This weekend was amazing. This post will be purely informational because right now I'm too lazy to come up with anything resembling 'insight'right now:
On Saturday, a bunch of us exchange students and some local friends decided to spend the day at the beach on Lamma Island, one of the outlying island of Hong Kong. So, we met in Central early in the morning, and after some delays took the ferry to the island. This was my second time going to one of the Outlying Islands, the first being on my Class Picnic day when we went hiking on Cheung Chau. I have to say, I love the outlying islands! They are toooootally opposite to Hong Kong island; open space, relaxed atmosphere, not so busy, traditional buildings, and just a great vibe! Of course HK island is amazing too, but its nice that in less than an hour by boat, you can reach a beautiful traditional island. Anyway, once on the island, we had to walk about 25 minutes to get to the beach where we planned to 'party'/relax. Along the way went through the ancient village, very very very traditional, ate a bit of dim sum, and then got onto the beach. It was a tiny beach, but it was just what we were looking for! You could swim, relax under the palms, listen to music, meet the other foreigners/tourists on the island, and get good food and drinks for amazingly cheap prices right there. I felt a bit smug sitting on the beach getting a tan (not really, I'm too pale) relaxing under a tree and chatting with some HK locals, knowing that in Iowa it was probably freezing with nothing fun going on. Its a wonderful thing to be able to go to the beach in mid-October! I really don't miss the Iowa winter at all. So after a wonderful relaxing day at the beach I was sleepy, and went home a bit early to get some rest. Because after Saturday comes Sunday!
Sunday was another fabulous day. After a lazy morning of messing around and doing homework, I went bowling with some classmates in Tuen Mun (where my school is). If you remember from my last post, bowling is different here (look back if you want details...) But still, we decided that since we never got to actually bowl during our P.E. lesson, we'd do it ourselves. So, me and 5 of my best friends from school went bowling. For some, it was only their 2nd time ever bowling, and nobody was very good, so I was actually the best bowler there! Amazing! Actually I think I was just having a lucky day, becuase I've never scored so high in my life (I got 145 in one game!) But who knows, maybe I've just subconsciously figured out how to bowl well...
So after about 3 games, we went next-door the bowling alley (which is in the 2nd floor of a big 'multipurpose centre') and played snooker. I am terrible at snooker. Nothing more to say. I think I got one ball in the whole game. I prefer pool a million times over. 'Twas fun though. So then after snooker we went and walked around the mall, relaxed, had a snack, and then went for dinner at a local Hot Pot place! This was my 3rd time having hotpot here, and it is really one of my favorite ways to dine now. A big pot of bowling oil is placed in the middle of the table, and you just order various meats and vegetables, throw them in, wait a few minutes, and then go fishing for whatever looks good! It's exquisitely social, the restaurant is loud and casual, and the quantity of food in incredible. You just keep ordering more and more until you think you will burst, but thats just the was its done. Anyway, I managed to sample some very intersting things most of which I have no idea what was, but one thing I know is that I ate toad. Yes, toad! And it tasted good! Actually I would say its nothing too special, just some generic tasting meat, but its the thought that you're eating a chunk of toad meat that is quite exciting. Another thing is that hot pot meals take a loooong time, usually about 2 hours total. So by the time we finished all the deliciousness it had gotten quite late. I took the minibus home, did a bit of homework, and slept.
And that was my weekend! Hooray!
On Saturday, a bunch of us exchange students and some local friends decided to spend the day at the beach on Lamma Island, one of the outlying island of Hong Kong. So, we met in Central early in the morning, and after some delays took the ferry to the island. This was my second time going to one of the Outlying Islands, the first being on my Class Picnic day when we went hiking on Cheung Chau. I have to say, I love the outlying islands! They are toooootally opposite to Hong Kong island; open space, relaxed atmosphere, not so busy, traditional buildings, and just a great vibe! Of course HK island is amazing too, but its nice that in less than an hour by boat, you can reach a beautiful traditional island. Anyway, once on the island, we had to walk about 25 minutes to get to the beach where we planned to 'party'/relax. Along the way went through the ancient village, very very very traditional, ate a bit of dim sum, and then got onto the beach. It was a tiny beach, but it was just what we were looking for! You could swim, relax under the palms, listen to music, meet the other foreigners/tourists on the island, and get good food and drinks for amazingly cheap prices right there. I felt a bit smug sitting on the beach getting a tan (not really, I'm too pale) relaxing under a tree and chatting with some HK locals, knowing that in Iowa it was probably freezing with nothing fun going on. Its a wonderful thing to be able to go to the beach in mid-October! I really don't miss the Iowa winter at all. So after a wonderful relaxing day at the beach I was sleepy, and went home a bit early to get some rest. Because after Saturday comes Sunday!
Sunday was another fabulous day. After a lazy morning of messing around and doing homework, I went bowling with some classmates in Tuen Mun (where my school is). If you remember from my last post, bowling is different here (look back if you want details...) But still, we decided that since we never got to actually bowl during our P.E. lesson, we'd do it ourselves. So, me and 5 of my best friends from school went bowling. For some, it was only their 2nd time ever bowling, and nobody was very good, so I was actually the best bowler there! Amazing! Actually I think I was just having a lucky day, becuase I've never scored so high in my life (I got 145 in one game!) But who knows, maybe I've just subconsciously figured out how to bowl well...
So after about 3 games, we went next-door the bowling alley (which is in the 2nd floor of a big 'multipurpose centre') and played snooker. I am terrible at snooker. Nothing more to say. I think I got one ball in the whole game. I prefer pool a million times over. 'Twas fun though. So then after snooker we went and walked around the mall, relaxed, had a snack, and then went for dinner at a local Hot Pot place! This was my 3rd time having hotpot here, and it is really one of my favorite ways to dine now. A big pot of bowling oil is placed in the middle of the table, and you just order various meats and vegetables, throw them in, wait a few minutes, and then go fishing for whatever looks good! It's exquisitely social, the restaurant is loud and casual, and the quantity of food in incredible. You just keep ordering more and more until you think you will burst, but thats just the was its done. Anyway, I managed to sample some very intersting things most of which I have no idea what was, but one thing I know is that I ate toad. Yes, toad! And it tasted good! Actually I would say its nothing too special, just some generic tasting meat, but its the thought that you're eating a chunk of toad meat that is quite exciting. Another thing is that hot pot meals take a loooong time, usually about 2 hours total. So by the time we finished all the deliciousness it had gotten quite late. I took the minibus home, did a bit of homework, and slept.
And that was my weekend! Hooray!
Sunday, October 18, 2009 |
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Comments (2)
Maybe the fact that you bowled better than you have before has something to do with the fact that you were finally taught how to do it properly (even though your teaching was in Chinese, you could have subliminally picked up some tips and there were probably some body motions accompanying the teaching).
I thought the same thing! Maybe there was method to the PE teacher's madness. And I guess if the French can eat frogs' legs and snails, then Hong Kongers can eat toad.