Tai Shan Village

This weekend was such an amazing experience... back to the ROOTS! At first the thought of a 3 hour bus ride from Shenzhen was not exciting to me and once i got out of the bus things seemed so sketchy... and when i got to the school where my great grandpa has a memorial and where my grandpa has donated tons of things... there was flies everywhere!!! IF you know me well, there are only 2 types of bugs that I cannot stand; misquitoes and FLIES! After trying so hard to whim them away i just sat there like a cow and just let them fly all over me... except my face. Anyways the school was quite small and many kids were playing volleyball or just playing outside or heading home... once i brought my camera out all the kids were gazed and hypnotized... i even got a few pics of them. My aunt was telling the kids to get in teh picture but they were a little reluctant. I met the principal and he showed me around to all the places where my grandpa or great grandpa had some recognition. There was a memorial in the front with my grandpa's name or great grandpa's name ... i can't read chinese! I saw my relatives on the donation board... they all look so young, including my grandpa and my grandma.

After seeing the school i went to my dad's old village which was about 5 minutes away from the school. My grandpa's newphew (What Gwao) was taking us around... i got to see my dad's old house which was locked up and the shop that my great grandpa and grandpa use to work in from the 1930s!! We also got to see the markets and got a crappy massage in the village... looked so sketchy but it was only $10 yuan for one hour... what more could you ask for?? Our relatives took us around the market and you could see so many neat things... and some disgusting things... let's just say that it's TRUE... Chinese people do eat dogs... specifically puppies... i won't show you the cute pups for sale. You can get your worts/pimples and teeth taken out and your fortune told at the market... it was crazy.

When we went to dim sum the next day our relatives were so tired because someone from the Northern areas of China were trying to steal our relatives clothes at night with a pole. It was fortunate that they managed to scare them away. It really made me see the differences in lifestyle of living in the village... another difference is that they like to drink BRANDY at 7am... crazy.

Sorry i can't upload any other pictures for some odd reason but the above is the stove of my dad's old house.

Sweet 21

My birthday was sooo fun... first we went to a sushi restaurant... there is revolving conveyor belt where you can just pick up sushi and eat. There's also a la carte where you can order stuff too... me and renee went all out and pigged out... the plates on the belt are coloured and each colour corresponds to a price... after a while we stopped looking at the price... MMMmm Renee and I shared fried chicken, octupus balls, tempura ramen and the best of all soft-shell crabs! After my exchange friends had cake and drinks ready for me at the balcony of my hall. So sweet! It was a great birthday!! Felt so much love... that weekend i also received a package from my family with a present and cards from them and from ZION! I love you all!
The next day we went to Wan Chai b/c it was ladies night!! The live band is great and it maybe a new wednesday tradition!! Afterwards Renee came to sleepover and once again we held the tradition of only sleeping for an hour or so. After class, Renee, Lynne and I went to UST's chinese restaurant for dim sum!! IT IS the best!!!... i have to take my relatives and Gable to this restaurant. I'm so glad it's close by!

Important News: I need you all to stop what you're doing and LISTEN: Canon BALL!

Do you like my new room??

I love GABLE MAK!

He painted my room during reading week!!

Early B-day Celebrations

Sunday was a great day… first went to church with Renee and Rochelle… sermon was good but even at the 11:15am sermon I was still tired… I wished he would pray so I could close my eyes. After went to Quarry Bay to meet up with my aunt and her friends for dim sum… more eating. Pineapple Fried Rice!! The plan after dim sum was that my aunt and I were suppose to buy some fresh seafood and go to her friend’s apartment for dinner for a pre-mini-birthday celebration, however my aunt had to meet up with some clients and so I went shopping at Fa Yuen Guy (Flower Market) to finish up the street. So I shopped for about 2 hours… had tons of fun and got a bunch of deals. But I also experienced first hand some shopping frustration… I bought a basic black sweater for $39 HK and thought it was a good deal… then saw the same thing for $29… I hate feeling so ripped off! I also got a shirt from ‘GARAGE’… TACB will know what this is but these shirts go for around the same price $29 HK in Canada but at least I don’t have to sew it up! It was weird to see GARAGE stuff at the market… it was exactly how it is in Canada but it’s pretty good stuff so you know that these markets aren’t the most updated! Afterwards I met up with my aunt and her friend Wings. It was a great night… Annie cooked up a great steak and we had amazing appetizers of shrimp and crab! The finale was awesome… Mango cheesecake! My aunt and her friends are just great… one of the best b-day dinners I have had in a long time. Annie also busted out the GOOD red wine! We spent the night eating and listening/watching Annie’s Andrew Lloyd Webber concert. Amazing DVD… also had fun watching her company’s annual dinner. Some Chinese celebrity was singing and all the management including her boss did the Stick Dance. Hahah good times!

