HKU Rugby!

I don't know why I look so happy but I just came back from my first Rugby practice ever. I have seriously only watched a couple minutes of Rugby on television and when I showed up I didn't know any of the rules. Wikipedia describes Rugby as "a style of football named after Rugby school in the United Kingdom." The rules consist of "playing with [an] oval ball and the ban on throwing the ball forward, so that players can gain ground only by running with the ball or by kicking it" (Too lazy to find a credible source). My elbows, hands, arms, and knees are all burning but it was so much fun! I was pretty good at catching and throwing the ball (Thanks Andy and Tio Mario) but I still have to work on tackling people. I'm like a gentle giant over here. Even the little girls here are good, but with some more time and practice I am sure I will learn. Wish me luck!!!!!

Trip to Macau

 Believe it or not I was actually forced to visit Macau (I needed to get my student visa activated in order to register for school). The ride to Macau is about an hour by boat and since I only got a couple hours of sleep the night before I actually fell asleep on public transportation. The other option to get to Macau is by helicopter for less then 400 dollars. Overall it was a fun night but everything is pretty spread out. There are no lines so that means that everyone cuts or pushes in order to get to the front of the line. I sort of had to push an old lady who was pushing me for around ten minutes, definitely not one of my finest moments! I also had to cut in front of ten middle-aged men in order to keep my place in line. I'm also not much of a gambler, but I thought just watching everyone in the casino's was entertaining enough. I gambled exactly two U.S. dollars (I live on the edge, I know). My friend and I also decided to eat at a semi-traditional Macau buffet, but since I am a little sick I wasn't able to eat anything besides bread. I was shocked because I didn't have any ice cream, which is probably a first for me. Once we called it a night my friend and I had to get a ticket back to Hong Kong but the next available ferry wasn't till 4:30am. Luckily we got by-stander tickets and since I had a couple of hours of practice cutting in line, I got on the very next ferry and sat in first class. First class ferry life was very extravagant and included magazines, newspapers, and bologna sandwiches.

Chinese New Year dinner with Vivian's family!

Dinner with Vivian's family was amazing. Her mother was such a great host and cooked a wonderful meal for my friend Alysha and I. I'm not quite sure what everything was, but it was pretty much a five-course meal. The meal itself included dishes like shrimp, duck, and vegetables. I also tried mushrooms for the first time and didn't hate them! Vivian's dad kind of reminded me of my dad because he was very quiet and strict but was still thoughtful and nice. And I'm convinced Vivian's little brother is my little brother's Erik's asian twin! ha ha. He was so sweet and actually taught me how to use chopsticks! I told him I wanted to glue them to my hand so that I wouldn't forget, but since that isn't possible I have since not been able to hold chopsticks the correct way. :( Even though we came empty handed (sorry mom) we left with new chinese hand-scroll paintings that Vivian's mother personally painted with only two years of experience (I'll post pictures up soon), tons of food, red pocket money (gift unmarried people receive for Chinese New Year), and new bed sheets! It was an unforgettable experience and I can't express enough gratitude to Vivian and her family.

Hike to Big Budda!

The guys waiting for us to catch up.

Hiking to the Big Budda was unlike any other hike I have ever done.  A group of six of us took the subway as far as we could and got off at the last stop. From there we went to a mall and found a lady that spoke no English but somehow still gave us directions by drawing them out. We proceeded walking and noticed that the trail was going to be all stairs. Two hours later we arrived at the top and saw a huge cow walking around! However once we turned the corner we encountered a huge dragon and heard Justin Bieber's music in the background. As soon as I saw people wearing coats, I kind of wondered why they were so overdressed, but I quickly found out that it was around 40 degrees and the ice cold winds made it feel even colder. I also found that it was too foggy to see the Buddha and since it was raining we couldn't hike back and had to wait an hour and a half to take the cable car back. Overall the experience was somehow still a great one, but I'll definitely back once it gets warmer.

