- Epilogue

June 18th, 2010. South Peak of Mount Hua, Shaanxi Province.

I just spent a month on vacation in mainland China. The food was great: beer and kebabs have made me a little chubby, it seems - time to get back on the tennis courts! I felt like a big brother when I took my younger cousin out to lunch celebrating the end of her school year. Spending my 21st birthday with relatives was simply special; sharing it with my 2-year-old nephew was the icing... wait for it... on both cakes! Haha... Playing cards with my aunts and uncles made for fun and laughs, especially when my uncle would yell at my aunt if she made a strategic mistake (which was quite often). I also visited the graves of my great grandfather, my paternal grandfather, and my great-uncle (who was my grandfather's half-brother and best friend) in the countryside; I learned much about my own history by looking at the family trees carved on those stong tablets. It was hard to say good-bye to my birthplace, but the next trip back has already been scheduled! Every day brings my closer to seeing them all again.

Before I talk more about my vacation, I'd like to give a very special thanks to Nico G. for organizing and posting material for my blog while I was on vacation. See you at UMD soon man!

So here are the highlights of my trip in pictures:

The Great Wild Goose Pagoda, a Tang Dynasty tower over 1000 years old, is the most famous landmark from my hometown.

A plaza near the Pagoda. These are normal fountains by day, but they change colors and jump to the beat of music at night.

Staring at a big map in the Shaanxi Province History Museum. My hometown is right in the middle of the map.

Visiting the Terra-cotta warriors, one of the Wonders of the World.

"Red Rock Canyon", Yulin town of northern Shaanxi Province. This one isn't as big as the Grand Canyon, but Red Rock Canyon is famous for these sculpted characters (writing samples, if you will) from emperors and famous scholars in history.

Speedboating on the border of Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia Provinces.

The Genghis Khan Museum in Inner Mongolia Province.

Hukou, a big waterfall on the Yellow River, is shared by the Shaanxi and Shanxi Provinces. See the rainbow?

Looking at the Xi'an (my hometown) Bell Tower from the city wall.



Birthday with the nephew, the grand finale of my trip home.

Getting back in last night, my parents and I were absolutely exhausted after a full 24 hours on the road. I thought I'd sleep the entire day today, but I woke up at 4am instead. Jet lag? Of course that's some of it, but I think I'm really excited too. I've missed home; I've missed my room, my car, tennis, backyard football, American burgers... the list goes on and on. I'm happy to come back to reality, to responsibility. School and work await me in six weeks' time, my friends and parents are now.

The decision was made before I went abroad that I'd write a blog, to tell my where I've been, what I've done, the whole story. Now, I'm ready to hear theirs.

(40) Ng-goi-sai

“Ng-goi-sai” is a phrase in Cantonese that translates closely to “Many thanks”. In the 40^th and final episode of “Study Abroad in Hong Kong”, I’d like to give out my gratitude to all the difference-makers during the past semester.

The University of Maryland and the City University of Hong Kong have only just begun their exchange program and association with each other. I was happy enough to have my housing costs waived because of this, but I was ecstatic to hear (right before I left for HK) that I received a study abroad scholarship for this past semester! So thanks to the University, and thanks to the College of Science and Engineering for all of the financial support! I was responsible for all expenses during my study abroad, so the help was much appreciated. I delivered a thank-you letter to the Dean’s office a few days before leaving.

With spirit and team effort, the basketball team played well in competition. Like I said in Episode 23, I had a great time with my teammates and got to know them better off the court too. Thanks to all of these guys, especially to my fellow starters Wai, Jacky, Gio, and Ming.

My fellow exchange students came from all over the world, it’s a pity that I didn’t get to know all of you - there was only so much time to make new friends, and keep bonds strong with friends back home. I think Will from South Korea did the best with this: you were everyone’s friend and the life of the party - you truly exemplified the “study abroad spirit”. A lot of people will look back and remember “that crazy guy Will”.

City-U has long-standing association with many California schools, so I met a lot of students from the West Coast. Of these, I got to know Kathy from Fullerton the best. My dream grad school is Cal Tech (for engineering), so maybe we’ll run into each other if I ever get in there!

To Daniel, the Hong Kong native - I got to learn about the working life and the adult life while hanging out. You and your friends all have full-time jobs and even families of your own now, I felt like a little kid with you guys around. Wish you the best of luck with all of those “cool adult things”!

Jason from Tianjin - when I first came to Hong Kong, I often got lost while exploring. Later on, I had somebody find the right way with together. After all of our excursions, I’ll say this to you: “We make a good team.”