Stanley Market and Repulse Bay

I never wrote about this but this happened a while ago... short blog! My aunt took me to Stanley Market which is a market of lots of clothes and souvenirs that are overpriced because many tourists go there. I would never buy anything from there. I'm sure the stuff could be real but my theory that i stick with is that in Asia... just assume that Everything is FAKE. Anyways we had ice cream and then right after had afternoon tea (a British tradition that has been passed down to HK even after British rule) at a place called Wildfire... amazing snacks!

After we went to Repulse Bay, a beautiful beach; again filled with tourists... i will definately make a trip back there when it gets hotter.

Lan Tau Island

Hey,
My internet is stilled messed up. Gable let me know that there is a major typo in the blog... let me clarify that my internet is NOT working and therefore i won't be able to update this blog as much until i reformat my laptop.

Anyways last weekend a whole bunch of exchange students for HKUST and from CityU and HKU went to see the big Buddah at Lan Tau island. The ride to the island was LONG, it was around 1 hour and 45 minutes and when you get on the island the roads are tiny ... only one bus can fit on the road so when oncoming buses are headed toward you the bus driver either stops and lets the other bus drive through or they squeeze!!! Anyways because there were so many of us, we split up and 1/2 of us took the ferry to the island and the more efficient group (I was part of it) took the MTR (subway) and then the bus. We got to the spot and then had "Chae Ghai Mean" which is noodles from a cart and you can pick a whole bunch of fixings... shrimp balls, fish balls, vegetables.... i got a tea egg... i have to say that it was better than Bubble Republic. 3 eggs for $10 Hk dollars... who can eat 3 eggs. After lunch we met up with the other group and walked up the 8 -9 flights of steps to see the giant buddah. Once we got up there we took about 5 pictures of the buddah and then 30 pictures of the group! After we went to see a bunch of temples and walked on "Wisdom Path" and took the bus to a small fishing village. At the village everyone owned at least 2 dogs...

let's just say i wasn't amazed with the Buddah and i would rather go hiking at Lamma Island. I told other exchange students that you shouldn't waste your whole day there... it's not that special. I did get some great pics though.

We got back to the MTR station and the worst thing happened with the big group: everyone wanted to split up but couldn't decide what to do at the same time... most of the girls wanted to stay at the station because there was a big mall attached to it and the guys wanted to get movies at Mong Kok. Sven and I just wanted to eat! What ended up happening is everyone went shopping and everyone was satisfied because they bought something... I was happy because i finally got a nice american steak dinner at the food court. It was sooo good! Could have been more juicy and could have added some A1 or HP sauce but overall it was great. I would take the 1 hour ride back to get it again!

Busy Weekend

For the past few days I haven’t been living without Internet… I have no idea why it’s not working and its been soooo frustrating… some of my INTL friends tried but no one has really figured it out so I gotta go to tech support tomorrow and if they don’t work I’m calling Simon up because Gable said he’s a tech genius!

I’m going to try and summarize some of the events that have happened this weekend.

Friday:

Lynne and I had tons of fun just joking around while going to class and then eating and waiting for her uncle to pick us up from school. They are so nice, I can’t believe I got red pocket from her relatives and they don’t even know me. We went to visit her grandma and she is just hilarious. We also went to check for cell phones for Lynne and “A-Bee” her little 5 year old nephew tagged along and dude this kid is hyper! He is the most active kid ever. Anyways the day was filled with hanging out with family and the best part was a home cooked meal and having Lynne’s relatives teach us some Chinese slang. If you say, “say say, look look” which means 4, 4, 6, 6 if really means that you’re stupid. Haha.

Saturday:
I met my aunt at her place and we went to get dim sum with her friend name Ping Ha and she knew my grandpa and my dad. She was also the director of this local carnival … I would hardly call it a carnival but since gable said that there were “carneys” then it’s defined as a carnival. Anyways while we were sitting down, my aunt told me a bunch of stories from her childhood. The best one was about my dad!!! She said my dad and his good friend use to play with fire a lot in China and once they lit a house on fire… it didn’t burn down but still was on fire… and when he got home he hid under the bed because he was so scared! Haha I thought that was cool.
After the carney I went to meet Gable’s Aunt and we shopped with her daughter Jackie and with her best friend Judy. We went to these wholesale places where you can get cheaper clothes made in France/Italy or Japan. I didn’t buy anything because everything was ugly. I was also invited to eat at the family’s Chinese New Year celebration dinner… more red pocket and gifts… another aunt gave me bird’s shallow! Gross… maybe my grandma will like that; apparently it’s very healthy for you. The dinner was good and Gable’s aunt took me to Mong Kok to look around and she was so nice and bought me a nice necklace. She said she felt bad that I didn’t buy anything at the wholesaler’s place. She even walked me to the mini bus stop and called me to make sure I got home…His family is amazing.

