Thailand!

So Thailand is awesome, not buts about it. I don't have time to go into detail about everything, but here is a short list of all the awesome things I have done in a little under a week:

• ate frog- yum!
  
• fed/petted an elephant
• had ant egg soup- not that tasty
  
• spent a day and night a socialist Buddhist community
• tried fried grasshoppers
• swam in a waterfall
• went on alms rounds
• met the first ordained female monk in the Thai Theravada tradition
• learned some Thai
• got a job offer to work at a animal shelter in Hua Hin

More to come later when I don't have to pay for the internet. I'll be home soon!

Long time, no post part 2!

So that last weekend I posted was pretty exciting, no? Thats one of the reasons I really like being here, something exciting is always happening. If I was back at St. Mary's, my weekends would most likely consist of work, homework, and sleeping in. While I'm here I feel that I need to get out and do everything possible that there is for me to do. I still have a pretty lengthy list of things I need to do/see here. Terrence promised me that the week after next, we'll go the Chinese Opera. The Hong Kong Ballet Company is also doing a production of Sleeping Beauty, which I also really want to see. I love the ballet! I think that Karen and I will go for our birthdays next month. Its crazy, we have 5 birthdays in a row among the exchange students! May is going to be a fun month for me.

Back to where I left off in the last post:

After the street performers and photo-taking sessions with random strangers, another week of classes was pretty mundane for me. My history professor almost exploded with rage as people kept coming into class later and later. Sunny was sitting next to me laughing as he raged, and I was looking at her like she had gone crazy. The last thing you want to do is laugh at an angry person. But he did agree to take us out for Indian food at the end of the semester. That week classes seemed to be getting more relaxed and fun. Its the beginning of the end for this semester, so things are starting to wind down more. I've actually got some papers to write and some other work to do. The final exam schedule has come out, and I only have 3 exams. If there are no rainstorm/typhoon delays, I should be finished by the 19th of May. To be safe though, Professor Starr recommends that we don't leave until the 24th, which is what I plan on doing. The I'll go to Thailand and have adventures with Jason there, and get a good massage. I haven't decided wether or not to take my computer with me, so you might have to wait a long time to get the adventures from there.

That week we also got a visit from a diplomat from the mainland, Professor Cheng Si-wei, the Vice-Chairman of the Congress of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the Mainland. (What a tittle!) He came here to tour all the universities and give speechs and what not. Some of the exchange students were invited as Student Ambassadors to meet him and have a dialouge session with him. So I had to get dressed up in my suit and I was given a free Lingnan pin for this event. Exciting! I like the pin, it looks like the logo of the school, but its in gold and about the size a penny. It makes for a nice keepsake, and its even better that it was a gift. In this dialouge session, we were given the opportunity to ask the professor anything we wanted, and we could ask in any language, because he knew about 6. I was really excited about this, and I was the first person to ask him a question, which was, "If you were the president of the USA, what would be one thing that you change about US economic policy and why?" I thought that it was a good question, until he, who had been speaking perfect English up to this point, pretende that he couldn't understand a word I was saying, and all he would say was "I can't answer this now. Come to my lecture and it will all be explained" Talk about the big brush-off! When Megan asked her question about the greatest challenge facing our generation, he said it was studying. I feel like he brushed off all the exchange students questions, but gave five minute answers to everyone else. He's one slippery Chinese diplomat. We did get to take a group photo with him, that was later published in several newspapers. I'm in the back row, in dark mauve. The professor is the center older Chinese man with the black hair. Next to him are the President and Dean of Lingnan. I have photocopies of articles, 2 from Chinese newspapers, and one in English. I hope that there is still a chance to find the originals. I went to his lecture the next week, but he still didn't really answer our questions. It was basically how the American economy is going wrong, mainly in textiles, and how the Chinese economy is taking over. And it wasn't that good either. I was a little disappointed by him, but it was also really cool to meet such a high Chinese offical. He seemed really excited to see the exchange students.

