Macau

Saturday, June 22 we woke up early and took a bus to the ferry terminals. I thought we were riding just a small, normal ferry like in Texas, where we could get out and see the water. Not even close. This thing was massive and we needed boarding tickets and had seat assignments and seatbelts, just like an airplane. We were wondering why our program liaison was telling us we might need to take a pill if we get motion sickness, but we quickly found out why.

It was about an hour ferry ride to Macau, which is its own Special Administrative Region, or SAR, just like Hong Kong. This ferry went so fast and literally gave almost all of our group motion sickness. When it caught a really big wave, the ferry would literally come all the way out of the water and slam back down. I’ve never experienced anything like that, but then again, we were riding it in the middle of a level 1 typhoon. We all felt sick when we got off; it was kind of a hilarious sight. So when we got off we had to go through customs to get through to mainland China. A lot of people needed to use the bathroom before getting on the bus to ride to Macau, and we discovered that the toilets were a hole in the ground. You literally have to squat and pee in the ground, and there’s this flush pedal you push with your foot. It was quite the thigh workout just to use the bathroom.

So when we get to Macau we walk around the streets there and explore a little bit then have lunch at this awesome Portuguese place in the street. I was really craving American food though, so I ordered a salad and fries and a LARGE bottle of water and thoroughly enjoyed my lunch. We’re not supposed to drink the water here so I feel like I’m dehydrated sometimes, because almost all I drink back home is water, but it’s more difficult to get here.

 

While in Macau we visited the Ruins of St. Paul and this old Catholic church/museum. The ruins were really cool but quite a little hike. The view at the top was great though, and the breeze was awesome. I don’t know if I mentioned, but it’s really hot here. And SUPER humid. I won’t complain in Texas anymore, that’s for sure.

The start of the climb of the Ruins of St. Paul

 

 

View from the top of the ruins

That night, our group of 29 stayed in an ambassador suite in the Sheraton Hotel in Macau. The room was awesome, and that was a fun night. We got a cabana down by the pool because the hotel was having a poolside party that night and all 29 of us were down there. It was good bonding time. We enjoyed an AWESOME buffet breakfast at the hotel the next morning, where people stared at us because we were white or because we were loud, I don’t really know, probably both.

What is probably my favorite blog post so far is coming up next. I'm going to Beijing in a few hours for the weekend so I need to catch some sleep, but make sure you come back and read it!

LKF...wow.

So, it’s been a while since I updated my blog and I’ve been trying to get on it for the past three days. I have so much to write about! It’s hard to access Wi-Fi here though, so I’m going to post a lot of blog entries at once about my last few days.

I’ll start with last Friday, June 21^st…. Friday night we went out to LKF, which stands for Lan Kwai Fong. It’s like the 6^th Street of Austin, but more crazy. Perhaps it seemed more crazy and exciting because we’re tourists, but it was off the chain. We actually saw a lot of other foreigners there, rather than Asians, including Europeans and Australians. I met a guy from Italy who was walking around with us for a little bit and he asked how old I was and I said 20. In his dismay, he hung his head and said in his Italian accent, “I am too young.” So naturally I asked him how old he was and he said he was 17. I told him that it was okay, and that I was a lesbian with my friend Mel and he goes, “You are the third girl tonight to tell me she’s a lesbian!” Poor kid.

Anyway, LKF doesn’t have open container laws, so people just walk in the streets with drinks and hang out. There’s this thing called the “7 Eleven pregame” where you go to the 7 Eleven (which are EVERYWHERE over here) and buy drinks for super cheap and just drink them in the street before going to clubs so you don’t have to buy the expensive drinks. There’s also this other thing called the MTR Challenge. Precursor: MTR is the mass transit railway. It stops running at like midnight and doesn’t start up again until like 6am. The MTR Challenge is where you go out to LKF on the MTR and don’t come back until it starts running again in the morning, because clubs don’t close here until 6am. We haven’t done that yet, but our friend Ellen’s birthday is coming up so we might give it a go. Also it’s really freaky on LKF because guys just reach out and grab you as they walk by.

In this one club we went in, it was jam packed but us Americans were like the only ones dancing. Everyone was staring at us and these two Asian girls were laughing and thought we were hilarious. We pulled them into our dance circle and showed them how to have a good time. I’m pretty sure they loved us.

I went to bed around 4 or 4:30am that night, and we had to wake up early to go to Macau the next morning, which is like the Vegas of Hong Kong. I actually heard Macau brings in more money than Vegas, but I don’t know how accurate that is. The Macau trip deserves a blog entry of its own though, so that's next!

Goodbye America!

So I have arrived in Hong Kong! I haven't had decent wifi until today so this post is old, but it is what it is....

I am in the last hour of the 14 hour and 15 minute flight from LA to Hong Kong. We should be landing in about 45 minutes. I’ve actually enjoyed the long flight. I watched two movies, read a little, slept a while, and had two meals. I decided to have the Asian choices of food, thinking I’d be a little adventurous and whatnot on my way to Asia, but on a plane with plane food probably isn’t the best time to be adventurous. It wasn’t bad, though. Also, Gangster Squad. Terrific movie. Terrific. I watched that and Oz.

