Lasts

12/11/14 

I had returned from Singapore right before revision week, and I have to say, it was a break I desperately needed. November was a relaxing month overall aside from final papers and group projects. (There are wayyyy too many group projects, and they definitely tested my time-management skills.) 

Recap of Singapore: 

My friends from Taiwan and I had stayed there for 3 days and 2 night. With other exchange friends from the U.S., I finally had a home-cooked meal on thanksgiving! It was really sweet of them to prepare a full 3-course meal. Singapore, overall, is a pretty nice and clean place. Everything, architecture-wise, was designed with a purpose. Before I boarded the plane, I made sure to look up laws that Singapore had. (One included banning of chewing gum being sold in supermarkets!) All the laws and regulations were strict with large fines, but they made Singapore that much safer. It wasn't dangerous for us to walk around on the streets in the middle of the night because there wouldn't be anyone bothering us. 

I lived in a hostel for the first time in my life, and it definitely changed my perspective of hostels. In the past, I always thought they were sketchy, and rundown living quarters. However, the one I had lived in was very safe. Because of its location, food was easily accessible. Unfortunately, spending was similar to that of the States. Now that I've been in HK for several months, I've gotten used to no tips/ tax or at the maximum, 10% tips. However, everything I ate/bought in Singapore had tips and tax. T-T This is definitely something I'll have to get used to once I'm back in the states. Before then, I'll be enjoying tax-free meals! ^_^ 

Even since I got back from Singapore, I've been working away on final papers / studying for exams. Accounting was definitely challenging, but fair. The exam was held in the gym, along with 2 other examinations. There were probably 600 students in the same room for 3 hrs- WOW. I have one more exam in the gym. Maybe I'll be able to snap a photo then. 

For the past few days, I've been catching myself thinking of "Lasts". ie. the last time I'll eat at ____ , or the last time i'll see my classmates, my last class at CityU, etc. When exchange first began, I thought 4 months was a REALLY long time. Especially when I had culture shock during my first month.  Now that I think back to my plane ride from NYC to HK, it feels like it just happened yesterday. 

Now, with 7 days left in HK, (still can't believe it) I really have to be adventurous and do all the tourist-y things before leaving HKG! 

Next Stop: Seoul, Korea 

An Open-mind

11.24.14 // 1:14PM

This week is the last week of classes, and a time to reflect on this past semester. Now that I think about it, I'm glad that I chose to study abroad. It has been one of the most life-changing experiences thus far. When I'm in New York, I fall into a constant pattern because I'm so comfortable with my surroundings. However, in HK (a very foreign place), I find myself growing up a bit more. I'm learning to take risks, being comfortable with getting lost everywhere I go, and being more open-minded about everything. In the past, I stayed in my comfort zone because that's where I wasn't shy. I find myself more outgoing now that I have to reach out to people if I didn't want to get lost.

On another note, since people don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, Christmas decorations are up earlier than what I'm used to. Christmas decorations are EVERYWHERE, especially in malls. They're all SOOOO pretty. Although I'm still wearing T-Shirts and Jeans (feels nothing like winter), the decorations are AMAZING. Very glamorous and Christmas-y, for lack of a better term. I recently went to Tsim Sha Tsui where they put up Christmas decorations near the harbor every year. 

Here are some photos:

There's still so much of HK that I haven't explored, but hopefully I'll still be able to visit those places during finals week. 

Places/ Activities: 

Hong Kong Museum of History

Disneyland*** 

SOGO/ Times Square (Malls)

Restaurants

Quick Update

11/01/14 10:21AM

I can't believe I've already spent over 2 months in HK. Time sure does fly~. Midterm season was quite relaxing for the first time in my college career cuz I only had 1. However, multiple late nights were spent on projects and reports. Now that THAT'S over, I'm glad that I can finally relax and continue to plan trips.

Possible trips:
Singapore 11/27-11/30
Korea 12/19-12/23
Japan 12/24-12/30
Taipei/ Taiwan 12/30-1/2 or 1/5

I'll have to try to fit Beijing and Shanghai somewhere in the 2 months I have left before my return flight. At the moment, my return flight is 1/7 but I can't decide whether I want to extend my stay to 1/22. #struggles

Recently, I've also been looking for more plays and musicals to watch. This is one of my new hobbies after I watched a pretty good musical in Taipei. I had just watched a musical last night, as well, called The Common Cold. It's interesting to see the different styles of plays that each city offers. The one in Taipei was more fun/chickflick-like, whereas the ones offered in HK are more relatable. The Common Cold portrays a city that is infected by a sickness, with "loneliness" as its root cause. They try to create a utopia in hopes of curing this sickness. It was interesting to watch each character develop within this world. Needless to say, I am on the hunt for more plays/musicals to attend.

