tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13614306792716435652024-02-07T19:02:18.694-08:00Life's too short... Travel the World!How I did my international student exchange across the world!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-64078801622730444182013-05-08T06:49:00.003-07:002013-05-08T06:49:34.247-07:00I'm switching blogging platforms!Oi!<br />
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I've decided to move to a new blogging platform; Jux, because it looks so much cooler.<br />
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I'm gonna try and keep that one up to date as I travel, so if you'd like to follow it, check it out here:<br />
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https://ryder.jux.com/<br />
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Cheers!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-18666260540284283452013-05-08T02:55:00.002-07:002013-05-08T02:55:53.783-07:00I swear I'm gonna update this thing more.Really, I do. I'm deleting facebook in a few days to put me in travel mode, and learn other languages except English mode, so that will be good, but I'll keep blogging on here.<br />
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These are my plans:<br />
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May 18th - Leave Hong Kong for Thailand<br />
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May 21st - Leave Thailand for Egypt<br />
- Cairo<br />
- Luxor<br />
- Aswan<br />
- Maybe Sinai<br />
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Head over to Jordan (Date Unknown, probably after a week)<br />
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Head over to Israel (After about 4-5 days in Jordan)<br />
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Flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul: June 10th<br />
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Train to Bulgaria<br />
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Flight from Burgas to London: June 15th<br />
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Flight to Stockholm: June 19th<br />
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Flight to Budapest: June 24th<br />
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Then until July 19th, work my way through:<br />
Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium.<br />
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Then my exchange in France! And eventually, Iceland and Canada.<br />
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How much is this costing me? Shut up, I don't want to talk about it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-59142699124486635612013-04-20T22:26:00.001-07:002013-04-20T22:26:34.902-07:00Sunburnt in a city with no sun...Yesterday instead of coming to terms with my academic responsibilities, I decided to jump on a boat with 80 other exchange students and sail out to Lamma island.<br />
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In retrospect, it was a really awesome day, but I'm regretting it now for the sole fact that I can't move my extremities without pain.<br />
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We started the day with an early wakeup, running to catch the group as we were late (as always) and buying mountains of junk food and beer at the grocery store. At 9:30, 80 pirate dressed Gweilos headed off to TST pier number 3 to meet our boats.<br />
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We got to the peer, and the first boat holding 40 people was loaded and off. We waited about 10 minutes for the second one (which was much better) and started following them out to Lamma island. The ride out was quick, as we were all in good sprits and couldn't stand because of the rocking.<br />
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After about a 1.5 hour journey, we finally caught up to the other boat, and everyone started taking off their clothes to go swim... but when we looked down, we discovered the water was boiling with jellyfish - some with 2M long tentacles.<br />
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<i>The entire day was spent avoiding them, though I'd say most people got a sting</i>.<br />
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We climbed up on the highest point of our boat, and people started to jump. After I realized the water was safe from being stung (for now) I grabbed my friend Francesca, and we jumped. I remember thinking halfway down (wow, this is higher than I thought, I thought we'd have hit the water by now).<br />
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The water was actually incredibly nice - cool and refreshing, and the day was hot and humid.<br />
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The rest of the day was spent with random pirate themed adventures, like noodle fighting, dancing in the pouring rain, penguin dives and trying to surf a rescue board.<br />
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Among my favorite moments were:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Swimming out to a rock far away from the boat, dodging jellyfish with Alexis the whole time</li>
<li>Getting revenge on those who pushed me in</li>
<li>Watching the face of the girl who pushed me in when I lied and said "my cell phone is in my pocket"</li>
<li>Celebrating 420 with good friends</li>
<li>Running off the un-covered boat to avoid the rain, running back onto it to join those dancing in it</li>
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It was a really fantastic day, and I now have the worst sunburn I've ever had in my life. It hurts to do anything, even smile. We just went out and bought some Aloe vera, so hopefully I'll start coping soon, but dear lord do I ever want to be put into a chemical coma right now...</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-28864465011772280632013-04-19T00:14:00.002-07:002013-04-19T00:14:56.061-07:00ORA ScholarshipHey Bloggers!<div>
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So a few days ago, I found out that I was accepted to participate in my third exchange - the Ontario-Rhône-Alpes exchange. This is where a handful of students from Ontario universities all head over to a few different places in France where they live and learn the language for a month.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHUZ5iWzJkXxLaiz75thOBAuRQ2vU_u9651KXi9pTLnvzsKrgmjedjutyLoRGJ7zfAcVzcg5_1gk18s9Wj7JoL5ZtwXk66i2J1wBB_RyRI3l0P5S0DCT-2i_q3bPQqfq6QWgJXsF4F_VN/s1600/58179_10100458323364316_200096186_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHUZ5iWzJkXxLaiz75thOBAuRQ2vU_u9651KXi9pTLnvzsKrgmjedjutyLoRGJ7zfAcVzcg5_1gk18s9Wj7JoL5ZtwXk66i2J1wBB_RyRI3l0P5S0DCT-2i_q3bPQqfq6QWgJXsF4F_VN/s320/58179_10100458323364316_200096186_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>Needless to say, I'm incredibly excited and very much looking forward to it. I was planning on traveling around France this summer anyways on my way home, so instead it looks like I'll be living in Saint Étienne for a little while (a city a little bit away from Lyon) from Mid-July to Mid-August.</div>
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Immediately after I'll need to head home for RLS training (and I do mean immediately, like, the day it finishes). So I'll be nice and jet lagged, but in Canada none-the-less. It almost seems like I'm planning my summer backwards.</div>
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<i>Summer Plans</i></div>
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Aside from the month in France, I'm in desperate need to plan my summer - and am still struggling between learning Mandarin and traveling.</div>
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If I went traveling, there are a few places that I definitely want to visit; Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Israel and the Netherlands - a strange list I know, but it's what I'd like to see. Though some of those places aren't necessarily "safe" or well-backpacked, which concerns me a little. That (and the price) is my main con against going traveling over the summer. My other option would be living in Taiwan for a little while, and then catching a flight over to Europe. </div>
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<i>Health Insurance</i></div>
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Much like the time I discovered I was driving my car for a month without insurance (thanks to a miscommunication with my parents), I've also just realized that I have no health insurance in Hong Kong, aside from the minimal coverage by my University and my mother's health plan. I'm gonna need to get some travel insurance I think if I want to move around to lots of places with infectious disease this summer.</div>
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<i>Exams</i></div>
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Unfortunately, I'm right now in the middle of exams and finals, which means that those 6 courses I've been ignoring are catching up for me, and I'm needing to do an insane amount of work - something I'm working on today.</div>
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<i>Hong Kong Apathy</i></div>
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The title isn't what it sounds like. There's this thing about living in Hong Kong (and it holds true with most of the exchange students) in that the city is constantly exhausting. I feel constantly out of energy, and drained of everything - it's sometimes difficult to do everything I'd like to do because of this. We can't tell if it's the pollution, or the water, or the sensory assault we constantly receive when going anywhere beyond Kowloon Tong, but it's making it very difficult to study for exams.</div>
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<i>Junk Trip</i></div>
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Tomorrow I'll be heading out on a Yacht with 70 or so people (many of them my good friends) where we'll spend the day at Sea (or just outside the beaches) chilling, hanging out and having a good time. I'm hoping it doesn't rain, but even if it does I'm excited, because this is something I've wanted to do for a while now here.</div>
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<i>Haunted House (Dragon Lodge)</i></div>
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A few days ago my friends and I snuck under a fence into an old abandoned haunted house on the top of victoria peak, and when I say house, I mean mansion. The entire place was terrifying, and we kept getting the feeling that someone was there. Though I don't believe in ghosts, or anything that's not scientifically provable, it still scared the hell out of me walking through that children's room and up to the attack. See this video:</div>
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https://vimeo.com/64009655</div>
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Okay! That's it for now! I'll try and post something a little later with how I'm dealing, but I need to study for French, Mandarin and my Cell Biology Lab course, all of which I have exams for next Tuesday... Fantastic. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-3415118013668675722013-04-09T21:36:00.001-07:002013-04-09T21:36:03.021-07:00This Coming SummerI have absolutely no idea what I want to do this summer.<br />
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Really, I don't. I have a bunch of things that I would maybe like to do, but I can't decide on which one that I'd like to do. Right now, I'm deciding between travel and work - despite applying for, and turning down multiple summer job interviews already.<br />
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I'm thinking this is my plan so far:<br />
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Language learning becomes difficult after your mid-twenties - if not already. I'd like to at least get reasonable in some of my second languages before that happens. I think I would like to move to, and live in Taiwan for a month / month and a half, and then move to France and live there for another month / month and a half.<br />
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I'm thinking these immersion opportunities will really help me in improving my Mandarin and French. If I do decide to go, I think I'll delete my Facebook once again, and only blog - speaking English as little as possible. I'm still not sure about this plan though.<br />
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Really, I'd like to go where the wind takes me, just buy flights and go - but I have to check on my finances - which aren't doing too well right about now.<br />
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Oh well, I'll let you know what I decide - seriously, I was supposed to decide this months ago.<br />
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Peace!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-67352478692784388252013-04-07T05:56:00.001-07:002013-04-07T05:56:30.927-07:00Frustrating Me!
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Okay, I've just got to write about this, to get it out of my system.</div>
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A little while ago Brock University hosted a student driven referendum to "improve student life" on campus. Being abroad, I was naturally a little out of the loop, but due to the help of my friends was soon able to catch up.</div>
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Now before I say anything else, let me just state that the referendum successfully passed with just over 50 percent of the vote so it's going to happen; there's no changing that. I'm not writing this because I'm bitter about that - if 4000 students wanted it, great. I'm one of the ones who didn't, but that's okay too because we lost. I'm writing about it to express my frustrations with the process, and hopefully if we document history, it won't repeat itself.</div>
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<b>The Referendum</b></div>
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Each student of Brock University on top of all their other ancillary and tuition fees, is now required to pay a 20 dollar per credit "student life" fee. For many undergraduate students, that's a 100 dollar per-year fee.</div>
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It is split into three categories: Athletics, Recreation and Mental Health. </div>
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Each of these has three separate allocated percentages of the funding - almost 1.5 million Canadian dollars. These allocations are in fact bound by law; however the pro-campaign team provided us with a further (though no less vague) breakdown which they promise to enforce - despite having no legal authority to). </div>
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<b>My Problems with the Campaign Team</b></div>
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Never before have I felt like Brock University was a high school until this point. The amount of disrespect I and my fellow nay-sayers received from official campaign team members was baffling. My international exchange was brought up as a negative by <i>several</i> of my own friends, stating that I had "no right" to comment on the goings-on of the school, since I was now apparently not apart of it.</div>
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Let the record show that I've stayed intensively connected to my university through numerous volunteer projects and correspondence. </div>
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This team refused to answer straight-forward questions about breakdown of prices, financial transparency, and basic mental health knowledge. Amongst my favourite responses to our questions were the following:</div>
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<li class="li1">Being accused of not going to the gym, ergo not having a say</li>
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This team made the minimal amount of information available online - and repeatedly told students if they wanted information, they should come by the table and speak. At that point, I commented along the lines of "not all students are available to come down to the table" hoping to encompass exchange students, co-op students, those with accessibility difficulties or issues with being confronted. The response I got was a personal attack on how if I had time to "troll around on Facebook for hours" than I should have time to come back to the table. I let the poster know of my situation, and that many others were in a similar one than me. It was met with no response, not an apology or otherwise. </div>
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<b>Summary, because I'm getting frustrated even thinking about it:</b></div>
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Let's just skip everything, and come to the realization of what this referendum actually was: Money for Athletics and Recreation.</div>
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<li class="li1">It's vocal supporters were students involved heavily in athletic programs, and recreation.</li>
<li class="li1">It's vocal oppressors were students involved <i>heavily</i> in on-campus mental health support mediums. </li>
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The promise of increased mental health support on our campus was used to increase the amount of votes it got, and shame those who voted against it into somehow condemning mental health awareness. Yes promoters knew nothing of already-existing on campus mental health services, and knew of no direct ways to improve them. </div>
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I actually felt bullied by members of the yes side. At this point I almost fear returning to my university because of the recognizability of my name, and how vocal I was oppressing it. </div>
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Anyways, I just wanted to get my feelings out there. I hope that something good comes out of this referendum, I really do, but I doubt it's going to be the things that some people promised. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-15661308756051291632013-04-06T21:29:00.002-07:002013-04-06T21:29:38.125-07:00中国 Travels - Part 3!
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<b>Blog Entry 3!</b> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTUiBHsnHcsXQ_FQYhqE9QOSVMbCsgwW_3xvyjdVyseNaNK2O2Wf-F_Aq4dZzjpWB0irz2OfyvNfFQ3UR6zuAhBssg1j0uXSYkW-ThburqlzKOyDKYr-tN2P10QYBshChLmW9Q-Uc-p7r/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTUiBHsnHcsXQ_FQYhqE9QOSVMbCsgwW_3xvyjdVyseNaNK2O2Wf-F_Aq4dZzjpWB0irz2OfyvNfFQ3UR6zuAhBssg1j0uXSYkW-ThburqlzKOyDKYr-tN2P10QYBshChLmW9Q-Uc-p7r/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Well, Pamela and I are off to see the great wall, and are currently sitting on the floor of the train to Badaling station. For the day, we decided to split up with the rest of the group after getting an early start to the morning. We're on our way to see the great wall of China, and it's starting to rain - but who cares, because this opportunity is amazing.</div>
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<i>The Great Wall</i></div>
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The great wall at Badaling is humbling, and even amongst the 5 degree weather, pouring rain and hoards of people, it still was an awesome experience - costing only 25 Yuan - who would have thought! We did accidentally by a 40 Yuan ticket to a 360 degree theatre playing movies about the wall in Mandarin though… Oops!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOKu8nq14nOzNxXW58dZ3WBngSQShSbIHTz-x1eF6DBp56Ssmq7fDT_vN80MuhkWMZO6j9FkZCCPFnl96lHpH3BmhPzaS4XC0qzay-wOxgXwBgNXoDdDC8Pj1SWVCsOf2hDlG4oHjd5a0/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOKu8nq14nOzNxXW58dZ3WBngSQShSbIHTz-x1eF6DBp56Ssmq7fDT_vN80MuhkWMZO6j9FkZCCPFnl96lHpH3BmhPzaS4XC0qzay-wOxgXwBgNXoDdDC8Pj1SWVCsOf2hDlG4oHjd5a0/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a>It took about 30 minutes, but ew climbed the wall to the highest point. With huge slopes and near-vertical stairs, this thing was not designed with trans-wall mobility in mind. What I was surprised about was how much it curved back on itself, slithering across the mountains with more S shapes than a sidewinder. All in all, it was a good day, finishing it off by trying to get a look at Tianamen square, but being unable to because of it's "closing". </div>
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***</div>
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I'm currently sitting on a flight from Beijing to Shenzhen where we'll cross the land border into Hong Kong. To spend 5 more minutes in the air (I can see the Hong Kong airport now…) and land at HK international would have costed us about $200 canadian more… I don't think I'll ever understand airline prices.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBe8R__EzLfCjQkhkeUePUTh8iIG9Fnhsv7NbKm-6cwpzAO6PgFb9lAcKAv0x9Z6R-dasIqdoZBuksiYa_-Z0e59FhSVWwg9zepySlPxKMRFyeqcSVbJ2YqGxNMAUy6fmgunDInn90R19J/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBe8R__EzLfCjQkhkeUePUTh8iIG9Fnhsv7NbKm-6cwpzAO6PgFb9lAcKAv0x9Z6R-dasIqdoZBuksiYa_-Z0e59FhSVWwg9zepySlPxKMRFyeqcSVbJ2YqGxNMAUy6fmgunDInn90R19J/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a>Our last full day in China, we got a mid-early start and headed first to Tian'amen square. I explained the story of the '89 protests to everyone and the censorships imposed by the chinese government, while trying to understand and pay respect to those who lost their lives to a country which slaughtered it's own people.</div>
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After that, we went across the road to the forbidden city and entered the gates under a large picture of Mao Zedong. The amount of detail painted in tot he roof of the buildings was astonishing. After having enough of the crowds, we made a group decision not to wait in the (kid you not) 500+ people ticket line to get into the inner temple. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRomTtDY94gvymi1J4v6lJrJlRibhY5h2vxUuH3BHxqMw123hVU43psIbg2CpuNyMcpT9f-Uyfav6MEJqebcjbtfG5fhpn2dCbMpPITNf2MU8cWuiPo-x5_1kPFUiabTXYbS5SpEfKyUlH/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRomTtDY94gvymi1J4v6lJrJlRibhY5h2vxUuH3BHxqMw123hVU43psIbg2CpuNyMcpT9f-Uyfav6MEJqebcjbtfG5fhpn2dCbMpPITNf2MU8cWuiPo-x5_1kPFUiabTXYbS5SpEfKyUlH/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a>The outer forbidden city was still very beautiful! But being fed up with the crowds, we elected to go to an area of the city with less people - the temple of heaven. Walking around the massive beautiful grounds I felt a cool sense of peace.</div>
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Splitting up for a little bit, Pamela and I went to a traditional chinese antique market, while Miranda and Sanne went to a clothing market. We unfortunately got there right as it was closing, but Pamela managed to blow a ridiculous amount of money at the extensive, expansive expensive market. I on the other hand was on the lookout for a specific item - so I didn't purchase anything. I was looking for a Kung Fu bamboo flute - the kind David Carradine played in Kill Bill, only without the killing people and autoerotic asphyxiation. Not too sure when I because such a flute aficionado - I should look into that. </div>
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When we were finished with the market, we took the Beijing Subway back to our hostel - except it was a bit busier than normal. At our station, we tried to get off, but found that people wouldn't move out of the way. I was a few feet in the crowded car from the door, and watched people start to board despite seeing us trying to exit the car. All of a sudden the door close sound started to play…</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxd2nIF24uFhdSkqmG1GIi5Jk5lPB1B52xf-VOM2ns-7Db920Zgm0VT_IRoI7K53Ta5XH9e2JAcKwX9_fedBCNXcuNY0iGomrDXN5G5fekOGKe_g-Ata73Lq_KxbNIj00z0P2rRKwYDC2X/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxd2nIF24uFhdSkqmG1GIi5Jk5lPB1B52xf-VOM2ns-7Db920Zgm0VT_IRoI7K53Ta5XH9e2JAcKwX9_fedBCNXcuNY0iGomrDXN5G5fekOGKe_g-Ata73Lq_KxbNIj00z0P2rRKwYDC2X/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a>Now I'm normally not a violent person, and I'm not entirely sure what came over me, but when I heard that sound I actually though to myself "f*ck no, this is not happening". So with all my strength (which is more than I imagined it was) I pushed myself towards the door, including pushing 4 people (who had just boarded) off the train all together.</div>
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Pamela wasn't so luck, as the door closed right behind me. She got trapped on the car, and the train pulled away as I flipped everyone off who had not let us past. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhubff6oEt5fSUUij7mpT2SHyA48hgYw5dp8SEvgj4c6TZTt2Pm4qxllUl6OxJJ5iYyXAfqQyraAHmGcy4m6KUfVoluCqw2bspFTcbAz_lkZUqPrGx4JlKllS-qmbVN6PIJZOGUfRZaFnXS/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhubff6oEt5fSUUij7mpT2SHyA48hgYw5dp8SEvgj4c6TZTt2Pm4qxllUl6OxJJ5iYyXAfqQyraAHmGcy4m6KUfVoluCqw2bspFTcbAz_lkZUqPrGx4JlKllS-qmbVN6PIJZOGUfRZaFnXS/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>I was rattled.</i></div>
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All turned out to be well though. Pamela came back ten minutes later on the next train, and we got some fried chicken and spent the night chatting to other globe trotters in the hostel.</div>
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We also happened to run into two other exchange students from our university in Hong Kong - which was totally unexpected, but awesome. </div>
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***</div>
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We slept in the next day, caught our flight and are now on the shenzhen metro on our way to LoWu, where the air is "clean" and the internet uncensored. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEe3a8CDH8SgT4V8KCzBHv_59qwKTGmwXlXbYKSnBDRMCyQSx4WqHGXfXPaLYCWUSl8nFUj01tYGkNidKBrBMvPQA09TwnDrnQKk4f1IMxjYackQEy5vIfZDPyPu_sNukCzbgEKSSvQPQ3/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEe3a8CDH8SgT4V8KCzBHv_59qwKTGmwXlXbYKSnBDRMCyQSx4WqHGXfXPaLYCWUSl8nFUj01tYGkNidKBrBMvPQA09TwnDrnQKk4f1IMxjYackQEy5vIfZDPyPu_sNukCzbgEKSSvQPQ3/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a>There have been things I've loved, liked, disliked and hated about this trip - the latter two more than normal, but I think that comes hand in hand with going to a country so far different from ones you've been before.</div>
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I also recently came to the realization of how much money I spent on this trip - about $600 including everything. That's twice the amount I intended to spend - but traveling is the only thing you can spend money on to make you more rich… or something like that!</div>
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It's also given me a lot of time to think about what I'd like to do this summer. I'm not quite sure what that entails yet, but I know it's going to have to be cheap because I'm bleeding cash. All in all, the trip was definitely worth it though.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWo-nbwAYErTcf0i5-iC4Ky-HBjNZB-P6Pywf5x_WyN1uaH64PiHiy_ZCA_mYm1Xn3mVUldRE6jK97bd0yuPI0ZhCk2okGiwxuUYtM7Gjy9UXKSSR1OFPDWE4bu6NQP3kZNUGa2CwBLVDT/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWo-nbwAYErTcf0i5-iC4Ky-HBjNZB-P6Pywf5x_WyN1uaH64PiHiy_ZCA_mYm1Xn3mVUldRE6jK97bd0yuPI0ZhCk2okGiwxuUYtM7Gjy9UXKSSR1OFPDWE4bu6NQP3kZNUGa2CwBLVDT/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a>So for those who'd like to travel, you should. And for those who are worried about the money, these are my thoughts.</div>
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<i>I'd rather drive myself into a little bit of debt traveling today, so I can work tomorrow rather than working my life away and possibly missing out on things that can make me genuinely happy.</i></div>
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To all those reading, thank you, stay sweet, live like you're dying (because you are) and as always, Happy Travels!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-62686016902997421002013-04-06T07:59:00.003-07:002013-04-06T07:59:45.270-07:00中国 Travels - Part 2!
