World Map

Where I've Been

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Soon to be added...

--Singapore
--Indonesia
--Malaysia

HKBU Poetry Contest

I got first place in the HKBU English Poetry Writing Contest and Grandma was here for the award ceremony! Writers Brit Bildoen and Alan Cherchesov were the judges of the contest and presented me with a prize of 1000$HKD.

Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast

We’d drive the highway to meet eternity
my mother and I,
until we reached an antique treasure
buried in the heart of New England,
perhaps, Massachusetts.
I don’t recall.

Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast,
tucked into a cove by the sea.
The place was surrounded by white houses
and engulfed in salty ocean mist.
The cedar paneling on the walls inside
breathed history
and the receptionist at the counter
was 1,000 years old, at least.
I’d get the key to our room
from the ancient lady
and I’d begin the journey
to the musty attic
on the third floor.

The stairs groaned and creaked
with every step I took
and my suitcase
thumped along behind me
in protest.
The halls were lined with
portrait paintings of previous owners.
Their faces all stared back at me
the only way they knew how to,
and I watched their still eyes,
fascinated.

A decade later,
my mother and I arrived at our room
and Mom jiggled the key in the lock
until the old oak door
broke free and swung open
to reveal our temporary home.
Mom would sigh in relief,
but I’d throw my luggage down
and spring into the old bed,
excitement pumping through my tiny body.

I’d lay surrounded by
a handmade quilt’s embrace,
and I could imagine
an elderly woman in a rocking chair
stitching each square together carefully
and cursing quietly
when the threading was not precise.
The thought made me giggle.

Even now, reminiscing,
I smile at the thought
of the old lady cursing.
I close my eyes and imagine
the old inn by the sea.
I can smell the cedar paneling
and taste the ocean air--
well, almost.

That was years ago.
Strange how time goes by
and memories become a mist around us,
reeled in only on a whim.

Nelly @ Macau

So maybe Nelly is a little bit old school and maybe it was a little bit crazy to leave the country to see him in concert, but guess what? IT WAS SO WORTH IT!

The concert was an absolute blast. Mellissa and I got a hotel for the evening and hit Club Cubic to see our boys, Nelly and Paul Wall. I was sooo close to the stage! In fact, at one point I was even on the stage when Nelly pulled me up to dance with him! Too bad I got kicked off by the bouncer... Either way, I had the best time!

yeah, I was THAT close.

Halloween & My Roommate!

Me & Tweety in our light-up Halloween ears!

I have the coolest grandma!

Last week, I had a very special visitor in Hong Kong!!
Grandma's flight landed in Hong Kong on the 18th and she was able to stay for about 7 days. She stayed at the Holiday Inn at Tsim Sha Tsui, not too far from my dorm in Kowloon Tong...Maybe about 12 minutes by taxi. Grandma came just in time to watch me accept an award for my poetry!
I took her to visit all the best spots...Jumbo Floating Resturant, Mr. Wong's, all over the HKBU campus, on the Star Ferry, to the Peak, Monkey Mountain, Repulse Bay, Tin Hau Temple, and I even brought her to classes with me! It was a blast!

Love you Grandma! xxoo

Pictures from Temple of Heaven (Beijing)

I have been so busy with school work lately, I forgot to update my blog! Here are some more photos of Beijing :) All of these photos were taken at Temple of Heaven (my favorite place in Beijing!) The gardens and architecture are too beautiful to describe.

ps--the last "picture" is a link to the video I took of some locals singing. Check it out!

Outside one of the gardens, just as the sun was setting!

a local writing prayers on the walkway

Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square

Inside Forbidden City with Emma

First stops in Beijing, Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square. Both of these places are very close to each other and have a load of history to them.

Forbidden City is supposed to be one of the best places to visit while in Beijing. The architecture is beautiful and it is such a peaceful place compared to the rest of the city. Forbidden City was established as the Imperial Palace during the Ming dynasty.. I don't really know too much about the history of the place, but from what I understand, Forbidden City got it's name from being an area where commoners were not allowed to be. Forbidden City also played a big part in establishing Beijing as the capital city of China. Today, many come to visit and all are allowed. It is a very large area of land and is definitely an interesting place to visit.

