Author Archives: peh5024

Holidays in Hong Kong

At first I was not excited about it because I would be missing this special day all my family gathers and has a blast! I have a very large family and this only happens around the holidays.

After I got over the fact that I would not be with my family on this day; I was feeling a bit “down”. It did not even feel like it was this very day that everyone rejoices over. I had to remember when looking at statuses on Facebook and Twitter.

What’s this day huh?…. THANKSGIVING!!! duh

Its not that the Asian culture doesn’t celebrate it, because they very well do. It just didn’t feel the same. Plus on top of me missing every other special event for the past 4 years of being in college – not being around for thanksgiving almost tore me apart. I was being a real scrooge.

Well, I wasn’t that bad.. I was just sad. I finally sucked it up, got off my tush, and ended up having a very great Thanksgiving. When I talked to myself (don’t judge, its just like writing a blog), I realized I cannot keep getting in the way of my own happiness. Here are some pics of the night! My expectations were surpassed! 😀

Thanks Hong Kong!

Location: Fat Angelos, Shop G3, G/F, Panda Hotel, Panda Place Tsuen Wah Street, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong

Regrets??

I do not really have any regrets.

There are things I would have done differently, but I do not regret any of my actions here in Hong Kong.

Some things I would have done differently:

Spend more time with my roommate

Got more involved instead of stopping at sports

Picked a different Hostel immediately when I seen the horror of mine

Not let my guard down – even if it was to test a friendship

Got a journal – even though I typed EVERYTHING or documented with Pictures.. 😀

Explored even more than I did – I believe there was so much more to see in Hong Kong

Switched up my crowds more – despite differences ideas of fun, interests, distance, etc

Bugged Penn State for more information before signing my life away

LAST BUT MOST IMPORTANT:

Go on this journey A LONG TIME AGO

It was such a wonderful experience. I learned so much about other people, myself, and what I want to do with my life. Every student should consider an abroad experience – whether it is for a week or a year. Just make sure you embrace the experience to its full potential!!!

Location: My Dorm Room, Morningside College, Clinic Road, CUHK, Hong Kong

Hmm.

I’m just sitting here in my room thinking. My mind remains blank. So I just wanted to come on here and say that with nothing going on in my head at the moment – I am thankful for my wonderful roommate, gorgeous view, and free air conditioning in 90 degree humid weather.

Well………

I guess a few things did come to mind. 🙂

Location: My Dorm Room, Morningside College, Clinic Road, CUHK, Hong Kong

Mini Flash Mob at LFK?!

HOWDY!?

:)… So another great night at LFK was kicked off by some jokes and acting. By the end of the night, group dancing was the way to go! We thought at first a flash mob was forming in HONG KONG!!! But it ended up being a couple of young dancers that all know each other, giving us some good entertainment and showing off their skills! It was a great time and very inspiring to watch! I have a couple of videos below so you can see the fun that took place!

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Sorry for flipping the camera a couple times!!! LOL

Location: Hard Rock Cafe, LKF Tower 55 D'Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central Hong Kong

Grateful for my Experiences PT.2

Hey.. Im back… AGAIN… I just thought I do a small (Okay, its no longer small, but my intent was for it to be) Re cap of things I have accomplished while in Hong Kong:

I went to see the symphony of lights
Visited the Avenue of Stars
Went to see the big Buddha
Went on a boat cruise
Went banana boating
Partied in LKF
Went to the Tai Po Fish market
Went to the wet market
Went kayaking
Experienced Dim Sum quite a few times
Tried Hong Kong Street Foods
Attended the Mid-Autmn festival
Tried out for the volleyball team
Got accepted into Hong Kong’s Rugby Team
Shopped at the ladies market in Mong Kok
Ate at one of the best places in Hong Kong- Mr. Wongs… lol
Went to Victoria Peak/Mountain to see the symphony of lights at a different angle
Road the cable car
Went to Lamma Island
Went to Lantau Island
Took a Ferry Numerous Times
Attended and Assisted at the Restaurant and bar show HK 2011
Got an internship with Jeff Follick’s Catering Depot company assisting in a bakery project
Met with Randy Lee of Compass Company (Director) – attended his rugby game
Went on two business meetings with an Italian Chef named Memo & Randy Lee
Was offered 2 unofficial Job opportunities to work in Hong Kong Disney and Open locations my contact has connections to

I have some pictures of those events below.

Location: Au Pui Wan Road, Fo Tan, New Territories, Hong Kong

Grateful for my Experiences PT.1

A lot of people don’t understand that I am not cutting my opportunities short. They do not understand that my priority for coming here is SCHOOL first, everything else second. I planned to do things outside of school, but only if I am available to; gain something from it, will enjoy myself more than 80% of the time, and if I am surrounding myself with people I enjoy being around. I wanted to sit and think about what I have done so far, and I can very much say that If I had to leave Hong Kong today, I will be satisfied with what I have accomplished so far. So everything that happens or I am asked to be apart of is a bonus. Being pressured is not an option, because at the end of the day most people only worry about themselves. I do not want to be stuck in a situation that truly makes me unhappy because I did not look out for my best interest. So KEEP READING PT. 2 OF THIS ENTRY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO, BUT DIDN’T GET A CHANCE T BLOG ABOUT!

