Sometimes, We Spend the Day on a Yacht

Yes, that's right. On Saturday, 45 exchange students chartered a yacht - and it was so much fun!


It even came with a speedboat, with wakeboards!


It picked us up on campus at 9:30 am, and whisked us to a private beach about an hour away. The beach was gorgeous! A few people decided to swim from the yacht to the beach, while others took the speedboat over. We had only just arrived to the beach when...it started to rain. Of course - we had had nothing but blue skies for two weeks, and the moment we hit the beach, it starts raining.

But we did not let this ruin our day. We piled back on the boat, blared some music and proceeded to see who could jump off the upper deck of the boat most creatively! People were doing dives, flips, cannonballs...after about an hour, I built up the courage to jump.

I was really scared.

But it was so much fun!

By 3 pm, the sun was out and everyone was swimming. Around 6, the boat headed back to campus, and we got to see a breathtaking sunset en route. I swear, someone could have told me I was in Hawaii or something like that, and I would have believed them! Hong Kong is such a beautiful place - there really is something for everyone!

I Love the Ivey Network!

What a fun couple of days I have had!

On Sunday, I got a call from Rachel and Leslie - both friends and Ivey students. They had just spent three weeks in Vietnam, and were heading to Hong Kong for one night only, because their flight to London, UK was leaving HK Airport at 7:30 am. I was so excited!

They had already seen a lot of the tourist-y stuff in Hong Kong, from an earlier trip, so I decided that I would show them some of Hong Kong's lesser-known gems. I met them in TST, and then we headed to Diamond Hill's Hollywood Mall, a popular mall for locals. Then, we went next door to the beautiful Nan Lian Garden and took lots of photos. We took a double-decker bus to Sai Kung, a coastal fishing area that isn't too far from my university and had a delicious seafood dinner. On the way back to the downtown area, we took a quick tour of my university - even though it was dark by this time, they were both impressed. Finally, we ended the night in LKF, which was really fun, especially considering it was a Sunday. The best part was that, at midnight, it was Rachel's birthday! I bought her ridiculous bunny ears and made her wear them, and we got lots of free drinks...

Then, on Monday, I got a call from Shawn, Ron and Karl. They were all in my section at Ivey, and Shawn and Ron were actually my next door neighbours! We spent the day chilling in Hong Kong, and it was also really fun! It was great to see so many people from Canada in such a short amount of time.

Tonight, I am heading to a fun event at Ivey's Hong Kong campus. We were invited to a reception of Hong Kong's MBAs and recent graduates, and London's MBAs, who are visiting Asia for a China Study Trip. They have been to Beijing and Shanghai, and are in Hong Kong for a few days before heading back to Canada. I think it was so nice of Ivey's administrators to invite the exchange students to come along. I am sure it will be really fun!

Speaking of that event...I better go and get ready!

I Can't Remember the Last Time I Cried So Much!

I feel like a huge baby.  I have been working on my Mom's Mother's Day present for a few hours, and it is really getting to me!  I guess it is starting to sink in - I have been away from my mom for almost four months, and now that I am moving to China, it is going to be a long time before I can just see her anytime I want.

And it makes me sad because she is just the most wonderful woman and Mom in the whole world (and now that I have seen the whole world, I can really say that).

Basically, my gift is a slide show of photos, some that are mine and some that represent the lyrics of the song that I set the slide show to: The Best Day, by Taylor Swift.

Even watching Taylor's video makes me cry.  You can check it out by clicking here.

Bottom line: I love you, Mom!  Happy Mother's Day, to you and all of the Moms out there!

Twitter is Exploding...in a Good Way

If you haven't heard of Twitter yet...well, where have you been?

The micro-blogging-based social networking site has been picking up like crazy, and there is tons of talk about the site receiving offers to purchase from Google, Facebook ($700 million in cash and shares), and even Apple (the rumour is that the offer will be $700 cash)...  

Not sure how they decided on $700 million...but anyways...

If they sell out, it probably won't be as cool anymore...so check it out while you have the chance!  You can start by looking at my profile (click here), but then I encourage you to make your own.  

One reason I am really excited about it is because it will allow me to update everyone about what I am up to in Europe when I only have a few minutes on the internet.  So, keep checking this blog over the next few months...but check my Twitter page, too!

Oh, and once you make your profile, let me know so that I can "follow" you!  You will quickly find out what that means...

Only Two Weeks of Classes Left!

Yes, that's right...I will be done classes in two weeks!    After May 14th, I have only one exam (on the 27th)...and then my time as a university undergraduate student has ended!

Weird.

The Face Lift

PS. I don't know if you noticed, but I gave my blog a bit of a face lift.

I did it because it is going to become a permanent part of my life, at least for the next two years.  I thought I would celebrate that fact by making it look a little more interesting.

One of these days, I am going to have to take off the "2009" in the blog title picture.  That's a bit of a pain in the butt.

Interesting Things I Going Down in LKF on Thursday Night

LKF (or Lan Kwai Fong) is Hong Kong's super famous bar district, which is mostly frequented by foreigners and ex-pats.  It is a really fun place to spend an evening (and wee hours of a morning)...and when we went there on Thursday, I saw two interesting things.

The first was the biggest gathering of Dutch people I have ever seen (since I haven't been to the Netherlands yet).  They were all partying in the streets, wearing orange (their national colour, I was told), celebrating their beloved Queen's birthday.  It was a sight to see.

Just down the road, there was a guy in a lab coat standing with the bouncers at the entrance of a popular club.  He was taking all of the clubgoer's temperatures, so as to avoid admitting someone with a fever.

I'm not sure if the club was asked to do that by some sort of authority, or if it was a niche marketing strategy - the bars in LKF exist in a highly competitive environment.  Maybe their thinking was that, by taking temperatures, they could attract customers who are very concerned about the H1N1 virus.  Maybe these customers would be more willing to relax, spend money and stay longer in a "safe" environment, which could increase drink sales and the bar's profits.

Or, maybe the bar owner is just nervous.

Just something I was thinking about...