Today: Sunday (Llama Island)
Renee and I went to church today early and shopped afterwards and ate lunch. Around 1:30pm I went to meet Minh, Andrew, Renee Huang and their City U friends and took the ferry to Llama Island. It’s a cute little island with great picture spots. We first went to get a snack at this Indian Restaurant and then hiked our way to 2 different beaches. The view is breathtaking… except for the huge factory or nuclear plant on the side! I was so happy that I went because I haven’t seen Renee is so long and we had one month’s worth of stuff to talk about… Renee also brought her friend from Cali and we had so much fun talking about stupidness… hair, shopping, food, boys hahaha! We weren’t able to finish the entire hiking trail because it was getting dark and there are no lights to guide you back so we decided to get a small seafood dinner by the shore. It was nice and Renee was speaking mandarin with the hostess, trying to bargain and alter the fixed menu! Coming back to residence makes me so upset because this darn internet still is being stupid. I keep bugging lynne because I’m bored… I guess we should start reading.

2nd day of school

Since it’s still technically Chinese New Year Celebration time, people are still in the holiday mode; even the professors. So far the courses seem great… the topics are interesting and the profs are very friendly. I mean for my history of China and U.S.A course, he said “We are all friends and as a friend…” I mean who addresses himself as a friend, usually in Schulich they go straight into the course material. It’s true what they say about classes in China… there are rare occasions of class participation… it’s only seen when the course is full of INTL students, especially if they are full of North Americans. As well another cool thing is that all the professors speak English fluently with little accents. I have a professor from Cali and he is sooo funny. The crappy thing was that he took for the whole 2 hours but at least it was enjoyable and he pretty much forces you to mingle with the locals which is the best learning experience for me. I met a girl named Chloe (cute name) and she is going to practice her English and I’m going to learn Chinese from her… nice little tradeoff there. Anyways another thing to point out about HK in general is that…and Lynne will know exactly what I am talking about because I seriously say this EVERDAY… but really, “WHY DO ALL THE GUYS IN HK LOOK LIKE RONALD (Melody’s friend/roommate)????” Tell me Why??

After class Lynne and I went straight to Po Lam and we went shopping and I had a hunch for these Pumas that I keep seeing. Sadly the price wasn’t as cheap as I thought but I think Lynne really made me feel a little impulsive. After she bought 2 pairs of nice and inexpensive shoes, I needed a pair as well. Karen took the lead too. I love them, I also bought some shoe cleaner for those times when I by accidently wear them when it’s crowded and someone steps on them.. as Lynne would say “I’ll punch the person that steps on these shoes!” Afterwards we met up with some other INTL students to have dinner at this Macau/Taiwanese Restaurant and went back to the common room at UG HALL I and watched Kill Bill I. The common room is so much better then ours because the flat screen is huge and there is a dvd player. Had bubble tea at the Taiwanese Restaurant and it was one of the worst that I ever tasted. When I met up with Minh he even said he misses BR food and bubble tea… ooh I want some popcorn chicken! We are destined to find sesame paste noodle!!

2nd day of school

Since it’s still technically Chinese New Year Celebration time, people are still in the holiday mode; even the professors. So far the courses seem great… the topics are interesting and the profs are very friendly. I mean for my history of China and U.S.A course, he said “We are all friends and as a friend…” I mean who addresses himself as a friend, usually in Schulich they go straight into the course material. It’s true what they say about classes in China… there are rare occasions of class participation… it’s only seen when the course is full of INTL students, especially if they are full of North Americans. As well another cool thing is that all the professors speak English fluently with little accents. I have a professor from Cali and he is sooo funny. The crappy thing was that he took for the whole 2 hours but at least it was enjoyable and he pretty much forces you to mingle with the locals which is the best learning experience for me. I met a girl named Chloe (cute name) and she is going to practice her English and I’m going to learn Chinese from her… nice little tradeoff there. Anyways another thing to point out about HK in general is that…and Lynne will know exactly what I am talking about because I seriously say this EVERDAY… but really, “WHY DO ALL THE GUYS IN HK LOOK LIKE RONALD (Melody’s friend/roommate)????” Tell me Why??

