Winter Break Finale

-Wake up at 10:30 in the morning with the sun out and 26 degree weather (78 for the fahrenheit people out there)
-Have dim sum and green tea for lunch
-Go for a run and admire the beautiful view of the ocean and mountains
-Play soccer until 9 PM *playing in cleats makes a big difference
-Eat a vanilla ice cream cone, a double quarter pounder (first time I've ever had one, i kid you not), and an oreo mcflurry *McDonald's was the only place that was still open
-Try to get a good night's rest

Great note to end the break on!


I love my pumas!

RANDOM QUOTE- "IF YOU COULD BUY A LITTLE TIME, HOW WOULD YOU SPEND IT?"

Tours, Tours, Tours

Try saying that 5 times fast, well the title sums up the last two days and tomorrow.

Today was orientation, that's right I actually am taking classes in Hong Kong. Picked up a double entry visa today for mainland...note to future Hong Kong students don't be lazy like me go to the Consulate in the U.S., so you can get a multi-entry visa. Exciting news, I bought a pair of sweet "football" cleats (also known as soccer in the states) at Harbor City. The number of malls in Hong Kong is unbelievable and yet there's only one notable sports store, quiet different from the U.S.


Why repeat what's already been said before. These are basically summaries of Wednesday and Thursday's Tours. If you want the the details that only the experience can give you see below.
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Tour: Lantau Island Day Tour
"Travel back to the times when fishermen roamed the waterways in this part of Hong Kong. Experience the sights and smells of Tai O, a relatively untouched fishing village set amidst the mountains. You may even spot the rare Chinese white dolphins as you explore the area. Thereafter, experience Chinese Buddhist traditions while feasting on vegetarian cuisine served in a temple. You will also see the world's largest sitting bronze Buddha, and glide across the scenic Tung Chung Bay to Ngong Ping Plateau on a cable car."

Tour: Hong Kong's Urban Chinese Heritage
"Explore the architectural heritage of Hong Kong's Chinese side. Gain unique perspectives into our Chinese culture and values (Wong Tai Sin and Chi Lin Buddhist Nunnery ). Then, learn about an interesting chapter of the city's history at the Kowloon Walled City Park, once a lawless slum that was considered off-limits to both the Chinese and British governments. Finally, recollect these stories over a sumptuous seafood dinner."
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Both tours were all about getting away from the skyscrapers and city life, and more about the scenic/religious areas. Our lunch at Lantau consisted of jello looking tofu, meatloaf looking tofu, orange chicken looking tofu, fish looking tofu- bottom line tofu, vegetables, and delicious pineapple. The fishing village was very run down and sold "red" drink which only the tour guides drank because they warned that foreigners may not be adjusted enough to this drink made from herbs and served out of unsealed bottles... supposed to be good for the throat, maybe next time. Some of us were lucky enough to see the endangered white dolphins that look more like cotton candy; however, taking pictures of them just wasn't going to happen on this rocky fishing boat.

Tour number two had some interesting stops, the walled in city from the looks of it was a slum with terrible living conditions similar to cities during the Industrial Revolution. At the Taoist Temple I burned incense sticks, knelt inside the temple, shook fortune sticks until one of the hundreds of fortune sticks fell out, and then based on the number had my fortune read. Fortune (which is good for one year and then I have to go back) in broken English he said my family will have happiness, i will find profit in business, go hiking, spring will be full of color, sing, dance, and enjoy life.

dinner- shrimp with heads (be careful shrimp brains can get messy), crab, pork w/ onions green peppers and pineapple, scallops, fried rice, beef vegetable soup, fish, squid, bacchoi, orange slices. Fresh seafood = deliciousness

Finished with the Symphony of Lights, and there was a reason I fell asleep the first time: it's a bit overrated. Tomorrow, another tour with my buddy Carol to Stanley Market and Victoria Peak. Sounds like fun, hope so.



