New Territories Tour

Yesterday was more fun than i completely expected! Sunday was the New Year so nothing is really open so i guess it was a good idea to go to this tour. We went to see a bunch of temples but since everyone was mingling and trying to talk to new people, not many people were able to really enjoy the historic backround of the temples... our tour guide Gerry was funny. We played games on the bus and i got a nice prize but it seems to much like incense. Going to air it out a bit. People were singing on the bus, telling jokes... it was all good fun. We also went to a seafood restaurant which wasn't too bad, it tasted like a regular Chinese Restaurant in Canada. The crappy part was that we had to wash our plates, chopsticks and bowl very throughly! Anyways after we went to a small village where they were doing a traditional Lion dance and they were travelling to each house to get red pocket money. Apparently the dance will give good luck and prosperity to the house... haha i had no more battery in my camera so i may have to steal a video off someone else. At the village there was also a Tree House.. (tree house rock) where the tree use to be a house haha but it's remains it now just a tree and some bricks. No one really knows how old the tree house is. Well while taking a picture something huge bit Renee in the back of the leg and practically paralyze her entire leg. Renee describes it as a stab in the leg. I never knew a bug could have such an affect. After we went back to school, sung some Queen (We will rock you) on the bus haha and then a bunch of us decided to go to the parade. There was Fredrick from Germany, Pansyee and James from Singapore, Scott, Sarah Anthony and Patrick from the States and of course Karen and I, a girl from Queens named Jess. Wow i met this gril in the elevator from Queens and when she found out i was from York her immediate response was Queens is better and you know it.. in my head i wanted to punch her and say, "it's nice to meet u too." Anyways i won't speak more about how self-absorbed Queen's Commerce people are... (see i'm not mentioning tiffany)

Well we went to the parade and it was crowded but it was a very diverse and cultural experience. Countries from all other the world had a part in the parade and especially Cathay Pacific. They were the official sponsers and randomly they would put thier people in each segment. I thought it was wierd.

After the parade most of the people went to 7-11 to drink it up but karen and i weren't feeling to good, she had a head ache and i had a sore throat so drinking wouldn't make it feel better... i need more sleep!! Today i hang out with aunt rebecca then i go to see Fireworks with some INTL students!! THis time i'll have my camera!

Cause Way Bay

Yesterday Lynne, Karen and I went to Clear Water Bay and went to the SOGO mall; very high class! When things are so expensive and classy, makes me want to go to Mong Kok for some cheap things… I can’t afford Burberry, LV… so why look? I guess we were just seeing new things and experiencing the culture itself. A lot of people were at SOGO and the endless crowds were agitating me… Lynne said she could even see it in my face… I wanted to push someone over. I think that was my first glimpse of intense culture shock. It made me wanna scream. After walking around SOGO we spent a good 30 minutes in HMV. Karen and Lynne went crazy over all the asian pop because it’s so cheap compared to Canada. The whole time they were contemplating on which cd to buy. I thought it was pretty cheap… a Jay Chow CD / DVD for about $15. I want to get that for my cousin who’s into this whole Asian pop music. Hahaha I had a strong influence on his preference for Jay Chow. Anyways after we went to eat at a restaurant called the Odeon Taiwanese Restaurant It was probably the most expensive meal I’ve had seen being here in HK. I only spent about $40 HK = $6 Canadian and I got a sesame bubble tea too! Let’s just say that Bubble Republic is 10X better and I really miss their black milk tea. Afterwards we went to Victoria Park to see the Flower Market and this was a great experience. There are tons and tons of vendors selling the most useless things… of course there are tons of beautiful flowers (I took a ton of pictures for my dad to see) and there is so much to eat. We carefully watched our belongings because the place was packed and us girls stayed close together. There is sooo much to see and buy. I wanted a souvenir of my HK Chinese New Year experience so I bought a cheap stuffed animal of a dog in a Chinese outfit haha… it was only $18HK. The price read $23 on the sign and I asked her if I could have it cheaper and she quoted $20, and I quickly said what about $18 and effortlessly the lady said yes! That was the easiest bargain ever. I can’t believe I was bargaining for 30 cents Canadian… wow I’m a cheapo! Anyways bargaining even for cents gives me this sense of satisfaction that I achieved something important haha! We also shared a spicy squid dish and after we were so full. We agreed that next time we won’t eat lunch and just eat all the little snacks. I want to try the deep fried ice cream balls… haha that sounds funny. I also bought flowers for my aunt Rebecca… a small bouquet for $30. I swear walking away from the vendors is the best bargaining tactic ever. There is so much competition with the flower sellers and if they don’t make money then they sell everything for ½ price on the last night. Karen was listening and found out that these old ladies got a bouquet for $28 so I tired too but she wouldn’t (I’m not skilled like the locals or the seniors yet) and so I said BYE BYE… and she offered $30 and I accepted. Another satisfying moment! After we walked Karen back to the MTR station and Lynne and I walked around the city stunned at all the people once again and at all the places to shop. We met up with my aunt at the Manulife building and she took us to eat deep fried tofu, mushrooms wrapped with beef strips, sweet and sour spareribs and some shanghai vegetable rice and some wonton. I wasn’t even hungry when we eat but I had to stuff myself… it’s rude if I leave all that food… I’m so happy Lynne was there to help eat too! After we had black sesame paste… really good dessert. My aunt left with her friend and Lynne and I went to Time Square to shop more. The nightlife in HK is utterly crazy!! The malls are crazy busy because during Chinese New Year all stores have sales. It’s similar to our Boxing Day in Canada, except their boxing day hype lasts for about a week. I bought a pair of Jordans for Gable… (I’m sure he’s happy now) and Lynne bought a pair of Nikes… by the time we got home our feet were killing!! Soon we’ll be out again and shopping at Mong Kok. I’m meeting Gable’s aunt today and I hope I make a good impression on her today… aaahhh a little nerve wrecking!