The we have the super-awesome weekend known as Rugby Sevens weekend. Every year Hong Kong holds an internation rugby tournament, which lasts for 3 days. On Friday, university students could get in free as long as you showed your ID. We were lucky; tickets can start at $600HK and go as high as $2000 US! And thats for one day! Americans are really out of touch when it comes to popular sports. Everybody else really likes soccer and rugby. We got to the stadium around 3ish and it was the largest group of Europeans that I have ever seen in my life. It was like a mass exodus of white people. There were people in costume, and everyone was so proud of their country and screaming at each other. It was so different from all the sporting events I've gone to. I love European enthusiasm. We managed to find seats for all 10 of us, and it became pretty aparent that we were the only Americans in the stadium. It was really interesting to see the politics behind some of the stuff, like when the Taiwan team came out on the field, the announcer called it them Chinese Taipei, (capital of Taiwan) and thats how they were listed on the scoreboard. They were set against the Chinese team too. Each game only lasted about 30 minutes. As far as I understand, rugby sevens is played with seven players on each team, and you can run with the ball, but you can only pass it backwards. Some times you do this weird huddle thing, and tackling is always permitted. It looked like a lot of fun. And the boys were cute! I suddenly remembered my weakness for professional rugby players. The highlight of the evening had to be the USA-Canada game. For about half an hour, we turned from normal students into screaming ravenous USA fans. The enthusiasm from the Europeans was infectous. We had one of the Canadian girls with us, and we started screaming at each other. Then one of the Scottish guys who were next to us came over and said " Wait till Scotland comes out on the pitch, we'll sort all of you out" The USA lost by a point. And then we and the Canadians were all friends again.

After the game, we stopped for some dinner in Wan Chai, and just observed the mass crazyness all around us. It was like it was St. Patty's Day, Christmas, and Halloween. All the people who were in the stadium had apparently all come down to Wan Chai, which is about a 3 square block area. I saw two guys dressed up in full bear suits, heads and all walking down the street with beers. Well, there goes my childhood. My personal favorite was the group of about 6 middle-aged British guys dressed up as the Queen, with sashes, wigs, maskes, and crowns. I wanted to get a picture with them, but they moved pretty quickly before we could catch up with them. I did manage to get one with some guy who thought he was a superhero or something like that. It was awesome to see all these people from 18-70 out having a great time. They had to shut down a few of the streets because of the massive crowd. While we were walking down the street, I saw some guy very calmly walk out of the bar, and lie down in the street, like he was going to take a nap or something. I didn't understand that. Some woman who was walking by us as we were sitting on a patio stopped, and framed us with her fingers like she was taking a picture, which was just a little bit weirder than the guy napping in the road. Everyone was also really friendly and suprised to find Americans in Hong Kong, especially at a rugby tournament. I felt like we were the only Americans in all of Hong Kong that night. I also noticed something else about the British people that I meet. They have some innate desire to visit all the former British colonies when they travel. Almost every one that I have talked to plans on visiting, or has visited India, Austrialia, New Zealand, and of course Hong Kong. Only we are left out, and I wonder why that is. I'm doing my best to convince them to come to the USA. It was such a fun night.

Saturday I had plans with Sunny to go to Cheung Chau island, but we bother overslept. Instead a group of us went to the beach, which is just a 20 minute bus ride away. The beach is also free, but the water doesn't look that clean. I went in for a little while, and nothing weird happened to me. Its so nice to be able to go to the beach in early April though. I checked the weather that day, and back home it was in the 40s and raining. Anyone jealous yet? I also managed to get some work done, and my laundry too.

Sunday Sunny and I ventured out to Cheung Chau island. Sunny is one of the exchange students here from Korea. She has been at Lingnan since the start of fall semester, and I adore her. We have a history class together, and she is so much fun. Cheung Chau takes about an hour to get to by ferry, and I would say that its easily twice the size of Lamma Island. It has a much bigger fishing village too. Even a McDonalds. We didn't really come to the island with a plan, but more to just walk around and enjoy the beautiful day. There are no cars on the island, and it seems like everyone owns a bicycle. The first thing we walked to was one of the temples where an impromptu Cantonese Opera performance had begun. We watched it for a while and then went and explored the temple, which was tiny compared to the ones that I have seen so far. It was very quite inside the temple, but once we went back out, it was buzzing with noise. We tried to find the pirate cave that I had been told about, but no such luck. We spent most of our time walking around the island people watching. We found a playground on top of a hill and I decided to let my inner child out. Sunny got a great picture of me on a little bouncy ducky thing, and I have never been so happy in my life to see swings! I know that I don't look happy in this picture, but I was having a great time. The thing dipped forward really deeply, and I was scared that I was going to fall off or something like that. Sunny caught that moment perfectly on film, don't you think? Even though we didn't really do a lot of touristy things, I had a great time just walking around and really seeing Cheung Chau. Comparatively, to the rest of Hong Kong, its rather relaxed and slow-paced. My kind of town! If I have time, I think that I will try to get back there and manage to explore the whole island. It wasn't small enough to do in one day.

