Breathaking View, Snacks, & Shopping

Day 2

Woke up today at 7:00AM. I think my body is really confused. I went to explore my hall a little and ended up walking into the commons area which reminded me of a break room at work. There are tables, a microwave, a sink, and a community refrigerator. Then I was stunned still for 10 seconds as my jaw dropped. There is a balcony. And the view is AMAZING! The balcony overlooks the ocean and there are mountains lacing the sky in the distance. It is absolutely breathtaking.

I’ve been told that in Asia, women go to great lengths to stay pale. The first thing I noticed about HK students were that they dress in jeans and carried an umbrella. Here I am wearing shorts and sunglasses going “hello sun”. I probably have crazy American tattooed on my forehead.

Unpacking, there are a lot of things I wish I brought. I need stick notes, a hamper, slippers, towels, some desk items but I’m sure those can easily be bought at a store. The thing I wished I hadn’t forgot were pictures of my family and friends. In the lobby of my dorm, there is a computer with internet. I got the opportunity to check my email and chat with a few friends and I started feeling some tears as I talked to my friends. I’m not feeling homesick just yet, I just feel peoplesick…not necessarily missing Texas or the USA but missing the people in my life. I miss my friends and family so much and I think it will continually be like that. As I walk around exploring, I keep thinking how great it would be if I had my buddies with me.

My room mate didn’t arrive until 3PM so I went exploring on my own. I found the food court after going through many lifts (aka elevators). Since HK is small, they build up instead of out therefore there are lifts everywhere and many levels of the University. I ate lunch by myself today and I hope this isn’t a daily occurrence! I had some bbq pork and milk tea and it came out to $21 HKD which is the equivalent of $2.72 USD! Not shabby at all. On my way back to my dorm, I met a guy from Finland. He informed me that $1 EU was $11 HKD! Wow…come on US get that dollar up there!

When my room mate came back she took me around town. It is typical in Hong Kong to take multiple transportation until you arrive at your destination. We took a minibus to the Choi Hung station which is where the MTR is located. The MTR connects you to all the places you need to go in Hong Kong. She took me to Kwun Tong to get money from the ATM. Then we rode back to Kowloon Bay to do a little shopping.

Cantonese people love to snack. All over the streets are little stands that sell delicious snacks. Finally, surrounded by people who love to eat and snack as much as I do! We stopped by King Bakery which is suppose to sell the "best egg tarts" in Hong Kong. Deelicious!

She informed that it's the norm to decorate the shopping malls by seasons to give people a sense that everything is always new and changing. They change it about 6 times a year and right now it's a jungle theme so there were trees, ropes, and animals everywhere!

Then we ate at a local restaurant inside the shopping mall. It all came out to $42 HKD ($5.45 USD) for a delicious meal. We had turnip cake, fried noodles, won ton soup, and milk tea. I can get use to this!