After class Lynne and I went straight to Po Lam and we went shopping and I had a hunch for these Pumas that I keep seeing. Sadly the price wasn’t as cheap as I thought but I think Lynne really made me feel a little impulsive. After she bought 2 pairs of nice and inexpensive shoes, I needed a pair as well. Karen took the lead too. I love them, I also bought some shoe cleaner for those times when I by accidently wear them when it’s crowded and someone steps on them.. as Lynne would say “I’ll punch the person that steps on these shoes!” Afterwards we met up with some other INTL students to have dinner at this Macau/Taiwanese Restaurant and went back to the common room at UG HALL I and watched Kill Bill I. The common room is so much better then ours because the flat screen is huge and there is a dvd player. Had bubble tea at the Taiwanese Restaurant and it was one of the worst that I ever tasted. When I met up with Minh he even said he misses BR food and bubble tea… ooh I want some popcorn chicken! We are destined to find sesame paste noodle!!

ShenZhen

Well this week has been busy because School started today and everyone wants to go out and have fun... as well as Mainland China is still on holidays while HK is back to work today... so everything is just crazy. So yesterday i went to dim sum with my aunt and her Canadian Winnipeg-er friends... so much eating! I also got a little red pocket too! So right after we walked to the train station and headed to the border of China to ShenZhen to the place of grade A fakes! haha. So the ride was 45 minutes and when we got there, so many people where trying to go to HK so we were lucky. I was a little nervous because i'm always scared that they won't let me in or i'll never be able to return. Anyways it was ok i got in and we went straight to the shopping center. There were so many things to look at: Oakley, Gucci, Armani, Chanel... everything, Burberry, Polo, Chinese Dresses everywhere. We saw a store that was selling shoes ... 5 pairs for $100 HK dollars! That is just crazy... that's $3.00 Canadian a pair! My aunt told me to get two of my favourite shoes incase they break after the first wear! haha I got 3 pairs of pointy-toe slip ons and i got a pair of metallic flats. I also got a pair of white pointy toes for my aunt. After we walked around and i got my mom a chinese jacket for about $120 HK dollars. I'm so glad that my aunt is fluent in mandarin and so she got to bargain for me!! I"m so lucky. My aunt even bargained herself some fake Armani sunglasses. I want to go back and get some frames, i got a business card so it's all good!! I want to go back and buy things but i'd probably fall for their selling tactics... the girl that sold the sunglasses to my aunt said, "Oh come on, i haven't made one sale today... please..." haha that is such bull yeah right you haven't made one sale today!

After shopping for a bit we had a early dinner at one of the best ShenZhen Restaurants inside the mall (well my aunt said it's the best...) And we had a great dinner... my aunt doens't want me to eat good chinese food all the time or else i'll get overwhelmed by all the crappy food. OH well we just keep having good chinese food ... anyways after we walked a bit and headed out to the massage parlour... China was so sketchy i mean my aunt is scaring me with stories of her friends and how they know people that got tied up and the northern China immigrants were stealing their credit cards and cash... also she told me not ot breath in the smoke of smokers because they can make you faint and then they steal from you. Aaahhh i was so paranoid and was watching my bag so closely, i hid it under my big roots sweater... I wanted to like pick my nose of something so i could blend in with all the locals. hahah anyways we saw so many beggers on the street eating out of the trash it was just wierd. Anyways at the parlour i got a 2 hour body massage, 1 hour foot massage, 1 hour Thai massage and a facial... there was also unlimited drinks and fruit. It was so funny because my aunt went to get other things done first and i was left on my own and all these ladies and hosts were talking to me in Mandarin and i was speaking to them in ENglish and there was literally no communication at all, a guy getting a foot massage was helping me out. The place was busy and there were a lot of HK people (with kids too) and they knew some english... that was the first time i felt a little frustrated but at the same time it was so funny. The guy giving me a foot massage couldn't talk to me and we just kept laughing. He knew a little cantoneses but of course i suck! He was nice he ordered me a milk tea. The worst part was the toliets... they were just swaters! eew gross even in the massage parlour. Since the border closes up at midnight we had to stay at the parlour overnight... my aunt said it's free and lots of people do it! aaahh i was paranoid and i wasn't feeling too well becaus eof my cold but we did it and it was so hard to sleep. Never again. I can't do it again. Anyways it was all good and when i woke up around 8am there were people getting a foot massage! craziness... anyways i didn't take any pics because i didn't want them to see the digi cam haha see how paranoid i was! Well we got back to HK around 11am after having a good breakfast at the same restaurant and the border was packed with mainlanders!!! but luckily because we entered as FOREIGNERS the lineup was short... though the HK immigration officier was stupid... when coming back to HK she took forever, even the person behind me was complaining... she couldn't spell Univeristy of Science and Technology.... and she took a few minutes to find a pen and she kept looking at her writing as if she was self-conscious... hahaha it was funny because usually i would show how impatience i can be but i did not want to stay in ShenZhen for much longer! Anyways today was first day of school and it wasn't so bad, i just want to say that the classrooms need to be elevated because i can't see past the tall people, and the students are rude because they talk while the prof is talking... that annoys me