HEY MISSY!

hey missy! Hey MISSY! Hey Missy! hey MISSY! HEY Missy! hey MISSY! HEY missy! hey missy! HEY MISSY! hey MISSY!

Little did the hawkers of Shenzhen know, Missy was my childhood nickname. Walking through the aisles of Luohu Commercial Center was like a walk down memory lane. Okay actually it was nothing like my childhood... even the way they yelled hey missy was completely different, but regardless it was a good time.

I have so much I could share about this experience, but I'll just give you a few highlights.

Tailor made clothing. Did I have any intention of getting anything tailored? No. Did I find a super cute pea coat in a magazine that I got to pick my own fabric for and get measured for a perfect fit? Yes. I couldn't resist with my good friend Jojanna who goes to a fashion school right there telling me what was the most flattering style for me. Cross your fingers the tailor does a good job, it was highly recommended, but China is probably the least reliable place ever.

Designer clothes. I don't typically wear designer jeans, but when there is a store with a bazillion different pairs for cheaper than a pair at Old Navy would be of course I'm going to get some. I'm not even all about the label, but there were two Chinese women pulling all sorts of sizes and styles out according to my liking. It was like having two personal shoppers who wanted nothing more than to provide me with the perfect pair of pants. 

Spa. So it wasn't really a spa, but for lack of a better word that's what I'm calling it. In HK last month I paid $350 to get gel nails with glitter and stones. In Shenzhen I got gel nails with twice as many jewels, french tips lined in glitter, and a snowflake painted on. Along with a pedicure, 1 hour foot massage, 1 hour shoulder, neck, & head massage all for $270. I was in heaven. Seriously I felt like royalty. Thank you China for giving me that once in a lifetime experience. Well probably twice in a lifetime... I'm planning on going back in a couple of weeks.

Facial hair removal. Weird, I know. I didn't even think my face was that hairy, but the elderly Chinese lady found plenty to remove using her traditional Chinese method. As we were sitting at the tailor this lady came waddling by with her string and all of us girls sat there as she basically plucked the hair from our faces with a string. It was really crazy. Quite an audience gathered around as 3 foreign ladies endured this process. One man who was watching was really great at English and gave a nice commentary along with a history of the method being used. It was basically what was done in China before razors even existed and the lady who did it had it down to an art. 

It was a nice day in Lo Wu. 

Not everything was so nice though. 

China is dirty.

People smoked inside the mall.

Weird smells were everywhere.

I was paranoid about pickpockets.

The guy who massaged me was creepy and I had to pretend I was married.

I had to pee on a squat toilet. Curious? Click here.

And on my way back to Hong Kong 3 people had to look at my passport and finally take it to the "Duty Supervisor" to approve that it was indeed a picture of me. I was getting really nervous.

Trapped in China? No thank you.

Hong Kong for the Holidays

Despite the fact that it feels nothing like Christmas time and it's minimum 75 degrees every day, I am still experiencing the holiday spirit here in HK.

Thank you random band in ifc mall for that touching rendition of I'll Be Home For Christmas. Because I indeed will be.

Now let me give you a run down of my Thanksgiving festivities. 

I spent the day walking through a few markets, one of which was the goldfish market---SO cool.

Then I took the Star Ferry across the harbor and SURPRISE... the buildings are all decked out for Christmas.

 It's pretty magical.
This among other holiday decorations here are quite impressive.

Next I met my dear friends Jon & Laura at ifc mall to head to Thanksgiving dinner at the Smith household that we had been so kindly invited to. 

Before we ventured off we HAD to get a picture with the mall display though. 

"Christmas Puppet Town"

I can't get enough of the decorating themes they come up with here in HK.

The meal itself was absolutely delightful. I didn't take any pictures because the token Canadian at the American Thanksgiving was snapping enough for all of us. Hopefully she posts them on facebook for me to steal or something... hint, hint.

Here is a picture of the second round of Thanksgiving that we had at the Smith's house on Sunday afternoon. Not exactly the same, but similar.

 Equally if not more delicious. Maybe because I helped make the salad this time. I guess I'm biased. But the apple crisp that was provided at Thanksgiving Round 1 was DELIGHTFUL.

We had dessert at Sunday's as well. 

