Organize My Life Days...

Although it sometimes feels as if i'm on a permanent vacation here (which in some ways I am), I have to take a step back and take a breather. We are constantly exploring, going out, and learning. All of the action is physically and mentally draining.

What was supposed to be a relaxing girls night in with a fabulous Italian dinner last night turned into something a little more eventful. Stephanie casually mentioned in one of our hundreds of group chats that she was at the hospital with Paul. To make a long story short we think that he had some allergic reaction to stomach medicine and he ended up spending the night in the hospital. His room was arranged after a $4000 USD deposit (apparently a 21 year old male is a huge flight risk-white people are always questioned here). Actually, i'm pretty sure that the deposit amount is the same for everyone but it was a little ridiculous.

It's times like these that you really learn who your friends are abroad. Haley and I quickly cooked up dinner and took it to go. We met Paul and Steph at the hospital; fettuccine in hand as well as some other necessities for Paul's overnight stay. Everyone else sent out text messages to make sure he was okay.

The situation was a little scary but all is good now. We did get a little laugh out of everything when I took a few masks for us all to wear (a prime photo opportunity).

After a somewhat stressful evening last night I think tonight maybe calls for an organize my life day. Believe it or not I do have homework, I need to put due dates in my planner, and organize a few more trips for the semester. Laundry has to get done somewhere in all the madness too!

You Know You're In Hong Kong When...

I've come to the conclusion that although I may not be learning in class here in HK the city provides so many other learning opportunities and "ah-ha" moments that the so called missed learning in school is balanced out.

Here's another list of some things I'm learning while I study in this fabulous place...

1. There are mirrors everywhere! Either HK residents are extremely vain or they like to let you know that you should take more pride in your own appearance

2. You are NOT allowed to talk in the library. I forget this a lot and get some pretty dirty looks.

3. What shouldn't be expensive is (almost 10US dollars for sliced cheese) and what should be isn't.

4. Everything is tiled. Buildings, streets, walkways. Literally everything has little tiles on it. Seems like a giant waste of time to me...

5. Locals giggle at very strange things. I've come to the conclusion that they are pretty immature and don't know how to hide that.

6. Fire alarms and school bells or a mixture of the two seem to be constantly ringing.

7. Taxi drivers are often clueless as to where we want to be taken (this of course is due to our poor Cantonese) but if you want to get out an try finding another cabbie who knows where you want to go they start driving with the door half open (yes this actually happened to me).

8. The common rooms (well at least on my floor) are filthy. I know that I'm a neat freak but the level of cleanliness is questionable I'm sure for many Americans. Someone told me its because all the locals are used to maid service at home and don't know how to clean up after themselves. Not sure if that is true or not.

9. The green skittle in skittles candy is apple not lime flavored! Definitely a great find!




10. There are major English translation fails everywhere.




11.I love this city more and more everyday!

Tonight is a girls night in. We're making an Italian dinner (chicken alfredo with broccoli). It will be nice to finally have some vegetables that aren't drenched in sweet and sour sauce or extremely salty! Haley and I of course are also sharing a bottle of chardonnay!

Asia Updates

Not a lot has really been going on here the past few days. After an intense week of the "exchange social life" (this is something my  body is still getting used to), my weekend consisted of catching up on sleep and being a little bit productive. Although it may not have been the most fun filled weekend it is still pretty amazing to wake up and see a city skyline from the foot of my bed (the positives of living on the 14th floor).

While there are some bonuses of the 14th floor there are also some drawbacks. First of all the elevators are terrible! They take forever to get up/down after you push the button. I'm also having some roommate issues. Surprisingly, this is something that I thought would not be a problem and never something I was worried about. After having an amazing freshman year at IU with my international roommate Pei Pei I thought 5 months with a local in HK would be a breeze and a great learning experience (I was a little wrong about that). I'm not sure whether it's just her, my floor, or the attitude of local City U kids to exchange students but they are not always the most friendly. Of course, that is very stereotypical and I have met some really sweet locals. All of the security guards of my hall are fabulous (Amy is my favorite).

Another "mind-blown" moment that I have all the time is how much pride people here have in their jobs. Even the security guards at the library (that's right my library has security guards) do their jobs like their lives depend on it.