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjklMpfjXT4qD4Fki01Pgs7CFhQ50pDUBHHln-zv1Z5NQefAap1G7wGVKS_RJyXwD1IQdaVIXyglPQ6M7jBZ0qPhP3dFr0RwnBflvIYVrQpZaxOCvsqodCI6jA6iEDX82FEYVckVaD6_UWt/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjklMpfjXT4qD4Fki01Pgs7CFhQ50pDUBHHln-zv1Z5NQefAap1G7wGVKS_RJyXwD1IQdaVIXyglPQ6M7jBZ0qPhP3dFr0RwnBflvIYVrQpZaxOCvsqodCI6jA6iEDX82FEYVckVaD6_UWt/s200/2.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hYkFR5qYI7EntqMO3H5Y5n2pN3HH9xuIuZ2aBALrEEUEyu1vGr12_tyP5g26XSfOQ7adOPjuEPZXFXud6Z0IJHk2aPbi07kLIhPdq5O-5vmAheNYlYXgaUNnmP8OJtxp0pXQzkjrQhiH/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hYkFR5qYI7EntqMO3H5Y5n2pN3HH9xuIuZ2aBALrEEUEyu1vGr12_tyP5g26XSfOQ7adOPjuEPZXFXud6Z0IJHk2aPbi07kLIhPdq5O-5vmAheNYlYXgaUNnmP8OJtxp0pXQzkjrQhiH/s200/1.jpg" width="150" /></a><b>China Blog #2 - I'm not sure if I bought a pen or marker… Pen, Okay!</b></div>
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Our trip continued after the 14th hour, 90 degree seat cross-China train journey, with people loudly talking into 3 in the morning. </div>
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Our first day in Zhangjiajie was spent gaffing around looking for our hostel, and telling tour operators "buyao / buyong". In no time, we found our international youth hostel, a wooden house on top of a building - very cool. Checking in and settling down, we rushed right back out of the door to avoid burning daylight. The group of us bought some tickets for the world's longest cable car (just shy of 8km) and took the journey from the city up the mountain.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKKkExAjqZau5XfM4_jXjWzbU_1SGMIbPrDByrwNz_jUK7wIZCJKO1Q9JEDxp0D0nqprZ2Ohszh8wVmE0NRlbAp69K506c7QcKDz29Ysvyan8augu4bMwbeTe-186YFVZFF-4kGrVbg8I/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKKkExAjqZau5XfM4_jXjWzbU_1SGMIbPrDByrwNz_jUK7wIZCJKO1Q9JEDxp0D0nqprZ2Ohszh8wVmE0NRlbAp69K506c7QcKDz29Ysvyan8augu4bMwbeTe-186YFVZFF-4kGrVbg8I/s200/3.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1kd1CHzpe9lKD_62iFzMaL2AVaA0XRuxAzqLkxUn64CRXZvDylaWqsASvt7zAdJV9z3SPmNXn2PQO0cukdekvJvR8EW0hx01Svxs4cimbaDi33GYUaiV01tdn6xrrj6LDf_i97VZ_eZZ/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1kd1CHzpe9lKD_62iFzMaL2AVaA0XRuxAzqLkxUn64CRXZvDylaWqsASvt7zAdJV9z3SPmNXn2PQO0cukdekvJvR8EW0hx01Svxs4cimbaDi33GYUaiV01tdn6xrrj6LDf_i97VZ_eZZ/s200/5.jpg" width="150" /></a>Huge mountains emerged from the mist as we were tugged onward and ever ever upward. The downward views were vertigo inducing, and the views were incredible, even with the thick cloud cover. After a 30 minute journey we arrived at the top station. Our first stop was the glass bridge we had heard so much about. A path winding around the side of the mountain lead us to the "glass plank walkway" where we paid 10 Yuan and donned special cloth covers for our shoes. Without the mist it probably would have been even more impressive, but looking straight down the side of a cliff between your feet was still pretty scary.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AZPtbz2cxMjZqpIQ9utjoPfuIB1z_E8_GxZqulpYj_v2mMWHe1iMoCzXsCUd4mMGdV3fY5XubS4QAmEKxooVHD7x5CfiMg9dHt4t-NsMT28bXzoLFn-ImRPQ95nAWZqOiioMT3uRhtLF/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AZPtbz2cxMjZqpIQ9utjoPfuIB1z_E8_GxZqulpYj_v2mMWHe1iMoCzXsCUd4mMGdV3fY5XubS4QAmEKxooVHD7x5CfiMg9dHt4t-NsMT28bXzoLFn-ImRPQ95nAWZqOiioMT3uRhtLF/s200/6.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Our next stop was the highest point on the mountain; a lookout pavilion / overpriced restaurant. I was enjoying the silence and serenity up there for the brief amount of time we were there - cold, brisk and silent - it was perfect!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdLr7_OTfT_yz9nzOkyPFTObYqItdMmsB3tqJs7ni6LXV7FpE3WxTT77umc6ysLxuOrIFVCvFyBg314g7Wfv99ZMjd9kKKJRj8vNUXJg5HsVMAKKgKJmKjZIzbCQvZWt3tV5NXcWUp3ZP/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdLr7_OTfT_yz9nzOkyPFTObYqItdMmsB3tqJs7ni6LXV7FpE3WxTT77umc6ysLxuOrIFVCvFyBg314g7Wfv99ZMjd9kKKJRj8vNUXJg5HsVMAKKgKJmKjZIzbCQvZWt3tV5NXcWUp3ZP/s320/4.jpg" width="240" /></a>With daylight running out and the last cable car at 17:40, we headed halfway down the mountain and caught the thirty-minute eco-bus up to the "stairway to heaven". The bus trip was terrifyingly beautiful; winding around kilometre-high cliffs, narrowly avoiding hitting other buses on blind curves.</div>
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I'm not sure how many stairs were were at the stairway to heaven, but I'll tell you it's brilliantly named; after I got to the top, I was almost certain I was going to drop dead of exhaustion.</div>
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I decided that I wanted to climb all the way up the 500+ stairs without stopping, and boy did doing rounds on the RLS in DeCew help me. The view from the top was stunning (as always) and there was a stream of water droplets flowing down from the top of the 200m arch. It felt like I was chilling in Minas Tirith (Lord of the Rings reference). </div>
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The rest of the day was spent wandering the streets of ZJJ, grabbing food from street vendors and enjoying the smokey hazed that deeply filled our lungs with carcinogens. I'm not saying pollution in China is 'bad', just that at times it hurt to breath.</div>
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***</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjF3bWfFNuQhct0eCKDfGp3fNeh_A09EqKmKW68oyyKs5sBzGrT-QKu08mWavBychDAzQ4s2Vh1-cmbzvpooi_DMTwWKrsXiP7ZEIuXSme0Fd0NOG3bBs1Hx7i4wjJKznKvYHyqTS0ycR1/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjF3bWfFNuQhct0eCKDfGp3fNeh_A09EqKmKW68oyyKs5sBzGrT-QKu08mWavBychDAzQ4s2Vh1-cmbzvpooi_DMTwWKrsXiP7ZEIuXSme0Fd0NOG3bBs1Hx7i4wjJKznKvYHyqTS0ycR1/s200/7.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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Waking up the next morning our plans were entirely different than what actually happened - but isn't that the fun of traveling? The morning was spent booking train and plane tickets. </div>
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With everything booked for the rest of the trip, we boarded a bus to head into Zhangjiajie national park - where we were spending the night. Once passes were purchased, after some touch and go, we settled into our accommodation, explored the park a little, saw some monkeys, ate a <i>fantastic</i> chinese meal and made plans to get up early and hike around the next day.</div>
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***</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyUSCDodAEFgT8LRRTJeQE4_c7SNGrN-q97QwZFIP1p3Bm9k0EJf4A9Qi8vAdZxwY09iz39P1Co4pDf2GdkXK_RQ_Aw3nEn01hY1iSnx4rcB5at5mX1qNHBuLdfe0o_6pfo4E5yO7rDUA/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyUSCDodAEFgT8LRRTJeQE4_c7SNGrN-q97QwZFIP1p3Bm9k0EJf4A9Qi8vAdZxwY09iz39P1Co4pDf2GdkXK_RQ_Aw3nEn01hY1iSnx4rcB5at5mX1qNHBuLdfe0o_6pfo4E5yO7rDUA/s200/9.jpg" width="150" /></a>6AM, with our next train (sleeper this time) leaving in 12 hours, and our lives on our backs we set out on the hike. The first leg of the journey was a 2 hour walk along "golden whip stream", a small river that wound around a canyon surrounded by towering pillars of rock and trees. Alas! Our first challenge - a fork in the road! One way along our proposed destination, the other an 800 meter length trail up the mountain… or so we thought.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ufPzAtT5a7LjkFVZ_1MF_XgECiCVejkuBNvrcwRa8BFvoxOAAxRK3cRNdiCtU0iOH3SJEAHM8RsfVPjyXTgP8vW1KDe1clSKHc9IKqeZjGo51x9dfH5QaEbKx582jxf-lR4hx9PDAC0N/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ufPzAtT5a7LjkFVZ_1MF_XgECiCVejkuBNvrcwRa8BFvoxOAAxRK3cRNdiCtU0iOH3SJEAHM8RsfVPjyXTgP8vW1KDe1clSKHc9IKqeZjGo51x9dfH5QaEbKx582jxf-lR4hx9PDAC0N/s320/8.jpg" width="240" /></a>The 800 meter train turned out to be a 2200 meter b*tch of a hike. After about an hour and a half, and lots of fighting, we reached the top. Along the way, numerous old people (after catching the bus/elevator that we didn't know about) complimented us for taking on the mountain.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1h_cBLL9uZ9ZTEj6FxVl2H-gkR38J-ijXeVfA08iIO6mvgbwdEiRPmItz3-6V_NvrWhCas-3mMPJ4yYgtWt9Kt7ZWsITAH7c7VzMEu794srb3n5y7VUd8UqEi1HdusIZojiYdd05SBfuT/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1h_cBLL9uZ9ZTEj6FxVl2H-gkR38J-ijXeVfA08iIO6mvgbwdEiRPmItz3-6V_NvrWhCas-3mMPJ4yYgtWt9Kt7ZWsITAH7c7VzMEu794srb3n5y7VUd8UqEi1HdusIZojiYdd05SBfuT/s200/11.jpg" width="200" /></a>Just when you thought the view couldn't get any better, we reached the very top, and got to see the Hallelujah mountains - the inspiration behind the mountains you see in Avatar; and boy does the park take advantage of that. You can get your picture taken with the banshee's, or buy pictures of Jake Sulley, etc. etc.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9070Fc0Gj5kGGKlk-ijDGZOuz_-0P3TQOmSivn2-24FF68M0HTOt-Yd1-WTtBzkxqcHSCBV7Wl_582S7kEZdLU3TW0ScQHm9cfTxz9ocC1Zg9fSRvolGT12XbBP7Igkx2QUGky-FPJmA/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9070Fc0Gj5kGGKlk-ijDGZOuz_-0P3TQOmSivn2-24FF68M0HTOt-Yd1-WTtBzkxqcHSCBV7Wl_582S7kEZdLU3TW0ScQHm9cfTxz9ocC1Zg9fSRvolGT12XbBP7Igkx2QUGky-FPJmA/s200/12.jpg" width="150" /></a>We spent the afternoon checking out other sights - but by that time a giant cloud covered the park - and you couldn't see 10 feet in front of you. We caught a bus back to the city, but not before riding the world's tallest outdoor elevator (which wasn't too special, just a regular one with a bunch of people taking pictures). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJMzUjzSpo0207mePM454RXcvy6cgFriuT2xfNYHvlEKZ3wvfNw0UoqKx-LYm_cgqeNRXJ8aprrMLXb3zObAqp2SzKyTmWWyrpn1FOQEIvIVwIESFqna2NmuMhyC6CRBZgVpiI-xdbPtA/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJMzUjzSpo0207mePM454RXcvy6cgFriuT2xfNYHvlEKZ3wvfNw0UoqKx-LYm_cgqeNRXJ8aprrMLXb3zObAqp2SzKyTmWWyrpn1FOQEIvIVwIESFqna2NmuMhyC6CRBZgVpiI-xdbPtA/s200/14.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivlnZ-MzhEILaCydZidJ5UdVQ2Y_DIfMo9UTOFLWICvMlzTzM2FPzq1zoGJKLHJ6B9lnNo5cODhSSrxta40m6jmEKmnLJ3UGADmpDTNgovL4cFOUVNFJHryfAua9VfrMy2gxsdAztWWkmc/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivlnZ-MzhEILaCydZidJ5UdVQ2Y_DIfMo9UTOFLWICvMlzTzM2FPzq1zoGJKLHJ6B9lnNo5cODhSSrxta40m6jmEKmnLJ3UGADmpDTNgovL4cFOUVNFJHryfAua9VfrMy2gxsdAztWWkmc/s200/15.jpg" width="200" /></a>Our night was spent in sleeper berths on a train to Ankar - best decision ever. The train arrived at 7:30 in the morning, and I'm currently writing this on the train to Xi'An where we're going to see the terracotta army. Later today we'll catch a high speed train to Beijing - which I'm stoked for… More on that later!</div>
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After a 4 hour train ride to Xi'an we jumped on a bus and headed 40 minutes out of the city to catch a glimpse at the terracotta warriors. We didn't get to spend much time here, but it was definitely worth seeing. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIhPDrWlI08wux8Qqpk1r1qlKCXXWTtnSp0kAqGzsLkPUS6gsIEuGSQb_Nt9B6NeWkdTZlwVWNMKNAV-62i5fnIGc3NZAX9WlhlokZZcD_3jTbK1WRXO7Ft0LoSrFQU-clWf1awdPNC2e/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIhPDrWlI08wux8Qqpk1r1qlKCXXWTtnSp0kAqGzsLkPUS6gsIEuGSQb_Nt9B6NeWkdTZlwVWNMKNAV-62i5fnIGc3NZAX9WlhlokZZcD_3jTbK1WRXO7Ft0LoSrFQU-clWf1awdPNC2e/s200/16.jpg" width="200" /></a>The warriors themselves weren't that impressive, but definitely something to check out because of their history. We got a cab to Xi'An'Bei train station (Xi'An North) and boarded my first ever bullet train!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_znZmxaGjFlhSvlKXQvS3bpUEY9dvHXCQljhlIGi8DS3YB6nVRkml5KehNN-Oz-429MAzRnsLQZHZ5Fz4CTT0maWj0Rge_dqBwLpKHXhR9Egj3YSOjf3i_fHU_bDtFRX0BP9MXXPj_4R/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_znZmxaGjFlhSvlKXQvS3bpUEY9dvHXCQljhlIGi8DS3YB6nVRkml5KehNN-Oz-429MAzRnsLQZHZ5Fz4CTT0maWj0Rge_dqBwLpKHXhR9Egj3YSOjf3i_fHU_bDtFRX0BP9MXXPj_4R/s320/13.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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As I write this now, the train is traveling 296 km/h and regularly goes over 300. The scenery is a blur, but you don't even feel like you're moving. We'll reach Beijing by 11:30 tonight. As much as the other trains in China suck, the high speed "G" series has got Canada beat by a long shot. I don't think the train is a maglev, but who can complain at 300 kilometres per hour on land.</div>
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Tomorrow we'll be checking out the great wall - if everything goes as planned!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-72582203325250772222013-04-06T07:39:00.004-07:002013-04-06T07:39:57.989-07:00中国 Travels - Part 1
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETjyq38brei3cvfJV2_o1wEaY7KMBy9_IOz0p4l1KGGS5EYTqInOcSBg70AjwS7OQd6snJJbsg6ES_ENztXpstzPwpbo7laFhLwgQ2NgBKcioMEvnMwdGWvGDg4YWuSzeaxSghIppIucR/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETjyq38brei3cvfJV2_o1wEaY7KMBy9_IOz0p4l1KGGS5EYTqInOcSBg70AjwS7OQd6snJJbsg6ES_ENztXpstzPwpbo7laFhLwgQ2NgBKcioMEvnMwdGWvGDg4YWuSzeaxSghIppIucR/s200/1.jpg" width="150" /></a><b>China Blog #1</b></div>
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And so ends my second day of our crazy-cross-china journey; and boy these past few days have been rough.</div>
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We started with catching Hong Kong's MTR up to the LoWu station. At this station we can cross over into the chinese city of Shenzhen, and out of the special administrative region that is Hong Kong. Once crossing the border (which was easy) we stood in a long line immediately so that we could grab the train to our first (temporary) destination - Guangzhou. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSj6ARvfwJ63ajSCkN8CMQwpnwT27zv_IY_mljTLGKXeLfuP4j-yZIMexXGpkUOESzR2-Ax_vY2oig86v0MmGQe0uIcpNnVoU2ycPCBKVymryUnv9g_63lIMN6tv8wZRDzRI1gXZz-3rw/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSj6ARvfwJ63ajSCkN8CMQwpnwT27zv_IY_mljTLGKXeLfuP4j-yZIMexXGpkUOESzR2-Ax_vY2oig86v0MmGQe0uIcpNnVoU2ycPCBKVymryUnv9g_63lIMN6tv8wZRDzRI1gXZz-3rw/s200/2.jpg" width="200" /></a>After a 2 hour train ride at 160 km/h we arrived at the Guangzhou railway station. Let me just say this - I no longer fear hell, because I've been there already. Over the next five hours, we stood in torturously long and slow moving lines towards tiny ticket windows. The ground littered with people's forgotten garbage, year old dirt and saliva - the air riddled with a thick haze of cigarette smoke. We waited in these lines on three separate occasions as people around us <i>screamed</i> at others for cutting in line, or something else. Once we arrived at the window we found…</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyeiL5iddDTLaTiuMdCbAYbA_5stXDff5l2xRKTN1Ou4e4amrCe40fIGxKir7PuRKYl5xycIChLLd3I0-XJUVU8ZKLljdPbtPN0tnpZIEgJI-I2wiEwkY6_CdpzijBNzk4W4IRaIiT9ddO/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyeiL5iddDTLaTiuMdCbAYbA_5stXDff5l2xRKTN1Ou4e4amrCe40fIGxKir7PuRKYl5xycIChLLd3I0-XJUVU8ZKLljdPbtPN0tnpZIEgJI-I2wiEwkY6_CdpzijBNzk4W4IRaIiT9ddO/s200/4.jpg" width="200" /></a>Hold Up - we've got a breaking new development… I've just descended into a new layer of hell, but more on that later…</div>