Mong Kok

Another day of shopping and today was great because i got to practice my Chinese, bargaining skills and i got a few items today. However there was some pain in it too!

First Lynne and I decided to get our MTR student applications signed today by the school and then we went to get breakfast and bought a few sandwiches for lunch. We headed out to Wan Chai where i had to figure out some immigration VISA extension stuff. The people were helpful. I also went to the China Embassy to get a VISA because in 2 weeks i hope that my aunt and I will be able to go to CHina for my 3 hour massage and walk-a-thon... Anyways, we waited for my number for at least 45 minutes but before waiting for the application process we discovered that when it's lunch time in HK, everyone literally stops what they are doing and eats. Around the embassy is the HK exhibition and convention center and we just took pictures and walked around. It's a great place to just take in the amazing view of all the islands in HK. It's so beautiful and it was super great because today was very sunny. Lynne saw a "mister softee" ice cream truck and had to get some because she use to eat it as a kid... it's ice cream that tastes like whipping cream... it's nasty in my opinion. Anyways afterwards we walked around the Wan Chai MTR station but then only saw strip joints everywhere... the "entertainers" actually were trying to push guys into the place and Lynne heard the phrase "it's$25"... haha wow that is a sale isn't it... we quickly went to the MTR station and made our way to Mong Kok which is where all the cheap markets are. We arrived and we immediately were approached by a huge wave of people... it was packed. THe first thing we did was get slushies from the vendors... for some reason we managed to get 2 free drinks and $8 in change because we coudln't really speak Chinese with the Vendors and Lynne (she knows way more chinese than me) but she couldn't understand the lady... we think that the lady thought we paid already... so we just walked away and got free drinks and got paid $8! haha they really don't have good memories...

I managed to bargain down a bath robe from the markets from $99 HK to $70HK... my first bargain... then lynne and i went to some vendor to buy underwear and undershirts and those things... we coudln't really bargain it down and the lady was such a "Beep" she kept saying in Chinese that we were being unfair and that she already gave us a good deal and we shoudln't be hassling her for a few dollars off... we should have walked away but i really needed to buy those undershirts for my mom... it would have been embarassing to go back and buy after knowing that i couldn't buy from anyone else. But even after paying, she kept lecturing us about how unfair we were... i mean if you don't want to bargain then put a sign like everyone else... ideally we should have walked away... oh well, a lesson learned.

The shopping experience was really exciting because it was just Lynne and I and we went to the Argyle Center were we saw many interesting and trendy things. We both bought bags and managed to save 10 bucks. After shopping we had a small snack at KFC and found $20 bucks on the floor... today was just pure luck ... with $20 we got fries and some candy at a store, a lighter for our candles and we pocketed 1 dollar each hahhahahaha... now i'm always going to look at the floor near the cashier to see if there is money. Lynne you got good eyes!!

Tomorrow will be another day of shopping and going to see my aunt for some flower parade ... not quite sure but i'm sure it will be a breathtaker.

it's late need sleep.

