So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen goodbye

Music: Wait for You- Elliott Yamin
Mood: Reflecting

My honeymoon with this amazing city dubbed the city where the east meets the west ends tomorrow. The last few months of my life began with a long flight to Hong Kong on August 23rd and will come to a close when I board my flight to San Francisco at 12:50pm. I have had the time of my life here in Hong Kong and do not regret my decision and financial investment to study abroad. Never again will I have the luxury of packing three suitcases (though I’m returning with 4 suitcases, hehe) and moving to a foreign country for four and a half months.

While abroad, I’ve become a seasoned travel and kindled a passion for traveling and for experiencing new cultures—in fact, I had to add pages to my passport because I traveled so much. I’ve been blessed with the luxury to travel all across Asia and Southeast Asia. In the seven countries (The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, Taiwan, and China) I visited, I sampled the various cuisines unique to the region and saw sites that some people twice my age haven’t seen. Traveling has humbled me and reaffirmed my life passion to help others less fortunate that me. In the Southeast Asian countries, specifically in The Philippines and Cambodia, seeing extreme poverty made me realize how lucky I am to be born into a well-off family in the US. In Manila, everywhere we went, children as young at 8 who should have been asleep in a warm bed were following us around downtown tapping on us on the shoulder, begging for money. As we sampled the various foods from street vendors, we could feel their small hands poke at our arms and pockets. In Cambodia, learning that some of the local fishermen who live on the lake make only $250 US a year was saddening, especially because our six day trip to the country cost so much more than that.

In Hong Kong, I’ve accomplished what I set out to do during this exchange: see the city, experience the culture (my culture), improve my Cantonese skills, visit my grandparents, make lots of new friends, and eat lots of Chinese food. One thing I do regret, however, is not staying in shape. I’ve let myself go and I can’t forgive myself for that. I tried going to the gym almost everyday during the first month here, but after I started traveling so much, I never fell into a routine and thus failed to go to the gym or jogging. I have a lot of work cut out for me when I return to the US, and it won’t be fun, but I supposed it will be worth it. This semester has been a whirlwind of an adventure, and I’m sad to see it come to an end. Returning back to Austin and reuniting with friends will be joyous, but it means going back to work. I got pretty good grades here in Hong Kong and managed to get a 4.0 here in Hong Kong (for the BHP/Plan II courses who’s grades transfer). In Austin, on top of studying hard, I’ll have to find a summer internship (the last two years, I’ve secured an internship in the fall semester, so this semester will be harder). I’m also going to be involved in BC, working as BHP recruiter and a research assistant, and getting back into shape. I have my work cut out for me, but I’m ready for it. Bring it on.


I’ve fallen in love with this city and know that this good-bye is not permanent. As The Terminator would say, “I’ll be back.”

Last Week of School + Parents Coming!

Music: Radioio Classical Favorites on iTunes Radio
Mood: Excited!

I'm excited, even though I have 4 finals left and am done on next Thursday because my parents are on their way to Hong Kong right now! =) According to flightview.com, they're 6hours and 10 minutes away from landing! I'm super excited.

That's where their plane is right now!

At first, at the beginning of the semester, I wasn't excited that they were going to come because I wanted to travel with other people after my finals were done, but now I'm really anticipating their arrival. It'll be so good to see my parents. We plan on traveling to the Yunan Province in Western China and also go to a wildlife preserve around Guilin. Tonight, I'm going to grab dinner with my grandparents and then go to the Central MTR station to meet my parents when they ride the Airport Express into the city. I plan on spending the next two nights with my parents at my grandparent's place and then returning back on Sunday night for exams this coming week. I have Audit on Monday, Finance on Wednesday, and Operations Management and China in Film on Thursday. I'm done after that!!!

Today, I picked up the Exchange T-shirt and Yearbook.. the shirt had all the names of everyone on the back and the yearbook had pictures of everyone's trips it. It was cool to see what everyone else has done. I can't believe I'm almost about to go back. I'm ready to see my friends and have the comforts of the US, but I really love Hong Kong. I'm really going to miss it. Live will totally be different when I go back. I'm not ready for the whole Business School rat race when I go back (though I never really was caught up in the rat race to begin with!)

Speaking of business, I'm currently recruiting with the big three strategic consulting firms. I really hope I can land a summer internship with one of them. It seems like most (if not all) of the internships will be in the Dallas office. I'm okay with this but I really want to eventually get out of Texas. I don't really like Dallas all that much. But I guess the first task has to be to land the internship before I can be picky about which office I want. I'm currently communicating with recruiters at the three major firms, which is exciting, but time consuming because I still need to study for finals!