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Anyways, once we arrived at the window, we found that there were only three tickets left for the four of us on the train leaving tonight… Fantastic. Any buses? Nope. Any trains to anywhere tonight? Nope. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgI0SFLvp11rAmqJHK-zUCeOSllg4oYd-rmn84ul3ZhW0RE1dM0bGHGDYYYupcEQ9pL1M3zF59suEgdu3bYEUOS8eUkWzRKBhf8_3PPyRJKVrheRIRqJqLQDl0NsVa8xP7_2e0UAX5btZ/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgI0SFLvp11rAmqJHK-zUCeOSllg4oYd-rmn84ul3ZhW0RE1dM0bGHGDYYYupcEQ9pL1M3zF59suEgdu3bYEUOS8eUkWzRKBhf8_3PPyRJKVrheRIRqJqLQDl0NsVa8xP7_2e0UAX5btZ/s200/3.jpg" width="200" /></a>Long story short, we booked four seats on the train to Zhangjiajie in a language we didn't understand, and got out of the station as fast as we possibly could.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIw12uotubOSFl3Xi4rD4o6trkTMeloNhJ2QcX6Q1DUbW8T-UcIxZi89X_LY8bL6QyjGBWM2jw10rVp7JX1nJNYnR0kztMFuNLAeswkDz0HticqkFcHEPg6iSBL7kVxOhOhSPXi3XM4bK2/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIw12uotubOSFl3Xi4rD4o6trkTMeloNhJ2QcX6Q1DUbW8T-UcIxZi89X_LY8bL6QyjGBWM2jw10rVp7JX1nJNYnR0kztMFuNLAeswkDz0HticqkFcHEPg6iSBL7kVxOhOhSPXi3XM4bK2/s200/6.jpg" width="200" /></a>Looking around for a little while we found a 'hotel' online for the night, and walked over. The clerk at the desk however didn't seem to know that the complex was a hotel and not just apartments. With a little Mandarin magic thanks to Pamela though, it was all sorted out, and we had a really nice room for cheap, complete with a kitchenette and a washer/dryer machine.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zTDtbPk6pdKxJjUnKEjqx5hT-gZE8v2J7zZTYc3p8Jk6Y_QdEioynSPqLo944F8cyBNHPe2bqi4nEYLCMa-BRqk714YTsIGWhv1dav3_NXpBNkeHSOvb9klVILDhommad08PZ2b4Ynwe/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zTDtbPk6pdKxJjUnKEjqx5hT-gZE8v2J7zZTYc3p8Jk6Y_QdEioynSPqLo944F8cyBNHPe2bqi4nEYLCMa-BRqk714YTsIGWhv1dav3_NXpBNkeHSOvb9klVILDhommad08PZ2b4Ynwe/s200/7.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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The next morning we explored the city, but due to the wet season it was raining all day. We did however get shown around by Phoebe - a friend of Sanne's, eat at a great restaurant, and check out a shopping centre/night club… I'm still not sure which.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FlIDP8fZnqthoawU9hFD9YBh-qAX7YHwCc8kD8svdsGkSwwKNGNcumYg7Ibb2H21QEJTP99nl3KqIhTpHaubDl7-B6Hums5_1pqZ6cdXpnR2oc11fCGR7K5_Ss6XrI83rc2fyfgYtkpI/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FlIDP8fZnqthoawU9hFD9YBh-qAX7YHwCc8kD8svdsGkSwwKNGNcumYg7Ibb2H21QEJTP99nl3KqIhTpHaubDl7-B6Hums5_1pqZ6cdXpnR2oc11fCGR7K5_Ss6XrI83rc2fyfgYtkpI/s200/8.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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After that, we reluctantly returned to the train station so we could catch our train out of the city, where I was writing this up until the point in which I descended deeper into hell. </div>
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Just when we thought it couldn't get worse, we discovered our seats for the next four hours were hard plastic, 90 degree, non-reclining seats in a crowded double decker 200 person car filled with people who felt compelled to carry on a 100 decibel conversation, and poke us every 15 minutes to buy something.</div>
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Still not sure how we made it, but we did, and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjuKPzabVw6t1EWnIGFOzw0fyRdlEgHtTht5nXmEVStwUeT61NyCEzW6_qwyx1pNGu0rcm__gGdwP2n1jTp6AQk63vqPmf9DRWC_QsoZS81Fdz2hMxEGZlsj8ujXXc45TuRLVTLpu34Xx/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjuKPzabVw6t1EWnIGFOzw0fyRdlEgHtTht5nXmEVStwUeT61NyCEzW6_qwyx1pNGu0rcm__gGdwP2n1jTp6AQk63vqPmf9DRWC_QsoZS81Fdz2hMxEGZlsj8ujXXc45TuRLVTLpu34Xx/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>A separate note on HSBC</i></div>
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Despite being the "Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation" you might find yourself unable to withdraw money from your own account from HSBC machines and banks in China - despite the machine showing you your balance. If you find yourself in this situation like I did, you should call your mother and have her transfer you money in a cash advance - like I did. Thanks Mum!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylzmJw2MIFZ0nIrXh2TMv5UA_GQYBeFIbUlX7oGtAqZ9bvJXuPRKe7cASDubW0xEt0OLh0np6TMbTAUgq2Vj0VCoia-FErYFYbde7PmIKo-PvqoazEGB1hDD0QhGXSPf8cUNnwv28ogbm/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylzmJw2MIFZ0nIrXh2TMv5UA_GQYBeFIbUlX7oGtAqZ9bvJXuPRKe7cASDubW0xEt0OLh0np6TMbTAUgq2Vj0VCoia-FErYFYbde7PmIKo-PvqoazEGB1hDD0QhGXSPf8cUNnwv28ogbm/s200/9.jpg" width="150" /></a>I've got far too many complaints on HSBC, but this post is too negative already - more to come - I'm keeping it to the truth, but it wasn't all bad - trust me. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-55752441730115288252013-03-27T04:39:00.000-07:002013-03-27T06:22:26.212-07:00Ten things you should know about Hong KongObligatory Remarks: My apologies for not posting in a while. I have been sick this week, but I can't explain the past year of late posts by anything other than procrastination.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjhRembsodRGUHqUjdPGFgBFntv4sAN1w07tpGr2HF9Pi1V_dUFXD4MxYluF4xZUXyZpn0ANMGKp6TcPuYp23BlMrFs2-hRX92FT4U8knkqkEAHoXIvq12zmBG0vjGKUCxJqMwnyHpZNJ/s1600/20130205_204132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjhRembsodRGUHqUjdPGFgBFntv4sAN1w07tpGr2HF9Pi1V_dUFXD4MxYluF4xZUXyZpn0ANMGKp6TcPuYp23BlMrFs2-hRX92FT4U8knkqkEAHoXIvq12zmBG0vjGKUCxJqMwnyHpZNJ/s640/20130205_204132.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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With that, I'd like to give you a list of ten things that you should know about Hong Kong, and my experiences here. By no means to I consider myself an expert, but these are just some things I have found here, and thought you might be interested to know.</div>
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<b>1. Hong Kong is not it's own country, nor is it China - it exists in an on-the-fence state.</b></div>
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- It used to be a British ruled territory, with land leased from China.</div>
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- In 1997, the British handed it back to the Chinese</div>
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- Hong Kong is now a SAR - Special Administrative Region of China</div>
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(So technically yes, it's China)</div>
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- It's governed independently, enjoys different freedoms, and seems like it's own country.</div>
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<i>In layman's terms - it's hard to explain. </i></div>
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<b>2. People speak Cantonese here. </b></div>
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- Almost everyone I've met can speak some degree of English - very few people I've met can't. </div>
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- A large majority of the population can speak Mandarin as well</div>
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(due to proximity with the Mandarin-speaking mainland)</div>
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- The Chinese characters mean the exact same as Mandarin, but are pronounced differently.</div>
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(Written Cantonese and Mandarin are the same thing)</div>
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- Most public announcements / signs are in Canto, Mando, and Eng. (Very Helpful)</div>
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- Cantonese is difficult to learn. Trust me, I'm trying.</div>
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<b>3. You don't need to speak Cantonese.</b><br />
- It truly is an amazing city, as a large majority of people here speak English.<br />
- People speak it so much, that entire universities offer courses all in English.<br />
- It's actually difficult to learn cantonese because of the overwhelming English.<br />
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<b>4. The MTR is the best and worst thing in the history of the world; mostly just the best.</b><br />
- It's the subway system of Hong Kong; it goes everywhere, and is <i>always</i> on time.<br />
- You get to be touched in ways bordering on sexual harassment during rush hour.<br />
- It all operates on a system called the Octopus Card, and it is amazing<br />
- You load your card with cash, and can use it anywhere - not just the subway<br />
- Almost every restaurant and store has it, you can buy things from beer to ipods.<br />
- Being able to stand without holding the hand rail, signals you've been here too long.<br />
- Who doesn't want to tseng mukkao gun tsei mun? (Tsing buyao kaojin chu mun).<br />
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<b>5. It can be incredibly exhausting.</b><br />
- One week of being in the city makes me want to lock myself in a floatation tank.<br />
- It's loud, there's light everywhere at all types of the night,<br />
- There is seldom space to swing your arms around (sound of music style).<br />
- Take a break now and again as you'll need it, but it's definitely worth the turmoil.<br />
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<b>6. It's not just a metropolis - there's nature here too!</b><br />
- A 30 minute Minibus ride away, and you can be on amazing beaches.<br />
- There's plenty of hiking trails, and plenty of forest lands; check the New Territories.<br />
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<b>7. The food is out of this world.</b><br />
- Dim sum. Nuff' said.<br />
- There's plenty of world-wide food. We regularly go for Mexican, Western, Thai, Chinese, etc.<br />
- It's dirt cheap (most of it). Unless you go to SoHo; then you'll pay an arm and a leg.<br />
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<b>8. People are nice - unless you go to the ladies market...</b><br />
- People are welcoming and accepting, and are generally respectful of you...<br />
- Though there have been times when I've been pushed back onto the MTR train I just exited.<br />
- If you ever want to be gutted for your money, visit the ladies market in Mongkok.<br />
- If you'd like a discount, speak any word of cantonese, or flash your HKID.<br />
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<b>9. You will wreck your bank account.</b><br />
- Not much to say to this one, I don't know where my money goes half the time.<br />
- Never put a lot of money on your octopus - it disappears 4X faster than normal.<br />
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<b>10. It's amazing, you should go.</b><br />
- Overall, it's probably my favorite City in the world. As exhausting as it can be sometimes, it's a fantastic place to live, with a bunch of things happening all the time.<br />
- If you're worried about not fitting in here, people are very accommodating and the expat community is huge - I doubt you'll have a problem.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-53342188134930103572013-03-11T02:54:00.000-07:002013-03-27T06:20:33.440-07:00Une autre langue.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVl0RJECTz6PHICo78w9SkbSvGmLovF-f9lw_meVYg8ldVR-N-ZuFUP3J73fX4gtJm_k-fpGA_z7EQy0BzOPlfUN0DR41QQplVU5ELNgHwf_d5WPEucl3jyqDnXVfOUds6A2qGRN4jBLAM/s1600/mia1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVl0RJECTz6PHICo78w9SkbSvGmLovF-f9lw_meVYg8ldVR-N-ZuFUP3J73fX4gtJm_k-fpGA_z7EQy0BzOPlfUN0DR41QQplVU5ELNgHwf_d5WPEucl3jyqDnXVfOUds6A2qGRN4jBLAM/s320/mia1.jpg" width="240" /></a>Alors, Je veux écriver en français, parce que je veux améliorer mon français - c'est une bonne raison, non?<br />
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Maintenant, je fais mes devoirs (pour biologie, chemie, francais et chinois - qui sait que j'ai devoirs... je suis une etudie l'exchange!). Apres ca, je vais aller au une restaurant dans Central en Hong Kong, pour mange tout la norriture je peux mange. La restaurant a trois étage pour manger, et une menu qui est plus grande, je ne saurai pas quoi choisir!<br />
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Oh, et evidement desole pour l'errors gramatique, fautes d'orthographe, etc etc. Je parle habituellement - pas écrive - mais je veux le changer.<br />
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Bref, j'ai faim, donc je vais aller manger. A bientot!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-22538492241410583992013-03-05T18:55:00.003-08:002013-03-27T04:51:42.263-07:00Taiwan in 4 Minutes or LessPlease excuse me for not posting an update in a while - I skipped class to go to Taiwan.<br />
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Instead of the regular picture taking, I decided to use the video function on my phone - I think it turned out well - let me know what you think!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="400" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/61107801" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="620"></iframe>
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Make sure to watch in HD for the full experience! Also since I spent forever uploading it to an HD server. Stay tuned for more updates!<br />
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Also, here's a picture of me riding a giraffe.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QChxqxTRCl4uX6XHJzC8HCnxdzUuQqVZbbpYLVYxbRJQW_cc_-RXzHuidyZcECSAFoI_MC9mGHhDqnROOVVnqXpPovJghcEyXek2CgLpglMDusQe96x7GTUxhrrgee9oeZNlO6N6c13m/s1600/IMG_20130303_161837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QChxqxTRCl4uX6XHJzC8HCnxdzUuQqVZbbpYLVYxbRJQW_cc_-RXzHuidyZcECSAFoI_MC9mGHhDqnROOVVnqXpPovJghcEyXek2CgLpglMDusQe96x7GTUxhrrgee9oeZNlO6N6c13m/s640/IMG_20130303_161837.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-17418248338345400802013-02-26T19:42:00.002-08:002013-02-26T19:42:22.075-08:00Classroom Based LearningIt happened in high school. I wasn't ready to go to university - as I had no idea what I wanted to do - so I made the decision to stay behind an extra year. In retrospect, it was a very good decision - otherwise I'd probably be in an expensive aviation management program at another Ontario university, with a larger than normal tuition fee due to the price of Cessna fuel.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0YbFBmyN3Wgm8SQfIQEyo2wzdwEZsm40inv5mzz1Jrnqww4iik4C_qDJiav_GLdpRJ6iiDTQC-K-oJeqij1Ps9r7lq4yf0oJGFshno7ILNYAp3Z9CMDtpv6scgCdeOhVm-TQZAZW7Km-/s1600/419281_10151549466257189_2123388182_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0YbFBmyN3Wgm8SQfIQEyo2wzdwEZsm40inv5mzz1Jrnqww4iik4C_qDJiav_GLdpRJ6iiDTQC-K-oJeqij1Ps9r7lq4yf0oJGFshno7ILNYAp3Z9CMDtpv6scgCdeOhVm-TQZAZW7Km-/s400/419281_10151549466257189_2123388182_n.jpg" width="400" /></a>That being said, there was a moment in high school in which I woke up and became aware that I was ready to move on; I was done with high school and was ready to become a university student with the university style of learning; the same thing has happened with me and university. I'm not quite done with university at this point, but I am getting awful tired of classroom based learning.<br />
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I think a lot of the fatigue and burn out is due to my exchange - not the quality of teaching, but things I've been exposed to, and things I've learned outside of school. Where would I want to go from university though? I'm glad you asked - I'd like to go back into university but in a different context; I'd like to go into research.<br />
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Research based learning is an exciting prospect to think about, because it's no longer learning to "catch-up" to mainstream knowledge, it's learning for discovery and that's a thing that gets me excited.<br />
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I'm not entirely finished with classroom based learning at this point - it has its places, but I'm just really hoping to offset it with some research when I return for my 4th year of University... and beyond.<br />
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<i>P.S. I've attached a picture of me at the most beautiful beach ever in Koh Phi Phi - you should be jealous. :)</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-11731672548036252692013-02-23T06:11:00.003-08:002013-02-23T06:11:53.439-08:00A word on exchanges. (Hypobole).
