Done With School!!!...Almost...

Before I begin this blog, I just want to write that I left out a crucial part of my trip to the Philippines, and I want to write about it now because it is something I don’t want to forget. When you fly on Cebu Pacific Airlines, they play games. They claim they are the only airline that does this, which frankly, I do not doubt. Troy, one of the guys who went on that trip, said that last time he flew on Cebu Pacific, the flight attendants sang karaoke, and it wasn't good. They did play a game though where you had to hold up whatever item they said. Of course, out of my competitive nature, I won. I won this cute little toiletry case with their logo on it. I also won the game when I was flying back, but gave my prize away to an Australian girl named Ivy that I met waiting in the airport. Ivy actually is studying at Hong Kong University right now as an exchange student. We became quick friends as we bonded over our peeling backs and even started to peel each other. It was gross, yet still kind of cool.


Okay…so I haven’t blogged for quite a while because I just finished school—except for the two Chinese finals I have next week. Last week though, I literally stayed up for two days straight studying for my finance final (I maybe got four hours of sleep) and I still don’t think I did well. Apparently, most of the exchange students taking finance here are on the verge of failing. I went to my teacher’s office hours and she kept saying things like, “don’t focus too much on the math because from what I have observed in the past, exchange students are not nearly as good at the math as local students.” Which I also think is true. One of my friends, Ryan, is a math major and told me that every local student in his class always gets 100 % assignments and test. My professor told me to focus on more of the conceptual stuff, which was still difficult given that my notes suck. I have things written down in my notes such as, “you must lost customers and suppliers and loss competitive decision,” and, “the firm will more likely in bankrupt”. I spent most of my time deciphering what she was saying in class rather than taking anything in.  And of course I couldn't tell her that I didn't understand her English, so I basically had to teach myself everything. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens…


Besides my finals, last weekend I visited Tai Po Market, Tsang Tai Uk Walled Village, Man Mo Temple, and Lan Kwai Fong (during the day).  When I was at Tsang Tai Uk with Lena, she said, “you know you have lived in HK for too long when these things start becoming tourist attractions.” She said that because the walled village looked just like a cement wall with a parking lot. We weren’t even sure if we were at the right place. We only stayed there for a little bit.  It is places like this, though, that really show you the contrast in lifestyles in Hong Kong.  Other than that, I have gotten to the point where I really feel like Hong Kong is my home.  I am not afraid to go out by myself, I know the city really well, and I have done almost everything (some stuff I have saved to do though when Sarah Chappel comes to visit at the end of May.)  Don't worry though, even though Hong Kong is my home now, and I love it, I could not ever permanently live here because it is so humid and you can never see the stars.  

A women peeling pomelos, one of my new favorite fruits.

Tsang Tai Uk Walled Village.  A Hakka village which took 20 years to build.

Inside the Ancestral Hall which is currently under construction.

This is a small courtyard between the houses which people still live in.

Man Wo Temple.  So much incense that it is hard to breathe.

Free incense!

Central-Mid-Levels Escalator. It is the longest escalator in the world.  It is not continuous though.

LKF!  The famous bar area in Central.

LKF during the day.