Symphony of Lights

Last night, I went with a few friends to the Avenue of The Stars promenade, on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. At 8:00 PM every night, there is a laser light show across Victoria harbor called Symphony of the Lights. I really enjoyed being by the water, seeing the twinkling lights on the buildings, and watching the show. Plus, we stopped and got coffee, which is always delicious.

This morning, I got up at 8, packed a lunch, and got on a bus with a group to Central, where a boat took us to Llama Island. Don’t get my wrong, I love roller coasters, but the rocking of the boat from side to side messed with my equilibrium. I was feeling a bit nauseous, but was soon distracted by the beauty around me, and feeling better. We perched on some rocks near the water for a while, and then hiked over to the south side of the Island. It was only about 50 minutes of hiking, and the views out over the water were simply breathtaking. God sure has a knack for beauty.

It was nice to see a different side of Hong Kong today; there are a lot of “faces” to experience. I’m referring to things such as the college campus, crowded and busy city streets, the fancy upscale malls, the financial and business district, AND the nature. I’m assuming you know me if you are reading this, so you’ll know that the crazy “nightlife” is not on my list.

On a different note, I am excited to learn how to knit mittens. I can follow patterns with crochet, and knit pretty basic stitches, but mittens?? That’s for the pros. Fortunately, Liana is just that. We went to a shop on the 14th floor of a building the other day, and there were rows of “ceiling to floor” shelves of yarn. My Grandma would love this store. I have purple yarn sitting on my desk, just waiting to fulfill it’s calling.

Lets see, the photos include Llama Island, the symphony of lights, and the yarn store.

Photos

Here's a picture of Jackie Chan's studio, and a picture from a footbridge near campus!

Let the semester begin

Culture shock is setting in. I got up super early to add a class in Academic Registration, all the way on the other side of campus. Before this, though, I needed approval from the dean’s office of the business school. I got there at 7:55, and found out the office opened at 9. Finally, at 9:07 they told me to turn in my papers and come back in an hour. I replied “I’ll wait right here.” After that whole fiasco, I was told it would be ok to walk in late on the first day, so I headed to class and sat in the 2nd row, to the sound of a professor speaking in Chinese, and a room full of students that went “ooooh (because of the language thing)”

Mr. Wong asked if I was in the right class, switched to English speaking, and asked if I had the notes off of “moodle,” which is like blackboard back home. I said no, and some kind person passed an extra copy down to me. Cost accounting then carried on to a review of production budgets and direct materials usage..blah blah blah. I liked the class, but I didn’t have my calculator when we did examples. During the break (3 hour class) he asked if I would mind switching to his Tuesday section, since other international students would be there. I didn’t mind at all—as long as he force added me, because there were no spots left. He seemed to think it was worth it, so he could speak in Chinese on Mondays. This means I get to re-do the entire class tomorrow.

Ok, so class number two. This was international business, and others from my home university were enrolled as well. We sat near each other, and tried to pay attention to the professor, with the overwhelming sound of murmuring coming from ALL the rows behind us. Apparently, people here don’t mind whispering during the entire class. I thought I was coming to a culture that would pay attention and be quiet during lectures. I rested my hand over one ear, and turned the other to catch the lecture. We were all getting frustrated, to the point where I was about to laugh. I had to dig my fingernails into my palm to counteract the “laughing in a socially unacceptable situation” feeling. (Just like choir back in high school =) Anyways, I will be migrating to the first or second row for the rest of the semester.

As you can tell by this point, absolutely no exploring took place today. I am collecting things I will laugh about in the future.

First day on the MTR

Today was really fun. Liana and I (we are pals now) ventured out into the city in search of power adapters. She had researched a place on HK Island that sells a bunch of computer/technology type stuff, and let me tell you, there was a bunch! We hopped on the MTR after hesitating because it looked full. Well, let me tell you (again), it was not full yet. After us, at least 5 more people jammed in. I felt like a sardine. Fortunately, we were off soon to transfer to another line. I have decided that underground transportation systems are the niftiest thing ever. Whoever engineered the first one was a genius.