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Hey Guys!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUklgVIKsGsXzOhPQlD_TXIGZxbKynAlLrMjLVPPDbayH6OftBeu7Yp-wvObqlfNjuqFBwKmhdqkT0MNCIhw7nCJJ70KUzYIU3EQG-knZMYgwwqQQAhW5wXxrVQjItvpsZFBOXdyY8dTqO/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUklgVIKsGsXzOhPQlD_TXIGZxbKynAlLrMjLVPPDbayH6OftBeu7Yp-wvObqlfNjuqFBwKmhdqkT0MNCIhw7nCJJ70KUzYIU3EQG-knZMYgwwqQQAhW5wXxrVQjItvpsZFBOXdyY8dTqO/s200/1.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
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Instead of writing about my personal adventures, I wanted to take a minute to put something into a context that other exchange students can understand - or possibly people looking into completing an exchange.</div>
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At Brock University (and a lot of other universities - or so I've heard) when a student goes on exchange, their credits will return to Brock on a pass or fail basis. If I were to take Underwater Basket Weaving 101 at the City University of Hong Kong, and have it tie back to Basket Weaving - Underwater Style 1F90 at Brock University, it wouldn't matter if I could barely wind wicker twine together in a kiddy pool, or complete a deep sea research expedition to explore the strength of wicker baskets at ocean floor pressures - as long as I passed the course at CityU, everything would be fine.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzAqok9d-HJqbZnJ1VNvTDzzNYu6yAISL03Pz67qtPIvGs-aiT9U_u_7_06A5OXkqmEhQtvCfg6gtbf8p65rKrO3Qlki0pQ8jPIoNWzmDSz2moTBuZ6r9Mmb1IJxtOBcaDjhpCvZ1cYItH/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzAqok9d-HJqbZnJ1VNvTDzzNYu6yAISL03Pz67qtPIvGs-aiT9U_u_7_06A5OXkqmEhQtvCfg6gtbf8p65rKrO3Qlki0pQ8jPIoNWzmDSz2moTBuZ6r9Mmb1IJxtOBcaDjhpCvZ1cYItH/s200/4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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This pass or fail attitude makes for a fantastic exchange, but it also lets academics get a little out of hand. When talking to some of my friends over here in Hong Kong we often throw around the joke "I'm not going to skip a class this week"; notice the describing word joke. I - among many other students - have failed to attend a single week thus far without missing at least one class. </div>
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Now, don't get me wrong; I love education. I respectfully pay for my own education (with the Ontario government acting as my sugar daddy) and am a firm believer in taking advantage of things that you've paid for; hence writing this after getting back from my 4th Ocean Park adventure (to which I purchased a season pass). However, there is a different attitude when you're on exchange - especially in a City as large and bustling as Hong Kong. There are simply more exciting things to do, than to go to class.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZQey3FNRDeb0Q1DoZuHE7Ndux1upEs7kJKNXb-6cPnAkrY7XQkAiwgWf4pAH9UKKa72yWy_srYQ9atEAo-2_BjMY_G6Hl6bKl9ff6BPFQQJfiNHGslxzLSQqEjU9MlhGa9N6ODqjx0yd/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZQey3FNRDeb0Q1DoZuHE7Ndux1upEs7kJKNXb-6cPnAkrY7XQkAiwgWf4pAH9UKKa72yWy_srYQ9atEAo-2_BjMY_G6Hl6bKl9ff6BPFQQJfiNHGslxzLSQqEjU9MlhGa9N6ODqjx0yd/s320/2.jpg" width="240" /></a>When you place them side by side - hiking a mountain and swimming on a beach, versus sitting in a lecture discussing the carbon-rearrangement that occurs in glycolysis - it's not hard to choose which one you'd like to do. I'm a huge nerd, and love me some metabolism shit, but give me a chance to get away from the pollution and the noise and I'm in. The trick however is learning to balance between the two, and not skipping too many classes - something I'm having trouble doing currently. </div>
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I'm passionate about all aspects of education; learning, teaching and researching (though I'm sure there are a lot more). I hope to continue on to graduate studies when I complete my BSc at Brock, however I know I'm going to find it difficult to return to Canada and complete a normal year in a normal classroom because of two reasons.</div>
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1. I've had an amazing year, done amazing things, and I'm not ready to stop doing them.</div>
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<i>and perhaps the more important:</i></div>
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2. There are <b>more things to learn outside the classroom</b>, than there are within the classroom.</div>
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I'm not talking about street sense here; I'm talking about getting out and experiencing different cultures, traveling the world, meeting new people. It builds so much confidence, and opens your eyes to things you never even knew where there. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVWhQsCI3FkBIeR3A8krc6i4RBCYj6bTjL3hVy4os8nfvPIcIK8qxHZ-AbfmUdTXjjKE9NdCj9YzWBYW3JnL6dHNsKSnJ_p1Zj0Bn7hyphenhyphenNi8QA38c53Jb7GT7PqEe_4Qb97iSM7tnNOz5M/s1600/Fountain+Swimming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVWhQsCI3FkBIeR3A8krc6i4RBCYj6bTjL3hVy4os8nfvPIcIK8qxHZ-AbfmUdTXjjKE9NdCj9YzWBYW3JnL6dHNsKSnJ_p1Zj0Bn7hyphenhyphenNi8QA38c53Jb7GT7PqEe_4Qb97iSM7tnNOz5M/s320/Fountain+Swimming.jpg" width="320" /></a>I've been told to pick my battles many times - I get passionate about everything, and want to challenge, improve and renovate everything I set my eyes on. I try to limit my enthusiasm, but with the amount of things I've been exposed to it's near-impossible. I used to think I understood the world, living in a quiet Canadian city, viewing news segments online; but until you get out and actually experience everything there is to experience - you're essentially staring at a cup of water next to the ocean. </div>
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What I think I'm trying to say here is that if anyone was thinking about doing an exchange - you most definitely should place it at the highest possible level on your priorities list. Two years from now when I'm (hopefully) in graduate studies, I'm not going to remember the lifecycle of <i>dictiostelium discodium</i>, nor will I even remember the exact carbon rearrangements of glucose when it undergoes glycolysis; but what I will be able to tell you is the differences between Thailand and Laos, the individual problems people face in Hong Kong, the diseases that affect this part of the world, and the wonderful experiences I've had to shape the life I will be living. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6yvLmyZQ2ubrD2730Q9Qo7Um0mB_a1nKjEi8bptwa-lIoKJ-eNIEMVBR19QsEgNoeQ2je-q16QT_JkWq6LPOOC9D2DBXwKV5FhiHsvv4UARbuWE3WHT72NNHyOa9KzsVyU4z7mwUnQlv/s1600/curtin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6yvLmyZQ2ubrD2730Q9Qo7Um0mB_a1nKjEi8bptwa-lIoKJ-eNIEMVBR19QsEgNoeQ2je-q16QT_JkWq6LPOOC9D2DBXwKV5FhiHsvv4UARbuWE3WHT72NNHyOa9KzsVyU4z7mwUnQlv/s320/curtin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Not everyone will have this opportunity, but if there's a chance that you might - please take it. </div>
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Sorry about the rant! Just wanted to get that off my mind. In personal news, I really need to start learning how to balance both academics and exchange student fun; but carpe diem, right?</div>
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I'll post more later. I'm committing myself to making my blog better.</div>
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- Ryder </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-40323792643793236732013-02-15T21:53:00.002-08:002013-03-27T05:44:30.674-07:00Chinese New Year! - The Crazy Night OutHey Guys,<br />
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I'll start off with my obligatory apology for not updating recently, but here's an update on what I've been doing for the past week/month/indeterminate amount of time.<br />
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We just finished the Chinese New Year break, which means I didn't have school. Most people took the opportunity to jump on a plane and go somewhere warm, like the Philippines or Thailand, but seeing how I've already done the beach thing - I decided to stay in Hong Kong and experience the local cultural traditions for the lunar break; I also didn't book my flights in time.<br />
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As much as I did this week, it was actually a pretty quiet week for me - which is sort of what I needed, since we had been going out as much as possible before. I did get up to a few things though.<br />
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<b>The Crazy Night Out</b><br />
We had been sitting in the residence cafeteria for a little while, trying to figure out what we were going to do tonight, when we finally came up with it. We would dress fancy, and aimlessly wander around Kowloon until we found something that we liked. Perfect.<br />
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Fast forward a few hours later, and we're on our way out, drinking wine and coolers on the MTR and loving the exchange student life. Our first stop is TST. We arrive via the east rail line which we never take, so we're dead lost in the gargantuan underground station that is TST. Eventually we find our way (by my guidance) to what I thought was the correct exit, but an entirely different area of the city than where we wanted to go... but alas! There is a bar there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57WRoB2mSp1uJoJcPO7IWxHA1c2DlPq0FH7-cgsi5q9Qy2bQq9p8I4y9k_gD9_LG90_x3r2XrTNgqIDy_oofCX6nYD2d2MeEN38dSvcfoQiNRpCyMUspqC63wTk0poq8MBRRRgUWUlk0D/s1600/20130209_232225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57WRoB2mSp1uJoJcPO7IWxHA1c2DlPq0FH7-cgsi5q9Qy2bQq9p8I4y9k_gD9_LG90_x3r2XrTNgqIDy_oofCX6nYD2d2MeEN38dSvcfoQiNRpCyMUspqC63wTk0poq8MBRRRgUWUlk0D/s400/20130209_232225.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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We get into the elevator and it takes us to the 28th floor of this building. As the doors open we're greeted and rushed into a bar with an unparalleled view of the city through a giant glass window. The bar (Aqua) however has a crowd that we're not looking for (middle aged expats, all sitting down, despite club music being played so loud that we can't hear each other talk). Kelly makes up a story that we're waiting for a friend, as Alexis, Lou and I run back to the elevator in order to avoid being pressured to buy drinks.<br />
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Once we get to the bottom, we discover a rooftop with plenty of things to do, and a really beautiful view of Kowloon. There are also these horse drawn carriages (missing the horses) that look like they belong in the royal wedding (according to Lou) behind a velveted rope. Of course, we know that we have to get inside them, so that's what we do.<br />
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Moving on to the next bar, we eventually find it fighting through the crowds near Jordan, and once again board the elevator to the 18th floor of a building. We don't stay there long, as we don't have a reservation, but it has some amazing views of the HK island.<br />
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We wander downstairs, grab some pizza, hit up club7 (7/11 for the non-Hong Kongers - the best bar in the city) and meander down to avenue of the stars (the harbour boardwalk) where we find a dress rehearsal going on for the parade the next day. Kelly and Alexis hop the fence and go right into the stands to walk, while Lou and I are stopped by a security guard. After seeing a really cool cheerleading / I don't know what performance, we meet back up and catch the MTR across to Admiralty... This is where things get fun.<br />
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I insist on leading us to some bar that I heard about online called the Lawn at the upper house. Long story short, we're walking through a closed shopping centre, asking "where are we?" every 10 minutes. I collapse on the ground from laughter, from not knowing where we are, and we board this glass elevator. The elevator rockets us out onto the roof of a building, where we wander towards a hotel. They inform us that the upper house is next door, so we walk in and talk to reception.<br />
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As we walk in, there is fire coming out of the ground, there are these fancy glass boxes with fire inside to provide light for the room... insane right? The receptionist in a posh British accent informs us that the lawn is an outdoor terrace on the 2nd floor. Ascending an escalator that makes us think we're moving into the future, we find this wonderful outdoor terrace with comfy couches, beanbags, hedges, christmas lights and soothing music... with not a soul in sight.<br />
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We absolutely love this place, so we stay here for god knows how long, before all having to go to the bathroom. Mischievously I lead everyone into an elevator I randomly found, and hit the button for the 49th floor. The doors close, and before any of us clue in, we're committed to this.<br />
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As the doors open, we discover that we're not only on the 49th floor of a building on top of a mountain, but it's actually a fancy hotel. We quickly run into a corridor where the washrooms are, and after going through the door, I discover that it's the nicest washroom I've ever been in, in my life.<br />
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There are real towels first of all, cologne, and a V shaped window overlooking the entire city. Everything is made of mahogany, and despite being dressed fancy, I know I'm definitely out of place here... but that's never stopping before.<br />
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We must have spent 10 minutes alone in the bathrooms just looking at the view, before we went back outside and found a lounge overlooking the city. Naturally, we took some pictures, and pretended we were guests; played a little backgammon, I checked the NASDAQ index to be fancy, and repeatedly switched languages to try and convince the staff that I wasn't a broke student.<br />
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Long story short we get out of the hotel without any problems, and make our way over to our other friends in Wan Chai (the classiest place in HK - hardcore sarcasm here). Running the opposite way on moving walkways, and taking underground tunnels as much as possible.<br />
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Then the night gets a little weird. We stayed in Wan Chai for a little while, and took advantage of the 24/h MTR service, by catching a train to Central. We then went on a wild wandering adventure again, and ended up in a few parks (one looked like a jungle). We stayed out talking until 6AM when we decided to get some breakfast. Taking the MTR home while people were getting up for work, there was a sense of wrongness going through my head.<br />
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All and all though, an amazing night, but I need a break from going out for a while!<br />
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I'll post pictures on here soon!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-70296162706293810392013-02-03T04:33:00.001-08:002013-02-03T04:33:07.362-08:00Dragons, Roller-coasters and Machine Guns: A weekend in HKThis weekend has been absolutely crazy - let me sum it up for you.<br />
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<b>Friday</b><br />
In the early morning, I woke up for Biochemistry at 8AM, to go to class at 9... I'm not too pleased about that, but it's gotta be done. After about an hour into the 2 hour class, I decided that I didn't really want to review basic things about carbohydrates that I learned in year 1, so I decided to leave the class halfway through to get some maccas breakfast.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTwRCsivMESZAOAjUoG_NMs63AZx2NN0LComw_Xs3mSuAqr7jIKSzlg_q5-PoeRvIPa9OhenFEc77lPobPzGxkQMyVBvr0RbI8JTQ806kgMVId9stsGnw-8c0TJ-3ZE6lOitFecdmeaFj/s1600/20130201_134855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTwRCsivMESZAOAjUoG_NMs63AZx2NN0LComw_Xs3mSuAqr7jIKSzlg_q5-PoeRvIPa9OhenFEc77lPobPzGxkQMyVBvr0RbI8JTQ806kgMVId9stsGnw-8c0TJ-3ZE6lOitFecdmeaFj/s320/20130201_134855.jpg" width="240" /></a>At 11 I met up with some people who were hiking the Dragon's back trail, a long 8 kilometer hiking trail on the Hong Kong Island. We jumped on the MTR, caught the train to the island, and then caught a bus around the back, where it let us off at a stop in the middle of nowhere, which a stone staircase leading up the mountain into the woods... why not?<br />
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The hike took about 3 hours, and was actually really fun. We had some stops along the way to take pictures of the amazing views of Shek O (a small beach village) and the southern part of the island. The trail was called the dragon's back because it moved from mountain to mountain, moving up and down like the back of a dragon... It wasn't a difficult hike by any means (as there were stairs) but it did have some fun moments.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggu6Eb0VePE-EARUWQYlgHUZZJ-RM7UqLbpDYuWtNZ668y9VCTD5BnZCoB35zTi5DxUj1o2g37TNBqEx1-Oy5Z8cQ70N-STX-dLuwldC_GtkXRpcNoMF-QRd2VrQ0SVvbfEE8GV2t4OghP/s1600/20130201_132739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggu6Eb0VePE-EARUWQYlgHUZZJ-RM7UqLbpDYuWtNZ668y9VCTD5BnZCoB35zTi5DxUj1o2g37TNBqEx1-Oy5Z8cQ70N-STX-dLuwldC_GtkXRpcNoMF-QRd2VrQ0SVvbfEE8GV2t4OghP/s320/20130201_132739.jpg" width="240" /></a>Later on in the hike it was all a shaded area, basically like a walkway, so after taking about different things, my friend Karma (not the thing, the person!) took the time to explain to me the situation with Israel and the disputed territories. History is far more interested when it's told in the form of a story - why wasn't it like that during high school? I would have payed attention...<br />