If I could summarize my thanks to Hong Kong in one sentence, I’d say: “Like a good book, every chapter grips you and every page flips by way too fast; once you finish, you want to start again.” Maybe we’ll start again, Hong Kong. Maybe it’s not “Good-bye”, but “See you soon” instead.

(39) Come to HK!

John and Jimmy, my floormates, are on the right. I got to know them and their friends Yandy, Tammy, and Suki (in left-to-right order) during a late night, card-playing session.

Why or why not choose Hong Kong for study abroad? As of today, I’ve been on vacation in mainland China for almost a month now. I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on a wonderful semester, and I’ll try to summarize some of my thoughts in this second-to-last episode.

Nothing’s ever perfect - there’s plenty of things I won’t miss when it comes to Hong Kong:

Unlike UMD, the dorms at City-U are separate from the academic campus. Whenever I went to class or to the library I would have to take an uphill hike back to my room. The worst was when I went grocery shopping, I’d be covered in sweat by the time I got home. Usually, a grocery run was followed by a shower and nap.

Speaking of sweat, the weather in Hong Kong was muggy and humid most of the time. I started going to class in shorts and t-shirts by the end of February. My bath towels weren’t really ever dry, and I’d bring smaller towels whenever I went on one of my excursions. If the humidity ever went under 80 percent, the city would issue a fire warning.

My room had a great view, but the window was placed right over a freeway. Late night drivers speeding by below sometimes gave me a hard time falling asleep.

Now that the not-so-great stuff is out of the way, these will make me miss Hong Kong so much:

For the most part, the City-U students were friendly and helpful. One notable example was during basketball practices, the rest of the team would discuss a play in Cantonese, and then one teammate would translate it to me in English. I was also the only exchange student in my math class of about 90 people; the professor took extra measure to repeat anything to me that he had already explained in Cantonese.

I’ll miss the chance to give back too - I already work as a tutor at UMD, so it felt natural to help some of my HK friends with engineering problems and writing formal letters and Resumes - they had to do these in English for their graduate school applications.

Hong Kong is a busy place, but there are quiet places if you know where to look. The park system here is wonderful, and there were so many beautiful vistas found in remote places such as Sai Kung and Tai O. Hiking trails ranging from short to long, and from relaxed to perilous, are there to be taken.

The Smithsonian is in our neighborhood in the States, but I think Hong Kong’s museums can compare. I’ve mentioned that they are especially geared toward educating young children. The exhibits are packed in to make best use of the limited space in Hong Kong.

Meals in Hong Kong were only average at times (I prefer spicier cooking), but the range and creativity of HK’s snacks were truly special. The egg tart is Hong Kong’s signature snack - you should also try pork buns (my favorite), “Ma La Gao” (a sort of cake, I don’t know the translation), cold tea, dried seafood, the jellies in Tai O and of course dim sum (which covers about twenty more varieties of snacks).

Wow, that was a lot to read… I think all you need to know is the overwhelming conclusion I’ve made: If you don’t mind the weather, come to HK!

Next Episode: "Ng-goi-sai”

(38) Ocean Park

My last week in Hong Kong was indeed a whirlwind of dinner and lunch plans, packing and cleaning, planning with my relatives, and sad goodbyes with my new friends. I did squeeze in one full day for Hong Kong’s most popular tourist attraction. This short episode tells of my very last adventure of the semester.

Ocean Park is both an amusement park and a small zoo located on the southernmost tip of Hong Kong Island. Visitors can buy advance tickets for around 10 percent off (compared to the price “at the door”) at the Admiralty MTR Station - another one hour bus ride to the park itself starts from a special station outside the metro.

Honestly, I haven’t been to many different amusement parks, so I’m not sure how Ocean Park stacks up. Many rides are staples of the prototypical amusement park - a looping roller coaster, swinging ship, vertical drop, and river ride are some examples. Mini-games offer the chance to win prizes, but I think I wasted my money by trying the Ring Toss - that’s supposed to be the hardest one right? I did manage to win small stuffed animals playing a basketball-type game. The zoo at Ocean Park sets it apart, with an Aviary, Aquarium, and Giant Panda habitat. The Aviary exhibited exotic birds of all colors, including a flock of red and pink flamingos. The Aquarium showed me nothing new, which might be due to the National Aquarium in Baltimore being so close to my home in the States. I wondered how Giant Pandas could live in Hong Kong’s humidity, but I understood right away when I walked into the ice-cold, chilled habitat.

A final note: this Blog is almost finished - I’m planning to write 40 Episodes and tie up this study abroad experience nicely. When I finish all 40 Episodes, it’ll be fun to read back through this story. What a semester…

Next Episode: "Come To HK!"

