My first Lingnan sporting event

Sports at a 2,000 student school is WAY different then sports at a 25,000 student school. I didn't realize how intense WVU sporting events were till I went to an away basketball game for Lingnan University. As we walked inside I wanted to scream in peoples face, "BLAHH! LET'S GOOOO LINGNAN. ARE YOU READY FOR THE GAME?! YEAHHH! GET PUMPED UP!" But to my surprise, the gym was smaller then my high school and hardly anyone came to watch. Plus (gasp!) no one grumbled over a referees call. lol I felt like I should have brought a cup of tea and newspaper to enjoy such a pleasant evening. haha jk

(Anyone know how WVU bball is going???)

Shot out to Susan B.

One of the first questions I get from girls after the typical conversations starters (Where are you from...yada yada) is "Do you have a boyfriend?" I laugh a bit, and think to myself, did they really just ask that, and then respond no. I mean come on, I love being young, not tied down, and feeling accomplished. But once I return the question I get a polar opposite response.

If shes 'in a relationship' (gotta love facebook lingo) her face lights up when she answers "YES!" But if shes not, they'll lower their head, escape eye contact, and speak a soft "no". You can sense the disappointment immediately. One girl even answered me with, "No because I'm not beautiful." !!!!!! GASP! I was in complete shock. I wish I could have mumbled out the words, "Honey, we need to talk." because this girl was indeed beautiful, inside and out. Why did she feel that she wasn't beautiful simply because she didn't have a boyfriend????

In conclusion, peer pressure to be in relationships is universal but I feel that in Asia cultures women find much more self worth in a significant other.

So this ones for you Susan B. Anthony. Props to you and women rights.

Mom & Dad...I'm safe

The security of Lingnan University blows me away.

Let me paint you a picture...

To enter my dorm I type in a 5 digit key code that is exclusive to Hall D. Then I swipe in with a security officer (who btw I wouldn't mess with) and then enter into the elevator that is "disinfected no less then 3 times a day". Finally, I key into my room.

Oh and to enter the bathroom I've got another key code.

Plus, no overnight guest...EVER.

GIRLS NIGHT OUT

Last night the girls on the bball team invited me to dinner at this AMAZING sushi restaurant. (Lets take a moment of silence in respect to how wonderful it was...)

It's a study abroad students dream to have locals take you around and let you be part of their everyday life. Snaps for my new teammates! Tonight we're going to cheer on the guys bball team in an away match. LET'S GOOO LINGNAN!

Basketball wha-what

After all the stress with classes on Tuesday, Ari (another exchange student from Canada) and I met up with the Lingnan University basketball team for practice. It was just what the doctor ordered because the practice literally ran the days frustrations out of me. Our "warm-up" was 10 laps and our practice lasted for over 3 hours!!! (Have I mentioned the Chinese work ethic yet? lol) But time flew by joking & hoopin' it up with my new teammates. I forgot just how much I love the game of basketball.

After practice it's tradition to have a team dinner at a local restaurant and believe me I was starving at that point. The night just kept getting better and better because instead of taking the bus home, we just walked. They really started opening up and asking me all sorts of questions about WVU, America, and my classes. Before we parted ways, we exchanged phone numbers and set a get-together for tomorrow. We're cheering on a teammate in a singing competition. haha I can't wait!

I went back to my room singing praises for the day.
It's times like these....

(ps-Check out the skyscrapers in the background of the outdoor bball court)

Reality sets in

Ugh. Day #2 of classes kicked my butt.

Tuesdays schedule is pretty brutal in that I have 3 classes each for a duration of 2 hours. My day starts at 9:30 and I return home at 6:30. My first two classes are upper division history courses on China & England. Honestly, I know nothing-nada-nilch about each of the countries past. So, as you can imagine, hearing 4 hours of new information was a bit overwhelming, especially with little food and sleep. Once class was let out I had a similar feeling of leaving the SAT- completely brain dead.

4+4 is...ugh...pshhh....dude I don't even know.

Lastly I had my Media & Creativity class. My teachers mannerisms were quite appalling. Just know I left frustrated and in dire need of anger management. In conclusion, nothing seemed to be in my favor today. The bookstore sold out on my required readings, sending out a simple mass e-mail seemed to take ages, and WHAAA I didn't get lunch or dinner due to time constraints. Basically what I'm trying to tell you is that today reality finally set in. I now am leaving the 'cloud nine honeymoon stage' and have that thing called "responsibility" on my plate. Feeling sorry for myself...I fixed a cup of tea and journaled out anger.