11/01/14 11:06AM

Taiwan Withdrawals

10.14.14 // 3:41AM

My sleeping cycle has been wayyy off recently. I find myself falling asleep at 5am and having to wake up at 10AM. I'm beginning to miss the days when I first arrived in HK and would fall asleep at 10PM to wake up at 5AM because of jetlag.

Sleeping schedule aside, I miss Taiwan a LOT! It has only been a day since I've been back from my 5-day trip to Taipei, and I'm already missing how convenient everything was. The walk to the closest convenient store would be about 5 minutes, and I'd be able to grab a quick breakfast before starting my day. 7/11's in HK are very different. The most I can probably find would be a quick bun and drink. For two nights, my friend and I visited night markets full of snacks and yummy food such as grilled pork, sushi, etc. We tried a variety of Taiwanese specialties. Next to these markets would be small boutiques that sold clothing for an affordable price. Places like ShiLin (an area in Taipei) felt like heaven. :D

The craziest thing I did during this trip would be attending an outdoors music festival for over five hours whilst it was raining. Don't think I'll ever try that again, but it was definitely worth the experience.

On my second to last day in Taipei, friends and I visited this area in Taiwan where we were able to release Sky Lanterns. It is believed that the wishes we write on these lanterns will come true when we release them into the sky. Not sure how environmental-friendly this is, but it was fun! Each layer/color of the lantern represented different wishes. For example, white stood for success, while purple represented good grades.

I really hope I can go back to Taiwan one last time before heading back to the States. This weekend was truly relaxing and fun. 

3:58AM // Insomniac

Occupy Central

10.01.14 // 1:55AM

Today marks the 4th day of Occupy Central. This protest officially started on Sunday, Sept 28. In the past month, there have been students who would advertise the protest around school in hopes of gaining more supporters. However, I hadn't realized at the time that there were actually participants in the event until this Sunday. Many local students are skipping classes as part of their protest, and bringing resources such as water, masks, umbrellas to protest locations. On Monday, classrooms were practically half-empty, signs regarding the protest could be seen everywhere on campus, and people were giving out yellow ribbons (representing support for democracy). Although I haven't been to protest locations (Central, Admiralty, and Mongkok), I'm surprised by the unity amongst Hong Kong people. Many people are helping each other out during the protest to ensure no one gets hurt. It was truly heart-breaking to hear that policemen would throw tear gas at their own citizens. Many protestors were caught by surprise. Because of the violence sprouting from a non-violent movement, Occupy Central has increased in support.

On the other hand, I've also been keeping up with China's reaction to this movement. When attempting to search for "Occupy Central" through China's popular search engine - Baidu, I've realized that all news regarding this event have been blocked. Furthermore, the government has voiced that they fully support what policemen have done so far to maintain order in Hong Kong.

The main issue behind Occupy Central is that Hong Kong people wish to elect their own chief executives under the Special Administrative Region. The current system is China's central government assigning candidates to Hong Kong, between which Hong Kong people will vote for their chief executive. Because Hong Kongers believe they deserve to select their own pool of candidates, they resulted to this non-violent protest.

It's unfortunate that an agreement had not been reached before citizens were harmed. One can only hope that no one else will get hurt from this movement.

// 2:10AM

Innocence is Bliss

09.24.14 // 2:20AM

It's been ages since I've blogged. From the time since I last posted til now, I've met a lot more people who have made my experience here more enjoyable. I spend a lot of time with C. and B. whether it be exploring new food places in HK, meeting new people together on the campus lawn, or talking about our career prospects (???). I'm glad that I've met them because they are some of the most down-to-earth and genuinely caring people I know here. 

Recently, I've also met a few local students who are fun to talk to. It's always interesting to listen to their point of view, and how they see certain issues. At the same time, they're always curious about the "American" POV, and how we might handle a situation. Although we grew up in different environments, whether it be SF, NYC or HK, I'm beginning to see that there are still certain parts of our backgrounds that make us similar people. At one point, we spent 3 hours discussing our similarities and differences, and how we would react in certain situations. (This was from 12AM to 3AM).