Thats it for now with my adventure updates! Things have been a little tame recently with the semester winding down, and finals approaching rapidly. I still plan on spending almost a month with Jason in Thailand and beyond. My roommate Terrence insisted I come back to Hong Kong for a couple of days before my plane leaves and spend it with her and her family. She and I are going to stay with her grandfather, Guon Guon, at his apartment, with her parents and grandmother, Ma ma, down the block. Her Ma ma knows how to knit, so hopefully I will pick up a few tricks, and learn how to cook proper Cantonese food. Maybe even learn some more Cantonese- I'm pretty much going to have to, Terrence is the only one in her family who speaks English. I also want to cook for them, something easy, but very American. Any suggestions? So those are my plans for after finals and everything.

Long time, no post

So once again its been forever since I've updated. I've had tons of adventures, so this is going to be a pretty lengthy one, maybe even a two-parter! (Ooooooooooo) I'm still doing wonderful and everything- its just that when you get back into the swing of real life, or as real as it can be for 4 months, you get incredibly occupied with other things. And I've never been too good at this whole keeping in touch thing. I feel like a jerk sometimes, but I'm working on it.

So when I last updated, I left you all at the end of my Lamma Island trip with Megan and my usual Sunday at Prof. Starr's house. That following week of classes was more exciting then the usual week. On Monday afternoon, the Office of International Programmes (Thats how they spell it- leftover British influence) threw a Welcome Reception for the exchange students, international buddies, and students from Lingnan who had gone abroad in the previous semester. It was a nice little teatime affair, complete with tea and little sandwiches with the crusts cut off. We spent time just hanging around talking with the different students and professors and took a nice little group photo. This one feature yours truly, one of the Korean exchange girls- Sunny, and two local students. The trick is to learn how to tell Koreans apart from the Chinese students. (I can do it) Prof. Starr encouraged us to promote Lingnan to our fellow students when we got back home and that was pretty much it. Just a nice little meet and greet. But I also love the fact that they have tea time here. I wish that we had tea time back home.

Tuesday night was also a lot of fun. I was recruited by my hall committee to play basketball in another inter-hostel game. No one seemed to care that I haven't played basketball in years, or that I was exceptionally horrible at it. After about 20 minutes on the court, I was bright pink from head to toe and had made no major contribution to my team. We really didn't have much of a strategy, and no one told me where to go. I spent most of the game standing there wide open, and none of the other girls passed to me. Not that I would have been able to make it in the net anyway. They seemed excited just to have me play. Needless to say, we suffered a crushing defeat. It was still pretty fun, and it made me realize how horrible at sports I am, well at least basketball. I did pretty well at badmintion when I played with Jon earlier that day.

Later that week, I had my first exam of the semester, which I am proud to say that I got a perfect on, the only perfect in the class. So it was a pretty exciting school week for me, well maybe not exciting, but more out of the usual routine of just class, work, and spending time with my friends. Friday night was St. Patty's day, and what I have dubbed the "Dim Sum Crew", (myself, Megan, Jess, and Karen), decided to go out for Irish food, with Megan's Irish pride ablaze. That was a great night.