When you're here...you're family

Yesterday I had lunch with Carrie, Rocky, Tim, and Freddie, all local Lingnan students. Freddie was cracking the jokes left and right. For instance I wanted to be daring and try new foods, "You decide" I told them. Freddie then turns to Tim and says (in his Chinese accent), "Let's order dog. ruff! ruff!" haha (...ok I guess you just had to be there. I promise it was funny.)

We had a blast chatting about WVU and the courses we're currently taking. Tim not only paid for my lunch, he bought me a beautiful wall hanging. Everyone here is making me feel welcome and part of the Hong Kong family.

Day in the park

"Becky, you've really got to stop." Dan warned me about my excessive snail mail sending letter addiction. I didn't realize just how bad it was till I practically bought out the local post office of stamps. Note to self: chill out.
After I purchased stamps for the ready-to-be-sent cards I walked to a local park and started sticking away. (btw- Who remembers that Seinfield episode where he gets sick from licking stamps? haha) All of a sudden this pink Hello Kitty bike parks up beside me with two young girls on board. Their eyes lit up when they saw my stamp/sticker collection and immediately took hold of the air mail stickers and placed them by the stamps. I couldn't believe how much fun they were having so I broke out the Canon and snapped a couple shots.

BIG MISTAKE

These adorable little sticker-loving 5 year olds turned into 13 year olds at an 'Nsync concert. lol They were literally pushing each other because they wanted to take the next picture. I had several panic attacks in the camera phase because:

1. The camera didn't belong to me.

2. These girls could probably take me in a fight. lol

But at last Mom came on the scene (the choir sang Hallelujah) and delegated peace talks (in Cantonese of coarse) and the sticker loving girls returned. We concluded the time together by gathering the letters and placing them in the international mailbox.

Side note: The children here are SO adorable! I just hope they don't ask for my wallet because I'd probably break down and offer my jacket too.

Intro. to Mandarin Class

Sidenotes: My mandarin teacher, Zhang Laushi, began teaching in her native tongue immediatly after she stepped foot into the classroom. Her intensity made me freeze.

I was doomed from the beginning.

To learn an Asian language the teacher has to explain tones, which is a foreign concept for Westerners. (ma can mean like 4 different things depending on how you say it). To make the tongues easier my teacher put it to a music scale and diagramed how it sounded phonetically. She then waved her hands to show how it sounded. (Ex.-ma' her hands lowered then rose high). Seeing her conduct the class 'all together now' and demanding things like "higher pitch" gave me flashbacks of my God-aweful middle school choir days.

I wanted to get out...and get out fast.

In the words of Snoop Dawgg...I'm droppin' it like it's hot.

First day of class

Sidenotes: I just returned from my first college class, History of Islamic Societies, at Lingnan University. I was shocked to find out we have a total of 9 people in the class. Gasp! At WVU my study groups are larger than that. lol Our teacher assigned us one text book...but it won't arrive at the bookstore till late February. College text books are done a bit differently here. Most students just photocopy the library's copy and then pass it out to students for a fee.

I enjoyed meeting Calvin (most students here also have American names) and was thankful for him introducing himself and making me feel welcome.

Oh and just so you know...I was rockin' front row. :) Some things never change.

FOOD

I never dreamed I'd eat chicken feet, crab, steamed fish, red curry, sauteed vegetables, and fried rice all in one meal (...with chopsticks). But hey, I'm in Hong Kong! Last night I went out to dinner with other study abroad students at a local Thai restaurant. The food here is SO good!

The funny thing is when I used to get so annoyed when WVU study abroad students would complain about the food. Now that I'm in Hong Kong, I can see where they're coming from. I have yet to have a frozen/ready made dinner.

Just so you know...chicken feet....ugh....not my favorite. :)

Dan (from WVU), Rod (or "Rood" from Scotland), and Mr. Sri Lanka himself. Check out Dan's drink...an actual coconut.

Group picture. During dinner we enjoyed watching Deal or No Deal in Cantonese.

Elane, Sarah and Miki snapping a photo (btw- Sarah is my roommate this semester!)

According to my sister, my blogs got some work to do. lol Sorry about the boring updates.

In order to redeem myself, I've borrowed Dan's Canon.

I've attached pictures of campus.

EEK! Library is closing in 5 minutes.