The whole stereotypical respect thing in Asia doesn't exactly ring true either. At least in the settings that I'm in I don't always see it. For example, in class there is very little respect for professors. Students walk into class 15-30 minutes late and are on their phones and computers for the entire lecture. This is definitely not something that American professors would tolerate.

Final thought for the day is the inefficiency thing again. I mentioned how we have a different school issued card for the myriad of activities I need ID for (gym, room, getting into my hall), but I have also found that everything else here seems to show very little efficiency. Just to get my gym card today I had to attend a pointless instructional video, provide a copy of my City U ID card (which they clearly already have in their system), and also provide my own photo (which again is already in the system).

Everyday is a new adventure and I'm looking forward to many more!

Side note- I booked flights to Taiwan last night! I'll be in the country for a long weekend to celebrate the lantern festival. We are traveling to Pingxi on the 24th of February where 2,000+ lanterns are released into the sky (google some pictures and of course i'll take some when I get there)!

Another Busy Week

I cant believe that I've been in Hong Kong for almost three weeks! Time is flying by here. All in all it was a boring week at school but a great week for meeting new people and learning the places to go on nights out. 

Here is the night life schedule of a typical exchange student at City U....

Monday: Billy Boozers- a little "pub" just a 15 minute walk from campus. All the exchange kids go here for cheap drinks, a fun dice game, and the convenience of having a 7 Eleven next door to the pub. A little trick we've all picked up on here in HK is to pre-game hard and if you're running low on booze money stop in at 7 Eleven to buy cheap drinks. I survived my first Billy's experience. I may or may not have gotten in trouble with a security guard though for using the men's restroom (but hey when you've got to go you've got to go- there is always a line for the girls!)

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday's at Tequila Jacks. $10HK dollar tacos and $30HK margaritas. I didn't make it this week but the tacos were supposedly delicious! 

Wednesday: The BEST night of the week. Ladies Night in Wan Chai. This is honestly one of the best nights I've ever had. First of all, the drinks for girls are FREE all night long. Sorry guys but for once being female pays off!

Haley and I now also have new names and hometowns thanks to an interesting encounter at Big Pizza but it adds to all the memories i'm making here. That's another great thing about Wan Chai and ladies night- Big Pizza. Probably some of the bust drunk food were going to get in HK. Needless to say I will return next week.

Thursday: Lan Kwai Fong (LKF). A very popular night out for ex-pats and students. There are tons of bars and clubs all in one little spot. This week we had our first free cosmo experience at Dolce Vita 1997, raged in China Bar, and got given a light up bow headband by some random guy! 

Friday: LKF- Free drinks in Wan Chai first! 

Saturday: LKF

Sunday: Catch up on sleep: the sleeping/partying schedule here in HK is ridiculous. I don't think anyone under the age of 25 goes to bed before 4am. 

I'm having a blast here and I can't wait to meet more people and make tons of memories! 

Scary Bus Rides, Stanley Market, Security Guards

 After a quick and easy first week of school the weekend called for some more exploring of the city. Friday night was a night on the town. We headed to a fancy bar called Aqua which offered great views of the city! WE had all done a lot of pre-gamming so we didn't buy any expensive cocktails thank goodness! Saturday was an interesting day to say the least. I went on an organized school trip to Lamma Island which is an outlying island of HK.

Boats in Lamma

Burning Incense- Temple of the Fishing Goddess

I'm not sure if it was the dreary weather or poor sleep habits catching up with me, but my day on the island wasn't the best experience. First of all it's a pain to travel in huge groups. This is something all the exchange kids are learning quickly and we are finally finding our own smaller packs to travel in. Second of all the "adventure" for the day was walking around a VERY rural island that honestly was not all that pretty. We also ended up sitting on a cold beach for 1.5 hours while we waited for our time slot at a seafood restaurant. The day ended with some sub-par seafood for a lot of money and a few cranky Hoosiers. The only positive of the day was that I got to take my first ferry ride across Victoria Harbour.

Ready for a better day Haley, Paul, and I decided to make our own plans for Sunday. We ended up exploring the market town of Stanley (on the coast of HK island) and taking a look around central. 

