5 Weeks Left in HK

Because most of my weekend was spent working on projects & reports, I figured I'd do a little reflection on the past 3 months. First off, I can't believe that I have 5 weeks left in Hong Kong! I don't know how to feel about that because I'm really going to miss it here & all of the fantastic people I've met, but I'm quite excited to get back to my family & friends as this is the longest I've gone without seeing many of them! I know these next 5 weeks are going to fly by so I want to make sure I take advantage of everything else HK has to offer :)

I've grown to love Hong Kong & I now understand why so many people rave about this city since there's so much to do & see :) Plus, the views here of the harbor don't get much better! Obviously there were some challenges that I had to overcome, such as the language barrier, the constant staring, and the food, but those things don't bother me at all anymore besides the fact that I probably won't want to eat rice for at least a year when I return to the states, haha! I don't think I could ever get used to the mass amount of people here though. I'm also happy that Lingnan is outside of the center of the city because then I'm able to experience some of the Cantonese culture. If I was going to school in Central, I'd probably never know anything about the local culture since everything there is Westernized. Being here has also really made me want to travel more. I've always loved travelling, but there's so many places that I never even thought of visiting that are closer to Hong Kong such as Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, India, and the Phillipines. I wish I had more time to visit all of those places, but seeing as there's so much to do here, it's okay :) 

My classes are going okay. I enjoy my Chinese, Film, and Organizational Behavior classes, but my Operations Management (basically advanced statistics) & Intermediate Macroeconomics are probably the worst classes I've ever taken :( This is probably because I despise Econ & Stats, but at least my grades here are pass/fail because I have a hard time concentrating here! They really stress group work here as I have 3 group presentations next week, blahhh :( At least we all work well together in all of my groups! Classes here definitely make me appreciate my classes at Butler as well!

Some of the things I've noticed here that are rather interesting: they put sugar in lemon water (it's actually not bad); when everyone gets off the MTR, they sprint to the escalator (probably so they don't have to deal with all the other people); a lot of people aren't afraid to burp in public; there's always something to shout about on Lingnan's campus whether it be to vote for someone for a position or to express how their organization is the best; noodles are the preferred meal for breakfast, although they do have eggs at the canteen (what the cafeteria is called); when you go to the movies, you pick your seats beforehand instead of just randomly sitting anywhere; and geez I know there's so many more, but I can't think right now! These aren't negative things whatsoever, just things that I'm not used to.

I also can't believe I havn't mentioned my roomie yet, shame on me, but her name is Corinna & she is in her last year at Lingnan studying English! I'm so lucky that I have her as a roommate as she's super nice & we both love music & movies :) She only stays in the hostel 2-3 nights a week because she has two jobs - one job is teaching art to children because she's REALLY good at drawing! I'll be sad to leave her in 5 weeks, but she better come visit me if she ever comes to the states, haha!! We'll have to take a roomie picture soon so everyone can see her :)

One more thing to mention: if you are reading this & are thinking of studying abroad in the future - DO IT!!! It's one of the most amazing experiences you will ever have & it will open your eyes to so many new things. I know some people don't have the best time abroad, but it's up to you to take advantage of everything a place has to offer. I'm SO glad I decided to come & I know I've said it millions of times before, but I'm very lucky to be here & to have family & friends that have supported me every step of the way, love you guys :)

Sorry if this post was more boring than the others, but next time I promise to have pretty pictures & sightseeing activites :) Until next time!!