So... I am now just updating my blog for the first time in 3 months, and am have uploaded pictures onto facebook if you want to see the more extensive collection of my photos. So i guess that this blog post will be structured by the places that I've been and what I did there since the last time I posted!
Shenzhen: I believe that this is actually the first place in mainland China that I went to. Shenzhen is a Special Administration Region just like HK, and its literally a metro ride away from HK. In fact because CUHK is pretty far into the New Territories of Hong Kong, Shenzhen is a lot closer than Central is (Shenzhen is a 20 min. metro ride away, and Central is about 40 min to an hour away). Pretty much the only thing that ppl do when they go to Shenzhen is get cheap movies that are still in theaters, go to a spa, and shop in the Lowu commericial center where you can buy cheap designer (fake and real) dresses and tailored suits! If you ever go to Shenzhen make sureee that you go to Queen's spa and veg out for a whole day.
The first time I went to Shenzhen, I was a bit overwhelmed by all the shops in the Lowu commerical center and all of the saleswomen that constantly follow you and try to sell things to you. We went to Queen's spa, where we spent about 6 hours; you can get a pedicure, foot scrub, any type of massage for about $20-$30 USD. In additon to that, Queen's spa also has an all you can eat fruit bar, ice cream, large comfy chairs, and individual tvs that is inclusive in the price. it was AMAZING. For girls, ALWAYS bring tissues/toilet paper, this is not a given in Shenzhen.
The second time I went to Shenzhen, I went to get some tailored suits, which I had to get refitted. For about $45 USD, you can get 3 business skirts, a suit pants, and a suit jacket, which is crazyyy cheap. The third time I went back I had to get the suits refitted, and then the 4th time I came back I picked them up. My friend Jamie and I also had some afternoon tea while they were putting together our orders.
Overall Shenzhen was a pretty cool place to go to because its very similar, and yet different from HK. It was great that it was so close to us, but getting through customs still took a bit. I had to get new pages added to my passport because everytime you enter HK, we have to get a student stamp that takes up half a page.
Here are some pictures of what Shenzhen is like:
Chengdu in Sichuan Province:
The next major place that I went to was the city of Chengdu, in the Sichuan Province, which is known for it's spicy spicy "Szechuan" style food (particularly the Mapo dofu) and the panda reserve. On this trip, it was me, Jamie, and Daniel, which was essentially our Italy trip all over again; we travel pretty well together because we are all good friends now and travel in the same way, that is seeing the sights and eating authentic food. I don't remember the exact order of what we did, but we visited a lot of temple and monastary complexes, dufu's cottage, and a very touristy tibetan village. But I would say that the highlights of this trip were the Sichuan food, Tibetan food, and the pandas. The three of us made sure that on almost every meal we would have the Sichuan style food, which you all may know generally know as spicy. But what is special about the Sichuan food is that the chili pepper that they actually use which is quite distinct from any flavor I have ever tasted before. It's numbing, somewhat mild spicy, and has a very piney flavor. So at the end of that food excursion, I've come to like 2 types of Sichuan food: Sichuan style food not in Sichuan, and the actual Sichuan food. We went to an authentic Tibetan restaurant that we found possibly in our lonely planet guidebook or on trip advisor? Either way we had yak-stuffed peppers, vegetable pie, yak soup, and some yak butter cookies. It was all delicious except the yak butter cookies (the smell of the butter was a little too strong for me). There were also some creepy tibetan monks that stared at us the whole night. All the chairs at their table were turned towards our table, and they just sat, smoked, and watched...luckily my back was facing them so it didn't bother me as much.
The pandas, needless to say, were absolutely adorable. Jamie was definitely more excited to see the pandas that I was, but once I got there you can't help but get happy. Watching pandas eat bamboo was so interesting and captivating, and probably the most interesting thing....seriously. If you want video footage, let me know because I have it on my computer.