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Anyways, the hike eventually started declining, until we happened upon a smaller beach village known as Big Wave Bay. After grabbing some ice cream and speaking about ourselves in the third person, Ryder and his friends decided to go to the beach.<br />
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The waves weren't too large, and the water was cold at first, but boy it was a fun time. We spent the time body surfing the waves as they came in, and diving into the bigger ones. The sun was setting, and everyone started walking back into the shallow shore, while my friend Inez and I stayed out in the deeper area to dive into one last wave.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFIX6sRb1PViXxoHhlur9WmGEMnYcUqEntuHbbC1T109MZVeeVNvXN2WbWSfidqSkbYw1dc8VYUBy5GyR8gnMX21kzcPaMVwgzKSYyou622FsSxdhdRYRxKFmkMO7pJ2P7a77U1RRN7IP/s1600/20130201_160922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFIX6sRb1PViXxoHhlur9WmGEMnYcUqEntuHbbC1T109MZVeeVNvXN2WbWSfidqSkbYw1dc8VYUBy5GyR8gnMX21kzcPaMVwgzKSYyou622FsSxdhdRYRxKFmkMO7pJ2P7a77U1RRN7IP/s320/20130201_160922.jpg" width="320" /></a>The 6 foot wave swelled about 30 feet before us. I was 20 feet behind Inez, and she was running to dive into the wave, as I followed suit. All of a sudden, before the wave crashed in the swell, these three (I kid you not) meter long fish appeared swimming inside the wave, right towards Inez. I yelled out her name, but she had seen them, screamed so loud, and was booking it towards the shore. I ran initially too out of fear, but after that couldn't stop laughing at the sight we had just seen. It literally looked like aquarium tank quality, these three fish swimming towards us in a huge wave, it was horrifying, but also a really cool experience... Needless to say we stayed out of the water after that.<br />
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<b>Saturday</b><br />
I woke up with a pretty bad cold, which was strange, but I sucked it up and met my two friends Karma and Francesca to head to ocean park - Hong Kong's Canada's wonderland - to make our recently purchased season passes count.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCd_ydaki400I4IVQZC1H5_q7q0_qp6qB0g21XXD5fRD8BelAOY6ibqukf6t8vvj2-mmoOZCH7AmmQl7ZS4NiAYNVXp4w1D7DSWGi3mVxKdy6dd5UGL3lsB1ifV1gsT99LhV09gwjA_hs/s1600/20130202_121208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCd_ydaki400I4IVQZC1H5_q7q0_qp6qB0g21XXD5fRD8BelAOY6ibqukf6t8vvj2-mmoOZCH7AmmQl7ZS4NiAYNVXp4w1D7DSWGi3mVxKdy6dd5UGL3lsB1ifV1gsT99LhV09gwjA_hs/s320/20130202_121208.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
After a long MTR ride, missing three busses, and the bus stop by a good kilometer, we had arrived, and caught the cable car into the other side of the park. Karma and I being veterans at this place knew where we were going, so on a surprisingly hot saturday, we decided to check out the raft ride first. This is the kind of ride where you sit in a circular raft, and you go down a water channel (very similar to the one at Wonderland for the Canadian readers). The sign at the ride said "You will get wet, you may get soaked"... I got the latter.<br />
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To dry off, we went on a couple roller coasters, including Hair Raiser, which is my favorite (similar to top gun, but hurts you less). After that, we checked out the drop zone, which scares me every single time, and a couple more rides. By that point my cold was getting to me, and I wasn't feeling it, so we came home, hung out with some people, and had a chill night in (as everyone else went out to the warehouse party).<br />
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<b>Sunday</b><br />
Just got back from Wargames... Absolutely crazy. I was a little confused as to what it was at first, but it's basically airsoft guns (which look incredibly like real guns) with no orange-tipped ends, or safety regulations on power, shooting plastic BBs, that looks like a heavy duty machine gun.<br />
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We started the day by waking up at 8 (which my cold did not appreciate) but in the end, absolutely worth it. We got some quick breakfast, and then headed to Yau Ma Tei, where we were met with a crowd of gun-carrying, camouflage wearing, backwards-colourless american flag bearing wargames enthusiasts. They go absolutely all out, like, all the gear is there. I was a little weirded out that people took it that seriously, but whatever floats your boat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2JharwNTtzPsA3Z1BmDU0gbhYHvAzHs75DfnAzhs0xxVKJeUMVv8eGbncFIcxNo0GTpFz_IFOSfIwBxxTcfFjK3VAz8P5dOuXu-FuMJ9aJkncgztRzgTNe5UMH5zuj1x26vC4L79ElwS/s1600/20130203_141434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2JharwNTtzPsA3Z1BmDU0gbhYHvAzHs75DfnAzhs0xxVKJeUMVv8eGbncFIcxNo0GTpFz_IFOSfIwBxxTcfFjK3VAz8P5dOuXu-FuMJ9aJkncgztRzgTNe5UMH5zuj1x26vC4L79ElwS/s320/20130203_141434.jpg" width="240" /></a>We boarded a minibus and took it on an hour long journey into the new territories, and after driving through a dodgy area, arrived at a bunker filled with guns, and lots of war equipment. We took 30 minute to unpack, get ready, and put on all our coats, camo pants, load our mags, and try shooting our guns... then we went to war.<br />
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Wargames is basically paintball, but with airsoft. People take it super seriously, and it's done on an honour system, so if you get hit - you throw your hands up and say that you're out. I didn't think the honour system would work, but even though the BB's weren't painful, it still was not pleasant being hit with them.<br />
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The first game was an absolute diaster. They basically dropped us into a forest, and we had no idea what we were expecting. Ryan, Kristine and I were wiped out all at once in the first 5 minutes while hiding in a bush. That was probably the worst we all died, because who ever got us out would not stop shooting despite us yelling stop in Cantonese. I got hit all across my hands, face (I had a mask) back, arms, chest, etc.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyKQ7D2pBFyYD9tv4P7nVXemx_NtWsKWmZk0MkUWq4kV7AcV7cyXzOLRXOtKOUf726t5mENKq0IZK30fq6EQIYmN4Lar3AxnrN_2WvHa36CNWlavYYPi_sb5wqAfFt_8qNpLfVb1WJX4l/s1600/20130203_165134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyKQ7D2pBFyYD9tv4P7nVXemx_NtWsKWmZk0MkUWq4kV7AcV7cyXzOLRXOtKOUf726t5mENKq0IZK30fq6EQIYmN4Lar3AxnrN_2WvHa36CNWlavYYPi_sb5wqAfFt_8qNpLfVb1WJX4l/s320/20130203_165134.jpg" width="320" /></a>The next game we were more ready, but still got taken out by a sniper that snuck around the back... The third game in that forest was the best though. We had gotten a bigger team, and I basically army crawled through the forest with Kristine. I lasted till the end in that game (about 15 minutes) which was awesome. I almost got shot at the end, but I got my first kill (I think...). I'm still not sure about any of my kills.<br />
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The next area we went to was a lot scarier, as it was basically a field with long grass, a bunch of broken cars, and metal barriers. The sound of the BBs off the barriers was horrifying. I was terrified at one points, but once again found my courage. It was in this arena we learned to work as a team - and even took the other team completely by force within the first 2 minutes of the game - communication was the key.<br />
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We broke for lunch (which was provided) and afterwards were ready for a last two areas. In the first, I never saw the enemy, only heard the pellets whizzing past my head as I ducked. At one point Kristine and I were full on scaling an incredibly steep dirt hill as we were taking fire - amazing. I spent most of the time in this arena hiding in long grass, and firing widely into the forest.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzs-pRLqEUUqSq-4IqHSoGDPHAbcQJchIL7eEq1SAEKFbFUk3-oZ5pDVpJcV2VQmo-1TQbczv2ED7fjhNXOHLtju0SG4vFY_NtukxG-Rr8zBzKKPzRoettj4TsC3DNZK6F_JcNbDrirnM/s1600/20130203_165203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzs-pRLqEUUqSq-4IqHSoGDPHAbcQJchIL7eEq1SAEKFbFUk3-oZ5pDVpJcV2VQmo-1TQbczv2ED7fjhNXOHLtju0SG4vFY_NtukxG-Rr8zBzKKPzRoettj4TsC3DNZK6F_JcNbDrirnM/s320/20130203_165203.jpg" width="240" /></a>The last arena seemed the biggest, because it was half on higher ground, half on lower ground, with a series of very deep trenches (I could walk upright with no problem). In one game I got completely owned by a guy in bushes, but I took him apart in the next game by sending a good 40 rounds ricocheting off his face.<br />
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Overall an absolutely amazing, fun, and very exercising experience. I'm covered in cuts from the bushes, and sore from jumping down into trenches, army crawling through bushes and rolling to avoid automatic riffle fire, but I'd definitely do it again.<br />
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I've got class tomorrow - got to give a presentation on wheat, so interesting I know. I'm gonna be having Wargames PTSD during the presentation.<br />
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Anyways, until next time!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-72315600888850440032013-01-31T00:24:00.006-08:002013-01-31T00:24:58.859-08:00First Week in Hong Kong!It's been 3 weeks since I've arrived in Hong Kong; I should probably update this thing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbdwEdKWYWKZnCkoIOK0U8dJ4IhItHxqvR0u9wfusKhg3dX2A_fym4qNjGbf1uiqyUSfOKk_2Llls-jFHyWuJ4jBDSirHFd7AVGNgwKCOjwOJRCQkdpYfKRTrf1yK0ZPVAAARF9SyuX6E/s1600/20130108_163738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbdwEdKWYWKZnCkoIOK0U8dJ4IhItHxqvR0u9wfusKhg3dX2A_fym4qNjGbf1uiqyUSfOKk_2Llls-jFHyWuJ4jBDSirHFd7AVGNgwKCOjwOJRCQkdpYfKRTrf1yK0ZPVAAARF9SyuX6E/s320/20130108_163738.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>First Week</b><br />
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I don't know why I've been procrastinating it so much, but I've been well aware of it, but I owe the people that read this an update.<br />
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After finishing backpacking Thailand, I headed for Hong Kong International Airport on a Monday morning, and arrived at about 10AM. I got settled in to City University residence, and went through my normal period of hating life in my first day of a new place.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KYqpO7alyI6qsujzVXhZrKZuMOw4xrhrzpFzBAqRZDAX1lbjT_L3aIa6r56vkxi_44dZIqYe_5Td3qX5fXijoLQpgBwWNVVS1unpwl0zAa48WXm65E-HgnDMquOwyzqCh1E9eo6JlOn3/s1600/20130109_194532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KYqpO7alyI6qsujzVXhZrKZuMOw4xrhrzpFzBAqRZDAX1lbjT_L3aIa6r56vkxi_44dZIqYe_5Td3qX5fXijoLQpgBwWNVVS1unpwl0zAa48WXm65E-HgnDMquOwyzqCh1E9eo6JlOn3/s320/20130109_194532.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
That night, I decided to sign up for the IKEA trip, so I could get some pillow cases; and boy am I glad I did. It was on the trip that I started to meet all the other international students - and boy there were a lot of them. We started talking, and exploring Ikea together, which was really fun, and I went home feeling much better about Hong Kong.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhqP27bZm_pt7Mo4u6TslNQey6QbZ3vaT4bJZSMyZOf0iT0r62l0_Mp7k7vzvNcD8qppZHN78X7TbiJXUpP0tCYy_m5ER3zaHFQvvdL_gNizajfsP-4dWbs4sascrWxTRmeK6fK2H8i15/s1600/20130109_140522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhqP27bZm_pt7Mo4u6TslNQey6QbZ3vaT4bJZSMyZOf0iT0r62l0_Mp7k7vzvNcD8qppZHN78X7TbiJXUpP0tCYy_m5ER3zaHFQvvdL_gNizajfsP-4dWbs4sascrWxTRmeK6fK2H8i15/s320/20130109_140522.jpg" width="320" /></a>The next day I was craving some western food, as I hadn't had any for a while because of Thailand - so I decided to rock up to none other than Maccas. It was there that I saw my now main group of friends chilling at the tables. I had gotten to know a few of them last night, but I cite this moment as when I got accepted into this new group of friends - which was pretty cool for me because we've been together ever since!<br />
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We spent the rest of the week getting settled in and checking out the city. Here are a few of the things that we did:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX8fv2Bq9UuvtrKDtlSFh-UlAPBB6jXaYsrXAvhUIR8PnVsOPDHEDA3Ix-cNdKZ_VmpwsdA1-AZZyjnXQbpVCwMaf3okKxH9hW4EFVF-i_P7uwpIr5f-PuMdz4o742yV8g_9MgJipAlnkw/s1600/20130110_204427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX8fv2Bq9UuvtrKDtlSFh-UlAPBB6jXaYsrXAvhUIR8PnVsOPDHEDA3Ix-cNdKZ_VmpwsdA1-AZZyjnXQbpVCwMaf3okKxH9hW4EFVF-i_P7uwpIr5f-PuMdz4o742yV8g_9MgJipAlnkw/s320/20130110_204427.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<ul>
<li>Saw the symphony of lights from the Kowloon harbour</li>
<li>Checked out Victoria Peak with an amazing view of the city</li>
<li>Saw a race at the track</li>
<li>Hated HSBC and every other bank in Hong Kong</li>
<li>Returned to ikea many times to gather things that we forgot</li>
<li>Checked out LKF, Wan Chai (Expat Party Zone), and lots of orientation sessions.</li>
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Little did I know that class would start soon, which is unfortunate. I think every international student regrets having to go to class after they experience their first week in a new city with friends. All of a sudden it's "oh... we're actually here to study... right". For some of us though, that still hasn't kicked in.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XsVxsqVBkAcPd5qKjF5_iHV2VSfz_G2LM6hyphenhyphenv4y9gOidE5iR0hVK2BGEXkPbn6mwwV2Y0vvuClmmNf7nIwueladQSHYOtU_FFea1amvRZMdZ0yb8yY8JvEdx5Ch0xQqJOhJGQ1oQfEq6/s1600/20130113_173137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XsVxsqVBkAcPd5qKjF5_iHV2VSfz_G2LM6hyphenhyphenv4y9gOidE5iR0hVK2BGEXkPbn6mwwV2Y0vvuClmmNf7nIwueladQSHYOtU_FFea1amvRZMdZ0yb8yY8JvEdx5Ch0xQqJOhJGQ1oQfEq6/s640/20130113_173137.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-60397226126424078682013-01-31T00:19:00.003-08:002013-01-31T00:19:45.454-08:00Christmas with Elephants<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBdGIePqqG3GoBwLn25yXP5RMSdZwzXp0FDHROayM67PWhIYe8SrQ1DxfcOnRwVCOz4Og_NO_xm4t6PdmtnmzBQ5jcPPYIMB8ygPfoTxNFKYen1bLmm6FZcJIUeRMh4mW1gnN2mAvTrhaz/s1600/DSC03343_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBdGIePqqG3GoBwLn25yXP5RMSdZwzXp0FDHROayM67PWhIYe8SrQ1DxfcOnRwVCOz4Og_NO_xm4t6PdmtnmzBQ5jcPPYIMB8ygPfoTxNFKYen1bLmm6FZcJIUeRMh4mW1gnN2mAvTrhaz/s320/DSC03343_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a>While normally Christmas is spent with families, either on the beach in Australia, or hiding indoors with the heat cranked in Canada, mine was anything but that, because I spent it at an Elephant rescue camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand.<br />
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I had been wanting to go to an elephant camp for a while, but was debating with the costs. A lot of them costed a lot of money just to go watch the elephants, and the ones that were cheap were cheap for a reason; the elephants were treated poorly, and were only there to serve the customers - that's not what I wanted to participate in at all.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOyI3g6H7-q8rk5pmOP4JxVUpuJF4onSQVrQ7yQ3wdgJg2LR_Ajvh9-5uy7Jvs9Ir0QTD5fI2l6zhbAonEEmBbpffBhFZaGE78yD1tgDRYSrhciYOix6m9aN3KKiGfSeuSBVrHWqQR6sy/s1600/DSC03338_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOyI3g6H7-q8rk5pmOP4JxVUpuJF4onSQVrQ7yQ3wdgJg2LR_Ajvh9-5uy7Jvs9Ir0QTD5fI2l6zhbAonEEmBbpffBhFZaGE78yD1tgDRYSrhciYOix6m9aN3KKiGfSeuSBVrHWqQR6sy/s320/DSC03338_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a>Eventually, I looked around, and Tamlee told me about the place that the British bunch went to, called Woody's Elephant Training, and though it was a little expensive for me - I deemed it a Christmas present, and reckoned it was worth it - boy was I right.<br />
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I got up early on Wednesday morning and after waiting about a half hour, the van finally came around and collected me. The night before I had purchased a Christmas hat, and to my surprise when I got on the bus, there were three girls who also had them on too - awesome.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4nLntfwNtWVE5V-NZDPxKgDtQpIxT8Kx0FbHMsrCFPuQ_D7Eo-XfVBpwl_bUj18XeRhOBytXaVcjFhG3hDaxtRTUqe6jTlfw-wOt_L2s76ZoI0MPuspCVBqVaASEJpa4GELtU4FIMaKM/s1600/DSC03352_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4nLntfwNtWVE5V-NZDPxKgDtQpIxT8Kx0FbHMsrCFPuQ_D7Eo-XfVBpwl_bUj18XeRhOBytXaVcjFhG3hDaxtRTUqe6jTlfw-wOt_L2s76ZoI0MPuspCVBqVaASEJpa4GELtU4FIMaKM/s320/DSC03352_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
We drove for about an hour, and finally arrived at the camp, where we got settled in, and checked the amazing views from the back porch. Over the first hour, we got to know each other's names, learned some history about the camp, and learned the commands for the elephants. We also got dressed in our Mahout clothing, as we would be teaching the elephants as well - which was super awesome.<br />
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They're really intelligent creatures, and I say that, because they can speak better Thai than I can. They understand quite a few commands - though we only learned a few, like YoKaa (leg up), Yud (stop) and a few others... I kept mixing up stop for fast, which turned out not to benefit me too well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMenYMJqXXA0AlKLBxzDyhJc75HjQdrX79eQSVZ5oaEkDf7P1KhHNL6Ln4QYEXqqb-IiPt07WS8seJm5u90XDdGpbT4NU1kAUpfTw2oagE9VlWh33iMR51nMU5WH_OCyjK0vjzgJ-2kR9d/s1600/DSC03355_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMenYMJqXXA0AlKLBxzDyhJc75HjQdrX79eQSVZ5oaEkDf7P1KhHNL6Ln4QYEXqqb-IiPt07WS8seJm5u90XDdGpbT4NU1kAUpfTw2oagE9VlWh33iMR51nMU5WH_OCyjK0vjzgJ-2kR9d/s320/DSC03355_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a>We then spent the next hour feeding the elephants, cleaning up after them, and learning to control them. You use a hook on it's head, which doesn't hurt the elephant as long as you're gentle with it. It's important to remember that when the elephant is young, even though nobody wants to hurt it, if it does something bad, it has to be immediately taught that it's behavior is not appropriate via a negative stimulus. It is sad to think of, but in order for them not to be killing people - it's necessary. <br />