Sick of Asian food our adventure began with a quick pit-stop in Subway. For those of you who no me well I hate Subway so I am clearly getting desperate. Minus the food I am having a fabulous time! We then worked our way through the hundreds of people to get to the Exchange Bus Terminal in Central. When I say hundreds of people I am not exaggerating. Exploring on a Sunday may not be the best idea in the future... because Sunday is the "people's holiday" everyone crowds the streets. Women also set up camp for the day all over the city and sit with their girlfriends. It is basically a display of thousands of hobo picnics all over the streets. Tarps, cardboard boxes, and sheets are laid out and the women eat lunch and chit-chat all day long! Quite odd but definitely something to see. 

After fighting our way through the crowds to the bus station we hopped on the Stanley Express and spent 45 minutes travelling through the city to Stanley. The bus ride was amazing! The views through Repulse Bay were phenomenal and the real estate that we saw was unbelievable. You know you're in the right part of town when you pass Mercedes, Ferrari, Bentley, and Maserati Dealerships within an hour! 

We finally arrived in Stanley and explored the market. Although the market is fun to browse it's not really worth buying anything because it's a huge tourist trap and the ladies running these stalls DO NOT barter. After shopping in Mong Kok at the Ladies' Market, Stanley didn't offer much shopping entertainment. My only purchase of the day was a few postcards. 

Tired of the crowded market streets we headed to the waterfront and took in the view. The best part about Stanley is the laid back ambiance. It's nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. We climbed a few rocks, took a few pictures, and ate a few spring rolls at a seaside cafe and then headed back into town on the bus. 

I'm not sure who taught the bus drivers to drive but the ride home was much less enjoyable partially because we spent the entire journey struggling to stay in our seats as we whipped around the hair-pin turns (still had fun though). 

A little tired but satisfied with our adventure we made one last stop to the HSBC building. Here there are lion statues and it is apparently lucky to rub the paw of the lions which of course we did! We also climbed on top for a prime photo opportunity and got yelled at by the security guards- picture was worth it though! 

Ladies on a Sunday

Lucky paw!

 

 

All hungry, we headed back to Mong Kok for dinner. We already knew that we would cave and get Western food again so we headed to Pizza Hut. In Hong Kong eating out at Pizza Hut is actually a dining experience (very culturally different than at home). The pizza was delicious. Full and happy we headed back to City U for much needed rest. 

3 Golden Fish, 2 Mini Turtles, 1 Bonsai Tree

Another somewhat lazy day here in Hong Kong, but at least today I did a little exploring. Last night Haley and I had a quiet night in the common room. We cooked dumplings for ourselves, shared a bottle of Moscato, and taste tested an Asian dessert "Mochi Ice" (a rice based covering on ice cream). The wine was a great sleep aid but caused a little bit of a late start this morning.

After some quick trip planning I texted the Norwegians to see if they wanted to come on my adventure as well. Most of the Hoosiers were busy with class today. We decided to have a market day and explore the bird, flower, and goldfish markets of Mong Kok/Prince Edward area.

First stop on the tour was the bird market. It's quite odd but all over Hong Kong are various markets that sell specific items. I haven't seen it yet, but apparently there is even a cat market.

The bird market sold every type of bird you could imagine, cages, water bowls, food (including live crickets), and bird toys. Most of the birds were legal but a few were definitely not supposed to be sold. Who would have guessed that I would see a toucan in the middle of Hong Kong!

Hundreds of  birds in cages

 

Dinner...

Bird man 

Next stop was the flower market which was just a quick five minute walk. We actually stumbled upon it accidentally. Just as the name implies there were a lot of flowers to see. In addition to the hundred or flowers odd plants (some lemon tree things), lucky bamboo, and radishes were sold.

                                          

 

Kumquat tree for the New Year

My favorite stop of the day was the goldfish market (I guess the Asian culture doesn't believe in Petco). Shops are filled with aquarium Knick-Knacks, tanks, reptiles, and hundreds of bagged fish! It is definitely not very humane but it was still very interesting to see. On the animal rights note- I saved two turtles today! They had flipped on to their backs and I made the store owners flip them over. 

