- 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.