Day #3

Our last day of orientation had a schedule as followed:
-Welcome from President
Students go CRAZY over meeting the president and take a lot of pride in the schools administration. Some students even call him, "The Honorable President" and they aren't joking.
-Student Services Intro.
-Break
-Hong Kong tourism board presentation
Tourism board pumped me up for "Live it. Love it." in Hong Kong. Sigh, Hong Kong is such a great city! Did you know that HK has record high amounts of city park area??? Also, they have this mobile phone program for tourists where you can call in for free and get any information needed in Hong Kong ranging from what the weather is like, what sales are happening in the malls, to a talking tour of the main attractions such as the Big Buddha. It's incredible!
-Lunch at "The King" with all internationals
-Library Tour
The Library is beautiful and I couldn't help but crack up over our tour guides bow tie. lol Some things never change.
-Rec Room Facilities Tour

Classes start Monday and I can't wait to meet everyone! This semester is going to be SIIICK! :)

Day #2

I couldn't believe it, Day 2 was even better!
At Lingnan they have a well run buddy/mentoring program where they tag team you with a local student to help the adjustment. The best part was my buddy is Tom aka "killer" who studied abroad at WVU last semester.
Tom, Javier (from Mexico), Xiesiming (from mainland China), Heidi (another local/buddy) and I toured major parts of Hong Kong from 9:30am-6:30pm. It was a long and very memoriable day.

But the best was yet to come...

Tom invited me to his dads birthday party later that night. You bet I accepted the invitation! We had the birthday bash at Pizza Hut (which btw is much fancier then in the USA). Tom looks exactly like his dad! I was so thankful for the opportunity to meet his family and be part of the Chinese family gathering.

Day #1

Day #1 of orientation was oh-so-exciting. It was great to finally meet the other study abroad students that I'd been stalking on facebook. Everyone seems to be so kind and I can tell that we'll be family by the end of the semester.
The Day 1 Schedule was as followed:
-Breakfast at the Canteen
-Intro./Welcome by VP Lee
-Break
Bank Account openings
-Campus Tour
-Lunch
-Computer Training
-ID Photo taking
-FREE TIME with internationals

Ok before I get to crackin' on updating everyone on my time here I must tell you the great news that I got a picture with (a picture of) the PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA! My Aunt
Rhonda will be so proud!

Back in blog action

Sorry I've been MIA on the blog. My schedule was packed with study abroad orientation, roaming Hong Kong, and hanging out with international students. I can't wait to post pictures. I'm having such a great time!

It's nice to finally have Internet. (Life without a computer 24-7 will take some getting used to) My mailbox has 186 unread e-mail messages. Ouch. Looks like I'll be at the Fong Sum Wood Library till closing.

More on the way....

Final days in Malaysia

After Singapore we dodged the monsoon weather and headed for the historical stuff and ended up in Malacca, Malaysia. My favorite part of the city was the hostel. One night we had dinner (and hours of conversations) with Eric from France, Beth from Canada, and Katja from Germany. Ahh I smile just writing about it!

But now we're on the last leg of our trip and decided to skip Georgetown and go to the beautiful beaches in Pankora Island. I'm kicking myself for only bringing one book. It's beautiful here and I can't get enough of the ocean waves & great food (check out the chocolate chip pancakes & banana juice below)

In 2 days I'll be back in Hong Kong. It's crazy how time goes by so quickly. I can't help by think about the upcoming semester & meeting the other exchange students. I wonder how my classes will be or where I'll get to visit on breaks or who my roommate will be. So many questions!!!

Singapore

Passport Stamps +1
Count it.

Below are notes I wrote in my journal about Singapore:
(Sigh of relief) It's nice to 'take it easy' in Singapore because we've been sightseeing hardcore. My swollen cankles and blistered feet will prove it to you.

It's funny to me how skyscrapers and hot weather has become the norm. I'll see 45+ story buildings and it won't even phase me.

Singapore has been great fun. I could see myself living here.

Highlights:
*Touring the city at night


*Going to church


*Going on a night safari

Kuala Lumpar

Our first two days in Malaysia were spent in the capital city, Kuala Lumpar (KL). What made the stop so meaningful was being able to stay with a local Malaysian family that Dan met through a couch surfing. I can't thank our host family enough. For starters they picked us up at the train station, took us to dinner with friends at their favorite restaurant, and fed us breakfast each morning that consisted of fresh fruit from their garden. Trust me, we felt like royalty.

The icing on the cake was that Natasha's grandfather just came back from India so about 10 of her local relatives came to "show respect to their elders" and joined in on the celebration.