<br />
After that, we had a great lunch, and got to ride the elephants across the camp. It was actually a lot more scary than you'd think, since they're huge creatures, and as well as they teach you they can be difficult to control. We also learned how to start a fire by rubbing sticks together, which was actually a lot easier than I expected.<br />
<br />
After we got back, it was time to take the elephants for their baths. The Mahouts lead the elephants into the river, handed us brushes and we followed suit. The water was absolutely freezing at first, but I sucked it up, since it was Christmas, and how many people in the world get this opportunity, right?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSVUOee939-ybNco9pgud6oV6MuU7oq2F_waSwp0prWc_lELYeFWVxsDgudkEozL-SoMC8J5TYHXpmRfuDJpwWp-cAVcFepOwx1EjbX-Fli_lSCRJu8DEPQtRpkGwLj_7SdcBmvbPDkUm/s1600/DSC03381_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSVUOee939-ybNco9pgud6oV6MuU7oq2F_waSwp0prWc_lELYeFWVxsDgudkEozL-SoMC8J5TYHXpmRfuDJpwWp-cAVcFepOwx1EjbX-Fli_lSCRJu8DEPQtRpkGwLj_7SdcBmvbPDkUm/s320/DSC03381_resize.JPG" width="240" /></a>Not going to lie, it was a little scary to have the elephants carelessly rolling over in the water, however after staying clear of them, it was a lot of fun. They began sucking water up into their trunks and spraying people, and even stamping their feet, making the entire river boil.<br />
<br />
Once they were "clean" we went for a swim with them, where we rode their backs through an incredibly deep pool of water. The elephant seemed to take joy in buckling it's front legs, keeping it's trunk above water, but completely dipping it's head (and us) under. Later on she reared up on her hind legs and I held on for dear life - was very close to falling off. It was a lot of fun, a little painful, and the elephant ended up trumpeting at the end while we were riding her - it was crazy loud.<br />
<br />
After that, we said our goodbyes, took a couple pictures, and headed home for the day. Not a bad way to spend Christmas, right?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1Etp6fLD82pA7AVm9dJSbwMnEhVAnAOLI-UpkkEa22qjG8qHbd-wlvbwi12UWo0Hdshz5PXIsumhFtGNsftPqKiL1OBSaiq_iySAifgqEsaZvWuSIrLtJBaaD8UjsVZtw3EX3svTNi83/s1600/DSC03362_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1Etp6fLD82pA7AVm9dJSbwMnEhVAnAOLI-UpkkEa22qjG8qHbd-wlvbwi12UWo0Hdshz5PXIsumhFtGNsftPqKiL1OBSaiq_iySAifgqEsaZvWuSIrLtJBaaD8UjsVZtw3EX3svTNi83/s640/DSC03362_resize.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-19341117452105852492013-01-05T00:54:00.002-08:002013-01-05T00:54:28.365-08:00The Most Helpful Phrases in ThailandBeing here for two months, I've obviously picked up a little Thai. Unlike French, I can understand more than I can speak, but I can have basic conversations with people on the street, which is really cool. So, that being said, here is an informal Thai lesson from someone who is not qualified what-so-ever to teach it:<br />
<br />
If you're a girl, you end every sentence with <i>Ka</i>. If you're a guy, it's <i>Kap</i>. It's just the Thai way of being polite. It's kind of like please, but you say it all the time.<br />
<br />
If' you're a guy, when you say <i>"I" it is "pom"</i>, and for <i>girls it's "chan".</i> I never really understood that one, but whatever, go with the flow.<br />
<br />
<b>Here are the most helpful phrases that I've found so far:</b><br />
<br />
<i>Khap Khun (Ka / Kap) - Thank you!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Pom/Chan Hiew - I'm Hungry</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Sawatdee Kap/Ka - Hello!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Sa bai dee mai? - How are you?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Korr Toad Kap / Ka - I'm sorry!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Pom / Chan Oww - I want...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Arai - What?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>You Tee Nai - Where is it?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Hong Nam - Washroom (Room, Water)</i><br />
<br />
<br />
Mai is an interesting word, because it's used at the end of a sentence to change the word into a question, but it's also used to mean no. So, here's a sample conversation:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Me: Hiew Mai? (Are you hungry?)</i><br />
<i>You: Hiew. (Yes I am)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>OR</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>You: Mai Hiew. (No, I'm not).</i><br />
<br />
This is why I find the language really easy, that, and there's no conjugations, tenses, or any other little weird things like that to worry about. Oh, except for the tones, and the fact that Mai can mean 5 different words depending on how you say it. Near and far are the same word, one is just higher than the other...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGfoYIXu-fAI1uNG2GWVgjHn-Q7gkqleqjBUE69cdcpaisxM6h4pOKij3loOiF2zuyZRErgupls_h5PX33gtHbTzH816r6lAcGcLa9K97BDu4UW7g0z8GIfoxvQLGbq6rmrMADitURHIXP/s1600/20121225_123717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGfoYIXu-fAI1uNG2GWVgjHn-Q7gkqleqjBUE69cdcpaisxM6h4pOKij3loOiF2zuyZRErgupls_h5PX33gtHbTzH816r6lAcGcLa9K97BDu4UW7g0z8GIfoxvQLGbq6rmrMADitURHIXP/s320/20121225_123717.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
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This elephant can understand more Thai than I can... No word of a lie. </div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-46386173901304609162013-01-02T00:13:00.004-08:002013-01-05T00:46:50.715-08:00New Years in Bangkok - 2012/2013<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7T-wUwWSxYQAALZwlo84_f99uSAlzBqOktE-yxfBzp7jgEYKmyUih0jenM2zRCIHGqyBt4e6mU_-nb4rMdO-Edh8Bgi7A0hR0rLfid3oKue0o-_PO44jWcn7U5eKf0RzSEJjarCpYEj7/s1600/20130101_124526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7T-wUwWSxYQAALZwlo84_f99uSAlzBqOktE-yxfBzp7jgEYKmyUih0jenM2zRCIHGqyBt4e6mU_-nb4rMdO-Edh8Bgi7A0hR0rLfid3oKue0o-_PO44jWcn7U5eKf0RzSEJjarCpYEj7/s200/20130101_124526.jpg" width="150" /></a>Well, it's January 2nd and it is officially 2013 everywhere in the world, but my new years was absolutely amazing.<br />
<br />
After missing my train, and catching a plane to Bangkok, I waited in the airport for the arrival of Michelle and Lindsay, two of my friends from the RLS at Brock who happened to be arriving in Bangkok at the same time I did.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjgEbTkZamem2FGF9GoTQ7nBehOk2iyy4yyi5Yia-s4UCt3Pjcq3V9TqBAZ9RnfY-iHHWnlJLeRs9-xmVor6H6XvszG-8zADLjsEBMn5OofnkzK56-W3deqzB4UMpG1-CVzrMYU5tVSfB/s1600/20121230_235600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjgEbTkZamem2FGF9GoTQ7nBehOk2iyy4yyi5Yia-s4UCt3Pjcq3V9TqBAZ9RnfY-iHHWnlJLeRs9-xmVor6H6XvszG-8zADLjsEBMn5OofnkzK56-W3deqzB4UMpG1-CVzrMYU5tVSfB/s320/20121230_235600.jpg" width="320" /></a>Seeing them walk out of the terminal was awesome, because they are the first people I've seen from back home in about 6 months, which is super cool. After catching up, we caught a cab into the city, and after checking into our hostel, exploring Khao San road for a little, grabbing unnecessarily large amounts of food (and claiming I could do so because it was my birthday) they were feeling a little tired, so we went to bed early.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPTQSFz6CtagD65O1NA3WsWQD16y54ixS0a0OsIx6Wk0EGCWg7VIDb3rNrX2LDnQ7kWTFTiRRJTG8vNgPrIB2IdVgBRzWk8vNJ7-LQM__Sfw83D1T1JOchLABQywxhkIbA6sfioWsVy4iu/s1600/20121231_230809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPTQSFz6CtagD65O1NA3WsWQD16y54ixS0a0OsIx6Wk0EGCWg7VIDb3rNrX2LDnQ7kWTFTiRRJTG8vNgPrIB2IdVgBRzWk8vNJ7-LQM__Sfw83D1T1JOchLABQywxhkIbA6sfioWsVy4iu/s320/20121231_230809.jpg" width="320" /></a>Now, since I haven't drank on my Thailand trip yet, I figured New Years Eve was the time to do so. Lindsay and I started drinking at 11 in the morning (out of peer pressure for me) and I wanted to make it a Home-Coming day (for the 3 home comings at Brock that I've missed). I was a little more drunk than I anticipated in the afternoon, so I decided to head back to the hostel and have a nap.<br />
<br />
I woke up still drunk at about 6PM, but sobered up as we went and got dinner. Afterwards, we all started drinking again, and caught a cab to CentreWorld - where the party is at.<br />
<br />
There must have been 100 thousand people there, it was crazy. I was loving it, but Michelle and Lindsay weren't feeling it as much as I was so we decided to catch a tuk tuk back to Khao San, where all the falang were chillin' and partying. We were singing, dancing, and yelling Happy New Year / Sawatdee Pei Maii to people on the street, when we finally arrived.<br />
<br />
I don't remember much after that point. I remember dancing on chairs, being told to get down, waiting until that person turned their back, and getting back up on the chairs. I also remember the countdown, and the crazy crowds in which I felt like I was going to die.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaor1Q_8bF48UVXHGjcMSrUq-3Doyms_A0m8m29RNJFn66AsHPjkYaziuSU5zRQtuyQhdnnpKR-DFB6amlrSPl1HlmZLd2zrV3pkOYLLE28g8bT4Th0R5UtoXOLH6AplYEJEUf46tZF4Fe/s1600/20121231_141545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaor1Q_8bF48UVXHGjcMSrUq-3Doyms_A0m8m29RNJFn66AsHPjkYaziuSU5zRQtuyQhdnnpKR-DFB6amlrSPl1HlmZLd2zrV3pkOYLLE28g8bT4Th0R5UtoXOLH6AplYEJEUf46tZF4Fe/s320/20121231_141545.jpg" width="320" /></a>It was a crazy night overall. The next day we grabbed some food, and I said goodbye to Michelle and Lindsay (who I'll see in a few days again in Hong Kong).<br />
<br />
Right now I'm chillin in the hostel, and just slumming around bangkok being a dirty backpacker / hippie. Not too shabby of a life.<br />
<br />
This is the only song I remember of the night:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/gGULIubdaBs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-59685669843424596122012-12-29T22:13:00.003-08:002012-12-29T22:13:52.212-08:00Nerd problems...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAB1FC9hz7ei36Sohd8df_FaHSctVHLMn0qyAHT6ohqPUJVeyTReZYDg_9PN-nGgOqPSxuFQR_tL_ZXDtioL86XkWm1QMjXovBFnVU4GUx5m10-F0kFMX8y36fH-gR5URxfgpVtI9BHrgG/s1600/thai+rail+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAB1FC9hz7ei36Sohd8df_FaHSctVHLMn0qyAHT6ohqPUJVeyTReZYDg_9PN-nGgOqPSxuFQR_tL_ZXDtioL86XkWm1QMjXovBFnVU4GUx5m10-F0kFMX8y36fH-gR5URxfgpVtI9BHrgG/s200/thai+rail+2.jpg" width="200" /></a>Yesterday I was all packed up and ready to leave Chiang Mai. The experience had been great, I had said my goodbyes to the friends I made, and I caught a tuk tuk to the train station, backpack on my back, ticket in hand.<br />
<br />
I got on the train, and discovered that I was in a strange layout compartment, with a bed that was much more comfy than any of the other trains I'd been on before - fantastic! I reached into my bag to look for something, and discovered that I had forgotten one of the two most important things on this trip...<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kYm65YsbWeTl9nNwPaODAS0QFzAWOJkaNsR3gTBNMy7Fggua3kCa-_buwWeGlrEvx26FhhzGQJvBibIKozAjMb7yfMf9unIOV1LWoR5jr8-J52SbxCTKhsYq2h-J6ieSeDfNQOptu-ch/s1600/thai+rail1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kYm65YsbWeTl9nNwPaODAS0QFzAWOJkaNsR3gTBNMy7Fggua3kCa-_buwWeGlrEvx26FhhzGQJvBibIKozAjMb7yfMf9unIOV1LWoR5jr8-J52SbxCTKhsYq2h-J6ieSeDfNQOptu-ch/s200/thai+rail1.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
1. My Passport (I had this one with me)<br />
2. My Retainer (This one was not).<br />
<br />
I can't go a night without it unless I want my teeth to shift, and a lot more painful braces when I return home, so I grabbed everything, ran with a 20kg backpack on my back, and ran out of the train station. I got a cab home as quickly as possible (did I mention I now hate every car on the road in Chiang Mai?) and got to the house, and started pounding on the door... but nobody was home, and I had left my key inside when leaving.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbkBbyyvJsPhzS7IGNa9QiUEzKB2IWtn8f863JVRGF9zCDyciNHD-K0zGLx0D7j0V3ilKTnoZsWwpzYp4Z4hCiKz4_YxRco_xA_iWEUG4OS0r9LAL8G0-eLIkdSAey6UHHdx5uF0zoQIq/s1600/air+asia+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbkBbyyvJsPhzS7IGNa9QiUEzKB2IWtn8f863JVRGF9zCDyciNHD-K0zGLx0D7j0V3ilKTnoZsWwpzYp4Z4hCiKz4_YxRco_xA_iWEUG4OS0r9LAL8G0-eLIkdSAey6UHHdx5uF0zoQIq/s200/air+asia+1.jpg" width="200" /></a>I paid the taxi, sat down in front of the door, drank iced tea, ate snickers, and laughed at myself for being so dumb (it's the only thing you can do).<br />
<br />
It all worked out for the best though, as it so often does when you're traveling. I've now got a flight tonight that gets in at the same time as Michelle Sparling's and Lindsay Todd's flight, and I've got a hostel right next to theirs - so I'm super excited for this.<br />
<br />
I'm planning on going to the airport 4 hours early this time, in case I forget anything again...<br />
<br />
I've posted this many times before, but I'd like as many people to see it as possible, it's actually really beautiful. Check it out! Oh, and it's my birthday, I'm 21 now... weird how time never slows down, right?<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/9D05ej8u-gU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-43398890939167535672012-12-28T00:51:00.003-08:002012-12-28T00:51:25.731-08:00The rest of my week in the Operating Room<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNGUdEVeOgJ5RO-WLD2cieHq8wbo8a6dc6o4ZK4JIQoxccQVZvUpY6SGmV1dKzzfmMla-lY38GWxL9yoWLLdrUjcPyZf26Sb9FduO-hHbIF9047-tQ93ixJu-drY7rNiTx2Yx3NKhTGVbU/s1600/20121226_095337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNGUdEVeOgJ5RO-WLD2cieHq8wbo8a6dc6o4ZK4JIQoxccQVZvUpY6SGmV1dKzzfmMla-lY38GWxL9yoWLLdrUjcPyZf26Sb9FduO-hHbIF9047-tQ93ixJu-drY7rNiTx2Yx3NKhTGVbU/s200/20121226_095337.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHiCcaRNpoT925bqxu0_SKQLsPAomoMhHcsvMUGiBDSAX66ehXm566xGC2evsjnpxKA8JUFQAJR_Kz7ljpwW3gx1A0voNyMKnsoDNu3ye6Jxgugpg5cp7u2XBxhx-jg7PoEkuI8bVmuIw3/s1600/20121226_094728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHiCcaRNpoT925bqxu0_SKQLsPAomoMhHcsvMUGiBDSAX66ehXm566xGC2evsjnpxKA8JUFQAJR_Kz7ljpwW3gx1A0voNyMKnsoDNu3ye6Jxgugpg5cp7u2XBxhx-jg7PoEkuI8bVmuIw3/s320/20121226_094728.jpg" width="240" /></a>What's up bloggers? I've got a few stories from yesterday in the OR:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Thursday</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I had my second last day of Surgery today and it was
absolutely amazing. The day started off very slow, as my alarm didn’t go off,
and all my laundry was dirty, but after running to the hospital and changing
into my scrubs, everything seemed to get better from there. We started off the
day just observing a series of minor procedures through the OR doors, as none
of us really wanted to go in. We then got the chance to check out a
thyroidectomy, a partial excision of an enlarged thyroid and lymph nodes, and a
femur fracture.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitP_cw_MHgsLsQ9pzsMVdb_BLJcnLNq9Y9e3GP2q0IJJHKMxR3SLnVMa2CiiITq7sBHnB2V8JoZ7hyphenhyphenRfeUZIIy1FzE_8MqQ9ynYBum_NCEAzEkdH4f5ZTDJsau0c0-a1PgWu2_8Cs9AUYV/s1600/20121226_095429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitP_cw_MHgsLsQ9pzsMVdb_BLJcnLNq9Y9e3GP2q0IJJHKMxR3SLnVMa2CiiITq7sBHnB2V8JoZ7hyphenhyphenRfeUZIIy1FzE_8MqQ9ynYBum_NCEAzEkdH4f5ZTDJsau0c0-a1PgWu2_8Cs9AUYV/s200/20121226_095429.jpg" width="150" /></a>The femur fracture was by far the most fun, while the neck
lump excision was the most intense. Because of the location of the tumors in
the patient’s neck, you could see many things like the carotid artery, and the
patient’s left sternocleidomastoids, which I was pretty impressed by. There was
an incredible amount of bleeding, sometimes to the point where the surgeon
would swear in English. With the fracture, I was super close to the table, and
at one point I had to leave the OR. I was watching very closesly, and loving
all of it. I could see the dissection close up hand, and eventually we got
through the muscle and down to the bone, where it was a clean fracture. The
doctor used clamps to place both bones back together before getting the metal
plate; unfortunately I left because there was blood squirting everywhere, and I
had not been provided with safety glasses. One of the nurse informed me that
they were for scrub staff only, so I decided to just avoid that OR and check
out another one.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju75E8qBQaP5wodQtzu8aTfmUgbifiLrXPyEKXP7t5ltic7r0iBzbOMBTEbtaKKQ8MjbFVp1q1tQt_jtDviC8Hac01tUSSu4xMc9MZDNzirEMRZnrl6XMxUzQsfGiyFmSJlAtuBu8rvJL2/s1600/20121226_103503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju75E8qBQaP5wodQtzu8aTfmUgbifiLrXPyEKXP7t5ltic7r0iBzbOMBTEbtaKKQ8MjbFVp1q1tQt_jtDviC8Hac01tUSSu4xMc9MZDNzirEMRZnrl6XMxUzQsfGiyFmSJlAtuBu8rvJL2/s200/20121226_103503.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBYzU8dfwJNk_Phs-1nwPNVEvNFLK89lnpNLtJskwpOUA8XuqChGxPykG9qF8qakcDAfdyvz6YGwQP37h998USq4UhgXKfW96Qv9D7l187LX4l8alXuJoQCtIiVk6Lo5Difa5MKUl1klUA/s1600/20121226_135030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBYzU8dfwJNk_Phs-1nwPNVEvNFLK89lnpNLtJskwpOUA8XuqChGxPykG9qF8qakcDAfdyvz6YGwQP37h998USq4UhgXKfW96Qv9D7l187LX4l8alXuJoQCtIiVk6Lo5Difa5MKUl1klUA/s200/20121226_135030.jpg" width="200" /></a>Later on in the day I watched my favorite surgery so far. We
were strolling around, checking the board, and discovered that there was a
procedure in OR 4 that was not listed on the board. We asked around, and
discovered that it was an emergency surgery. After being invited in, the
neurosurgeon came over and explained the case to us, which was incredibly nice.