Shopping @ the Teaford Center

Well i guess this day was something i was waiting for... SHOPPING with friends... SO since Karen arrived at HKUST earlier than Lynne and I, she was our unofficial tour guide. So we started the day with getting some internet information from the useless administrators at this school. Afterwards we grabbed some breakfast and headed to the buses. This was the first time Lynne and me were taking the bus to the MTR station (subway lines) and it was great to have Karen to help us or else we'd still be there. The transportation is quite simple and inexpensive when you pay the student fair (half price) however you have to get use to all the exits and entrances they have.... anyways we went to a nice mall called the "Teaford Center" Us 3 girls were walking so slowly and just taking in the cool stores and different merchandise and of course in HK everything is Fast Fast Fast... so many times we had to remind ourselves that we have to walk a bit faster. There was a cool iKea and it was quite cheap. To summarize the whole experience, it was just a lot of walking and comparing prices. The worse part was eating in an outside cafe and having no seats excepts in the smoking section.. i think the smoke here smells worse than Canada because it is so strong. The funny part was that Gable kept bugging me about getting some Jordans and since i was in a mall with many francised sport stores like GigaSports and Marathon Sports and the Nike Store, i went to check out the shoes. I saw the ones he wanted for a good price but i wanted to double check with him so i took a few pictures... the guy noticed and after 2 pictures the sales guy said in Chinese that i wasn't allowed to do it. So then i went to another store with LYnne cause she made us go back and forth to get some nike bag. I saw more Jordans so she kept the guy busy while i took more pictures... hahaha we make a great team!!!

GO TEAM... see what i do for Gable... i hope that they dont' think i'm some spy from China and want to make copies and copies these shoes for resale.

Way too much eating out!

Ok, my second day of HK… I’m so grateful that my aunt has a computer and internet… apparently she says not many people have internet in HK. Anyways, I fell asleep around 3am last night and woke up at 8:15am for service. We managed to only be 10 minutes late. My aunt is new to this area of HK because she moved about a month ago so she asked around about any buses that go to Tsim Sha Tsui and luckily there was one and it was much faster than the mtr and faster! Found out that there is also a bus that goes to HKUST… and it’s like 5.80 to get there which is less than a buck Canadian. Sweet! Anyways went to this Evangelical Community Church…it was quite multi-cultural and the sermon was intimate. The pastor shared about his experience of losing 2 kids…well his wife was pregnant and she miscarried twice…so he was talking about Hope in God, rather than Hope that situations will work out for us. Quite good and I’m surprised that I was not tired afterwards. Since I was a new comer, I got free lemon tea! Afterwards my and aunt and I met up with her friends (DUDE she has around a million friends) and we went DIM SUM… let’s just say that I was adventurous and my aunt was right… I can’t think that things taste gross before I try them… turnip cake actually tasted good. I had a bunch of new things… only thing that was familiar was bbq pork bun and the beef wrapped noodle. Today’s lunch was the single ladies group… all single women and the one next to me “Sam” she was so nice to me. She said I had nice skin and she kept pinching my cheeks and she grab a piece of my arm and said that it’s good that I have meat but honestly she really hurt me!! My aunt had to leave early to go visit someone at the hospital and so I stayed with her friends and went shopping at Tai Koo Mall. They are soo funny, like a bunch of teenagers. My aunt met up with us again at this restaurant called Key West Village and her friend treated us to some coffee and cake… this was only 30 minutes after dim sum… nasty. Anyways they were the loudest group in the restaurant, my aunt had to remind them to speak quietly hahaha they are cool. After we went back to the apartment and I slept… after we went to a market downstairs… I never felt so sick before, I heard a frog squeel as his head was cut off and was skinned… I never felt like throwing up so badly.. luckily I was able to eat. My aunt made a fresh seafood dinner; it was awesome. She said she could’t cook but she is a great cook. She keeps it simple which was perfect because I wasn’t even hungry. Now we’re going to eat some papaya and watching some Chinese movie. I want to shop but trying to hold myself back for a bit.... gotta ration out the shopping ...