Random Quote: "FISHING IS JUST ONE JERK ON THE END OF A LINE WAITING FOR A JERK AT THE OTHER."

Macau: First Time for Everything

Day 1
Chaos at Porto Exterior Upon Arriving as cell phones don't work and the group of 20 quickly diffuses in an array of directions
Check into Hotel Guía
Spend 1 hour looking for Portuguese Restaurant Caravella in a dark and hidden ally only to find that it's closed on Sundays
Walked through cobble stone streets filled with shops and stray dogs w/ shirts on
St. Paul's Ruins and Mount Fortress
Taking a stroll along the Docks
Observing baccarat and blackjack at the Grand Lisboa Casino
Falling asleep outside my hotel room, waking up with an hotel employee standing over me, trying to communicate that I'm locked out, finding my way through the pitch black room (because no key = no power in the room)

Day 2
Waking up at 9am wondering what the football score is and 3 phone calls to the U.S. to receive updates on the Viks vs. Saints game. (Tension was high w/ 3 Viking fans dying to see the game) you would think that with all the casinos, one would air the game..but no
First time having Dim Sum- 15+ dishes of deliciousness either steamed or fried food including spring rolls, chicken claws, dumplings, and biscuits filled with pork = Yum!!
First time bungee jumping- 233m jump off of Macao Tower, pure greatness, let's do it again shall we?!
First time trying an egg tart- thumbs up
Ending in Chaos for some as Kevin and Jon searched all over Macau for Max with his passport and belongings, returned to HK only turn right back around as they received a phone call from Max stranded in Macau

Even though the Venetian did not make it into the agenda, all in all a great trip, and believe it or not, my spanish skills came in handy when reading maps and street!

Today as in Tuesday's highlights were bargaining down the price for our visas w/ a woman who probably wasn't even talking to anyone on the phone (we decided not to call her bluff though)
From there, I rushed back to HKUST to have lunch with my buddy Carol! I found out we had more in common than anticipated. Neither of us really knows why we chose business as our majors, good teachers make all the difference in the world, chop sticks are difficult to use... She tried to teach me some Cantonese, but it's a major work in progress as slow as molasses. Send air hugs and wishes to all my friends and family. Hope life is good =)



Random Quote- "DON'T COUNT THE DAYS....MAKE THE DAYS COUNT"

Glowing Microbes

Well I realize that I need to blog in blurbs because after a a day chilling on campus and a couple days in Macau I have way too much material talk about. Just relaxed and read up on Macau on Saturday after going to Club 9 near central the night before. Played soccer with some of the other exchange students, so I will work on my game in preparation for next falls PGN soccer squad (I hope I will make the cut).

Food is pretty inexpensive here costing as low as 2 or 3 US dollars for a meal definitely a plus. To add more fuel to the fire, I enjoy the meals and am up for almost anything, so far I've had duck, chicken, pork, eggs, and tons of rice. Still working on the chops sticks, some meals are a workout/struggle on the mind and fingers.

That night a group of us went down to the shore and sat on the ledge overlooking some disgusting looking water, but the view of the mountains was amazing. Someone decided to spit into the pond, and we all thought we were going crazy when the spit made a neon blue splash into the scum. Apparently there are these glowing microbes in the water that light up whenever the water moves, so tossing rocks and spitting into the water became the excitement for the night.


Random Quote- IF YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR PASSPORT PHOTO, YOU'RE TOO ILL TO TRAVEL.

Without Further Ado: the Arrival

I made it!

Well for the most part I'm settled in. Nothing to call home yet, but thanks to the help of all the study abroad alumni, especially Shai, Sibu, and John (who know how amazing Hong Kong is), your advice and knowledge helped prepare me more than anything else could. Thanks!