Seriously, studying for finals is a HUGE distraction and results in low productivity. The Ellen Show, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, and now Gossip Girl (yes, Gossip Girl. I watched the Pilot yesterday and was quite entertained. haha). That on top of planning with my parents about our travels after finals and saying good-bye to other people who are done with finals as resulted in me barely getting any work done. Well, next week will be crunch time. I really want to get all As in the classes where my grades transfer, and there should be NO excuse why I don't pull it off. The classes are not difficult at all. So here's to studying! =)

This is supposed to be my last post of the year (but trust me, loyal readers, it won't be!). There's so much that will be going on between now and when I move into my dorm back in Austin. And since pictures are always fun, I'll end with some from December.

X-Mas Decorations in the Mall

Hot Pot at the University Restaurant!

The Red Sundial in front of the school

Oh., and PS. Finals is also a time to gain weight. Haha. I've been eating so much! In fact, I finished a 16oz box of Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal in two days. OMG! No Joke. It was horrible when I realized what I did. When I get back, it's time to get back in shape. I'm going to start training for the Capital 10k run on March 28, 2009!

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (aka. DAB)

Music: Whatever You Like- TI
Mood: Tired, about to go to bed

Shyam: This post is for you.

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (aka. DAB)
DAB Headquarters:
15/F., SUP Tower, 83 King's Road, North Point
http://www.dab.org.hk/en/index.jsp


Sorry for the randomness of this video. I was walking through the city , running on 5 hrs of sleep, so I totally forgot what DAB stood for.

So my friend Shyam is obsessed with the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB). I promised I would visit the offices while I was here in Hong Kong. After going to the US embassy to get extra pages in my passport in Central, I took the subway to Fortress Hill and went up to the 15th floor of the DAB to find out more information about the DAB and to get a membership form for Shyam. I had to tell a while lie and say that I was a student researching about the political party for them to let me take a picture of their logo. Haha.

Ok, so today, I went to Shenzhen again to get my 2nd fitting for my 2nd suit, and I also picked up my peacoat and 6 more tailored, monogrammed shirts. (the monogram is on the tail of the shirt, so it's not visible.) Then I was going to go to the alumni dinner but decided against it because I was too tired. Now I'm about to go to bed. I need to start studying for finals.. yikes.. And my parents are coming this FRIDAY!!!! Soo excited! =)

This is the best drink in the world (only 2nd to Diet Dr. Pepper) Can someone check to see if they sell Schweppes Golden Apple Zero in the States?

They got mad when i took this picture outside of the US Consulate.

Inside the offices of the DAB!

15th floor.. DAB

A huge brochure and membership form! Hehe!

I Have the BEST friends in the world

Music: Light's On- David Cook

Music: Crazy Tired, but Estatic

Yesterday was a GREAT day. I woke up around 9am, caught a great picture from my room of the sun rising between the clouds overlooking the sea, and I knew it was going to be a great day! I went to my boring 10:30am Chinese Literature course, then sat through Operations Management (where the professor who reads right off the ppt for all his lectures claimed that he doesn't like to do "powerpoint karaoke".. haha, yes, that's the word he used...), gave a presentation in my chinese film course about Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet, and then I went back to my dorm room and was pleasantly surprised to receive a great birthday care package from my best friends back home.

In this care package, they made a DVD with a lot of my close friends wishing me happy birthday and just being themselves. They also included a copy of the Holiday 2008 edition of Details magazine, an I Voted Sticker (because I never got one for the election), a Mrs. Field's cookie, letters from my friends, a Mixed CD of all the latest hits in the States, this season of How I Met Your Mother, a stack of my BHP business cards, and lots and lots of LOVE. 

This video Shyam and Ishanee made for me really meant a lot to me. They called a bunch of my friends over and did like a video documentary mixed with music and a slideshow of pictures from this past summer and the past 2 years at UT. I keep watching it (this is like the 5th or 6th time) and the jokes and the love never get old. I can't believe I have such amazing friends to come back to in Austin. So, thank you so much! It really means a lot to me. Like seriously, I still have another month to go (2 wks of finals = 5 exams and then 3 wks of touring china with my parents) before I go back to Austin. I know my time here is slowing disappearing and I really don't want it to. I'm ready to be back but at the same time, I'm really going to miss Hong Kong. I know I keep saying this, but I don't know how else to express what I'm feeling. I know that when I do leave HKG, it's not good-bye. I'll be back in Hong Kong later on; I just know it.

Ok, that is all. Sorry for the randomness of this post. I got 5 hrs of sleep last night (b/c i had to much caffeine at dinner last night so stayed up till 3am, then woke up at 8am, had 2 cups of coffee for my 9am class, and then that class let out early so I'm just bored and watching the office, etc (when i should be studying). I'm going into the city later today to add pages to my passport (i only have 3 blank pages left!).

so quick summary of this post:

[1] I'm too caffeinated to think or be coherent

[2] I love my friends and can't wait to see them in January!

Video Blog!

Music: Semi-Charmed Life- Third Eye Blind
Mood: Apathetic about Finals

Enjoy! (17:21)

*oh boy, that is NOT a pleasant picture... note to self. smile for about 15 seconds before starting to talk in your next video blog.