It was a male patient who had a motorcycle accident – he had a subarachnoid
bleed, and they took scans / thought nothing of it two weeks ago. He came in
today with headaches, blurred vision and nausea, so they took another scan, and
discovered that his ventricles were huge. Because of the subarachnoid bleed,
the blood had clotted the flow of CSF, and the choroid plexus kept producing
more and more, increasing his CSFP. They needed to drill into his skull and
install a shunt to drain the excess CSF into his abdomen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlXJbemRFRYrSnNLXIaqkxbFUFhNwyyuIp7Z8HELIb3PP7vPKTxdRCyK0kYTq-eHPlQtEi3aHJ5BFfjCpmOtsrSBHpVPRWvANpsD0TmMnuK28SqJ1DYppbylbRCBDyC-VniCGz9IZH096/s1600/20121226_145625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlXJbemRFRYrSnNLXIaqkxbFUFhNwyyuIp7Z8HELIb3PP7vPKTxdRCyK0kYTq-eHPlQtEi3aHJ5BFfjCpmOtsrSBHpVPRWvANpsD0TmMnuK28SqJ1DYppbylbRCBDyC-VniCGz9IZH096/s200/20121226_145625.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQoW-wAC8jpQvoKY1PwoFIXKRrk6tEycXZV3IA8gkSfKoBGDw4jzTYXJaY6VI6_5dAtcnuhl95AS_ptx4RPz1WcfXtyHkcJkCqobF5yT6RDtiHa7IFmu7Hn68AxNYSRa5fhRsqokMx8hH3/s1600/20121227_162802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQoW-wAC8jpQvoKY1PwoFIXKRrk6tEycXZV3IA8gkSfKoBGDw4jzTYXJaY6VI6_5dAtcnuhl95AS_ptx4RPz1WcfXtyHkcJkCqobF5yT6RDtiHa7IFmu7Hn68AxNYSRa5fhRsqokMx8hH3/s200/20121227_162802.jpg" width="200" /></a>I was super excited, because I’ve read about these
surgeries, but have not yet experienced one first hand. It was fantastic. First
they opened his abdomen and his skull at the same time, as the neurosurgeon
used the drill to get through his skull. Once he was in there, he drained some
of the CSF, and he invited me close so I could see it squirting out through the
tube with a lot of pressure, pulsing to his heart rate. He then made a
subcutaneous incision along the skull, and got a large metal rod from a sterile
package (about a meter in length). He then took the rod, and put it in the
patient’s skull, and fed it (under the patient’s skin) through his head, neck,
thorax, and down into his abdomen. This would be the guidewire to bring the
tube, but it was the coolest thing I’ve seen. After trying to get the tube
through once, and the proline snapping, the tried again with great success.
They installed a subarachnoid pump mechanism (a one way valve / pump that can
be operated by pushing on the patient’s skull) and hooked it up to the abdomen
draining tube before closing him up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I asked when they would take it out, and was informed that
it was there for life. Awesome stuff, best surgery so far. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAy3pZ_U0-F4Dq08Bl72gvZk9Ik-NzhcmPIfJn8xSMabAHWFnDSYsf91rObqef75P2iJGxBQvnn1agv5Q_py6fmRvZ_cSEZdMPW-XFMEGXBu2Z4nCNp2guMJgUW6YhD6ojrtKeUDl-osmc/s1600/20121226_103419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAy3pZ_U0-F4Dq08Bl72gvZk9Ik-NzhcmPIfJn8xSMabAHWFnDSYsf91rObqef75P2iJGxBQvnn1agv5Q_py6fmRvZ_cSEZdMPW-XFMEGXBu2Z4nCNp2guMJgUW6YhD6ojrtKeUDl-osmc/s200/20121226_103419.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Can anyone guess what this is?</i></div>
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More updates soon - I promise. Including a Christmas one when I get my elephant pictures back!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-75329630234225190422012-12-26T03:07:00.006-08:002012-12-26T03:07:53.714-08:00Life in the OR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhRWq41oP6pOsNNPREjQT9gG6JOLarX7Vk_4EyX7JVziLUkeFS24HSYymuzHyiK_POVBKiEXgwHvKR_9-L_oeRcOOWnRW_bfgLb7jQZODQmMhe0clDz3gMkFtvFYTH8pBH3RlJ1Tq4xmx/s1600/20121224_130948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhRWq41oP6pOsNNPREjQT9gG6JOLarX7Vk_4EyX7JVziLUkeFS24HSYymuzHyiK_POVBKiEXgwHvKR_9-L_oeRcOOWnRW_bfgLb7jQZODQmMhe0clDz3gMkFtvFYTH8pBH3RlJ1Tq4xmx/s640/20121224_130948.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsj1hNpbzUuPH7-Zuc5pD66NMp2k2ue1NhNwe4M4BcjF97kzxWxFSe5gm4sfcbEkOGd_Veg0GAkn46h48M55HbBPFsuOMxUzXFzX3EDFJMu5b1WiR0UPBieXMgQfqpB7R_KsTquOQngZws/s1600/20121224_130903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsj1hNpbzUuPH7-Zuc5pD66NMp2k2ue1NhNwe4M4BcjF97kzxWxFSe5gm4sfcbEkOGd_Veg0GAkn46h48M55HbBPFsuOMxUzXFzX3EDFJMu5b1WiR0UPBieXMgQfqpB7R_KsTquOQngZws/s200/20121224_130903.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6SkBVUJd0WR7yIpnHjWCZXtx2kFgnaw4iwHUpeZmDgaQAwzx6IrGyhytwVc_yMbuWOFLtDEOQZgsWu15ZQli_CotaFF_SyGSGB2iP_l6WCwEU9ioDAbqzQCaewi5xm-wsGI00KM0DRlPT/s1600/20121224_130843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6SkBVUJd0WR7yIpnHjWCZXtx2kFgnaw4iwHUpeZmDgaQAwzx6IrGyhytwVc_yMbuWOFLtDEOQZgsWu15ZQli_CotaFF_SyGSGB2iP_l6WCwEU9ioDAbqzQCaewi5xm-wsGI00KM0DRlPT/s200/20121224_130843.jpg" width="150" /></a>Well today was my first day at McCormick hospitals,
accompanied by my first time in surgery, and it’s an incredible feeling – there
are no words to describe it. We got to the hospital in the early morning, and I
met my other interns from GapMedics; Jess and Bennita, who were also as excited
as I was. After we all changed into scrubs (and crocks) we were immediately
thrown into the OR, even before knowing what was going on. The head nurse who
was incharge of us is known as Pi No Nah, so she kept us pretty busy for the
day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqNOWRHlENPEZ2hreOYXL9niUe8xj_X2bP1sd255g_wtYk7qZgS3-OrdLmIuZLb_tO3h-OdN7csncRV_KyUxU-D82v-IuFkmcd4jUNWRoRYM-mWgfrdITjEBurfjdBB2-9wFqKxOlxutw/s1600/20121224_130932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqNOWRHlENPEZ2hreOYXL9niUe8xj_X2bP1sd255g_wtYk7qZgS3-OrdLmIuZLb_tO3h-OdN7csncRV_KyUxU-D82v-IuFkmcd4jUNWRoRYM-mWgfrdITjEBurfjdBB2-9wFqKxOlxutw/s320/20121224_130932.jpg" width="320" /></a>The first surgery was a repair of fractured Tibia. From the
X-ray I could tell that he also fractured his fibula, but it would take a few
days of traction before we could also fix that. The bone was shattered, and I
saw them pulling pieces out with forceps, which was super cool. They pieced it
back together like a jigsaw puzzle, and then started drilling holes, screwing
screws, and attaching metal plates to allow the bone to grow back together. As
they checked the placement of the bone with the fluoroscope, the three of us
huddled behind the radiation shield because there weren’t enough lead coats for
all of us. After that, they closed, and we were rushed into the next surgery.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGvsCNiS5HbVT6ZJFKoLBKYwedFcefSNPFyP9eq5H3fXyE2575Hf22_P4uoUrCdWYPMSjROCA4Ntnw6fKE2Sx_eKrTVNTTgvayJdOwgz-2zsLaI08d4XwoElc4QsCYU8iOBHJCOR9p8Un/s1600/20121224_152050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGvsCNiS5HbVT6ZJFKoLBKYwedFcefSNPFyP9eq5H3fXyE2575Hf22_P4uoUrCdWYPMSjROCA4Ntnw6fKE2Sx_eKrTVNTTgvayJdOwgz-2zsLaI08d4XwoElc4QsCYU8iOBHJCOR9p8Un/s320/20121224_152050.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The next surgery we got to watch was a C-Section, which I thought
was on the fence between really awesome, and really gross. It was awesome
because a little boy was welcomed into the world, screaming (of course) and I
could see on the monitor the seconds he had been alive, which really puts a lot
of things into perspective. It was really gross though because the baby had not
yet learned to have control of his bowels (which I should have really expected,
but whatever) and it got everywhere, especially inside the mother… I wouldn’t
think it would be a problem though, since it can’t be infectious, just illicit
an immune response for being in an abnormal place / from somebody else. I don’t
want to think about it anymore; in laymans terms, it was cool.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We breaked for lunch, and when we came back, we got to
observe a transurethral resection of a man with benign prosthetic hyperplasia,
which was super cool. They went in through a urethralscope through the guy’s
junk, and used the cautery to excise prosthetic tissue that was intruding onto
the ureter… the surgeon basically just scraped out what was in the way… but
jeeze, the amount of blood mixed saline that was flowing out once the scope was
removed was enough to fill a bathtub twice… <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyx1sUHN7baVp0GLFEgP_WGfuHun2voohosYEU25fA9AuIkdl4eUJQrw1JTAomldKibgkAfM9BouHsIvWKmBiCmK77uVJFuRxH0GI9sflAU6kTE2rcX5F_R3PolJJujVw8aVMLgP4K3Qo/s1600/20121224_162345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyx1sUHN7baVp0GLFEgP_WGfuHun2voohosYEU25fA9AuIkdl4eUJQrw1JTAomldKibgkAfM9BouHsIvWKmBiCmK77uVJFuRxH0GI9sflAU6kTE2rcX5F_R3PolJJujVw8aVMLgP4K3Qo/s320/20121224_162345.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Oh, I forgot to mention the smell of surgery… body cavities
don’t really smell good on their own, but add to them the burning flesh smell,
and you’ve got to have your stomach tied down. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The last two surgerys we observed of the day were an
appendectomy on a kid, and ureterlithotomy (if that’s even a word). The first
surgery was done under general anesthetic, while the rest of them weren’t. They
seem to prefer spinal anesthetic, which I would never elect to get, due to the
fact that you A) have to be awake the whole time and B) have to deal with the
spinal needle without lidocane. Anyways, the kid was put under GA, so that was
pretty cool. His appendix was excised, and it was all very routine. We then
went to the ureterlithotomy, which is a removal of a stone between the bladder
and the kidneys. It was done on a woman, so once again there was the scope
snaking up her urethra, but that’s the least invasive way to do it. The stone
was broken up, and all of the pieces were collected, but at one point one of
the pieces tried to go into the ureter further up, and it was like watching a suspense
movie on the screen – crazy fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaV3u1d5xlI3FHS-KMXXJJOi5tjzgI_M9PTmxscX2Y5Em4MhtZou8XWlvWAHtcWhYeeKPrxuET7or3WTLg_J_FKcviDZpSwGdPzJq7IQJdLGaQqWLO07YMlyyaQrgcyZOtymT7jkK4Upa/s1600/20121224_164910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaV3u1d5xlI3FHS-KMXXJJOi5tjzgI_M9PTmxscX2Y5Em4MhtZou8XWlvWAHtcWhYeeKPrxuET7or3WTLg_J_FKcviDZpSwGdPzJq7IQJdLGaQqWLO07YMlyyaQrgcyZOtymT7jkK4Upa/s320/20121224_164910.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6P5hlMSIdehX1N747YIKYQLV85KztMz33rWnbOOqUITMoJe1XyNaKWN0uzX0LoYPK3y30eMFk9rE3nIVFHgQ7JN99IBz7JnCV4froxk54M0eRVG8AestOBxI_oKW0zXfx5mcqtEqZ8UL/s1600/20121224_205320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6P5hlMSIdehX1N747YIKYQLV85KztMz33rWnbOOqUITMoJe1XyNaKWN0uzX0LoYPK3y30eMFk9rE3nIVFHgQ7JN99IBz7JnCV4froxk54M0eRVG8AestOBxI_oKW0zXfx5mcqtEqZ8UL/s200/20121224_205320.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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Overall the first day was amazing, and it’s starting to hit
me that this is just a regular job for some people. I’m definitely excited for
what Wednesday brings!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-16762063764856902392012-12-26T02:52:00.005-08:002012-12-26T02:52:46.864-08:00My Last (Full) Weekend in Chiang Mai<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyVxZpVCQFXfjl06bVMhZQylqfY5A9yy37FQj-oePhsuHDxSrsqgCXIlK1O0NT9IfNjcHd1Ja7aH7WUx6g01mhBrZN0ka03IdGWgHMnSb0RiQ19bXOfkcZEyr0-EPYRpqnQIGBbD2K4AR/s1600/20121223_162253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyVxZpVCQFXfjl06bVMhZQylqfY5A9yy37FQj-oePhsuHDxSrsqgCXIlK1O0NT9IfNjcHd1Ja7aH7WUx6g01mhBrZN0ka03IdGWgHMnSb0RiQ19bXOfkcZEyr0-EPYRpqnQIGBbD2K4AR/s640/20121223_162253.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iy-2pkXN0UUyK4vRE-1PWRbFz3uQOKhjX9VTLvZejgHgoAoAEU7iEeagidr7DnGs173H19RLpNhQgcChj_OJyICkri94zS-FkGFN15VuN4gADf9FUdMDcei5PJNCGIDCbZUJ9crjf4bJ/s1600/20121223_152226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iy-2pkXN0UUyK4vRE-1PWRbFz3uQOKhjX9VTLvZejgHgoAoAEU7iEeagidr7DnGs173H19RLpNhQgcChj_OJyICkri94zS-FkGFN15VuN4gADf9FUdMDcei5PJNCGIDCbZUJ9crjf4bJ/s200/20121223_152226.jpg" width="150" /></a>After finishing up at Maharaj hospital, I was excited to get
a move on to McCormick – but I was also dead tired. I spent Saturday catching
up on a lot of things, and just having a day in; which sometimes is much needed
to get away from the hustle and bustle of Chiang Mai.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sunday was different though – I wanted to do something that
I could only do in Chiang Mai, so I decided to head out with the rest of my
orientation group, and check out the Palace and Doi Sutthep on top of the
mountain (I probably didn’t spell it correctly).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PGguHv4NLEp0hjOUiKXrqul1eUBJlJoyF0y7JeOR5T_Nf2vvs2e-Isbbv75Qi4c7MqBN8of_pEjguUIU_cWPUAse5q23nFEstINCN1TtuSduq-Qsm2W_cJxbKAyPd7EIBkv9sqWeYbke/s1600/20121223_154317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PGguHv4NLEp0hjOUiKXrqul1eUBJlJoyF0y7JeOR5T_Nf2vvs2e-Isbbv75Qi4c7MqBN8of_pEjguUIU_cWPUAse5q23nFEstINCN1TtuSduq-Qsm2W_cJxbKAyPd7EIBkv9sqWeYbke/s200/20121223_154317.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKooxIkEI136bvqV3eo0vuErYIn9x-RTmaI5gnxganrRMLx4pqKI-vPnq-ZD_pr1J5thsZtT-uEh_7IwpzEFxXwirNnGbW8fRh_cIfrzAwv72TR-B93jM8zfaa3bqxO0u3YfCLie2_c3k/s1600/20121223_154357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKooxIkEI136bvqV3eo0vuErYIn9x-RTmaI5gnxganrRMLx4pqKI-vPnq-ZD_pr1J5thsZtT-uEh_7IwpzEFxXwirNnGbW8fRh_cIfrzAwv72TR-B93jM8zfaa3bqxO0u3YfCLie2_c3k/s200/20121223_154357.jpg" width="200" /></a>It was about a 1 hour red-cab ride up winding roads that
never ended. The air got very cold, and very thin – so much that we noticed it
in our breaths… not to mention our ears popping like crazy, and hanging on to
the bars of the cab as it sped dangerously around corners. After having good
life chats in the back of the cab for a little while, we arrived first at the
Palace.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBMU0nt4p1BSZxGO7tAsJezb8K8vE38ai6HbVggy7qEO53IqkBArTbpeR5854y0lWIIkCVHyCKAPn9nJNqkwO2ySCBnx1M3XstesbJlMDGaYhcnKnweYXlWJX4EtskQ1wFZcohgtwbtwxH/s1600/20121223_154526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBMU0nt4p1BSZxGO7tAsJezb8K8vE38ai6HbVggy7qEO53IqkBArTbpeR5854y0lWIIkCVHyCKAPn9nJNqkwO2ySCBnx1M3XstesbJlMDGaYhcnKnweYXlWJX4EtskQ1wFZcohgtwbtwxH/s640/20121223_154526.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHWRac-FjPswTn5O1in0WMERwotQI1WXOXv9AD8L-antMe0dZzMEI9nA-hD5ORosDt1JD_0LFBLQhnlh2DP6Nw96aP_Fbxpjg5h1ck_70o8FPsg-gkDQYHiWLt6pVErKQ52ViOVUN8cUV/s1600/20121223_154819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHWRac-FjPswTn5O1in0WMERwotQI1WXOXv9AD8L-antMe0dZzMEI9nA-hD5ORosDt1JD_0LFBLQhnlh2DP6Nw96aP_Fbxpjg5h1ck_70o8FPsg-gkDQYHiWLt6pVErKQ52ViOVUN8cUV/s200/20121223_154819.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0oAI1hco65nkG5I83xlvtekv2ls0aBAGeIlpvs8jAWA6h5Ft6d_0ASFyk5SZ7L-YfBGntB1WwYigs_B_aM3kfaJW2z24KyKxgE8Lp9aMr22uHsw6RXJFYN6q14kecH1P0hPww_uugERG/s1600/20121223_154606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0oAI1hco65nkG5I83xlvtekv2ls0aBAGeIlpvs8jAWA6h5Ft6d_0ASFyk5SZ7L-YfBGntB1WwYigs_B_aM3kfaJW2z24KyKxgE8Lp9aMr22uHsw6RXJFYN6q14kecH1P0hPww_uugERG/s200/20121223_154606.jpg" width="200" /></a>I don’t actually remember seeing the palace, nor do I think
that I took pictures of it, mainly because the building itself wasn’t too
impressive or noticeable, it was just a series of white two story houses. The
grounds on the other hand were very impressive. There were flowers everywhere,
a jumping fountain basin which took 10 minutes to walk around, huge bamboo trees,
and a beautiful area that overlooked the rest of the mountain and Chiang Mai.