After purchasing a second adapter, we went to Kowloon, where we stumbled upon a beautiful park in the city. There was a man wading around in the pond, and fishing leaves into his net. It looked like a fun job.

Classes start on Monday, so I am sure these posts are going to appear less frequently. I’m only adding one class in the drop/add period, which will bring me to a total of 12 credit hours. I had hoped for 15, but it will be nice to feel less stress while in such an incredible location. (Yes, I could add a random class; No, I don’t want to). Most accounting classes here are too “China specific” it seems. This means that my final semester will consist of 18 hours, 12 of which are accounting classes. I suppose it will be neat to see all of the subject matter run together. I’m trying to think positive here. Maybe I will sleep on my textbooks and hope for some osmosis.

Anyhow, I am going to call it a night. There are no textbooks yet!

Photos include Kowloon Park, a city street(can't remember which one), and the Wan Chai MTR station.

Tour of HK

What a day!

All the international students met this morning at 9:15, boarded 3 busses, and headed to Wong Tai Sin Temple. We were told that many people go to the temple twice a year, once to ask the gods for something, and once to thank the gods for granting their requests. There were people carrying incense above their heads, and kneeling in the temple. My friend Kelly and I were a bit concerned that someone was going to light our hair on fire, but that crisis was averted thank goodness.

Next, we went to the jade market, which was really neat. I bought a bracelet for about $5 US after practicing my bartering skills. It was crazy seeing rows and rows of booths selling jade products. Everybody was ready to sell something, and sharing the price on their calculators. It kind of caught me off guard when one guy just said hi and sat there. I wanted to buy something from him, but I’d already made my purchase.

We left the jade market and headed to the peak, which was quite a view. I will most certainly be going back to the peak for an evening view sometime. (not alone--don’t worry =) It’s so nice being in HK for a few months, because I don’t feel rushed to get all the sightseeing packed into a week. After snapping a bunch of photos we were off to Aberdeen, to take the restaurant shuttle boat over to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant for Dim Sum. I believe this is the largest floating restaurant in the world. It was amazing on the outside AND inside. Again, I want to see this place at night.

After this, we went to Repulse bay and walked on the beach for a bit. I snapped a photo of Jacky Chan’s house on the side of a mountain! The last stop was Stanley Market, a must for tourists. I got a red and gold Pashmina (scarf) and a change purse for the mass amounts of change that seems to be accumulating in my bag. My friend Ao Siqiao from Mainland China wanted an English name, so Kelly and Brendan suggested Austin and it stuck.

I’m gonna call it a day on the blogging, because this is getting rather lengthy!

Oh, tricked you, I have one more thing to share! So, supper tonight was interesting. Liana and I ordered food, and I picked fish filet or something similar to that. Little did I know I would get A FISH-scales and all. We could not stop laughing because Herb (the fish) was staring at her across the table. This required the use of a fork rather than chopsticks, but he was pretty tasty! Ok then, that is all!

Photos uploaded in reverse order...Bay by Stanley Market, a few of us at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, Shuttle boat, View from the peak (note the IFC2 where batman appeaered), and Wong Tai Sin Temple!

Fuji Apple flavored mentos

That's right, I picked up fuji apple flavored mentos AND grape mentos at the store today. Who knew such a thing even existed!

The flight to HK was pretty uneventful, which is a good thing. A bunch of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU-commonly referred to as BU) students picked our group of 9 students up at the airport and took us to "BU." We've been in orientation for the last 2 days, and tomorrow is a tour of the city-woohoo!

Last night I went to a supermarket with a few other students, and that was definitely a new experience. As soon as I picked out a pillow and pillowcase, a woman gave me a slip of paper and took my stuff away! (I think they get commission) Then I had to pick a bedspread, and I knew it wouldn't match the pillowcase that had disappeared to the counter. I proceeded to the counter intending to take the case and go find a new one--that was plain confusing. After much description using gestures and made up sign language (on my part) she relinquished the pillowcase into my hands. I can now rest in peace (pun intended =) as everything matches.