We headed on down to TST, better known as Tsim Sha Tsui, to a pub/restaurant named Delaneys for dinner. When we walked in, we immediatly ran into other exchange students- small world! This place was great, it was filled with Europeans and the tables looked like they had come from the Medieval ages. All the waiters were very Irish, and from the looks of it, all a little tipsy. They had a DJ playing all these old Irish folk songs and a fiddler too. I knew that it was going to be a great evening. We managed to snag a corner table next to this very sweet British couple, and talked with them for a while. They had been traveling the world for 2 months and were trying to decided between Hong Kong and Thailand in which to settle down. They also taught us some Irish folk songs. I was super-excited because I got an Irish breakfast which had all the food I was longing for, sunny-side up eggs, toast, potatoes, etc. It was so good!! It was probably the best breakfast I've had, and I think that its mostly due to how bad I wanted it. Other exchange students showed up, and we finally had this huge group of people that just took over one side of Delaneys. It was fantastic. Everyone was just really friendly and fun, and I met some cool people. Like Zac the barrister from England who kept calling me a nutter. I learned some European slang, and taught some American slang too. When we went outside, they had shut down the street traffic to accomidate everyone who had come down to that area to celebrate. It was the largest group of white people in Hong Kong that I have seen in one place here. Just crazy. One of my favorite nights here so far. We also played some trivia games in the restaurant and everyone won a Guinness hat. Who knows what I am going to do with it though. It worked for some silly pictures.

The next day, I met up with Zac to show him around Hong Kong. He had only been there for 3 days and had seen nothing! (Well, nothing by my standards) I took him around TST and then to Sha Tin. We had a nice day, and it was really interesting meeting fellow travelers. I've noticed that the people who are traveling around here, wether it be other exchange students or what, feel this instant commraderie with each other. Like we're all part of the same club and we have to stick together. Its fun that way because you meet some interesting people, and hopefully do some networking. I meet some one from the mainland who really wants me to come to his town, which is outside of Chengdu, after I graduate and teach English. Or the Irish boys we met on the subway who made us sing Danny Boy with them. Just pure sillyness sometimes, but its really fun. I hope that I keep meeting people like this as I go on traveling. You never know who you might meet.

That week was another ordinary week of classes, nothing too exciting. There was no meeting at Prof. Starr's house that Sunday. Classes are still going fairly well. The work has picked up a little bit, but still not up to the level of what I am used to. All I really have left is the rest of lectures and a couple of papers, until finals time comes around. Most of my finals will be done the first week of May, except for my statistics one which my professor still doesn't know the date for. I figured that it would be statistics that gives me a hard time, considering that I have a burning hatered of the subject, and it seems to be the subject that gives me the hardest time. I hate statistics so much, and I feel like its almost pointless, even though I know its not. Its just the way I relate to math, like oil and water that want to beat each other up.

That weekend Megan and I had tickets to the Hong Kong Dance Company's performance of a modern peice called "Hands in Hands" It was very interesting to say the least. From what I understand, it was about a deaf girl who joins a dance company, but then everyone hates her, and she prays and these Thai gods come out and dance around. I think that there is something that I just wasn't getting, but I enjoyed it none the less. The dancers where incredibly talented and I really wasn't expecting the children's choir to pop out at the end and sing a song about the world being beautiful. I was also sitting next to an old man who was clearly a very proud grandfather. When the children came onstage, he kept smiling, laughing, and tapping me on the shoulder to point out one of the kids to me. It was really amusing, and he was so proud. After the show, Megan and I tried to take pictures of us all dressed up on a stairway near a beautiful chandiler, but they wouldn't let us. The conversation went as follows:

Usher: Are you trying to take a picture on the stairs?
Me: Yes, its very beautiful and I would like to show people from home
Usher: Well, you can't take pictures on the stairs
Me: Why not? It will only take a minute
Usher: Its too dangerous.
Me: Dangerous how?
Usher: You could fall down the stairs
Me: Oh it will be ok. I'll hold on to the handrail
Usher: Well, you just can't do it. I'm sorry
Me: Ok then. Thanks

So no pictures of the interior of the Hong Kong Cultural Center folks! I guess that it was to dangerous after all. Sometimes I feel like I'm just being messed around with by the people here, just because they can. Oh well, what can you do? We decided to take a stroll on the Avenue of Stars and people watch before we went home. It was a nice warm night, and a surprising large crowd of people are out at 11:30pm on the boardwalk. We saw several groups of breakdancers, and there were small crowds everywhere standing around local musicans, singing and having a great time. My favorite was the woman from the mainland singing ethnic minority songs and dancing. Her songs were mostly Mongolian and Tibetan. While we were watching this performer, a little old man came up and tapped me on the shoulder to ask me where I was from. He explained to us that he was from Hong Kong, and he had a friend with him from the mainland who had never met white people/Americans before. He wanted us to take a picture with his friend and his family. So Megan and I were like- why not? This family ate us up. We took almost every combination of photos possible. Me with the guy, Megan with the guy, me holding a Chinese baby, and my favorite, one with the guy with his arm around me and me looking incredibly startled. I wonder what this family is going to think once they get home and look at these pictures. They also kept telling me how tall and pretty I was, because before them, I never knew that Chinese people consider me tall! It was just so disarming, but the family was really sweet.

