January 2009 Archives

I'm back from Taiwan! The trip was fantastic... Definitely draining, but worth every penny! A lot of people ask me why I love Taiwan so much... Honestly, it's so hard to answer in just a sentence or two. There's just something about Taiwanese culture so unique that I can't seem to find anywhere else. But... What's 'Taiwanese'? Now, I'm not one to talk politics, but this time around I've noticed some things that are distinctively what I call 'Taiwanese'. In my opinion only... So feel free to disagree.

1. The food
Undoubtedly, many people come to Taiwan for the food. But what's so special about Taiwanese dishes that you can't find elsewhere? Take a look yourself! 

Mala noodles and a bubble tea... $3CDN
This is also a restaurant... Looks more like a playground! Good food is universal. A set lunch in Kaohsiung.
2. The hospitality

Taiwanese people love foreigners. At least from my experience, southern Taiwanese folks seem to be genuinely interested in the non-locals... There wasn't a day when I wasn't asked about my nationality. Everyone thought I was Japanese, which I found pretty ridiculous though... 

"Which country are you from?"
"Canada--I'm an overseas Chinese"
"Oh... Overseas Chinese from Japan?"

Also, my friends are the best. I had so much fun with them this past week... From helping Tooz with her costume for the local bazaar to stuffing our faces to ransacking Ikea... You guys are irreplaceable!

With Tooz.

I've been trying to add more colour to my wardrobe, and this was the perfect opportunity. I bought so much freakin' clothing. Everything I got was, let's say... really well-priced. I had bought a pair of shorts for $3CDN, and two sweaters for $12CDN combined. I stuck dangerously close to my budget though... I left Taiwan with roughly $2CDN.

My purchases...
...and more

As some of you may or may not know, I'll be going to Taiwan for a week (YAYYY!). My aunt helped me book my ticket, and I was told that my flight was going to be 8am in the morning. So, I arranged my schedule according to that... It was not until 1 in the morning last night that I realized my flight was actually at 8 in the evening.

I checked the Dragonair website, and apparently there was a flight at 8 in the morning. So, I decided to wake up early and give it a try anyway. I woke up at 4am (all groggy 'cause I only got 2 hours) and went to the airport... Only to find out that my ticket can't be moved. ARGH WHY AM I SUCH A GENIUS ~!@#$%^&. What a waste of time and energy =(

That's probably the single, stupid-est thing that I've done so far in this trip... Another one would have to be during orientation. When the exchange committee was introducing the history of HKU, a photo of a young man appeared on the PowerPoint presentation. "Can anyone guess who this young man is? He is quite famous".

Being the genius I am, I said aloud, "Tony Leung".... The guy clicked on the PPT and an aged version of the man appeared on the screen.

On Tuesday, I went to my first high table dinner. For those of you who don't know, they are basically fancy dinners that are required for everyone living at residential halls. It was held at Langham Place in Mongkok, and it was pretty elaborate!

Jacky's mum, Rebecca, took me out for dinner the other day... Sushi in Hong Kong is so good! My first time trying salmon belly.
Afterwards, she took me to Victoria Park to check out the New Year Fair! It was so much fun - there was a lot to see and buy in celebration of the Year of the Ox :)
Yesterday, we had our Chinese New Year dinner on a boat cruise :) It was a lot of fun, the food was alright for the price we paid (Only 100HKD!). We got to see all of Hong Kong...

I'm gonna try to keep the text minimal due to laziness and just a lack of time... Blogging takes so much effort! Anyway, so much has been going on... I'm definitely just skimming the surface with this entry, but oh well, what can I do.

I'm having a great time so far - Met a lot of new friends! :) I've been going out with either friends or family every day and it's almost overwhelming! I'm not really used to this out-and-about lifestyle yet... But I'm getting there!

At Honeymoon Desserts (left to right: Michael, Crystal, Justin, Jen, James, Luis, Amanda, Vicky, Justin)
Over the weekend, a group of us exchange students went on a 2-day city tour organized by the university. Overall, it was a lot of fun! It was pretty draining... But definitely worth my money! On the first day, we visited the flower market...

It's getting harder and harder to categorize my posts... But yeah, I AM FINALLY IN HONG KONG!!! I can't believe I'm gonna be studying at the University of Hong Kong for five freakin' months! @_@

Jacky came to pick me up from the airport :) He helped me settle in for a bit and we went out right away. My roomie's name is Janet - she's a really sweet girl from Tufts. :) Our room is small and isn't exactly royalty D:

I was super exhausted upon arrival, but since Jacky and I only had two days together... I had to suck it up ._. We also exchanged Christmas gifts that day... Funny, we both knit each other scarves! :) His mum taught him...