It's crazy to believe that only a month ago I was stepping off my plane into a new, unknown world that I would call home for the next few months. It feels like it was just yesterday, but it also feels like I have been here forever. I've already made so many beautiful memories and met lifelong friends. This has been the best month of my life and it is only going to get better, even though all the school projects and tests have begun. (Side note: Last week, myself and three others stumbled into a free wine and Asian food pairing class. We walked in and tried six different wines and some delicious homemade Asian foods. We later discovered we had been sampling $800 wines. There's a first and last time for everything. Shoutout to my major for being the best).
My bucket list is still slowly growing but I have accomplished a lot of it. Every time I see an exchange student post a picture of something cool they did or saw, I just add it to my own bucket list--it's safe to say I want to do and see everything in HK. Before I came to HK, it had things such as "go to a pub crawl" and "hike Dragon's Back" on it. Now I have expanded it to add some more adventurous things I had never expected to add such as "visit Japan" and "eat chicken's feet."
Expectations are a funny thing. There is no way to prepare yourself completely for any adventure and that's the fun in it. If I had known exactly what I was getting myself in to a month ago, I would have nothing to discover. I had no idea the people I would meet, things I would learn, and food I would eat. While I don't love everything (the food), I wouldn't change a moment of this experience. I never expected to become so passionate about study abroad, travel and Asia.
This past month I didn't just fall in love with Asia. I fell in love with the world. I fell in love with the States because of the things I miss and because of the quirks that only Americans do that everyone else finds so strange but we love. I fell in love with Austria and Canada and Australia and basically everywhere in Europe because of the beautiful people I have met who are from these places. This past month has led me on a journey that will continue every day for the rest of my life (because I have an addiction to traveling now and fully plan on Asia being the first stop of many).
I'm gushing about HK and Asia and life again, so sorry for that. I try not to sound so cheesy but I seriously have never been more in love with life before. I have three and a half more months to fall deeper in love though, so I will save some of the gushing for that and of course for next week's blog post about Lunar Break in the Philippines and CHINESE NEW YEAR!
Picture of the week:
My bucket list is still slowly growing but I have accomplished a lot of it. Every time I see an exchange student post a picture of something cool they did or saw, I just add it to my own bucket list--it's safe to say I want to do and see everything in HK. Before I came to HK, it had things such as "go to a pub crawl" and "hike Dragon's Back" on it. Now I have expanded it to add some more adventurous things I had never expected to add such as "visit Japan" and "eat chicken's feet."
Expectations are a funny thing. There is no way to prepare yourself completely for any adventure and that's the fun in it. If I had known exactly what I was getting myself in to a month ago, I would have nothing to discover. I had no idea the people I would meet, things I would learn, and food I would eat. While I don't love everything (the food), I wouldn't change a moment of this experience. I never expected to become so passionate about study abroad, travel and Asia.
This past month I didn't just fall in love with Asia. I fell in love with the world. I fell in love with the States because of the things I miss and because of the quirks that only Americans do that everyone else finds so strange but we love. I fell in love with Austria and Canada and Australia and basically everywhere in Europe because of the beautiful people I have met who are from these places. This past month has led me on a journey that will continue every day for the rest of my life (because I have an addiction to traveling now and fully plan on Asia being the first stop of many).
I'm gushing about HK and Asia and life again, so sorry for that. I try not to sound so cheesy but I seriously have never been more in love with life before. I have three and a half more months to fall deeper in love though, so I will save some of the gushing for that and of course for next week's blog post about Lunar Break in the Philippines and CHINESE NEW YEAR!
Picture of the week:
These are some of the exchange students (and some of my closest friends here) on Taynah's birthday. We went to LKF as usual and had a great time dancing the night away. These people have made this experience absolutely incredible and perfect for me in every way.