China 2013 ❤ 厦门 (Xiamen), Pt I

Hey, All! 

It's crazy to think that around this time last year I had just come home from one of my most memorable experiences: my INCREDIBLE trip to China! As such, I figured it was time to find some internet and actually WRITE one of these long-overdue posts.

I bet you thought i wouldn't actually get one of these posts done!

I don't blame you...I didn't think I would either.... haha~ Yay for us being wrong! 

Anyway, rather than go back and write a painstaking entry for every day of my trip, I decided to do 'broad categories' based on locations I got to visit. Some of these entries may be divided into multiple parts given the extent of activities we got to do. In Xi'an, for example, we did much more site-seeing than when we were studying in a classroom setting everyday in Xiamen. We'll see how it goes as these entries slowly trickle along. ;)

Here is the second installment of the China photo series: XIAMEN ❤

China 2013: Xiamen

PART 1

Xiamen is a beautiful island along the Southern coast of China. It is most famous for being a "honeymoon" and wedding photography capital, as well as a comparative "Hawaii" for its warm weather, gorgeous beaches, and wonderful locals.

China 2013 ❤ Hong Kong: Arrival and the Gist of it All

Hey guys! Sorry for the extended wait! 

Everything has been CRAZY since I came back, but with good reason! Aside from graduating, taking a few extra classes, and getting back into my work routine, I've also started working again and just had my wisdom  teeth pulled a few days ago. On top of that, I have a mega-ultra-super-exciting surprise that I've been devoting a lot of my time and attention to, but that will have to wait until the final details have all been ironed out. ;)

All I'll say for now, is that I never expected so many wonderful things to happen in such a short amount of time!

But that's not what you're here for, is it? ;D

Without further-ado, I present to you post one in the China Series: an introduction to Hong Kong!

HONG KONG: Arrival and the Gist of it All

― 香港 ―

Hong Kong was our point of arrival. In order to 'ease us into a new environment,' we began our orientation here. Hong Kong is an incredible mix of Western and Eastern culture. Despite the fact that most people around you speak Cantonese, there are English signs and announcements wherever you go. It's not difficult for a person who speaks English to get around the city with ease.

It's also a beautiful, exhilarating place! There are sky scrapers and modern looking buildings at every turn, with efficient subway and bus systems so you can easily get wherever you need to be. And, of course, the food is phenomenal ;)

My first day I actually had to spend the night in the airport! It wasn't horrible--I just rented a space in one of the airport's lounges. We were staying at the Wu Kai Sha YMCA camp as a group, but unfortunately they locked their gates after midnight. Since my flight didn't land until 11pm, there was no way I would have made it through customs AND the hour+ bus ride to the camp. Regardless, I slept peacefully enough, enjoyed a breakfast (though the ham tasted more like horse than pig), and set about wandering the terminal until a few other students and our group leader showed up. The nice thing about this? I got to watch the sun rise on my first day in Hong Kong, and it was BEAUTIFUL. 

Eventually I met up with a few of the other students who were scheduled to arrive that morning, and the lot of us joined our group leader on a double-deckered bus headed towards camp! It wasn't very crowded so we got to sit on the top level right in front of the window, and enjoy the sites around us!