Location: STATION ROAD, SHATIN, HONG KONG

My Wife!! = Mr. Wong’s place

Mr. Wong’s is a local restaurant in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, with favor toward tourists …… mainly tourist WOMEN! The Owner and main employee of this fine establishment is Mr. Wong. He is a highly energetic, funny, clueless, friendly, determined, middle-to-old aged man! He constantly tells his customers he is looking for a wife and that he has been to several places in the U.S. trying to accomplish this goal. He tells all his female customers they are beautiful, and sometimes gets a little touchy, but never disrespectfully or inappropriately. He doesn’t care who you are, what you look like, what your skin color is. He welcomes EVERYONE, with a sweet spot for American women. LOL

Mr. Wong’s restaurant is not big and fancy, but it has a lot of heart and a fun atmosphere! He serves Chinese family style food for $50 HK dollars, which amounts to almost $7 US dollars. He brings out dishes of his choice – or if you know the 100 different types of food on the menu (it is all in Chinese writing), then you can order your own! When I say this place is worth your money, I truly mean it!!! He brings out endless amounts of food and beer (I don’t like beer too much so I grab some soda) for the groups that line up to eat at his establishment.

I have never seen Mr. Wong’s restaurant have a slow night. His establishment only employs (from what I’ve seen) a cook, himself, and one other helper for when he is very busy. On average, I would say Mr. Wong has a endless, full restaurant (30-35 people) with a staff of 3. This is a great place to kick back and have fun with your friends, or a nice pregame place before you head over to LKF or some other party scene for the night!

Here are some pics below! I stopped taking pictures of the other food, but I was more interested in eating. Sorry! J

Location: Mong Kok, Hong Kong

What is LKF?!

THIS IS AN EARLY POST!!! I already posted one for this week but I didn’t want to leave you guys on the edge of your seats! LAN KWAI FONG…LKF

For those who don’t know, LKF is located in Central of Hong Kong. It is a major tourist attraction. Mainly for the savvy business workers who are tired of work and want to let loose after 5p.m.; then when they are starting to clear out, it is for the wild after 11p.m.

LFK pretty hilarious actually. It is a normal street area where the bars may not be open, taxis are driving through, and the streets are clean. When 11p.m. rolls around, cars don’t even dare to drive down this road, glass bottles broken every where, bars thriving with business, drunk and SOME sober people every where. You would think the 2011 “Planet of the Apes” Movie took place on this very road. Let alone all this is happening on this semi steep hill that may feel like a mountain once you have gotten a few drinks in ya! I’m not condoning this behavior, but whether you’re a drinker, recovering alcoholic, just there to observe, want to experience something new, or stumbled on this street shopping in the areas near by, this is a great place to experience!

I can go on and on about this place, but you should check the pictures out below and the videos I will post on the next blog right after this named, MINI FLASH MOB of LFK?!?

Location: Wyndham street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong

Up til’ Dawn, but No Sunrise

So it seemed to be our 3^rd or 4^th time going to LKF a.k.a. Lan Kwai Fung. We had such a great time!! We were so pumped up for some reason and sleep was no longer an option. Even when things were closed down, the mtr trains stop running, and the night slowly turned into the day – we felt the need to keep moving. This was so fun an exciting!!!! It was definitely and night to remember, even though I forgot to blog about it weeks go.

We stayed up all night because it was hard to catch a taxi and we also didn’t want to pay for it. Two friends of mine, who wants to remain nameless, passed out on concrete and a cardboard box (sober) awaiting the ferry to the closest MTR station, then we caught the train back home. Leaving out the previous night around 6 or 7 p.m., we were out 24hrs straight. I ended up in my hostel, the next morning around 8 am!!! What a night to remember!!!

I will explain what LFK is in my next blog!!

Talk to ya soon!

Location: Lan Kwai Fung, Central Hong Kong

Sometimes being a Nuisance is Good

This is going to be a quick one because I barely get any moments to sit down and write a decent blog.

Basically, I have been pulling my hair out because the process for everything here is so taxing when it simply doesn’t need to be. The campus is widespread and when the staff here has the students running around doing work that seems like their job gets many of us very frustrated. I have gotten different information from staff on the same questions I have been asking for days. Some times different answers from the same person I spoke to in a matter of 1 hour.

Thank God for the patience I was blessed with. I just stayed calm and did not cut any corners. Out here it seems like constantly asking questions and being under someone’s hip does the trick…… YES!! All is well and everything is solved! I still do not like how everything was handled between PSU and CUHK. But this is giving me practice for the real business world. I just won’t have to pay thousands of dollars to everyone else to end up doing what I thought was their job, MYSELF.

Another good thing is SOME people here rather not give you answer right away and its the wrong thing, so they take longer to figure things out and get back to you just to be sure. I can understand that.. 🙂

Thanks for reading!! Gotta go!

Location: Cheung Yu Tung Building, Shatin, N.T. Hong Kong

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