Hong Kong Highlights

I was apparently so stressed out about this that I signed up for two different insurance programs, one through my home university and one through my host university.  Happily, this did not go to waste as bright and early Monday morning I found myself at the clinic on campus. Checklist for visiting a doctor while abroad: ***If injury is severe enough please phone an ambulance for immediate medical care*** 1) Identify problem  ✓ A: Over the weekend I had somehow got an angry red rash on both legs, the likes of which I had never seen before.  A phone call home informed me it was not heat rash. 2) Find out when campus clinic opens  ✓ (Campus clinics tend to be cheaper than hospitals) A1: Ask friends as it is likely that one of them will have gone to the clinic at some point (depending on time of semester) .  Be warned that this will lead to questions regarding what is wrong and could possibly result in people trying to diagnose you with severe, albeit v...

Goodbye Hong Kong This last weekend I decided to get a change of pace and went to Macau with a group of friends.  It was a long day, leaving at 6:30am and returning at 11:00pm, but we had a lot of fun.  Below are some highlights from the trip. I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways. - Ed Sheeran Our first stop was at the Fisherman's Wharf.  I walked in and I fell in love; I would be willing to live in this city if it meant I could spend my days here.   I had not looked up the wharf at all, just trusting that my friends had picked a good place.  Imagining a farmers'/craft market, I walked into a Roman street sporting a miniature coliseum.  In fascinated disbelief I continued to walk around the area, turned a corner and found myself in a quaint European-style shopping area.  My group had arrived at 9:00 in the morning and the stores were closed resulting in there being no crowds impeding our enjoyment of the ar...

Well, that was not ideal... I found another exchange student who does not have class on Mondays and we decided that we should meet up and explore the city together on these days.  I looked at my list on TripAdvisor and suggested a place for our first adventure and thus Sakura and I met at the subway at 9:30 Monday morning and set off to visit the Ten Thousand Buddhas monastery . Step 1: Figure out which direction to go when you leave the subway station  The subway stations here tend to have 7 or 8 different exits so that, if you know where you are going, you can choose an exit that puts you on the right side of the station.  Having never been to this station before, we just took the first exit and once outside used my phone to try to navigate. Step 2: Navigating the outside world The station was basically two minutes away from the temple.  We still got lost. The yellow is where we wanted to go.  The red is where we ended up. Oops. As we approa...

"You'll come back changed" Whenever I talked to students who had already completed their study abroad programs the response was unvarying.  My response was much the same: raised eyebrows.  After all, I would hope that in the process of spending 6 months in a different country I would learn new things, adapting my world view as needed to encompass these new facts and ideas.  I would be more worried if I returned exactly the same as when I departed. What they didn't tell me but I figured out: "Everyone else is moving forward as well"   This last week I gained a life achievement: I became an aunt. I knew when I applied for this program that I would be away from my elder sister during this time.  At Christmas I will return to a 3 month old nephew, Cavanaugh.  It is strange to think that my parents became grandparents, that my sister and brother-in-law are now parents. My sister will have changed in an obvious way, but I wonder about the other peo...

"The summer weather here is amazing!" - Finnish girl in my class  Class eyed her in disbelief as the average day here is 90 °F with a humidity level  ranging between 70 - 90%.  But it got me thinking...       I concur

I am in Hong Kong.  My room now has blankets and pillows and my suitcase is unpacked.  My class schedule is finalized and I have figured out  how to do laundry.  Next up: Adventuring! One small issue -> WHERE DO I BEGIN?! In a city of 7.3 million people and in a region with much wilderness nearby there is so much to do! And thus this week I did the simple things.  I looked at my to do list and decided to save the more exciting things for later on, when I can appreciate them more.  But that being said, I've developed a rule when visiting other countries and cities: go to a museum as soon as possible.  I can spend hours in museums and I love the chance to read and learn about many different topics.  The familiarity of this routine relaxes me. Sunday, September 3 I spent last Sunday at the Hong Kong Museum of History .  The main exhibit in this museum takes you back 400,000,000 years ago and then walks you through to the modern ...

A Short Reminder to Myself Hello me, I thought I'd say hi since I know that the beginning of the semester is always a hard transition period for you, so don't be surprised if you have a few bad days. This semester you have the exciting opportunity to study abroad! This means that you will be making a lot of new friends and that there will be many new opportunities to try. It's all very exciting. However, a word of caution: don't overdo it. You have left home in order to see new horizons and experience things that you wouldn't have if you had remained in Iowa. But in your excitement do not forget the knowledge you already possess. For years now you have learned how to listen to your body and to respect its limits. As you hang out with new friends and explore a new part of the world, remember that your body requires rest and more sleep than others. Everyone's body functions differently and you have observed and adjusted until you found a routine that left yo...

"Welcome to Hong Kong, your new home for the next four months and a place beyond your wildest dreams."  I mean that quite literally as I was apparently imagining a completely different city, a fact that became clear within my first few days in Hong Kong.  Growing up in the US, when I think of cities I automatically picture New York City.  Hearing that Hong Kong had over 8 million people in a very small area I figured that it would look much like Manhattan - dense with lots of high-rises.  And looking at pictures of the two, I unconsciously decided that they must be very similar, at least in layout. New York Apparent Similarities: 1) Concrete masses 2) Skyscrapers 3) Lovely city night lights 4) Large populations and thus many things to do Hong Kong Differences upon arrival : 1) Hong Kong is tropical (which i knew) and thus is part jungle (which was completely unexpected). Note: New York = concrete mass + Central Park 2) Hong Kong is built ...