international students orientation!

Today we had international students orientation which basically amounted to a ton of students sitting in the auditorium getting told stuff that most of us really knew.

Things I Actually Got Out of the Orientation

1. From the deputy vice-chancellor (?) of HKU: "Have fun. Don't get straight A's. A lot of students like to take 'long weekends' starting on Thursday and coming back on Tuesday. Again, have fun and don't worry about getting A's - I would much rather you get straight C's!" Most of this is barely paraphrased, just so you know.  I wonder if I can find a transcript of his (rather adorable) speech and use it as a reference when my grades turn out to be awful. I am such a nerd.

2. From the head of HKU's School of Chinese: I am so ever-loving screwed because I was an idiot who did not keep Chinese warm over summer break. I am going to do terribly on my placement exam and then die of shame. Also, why does HKU use simplified characters? They should follow their government and use traditional.

2. From a U.S. consulate who got lost going to HKU who made me feel mildly better about myself and my terrible sense of direction: "Please contact the U.S. Embassy if you need help, with some minor restrictions. Like, we can't help you with relationship issues. Travel! A lot! But FYI, if you go to New Guinea, you'll probably get pick-pocketed which would kind of suck. Also, I have a seriously sweet job. Please apply for internships and think about this as a possible career because this is the sweetest job I've ever had."

Okay, this one was heavily paraphrased.

And dear Mr. U.S. consulate, I am very tempted to apply for internships but the only thing I know about the U.S. Embassy and what people actually do is based off of 1) your powerpoint presentation 2) the three episodes of The American Embassy I watched on MegaVideo before they got taken down.

3. A free lunch.

However, it wasn't a complete bust. I met a bunch of people! ... And then promptly forgot the names of half of them. Good going, self.

See, this is why I have no friends, you guys.

But no, I actually bumped into Matt again and I ended up following him, Ramone, and Noelle around because I am terribly desperate for company my own age. I'm aware of how sad that is; I'm like a lost little puppy - but I while I really enjoy my yi-poh and my landlord's company; I've been forced to speak more Cantonese in the past four days than I have in years. It's draining - I revel in speaking in English. 

There's supposed to be a Club International-sponsored party tonight but I totally forgot the address of the club so I guess I'm skipping out on this one and will wait for the next party to meet more new people. I had also managed to twist my ankle today and I have serious doubts that I'll be able to get back home without accidentally killing myself. It's not too bad, but I can't put much pressure on it.

Hilariously enough, I was wearing three inch heeled sandals all day - I actually find them more comfortable than my Converse or ballet flats to be completely honest (I think there's something wrong with my feet) - but I managed to land on my right foot wrong when I was bare-foot, in doors.  Siiigh.

On the bright side, my landlord got me a new mattress! A western mattress that is not hard! Unless you've ever slept on one, you have no idea how happy this makes me. I was googling for mattress pads just this morning because my back has been complaining.

You see, Chinese people like firm (read: rock-hard) mattresses because they believe that they're good for one's back. Chinese people are accustomed to them. When they encounter western mattresses, they usually think they're too soft. I respectfully disagree.

I have the world's comfiest bed when I'm at Bryn Mawr because I use a memory-foam topper. It's so comfy that my ex-roomie would have us watch movies on my bed opposed to hers and I have come back to my room to see she had fallen asleep on my bed while studying on more than one occasion because my bed is made of happiness, sunshine, rainbows, and clouds.

It's pretty damn comfy, okay.

Since my bed is now beautiful and inviting, I think I'm going to call it (another) early night since my biu-yi is going to take me out tomorrow for... I dunno, shopping and fun things? And probably food.

...I have pretty much given up on trying to pay for food/transportation myself and protesting when my relatives keep feeding me but oh my god, I do not want to grain fifteen bazillion pounds when I'm in Hong Kong.

And they keep telling me that I don't eat enough.

They might have a slight point since I was really bad about eating this summer ("Uh, ice tea, smoothies, and granola bars totally count as breakfast, lunch, and dinner, right? ... It's too hot in this apartment to even attempt to cook.")

Hopefully, my ankle will feel better tomorrow.