyed spending time with the family. I got an email from Lingnan with my new housing assignment, class schedule, and email. My roomate is a 3rd-year business major, and I'm living on the 7th floor of my building. I promise to take pictures of the view and put them up. These are the classes I'm taking:
I know that 5 classes is alot, but I won't have a job there, so I'll have more time for class. Emily told me tonight that she insists that I pay a trip to the statue of Bruce Lee that is in Hong Kong. I'm hoping that I get the chance to meet Dr. Jackie Chan- I kid you not, he holds an honoary degree from my university. He holds and athletic competition there every year. So maybe I'll get the chance to meet him. I also have the Peter, Paul, and Mary "Leaving on a Jet Plane" song stuck in my head, hence the title of the post. Its rather appropriate, considering all the flying I've been doing recently. I'm flying with Air Canada, which I've never done before, so I hope that it will be good. I hope that I don't need to get a transit visa, which would just be one more headache for me.
- HST264 Survey of Indian History;
- CUS115 Methodologies in Cultural Research;
- CUS211 Cultural & Historical Writing
- CUS309 Film & Cinema Studies; and
- SSC217 Statistics for Social Sciences
I know that 5 classes is alot, but I won't have a job there, so I'll have more time for class. Emily told me tonight that she insists that I pay a trip to the statue of Bruce Lee that is in Hong Kong. I'm hoping that I get the chance to meet Dr. Jackie Chan- I kid you not, he holds an honoary degree from my university. He holds and athletic competition there every year. So maybe I'll get the chance to meet him. I also have the Peter, Paul, and Mary "Leaving on a Jet Plane" song stuck in my head, hence the title of the post. Its rather appropriate, considering all the flying I've been doing recently. I'm flying with Air Canada, which I've never done before, so I hope that it will be good. I hope that I don't need to get a transit visa, which would just be one more headache for me.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Goodbye SMCM!
Today at noon I am ending my 3rd year at St. Mary's. Its a little surreal to think that the next time I am back here, it will be the fall of my senior year! This semester went by so incredibly fast that my head is spinning. But boy oh boy am I glad that finals are done with. It was a pretty harsh week with the combination of take-home exams and in-class exams. I hope that Lingnan won't be as brutal. I am very proud that I pulled off 2 all-nighters in a row without completly losing my mind. So now I get to go home, spend a day and 2 nights with my mom, (and hopefully see Vira), then get on a plane for Christmas with my Dad in WA! I got his present today and I really think that he is going to like it. Shirley is also going to be in Seattle at the same time as I am, so hopfully we can meet up or something. I am confident that I will get along with everyone in Lingnan as easily as I got along with her. If not, I'm screwed. Then I am back home on Dec. 30th, and I go to Hong Kong on the 10th of January. It finally hit me today that, holy crap- I'm going to China. Its so many thousands of miles with a 13-hour time difference. Thats just crazy. I was also watching "Globetrekker" and the episode they did on China. I found a few places that I am definatly going to go, like the largest outdoor bronze Buddha. Luckly for me, it is right in Hong Kong. They showed some beautiful shots of the area where I am going to be living, and it looks absolutly breathtaking. Finally I can be giddy about this trip without worrying about SMCM work and all that.
I've said a lot of goodbyes these past couple of days my friends, espcially those ones that are graduationg/leaving school. I hate goodbyes, even when I know that I am going to see most of these people again. Allison made me a shirt that I will treasure forever, my SweetSuite Life shirt. She made one for all of us suitmates, with a inside-joke/nickname on the back. Mine is "Ms. Thang" which if quite hilarious if you know the story behind it. I love it, and it makes me realize how much I am going to miss this place and the people in it.
Being in Hong Kong will really be the first time that I will have to be completly dependent on myself. Its both thrilling and frightning at the same time. Its my chance to learn how to be completly independent, which I know that I have to learn if I ever want to live my own life. I think that I can handle it though. As much as I will be missing home, I have realized that Hong Kong is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I plan to take full advantage of it.
The traveling I plan on doing has also lead to an interesting new career possibility for post-graduation. Jason informed me that where he wants us to travel, I could easily get a job teaching English to children, or tutoring monks in one of the Tibetan colonies. This has been one of the jobs that I have dreamed of for myself. I hoped to do it through the Peace Corps, post-graduation, but I will be much happier if I can arrange it on my own terms. Then I could truly die happy.
I've said a lot of goodbyes these past couple of days my friends, espcially those ones that are graduationg/leaving school. I hate goodbyes, even when I know that I am going to see most of these people again. Allison made me a shirt that I will treasure forever, my SweetSuite Life shirt. She made one for all of us suitmates, with a inside-joke/nickname on the back. Mine is "Ms. Thang" which if quite hilarious if you know the story behind it. I love it, and it makes me realize how much I am going to miss this place and the people in it.
Being in Hong Kong will really be the first time that I will have to be completly dependent on myself. Its both thrilling and frightning at the same time. Its my chance to learn how to be completly independent, which I know that I have to learn if I ever want to live my own life. I think that I can handle it though. As much as I will be missing home, I have realized that Hong Kong is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I plan to take full advantage of it.
The traveling I plan on doing has also lead to an interesting new career possibility for post-graduation. Jason informed me that where he wants us to travel, I could easily get a job teaching English to children, or tutoring monks in one of the Tibetan colonies. This has been one of the jobs that I have dreamed of for myself. I hoped to do it through the Peace Corps, post-graduation, but I will be much happier if I can arrange it on my own terms. Then I could truly die happy.
Friday, December 09, 2005
35 Days Left!
Thats right folks, only 35 days left until I am in Hong Kong! Then I am there for about 160-162 days. I'm really excited. Jason came over last night to talk about travel plans, and I was asking him a bunch of questions about chopstick ettiquette, and then he laughed and said, "I refuse to answer any more questions. You are such an anthropologist!" And I was flattered, because, duh, I want to be an anthropologist. I've also been making a mental list of places I want to go when I am there, because according to Shirley, we have a lot of vacation days. So far I want to travel up to Bejing to see the Bejing Opera, and maybe all the touristy things like Mao's Tomb, Tianemen Sqaure, Forbidden City, etc. That would be nice, but I am more into non-touristy places where no one ever goes. I figure after spending about 5 months at the university, and around Hong Kong, that I won't be considered a tourist. I love the fact that there is a nature preserve almost right across the street from my university, even though we are in the middle of a city.
Other things I have discovered today:
Any donations to the "Becca-in-China Fund" would also be greatly appriciated ;)
Other things I have discovered today:
- Chinese television is awesome
- 6.9 Million people in the Hong Kong S.A.R
- I should really do laundry soon
- People I work with think I am mean
- There is nothing like a non-snow day, snow day
- Chopsticks are better than forks
Any donations to the "Becca-in-China Fund" would also be greatly appriciated ;)
Monday, December 05, 2005
It looks like the Southern China part of mine and Jason's traveling might have to be cut out due to financial limitations. Hopefully I will get to travel around there during the academic year. Shirley told me that in the spring there is a lot of days off from school, so I will have plenty of free time to travel then.
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