This truly has been the greatest 2 weeks I have ever experienced in my lifetime. Let me paint a picture of just this past weekend:
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| Chillin in the Bay- Deepwater Bay |
Friday
Cruising down the oceanside highway, top down in an Aston Martin, discussing Chinese politics with the CEO of the company. He tells me of his aspirations for the company to become the first international finance company of its niche market. First stop, China- shouldn't be an issue since he has extreme connections. He educates me on how he has been able to maintain a 1/3 market share of a hugely infiltrated financial loan market. Later on, after a nice meal of fresh pigeon, gooey duck, clam liver, lobster and more, I bond with HK, Shanghai Global Fellows and my Boss over endless champagne and wine at a table at one of the hottest bars in HK. Yes, I am talking about real life.
Saturday
Though the night was long, we woke up the next morning to have yet another unreal, relaxing experience on a fiberglass junk boat we rented with 20 others- new friends and old, splashing in the waters and soaking up the sun in Deepwater Bay. Later, we all were able to get a good laugh at a HK version of "Beerfest." Needless to say, new experiences was something the weekend did not lack.
Sunday
Sunday morning, we all were able to have yet another new experience: Ocean Park- a theme park filled with 2 live pandas (personal favorite), red pandas (Firefoxes), an aquarium and a copy-cat Shamu show but instead of killer whales, there were pink dolphins! Though I am not the biggest theme-park fan, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the animals just be inherently cute. I WISH I COULD LIVE IN THE PANDA DEN. Literally the cutest animals on this planet. Anyways, other than my obsession with the animals, it was fun to be able to enjoy the rides with new friends and co-workers. Last week nearly flew by. I had so much work to do, but managed to complete one of my projects- 40 pages deep I was able to enter the weekend accomplished.
I made many discoveries this week. I found a beautiful trail to run on right behind the apartments we have been living in (complete with tai chi gardens and breathtaking views of Quarry Bay). I have tried running along the Harbor with Jillian, and it reminds me of San Diego a bit, besides the choking humidity. I discovered one of my good friends from high school was in town for just one day before he would be off to teach English in China. We had a great lunch, catching up after not talking for about a year.
We all discovered the Peak- containing the most beautiful views of Hong Kong ever imagined. After enjoying the view, we indulged in some Haagen Daas. As we sat outside and discussed the certain comforts we missed about home, such as Trader Joes, a guy sitting next to us with a few other people turned and asked me, "Hey, do you go to USC. Is your sister Katie?" Out of the 1,000 or more tourists on the highest part of the Island, we were sitting next to a classmate of my sister's. He only recognized me because I look awfully like my twin... crazy right?
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| Shrimp Siu Mai! Yum:) |
Wednesday night we experienced the famous Horse Races at Happy Valley Racecourse. Though we came too late and only were able to see a few races, it was worth it to come and people watch. A very entertaining scene, that's for sure!
I've discovered some new favorite foods and restaurants! BBQ pork buns are to die for, and my two all time favorite restaurants are 2 dim sum places- Din Tai Fung (there's a branch in LA!!) and Crystal Jade. Tasted the most amazing dumplings, pork, chicken and black sesame buns from these two!
Wednesday
This past Wednesday we had all you can eat Korean BBQ with Margaux's co-worker Meiling- the amount of food we all ate was unthinkable and I still to this day (Friday) have a bit of a stomach ache... But you have to get the most for your money, and we only had 1.5 hours to eat there. This challenge was one I have been thoroughly trained for by family dinners at home, sitting next to my garbage disposal father. Food races are truly my forte.
Thursday
We had some great food with the USC Alumni office staff who we found out were the one's instrumental in setting up everything here for us in HK. I am so grateful for everything they have done, yet they continue to impress us- an amazing meal at a fancy chinese restaurant. I really want to repay them somehow for making this one of the greatest summers of my life, but nothing I could do would be enough I feel. I really treasure the opportunities and connections USC has been able to offer me thus far.
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| BBQ Pork Bun, Mango Mochi |
Thursday night was a bittersweet ending to the Wizadry world of Hogwarts and Harry Potter. After being extremely disappointed by the last movie, I was one-hundred percent satisfied by the final movie. The 3-D was the icing on the cake. Though no one dressed up for the premier here, our group still had the fanatical energy to keep us pumped throughout the movie!
Friday, I was yet again sent to the Shau Kei Wan branch, which was fun for a change here. Elaine, Jeffrey, Charlie and I bonded over a typical pizza hut dish- lasagna mashed potatoes. The HK people really know what the best combos are. As a child I learned, even though ordering french fries and pasta together is not "normal", potatoes and pasta is quite the delicious combo. I'm glad at least some people in the world understand me.... Later that night we met up with the SC kids who had recognized me from my twin.