Dan explained it well about couch surfing, "Sometimes you just luck out."
We for sure lucked out with being able to sit front row and interact with a local Malaysian family that ranged in age over 3 generations.

Agent Harris

Dan came locked-and-loaded for travel with a fancy book bag, guide book, and (my personal favorite) a keychain compus (I quit making fun once it saved us from getting lost many times)

Not only is Dan a great traveler/navigator he's also a great teacher. He reminds me of my Uncle Ralph in that you can ask him anything and he'll spout out the answer faster then the Google website.

And trust me, I've asked tons of questions ranging from "What does the flag represent?" to "How is the political relationship with America?" and DING DING DING I've got the answer.

So in conclusion I've been lucky enough to not only soak up the sights BUT learn all about the country.

Trust me, a classroom lecture can't touch the things I'm learning.

Intro. to Malaysia

Dan Harris and I met each other last year when we were both RAs on 'the pride of the hill' dorms at WVU. When we found out that we'd both be studying at Lingnan University for the second semester we decided to travel a bit before school started in late January.

The original game plan was to take a trip to Northern China and see the Great Wall and such but when we were warned about the cold weather, Dan suggested rerouting south to Malaysia.

I was sold on the "beautiful beaches" but to be honest I knew next to nothing about the country. All I could recall about it was Will Ferrell screaming, "PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA" in the movie Zoolander.

(btw Aunt Rhonda, I'm still looking for him)

But never-the-less I was excited for the trip.

Little did I know I was about to embark on an educational experience of a lifetime.

Greetings from an internet cafe in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I'm soaking up the markets filled with fresh fruit, religious diversity, and beautiful scenery. Dan and I also have been staying with Natasha through a couch surfing website.

Ahhh 4 minutes left to go on the computer. More to come next week!

I head to Malaysia and Singapore today which means +2 on the passport stamps. Count it. I won't be able to post pictures/updates till I return on the 15th so please be patient.

First day in Hong Kong

Yesterday Dan showed me the ins and outs of Hong Kong. I was so thankful for his insight about the city. The day started with a quick tour of the campus of Lingnan (pict. 1) and shopping mall nearby (pict. 2). The first thing I noticed about the mall was the Christmas/New Year tree in the entrance. Take a look at the lettering. Pretty cool, eh?!

Next on the list was to check out transportation in Hong Kong. I was was impressed with the numerous ways to get around. You've got the MTR, KFR, subways, buses, taxis (green and red), the light rail, double decker buses, yada yada just trust me, the list goes on and on. I should have no problem getting to anywhere I want to go in HK. Then we had lunch at Little Paris and paid about 25 dollars for lunch. Mom & Dad, take a deep breath, because $25 dollars in Hong Kong is about $3.50 here. (You divide the price by about 8) Food here is inexpensive but what gets you is the drinks. A soda (or pop for you Northerners) costs about 18 HK dollars and (dun dun dun) no free refills like in the US. Looks like I can finally break free of the Pepsi addiction and start guzzling down water to save money.

Later that night we toured mainland HK and walked through markets and super high class shopping malls filled with stores like Tiffanys and Burberry. Dan said, "A purse here is more then my net worth." lol Our night was finalized by the infamous light show on the Victoria Harbour. The entire day was breathtaking and I hope each of you gets to experience it someday.

All in all I'm starting to fall in love with the big city life. It's funny how quickly Hong Kong feels like my home.

Ok guys I really wasn't kidding about my kankles (calves and ankles). These things are monstrous and continued to swell after the 'night out on the town' yesterday. Check out the picture. lol

I'm resting these suckers before I head to Malaysia tomorrow. Wish me luck.

I'm here

Friends and family I have made is safely to Hong Kong. My flight(s) went smoothly and checking in was a breeze once I realized you swipe your passport on the reader at the top of the computer NOT where the receipt comes out. lol

Sad news is, no New Years countdown. Oh well, I still say I've had the coolest new year celebration yet. I mean really, how many people can say for new years they were on a flight to China?!

Currently I'm staying in one of Dan's friends apartments. "Don't get used to this" Dan warned me because this apartment is rather large. I'm just so thankful for a place to sleep and use the internet. Props to Chloe & Trevor for the hook-up.

Tomorrow is picture day. The campus is so beautiful even at night. I can't wait to explore a bit tomorrow.

Pictures on the way!

Right now I better head out and rest these HUGE kankles. lol

(I'm so thankful for being able to experience this. Let the fun begin!)