- hover over photos for descriptions -
A D V E N T U R E S
Home Sickness
Weeks 6 & 7 | September 30 - October 13, 2017
Photos by Josh Rasay
"short post today"
PUSH & PULL
wanting the familiarity, excited by the uncertainty
After finally finding the rhythm of life here in Hong Kong, I feel that I am becoming more and more complacent which is not necessarily a bad thing. I am beginning to form a great group of friends, classes are going very well, I just went to Taiwan--it is great! Still, I am missing the familiarity of the beaches, the food, and the people. It isa constant push and pull feeling inside of me. The adventures I have been having are so worthwhile but my mind is constantly reminding me that it is only temporary. It is a little pessimistic to startfeeling sad now realizing that this will all have to end in just a few weeks. So, naturally, I would just want to push it away and not deal with the impending sadness,but, at the same time, I wantto make sure that every minute is spent wisely and amazingly to reap the full benefits ofthis opportunity.
To distract myself from this conflict inside of me, I have been utilizing the latter strategy. Just being able to spend time with my friends and forcing myself out of my dorm room distracts me from thinking of the inevtiable. From late night talks with my friends to playing intense card games to working and coordinating group projects to planningfuture trips, I have been able to stave off the dread.
WHAT'S KEEPING ME SANE:
Photoshoots
Hanging with friends
Food adventures
Solo walks through the city
Planning trips
Doing my homework/groupwork
Looking forward to going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to explore and visit fellow HSBC/HKU competitors from the Malaysia team!
49% of me wants to go home, 51% wants to stay here
Photos by Josh Rasay
Weeks 8 & 9 | October 14 - October 27,2017
Revving Up
"constantly trying to run away from my homework with my friends hahaha"
INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS
exploring as much as studying
These past few weeks has begun to really rev up the activity. I went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where I reunited with my friends, those of the Malaysian team, from the HSBC/HKU Competition (Chun Weng, Siaw, and Sandra)! It is just amazing to have so many friends in so many different countries and to finally meet them in their homes and have them generously take you around. It is absolutely beautiful to see friends showcase what they consider home much like what I do when they come to my little island home in the middle ofthe Pacific. Last month, I had already met up with the Taiwanese team (Andy, Melody, and Greg) in Taipei, Taiwan and a fellow delegate, Shuting Liang, who I befriended at the Harvard Project for Asian & International Relations (HPAIR) in Taichung, Taiwan. Later in the month, I went on a solo trip to Singapore where I reunited with another friend and fellow HSBC/HKU competitor, Lester Ng. I also had the chance to meet with fellow UH Manoa students, Jackie Agena and Joshua Mart Lopez. I am just so thankful for the friendships that I have made over the past year because I now can visit them all!
As I have said, work has been really piling up along with job applications and class registration planning while trying to make sure that I have as much fun as possible because I only have a few weeks left! I will redo this post when I have more time!
It is such a blessing to have so many friends all over the world! I have friends from South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, etc. Although I cannot visit them, I am grateful to see most of them during this experience.