Things I've Learned in Asia...So Far

Many of you know that the reason I chose this study abroad program was because I wanted a very different experience in comparison to my classmates on other programs. The Hong Kong program seemed to be the most drastic and offer a completely different opportunity. Having lived in Europe for eight years and traveled a good majority of it the next continent on my list was Asia. Well I've been here a week and I've already learned so much!

Dislaimer: this post should not be viewed as offensive towards the Asian culture. It is merely a reminiscence of  all the "jaw dropping" moments so far and the culture shock I have experienced.

1. There are so many people. Everywhere seems crowded/busy all the time even at random hours of the day. The Ice Rink in the mall (strange I know) is no exception to this strange occurrence...today at 10am it was busy and children who I think should have been in school (so much for Asians having strict schooling) were there.

2. Everything is really tall and skinny (the drink sizes, the paper, the people-minus the tall part, the trams, the buildings).

Skinny Tram

3. All the food tastes and smells the same. I may be having some Western food withdrawal but at the moment all the food I eat looks, tastes, and smells the same. I never feel hungry because nothing is very appetizing (the smells don't help with that). The generic plate you receive from the canteen is sticky rice, questionable meat, and maybe two vegetables. The salt content in the food here is unreal. I drink a ton of water everyday just to balance the levels of salt being consumed!

4. If the locals don't understand you do your best possible Asian accent (or just resort to charades). We were taught by an exchange student who has already been here for a semester that to get a cab home to City U we need to tell the cab driver phonetically speaking.... "sit eeeee youuuu". In McDonalds we had to make awkward hand gestures to get a large coke. 

5. I am now a minority. Yes this was expected but it will be very strange to get home and see a lot of white people. 

6. The jobs that people are paid to do in this country are a lot different than home. For example in the mall people are paid to stand at the top of the escalator and sanitize the escalator hand rail as it revolves around. Also, much like England you are cleaned up after when you eat at fast food restaurants. This was something the Americans had to get use to. 

7. Dorm life is very different. Quiet hours are definitely not enforced, drinking is allowed, there are absolutely NO visitors after midnight. 

8. The prices in HK make no logical sense. Some things are ridiculously cheap (most meals at the school canteen are about $3) while other things are obscenely expensive (cheese is almost $10US). 

9. People don't walk very fast. I'm not sure if its the lack of leg length or the fact that they are not as concerned about time, but Asians in general do not seem to walk at the same pace as Americans. I was expecting a big "hustle bustle" feel in the city and i'm shocked to say that most locals walked around very nonchalantly. 

10. Locals are spacial-ly challenged. No one here seems to understand the concept of personal space, and they also don't seem to understand how to walk/move in a logical way. 

11. The British "road rules" do not always apply. While the HK locals follow British law and drive on the left the rules do not translate into general walking rules. For example, in the MTR station you do not necessarily enter on the left and exit on the right. Logically it does not make sense!

12. I'm enjoying the British influence. While I'm very far from home it's comforting to find products that I'm used to seeing. Yesterday I saw a sausage roll for sale and when I drink something other than water it is usually a Ribena!  

13. Escalators are different. Again the "road rule" comment from above applies. The "up side" and "down side" of escalators DOES NOT make sense. 

14. Everything (this is a huge generalization) in this country smells like seaweed, questionable meat, and farts. Ask any of the Hoosiers about the crop dusting elevator experience. 

15. No matter how many times I sweep or vacuum my room there will always be Asian hair on the floor. 

16. The washing machines are teeny tiny 

17. The sleep schedule is very different to ours. In general, everyone gets up later but doesn't go to bed until four or five in the morning. 

18. Chopsticks give you hand cramps. All Asians will beat you in a thumb war. 

19. Although it is 60+ degrees most days the locals wear winter coats, jeans, scarves, and boots. 

20. Floor four in Mandarin sounds like "hello" in English. Haley thinks the elevator greets her every time she gets off on her floor. 

21. Most people will do anything to help you. Although it is often a challenge to ask for what you want/need the people here go out of their way to try and help you get it. 