END OF PART ONE

So I know that its been over 2 weeks since I last updated. What can I say besides that I'm sorry and a horrible person. I'm starting to get really bad at this whole keeping in touch issue. Somewhere I have weeks old letters that I have been meaning to mail. I'll get to it people, I promise. And the same goes with the pictures, but that one isn't my fault. I can upload about 3 at time before it poops out on me, so there is really nothing that I can do about that. I have some great ones coming! I bet everyone did get a kick out of the monkey story though!

The next weekend after that, I just took off from adventures and got caught up with my homework and such. Prof. Starr wasn't around, since he had to fly back to Florida for the week, so there was no gathering at their house either, which meant no free brownies. I made sure to practice my tai chi and work on some knitting. That week I also had a test in Indian History, which I got an A on by the way, and had to lead a tutorial. Exciting stuff, I know. I was also recruited to take pictures for Lingnan University publications, the kind of stuff they use to promote their university and programs. We had to pose in all sorts of cheesy situations, like pretending to be in lecture, or "hanging out" with a professor. They are going to email me the pictures, so it should be interesting to see what they do with them. Friday the 10th, what I call the Dim Sum Crew- myself, Megan, and her roommate Jess, went out to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. (Karen is in the crew too, but she couldn't make it that night) It was so nice to have a proper hamburger, but it made me realize how badly Americans eat. We just have to have everything dripping in grease and fat-its really gross when you think about it. Jess took us shopping the upscale mall, and once again, I didn't even feel rich enough to be walking around there. One day I'll be able to buy something from Louis Vuitton, but it was not that day. A girl can dream though.

Saturday the 11th, Megan and I went to Lamma Island, a tiny 3-mile long island that is about a 30 minute ferry ride from Victoria Harbor. It was a pretty rocky ride over, and the view wasn't that great because of all the pollution haze and the humidity. It was nice to be on a boat though- I love being at/on the ocean. We pulled into the harbor at this very picturesque fishing village (The pictures are currently uploading now), with all sorts of fishing boats in dock. The village was about a 5 minute walk from the ferry dock, and then it was all these cute little restaurants and boutiqes. Rumor is that Lamma Island is one of the big expat hangouts and living spaces. I see why, its beautiful, quiet, and probably very cheap to live there. There was one main path that leads from one village to the other, on the otherside of the island, about a 3 mile walk. Everything here is listed by kilometer, so I'm trying my best to guess distances. After walking through the village and down the path a little, we came to a small beach with a few people on it. I had to go wading and go barefoot in the sand, there was just no way aroud it. The waters wasn't as cold as I expected it to be. There were also some gorgous rock formations, and I spent some time there reading and just soaking things in. Come summer that beach will be packed. The next part of our hike took us up and down, and up again through the hills that dominate most of the islands. A lot of the uphill walks were 45 degress, which is pretty intense. On top one of the hills was a pogoda with a lookout, so we took some pictures there. The weather was just beautiful, in the upper 70s with some humidity, but the higher you go, the less it matters. The sky just wasn't blue, which makes me sad for my pictures, but it was still a lovely day in general. After the secenic vista-stop, it was more up and down to the other side of the island, where we discoverd the Kamakazie Grottos, small gardens, and the outskirts of the other village. The other village consisted of another harbor and one street along side it that was mainly seafood restaurants. They had giant tanks along one wall where you could pick your dinner, and they had some seafood that I never knew exsisted! There was a giant bright blue shrimp looking thing that must have been 4 feet long if you were to lay it out, and it looked to be 2 feet in diameter. I tried to take a picture, but some one ran over to me and started yelling at me in Chinese. Sorry folks. Megan and I wound up playing/reading in the park until the ferry arrived at 7:30. The ferry ride back was beautiful, since it was dark, and we could see the gradual approach of the Hong Kong skyline. It was just lovely.

Sunday was of course spent sleeping in, lounging around, and doing homework, like every Sunday should be. We also went to Prof. Starr's again, and I got to take home some brownies for my roommate. And that was that week for me.