I've been wanting to travel to various tourist attractions- such as Ocean Park (I went on a day where there were thunderstorms T-T), Victoria Peak, famous dessert place (I searched all over but most locations are under construction), and…DISNEYLAND ^_^. One of my lifetime goals is to travel to every Disneyland location: Florida, California, Japan, France, and HK. Honestly, one of my biggest goals in life is to be able to travel to different cities around the world, and really understand others' backgrounds. If the city I'm at happen to have a Disneyland, that would make the journey even more magical! :D

It's been a month since I've been to HK. Throughout this time, I've learned a lot about how others survive, or experiences they've had to go through. There are moments when I feel like my parents have really kept me inside a bubble. They've given me a life where I'm well-protected and worry-free. Even though there are moments when I might complain about little problems in life, I've finally realized that my issues are nothing compared to the harsh reality that some people I've met had to face. I had a conversation with my uncle who lives in ShenZhen. He said that there are people (in China) who are taught at a young age to be quick-witted, cautious, mature, or even coy at times. This isn't because they want to, but because in order to survive, they have to outwit those who may try to harm them. Finally, he said that the children he has met in the States are more innocent and carefree. Because of this, they have genuine smiles and laughs. When he said that, I began to tear up. To me, innocence is bliss, and for some children to not experience that, is almost painful to hear.

So… on that note… here are some pictures I've taken throughout the month.

I LOVE this quote!

Replica of Old Hong Kong Streets

 09.24.14 // 2:50AM

09.10.14 // 11:17PM

The past few days have been very relaxing for me. Because of mid-autumn festival, a time when families gather together and look at the moon (?), the school has given us a day off. When visiting my distant relatives, I came across a group of people performing in the middle of the park. Children can be seen holding onto their unique, and super adorable, lanterns. Dinner at my relative's place was pleasant. It's always nice to be able to catch up with family, and understand their lifestyle here in HK. I've learned that some houses can be very small due to limitation of living space in HK.

After dinner, I met up with friends in Mongkok in hopes of finding activities around town. However, everyone seemed to have closed early because of the holiday. We had no choice but to head back to our dorms.

On the next day, we went to Sham Shui Po for lunch. It's an area known to have very cheap electronics. However, people in this area made me feel very uncomfortable. Perhaps they're not used to seeing foreigners. I felt like an alien because pedestrians would STARE as my friends and I walked by. Thankfully, we found a familiar spot in the area — Pizza Hut. Unlike those back in the States, Pizza Hut is an actual restaurant here in Hong Kong. They serve a lot more than just pizza. Also, their pizza toppings are amazingggg.

Pics from our lunch/dinner:

I've been in HK for over 2 weeks now. My experience here has been eye-opening. For one, I never thought I'd be able to survive 8000 miles away from home. I'm slowly learning to adjust to the lifestyle, and learning to accept challenges. Before leaving, I had pictured myself as an independent person. I never realized how much work my parents had put into providing a comfortable living environment for me. Here, I've slowly begun to pick up the little details/ issues that they would've taken care of if I were living at home. To be honest, there are moments when I wish I was home with my family, and in an environment that I'm familiar with. While people here treat me like a local student, I feel like an alien and I get lost everywhere I go. Because the opportunity to study abroad is rare, I have to continue to accept the challenge— adapting. Hopefully everything will work out in a week or two, and I'll get the swing of things here. :)

More pics of food:

Clam Linguine!

My First Hiking Experience

09.07.14 // 9:56 PM

On Sept. 6, several friends had called me to ask me whether I wanted to go to the Infinity Pool. There would be "minor walking" and an amazing scenery. Upon arriving at Tai O (after an hr-long bus ride), we came across a long bridge. Tai O is a fishing village that is considerably far from the main parts of Hong Kong. As I walked past homes, I couldn't imagine how residents would be able to survive in such a secluded area. However, Tai O is a truly serene location — very different from the bustling city. Now comes the "minor walking," which was NOT minor in any form. The hike to Infinity Pool took about an hour, but the road became increasingly difficult to walk across. For someone with little to no hiking experience, I was scared yet excited to see this pool. But I still can't forget how terrifying the walk to the pool was. When we had finally reached our destination, the sun was about to set. The Infinity Pool can be separated into two parts. The waterfall, located on one side, was fun to be in, as water rushed by. On the other side, people swam/ sat along the edge of the cliff. Unfortunately, we had arrived too late, and most pictures turned out pitch black. While the fishing village was secluded, this natural Infinity Pool felt like it was part of a different world.

Our journey back to the bus stop took a lot longer since our only source of light were from our phones.

Hiking tip: Leave before sunset.

09.04.14 - 12:53AM

My first week of classes is coming to an end. Like many other "first weeks" that I've gone through, professors went over syllabi, classroom requirements, projects, etc. Nothing special.