Here are some pictures of my adventures in Sichuan:
Singapore:
On this trip, Shelley and I went to visit Aparna, who is now working and living there. This trip was also amazing; Singapore is such a cool place because its just a mixture of so many cultures (but not necessarily all integrated together), and I also got to travel with Shelley which I don't think I've done before this. We had a really fun time and did so many things. We visited Chinatown, which felt so much like certain places in Hong Kong and Taiwan. We also went on the Night Safari which was a lottt of fun, Shelley got pooped on by a bat when we were in the bat mangrove (SO scary to walk through). We also went to Little India, Clark Quay, and other areas of Singapore. All in all we got a great multi-cultural experience here in this one area, as well as a really good culinary experience (CHILI CRAB!! indian food, dimsum, and thai food).
The other really cool thing about this trip (other than getting to hang out with Aparna, and Shelley) was Aparna's apartment.... it was AMAZING. if you just look at the pool, you can imagine how cool her actual apartment is. The pool is better than any pool at a hotel, its huge, has jacuzzis and jacuzzis with stone beds, and has many places to lay out. The apartment, which Aparna says was also the showroom apartment, was very stylish, and shelley and I shared a queen size bed. The apartment also has AC, which is so nice since we have to pay by the minute back at CUHK. All I can say is that Singapore was aweessomme.
So that sums up the major places that I have been to while i've been here. The traveling experience has been a whirlwind of adventure and definitely very different than traveling in Europe. In Europe, it was more about finding out about the history, seeing the sites, and a little less foreign because all of it was western. But at the same time, visiting Asia, mostly China, is more about just experiencing a completely different way of life and thinking. So even though being in Asia isn't wholly foreign to me either, its still extremely foreign in a different way than Europe was.
As for my university, I was not huge fan of CUHK itself because of the location and the classes. The GLOBE classes were not taught well, but the topics were very interesting (China Business, and Chinese Marketing). I still learned a lot, but its hard to distinguish what you can attribute to a cultural difference to what you actually just don't agree with if that makes sense... Either way, studying at CUHK has been different and in some aspects better and worse than studying at CBS. Again as I mentioned before, the location of CUHK was not ideal because it was so far from the city, and the school is on a mountain so to get anywhere on campus it is a huge trek. I also lived very far from the other exchange students, so I didn't get very close to a lot of them. Despite those things, there were so many good things about CUHK. All the exchange students were really cool, nice, and interesting people that I will try to keep in touch with. BEcause CUHK was much further away from the city, I got to explore the more local areas of HK that weren't filled with ex-pats, like Tai-Po market (which has a huge selection of fruit and great street food!). The view from CUHK was amazing, and it wasn't the typical downtown HK that I saw, but it was the more scenic side (the mountains, lakes, and clear blue sky that was occasional). I also volunteered at a primary school teaching English which was an awesome experience in and of itself. Finally, I got a lot closer with the GLOBERs, not all of them but definitely a number of them.
I have to admit there were times during the semester when I was stuck on campus on a rainy humid day, that at that moment didn't appreciate that I was in HK. But I have to say now definitively that I am sooo happy and grateful to be here in HK, to be traveling in Asia, and to be doing the GLOBE program. This is definitely a life changing experience, and I am making long-term friendships with people all over hte world. There were times when the internship search was hard that I thought if only I had stayed in the US, it would be so much easier to find an internship. But I wouldn't have what I have today (any of it) if I didn't make the decisions I did in the past. So I guess my point is, is to not regret anything that you do because there is no way of knowing what could have been or what would have happened. Learn from mistakes, and move forward.
So as my GLOBE study abroad portion is coming to an end, I'm really sad and thinking about alot of things, but I'm also really excited about what's coming ahead. I can't wait to bring back my study abroad like and incorporate it with my life back at home. I don't know what I'm going to do when December comes... In anycase, I will be traveling pretty much all of May. I will be taking a 24-hour train with 3 of my friends to Beijing (so we can see the scenic side of China). THen we will be in Beijing for about 5 days. I am meeting up with 4 of my other friends there in Beijing. After Beijing, we all split up and me and 2 others will be going to Kunming, which is in the Yunnan Province of China. After that I will be in HK for about 2 days before our GLOBE study trips start. It's 10 days total in Shanghai and Tokyo. Then its back to HK for a few days, then Taiwan for about 5 days, then I'm home for about a week, and then going to DC for the summer.
So that's all for now!
~Jenny
Sooo