Monkey Assault at 10,000 Buddhas Monastary

Yay for days off! They prove Megan's theory of M=EA, mishap equals excellent adventure. We had Tuesday off this week for Sports Day, so we decided to make a day trip to Sha Tin to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastry up in the hills. Well, everything here is up in the hills, so I guess its a little redundent telling people that places are up in the hills. Its about an hour trip from school via bus, MTR, and the East Rail. Once we got off the East Rail, its about a 10 minute walk to the first part of the complex, Po Fook Hill. At the foot of this hill, there is a little pond filled with koi fish and turtles. There is also a little Thai-Buddhist alter with a statue. There were scarfs tied around the railing, and when I asked Terrence about it, she said that its for making wishes- If anyone has a wish, I can go back for you. There is also another wishing tree that I want to visit soon too. Po Fook Hill is mainly where the Buddhist graves are and one large statue of Buddha. Unfortunatly we didn't know this, so we would up walking all the way to the top. I didn't take any pictures of the gravesites, or anything like that because Terrence had warned me not to. She said that if you take a picture of the dead person's grave, they will follow you around. I just don't want to offend anyone. I did get some nice shots of the view from the top, and looking down at the complex. They had some beautiful waterfalls, so I got some great shots of those. The camera Wende got me takes excellent water pictures-its wonderful. When we got to the top, Megan and I stood around like idiots for a while, wondering where the 10,000 Buddhas were. An older woman, who seemed to pop out of no where told us in very broken English, "No, go down, other side" and tried to shoo us off as best as she could. I guess that she didn't want us up there, or something. So it was back down the hill for us, and then around a government building until we found the very faded sign for the monastary. The path to the entrance looked like a prison. I wondered what kind of monastry we were headed for! It turns out that there is a large amount of preservation work being done to both the sites. The real entrance is much more of what I expected, a small path that winds up the mountain side. The amazing thing about this path is that the whole way up there are these golden statues of what I presume are Chinese gods on both sides. And this was like a half hour walk too. None of the figures were repeated either. It seems that there is a god for everything here. The construction quickly gave way to a beautiful bamboo forests. There were more monkeys here too, jumping around. One of the bamboo shoots crossed above the path, and just as Megan was ducking under it, a monkey crossed over her. It could have sat on her head if it had wanted to. There were also some other monkeys on the path eating a giant fruit that they had taken from a tree. We've been around monkeys before, so I had all my food away and was practicing proper monkey ettiqute when a smaller one starts walking towards me. I thought that he was going to pass me by, so I turned a little to take a picture of one of the statues. Then I felt a tug, and looked down at my leg. The monkey had taken a hold of my pant leg and was tugging at it and squeeking. Now last week one of the exchange girls had gotten bit by a monkey because she refused to give up her sandwhich, and then hit it, (Rather stupid of her, I think), so I was scared. Megan was further up the hill, so I turned my face away and looked in her direction and said, "Megan?" Megan started laughing and pulled out her camera. Just before she could get a picture, the monkey lost interest and walked away. My heart was beating so fast, but I was very happy that I didn't get bitten!

So, once my heart started beating again, we kept going up the hill. I got some great pictures, be sure to check them out. The statues were so cool, and I wish that I knew what their purpose is, or what each one stands for. The temple at the top was a lot smaller than I expected. It consisted of one large building, and a long courtyard with a pogoda at the other end. Along the sides were more figures of Gods under awnings. Inside the main temple is where the 10,000 Buddhas are. The 10,000 Buddhas are various sizes all with a lamp infront of them covering the walls and pillars of the inner temple. It its an amazing site to see. All of them are the same exact pose but with different prayers infront of them. Once I get all the pictures uploaded, you can see for yourself. One of the monks is assigned to count them every night, to make sure that none were stolen. The room is just filled with the golden light from all the lamps, and of course there is the main alter with the three gold Buddhas enclosed. Curiously enough, infront of the center Buddha, there is an enshrined and embalmed body of a priest. I'm not sure why, because the dead are usually cremated in the Buddhist tradition, and never displayed like this. I didn't see any monks though, which disappointed me a little. My favorite thing there, besides the Buddhas was another diety at the end of the courtyard. I'm not sure who it is, but I really liked it because the throne, (I guess that what it is), is all arms and hands reaching out. I like to think that its suppose to represent taking care of everyone and everything in the whole world. I also climbed up inside the pogoda at the end of the courtyard and went all the way to the top. When I came back down, the same monkey that grabbed my pants was sitting on one of the awnings eating something and staring me down. I got a picture of him, and then he threw some of his fruit at me. I guess thats what I get for not giving him food.

