Classes were fairly easy this week, nothing too hard and nothing too special came my way to start the week off hard. I did a lot of napping because my sleep schedule is messed up because it is very normal to stay up until 5 am here. If you go to bed around 10 PM, people think there is something wrong with you!
I have decided that I will do all of my homework during the week and spend each weekend traveling or visiting temples and such. So this week I have a lot of catching up to do on work, projects, and studying!
Tai Hang
This week was a very special one because it was the Mid-Autumn Festival which is a big holiday where everyone gives each other gifts and lanterns. It was great! We had many lanterns hanging outside our door from other students and I received mooncakes! The reason behind the mooncakes is because during the holiday the moon is at its fullest due to the lunar calendar. In celebration of the holiday a big group of us went down to Tai Hang to see the fire dragon. It was a long dragon built out of fire sticks and was so smokey. There were over 300+ performers and was extremely crowded. As we walked around we saw the traditional side and then the modern side. The modern side had lots of hip music, lit up figures, and much food. The real popular snack was a stick of strawberries that were in hard sugar.
Mong Kok
We had a long weekend due to the Festival, we had no classes on Friday which was nice! I took that Friday to just relax and go shopping at the Ladies Market. In Mong Kok there is a ladies market where you can negotiate the prices down. They had things such as designer shoes, bags, watches you name it. There were electronics, luggage, and a lot of traditional chinese goods. I've been looking around for silk robes and finally found one! They are so cool. My favorite part was the negotiating, I acted very interested in something and they would throw a price out and I would immediately go down 50%. They would say no and I would walk away and they would chase after me! I loved it though, but I had a guy take myself, Katie, and a few others in a very sketchy building to the top floor. They had the real designer bags sold for a cheap price. It was real cool but also scary. It was an experience I'd say. I will be going there more often!
After the ladies market, Katie and I were starving and went to a sushi buffet bar, it was only $53 HK but the only thing was if you took the sushi off the belt you HAD to finish it or they would charge you an extra $10 for each piece not eaten, so when we got some sushi we didn't like we had to force it down. It was sushi torture but also a good time!
Lamma Island
On Saturday we all went to Lamma Island which was my FAVORITE trip in Hong Kong yet by far. It had breathtaking views, beaches, and temples. There was many traditional factors such as the animals, bamboo, and housing. There were really cool seafood restaurants right along the ocean. It also was my first time going to an island so we had to take the ferry which was so much fun! A little sickening at first but I got the hang of it! After many hours of hiking from one part of the island to the next we saw so much and got to take to a nice lady from the area. The beach was so much fun and then afterwards we ate at a western style restaurant called Waterfront bar and restaurant right along the ocean. It was a great way to end the night. I will be returning there!
Typhoon Usagi
Everyone was on lockdown it seemed like, almost like the end of the world. Everyone was in panic, the grocery store is absolutely empty, there was NO FOOD! It was quite a site, and also all the hostels had big X marks taped on the doors and the highest typhoon signal was at 8 until 7 this morning. So morning classes were cancelled, making my weekend 4 days long, which was nice. The only bad thing about the typhoon was when I walked outside my umbrella flew away, not cool.
Next week I will be mainly doing homework & focusing on that rather than traveling. I need to get caught up on classes and Frankie and I are meeting to plan our international day. Also will be having a cookout at a beach next Sunday, so I have something to look forward too!
I have decided that I will do all of my homework during the week and spend each weekend traveling or visiting temples and such. So this week I have a lot of catching up to do on work, projects, and studying!
Tai Hang
This week was a very special one because it was the Mid-Autumn Festival which is a big holiday where everyone gives each other gifts and lanterns. It was great! We had many lanterns hanging outside our door from other students and I received mooncakes! The reason behind the mooncakes is because during the holiday the moon is at its fullest due to the lunar calendar. In celebration of the holiday a big group of us went down to Tai Hang to see the fire dragon. It was a long dragon built out of fire sticks and was so smokey. There were over 300+ performers and was extremely crowded. As we walked around we saw the traditional side and then the modern side. The modern side had lots of hip music, lit up figures, and much food. The real popular snack was a stick of strawberries that were in hard sugar.
Mong Kok
We had a long weekend due to the Festival, we had no classes on Friday which was nice! I took that Friday to just relax and go shopping at the Ladies Market. In Mong Kok there is a ladies market where you can negotiate the prices down. They had things such as designer shoes, bags, watches you name it. There were electronics, luggage, and a lot of traditional chinese goods. I've been looking around for silk robes and finally found one! They are so cool. My favorite part was the negotiating, I acted very interested in something and they would throw a price out and I would immediately go down 50%. They would say no and I would walk away and they would chase after me! I loved it though, but I had a guy take myself, Katie, and a few others in a very sketchy building to the top floor. They had the real designer bags sold for a cheap price. It was real cool but also scary. It was an experience I'd say. I will be going there more often!
After the ladies market, Katie and I were starving and went to a sushi buffet bar, it was only $53 HK but the only thing was if you took the sushi off the belt you HAD to finish it or they would charge you an extra $10 for each piece not eaten, so when we got some sushi we didn't like we had to force it down. It was sushi torture but also a good time!
Lamma Island
On Saturday we all went to Lamma Island which was my FAVORITE trip in Hong Kong yet by far. It had breathtaking views, beaches, and temples. There was many traditional factors such as the animals, bamboo, and housing. There were really cool seafood restaurants right along the ocean. It also was my first time going to an island so we had to take the ferry which was so much fun! A little sickening at first but I got the hang of it! After many hours of hiking from one part of the island to the next we saw so much and got to take to a nice lady from the area. The beach was so much fun and then afterwards we ate at a western style restaurant called Waterfront bar and restaurant right along the ocean. It was a great way to end the night. I will be returning there!
Typhoon Usagi
Everyone was on lockdown it seemed like, almost like the end of the world. Everyone was in panic, the grocery store is absolutely empty, there was NO FOOD! It was quite a site, and also all the hostels had big X marks taped on the doors and the highest typhoon signal was at 8 until 7 this morning. So morning classes were cancelled, making my weekend 4 days long, which was nice. The only bad thing about the typhoon was when I walked outside my umbrella flew away, not cool.
Next week I will be mainly doing homework & focusing on that rather than traveling. I need to get caught up on classes and Frankie and I are meeting to plan our international day. Also will be having a cookout at a beach next Sunday, so I have something to look forward too!
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