Saturday
Saturday we had the chance to enjoy a proper British High Tea at the Sky Lounge in the Sheraton. The mini desserts and pastries were quite scrumptious and I thoroughly enjoyed the English Breakfast tea, of which I haven't had the whole time in HK and it gave me a little taste of home. Later on we perfected our bargaining skills at the Temple Street night market for the last time in order to get loads of souvenirs for all those back home. To reward our hard work, we decided to go on an adventure to find this secret Indian restaurant called "The Dehli Club" and after trekking through the crowds of Indian men trying to usher us into their "delicious restaurant" we found ourselves reeking in Indian Spices after a wonderful, cheap Indian meal.
Sunday
Sunday Jillian and explored the trails of Quarry Bay and thoroughly enjoyed people watching the huge crowd this trail draws on Sunday mornings- literally everyone and their dog was either trekking up the steep hills and stairs or practicing their morning tai chi. We ended up running into a quaint dim sum place - "Dimsum Master" right down the street from our apartments and decided to drag everyone along to try it! For only $10USD we had immense amounts of yummy dim sum! Later on, we explored the vast rows of freshwater pearls, samuri swords, jade and other jewelry in the famous Jade Market in Jordan. I can safely say I rounded up my souvenir shopping there with the best deals, if not only because, and I quote one of the vendors, "my best friend, you get good price because I like your barbie hair." Afterwards, we ventured on the ferry to Cheung Chau Island to have a peaceful seafood dinner by the water, on an island that has no cars and very little noise. It seemed like a very low key night compared to all the rest, but I know looking back I am just going to think- my life was ridiculous; the fact that it is so casual to hop on a ferry for half an hour for only like 3USD and have dinner on a tropical island in paradise like it is NBD is something I will definitely miss.
As the last week approaches, I am in extreme denial that I will leave this awesome city- a city where people are just so happy all the time and fun loving. The other day as I stood impatiently waiting for the rest of the group at the local bakery, a beaming young girl came up to me, with a group of other students and asked if I could give her a hug. I'm sorry, but if that happened in the US, it would just be downright weird or creepy. But as I have said, everything is in such a different context here. I am sincerely glad I have been able to get at least a slightly more broadened view of the world, whether it be with work or social norms, or even of the beauty of the lives of people in general, this program has given me the most incredible summer of my life. There are no goodbyes for me. I will be back. Not over yet...
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| High Tea |
Saturday we had the chance to enjoy a proper British High Tea at the Sky Lounge in the Sheraton. The mini desserts and pastries were quite scrumptious and I thoroughly enjoyed the English Breakfast tea, of which I haven't had the whole time in HK and it gave me a little taste of home. Later on we perfected our bargaining skills at the Temple Street night market for the last time in order to get loads of souvenirs for all those back home. To reward our hard work, we decided to go on an adventure to find this secret Indian restaurant called "The Dehli Club" and after trekking through the crowds of Indian men trying to usher us into their "delicious restaurant" we found ourselves reeking in Indian Spices after a wonderful, cheap Indian meal.
Sunday
Sunday Jillian and explored the trails of Quarry Bay and thoroughly enjoyed people watching the huge crowd this trail draws on Sunday mornings- literally everyone and their dog was either trekking up the steep hills and stairs or practicing their morning tai chi. We ended up running into a quaint dim sum place - "Dimsum Master" right down the street from our apartments and decided to drag everyone along to try it! For only $10USD we had immense amounts of yummy dim sum! Later on, we explored the vast rows of freshwater pearls, samuri swords, jade and other jewelry in the famous Jade Market in Jordan. I can safely say I rounded up my souvenir shopping there with the best deals, if not only because, and I quote one of the vendors, "my best friend, you get good price because I like your barbie hair." Afterwards, we ventured on the ferry to Cheung Chau Island to have a peaceful seafood dinner by the water, on an island that has no cars and very little noise. It seemed like a very low key night compared to all the rest, but I know looking back I am just going to think- my life was ridiculous; the fact that it is so casual to hop on a ferry for half an hour for only like 3USD and have dinner on a tropical island in paradise like it is NBD is something I will definitely miss.
As the last week approaches, I am in extreme denial that I will leave this awesome city- a city where people are just so happy all the time and fun loving. The other day as I stood impatiently waiting for the rest of the group at the local bakery, a beaming young girl came up to me, with a group of other students and asked if I could give her a hug. I'm sorry, but if that happened in the US, it would just be downright weird or creepy. But as I have said, everything is in such a different context here. I am sincerely glad I have been able to get at least a slightly more broadened view of the world, whether it be with work or social norms, or even of the beauty of the lives of people in general, this program has given me the most incredible summer of my life. There are no goodbyes for me. I will be back. Not over yet...
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