Technology

 My new cellphone! It cost 200 Hong Kong dollars which is roughly twenty-six U.S. dollars. I also still carry my iphone around to text everyone when I have wi-fi. My new phone has no wi-fi and randomly decides to write in Chinese characters. I am learning how to text the old school way and I am once again the slowest texter ever. One of my friends from back home said, "We're back in the 1600's" this of course started some jokes and a lot of laughing.

I don't know if this is very clear, but I think I need a new card reader. I somehow got eyeliner shavings inside (the black stuff in the middle). It still works, but for some reason I don't think it will work for that much longer. Help. Oh and sorry for all of the random posts. =D

Grocery Shopping at Pok Fu Lam

As mentioned in my last post Chinese New Year is coming up and even the lettuce here is decorated! These items were at a popular grocery store called Wellcome. The noodles in the middle picture I guess are advertising to the sumo wrestler population, but since everyone here weighs like eighty pounds, I'm not quite sure where these sumo's are at (pretty sure I just made up a word). The juice in the bottom photo is my new favorite drink and I don't even usually like tea, but I'm officially addicted.  :)

Chinese New Year Flower Market

Chinese New Year is on January 23rd which is in two days and the festivities have already begun.  This is one of the many flower markets opened during Chinese New Year and I believe is the biggest in Hong Kong. This New Years is also even bigger then most because it is the year of the dragon (scary). I visited twice and both experiences were very different. The first time I went was on a Wednesday the aisles were crowded but I could still navigate through the crowds pretty easily, the second time however I pretty much gave up on trying to fight through the crowds and just settled with being gently pushed to where ever I needed to go. There were many traditional items like windmills which are believed to bring luck and the flowers in the picture above are believed to bring popularity and luck in relationships. I told my friend Vivian I need to buy them all, but then she told me that I was already popular, lol. :)

First day of school.

As many of you know my first day of school was not the best experience to say the least. I accidentally took the wrong bus and ended up walking along a highway until I found a taxi who decided to overcharge me and take the longest way possible back to the HKU campus, lol. But I am so glad that I can laugh at myself because if I couldn't my horrible day would have been way worse. It is now day three of school and things have gotten much better even though I am still a little traumatized and constantly second guessing myself about whether or not I am on the correct bus. The school itself is just as confusing and I am now convinced that everything in the U.S. is dumbed down for people. Over here there are stairs and pathways that lead absolutely no where and most of the time in order to get to a building you have to go through many other buildings, stairs, and elevators. I am not quite sure how to explain it but believe me, it's confusing. But other then having a difficult time getting around, little things  like seeing a Karate tournament on my way to class have definitely made it much better.

First HK friend!

Vivian, (the one in the middle, second picture) was actually an exchange student from HKU at UCSB last year. Vivian lived in the same dorms as me but we somehow never met until now. She has taken me under her wing and shown me around Hong Kong like no one else could even though she is kind of bad at directions like I am, lol.  She also has a great sense of humor and tells me that I "smell like America" and I am still trying to figure out whether or not I should be insulted, haha. I have already been to New territory a region about an hour and a half away from HKU to visit where she is from. While we were there my friend Alysha and I got our hair done at a local salon which was quite the experience. Even though we met less then a week ago I know that I have made a life long friend and I am excited for the adventures that are to come for us.

Food!!

Hi, sorry for all the posts but I'm trying to make up for lost time. Anyways, I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but the food here is delicious! It's chinese food but it has a lot of of British influence which I guess makes it taste good? And I am glad to say that I have officialy debunked Andrew's theory that "It's not chinese food if it tastes good". Even though I am known to be a picky eater, I am certainly surprising even myself. So far I have tried fish balls, cow balls, and dumplings which were not as gross as they sound, lol.

Adios Amigos!

My mom, Andrew, Sergio, Miriam and I at LAX saying good-bye. At this point I was feeling so many different emotions at the same time. Yet the most prominent one was definitely excitement because I was finally getting to do what I have always dreamed of and I was also thankful for having the most wonderful and loving family anyone could ever ask for!