I've also become friends with a couple of locals here. I'm not sure if it's culture shock, but I find it very difficult for me to speak in Cantonese when communicating with locals. For some reasons, English always comes out first, and then my Cantonese is slurred/ unclear/ soft. When I was home, I used to be able to speak in a way where people would at least understand me. However, locals here have trouble understanding what I say. At times, I find that I don't have the confidence to speak in their dialect. This has been very troublesome, especially when I'm trying to learn how to print from the school's printer. It took me a VERY long time to figure out how and where to print because locals at the IT desk had trouble understanding me.

My goal for the semester is to speak in Cantonese AT ALL TIMES. I really hope this will be successful since I'm only comfortable speaking in this dialect around 20% of the time.

I hope my parents aren't completely disappointed in me.

On the other hand, I've been typing a lot more Chinese when communicating with my relatives. Because many of them don't understand English, I have been typing in Chinese characters. This has improved my writing skills. Now, if only I can type and speak at the same level, then my parents will surely be proud!

I've also been catching up on some reading:

Crazy Rich Asians - by Kevin Kwan (National Bestseller)
Angels & Demons - by Dan Brown

Both are pretty good so far, and I'm looking forward to reading other Dan Brown books. :)

Time to sleep ~

1:03AM

Week 1 - Continued

Aug 31, 2014 - 11:06PM

This weekend, I've traveled to a LOT of places. My favorite place would have to be MongKok. When I went at night, it was pretty congested with people, cars, and shops - lots of shops. This may be the area that doesn't sleep, similar to Times Square at night. Everything in the shops were also more affordable, when compared to Central. Aside from shopping centers, I also came across a dessert chain called "Hui Lau Shan" that seems to be well-known in Hong Kong. I've been to this dessert shop every day for the past 3 days. :D (Pics in Slideshow)

Wherever I go in HK, I can't help but to compare it to New York. I really miss exploring the city but also knowing exactly where I'm going for good food/dessert. It's very different for me in HK. Getting lost seems to be the norm now. Although it leaves me feeling uneasy, I'm slowly learning to adjust and accept it. Walking around MongKok has been one of the most difficult tasks for me. Because of the number of shops located everywhere, every turn and street looks the same. Without street signs, I may have never found the station to go back to my dorm in Kowloon Tong. Maybe that's why it's called "exploring" - no directions nor definite location. Even though I've been using "OpenRice" which is like Yelp for HK, I'm still pretty lost because there's no internet on my HK phone T-T. I find myself searching for 7/11 on every corner because there's free Wifi most of the time. 

The portion sizes in restaurants here are MUCH bigger than dishes in NYC. One lunch meal here is equivalent to the amount of food I may eat for breakfast & lunch, & sometimes even dinner. 

Today, I was also able to meet up with a relative that I've only heard about from my parents. He was super nice to bring me to tourist attractions and explain the history of HK to me. It turns out that the government has to fill lands in order to expand it's usable space. I've also heard a lot of stories about how people in Mainland may try to cheat people's money. Needless to say, I'm paranoid now. I had planned to travel to Mainland on my own to visit relatives, but now I'm definitely going with a relative from HK. 

Tomorrow marks the first day of classes. Like all other "First Days," my stomach is full of butterflies! I'm worried that I won't understand the lecture, worried that I'll be the awkward one/ outlier, worried that I'll get lost. But I really hope it's only my imagination that's making me feel uncomfortable. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. 

For now, good night. 

Aug 31, 2014 - 11:50PM

Week 1- Orientation Week

August 25, 2014 - August 29, 2014

This is my first time traveling to Hong Kong, or Asia, for that matter. In the past couple of months, I've been both excited and nervous for this trip. It's very easy for me to shy away from things and events that I'm not familiar with. However, for the next four months, I will challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone. I really hope that I'll be able to enjoy HK and not be as homesick as I've imagined.

With that said, the flight from JFK  > HKG was 16 hours, after being delayed for 2 hrs! By the time I arrived, I was ready to crash onto a bed. However, my dorm was far from being furnished. 

For the next 2 days, I traveled around HK (Sha Tian, Kowloon Tong, Hong Hom) to look for daily essentials. The MTR has been my savior thus far. Similarly to the MTA system in NYC, the MTR has multiple lines and covers the main parts of Hong Kong. Although the fees are calculated based on distance instead of a standard price, I've found them to be rather inexpensive. 

Orientation week has been a lot of fun. Between meeting other exchange students and talking to local students, I've learned a lot more about HK. Although I'm experiencing a little bit of culture shock, I'm looking forward to a semester of adventures and yummy food. ^^