Right after Emma and I walked through Forbidden City, we got some lunch, got some souvenirs, and headed to Tian'anmen Square. Tian'anmen Square is very famous (or infamous) for the Tian'anmen Square Massacres of 1989. Many Chinese people, mostly students, were killed while protesting the communist government. While walking through the square, it was incredible to think that all of the protests and killings had happened right there. It is an extremely large area, but during my visit, the Chinese people were happy and celebrating China National Week in the same area where thousands had been killed. It just gave me a bizarre feeling..

Besides the interesting history of the places, I found the people to be quite...well...interesting too. First thing I noticed was their manners (or lack thereof.) For Chinese people, it seems perfectly acceptable to spit anywhere, anytime and push people out of the way to get wherever they are going. And they love to try to take advantage of tourists. The woman who sold us the Chinese flags tried to sell them to us for 20 Yuan. After much of a struggle for the three of us, Emma and I were able to haggle them down to 5 Yuan for both of them...a much more reasonable price. Probably the funniest thing that happened was the Chinese requesting photos with us. They were very excited to see westerners, so we posed for no joke, over 20 pictures with Chinese people. It was ridiculous! They all lined up to take photos with us...so Emma and I put on our panda hats and waved our Chinese flags...and looked like the biggest tourists ever! So funny!

A photo request that we were happy to complete :)

Beginning of Beijing Trip..

Emma and I left our dorms for the Hong Kong Airport several hours (and by several hours, I mean 10 hours) before our flight left. Long story short, we weren't sure if we would be able to get there early in the morning for our flight, so we just decided to stay overnight at the airport. In hindsight, I'm still not sure if it was a good or bad idea. Either way, we were convinced that nothing bad could happen...our thoughts: if we stay overnight at the airport, there is NO possible way that we will miss our flight. Nothing will go wrong. Unfortunately, this was a bad assumption. Very bad assumption.... When we went to check in, Emma was able to get her boarding pass just fine, but for me, it was a different story. China Air informed me that my booking had been canceled and that I no longer had a spot on the flight. Since I booked through Expedia, I immediately called them to find out what had happened. Once again, they were less than helpful. They told me that someone had called to cancel my booking on my behalf and since check-in was over in 30 minutes, they told me to buy my ticket directly through the airlines. Thank God there was a spot left on the flight! So, yes, big hassle, but I finally got my ticket and Emma and I arrived safely in Beijing three hours later.


We checked into our super awesome hostel, Salitun Youth Hostel and we were so happy! It was a little bit hard to find, but luckily we had the address in Chinese so our taxi driver knew where to take us. Our room was super clean and nice, the staff was friendly, and the food was delicious! (And they had three cute kittens!)

Emma and I went out for duck for dinner at a restaurant just a few minutes away from our hostel. Delicious :) Later in the evening, Emma and I met up with the other exchange students who were staying in our hostel. It was so exciting to see everyone!

what a crew!

Beijing--Hong Kong

I just arrived back in wonderful HONG KONG!
Beijing was sooo fun! Over the next few days, I play to update my blog with pictures of the hostel I stayed in, the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, Tian'amen Square, bizarre foods, and good times with friends!


xx

My International Number

Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to let people know what number they can reach me.....+85266766182

Now off to Beijing!


<3

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.

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

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!

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!

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! :)

Big Buddha

Cable car ride...

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

...to see the giant buddha!

:D

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..

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.

Just some pictures from today!

From Victoria Peak...Unfortunately it was a little foggy, but still a beautiful view of the city.

Peter Li and some friends at Victoria Peak!

Beautiful statues at Repulse Bay

Beach at Repulse Bay

On the ferry to Jumbo Floating Resturant

Yes, it really is a jumbo floating restaurant...with delicious dim sum!

View out the window of Jumbo :)

Fountain at Wong Tai Sin Temple

Wong Tai Sin

joss sticks at Wong Tai Sin

What an amazing day in Hong Kong!