Yeah, it was as good as it looks. The Christmas sprinkles really topped it off for me. Overall, Thanksgiving was full of good food, good people, and GREAT stories with even greater commentary. 

There truly was never a dull moment.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I'm ready to move on to Christmas. As is Festival Walk mall judging by their 5 story tall tree. 

Literally. 5 stories.

This picture only shows the top half. 

So far the holidays have been top notch. Very different, but I like it.

I can't wait to see what December has to offer.

Let's start off with a video, shall we?

Happy Thanksgiving.

I just read 4 blogs and about 40+ facebook statuses about the disappointment of the blizzard warning in Utah.

Hello! Why is nobody thankful that the blizzard didn't come in full force destroying things, endangering lives and setting records I wasn't there to be a part of. 

It is Thanksgiving after all. 

I'm thankful all my family and friends back home are safe.

I suppose it was a bit like the disappointment of the typhoon warning issued last month in Hong Kong. EVERYONE was checking the Hong Kong Observatory constantly in hopes that school would be cancelled, only to be disappointed by the storm heading for the South of China instead. 

But guess what, Utah... your school did get cancelled. Maybe it was the disappointment of all the hype, but if you had taken a minute to learn from the Chinese you would be glued to your computer screen finding articles like this: Was Tuesday's Storm A Blizzard? 
And you would know the real definition of a blizzard.

Anyways, my point is, I'm here in Hong Kong looking out my window at a 70° Thanksgiving day missing my winter wonderland of a home.

Be grateful.

Fa Po Street & fake Christmas

What's wrong with this picture?

I guess this is normal in some parts of the world. So weird.

Thankfully, I'll Be Home for Christmas.

In other news, I wouldn't mind living on Fa Po Street at the Village Gardens.

Nice, eh?

NOT as nice as this...

Yummy, yummy in my tummy.

Well enough procrastinating studying for my next final... 

Happy Thanksgiving break to me.

p.s. 1 more month in Hong Kong 

fLoOr dEcoRaTioNs!

I know, I know, I've been writing in my blog almost daily.

I guess I just have a lot to say. 

And a lot of homework to procrastinate.

Last night we had a floor decorating contest in our building though.

I had a blast. 

Our theme was "warm family, happy playground"

...interesting I know.

But look how cute the sign turned out:

These are my friends Pinky & Nathan.

This is how my door turned out.

 It has slowly been collecting things throughout the year. 

My favorite is the new addition of the Hong Kong flag. 

Patrick made it for me and of course in return I made an American flag for his door, which is not an easy thing... 50 white stars on a blue background? Yikes. 

OH what a coincidence, here is Patrick holding the American flag I was referring to.

Isn't this picture priceless?

Now for my favorite... pictures drawn & signed by Patrick. So adorable.

Things in Hall 5 Floor 13 are going great.

Fa Yuen Street

I never knew what I was missing.

Today as I was on my way back from Institute/yoga/Just Salad (yes, I have kept my Tuesday Routine going all these weeks) I exited the MTR at the wrong station. You would think after all the times I have ridden that exact same path on the MTR I would know to switch trains at Mong Kok not exit the station. Oh well. I took it as a sign that I needed to go explore more of what Mong Kok had to offer me. And boy oh boy did it have plenty to offer. 

I began by taking a stroll through the Ladies' Market, which is still kind of my worst nightmare. All they do is try to rip me off there because I'm a foreigner. My bargaining skills have improved, but I still don't enjoy it. After I had had enough of the ridiculous knock-offs the Ladies' Market had to offer I wandered over to Fa Yuen Street. I've been on this street before, but only the section with sneakers. I decided to head down the other direction to see what hidden treasures awaited me.

Surprise! Surprise! The other end of the street had so many treasures for me. Luckily I just had my birthday so I could buy myself presents. (Thank you mom & dad and grandma & grandpa.) The beautiful thing about this market was that the things were my style AND the best prices I've seen at a market here in Hong Kong. Now I know where all the locals shop. This street was jam packed with only Chinese people. And me. Here is a list of the fabulous things I found: 

Chopsticks HK$5

Hat (that matches my winter coat perfect) HK$59

Purse w/zipper & pockets HK$45

Adorable shoes 2 for HK$120

Jeans... that may or may not fit HK$100

Scarf HK$98

Lastly and probably the best deal... 2 Bras for HK$50

Take that Victoria's Secret. Same quality & designs @ 1/10th of the cost.