Earlier today we spent five hours in LAX waiting for our 11:55pm flight (West Coast time). We paid to hang out in the reLAX Lounge while the time passed and got unlimited food and drinks, wifi, comfy chairs, and I got to watch The Bachelorette. Right now it is currently 1:40pm back in California, and 3:40pm in Texas. I don’t know exactly what time it is on the plane right now because I don’t know exactly where we are, but it’s barely starting to light up outside. The whole flight has been dark, but I’ve liked it. Makes it easier to sleep. I don’t know how much sleep I got on the plane. I was fortunate enough to have a window seat so I can sleep against the wall of the plane, but sleeping on planes is just so uncomfortable…. I had some weird dreams too… About four hours ago we experienced “significant turbulence,” so that was interesting, but not really scary. It was just like being on a roller coaster.

Oh also, this plane is huge. It’s probably the nicest plane I’ve ever been on (although I can’t really remember the Lufthansa plane I took to Europe, because that was years and years ago), and the first class is legit. Too bad I’m not up there. It’s cool though because a lot of us in the program are scattered back here in economy class, so we have our little clan together.

I woke up at six this morning and we left the dorms at 7am, loaded the bus and visited the Port of Long View and different sites there. I’ve learned so much already the past three days it’s  crazy. Then we had lunch at a park in Long Beach, and it was freezing. After that we toured the Target deconsolidation center in LA, and then went to the airport. It’s been such a long day; it’ll be interesting to see how long it will take to get on the correct sleeping schedule in Hong Kong. Tonight in Hong Kong we’re going to the horse races. Apparently it’s pretty fancy, and popular, so I’m looking forward to that!

Just looked out the window and I see nothing but clouds and the ocean under us. Now I just have to find a way to occupy myself till we land. Until next time!

The City of Angels...

So I arrived at LAX today at 2:30pm (4:30pm in Texas), and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. 75 degrees. The flight went smoothly and wasn't too long. After that 3 hour flight though I don't know WHAT the heck I'm going to do to occupy my time on my 13 hour one to Hong Kong in three days... Hopefully I will be tired enough to sleep, although I find it quite difficult and uncomfortable to sleep on airplanes....

Before I go into my time here in Cali so far, let me just rewind and take us back to the airport in Houston. Bag weight limit is 50 lbs. Put my bag on the scale and what does it weigh? 51 lbs exactly. No joke. This is exactly my type of luck. I'm serious; there should be something called "Ashley McAdams luck" for instances just like this one, because this stuff happens to me on the regular. Anyway, I take my duffel bag of shoes out of my suitcase, check two bags now, and I'm off to security check. (No problems there, thank goodness.)

Now anyway, my travel companion Melanie, whom I will probably write a lot about in my blogs, and I took what I THOUGHT must be the most expensive cab ride of my life from LAX to our rooms, totaling $80. During the ride, I thought for a split-second that I saw Charlie Sheen driving next to us, but the guy was in a Hyundai, and Charlie Sheen probably wouldn't be caught dead in a Hyundai. But it was his look-alike, I swear. As it turns out, I was wrong about the most expensive cab ride, because later on in the night we took a $92 cab ride back from Santa Monica Pier to our rooms.

The pier was fun. Very cold, but fun. Us Texans aren't used to this 65 degree weather at night. Plus it was SUPER windy out on the pier/beach. Our group of 16 got a table outside at a restaurant and we all were huddling around the tall outdoor heaters. The other people eating out on the deck were staring at us like we were weird.... I didn't eat at the restaurant though, because a small group of us ate at Pier Burger right when we got to Santa Monica because we hadn't eaten since our 6-inch Subway sandwich in the Houston airport earlier today. We ate around 6 o'clock here, which would've been 8 o'clock back home, so We. Were. Hungry. Needless to say, that was one of the best burger and fries I think I've have ever had.
After the pier we went to a mall and walked the Third Street Promenade, which was my favorite part of Santa Monica. There are so many good stores and entertainment in the streets.

Tomorrow we have our first class here in the morning. Yes, on a Sunday. Then we have a group dinner and bonfire on the beach tomorrow night. Monday we'll be visiting the Long View Port in Los Angeles, and then fly out to Hong Kong at midnight!

It's been a pretty eventful day. It's only 11pm here but I'm tired, so I'm about to get ready for bed and go to sleep. I can't wait to get the program started tomorrow and see what's in store for me!

Until next time,
Ashley

It's Starting to Sink In

Ah, my first blog post.

As I was looking at the calendar today, it hit me that I leave for China NEXT WEEK. Over the past few days I've begun to start packing and getting things together, but my departure date still felt pretty far off. I would leisurely pack a few things and then stop, or pick up a few items at the store here and there. I started one of my books on Hong Kong to learn about the culture and see exactly where I'd like to visit, but I always felt like I still had quite a bit of time before I leave.

Now, in 11 short days, I'll be flying out to LA for a few days, then it's off to Hong Kong for a month! I feel like I should be more stressed, like I still have stuff to do for my trip, but maybe the stress will set in later; Although after acquiring an updated passport, a study visa, a tourist visa, hotel confirmation, a Chinese University of Hong Kong acceptance letter, and seven scheduled flights, I should have nothing left to worry about. The only thing left to do is to finish The Goal, a book I'm supposed to read before I land in Los Angeles.

I've been going to bed around my usual time all summer, about 3 or 4 AM. I began to think the other night that maybe I should start going to sleep at a decent hour to get into a routine before I leave, so I'll be able to wake up for class each morning in Hong Kong, but then I figured it wouldn't really matter since HK has a 13 hour time difference from Texas....

Seven months of meet and greets, orientations, planning, and preparing are about to be put into action in a little over one week. I can hardly believe the time is finally here! I am SO excited for everything I'll be learning and experiencing. And my first stop? The Hong Kong Disneyland.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading! As they say in Cantonese, "bai bai,"
Ashley