It's been quite awhile since the last update, so I have plenty to fill you in on starting with my flight "back to the future." I booked a flight from San Fransico to Hong Kong 12:05 a.m. and a separate flight from Chicago to San Fran at 4:30 Jan. 19th. Thanks to mother nature my flight from Chicago landed in LA instead. Our flight did not land in San Fran until 11:00 p.m. and I didn't get my luggage till 11:30, so I was the person you see every blue moon sprinting through the airport. I checked in my luggage with a special radio call in to the baggage crew "O hold on we have one more person," and then continued walk right on to my flight. Thank you 2 hour time relapse, i wouldn't have made my flight with your help =)

Needless to say, all's well that ends well, and what fun would the trip have been without a little panic and chaos. From there, the number one airline, Singapore, took great care of me. Providing newspapers at the entrance, hot towels, brand new blankets and pillows, a delicious seafood dinner and breakfast, morning towels, personal tv screens with remote control/video game controller, very kind flight attendants, and more. During those 17 hours on Singapore, I was able to watch the Informant (not recommended), read all about the best parts of HK, learn some basic Cantonese by playing dungeons and dragons, and sleep for 8 hours.

Got in at 7 a.m. on Thursday Jan. 22, so I'm in the future now! The fact that this was actually happening, that Hong Kong will be my place of residency for the next 5 months finally hit me as I was blown away by the mountains and surreal environment in Hong Kong.

Once my cab arrived at Hong Kong University Science and Technology (HKUST), which didn't take long as the driver was going 120 mph or km/hr either way he flew. It didn't take long before I met another exchange student Ben and then 10 more who I joined up with for an action packed day. What started as a simple trip to look into visas for mainland China turned into Avenue of Stars, taking the Star Ferry across the water, going to IFC mall, getting lunch, going to the mall with the longest indoor escalator where we caught up with one of the RAs from HKUST, Ebe (lucky for us she is a tour guide at heart) where she continued to take us to the Toilet Bowel ( a restaurant with seats as toilettes, urinals on the wall, and food/dessert served in...toliets), walk down Nathan St., from there to Ladies Market, Eve has us try a variety of street foods which include Octopus ball and other mysterious cultural foods), short break in a park, walk through Temple Street (more street shops), then back to Ave. of Stars to see the Symphony of Lights (light show every night at 8pm where buildings on the street light up in every color and I'll have to go back because I dozed off a couple times throughout due to exhaustion), then back to HKUST where I feel asleep on the bus and almost fell out of my seat if it hadn't been for Kevin catching my fall. Little did I expect my day to be so action packed. Let's just say I sleep very well that night even though my mattress is like a slab of concrete. I didn't have a camera, and due to a minor case of jet lag I pretty much just went with the flow that day.

Today as in the tomorrow of the United States was another day of adventure as we went to Ocean Park to see sting rays, pandas, sharks, fishes, roller-coasters, jelly fish, red foxes, and a gondola! Off to dinner and then downtown, pictures to come. Apparently I had a lot to say, hope all is well in the U.S.A. =)

Random quote: "HIT OR MISS METHODS USUALLY MISS"

Last Full Day in Illinois!

The last day before take off, and a day well spent at that. Low key and relaxing on my mom's birthday. The final pieces of the puzzle are falling into place, and I'm indulging in my favorite foods and beverages. Portillo's italian beef and vanilla milkshake for dinner, Aunt's Mary's amazing cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and french silk pie for dessert.

Hopefully my posts are more exciting once the adventure begins. I'm not promising to give you unbelievable stories like the nine o'clock news (hopefully my stories are more optimistic though), but I'll try to make my life in Hong Kong as action packed and full of adventure as possible.

The butterflies are starting to set in. I hope they let me into the country with this cold. I know what you're thinking and the answer is yes I am bringing health masks for the courtesy of others.

T - 3 days

Well the moment is upon us. Leaving for Hong Kong on Tuesday, which leaves enough time to say goodbye to friends and family at home, finish packing, and attempt to learn some basic Cantonese. Then, let the experience begin!