Overall my afternoon was top notch. I don't know why Tuesdays always turn out to be the best days, but they do. I can't believe I even considered sleeping in this morning. Imagine everything I would have missed. Not to mention the institute lesson was one of the best so far this morning. Abraham 3 is a real self-esteem booster. Turns out that I "fought valiantly and did not flinch" during the war in heaven. My life has so much purpose and I'm in Hong Kong for a reason. God knows me and knows how to make me happy and I am.

Twenty.

2 0

That's how old I am.

Wow, new decade.

Feels the same.

I did welcome this new phase of my life in with style. If my birthday is any sign of how my new birthday will be then I'm in for a treat. I think the best way of sharing the events of my special day is to start at the beginning and take it one happy moment at a time.

November 11

11:04 pm

My parents skyped me. Thank goodness they love me enough to acknowledge the time difference and plan accordingly to wish me a happy birthday.

November 12

12:01 am

My roommate Stella watched me open the present I got in the mail from my parents. Also I got a super cute new cell phone charm from a friend, so Chinese.

12:48 am

Oscar, Carrie, Bennett, and Patrick (some Chinese friends who live on my floor) came and sang me happy birthday. We put the Hostess cupcakes and candle to use that my parents sent me. 

8:30 am

Head to Ocean Park with Carrie Colton. 

Yeah, we have the same birthday. I loved spending the day with her. 

11:50am

We embarked on a giant panda adventure.

1:00 pm

Chinese Acrobat Show

 

 

1:26 pm

Rode the Sea Carousel

2:00 pm

Hung out with Whiskers

2:42 pm

On top of the world

3:37 pm

Roller coaster on the ocean

5:25 pm

Considered pursuing a career as a dolphin trainer 

6:28 pm

Sunset, I like to call it Heavenly Father's birthday present to me.

6:44 pm

Speed-walked down the street from Ocean Park looking for a taxi so we wouldn't wait the next 2 hours for the bus.

8:30 pm

Korean BBQ

My Hong Kong birthday was better than I ever could have expected. 

I'm taking it as a sign for a fabulous year.

School. School. SCHOOL.

So I've had a lot of people read my blog and tell me they think I'm here in Hong Kong on holiday rather than studying abroad.... 


I'm here to tell you I do indeed go to school. I'm happy to report that there are only 3 weeks left in the semester. Unfortunately I have 8 deadlines the last week of class in comparison to the 3 I've had throughout the rest of the semester. Taking school seriously has been difficult so far, but now I get to spend November being a real student.


The academic part of Hong Kong has definitely been different than I expected. We all know the stereotype of all Asians being super smart and diligent in school... not true. Here is an example. 

Today I had a group meeting about a presentation we have to give on Monday. I showed up on time. One girl, a local student, was already there. Another exchange student in our group came about 5 minutes late. Then the other two local girls showed up 45 minutes late. Are they serious? I was ticked. Not only did they come late, but they were unprepared with their slides for the presentation. Oh and then one of the girls asked me to e-mail her what I had compiled of the presentation so far. Then she proceeded to give commentary about what she thinks could be improved. Forget that. I tried to be polite, but I very clearly made the point that some people (her being one of them) hadn't even submitted their slides yet so the most important part is to get the presentation completed before we critique each others work. She probably thinks  I'm a brat, but I wasn't about to listen to her tell me my part wasn't good enough when hers was nonexistent. SO frustrating.

That group has been a real delight to work with. Now let me give you an example of some group work in another class.

The assignment is to write a group paper on the topic of "Why we can't love people who repeatedly hurt us?" Not too difficult. Except that the only thing people have contributed is random opinions about love and trust and happiness and pain that has no legitimate knowledge to back the comments. Oh and nothing that anybody has contributed flows together. So the teacher gave us the last half of class to meet with our group and try to organize our paper. How many people are in our group? 10

How many people showed up? 2, me and my new friend Walter

Once again, another delightful group to work with. What I really don't understand is how I can feel like I'm barely putting any effort in at school yet I'm contributing more than the majority of other students. 

At least I'm learning so many new things daily outside of the classroom that I feel compensated for the lack of education inside the classroom.