Friday, September 30, 2011

Success!

It's the best day EVER.
I went to the Chinese Embassy to pay for and pick up my visa! $1,100 HKD for a double entry visa for Americans. Either way, I'm glad to have it seeing as I leave Wednesday for Beijing.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

T8

Today I didn't have class because we had the highest level typhoon! At first, I was sooo excited to have a typhoon day (way better than a snow day!) but as it turns out, we weren't even allowed to leave campus. Besides, even if you could, most restaurants and stores were closed because of the weather. Yesterday, the typhoon level didn't get any higher than a T3, so I wasn't expecting it to hit an 8 overnight! Either way, the weather wasn't too terrible in Kowloon Tong. It was windy and rainy on and off today, but when it rained, it REALLY rained. Apparently, other areas of Hong Kong had it much worse than we did. We were down to a T3 by midday and I believe we are still at a T3. Here's an article about the rest of Hong Kong and the bad weather today....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15103005

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Mainland China!

Emma and I have been planning our trip to mainland China. We booked a one-way flight to Beijing, leaving Hong Kong on the morning of October 5th, connecting in Shanghai, and arriving seven hours later. A lot of the other exchange students are traveling then as well, so odds are we will see them there! Basically the plan is to fly to Beijing, stay in a hostel, see Forbidden City, other tourist attractions, ect on the 6th, camp on the Great Wall on the 7th (!!!!!) and take the high speed train back to Hong Kong on the 8th.

Tomorrow, we have to go to the Chinese embassy to get our visa stuff worked out. Emma's visa will be much cheaper than mine since she is from Wales. Americans have to pay about $150 USD for China multiple entry visas. Hopefully, all will go smoothly and we will have our visas ready to go in four business days!


Thursday, September 15, 2011

sick.

Last night was terrible.
I thought I was going to die.
Food poisoning I guess...
Grandma!! I wish you were already here visiting so that you could take care of me!
I really needed a nurse!
I went to the doctors today, but that really wasn't much help.
Oh well....I'm doing a lot better today, thank God!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Happy Moon Festival!

My first time celebrating Moon Festival was wonderful! BBQ with my friends Ting-Yi, Peggy, Anne, and Michael...beach BBQs are the best! The moon was beautiful and so were all the colorful lanterns. I didn't have moon cake until today but I shared a traditional double yolk moon cake with my hall tutor today. Oh, and having the day off today was quite enjoyable! :)

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Big Buddha

Cable car ride...

...in a clear bottomed cable car...

...to see the giant buddha!

:D

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Revised Class Schedule....

So scheduling classes has really been a pain. There have been many conflicts...for example, I had Mandarin at the same time I wanted to take "Literature and Film." I've spent about an hour revising my schedule for (hopefully) the last time. I had to make some compromises, but hey, I am studying abroad and being flexible is the name of the game. Here is my new list of classes....

CHEM 1010 Ocean Voyage - Science in the Sea:
This course will introduce the concepts of marine and environmental science, as well as cultural, economic and political impacts to address marine-environmental issues at local and regional scales. The course will be broadly divided into 3 parts:
  • the history of ocean voyage and marine science;
  • an introduction to the ocean as a chemical system with topics including important chemicals that affect our daily life and also drive marine ecosystems;
  • the relationship between humans and the ocean-the impact of humans on the marine environment and Vice-versa.

ENG 3440 Literature and the Nobel Prize:
The course will focus on specific Nobel Prize winning literary works (poetry, drama, and/or fiction in English or in English translation). Literary works studied will also recognize the variety and scope of Nobel laureate writing in different genres and across different national or regional literary traditions.

ENG 3770 Literature and Film
This course will allow students to examine critically the process of storytelling across different media. Emphasis will be put on the roles played by the narrator and the camera in shaping readers'/audience's
understanding. It will explore the inter-relationship between literature and film, and examine how the word and the image (re)present reality.

ENG 1190 Introduction to the Study of Language:
This course aims at enhancing students' linguistic awareness via the study of different aspects of human language (especially the English language). Students will be introduced to the acquisition of language, the sound patterns and the word structures of language, the rules that govern the use of language, historical changes of language, culture, society and language, etc.

V.A. 2200 From Liquid to Solid: The Art of Glass Blowing:
This course will provide students with the basic knowledge, practice and experience in glass blowing. Glass is a highly versatile material. Glass blowing is the most exciting glass making technique, and also a unique skill among most art material. It could be used in every day life from functional tableware and product or as a medium for fine art production. The learning of glass blowing will allow students to apply their knowledge in drawing, sculpture, installation and design, to enable a broader dimension on artistic expression, as well as to activate their imagination.

In addition to these courses, I will be taking a non-credit Introductory Mandarin course for part of the semester.

The City I Live In..

Sunday, September 4, 2011

My Classes!

I have finally worked out the details of my class schedule! Here are the classes I'm going to be taking...

ENG 1190 Introduction to the Study of Language:
This course aims at enhancing students' linguistic awareness via the study of different aspects of human language (especially the English language). Students will be introduced to the acquisition of language, the sound patterns and the word structures of language, the rules that govern the use of language, historical changes of language, culture, society and language, etc.

ENG 2670 The English Language and Communication across Cultures:
This course is designed to raise students' consciousness of cultural dimensions in communication in English. It elucidates the interrelatedness of the English language and the other aspects of the culture of its speakers and provides students with guided experiences in using English cross-culturally for the purpose of coming to a
practical understanding of this complex of problems.

ENG 3440 Literature and the Nobel Prize:
The course will focus on specific Nobel Prize winning literary works (poetry, drama, and/or fiction in English or in English translation). Literary works studied will also recognize the variety and scope of Nobel laureate writing in different genres and across different national or regional literary traditions.

LANG 1000 Introductory Mandarin for Non-Chinese Speakers: This course aims at introducing non-Chinese speakers to the study of Mandarin (locally known as Putonghua) through practice in the basics of phonetics of modern Chinese. Students will be familiarized with the initials, finals, the four basic tones as well as the rules of pinyin. The skills will enable students to identify the basic sentence patterns and expressions and communicate in simple dialogues with Putonghua speakers.


V.A. 2200 From Liquid to Solid: The Art of Glass Blowing:
This course will provide students with the basic knowledge, practice and experience in glass blowing. Glass is a highly versatile material. Glass blowing is the most exciting glass making technique, and also a unique skill among most art material. It could be used in every day life from functional tableware and product or as a medium for fine art production. The learning of glass blowing will allow students to apply their knowledge in drawing, sculpture, installation and design, to enable a broader dimension on artistic expression, as well as to activate their imagination.