This evening I went to a mall called Festival Wok with my new friend Liana. All I can say is wow. The walk was about ten minutes from campus, and the mall was incredible. We were on a mission to get Octopus cards for riding the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and cheap cell phones and a sim card. Our mission was accomplished pretty smoothly, with the sim card coming from a little 7-eleven booth on the street. I also got a sweet denim skirt from H&M out of the trip. The mall was massive with seven stories and a gazillion escalators. We finally got used to the escalators going up on the left, until one of them was randomly the opposite. Whoops, we nearly had a crisis!

The first pic is of the crazy escalators, and the second was taken from my bedroom window.

The Angel

This little angel is making its rounds! In 1998, Laura Smith gave the angel to Allison DeHart before she left for studies in Cambridge. Allison gave it to Beth Beane before she went to Yellowstone for a summer, and Beth passed the angel on to Dana Voris (now Leonard) when she studied in London. Next, Dana gave it to Amy Beane when she studied in New Zealand, and Amy gave the angel to Rachel DeHart when she did an internship in Washington DC. Just tonight, Rachel passed it on to me with a sweet note of encouragement about my travels. Thank the Lord for wonderful family, friends, and the presence of heavenly angels in my life. I’m leaving early Monday morning for Hong Kong. I’ll update when I get all settled in.

Oh happy day--final Monday

Massive wave of holy-cowness (you have to look in the special dictionary for this word)…Hong Kong and myself are exactly three weeks away from seeing each other for the first time. I’m thinking we will have a semi-long relationship lasting 4.5 months. I’m good with predicting these things..hah.

Karyn (my roommate) and I were just talking about how we could call it quits and go home tonight, kidding of course. I have 1 exam down and 4 to go! I am studying until I hear the cuckoo bird.

I am not much of a multitasking person when it comes to concentrating. I generally prefer silence or music without words. The following is a list of music that is particularly good for studying:

Enya (easy to not listen to the words)
LotR soundtrack
Afro Celt Sound System
Classical music!
Ever After soundtrack
Fernando Ortega instrumental
Ian Anderson
Lord of the Dance
Samite
Eddie Vedder-Into the Wild (again, easy to not listen to the words for some reason)
Emma Soundtrack
Spyro Gyra (thanks Dad..I probably got some of the others from you too)
String Cheese Incident
Vieux Diop-Afrika Wassa

That exhausts my list..any other ideas let me know!

The opposite of oblivion

Well, I was recently consumed by a project, but I came out alive! After 3.5 months letting this “work” loom over me in the most odious of ways, I was dreading it. Then, I finally got started and three nights later, the project was basically done. Simple really. Funny thing is, in a few days span my thoughts went from dread to satisfaction. This applies to all those things in life that get put off for days and weeks, which is way worse than just diving in and getting it over with. The little thing (marketing plan) is up on a pedestal in my mind now. Or maybe it’s more of a proud momma kind of feeling. Regardless, it’s done, and I can move on to other things. For instance, studying for exams…

I was thinking today about the way to deal with stress. When there is something pressing that needs done I first vacuum, wash dishes, start laundry, take out the trash and recycling, and make coffee. Keep in mind all of this can be done in about five minutes. The vacuuming is a relatively small rectangle, the dishes are basically “the dish,” laundry is on the first floor, the trash is a short walk outside, recycling is right down the hall, and coffee is “voilà.” Now, after I have created this atmosphere, my mind is ready to work. You could also argue that I have run out of productive ways to procrastinate. Sounds pretty good though, huh?

I thought I had it down, but it seems that I can only control the stress so much. If life is crazy or full of change (e.g.-now!) it takes me at least an hour to fall asleep. I can think about everything under the sun except drifting into oblivion, and then I look at my watch and the hour is way into the single digits. Hmm..wish I was more like my roommate--she can fall asleep while still holding a book in her hands!

One last thing--A dog named faith Ooohh what an inspiration.