It's been a month since my arrival at HKUST. Three months left until my holiday break back in California! I miss you, baby!! [DEC23]
People say that home is where the heart is, but sometimes people might take this phrase too literally. Maybe people think that the physical place where we come back to at the end of a long day at work is the place where our heart resides. But nobody reminds us that home is something we can carry with us. Home is love, memories, and thoughts for and from the people we care about most.
I just received an USPS express package from my boyfriend. Granted, it also included trancripts which I needed to complete my credit transfer of courses... but it in addition included the gifts he was planning on giving me for our seven months together. I didn't think it was going to be so amazing! I was excited, yes, but when I actually had it in my hands, I felt like... well, a woman. What I mean by that is... (1) he sent the stuff by express which is the most expensive but fastest shipping option, (2) the necklace and bracelet items seemed to cost more than should be expected for a "monthsery"/birthday present. It's not the material objects persay that make me happy, it's the "thought" that counts. The fact that a man is willing to invest his hard-earned money in
a girl would make that girl feel pretty dang special. Perhaps this is the root of why women love jewelry so much? To answer your question, baby, yes of course I would wear the random jewelry you give me--but only because it's from you and not because I particularly like jewelry. I'm always going to be a tomboy at heart.2. Find the culture & leave your comfort zone.
Perhaps the most debilitating phenomenon that occurs here at HKUST is that internationals stay with internationals, locals stay with locals, and mainlanders stay with mainlanders. This of course antagonizes the whole idea of internationalizing the campus. People coming here will claim that they want to be exposed to different cultures, but simple exposure just doesn't seem to cut it for me. If you're in a different country for any period of time, it benefits you to not only learn the language but make an attempt to close the gap between the cultures. I have a high tolerance for when people speak different languages around me and this helps others feel comfortable around me. These bonding events for the HKUST Female Basketball Team (comprised mostly of locals) are my favorite examples:
a) Hong Kong Style BBQ
Hong Kong style BBQ is like campfire time in the United States, but better than American BBQ and campfire combined. At least, in my opinion. Imagine cooking your own sausages, fish/pork/shrimp/beef balls, chicken breasts, cuttlefish, pork ribs, corn, and zucchini over an open pit. Before the food is finished, you baste your food items in honey and leave it over the fire for some time so that it becomes glazed. Then, consume to your hearts desire! A spin-off of the Western "S'more" for desert: egg-honey bread glazed with honey and toasted marshmallows in between. The bread itself is just plain delicious. I shall have to introduce this to my friends in America. Maybe at the next CA bonfire.b) Pictionary [In Chinese]
You'd think that you don't really need words for games like Pictionary and Charades so it's the perfect cross-cultural
game. WRONG! Chinese characters alone have different meanings, then when placed with another character creates a whole different word. In a sense, it's a little easier than English Pictionary. But it's also harder. During my turn to draw, my teammates would sometimes know the word but not know the English translation and so I would never know if they knew what I was drawing about. Also, many of the Pictionary translations were so weird. The English word "BIND" was translated from the literal Chinese characters for "Suffocation". "LAP" was "Knee". And Chinese people don't even use the word "POTTY". Yeah, it was still incredible seeing the cultures come together! And hilarious fun.I am so fortunate to have a nice roommate who's willing to talk to me and be my friend! She doesn't have any disagreeable qualities and we get along very well. One thing you should make sure of when you get settled: if you don't think you can have a peaceful year with your roommate, swap out!!! It will prevent your life from unnecessary stress. I was lucky enough to have a nice roommate... honestly, I wouldn't have the guts to ask for a swap.
Snow and I tried out DANSO but in the end decided we both didn't have time for it so we didn't sign up for November's performance recruitment. Which brings me to another point, be forward thinking before you join societies or clubs. You need to learn how to allocate your time and if it's your first year, those grades are, believe it or not, important. No overloading! Do things that are beneficial to you in the long run. I chose to keep active and fit through Basketball Society; develop my leadership, self-image, and service through the REDbird Award Program; and keep an academic edge through the Chemical and BioMolecular Engineering Student Society.
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