(37) Tai O

The view here isn’t great, but you can see that Tai O is sort of a “floating town” - homes here are supported by beams protruding from a shallow river that runs through the area.

Located in the far east of Hong Kong, it takes 45 minutes on the metro and another 45 on a bus to get to Tai O. However, this unique community is a worthwhile trip. First, I paid 20 HKD to take a ride on a 10-person motorboat: the driver first drove along this stream (see title picture) further into the town to give tourists a glimpse of Tai O’s floating homes. Next, he drove us out into the ocean, picked a good spot, and stopped. Before you know it, dolphins started jumping out of the water! These were small and white, unlike your Seaworld dolphins. Camera shutters started clicking immediately, and my best effort was a perfect picture of… the splash that a dolphin made after re-entering the water. You’ll have to see them for yourself sometime.

After going dolphin-watching, you can walk into the town to sample some local snacks. The yellow jelly here is made of tea and the darker jelly is made of red beans. Both jellies were lightly sweet and cooling to the taste buds - perfect for a hot day. In the album, you’ll see that people would leave duck egg yolks out to dry in the sun, and sell them when they have dried to a bright orange color. Other shop owners specialized in sweet buns, fried fish, and dried cuttlefish (or squid). Lastly, tourists queue up for up to an hour waiting for mini egg cakes baked in a metal container placed inside a hollow tree trunk section. According to locals, the cook - an elderly man - only comes out to make cakes when he feels up to it, funny enough. His “unofficial” stall is the most popular in town nonetheless.

Album Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/TaiO?feat=directlink

Next Episode: "Ocean Park”

(36) Shenzhen Revisited

Sometimes when your original plans go awry, you can find something unexpectedly and equally rewarding. A little background: Shenzhen is just across Hong Kong’s northern border into the Mainland, this city became China’s first Special Economic Zone in 1980- high-rise apartment buildings and office buildings sprang up, making it one of the richest Chinese cities in only a few years. I came here last in 2007 during a family trip and the plan was to visit the beaches and landmarks, take in Shenzhen’s urban scene, and relax in a nice hotel room for 5 days. That time, I didn’t plan on getting sick from the heat and becoming bed-ridden for 4 out of the 5 days

This time around, a friend and I wanted to visit Shenzhen’s Window to the World - an Epcot-style theme park that I had missed out on in 2007 (title picture). It was the rain that washed out our plans on that day. So we took a walk around the city to see what else we could find. The first would be the Shenzhen Civic Center; it has a very unique design, see picture below:

The second was that I found Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifts here, at the Shenzhen Book City. In the Foreign Bookstore (The Book City was divided into many smaller shops pertaining to certain fields, this was the only bookstore with books in English), I advised my friend to buy To Kill A Mockingbird, a classic with easy enough language to help him sharpen his English skills - he bought The Alchemist on my recommendation too. I bought Pride and Prejudice for my mom, a Jane Austen reader; and Yao: A Life in Two Worlds for my dad, an avid Houston Rockets supporter. Maybe for me visiting Shenzhen’s big tourist attractions, the third time would be the charm…

Album Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/ShenzhenRevisited?feat=directlink
Next Episode: "Tai O”

(35) Lamma Island

The graffiti says “Welcome to Lamma, please keep clean.”

Lamma Island is the third largest island in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island) and can be reached by a ferry departing from Central MTR Station. You’ll see in the picture below: one power plant provides cooling (almost all places in HK do not have heating) and electricity to this fishing community turned tourist trap.

There are two possible ferry destinations from Central: Yong Shue Wan in the north of Lamma, and Sok Kwo Wan in the middle-south. We got off at Yong Shue Wan and proceeded down the Main Street (the only marked street) to the southern part of the island. The beaches in the northern part were busier here compared to those in Sai Kung because no long hikes were needed to reach them. Yong Shue Wan itself is the biggest village on the island with many small shops and western-style restaurants for foreigners.

Sok Kwo Wan serves as a refueling stop for travelers wishing to hike the southern part of Lamma (mostly wetlands and hills). Continuing from there, I realized why people were moving into the city from these outlying areas - man seemed to be losing a battle with nature here, vegetation grew all over houses and there was no solid land to build on. On one instance, there was a lone old man sitting with his dog in an (almost) abandoned village; he muttered something unintelligible to us (it didn’t sound like Cantonese either) and pointed in a direction with his finger. It seemed like he’d seen many travelers, but knew he wasn’t going anywhere itself, it was a somewhat haunting moment that I still remember.

To end this post, here’s a video I took of a cool little water wheel machine - you can hear elderly women speaking Cantonese in the background too.