We spent about an hour here walking around and seeing what there was to see; it
was pretty awesome.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdl4HtlfxqXmthA-6dCWPnTPnwOwDxRc-l8WJ0SYsUK6d3gpm_7FajXf17u3y-PzD2FbTATJMVlLVpx59lclnFVK2eKLWgD_XtGqVbmAcSQpFNTbRiZjZ4WQERJIGKg5AVqSweybiW9BB/s1600/20121223_161552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdl4HtlfxqXmthA-6dCWPnTPnwOwDxRc-l8WJ0SYsUK6d3gpm_7FajXf17u3y-PzD2FbTATJMVlLVpx59lclnFVK2eKLWgD_XtGqVbmAcSQpFNTbRiZjZ4WQERJIGKg5AVqSweybiW9BB/s200/20121223_161552.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9BnhyphenhyphenMa_cJUDpoWjo5Oub_NeiDAlJGMLN0BsXL13hLyz3zaZS5xmZbHspYca2MX1Um_NmWCrFPkieqr_Paydmtr5h6A1xh23Y2HuZktvd_ybgLNopOaahTg51ysC0eCKkeFDbCkYod21/s1600/20121223_155247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9BnhyphenhyphenMa_cJUDpoWjo5Oub_NeiDAlJGMLN0BsXL13hLyz3zaZS5xmZbHspYca2MX1Um_NmWCrFPkieqr_Paydmtr5h6A1xh23Y2HuZktvd_ybgLNopOaahTg51ysC0eCKkeFDbCkYod21/s320/20121223_155247.jpg" width="90" /></a>We then went on to our final destination of the mountain,
which would be the heart of Chaing Mai. This temple had been recommended to us
by so many people, and even old stories. There was an elephant that they sent
up the Chiang Mai mountain, and every time it stopped, a temple was built on
the grounds. At the very top of the mountain, it turned around 3 times, and
trumpeted 3 times, so they decided to build the great temple up there… and boy
is it great. It’s stunningly beautiful, and overlooks the city with a crazy
view (see my pictures). It was here that Sanne also informed me of a lot of
things about Buddhist Culture, including the fact that it is not a religion,
but a philosophy. People aren’t praying to Buddha, they are just showing their
respect, and he is not a god, but simply a man who found enlightenment. It’s a
little confusing, but definitely something I want to look into more.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After spending forever at the temple, we headed back home,
but not before stopping off at the movie theatre to watch Life of Pi – which is
really good, though I wish I read the book first. Oh well! McCormick Hospital
tomorrow – super excited!<o:p></o:p></div>
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More pictures below!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBLWIvaHdK4A0u5muZKNZ5cW85NtznlxL0iYhajSSFipzI0YhK0_YMmFt6yLzX44MumiodzAHeBOlIUbcJfKAdMlDSRG2UlWgUvkT07Vze5E-d4Xc10cBPEnijxUpLxYwlO_sCdNm48ZF/s1600/20121223_162824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBLWIvaHdK4A0u5muZKNZ5cW85NtznlxL0iYhajSSFipzI0YhK0_YMmFt6yLzX44MumiodzAHeBOlIUbcJfKAdMlDSRG2UlWgUvkT07Vze5E-d4Xc10cBPEnijxUpLxYwlO_sCdNm48ZF/s320/20121223_162824.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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- See Ya!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361430679271643565.post-861338079912678782012-12-24T03:22:00.003-08:002012-12-24T03:22:29.404-08:00Last day with Maharaj - Family Medicine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsrYYrrO39EC36BzSnoxAv60Gafnn9vXjKQwiQSivELv3VkArsnpd4q-u5s_kRyTlHyw89UmS2E515iq2TYTSYU6POsc_-bCRAX_Ub9z7hvMwB-LH5TdEtT54F7foOLsALJm_AAkksNJC/s1600/20121221_152301.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsrYYrrO39EC36BzSnoxAv60Gafnn9vXjKQwiQSivELv3VkArsnpd4q-u5s_kRyTlHyw89UmS2E515iq2TYTSYU6POsc_-bCRAX_Ub9z7hvMwB-LH5TdEtT54F7foOLsALJm_AAkksNJC/s320/20121221_152301.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7UYJ636N_8e8hyEB39Fg-cl-YXBbw8236KiZIIdjKUkpN4CxAqWDhqyNfBkTZVqz09vSrNpaN6wJI4p-diQnvj4gpWVR73KJnbAx0AcWl_vuwP15tr_tJe9ZfjbtYxAmehEaO3FYzTa2/s1600/20121221_155718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7UYJ636N_8e8hyEB39Fg-cl-YXBbw8236KiZIIdjKUkpN4CxAqWDhqyNfBkTZVqz09vSrNpaN6wJI4p-diQnvj4gpWVR73KJnbAx0AcWl_vuwP15tr_tJe9ZfjbtYxAmehEaO3FYzTa2/s200/20121221_155718.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMsMPFivuP1CV6lCCxAEJxr_caJhGIL1bIzf-E4MUhk6xBVz09LUt92-kkdE2GdNDCyVHMcGsaQkONwT6yjxxciJ1cNUpuzAKmL2nk53Y73XefPEFr5s7BMljNZnvCvcnaPjvaln_YE3E/s1600/20121221_115148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMsMPFivuP1CV6lCCxAEJxr_caJhGIL1bIzf-E4MUhk6xBVz09LUt92-kkdE2GdNDCyVHMcGsaQkONwT6yjxxciJ1cNUpuzAKmL2nk53Y73XefPEFr5s7BMljNZnvCvcnaPjvaln_YE3E/s320/20121221_115148.jpg" width="240" /></a>I came down with some sort of mysterious flu on Thursday, so
I found that my next day at Maharaj was going to be my last. I arrived in the
morning as per usual and met with Dr. Peerasak who I was assigned to for the
day. He informed me that (like Monday) we would be doing Home Ward Rounds. I
jumped in a van with him, a driver, a nurse and a medical student, and we drove
across Chiang Mai to the first patient’s house.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unlike the patient I had previously seen on Monday, the
first one we visited today was in a very nice house. We arrived at the front of
the gated property, and let ourselves in. When we got into the house we found
the patient right in front of us, lying on a hard wooden bed near the kitchen.
I was informed that the patient had advanced cervical cancer, for which she had
already received chemo and radiation therapy. Because of the advanced stage of
the cervical cancer, her urethra was being compressed, leading to back up of
urine in her bladder, leading to hydronephrosis. She also had high blood
pressure, and demonstrated considerable edema in her legs – so much that you
could still see finger marks after grasping her legs 10 seconds later. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXdRZFP-aejExIthZeUaYNjuIKpA5TQNLgDqeZTWar-UGikDX1GrcKjJKHieCFwxPT6fXiIZt2hOY9MVhGHB6UTsSDX9g2vG-lwAXELWOFQKYS5FgGYG2AAhSWjNec49GWbGWsuL8TQ_4/s1600/20121221_151657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXdRZFP-aejExIthZeUaYNjuIKpA5TQNLgDqeZTWar-UGikDX1GrcKjJKHieCFwxPT6fXiIZt2hOY9MVhGHB6UTsSDX9g2vG-lwAXELWOFQKYS5FgGYG2AAhSWjNec49GWbGWsuL8TQ_4/s320/20121221_151657.jpg" width="320" /></a>Most of the time both the doctors, nurse and patient spoke
in Thai, but through my limited Thai knowledge I was able to catch some of the
conversation; her saying that because of the swelling, when she had gone to the
bathroom the other day, she had slipped, fell, and was now experiencing back
pain. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After doing some more general checks (blood pressure, pulse,
asking more questions, etc) we reviewed her chart, and left to go onto the next
patient. <o:p></o:p></div>
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***<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbLkCx3LtibZZjuLBbh1DLtJ6zLRF9RJLtN3kPDY1CxmbthmApfB3KPc1c-FopgP7sWOh3P61rj-7H7xrQZqLJfZKuPt5UnzULLRp1cOFF58jRg-DzlbDzQbZzhVaClkjWny_ZBGfkB-n/s1600/20121221_151936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbLkCx3LtibZZjuLBbh1DLtJ6zLRF9RJLtN3kPDY1CxmbthmApfB3KPc1c-FopgP7sWOh3P61rj-7H7xrQZqLJfZKuPt5UnzULLRp1cOFF58jRg-DzlbDzQbZzhVaClkjWny_ZBGfkB-n/s200/20121221_151936.jpg" width="200" /></a>Our next patient we found in a traditional Thai home. He
suffered from a stroke 10 years ago, and though he was able to walk with the
assistance of a cane, he did not leave the house. His wife had retired and was
now taking care of him. He seemed in very good spirits, and bilateral motion
was very good – enough that I didn’t catch on that he had suffered from a stroke
until they told me… though I should have known when they started asking him to
do things like smile, raise both arms, etc. We identified his main problem to
be his blood pressure, but he identified his primary concern to be the pain he
was experiencing. After doing basic checks and reviewing his medications, we
went back to the hospital to discuss both patients, and update their charts. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchPPVVbVZyB_C-beHZjL124S0Z3QCouu5QDVOwF2RDEM6y29r41MOMMWaioyPS3z-8LqmKuNgHFPU9rNOCteT7h3-X9SSjuMrYdPKB6Cvo3xy9Vu8sN0NZOynCLMr4hBJHeidbQsuRhyphenhyphenb/s1600/20121221_151900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchPPVVbVZyB_C-beHZjL124S0Z3QCouu5QDVOwF2RDEM6y29r41MOMMWaioyPS3z-8LqmKuNgHFPU9rNOCteT7h3-X9SSjuMrYdPKB6Cvo3xy9Vu8sN0NZOynCLMr4hBJHeidbQsuRhyphenhyphenb/s200/20121221_151900.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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One thing I kept getting told by all the family medicine
staff is that Canada apparently has a very strong Family Medicine field. I wasn’t
aware of ours being a particular worldwide leader, but apparently we are, so I’m
kind of proud of that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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***<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTaduVxRg0q8rEAuAR2f4G4JxGKJWIEVP8MvHySf87tJW1FFjxtoPSbdHdq3tlWcGOew8tAGtgdkHuZM1nwYUrHCS_YLRyYowPrl2K1A-6f0h6_Sddirno0vn_vPVEmv_FXbTjKs7zeVG/s1600/20121221_154847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTaduVxRg0q8rEAuAR2f4G4JxGKJWIEVP8MvHySf87tJW1FFjxtoPSbdHdq3tlWcGOew8tAGtgdkHuZM1nwYUrHCS_YLRyYowPrl2K1A-6f0h6_Sddirno0vn_vPVEmv_FXbTjKs7zeVG/s200/20121221_154847.jpg" width="150" /></a>Once we had completed all our charting, it was time to head
over to the seminar about a new ACE inhibiter for controlling BP in
hypertensive patients. Though the presentation was in Thai, the powerpoint was
in English, and I could understand a lot of the Thai being spoken. I actually
had a good time sitting through the one hour presentation, CHSC 2P27 actually
taught me something useful, as I was able to follow a lot of the graphs, and
look for bias errors (none of which I found though, which is good). There was
free iced coffee, and free drug-swag from the drug company. Everything in the
room was decked out with the new drug – presumably because they want you to prescribe
it. I walked away with a folder, two note pads, a pen, a boxed lunch, two iced
coffees, and a box of tissues… not too shabby.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNLNLMVJS9OapAStcDfebjd9amU9qv-gNUp7eEHMs51WyxZskeT2gzdSmhmiziVcsn8DrIaP8OpKUU8vjrzir73ewaqgf0IBwiP074ZuCcUvirDIDd3-JstS6sBk8IhPez3i5mT3gpxBkV/s1600/20121221_152056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNLNLMVJS9OapAStcDfebjd9amU9qv-gNUp7eEHMs51WyxZskeT2gzdSmhmiziVcsn8DrIaP8OpKUU8vjrzir73ewaqgf0IBwiP074ZuCcUvirDIDd3-JstS6sBk8IhPez3i5mT3gpxBkV/s400/20121221_152056.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After the presentation, I was whisked away into another room
with the medical students and their instructor. One of the students was doing a
journal article presentation on a NEJM article about vitamin A as treatment for
something… can’t remember at this exact time, but the article is upstairs.
Anyways, despite speaking Thai again, I was able to follow the conversation –
especially the parts where they switched to English – and was even able to
provide an opinion regarding the article, which was pretty cool. It was
actually pretty fun to have the board discussion on the validity of the
article, and the significance of the results… once again, CHSC 2P27 apparently
taught me well… who’da thunk it? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWjqTMNaYZxBJ896Afyp080lXT3gxIFnDpuTGFSWGfriDmGhElM793OGP-EfBd1epo12I8AHAt0PCYfaAqL7ug3fQ_y_NaoQ_W0c6quXli2-pQJ_TziaUjsbYneJSJ54Zw1xOm_U9a-YP/s1600/20121221_152218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWjqTMNaYZxBJ896Afyp080lXT3gxIFnDpuTGFSWGfriDmGhElM793OGP-EfBd1epo12I8AHAt0PCYfaAqL7ug3fQ_y_NaoQ_W0c6quXli2-pQJ_TziaUjsbYneJSJ54Zw1xOm_U9a-YP/s320/20121221_152218.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpvBtdjrWNcbFeFksOu6WjCRgGvLiaoaquD05OFgw0PqmKFCNLGQwS1S6Fx7l_HgXPPiddI-nI_gXpweupwzpORiGx-XGINURx38CotE-fP4NNpbYFth4KqJ28WMixxVgIoeUA4yUYsDM/s1600/20121221_152637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpvBtdjrWNcbFeFksOu6WjCRgGvLiaoaquD05OFgw0PqmKFCNLGQwS1S6Fx7l_HgXPPiddI-nI_gXpweupwzpORiGx-XGINURx38CotE-fP4NNpbYFth4KqJ28WMixxVgIoeUA4yUYsDM/s200/20121221_152637.jpg" width="200" /></a>At the end, I was asked about something I learned regarding
the article, and to reflect off of it. I mentioned the fact that the placebo
being used in patients… Oh, just remembered, the article was about NAFLD and a
drug treatment vs a vitamin treatment vs a placebo. Anyways, I had wondered why
placebo patients showed a 30% increase in better symptoms (decrease in
fibrosis, steatohepatitis, etc) while drug patients showed 50%. The doctor
explained to me that even though the placebo patients are not receiving the
active agent, they’re not being denied care, and were presumably removed from
the harmful stimulus, or had some sort of other treatment that would be
ethically obligatory. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXymZLlJcvqUbSEycW9-v_zWIpr1WJmb07CSVx0hBLtFsU2yF9L1CtmQpk6e49ZomKBhQBiYbnYWfJ5sd-6CgQzlZIY3A1xOJIA-moDHdfavM2s-_S0V-epsSI2DSTJtxhYakc_1tqBHm0/s1600/20121221_154519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXymZLlJcvqUbSEycW9-v_zWIpr1WJmb07CSVx0hBLtFsU2yF9L1CtmQpk6e49ZomKBhQBiYbnYWfJ5sd-6CgQzlZIY3A1xOJIA-moDHdfavM2s-_S0V-epsSI2DSTJtxhYakc_1tqBHm0/s640/20121221_154519.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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***<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiep-AvvPGkfN6HvJbR7PKsrpvEqMGWCJItHtmHaOJ0kMk8fzMOa-dMEpWJMtvp4ja6eK4lgJeePqKY4NLsmlF-fUXZKx03C4B9vbjxRf8-C3W2mN1L11l3SGtO8fM5lZ_R55VPHTSji7P0/s1600/20121221_154716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiep-AvvPGkfN6HvJbR7PKsrpvEqMGWCJItHtmHaOJ0kMk8fzMOa-dMEpWJMtvp4ja6eK4lgJeePqKY4NLsmlF-fUXZKx03C4B9vbjxRf8-C3W2mN1L11l3SGtO8fM5lZ_R55VPHTSji7P0/s200/20121221_154716.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5hyR1_FQ6Xf43L3QG5mZrBZN_opeLK5Asl8uwQVFe5DVODQuCDDBLjpTM2j1L0upKOncPY6TygbpiEMREZiMLnBHXlFMZXkMMgCVbHWKl15HGeAC7TqkVeGuejt58SAEopiSqP3NbdGv/s1600/20121221_161201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5hyR1_FQ6Xf43L3QG5mZrBZN_opeLK5Asl8uwQVFe5DVODQuCDDBLjpTM2j1L0upKOncPY6TygbpiEMREZiMLnBHXlFMZXkMMgCVbHWKl15HGeAC7TqkVeGuejt58SAEopiSqP3NbdGv/s200/20121221_161201.jpg" width="200" /></a>After the conference was finished, I was invited to take my
last look at the department of Family medicine… but not before being invited
back to a party there this Friday… pumped, there’s karaoke. Dr. Boonsong took
me across campus to where a hospital-wide game was going on. There was a big
field with lots of cheering teams of different colours, dancing, etc. The teams
were tying about 20 people’s legs together, and making them race across the
field seeing who could do it the fastest. Though I didn’t participate, it was a
fun way to end off the week there at Maharaj. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmgEp7a_QKeyXnSj7mZJ1jjg_RefQs9kBxfvGqE0_Oxl386W23irEf_dej6JPNucqLzK-5lOgp0_29sAfvSBessq7CV7FuzIn5H8DzKLOSLhGLAIAmchBRxgwqK-33LCP7xzx80nf9c9w/s1600/20121221_161205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmgEp7a_QKeyXnSj7mZJ1jjg_RefQs9kBxfvGqE0_Oxl386W23irEf_dej6JPNucqLzK-5lOgp0_29sAfvSBessq7CV7FuzIn5H8DzKLOSLhGLAIAmchBRxgwqK-33LCP7xzx80nf9c9w/s200/20121221_161205.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Though not initially wanting to be in family medicine, and
being reluctant to like it at first, I really do feel like I learned a lot, and
am happy I got the experience to broaden my knowledge of Thai, international
and family medicine. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWeSndYOu0qB5cVPT4K2gS4O4J2VX02o9n-oByMnyLOPxjNXsJfO_kePLX1MqjjfzeMV3GtIDB-MytMSpQrwh72m59cZ7TWL0T74G9rxrbXUUUdz_swpFI3T2XT1CoP4tFTocxW85wrxf/s1600/20121221_161341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWeSndYOu0qB5cVPT4K2gS4O4J2VX02o9n-oByMnyLOPxjNXsJfO_kePLX1MqjjfzeMV3GtIDB-MytMSpQrwh72m59cZ7TWL0T74G9rxrbXUUUdz_swpFI3T2XT1CoP4tFTocxW85wrxf/s640/20121221_161341.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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