The Flight

hey all... finally get a chance to write some memories down!!
I guess I should start from the VERY beginning… I can’t believe that on Thursday at 5:30am in the moring… FIONA came to bring sliced up fruit and whip cream to my house! It was great!! We had a early morning breakfast and then around 7am STEVEN got us coffee and tea and wished me a safe trip… I have such great friends!! I hugged my family good bye and in the car got all tear-eyed and had to pull myself together. I saw Melissa at the airport with her timmies hot chocolate.. ahah I really want timmies!
Anyways saw Karen in line for check in and it was so cool we were on the same plane but not together… I would have been near her if she didn’t change her seat… but that was my fault I told her the wrong seat number!! Sorry! Anyways I was beside some guy didn’t catch his name but I felt compelled to talk to him (because of Anglea… “talk to strangers”) haha so we talked about HK, the student exchange, VSIAs, the CMA designation hahaha it was cool. After that we did our own stuff… had mini tvs on the back of each seat.. and u can watch movies/tv/play games whenever u want to. So I watched Cinderella Man, Corpse Bridge, Some movie with Reese Witherspoon and some Chinese movie called drank drunk drink or something dumb, I also made about 8 beaded bracelets, did a word search. I can’t believe that I didn’t sleep.. ok for about 20 minutes…that is a world record or something… and they kept giving us food… it was pretty good until u feel all bloated… as I said to ben, should have gotten just red wine/sprite haha that would make me fall asleep. When we were two hours from HK I looked at the window and there were sooo many beautiful snow capped mountains… I never saw anything like that before….i took a few pics… it made me think about how Awesome God is and how he made everything in 7 days…
The worst part about the ride was some dumb lady was stretching her nasty feet on the railings of my seat… and I thought to myself should I let this slide, I mean we are all tired… and then I concluded that I didn’t pay so much money to be uncomfortable and I don’t care if she is tired… so I kindly said could you please not put your feet up… so she was cool, and stopped… but she was clever enough to put her feet on the other side of the seat… and I just kept looking at it and my face getting more disgusted… I even had the thought I was actually touching it and brushing it off.. but no that would have been bad, so again I had to ask her to not do that… I was much happier after that.

After we landed I got my stuff and my aunt bought me an octopus card (transit card) and we went to her place by bus which took about 2 hours and the driver was a crazy maniac… he almost ran over kids!! What a jerk. He was making those sharp turns and when I was standing I was almost flying off the floor. My aunt was annoyed that it took so long and she vowed never to take that bus.. there wasn’t even traffic.
We lugged my suitcases to her apartment and went through a mall, it gave me a short temporary euphoric experience but ended quickly haha… I got to the apartment and was tired. I unpacked, went to email my parents and then I went grocery shopping with my aunt… after that I went to sleep from 7pm to around 9am … great sleep
I’m pretty much over jet lag.. my stomach is slowly adjusting though. Today I woke up and missed Canada sooo much… I wanted to go to residence and just be around familiar faces… got all tear-eyed again like an idiot but then I called home and called gable and felt a bit better. My aunt took me to so many places, pretty much all around HK… I know how to take the MTR now and just getting out and seeing the sites and shops made me excited and less sad about missing home. We went to central (the financial and upper class shopping district), went to eat lunch at some little noodle in the mall near her house, saw a cool store that I think will be my favourite it’s called G2000.. had nice suits for cheap cheap cheap. Rode on the Star Ferry, and walked on stars avenue with every well known celebrity’s hand print on the ground… we also saw an NBC reporter doing some Chinese new year report so I think u might see my back hahaa, aunt Rebecca kept telling me to turn around and wave hahaha, I had no face. We went to other places but I can’t remember the exact names… we then had dinner at a nice Chinese restaurant with my aunt’s 5 friends… they are funny but almost the entire night they just talked about people dying of cancer and stuff… very depressing. Made me think about my grandma and how I use to think she was immortal… but of course this isn’t the case. Anyways after I kinda tuned out because I couldn’t understand that much and saw some guy with a furry jacket… like a pimp’s coat and I said to myself, is that “in style” or something because that is dreadful… hahaha some guys were like she-men.., I couldn’t tell if they were guys/girls… but we have that everywhere… haha I guess analyzing that was more amusing than people talking about death and cancer… I mean it’s almost Chinese New Year… is that a topic we should talk about…

Anyways I should sleep soon it’s 2am! I drank too much tea.
- Miss you all, Christina

Anticipation

I'm still trying to figure out things with this blog and playing around with all the options available.. so you'll have to bear with me...

Anyways, this day seems to drag: I'm not sure what to do. I'm glad that I get to rest but the waiting is killing me. I'm glad that I'll be seeing Tiff today: i'm sooo sorry that i forgot to call TIFF! Please forgive me! Yesterday my mom and I made a feast for my grandma and my aunt/uncle. Soo much food, it was incredibe... and my aunt made deep fried WONTON! those are soooo good.

After dinner i went to have some 2nd cup (oh i will miss 2nd cup) with my sister and Gable. It was fun, talked about a plan to get my brother more active this summer so that he's not always on the computer... haha I know melody knows what i mean.

Friday is Friend's Nite @ Zion... i wish i was going to be there... sometimes i picture myself going to a Chinese speaking church in HK... not to be rude, but i think i would rather sleep in... let's see how it goes...!

- mei

Hey my first post... still trying to work this out!!