Album Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/LammaIsland?feat=directlink

Next Episode: "Shenzhen Revisited”

(34) Victoria Harbour

The best place and time in Hong Kong to take a walk - whether a pensive one alone or a romantic one with someone special - is at Victoria Harbour around 8PM.

Every night, the Tsim Sha Tsui (Kowloon) and Central (HK Island) areas light up opposing sides of the Strait of Hong Kong. At 8PM on weeknights, lasers emanate from different buildings on either side to give a light show to passers-by. On big holidays such as Chinese New Year, the lasers are replaced by a fireworks display. Professional photographers set up shop here at night, taking high quality wallet-size photos for 10 HKD (~$1.30) each.

On that particular night, I took a boat ride across the Strait after the light show. Then I took an electric streetcar that runs from the east to the west end of Hong Kong Island - through the most developed areas, of course. Congee is a popular food in Hong Kong no matter then time, so I went for a midnight snack in Kennedy Town on the east end of the streetcar line - A large bowl of congee and fried turnip cake totaling 40 HKD (~ 5.20) for two people.

Album Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/VictoriaHarbour?feat=directlink

Next Episode: "Lamma Island"

(33) Plastics Engineering

My semester finished up today, so I'll spend one post talking about a cool class I took: MEEM3006 - Plastics Engineering.

The course focused on plastics and composites and the differences (in mechanical properties) between them and metals. I won't bore you with any math, but this stuff really applies to my life - specifically my major and my favorite sport. The Boeing 787 below is the first commercial aircraft to be built with composite materials. The prof also touched on types of composites found in tennis rackets: kevlar is light and flexible, boron is the heaviest, and carbon makes the stiffest rackets.


Getting to know my classmates was an experience in itself. Both lecture and lab are at night because they come to class after working a full day (8-6 in Hong Kong) at computer companies and engineering firms. One classmate is 29 and has a daughter!! I'm the only full-time student and exchange student; and the youngest by at least 4 years compared to anyone in the class. I got to know Daniel, one of my lab partners, really well. We would always talk about the working life vs. the school life outside of class. I got a glimpse of where I might be in 5 years, it's a funny feeling haha.

Also, here's a short album with pictures from the Plastics Lab at City-U (upload in progress...)

Album Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/PlasticsEngineering?feat=directlink

Next Episode: "Victoria Harbour"

(32) Eight Sages Range

Pat Sin Leng - English translation "Eight Sages Range" - near Tai Po Market MTR Station. If you look closely, there appears to be nine peaks...

May Day - May 1st - is a family-oriented holiday where adults barbecue and children play around in the parks. The Tai Po area offers a nice retreat for many Hong Kongers. Many families and young people took a short hike up Pat Sin Leng to Bride's Pool, a quiet stream and pond with playgrounds, barbecue areas, and picnic tables.

This is the 6th [ Lion Rock, Lantau South (just slightly), Lung Fu Shan, Pok Fu Lam, Sai Kung West, and Pat Sin Leng ] and maybe last Hong Kong Country Park that I have time to visit this semester. There are 24 Country Parks in Hong Kong in all; this website gives detailed info - attractions, scenery, landmarks, available public transportation etc. - on each park.

http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/country/cou_vis/cou_vis_cou/cou_vis_cou.html

I strongly recommend checking out the Country Parks if you're ever in Hong Kong; but I think my pictures are doing a good job convincing you :)

You might also notice the albums for Episodes 31 and 32 are very short. I've passed the 500-photo mark on my Picasa page (521 to be exact). This actually the number of photos after I trimmed down every album. Space is running out on that webpage at the moment, I'll need to find a way to get more.

Album Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/EightSagesRange?feat=directlink

Next Episode: "Plastics Engineering"

(31) Win, Place, Show

Yup, Horses!

Horse racing is a favored spectacle for Hong Kong residents (especially the old people hehe...) and foreigners alike. The MTR (HK metro) East Rail Line takes a special branch route to Penfold Park Horsetrack on racing days, I think I happened to catch the first racing day of the year - I do think horse racing starts in late spring generally.

Another one of Hong Kong's landmarks, and I had never been to a horsetrack before. I saw gambling "tickets" for soccer matches, basketball and baseball games, as well as the horses themselves - I took a ticket as my souvenir. Horse racing in Hong Kong is sponsored by the Jockey Club; and surprisingly, the Jockey Club itself is non-profit and donates a large amount of earnings to charity.

Album Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/WinPlaceShow?feat=directlink

Next Episode: "Eight Sages Range"

(30) "Days at JCAC"

The semester's end is approaching, and I was surprised to find this slipped under my door one day.

