HKBU *Star*

http://buwww.hkbu.edu.hk/eng/main/index.jsp
Check out the link! I'm on HKBU's website - that's right I'm a star (I'm guessing less than 1,000 people visit the 'prospective students' part of HKBU's website)

Crane House Interview - TA position

As my life in Hong Kong comes to an end, I am beginning to plan for my summer back in Kentucky. I'm excited, but I have mixed feelings. It's been a wonderful year with amazing experiences and lessons learned. My eyes have been opened to the world and my global perspective has skyrocketed. Although Hong Kong is pre-dominantly Asian in population and cultural heritage, it is also a special economic zone that attracts people from all cultural backgrounds.

But I definitely am in love with the Asian culture. I appreciate the history and how they try their best to uphold traditions of old. The Chinese are very thrifty people and I enjoy letting them share with me about their history and philosophy on life. Not only have I studied Chinese geography, politics, and philosophy, but I have fallen in love with the language. It has been difficult learning Chinese, especially when you are having to learn two dialects - including the most tonal dialect of Cantonese. My Mandarin proficiency has improved significantly, but I am still not as proficient as I would have liked due to the predominance of Cantonese.

When I compare with my classmates though, I can see how far I've really come. I've really worked hard and put a ton of independent study in these past two semesters. Doing this has rewarded me with the highest grade in my Mandarin class both semesters. Having taken Elementary Chinese twice now, I really feel like I have a solid foundation of the Chinese language and although it has been boring at times going at such a slow pace, I know now exactly how foreigners should approach Chinese. If I had gone at a faster pace, I probably would not have been able to see so clearly how best to approach Chinese.


I posted this video of my interview for a summer job position with Crane House Asian Institute as their teacher's assistant. With all of the time and effort I've had to put in learning Chinese, I've become very passionate about helping others better approach Chinese and I hope to be of help for Americans interested in learning. So, if you are an American considering studying the world's most useful and interesting language, then send me an e-mail or contact me through this blog and I will try to give you my advice.

I really would recommend you to come to Hong Kong if you are interested in living in Asia because it is the perfect jump start or "gateway to Asia". Although you don't here Mandarin that often, you can still get a more welcoming experience for the beginning stage of your potential lengthy stay in Asia. Anyways, I don't regret being in Hong Kong one bit. It's been the perfect city for me to start my career in Asia and I can't wait to come back because I know I can forever call it home.

Destination: 北京

This Easter was without a doubt an Easter that I will not soon forget. I had the blessing of celebrating Jesus' death and resurrection with my dad in Hong Kong and Beijing. He arrived in Hong Kong on Good Friday and we went to worship our awesome God together in the 75th floor of Central Plaza on Hong Kong Island. This is where Hong Kong City Church meets each Sunday for it's worship service, but they happened to have a special Good Friday service which worked out perfect because Easter Sunday Dad and I would be flying to Beijing for my Easter break.

Wow, where do I start? Well, how about the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square? Here's some pictures of our walk “逛一逛” around this very historical place. By the way, these pics do not show you how ridiculously ginormous the Forbidden City really is. There is no way the Emperor had time to check out all of his crib!






After a nice stroll through the Forbidden City, we began to be curious about all of the billions of corridors we were passing. Ashamed for passing up so many, yet hurried because of our appointment with Elizabeth in a couple hours, we decided to check out an art gallery at one of the eastern hallways. Choi Choi, my Chinese Art Studio professor (who by the way is the epitome of traditional Chinese heritage still alive today...with his long white hair and 100 years of age and spontaneous behavior just like Laozi would propose in his Taoist book Daodejing) would be extremely proud of me for the studying I was doing of ancient Chinese artifacts. Very interesting to see and I wish I had more time to read and learn all the gory details of each artwork.




As we approached the northern gate of the Forbidden City, we were able to enjoy the serene Imperial Garden for a little while before meeting Elizabeth back at the southern gate of Tiananmen Square. Here dad and I really felt warm and fuzzy because of all of the beautiful ancient trees throughout this part. What we had seen before was nothing but a bare, vast concrete city. But now this area had been specially preserved and was much more lively. It seemed that we saw people from all over the world gathering in this garden and the atmosphere was splendid!






After a long morning in the Forbidden City, we met up with Elizabeth. Being an encouragement for her was such a blessing and we had productive conversations as we stopped by Starbucks and then journeyed to Summer Palace. Although Elizabeth has been to Beijing quite a few times, she has yet to see the Summer Palace. So it was a perfect way to spend the day together! Although this wasn't the prettiest time of year, this park is just as big as the Forbidden City and much more beautiful.






After Summer Palace, we headed over to Beijing University before dark. Walking the streets of this very prestigious university where very very few are accepted gave me a cool vibe. I've been strongly considering going there for grad school and so being able to get a sneak preview with my dad and Elizabeth was pretty neat. Can you tell how geeked out I am about possibly studying Chinese language and culture here?


Now onto day 3, where dad and I began our endeavor to the Great Wall. This was our dream and it was about to come true! I could hardly believe that we were actually headed to hike it together and everything felt so surreal. When that sunset and dad and I were gazing out onto the wondrous maze of a wall dating back to 7th Century BC, I knew I had to snap out of the dream and soak up every second. That we did. Dad and I had probably the best conversation I've ever had with him in my life and I can see how we are now becoming best friends. Dad, I know you'll never forget conquering Simatai Great Wall with me, nor will you or I forgot those annoying villagers following us so we could be their stinking book! I highly suggest that everyone go and see this historical site before you die - it's crazy to think that it is still standing after all of these years.