Then we walked up to the new upper part of the monastry, which is another walk up a mountain path with more gods on either side of the path. This time, the gods where is full color and more animated then the golden figures. Eventually it all became bodhisvattas statues, which are just beautiful. These were the followers of Buddha and were present at his death. They are believed to be androgenous, and refused to enter Nirvana and instead remained on earth to help/watchover mankind. They look like very comforting people. There were only two other buildings at the upper level, and they both looked like temples going under renovation. I was standing outside one of them, and a worker came up to me gesturing that I take a picture and speaking to me in Chinese. From the gestures I think that it was quitting time and they wanted me to get a picture of the Buddha inside the temple. I did, and then Megan and I headed back down the mountain, since it was almost 6pm. On the walk back down, the monkeys were in the bamboo watching us, but there were no further incidents. Crazy monkeys.

When we stopped for dinner in Mongkok, I had the most wonderful tea, Green Apple Honey. I haven't been able to find it yet, but that is something I am defiantly bringing back with me. The rain started up just as we got back on the bus, so we lucked out. Later that night I also grabbed a late dinner with Shirley and her group at a hot pot place. I tried some really good mushroom-thingys, and took pictures of all the food we had. I spent a good deal of time poking the oysters because I thought that they were more that a little gross-looking. Then we headed back out into the rain. I thought that I was just going to head back home to my hostel but they took my to play mahjohng, and I played until 2:30am. I only one once. For now its back to class and work. I do have some bad news though, it turns out that Jason won't be able to come visit me after all. I'm a little down about it, but I'll see him in May at the very latest. Hopefully new pictures will be up soon!

The Hong Kong Story and Weekly Visit to the Starr's

This weekend was another hot date with my roommate Terrence! She really wanted to do something with me this weekend, so we decided to meet up with her friend Dennis and explore the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. Phase One of the grand plan was to meet Dennis at 10:30am in TST, or Tsim Sha Tsui for those of us who don't live here. Too bad we didn't actually leave the university until 10ish, and then we had to stop at Terrence's apartment to drop some things off. I saw her mother again, and also met her grandmother. I love Terrence's apartment. Its right in the heart of the Ladies Market in Mongkok, and its so nice and cozy. Living right above all the hustle and bustle has to be very exciting. I wouldn't mind living there. Her grandmother is very sweet; the only English word she knows is Hello and she kept saying it to me the whole time I was there. And she was beautiful! I think all the women in Terrence's family, Terrence included, are just gorgeous.

After a brief visit at her home, and getting some money from her mother, we ran to the MTR Station and jumped on the train. We got there at 11:15am, and Dennis was merciless in his teasing of Terrence. I should note here that people in Hong Kong are never on time. It can be a little irritating at points, but like everything else you have to get used to it. Local students will walk into class 10 minutes late and think nothing of it. Some will apologize, but being late isn't really a big deal. The museum was only $5HK to get in, which is less than a US dollar, if you want to compare it. Things here are cheap! We decided to explore the permanent exhibit, the "Hong Kong Story", which is Hong Kong history from Precambrian Times up until the Handover in 1997. It was one of the most well-done musems I have ever been in. There was so much information to cover, but the musem was huge and it presented everything really clearly and thoughtfully. I want to go back again. The pictures from it turned out fabolously. A lot of the musem was really interactive, and built so that you were walking down a street during the Japanese Occupation, or through a Punti hut. Such a great museum- I was like a kid in a candy store, espcially when we got to the section about Chinese Opera. I was so excited that Terrence promised to talk me to Cantonese Opera before I left. Several times, in fact. We must have been in the musem for 3 hours.