"Days at JCAC" is the yearbook for my hall: Jockey Club Academy. During the year, our "reporters" collected stories from residents, RA's, sports teams and players, exchange students etc. "Days at JCAC" is then edited by fellow residents and proofread by Melody, an American exchange student, in English.

There were some Hall Activities I missed from the fall semester, including:

- Aquatic Meet in September
- Athletic (we'd call it "track") Meet in October
- English Corner and Putonghua (Mandarin) Salon, where native Hong Kong students practice their language skills with mainland Chinese students and/or English speakers.
- German cultural night; Rebecca, one of the RA's, is a full-time student from Germany.

This semester, some Hall Activities were:

- High Table Dinner, which is a formal dinner party reserved for students of each hall.
- Hiking trip to Tung Chung, in March (I hiked here in late January)
- Sports Competitions; we won soccer, got 3rd place in boy's and girl's basketball
- Cooking and Singing Competitions (JCAC won the singing, sweet)

I even made an appearance on page 21 (lower right), in an article about the Basketball Competition.


Next Episode: "Win, Place, Show"

(29) A Quick Thank-you

About a week ago, I got an e-mail from Ms. Sassi from the Study Abroad Office at the University of Texas-Austin. This is a screenshot she sent me, showing my blog linked to Blackboard at UT.

This is simply a post to show my appreciation! It's been a pleasure sharing my story with my friends, and this blog could help make another difference by inspiring more students to go to Hong Kong.

Besides this news, I had a nice run last week. I found out I got an academic award back home in UMD... I've also finished most of the daunting schedule mentioned in Episode 24 - pulled a couple all nighters in the process too. I actually had some free time on Friday and went down to the park to shoot hoops for the first time in weeks.

Next Episode: "Days at JCAC"

(27-28) School Days

Landmark fountain outside Hong Kong Polytechnic University (AKA Poly-U among native students) - the school's logo is in the center.


A plasma ball inside the Hong Kong Science Museum.

Let's talk double feature! Two museums, two title pictures, two learning experiences (hence "School Days" haha), all over two weekends.

So sorry for the delay. I've been doing way too much typing lately...
The Hong Kong Museum of History and the Hong Kong Science Museum are located in one complex in Tsim Sha Tsui. The Poly-U photo was included because the university was also right there, convieniently enough for those guys.

The HK Museum of History: "The serious one", we know Hong Kong is a seaport now, but you would never guess that it's been: a riverbed, marshes, a sea, a range of volcanoes, a desert, and a lake all in that order in the last 350 million years. Of course, HK owns a colorful history after humans got there, too. The Hong Kong area was first settled by people of the Maha tribe, a Southeastern Asian people who are the ancestors of Vietnamese people now.

Later on, Hong Kong was settled by three more tribes:
Punti - translation - "Natives", Cantonese
Hakka - "Guests", nomads who could have originated as for north as Mongolia
Hoklo - "Min People", from Fujian (province) or Taiwan

Last but not least, Hong Kong went through a period of colonization by the British and Japanese. The final exhibit (on the recommended path) was a video of the Hong Kong Reclamation by China on June 30, 1997 (my birthday!)

The HK Science Museum: "The fun one", according to the brochure there are ~700 exhibits, ~400 of which are hands-on; the exhibits cover every branch of science. The most attractive one might be the "Ability Test", you get your own scorecard and go all sorts of exercises: strength, balance, reaction time, puzzles, memory, eyesight etc.

The World of Mirrors was awesome! You'll see my friend and I had a lot of fun with those :) There were also exhibits on Electricity (where I learned apparently I conducted 1 more Volt than my friend haha), Food Science (you need to bike about 3 miles to burn off a small bowl of rice), and Optical Illusions among many others.

Both of these museums take an entire day to cover, and they are must-sees while in Hong Kong!

Album Links:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/SchoolDays1?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/SchoolDays2?feat=directlink

Next Episode: "A Quick Thank-you"

(26) Easter

My aunt just had a child recently, she (my youngest cousin) turned one month old right around Easter. Since school was closed for break, I took the train back to Guangzhou to celebrate with family. Besides taking it real easy, I spent time playing badminton in the park with my relatives.

This time, I brought back gifts for my grandparents and my (now two) younger cousins. My grandparents got packages of assorted European cookies, my 10-year-old cousin got a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle (she loves arts and crafts), and my youngest cousin got a nice silver bracelet (which she simply wasn't big enough to wear yet haha...) All of the gifts were very well received, it was a relaxing and rewarding Easter weekend.