22. The number of high-end cars is unbelievable. There is an actual fact about this somewhere but until you see it for yourself you don't quite get it. 

23. There are trees in the middle of the sidewalk. It doesn't make any logical sense (again). 

24. A lot of things in this country are surprisingly inefficient. The escalators as previously mentioned and also the fact that I have three separate City University issued cards (and ID card, a room card, and a gym card) not to mention my Octopus card which is another daily necessity. You would have that City U could have combined the three above mentioned cards into one. 

25. There are steps/ hills everywhere! Hopefully my butt gets a little toned from this whole experience! 

26. The wifi in the dorms/ across campus is completely unreliable. Haley sits in one corner of her room "the magical wifi corner" or casually hijacks the 14th floor common room (my floor) to gain access to the internet. 

27. Americans are ignorant. All of the exchange students here on average speak at least three languages fluently. I'm so glad that my public school education has taught me how to speak English really really good (just kidding.. well). 

28. There are so many lights in Mong Kok that permanent daylight has successfully been created. 

29. Stinky tofu does exist. I gagged when I smelled it. The cooking process for this street food actually requires fermentation in cow (sometimes human) feces. 

30. You're apparently not supposed to drink the tap water, but I brush my teeth with it every night. Still haven't died. 

31. The tagline for the mall is "In You. In Here"... not sure what that means but it's funny to say. 

32. Professors are extremely tolerant. Students talk, check their phones, and are always on facebook during lecture. Apparently that's the Asian way to survive a three hour lecture. 

33. To draw attention to school sponsored clubs/organizations members dress up in full body costumes. Today I witnessed sailors pushing Wonder Woman in a shopping cart through the hallway. 

34. The library is NOT a public place. You have to scan your ID card just to enter. Very annoying and doesn't seem to have a point. 

35. Emergency call buttons exist in the toilets. I almost pushed it once thinking it was the flusher... would have been a pretty embarrassing moment. 

36. Some dogs are actually given the name Snack 

37. Bathrooms in the dorms are not located at the end of the hall but instead between two rooms adjacent to your own... if you've been reading i'm sure you laughed at the fact that I almost peed my pants the first night here. 

38. Everything has either butter, mayo, or egg on it. YUCK! None of these would be bad except the food combinations here are extremely bizarre. 

39. Traffic does not stop for pedestrians. I've almost been hit by a bus twice. 

40. I love Hong Kong! This city is unbelievable and I cant wait to learn a lot more over the next five months! 

Classes Exist During Study Abroad?

I made it through my first week of class! I guess that you can't really call it a week though since I only have class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The three day week is definitely a bonus, but unfortunately each of my classes lasts three hours. Brutal.

My week started off with a behavioral decision making class (well actually some questionable scrambled eggs in the canteen but that's another story). Lucky for me the three hours is made a little more enjoyable because 5/8 Hoosiers are in it with me! Our professor Long Wang (this is not a joke) seems really nice and the course load doesn't seem to be unbearable. The exchange nickname for the school is "Shitty-U" mainly because the classes are supposed to be easy compared to what we are used to. We all survived our first three hour class and were done for the day. The rest of Monday was an errand day. I had to purchase a few school supplies, sign up for a day trip to Llama Island, and try to tweak my schedule a little.

Tuesday was another light class day with only one class starting at 3PM. Billy Boozers (the Monday night hang out spot) should never be a problem as I get to sleep in on Tuesdays. My class Tuesday, Cultural Flows in East Asia, was a complete joke and almost unbearable to sit through. There is no final which means note taking and paying attention is almost pointless and the room we are forced to sit in for 3 hours has a temperature equivalent to the Arctic. A group of us headed out after class to Taco Tuesday's at Tequila Jacks...the thought was that the tequila would have a warming effect after the classroom ice box. As usual, the whole "spring break" attitude and no prior planning caused a few problems. We arrived at the restaurant as a group of 30 and discovered there were a maximum of 15 tables... needless to say Taco Tuesday's was postponed until next week when we will travel in a slightly smaller group to dinner.

Hungry and annoyed the Hoosiers opted to eat in a little pizzeria called Rocco's. Pizza has never tasted so good. The slightly pricier meal was definitely worth it and gave us all our American food fix.