For lunch, Terrence and I headed back to Mongkok, and Dennis went home to Central. As we were walking to the MTR Station together, we got someone to take a great picture of the 3 of us. Its one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip so far. We said hello to her mother again back in Mongkok and went to a local place for sushi and Japanese noodles. I love salmon sushi- its my favorite. After lunch, Terrence took me to Fa Yuen street, which is another street market where no tourists go. I try to avoid tourists, they make us Westerners look bad- the whole "Ugly American" thing is so true. Its a better market to go to, because there is a greater variety of things, instead of all the knockoffs at the Ladies Market. Its the one place in Hong Kong that I have been able to find yarn and knitting needles. If you walk down the center of the street, you see the main booths, but the more interesting things are between the booths and the actual bulidings. Thats where all the little boutiqes are, and the little curiosities, like an incense shop that I wandered into. It sold items like incense or paper goods for Buddhist worship. Terrence did a little bargaining and I picked up a lovely bracelet for $14HK, which is less than $2US. I helped her pick out a very cute skirt and top. Hong Kongers love to shop! From Fa Yuen street, we headed over to Grand Century Plaza so she could go to a bookstore. In there she got me beginers writing books like they give to kids in kidnergarten, so I can learn to write Chinese. I did a little bit in each book, and I'm afraid that my handwriting is terrible. I can recognize a few characters where ever I go, and thats pretty exciting for me. I'm still pretty illiterate by Chinese standards. She went off to meet her boyfriend and high school classmates for dinner, and I took the bus back to Lingnan. By the time I got home, I was incredibly exhausted. I could feel my leg muscles twitching from the combination of Friday's tai chi chaun class, and the walking I had done. If I keep this up, I'm going to have fantastic legs when I get home! My pants have been getting really loose too. Now I know why all the people here are skinny!

Sunday was another evening at the Starr's. Its really nice to have somewhere to go every Sunday like this. Mrs. Starr and I have the same name, so we always sit next to each other and mess with Prof. Starr when he calls her name. I found a kindred spirit in a girl named Heidi who is from Hong Kong, but was sent to school in Austrialia as a child. We spent an hour talking about the books we've read, and she is going to lend me a couple. The sky was finally clear enough from their balcony to see clear to the airport and to Hong Kong Island at the same time. It was breathtaking.

Tomorrow we have a day off from school for Sports Day. If the weather is nice, I think that I might explore more of Tuen Mun and try to find the temple here. I'm also very excited right now because Jason will be here on Friday! We are going to have so much fun! Crazy adventures are assured to happen. As always, I love and miss everyone very much! Look for new pictures!

For now, there have been no big adventures, except for that of daily life in Hong Kong. I have mastered the transportation system, ordering dim sum, some basic manners, and how to bargin. I've gotten incredibly accustomed to living here by this point, and it really feels like home, instead of some place that I am visiting. I've made tons of friends among local kids, which makes me happy. My classmates have stopped treating me like a non-entity, and realize, "Hey, maybe she can check over my work, and help me out!", which is much better than not being talked to. Even a couple of guys said hi to me today, and that is a sign of real progress. I really want to have the experience of the "real" Hong Kong, and what its like to be a citizen, not a tourist, and so far I feel that I have been sucessful in doing so. Classes are going a lot more smoothly now that I know the routine, and adjusted my clock. My roommate is just as awesome as ever. She and I love to tease each other, and she is taking me out tomorrow to the history musem, and out to lunch. She is going to show me where the locals go and all the little things that tourists never see/do.

I am also taking another class, a Tai Chi Chaun class. Today was the first day for it, and boy was it killer. Mr. Wong, the instructor came up to me when I first entered the room and said "I not teach this class in English. Find a friend to help you" Too bad I didn't know anyone in the class! He made us do all sorts of crazy streches until my muscles started twitching. A girl named Julia befriended me, which was really lucky for me, because I had no idea what he was saying, all I could do was follow the movements. We only learned some basic hand movements though. He also told me that I can't wear jeans. Nevermind the fact that I have another class right before his......Then I had tea with my friend Irene who is also really cute and sweet. She teased me for not calling her the day before and then told me that she missed me. We are going to do something together next week. I also have my first big presentation next week, which I think that is going to be relativly easy, and on Friday Jason comes to visit me! Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! We're going to do a ton of hiking/camping. I am so excited to see this kid, I can describe. The closest that I can get to it is that Jason is the Laurel to my Hardy.

And I promise that I will be better about updating things. At least every couple of days should be good, don't you think?