I can't take all the credit for those gifts. A good friend of mine in HK advised me on gifts for my younger cousins - you read this blog too, you know who you are :)

Next Episode: "Double Feature - School Days"

(25) Sai Kung

Simply epic. It's been a while since I uploaded pictures, so hopefully this is me coming back in a big way.

The Two Jasons were at it again, this time the adventure was set in the expansive Sai Kung East Country Park in the northeastern New Territories. The starting place, Sai Kung Market, was an hour away (first by metro, then by bus) from the City-U campus. This place was quite another thing as compared to the city: there were no skyscrapers here, and the active marketplace atmosphere gave this place a Caribbean feel. Fishermen used their boats as moving shops, selling their catch not 15 minutes after having lowered their nets, cages, and poles. People lined up eagerly to buy the fresh fish and seafood when a boat would come in. If you went to a restaurant, the first thing the hostess would ask is: “Are you having seafood today?” If you answered “Yes”, then you would sit at an outdoors table, enjoy a sea breeze (on a beautiful day that day), and dine on fresh seafood for a “tourist’s price” (meaning expensive as hell!) If you answered “No”, then you would sit at indoors table which you may even have to share with other patrons; of course, you would pay a lot less too.

After having a quick lunch (no seafood), we went into the mountains. You’ll see from my album that Sai Kung East seemed to take us through different worlds - dense jungle-like areas with waterfalls in the distance, cooling oases with sparkling clean water, highlands from which you could see the entire park, and sandy beaches with islands just off in the distance. I didn't believe I was still in HK after a couple hours hiking.

The title picture is from a beach in a village about 5 miles from Sai Kung market. Returning took even longer at around 6-7 miles (we took a different road out of the mountains, taking an elliptical path all around Sai Kung Country Park East) Check out the album for the full story!

Album Link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/SaiKung?feat=directlink

Next Episode: “Easter”

- New E-mail

I think I'm about 4 years late on this ---> I finally have Gmail:
jylu630@gmail.com

(24) April

I can't stress enough how fast time is flying by over here, it's already April (and I leave in May)!! April is a big month for all of us, for my engineering friends especially. It's a month of transition from March Madness and Spring Break to preparing for the dreaded final exams. Here is what my April looks like:

4/1: Register for classes at UMD (ENAE301, ENAE380, ENES472, ARTH290)
4/2: Prepare a debate outline for Chinese Foreign Policy
4/3 - 5: Visit my family in Guangzhou, give out nice gifts to them :)
4/12: 40-minute debate in Chinese Foreign Policy
4/15: Lab Report due in Plastics Engineering
4/16: Math midterm, mostly on Fourier series and other things I need to catch up on... oops
4/19: Project due in C programming
4/20: Take-home packet for math due
4/23: 2500 words on China's need for natural resources in the South Pacific (CFP course), extra credit assignment due for Math
4/26: Final exam in CFP (which is actually outside the exam period)
4/30: 2000 words on Manufacturing Processes for Plastics Engineering

Yup, there's my to-do list... I'll be busy, but it won't stop me from having EPIC adventures in Hong Kong (see next episode :) )

Next Episode: "Sai Kung"

(23) Band of Brothers

The basketball competition finished on Thursday night with our team being handed a resounding 50-30 loss by Hall 2 (called HSBC Prosperity Hall, in case you wanted to know haha). In our defense, they had 2 players on the varsity team at the university; the game boiled down to a match of talent, and... well... the game was already out of hand by the end of the 1st quarter. The bench was cleared during the fourth quarter as the game proved to be out of reach. I delivered an 8-point performance highlighted by the other team's center blocking me multiple times on drives and jumpshots (did manage to make 2 3-pointers). He was 7 feet tall, I swear! (Well, more like 6-9 but still)

Nonetheless, the boys' team finished in 3rd place among 9 residence halls - more than a respectable result. The girls' team got 3rd as well, capping a well-rounded performance by Jockey Club Academy Hall. For me, I finished the season averaging 9 points per game at the shooting guard spot. Members of both boys' and girls' teams - whoever could make it that night - and friends went out to dinner; at this point I'd like to give a shout-out to the people that contributed to a solid season:

Team managers: Gabriel (to my left, front), Kitty (front, pink jacket), and Jeff (not pictured)

Shout-out to the girls' team, I should have learned their names...

People whose names I know:
Wai (far right w/ glasses, #15-PF), Gio (black hat, #12-PG), Jacky (gray hoodie, #5-SF), Michael (to the immediate left of Jacky, #6-backup SF), and me (#11-SG).

I didn't know the names of the guy standing up (#13-backup PG), and the guy in the green jacket (#18-backup PF); they joined the team late. Really sorry guys, but I still have the most sincere shout-out to you! The guy in the collared shirt and the guy smiling broadly in the back middle are their friends, I believe.

