Hello All,
I hope all is well on the home front. I have been keeping busy here. I just returned to Hong Kong from an 10 day/ 11 night stay in the Philippines… and now I am focusing on my last few classes, final projects, papers, and exams!
The Philippines were great! I landed in Cebu and met up with my friends Jess and Andrew. We stayed in Cebu for one day and went to a beach there. There are some lovely photos of us at the beach and of Jess and Andrew being buried by some locals. We definitely had a great first day at the beach. After Cebu we took a ferry four hours to Siquijor. It is a small island that is not as full of tourists as are some of the other islands. We stayed at a nice little resort and had the whole beach to ourselves most of the days! We went snorkeling, went to see waterfalls and went to the city wide disco. Siquijor was gorgeous and definitely relaxing. After Siquijor we went to Bohol and stayed on Alona beach. It is a VERY touristy area, but it was nice because there were lots of restaurants and really good beach front. We went dolphin watching and snorkeling and we spent tons of time laying on the beach, swimming, reading and relaxing!
The trip was amazing and I learned a lot about the Filipino culture. They are definitely a very friendly and very hard working people. Everyone always said hello. And they have lots of interesting methods of transportation! One time Andrew, Jess and I got in a little cart type of thing and a guy toted us around by bicycle… We also took a number of rides in Jeepneys (similar to pick up trucks/jeeps with about 20 Filipinos loaded in the back). Jess and I road on the roof for one of the trips. We also went by boat, taxi and motorbike. On one of the motorbike rides, Jess, Andrew, the driver, and myself were all on ONE motorbike! We also used these things called “tricycles.” It is kind of like a sidecar for a motorbike but it has a roof and is a bit more decked out than a sidecar.
The food was great—lots of seafood and TONS of mango shakes, mango desserts, and just plain mangos. Mmmmmmm. I also tried halo-halo. It is the national dessert. It is basically fruit, milk, slushy ice, and icecream.. but it also has yams and avocado in it.. it was good. Different, but good. We also ate lots of chicken BBQ.
Now that I am back in HK, I am seriously focusing on finishing up the semester. We have our last week of classes this week and then finals to follow. We have a number of farewell events for foreign exchange students. I also might try to make a trip up to Beijing and to Shenzhen—see a little bit of the mainland.
I fly back to the states on May 20!
Well, that’s about all for now…I’ll update again when I have a moment. I hope you are enjoying your spring!
Cassie
Monday, April 21, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Spring Break Adventure
Hello All!
I haven’t been very good at updating this blog… I have been VERY busy!
The first two weeks of March included not much other than trying to finish up homework and work on group projects. So basically the beginning of March wasn’t all that exciting but-
On March 14th, two of my friends from home (Mel and Leah) came out to visit me!! We had an amazing time and we spent 8 days running around Hong Kong doing everything Hong Kong-ish that there is to do. We went up to Victoria’s Peak, we watched the light show, we went to the beach (a few times), we had a Hong Kong BBQ, Dim Sum and multiple very Chinese meals, we went to Ocean Park (saw some pandas), went to Lantau Island and Lamma Island, and the horse races. We also did some major shopping at Stanley, Monk Kok and Prince Edward markets. We also did a side trip out to Macau (another Special Administrative Region of China). Overall, we were ultra busy but had a ton of fun. It was REALLY nice having friends from home here and showing them around.
The day the girls left, I headed out for my spring break trip. I flew into Ho Chi Mihn City (Saigon) in Vietnam and spent one night there. The next day I headed out on a tour of the Mekong Delta. I did 3 days in the Mekong and then exited into Cambodia. I spent 3 nights in Phnom Phen. I saw the Killing Fields, S21, the Palace and the Silver Pagoda. I also volunteered at an orphanage and did some relaxing out on the lake. After Phnom Phen I went to Siem Reap for 4 nights. I spent two days seeing the temples at Angkor Wat and I rode an elephant. I spent another day relaxing—getting a massage, pedicure and manicure (all for only $13!). After Siem Reap I headed back to Saigon for 3 nights. I spent one full day out shopping and just hanging out in the city and then I spent a day seeing the cu chi tunnels and the war remnants museum. On Sunday I flew back to Hong Kong.
It was an absolutely AMAZING trip and I learned soooo much about the history and culture of both Vietnam and Cambodia. They are both amazing countries with amazing people and a very sad history.
Now that I am back in HK I am running around trying to do homework and get things together for my next trip- On Wednesday I am headed to the Philippines! I am going with Jess and Andrew and it should be a wonderful beach vacation!!
I am already nearing the end of my study abroad experience and I have loved it so far. The remaining 6 weeks will definitely be amazing. Although I will be sad to leave here, I am looking forward to returning to the states and seeing everyone.
Also, for those of you who do not know, I have been offered a position with AmeriCorp and will be spending all of next year based out of Sacramento California volunteering. I will be working on a variety of projects up and down the West Coast. I am very excited about this opportunity and will be moving out to California in October.
By the way, I have updated pictures! And have posted pictures from my spring break trip.
Love N’ Miss,
Cassie
I haven’t been very good at updating this blog… I have been VERY busy!
The first two weeks of March included not much other than trying to finish up homework and work on group projects. So basically the beginning of March wasn’t all that exciting but-
On March 14th, two of my friends from home (Mel and Leah) came out to visit me!! We had an amazing time and we spent 8 days running around Hong Kong doing everything Hong Kong-ish that there is to do. We went up to Victoria’s Peak, we watched the light show, we went to the beach (a few times), we had a Hong Kong BBQ, Dim Sum and multiple very Chinese meals, we went to Ocean Park (saw some pandas), went to Lantau Island and Lamma Island, and the horse races. We also did some major shopping at Stanley, Monk Kok and Prince Edward markets. We also did a side trip out to Macau (another Special Administrative Region of China). Overall, we were ultra busy but had a ton of fun. It was REALLY nice having friends from home here and showing them around.
The day the girls left, I headed out for my spring break trip. I flew into Ho Chi Mihn City (Saigon) in Vietnam and spent one night there. The next day I headed out on a tour of the Mekong Delta. I did 3 days in the Mekong and then exited into Cambodia. I spent 3 nights in Phnom Phen. I saw the Killing Fields, S21, the Palace and the Silver Pagoda. I also volunteered at an orphanage and did some relaxing out on the lake. After Phnom Phen I went to Siem Reap for 4 nights. I spent two days seeing the temples at Angkor Wat and I rode an elephant. I spent another day relaxing—getting a massage, pedicure and manicure (all for only $13!). After Siem Reap I headed back to Saigon for 3 nights. I spent one full day out shopping and just hanging out in the city and then I spent a day seeing the cu chi tunnels and the war remnants museum. On Sunday I flew back to Hong Kong.
It was an absolutely AMAZING trip and I learned soooo much about the history and culture of both Vietnam and Cambodia. They are both amazing countries with amazing people and a very sad history.
Now that I am back in HK I am running around trying to do homework and get things together for my next trip- On Wednesday I am headed to the Philippines! I am going with Jess and Andrew and it should be a wonderful beach vacation!!
I am already nearing the end of my study abroad experience and I have loved it so far. The remaining 6 weeks will definitely be amazing. Although I will be sad to leave here, I am looking forward to returning to the states and seeing everyone.
Also, for those of you who do not know, I have been offered a position with AmeriCorp and will be spending all of next year based out of Sacramento California volunteering. I will be working on a variety of projects up and down the West Coast. I am very excited about this opportunity and will be moving out to California in October.
By the way, I have updated pictures! And have posted pictures from my spring break trip.
Love N’ Miss,
Cassie
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