The last couple days have been taken up with mostly administrative and orientation activities. The weather here is brutal - it's definitely hard for a Northern girl to get used to! I've been trying to get as much sleep as possible to rest up for my two weeks in mainland China starting tomorrow.
I am very excited to leave for China tomorrow! We will go to Xian (home of the Terracotta Warriors) first, then Beijing, and finally Shanghai by train. I am excited to finally start seeing the countryside of China, as well as the major sightseeing destinations. I will be bringing my laptop, so hopefully Internet access in the hotels is good enough that I can update my blog and stay in contact with people. We shall see! I will be returning to Hong Kong on September 3, and start classes on September 7.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Better
Phew. I got the correct adaptor, so my computer works. Haven't yet been able to talk to anyone, but it's still morning in the US. I also got an international phone but cannot for the life of me figure out how to dial to the US. It's ridiculous how difficult it is to communicate internationally!
Here are the pictures I took at Victoria's Peak today. This city is AMAZING. I am dying to see the skyline at night.
Things I've learned so far:
1) 7/11 in Hong Kong is like God's gift to everyone. You can buy literally everything in 7/11 - SIM cards for your phone, booze, top ups for your Octopus card, Haagen Daas, Chinese style hot dogs - you name it.
2) Dim sum, my favorite Chinese food, means "to touch your heart," because it's so delicious
3) 30% of Hong Kong residents live in government subsidized housing
4) Chinese soap operas are very shrill and hilarious
That's all I can remember for now. I posted pictures from Victoria Peak, which you can see here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018073&id=1325940161&saved#/album.php?aid=2018073&id=1325940161&ref=mf
Tomorrow I am touring City University with my Chinese student ambassadors, Nicole and Blueky (apparently Blueky wanted his American name to mean "Blue Sky," but our language doesn't combine words the way Chinese does. So now he's stuck with the name Blueky, which sounds like a species of whale).
Here are the pictures I took at Victoria's Peak today. This city is AMAZING. I am dying to see the skyline at night.
Things I've learned so far:
1) 7/11 in Hong Kong is like God's gift to everyone. You can buy literally everything in 7/11 - SIM cards for your phone, booze, top ups for your Octopus card, Haagen Daas, Chinese style hot dogs - you name it.
2) Dim sum, my favorite Chinese food, means "to touch your heart," because it's so delicious
3) 30% of Hong Kong residents live in government subsidized housing
4) Chinese soap operas are very shrill and hilarious
That's all I can remember for now. I posted pictures from Victoria Peak, which you can see here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018073&id=1325940161&saved#/album.php?aid=2018073&id=1325940161&ref=mf
Tomorrow I am touring City University with my Chinese student ambassadors, Nicole and Blueky (apparently Blueky wanted his American name to mean "Blue Sky," but our language doesn't combine words the way Chinese does. So now he's stuck with the name Blueky, which sounds like a species of whale).
Super frustrated
I am so mad about the stupid converter. The adaptor/converter I brought only has two plugs, and every plug I own needs three. NO ONE here sells adaptors with three plugs. How am I supposed to use my laptop? My roommate has a mac, so I'm using her computer, but its sort of a necessity for me to have my own computer. I havent talked to anyone in like three days :(
Hong Kong is wicked hot. Apparently Hong Kong in Chinese means "fragrant harbor." It is. We went up to Victoria Peak today to see the skyline - it was amazing, and I want to go back up at night. We were taking a group picture and a bunch of Chinese people started taking pictures of us because we were a bunch of Americans together. How exciting. We went for a dim sum lunch, which is like my favorite Chinese food, and then ran errands around Kowloon Tong. I bought an international cell phone, and my new number is (852) 914-44270. I think. Let's see if it works.
I have some pretty cool/funny pictures, which I will post later (when I get actually get my own computer to work). Not really sure what I'm going to do about this. How am I the only person with this problem?
Hong Kong is wicked hot. Apparently Hong Kong in Chinese means "fragrant harbor." It is. We went up to Victoria Peak today to see the skyline - it was amazing, and I want to go back up at night. We were taking a group picture and a bunch of Chinese people started taking pictures of us because we were a bunch of Americans together. How exciting. We went for a dim sum lunch, which is like my favorite Chinese food, and then ran errands around Kowloon Tong. I bought an international cell phone, and my new number is (852) 914-44270. I think. Let's see if it works.
I have some pretty cool/funny pictures, which I will post later (when I get actually get my own computer to work). Not really sure what I'm going to do about this. How am I the only person with this problem?
Monday, August 17, 2009
In Hong Kong
Hi everyone,
After 24 hours of traveling and a 16 hour flight, I am in Hong Kong! I am frustrated with the internet - I cannot plug my computer into the adaptors I have, so I have to buy new converters tomorrow. I also cannot seem to get in touch with anyone or check my email other than my Gmail account (for some reason Google is the only site that works?) If you have sent me emails I have not received them - I have no clue if and when the internet will let me get to hotmail, so if you want, forward your emails to naloring@gmail.com
The flight wasn't as bad as it sounds - the meals were pretty good, it was open bar, and there were hundreds of movies. The flight attendants also handed out complimentary socks (?) We had to go through thermal body imaging to get into the country but luckily none of us had swine flu. The city itself is a little overwhelming - we were walking arround at midnight on a Monday night and the streets were so bright with neon it was like daytime. Flying into the city was gorgeous - the sky and clouds and water were all this inky blue, and there were pinpricks of light from the skyscrapers and boats, and it reminded me a little bit of the Peter Pan ride at Disney World. Except with swine flu.
More to come. Hoping that tomorrow will bring a plug and better internet for my computer, and an international phone so I can call my family and boyfriend! I miss you already :(
After 24 hours of traveling and a 16 hour flight, I am in Hong Kong! I am frustrated with the internet - I cannot plug my computer into the adaptors I have, so I have to buy new converters tomorrow. I also cannot seem to get in touch with anyone or check my email other than my Gmail account (for some reason Google is the only site that works?) If you have sent me emails I have not received them - I have no clue if and when the internet will let me get to hotmail, so if you want, forward your emails to naloring@gmail.com
The flight wasn't as bad as it sounds - the meals were pretty good, it was open bar, and there were hundreds of movies. The flight attendants also handed out complimentary socks (?) We had to go through thermal body imaging to get into the country but luckily none of us had swine flu. The city itself is a little overwhelming - we were walking arround at midnight on a Monday night and the streets were so bright with neon it was like daytime. Flying into the city was gorgeous - the sky and clouds and water were all this inky blue, and there were pinpricks of light from the skyscrapers and boats, and it reminded me a little bit of the Peter Pan ride at Disney World. Except with swine flu.
More to come. Hoping that tomorrow will bring a plug and better internet for my computer, and an international phone so I can call my family and boyfriend! I miss you already :(
Friday, August 14, 2009
Down to the Wire
I leave in two days! The next 48 hours will have me busy trying to pack last minute and squeezing in time with my family and Andy. Hopefully I will be able to navigate JFK on Sunday...I'm more worried about that then anything else on the trip!
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