My teammates that didn't make it to the dinner:
Xavier (#7-backup SG), Jeffrey (#8-backup SF), James (#9-backup SF), Ming (#10-PG), Matthew (#14-backup SG), and Tim (#17-backup SF)

This experience meant a lot to me, gelling as a team during practices and games. My teammates communicated plays and defenses in English, which I much appreciated. Our hall's fans deserve a shout-out too, they cheered as loudly whether we were up 10 points or down 20 points. Yeah, this is just another great memory I'll have of studying abroad in Hong Kong.

P.S. This picture showed up on the Residence Hall website, so I nabbed it :P


Next Episode: "April"

(22) Midterm Report

First of all, wow! Did brackets get torn up the first weekend! As I say that, Butler just beat Syracuse to add to the madness. A sincere "thank you" as well to Greivis Vasquez, Landon Milbourne, and Eric Hayes for some great memories - especially beating UNC and Duke at home.

My student visa is halfway to its expiration date now, so I'm checking up on the goals I set earlier this semester:

(All the way back from my first post)
1. Have a great time and soak everything in this semester.
2. Be more open-minded.
3. Don't be so serious all the time, I have the rest of my life to be serious.
4. Come back to UMD better than ever.

I can check off #1 and 2 for sure, as Hong Kong is surely growing on me. I know a lot of other exchange students have toured all over Asia during long weekends and breaks, but I am perfectly happy looking around right here. As far as I can tell, my time here is way too short to fully explore HK - I'm already considering coming back here after I'm done with undergrad. "Open-minded" for me has been making an effort to get to know the native students and sharing my own story with them, and I've been rewarded greatly for it. This has meant I've spent less time with other exchange students, but hey, I can talk to American kids when I get home. I haven't accomplished #3, guess I really can't change myself that way. And #4 is a work in progress, but things are looking good :)

I'm passing all of my classes: 86 on math midterm and 80 on programming, with the second midterms in each coming up. I've already taken 2 midterms in material science, but students don't get their midterms back in Engineering courses (which I don't agree with at all). Chinese foreign policy looks to be the toughest, with a debate, paper, and final all coming up shortly after Easter break.

Either way, life is good... a satisfactory Midterm Report!

Next Episode: "Band of Brothers"

(21) Bracketology

I have not watched much college basketball this year, but I hear this guy (and his school!) is real good, photo courtesy of ESPN. In case you're wondering, I also just watched the "Barack-etology" video. Mr. President does not believe Maryland will go far...

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5002940

It's too bad UMD had to be in the Midwest bracket, if they drew any other No. 1 Seed (but it just had to be Kansas...) they'd be going to the Final Four in a heartbeat. It will also break my heart to see another #21 jersey, Mr. Evan Turner of Ohio State (my 2nd favorite team and in the same region) not make it to the Final Four either. I'm being realistic after all, Kansas has Sherron Collins, as their senior floor general, and his freshman lieutenant Xavier Henry.

The NCAA is getting better at seeding too, which makes me think not too many upsets will happen: but I did take Murray St., San Diego St., and Utah St. Also **** Duke, Siena makes the Elite 8. Otherwise my bracket's pretty conservative.

My Bracket:
http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/entry?entryID=2291521

Next Episode: "Midterm Report"

(20) The Best Deals in Hong Kong

The malls in Hong Kong are great, but quite expensive. If you're looking for mass gift items for your co-workers or (more personal) gag gifts, the Yau Ma Tei area has it all. Get off the metro at the station of the same name and walk down Portland Street to shop the outdoor market.

Sit down first to enjoy the sea breeze from the coast a few blocks east of here. You can sample some rock-pot rice dishes, deep-fried oyster cake (I had this for the first time), and mantis shrimp (popular in Cantonese cooking and very tasty too); bottled beer is cheap at less than $2 American.

Walking through the market, I saw a keychain that doubles as a calendar for the next 35 years, magnets of HK street signs, dice for drinking games, books of proverbs, clothes, nail clippers, jewelry (from plastic to jade), bread that felt like bread but really wasn't, etc. There was even a shop where pretty much every item was a cigarette lighter disguised as other everyday objects like cookies and salt chakers; I forget the rest, but... pure craziness. The title pic is not one of the market, sadly, because I forgot to take ANY pictures until I was on my way home...

P.S. This post totally sounded like an ad - but I had a great time out last night.

Next Episode: "Bracketology"

(19) Among the Stars

Jackie Chan! Both the Avenue of Stars and the Hong Kong Space Museum are on the southern tip of Kowloon (Tsim Sha Tsui).