Wednesdays are my heaviest days. I have six straight hours of class, an hour and a half break, and then another three hours of class. My day doesn't end until 10PM. Mandarin class was the most entertaining of the day. The class which is about 25 exchange students (all from different countries and with different accents) makes for some funny sounding Mandarin. I still can't tell the difference between most words. At the moment everything is just a noise.

All in all, my classes seem to be manageable and i'm excited to complete a semester here at City U!

Lost on a Mountain

After a lazy Saturday we decided to get up on Sunday and explore the city. The only happenings of yesterday was our first "family" meal. We cooked on the common room hot plates and had a few casual drinks in the dorms. For those of you have stayed in American dorms you're probably shocked at that last fact. Yes, we are allowed to drink in the dorms. Although the security guards are very casual about the presence of alcohol the thought of visitors past 12AM is unthinkable. Visiting hours are extremely strict (I still don't understand all the logic here).

The original plan for the day was to go on a five hour hike at the "Dragon's Back", but that will be saved for another day... we didn't want to wear ourselves out too much especially since school starts tomorrow!

In order to still get a little exercise in we decided to venture into Hong Kong and climb up Victoria's Peak. The peak is a huge tourist attraction but a must do if you visit! Once at the top you have some of the best views of the skyline! After a quick MTR ride into Central we were in the city. Not only were the buildings some of the tallest I'd ever seen, they were also the most oddly shaped!

We followed the signs to the peak and started our adventure for the day. Haley and I made it to the start of the hiking trail and then decided that the climb up looked a little rough so we turned around and bought tickets for the tram (lazy I know). To be fair, we do a lot of walking around here. We justified the tram ride with: 

1. It's a tourist must do

2. We climb up steps all the time

3. Once you get to the top of the peak there is a lot more walking around to do (we didn't want to wear ourselves out too early) 

We got to the top and realized (after the extremely steep ride up) that it was the best $40HK (about $5.50US) we had ever spent! Not only was the tram ride really fun the hikers got lost halfway up and were all really tired and cranky after the climb. Yay for Haley and I! 

Tram tracks

Riding up!

Tram at Victoria's Peak 

Once at the top we waited for the stragglers to join us (it took them an extra 30 minutes)... again best $40HK i've spent so far! The hikers were all hungry after their climb so we went into the shopping mall for lunch. The locals are obsessed with shopping... it seems like every 500ft there is some sort of convenience store or mall. I skipped eating lunch after a very filling breakfast, but Haley and I found an AMAZING place for the rest of the group to sit and eat. We all lounged on the observatory deck of the shopping mall and enjoyed lunch in 60+ degree weather with some of the coolest views in HK.

                        

Casual lunch on a rooftop...

While eating lunch we also got to meet "Snack" the dog...100% serious here we actually met a dog named snack. For those of you familiar with Asian cuisine the name was a little ironic but hilarious. 

After lunch we walked around the observatory deck and got an awesome view of Victoria Harbour. Paul also took the chance to shotgun a quick beer in probably one of the coolest locations ever. 

All the lounging around and eating made us all think that a short hike would help burn off some of the calories. All of the food here is either extremely greasy or you are served all carbs I don't think healthy options really exist. I'm not sure what the secret is but all of the locals are still stick skinny.

"Short" Hiking Group

Excited at the beginning of the hike

 

What was supposed to be a 30 minute hike turned into a 2.5-3 hour climb across the entire mountain. That's right there were about 15 white people lost on a mountain. For Haley and I the hike was quite enjoyable (remember we took the tram up) for the other 13 in our group an additional 3 hour climb was a little less pleasant. Although there were times when we questioned whether or not we would ever find a way out (those of us with water and food started thinking about how to ration for the night), we finally started climbing down and ended up at a random bus stop on the other side of town. Despite the mishap, the double decker bus ride home revealed a little more of this fabulous city and made for a lot more memorable day.

We found a waterfall!

Some of the views

Tired on our first double decker bus ride

 We finally returned home to City U 7 hours later. Most of us crashed for the night and were ready to tackle the first day of class here in Hong Kong!