HKG Love,
Eric

Taiwan!

Music: Love Story- Taylor Swift
Mood: Shopping, Eating, Exploring

This is my second post from outside of Hong Kong! I'm live from Taipei, Taiwan. Being here since Thursday night, I've really enjoyed my time here in Taipei. It's such a cool city, with so much to do. It's bigger (and more spread out than Hong Kong). The MRT (Metropolitan Rapid Transit) compared to Hong Kong's (MTR, Mass Transit Railway) is not as clean as Hong Kong and reminds me of the Korean's subway. The same person had to have designed both systems. They also have the equivalent of a Hong Kong octopus card (called the Easy pass), but you can only use it on the MRT or the bus. In Hong Kong, we can use the Octopus card on practically anything (like at 7-11 or at McDonalds or the grocery store)-- it's sort of a like Bevo Bucks.

So on Thursday, our flight landed around 10, and we got to our hostel around 11 and finally settled in around 12 or 1. We woke up Friday morning, went to the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, saw a changing of the guards and went on a random tour of the place. After that, we went to Taipei 101 to explore and eat at the food courts. Then, the girls I traveled with wanted to go to another, more affordable mall, so we went to the Pacific Core, Living Room. I'm not much of a mall person when I travel, but this was like a 11 storey mall and the best thing was the kids section on the 5th floor. There were these animals that you could literally ride around the mall. It was AMAZING!. Then after that mall, we went to Longshan temple (which was built in like the 18th century.) It was cool to see the people all chanting and worshipping. It was by far the busiest/most packed temple I've visited in all of Asia. After the temple, we went to Ximending shopping area where most youth culture hang out. It was a really cool array of shops and street food vendors! After that, we went to Snake Alley Night Market (Huaxi Market). There wasn't much to that market except the snakes in the resturants that people eat for soup. After that, we met up with a friend of a friend we know at HKUST and went out to experience Taiwan night life.

On Saturday, we got up and had breakfast at this authentic taiwan dumpling shop that the hostel owner recommended to us. I had a rice roll (there was shredded pork and some other thing in it, and I also had Shuijian Bao! We caught a bus to Yingmanshan National Park, were three of us decided to hike up Cicsing Moutain (elevation, 1120M). The other two in our group decided that the hike was not for them so they would meet us at the other side while chilling at the hot springs. It took us about 3 hours to climb the moutain-- we calculated that the angle was 21.8 degrees (as according to the signage we came across, we had 200M to go up, and 500M of walking left before we hit the top: so arctan of 2/5 is 21.8). Haha ok. Random.

Well, I have to go pack and enjoy the rest of my day. We leave Taipei around 7pm so I'll update on what else we did on Saturday, Sunday, and then today!

What do you Spy?

Music: I Spy- Guster
Mood: Relaxed

I Spy Hong Kong!

They always say you don't appreciate what you have or what you're doing until you don't have it or it's gone. That's probably going to be the mantra when I go back. I'll eventually go back to the States (Jan 1st) to be exact. But right now, I'm ready to be back. I know I said it in the last post, but really, Thanksgiving really means a lot to me. I didn't know that my brother was flying down from Seattle for Thanksgiving at home, and I'm saddened that I won't be there either.

Also, this week, my friend, Mark Wendorf, who brought me a wonderful care package of American goods, was here. I hung out a lot with him earlier this week (because I'm leaving for Taiwan in about 3 hours). He's a really good friend, and hanging out with him made me miss my best friends back home even more! I mean, I do a pretty good job of keeping in touch with my friends back home (through facebook, skype, and gchat). In fact, I talk with my best friends maybe like once a day. It's crazy. I just miss spending quality time with them, but I know when the spring semester comes around, I'll be so busy. Now, I'm pretty relaxed. Honestly, I'm not paying attention in class. I'm working hard for my grades, but the classes are no use. I mean, everything I need to know is in the textbook or the powerpoint. I think that's another reason why I'm ready to be back. I need to get over my apathy hump of disliking my classes and being ready to be back. I'm so relaxed right now and enjoying myself, so there's nothing to complain about! I love my life! =)

But don't get me wrong, I am cherishing my time here! This city is amazing and there's so much to do! I finally went to Happy Valley race tracks yesterday. Granted, I told myself that I wouldn't bet and then I saw other people randomly placing bets and winning so I did the same and lost 93 HKD (which is about 11.50 USD). That stinks, but I guess I learned my lesson. I know I'll be back on Wednesdays, because it's a really fun environment. Almost like a baseball game or something like that!

OK. Well, I'm leaving for the airport for Taiwan at 6pm, which is in 2 hours, so I still need to pack and get my stuff together. I'm really excited about Taiwan. The food is delicious, and I'm stoked about the hiking and the hot springs too!