It was a short Saturday morning excursion, and a funny thing happened as I made my way to the HK Space Museum. Roads and directions in Hong Kong, especially in dense urban areas, can become very confusing. So I was backtracking when an interesting thing happened: a man stopped me and told me some things that were supposedly "about me" (and "blessed" me for good fortunes), handed me a slip of paper, and asked me about my favorite color and lucky number. Of course, he got them correct when he told me to unfold the slip of paper... I ended up give him a nice amount of money for all that. This isn't the first time it's happened, I've been approached several times on the streets now and I've given some money to strangers every time - I guess I shouldn't be so trusting, but I'd like to believe the money's going somewhere good (even just for bread).

As for the museum, it wasn't as big (when it comes to rockets and airplanes, bigger = better) as other Aerospace-related ones I've been to: the Smithsonian in D.C., the Kennedy Space Center, and the Dayton Museum of Flight in Ohio - but the Hong Kongers did a good job with the limited space. There's a planetarium and some educational exhibits about Engineering and Astronomy, it's a good start for younger kids.

I've never been to the Avenue of Stars in Hollywood, so I'm not sure how the Hong Kong counterpart stacks up. But I've posted some recognizable stars on my album, including Bruce Lee, Jet Li, and film director John Woo.

Album Link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/AmongTheStars?feat=directlink

Next Episode: "The Best Deals in Hong Kong"

(18) History Lesson

A Chinese warship from the Ming Dynasty, though China has never been a historical naval power...

Hong Kong, however, has a rich maritime history spanning over 2000 years. I visited the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense (eastern edge of Hong Kong Island) over the weekend for a quick history lesson - $5 HKD (70 cents American) well spent.

Tanks and cannons on the museum ground immediately captured my interest: I'm an engineer, so machines in general are awesome :) The museum had a great view of the HK Island strait: you could see the transform from a fishing village to a high-rise metro center in a matter of a few miles (or should I use kilometers haha), small tugboats pulling freighters, people enjoying life on cruise ships and speedboats, and sea birds flying around in groups. Now for some history: I've bolded some terms you can look up if you're really interested any of the topics.

Europe had always been interested in China for its jewelry, silk, and various bobbles - but China had remained a well-defended and well-isolated empire throughout the dynastic period. The British Empire found the way to infiltrate China through trading opium, however. The opium trade was devastating to both the Qing Dynasty high office and economy - opium addiction among ranking officials was widespread and led to corruption down to county levels; and China's valuable silk, artifacts, as well as gold and silver stores were extracted from the country as payment for opium.

One Chinese official, Lin Zexu, showed his integrity and loyalty to China by seizing 20,000 crates of opium and burning it at Humen (lit. "Tiger Gate") Port Town in 1839. This would become the trigger for the Opium Wars between the British and Chinese. The Opium Wars is arguably the start of the Qing Dynasty's decline.

Today, Chinese authorities still practice the burning of illegal drugs at Humen Port Town to commemorate the first Opium Burning.

Album Link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/HistoryLesson?feat=directlink

Next Episode: "Among the Stars"

(17) The Two Jasons

The statue of Sun Yat-Sen on the HKU campus. Sun Yat-Sen (1866-1925) was renowned for his revolutionary Western thinking during a time of transition in China.

I went on this excursion with an exchange student I met recently, who is a also hiking enthusiast. Pan Zhijian (Pan is the family name) is from Shandong province of mainland China and studies Electrical Engineering (called "Electronical Engineering" here). The title gives it away: his English name is Jason as well - a very cool guy from whom I'm learning much about college life in China.

Our excursion covered the west of Hong Kong Island. Starting off downhill after a cab ride to the Peak Gallery (a shopping center on top of a mountain), we walked the trail through Lung Fu Shan Country Park to the Pinewood Battery. Pinewood Battery is the ruins of a British outpost (with anti-aircraft guns) that defended Hong Kong from 1905-1913. This area of the country park was also the battleground for British and Japanese troops during the 1941 Battle of Hong Kong, which Japan won. The Pok Fu Lam Reservoir was further down the trail. We met a group of ornithologists with big cameras here and one agreed to show us a few pictures of local birds in stunning detail.

The University of Hong Kong campus was at the end of the trail coming out of the mountains. We conducted the usual college campus tour (see album) and rode a DOUBLE-DECKER BUS (haha I thought it was so awesome) back to the metro station, concluding a long productive day.

Album Links:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/TheTwoJasons?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/jasonylu89/HKU?feat=directlink

Next Episode: "History Lesson"