At the Airport...

Last day of my Exchange...
It's a sunny day. =)

I remember sitting at the HK airport feeling both excited and scared at the same time 4 months ago...
Now I feel like I'm going to miss things a lot here...
It was so hard to say all those goodbyes at all those goodbye parties and dinners... =(
It really has been 4 months since day 1...
Yet it seems like yesterday that I was still completely disoriented in Taiwan with my buddies on the first day...
A lot has happened throughout the 4 months - a lot has changed.
I've grown up a lot and learned a lot - in literally every way.
For good or for worse? I guess no one knows tomorrow.
Still going traveling for a bit, but it's only a little over a month's time until I'm back home.
But I think by then, I'll be ready to face what I need to face back home.
And I'm more than ready to see my beloved friends and family again after more than 1/2 a year.
You guys have no idea how much I love you all for being there for me. =)
Things that have happened on exchange have made me truly realize that I have so many wonderful, wonderful people around me~ s2

What I'll miss about Taiwan:

• freedom (haha...)
• all friends and memories made here~~ s2
  
• good FOOOOD! and desserts~~~ hehehe*
• easy joke courses... we'll never get this at Schulich...
• close proximity to all Asia countries for traveling

What I know I've been missing in Toronto:

• my friends and family back home
• CLEAN place to live - mosquito/cockroach free... haha...
• personal space - it's hard to come by in Asia. =P
• clean air!
• home-cooked food - no more fatty unhealthy foods...

Boarding to next stop - HK!
Byee Taipei and Exchange - I'll miss you!

All my Taipei pictures on Facebook (don't need an account to view)~
Taipei (I)
Taipei (II)
Taipei (III)
Taipei (IV)
Taipei (V)
Taipei (VI)
Taipei (VII)
Taipei (VIII)

For all the albums of my travels during exchange, visit my Facebook or ask me for their links~ ^-^

The death of my laptop cord...

... and the case of incurable insomina (for now, anyways...)

HP Laptop Cord Obituary
-> Certified: Monday, June 15, 2009 around 12pm GMT +08:00 time...
-> Attendees to the funeral: none
-> Condolences offered: mom call me on my cell phone

My cord has been having connection problems for a while (charges only when the cord is placed at a certain angle), but since I decided I wasn't going to get a new laptop until I get back to Toronto, I tried to keep it in the best condition possible. On Monday, it started sparking... =T very scary stuph... unplugged it and there was a hole in the cord. Hence my laptop was rendered useless without the cord.

Now normally, it wouldn't be that bad without my laptop, BUT I had 2 presentations + respective reports due within the following 2 days AND a final exam. Perfect timing, no? =___________=;; Luckily, I had everything backed up on my external drive (cuz I was expecting that my computer/cord might die any day) so I basically bummed at the student lounge computers everyday to finish all my work.

I was planning to be laptop-less for 3 weeks - which is when my family comes to Asia with dad's laptop. I definitely wasn't going to pay for a new cord when I would be ditching my computer in a little over a month's time. I decided to try the limits of my 3-year global warranty and it actually covers the replacement for a new one! =) I used to always joke and complain about this exceptionally long warranty cuz I would've gotten a new laptop in January if I wasn't covered. My motherboard was changed under the warranty back in January and obviously, no one would pay to change a motherboard if they weren't covered~ Needlesstosay, I'm VERY glad for my 3-year warranty at the moment - I won't be bored to death without a laptop for 3 weeks. ^___________^ God has His good plans. hehe*

Incurable Insomnia
Well, it hasn't been cured as of yet - that's all. It's not that bad, I suppose~
I think about a week or two ago, I started having trouble falling asleep. I used to be able to fall asleep within 5 minutes, but lately I've been rolling around for over 30 minutes before finally drifting off into dreamland. =_________=;;
During the time of finals, it's not a such good thing to have.
My brain just won't stop functioning at night - keep thinking about my finals, what I'll do in HK, what I need to pack in TW, what I'll do when my family comes over to TW, where to bring them to eat, shop and play in HK, etc., etc., etc. OH... and course selections for next year... =________=;; that's a biggie...
ERG!... hahaha... such RANDOM thoughts...
There have been interesting suggestions to use sleeping pills or booze to relieve the effects of insomnia, but I prefer not to. Thanks. =P hahaha...

Currently
Despite my insomnia, I managed to survive my 2 hard presentations + respective reports - one day after the next.

My one and only final exam - which was the easiest exam in my life - was a joke. The professor had the class make a total of 100MC questions and he said he'd pick 20 from there for the final. So I finished the exam in 5 minutes and used the remaining 5 to triple check my answers before handing it in. =) My mark will not be any lower than 90% in that class - happiness. =)

So I have one more presentation to go next week, but it's a really easy BS one.
I consider myself pretty much done! ^________^

Starting to pack certain things now - lots to pack!
Now that I'm basically a week away from leaving here, it's starting to feel a little weird...
There's 50% of me that wants to leave and another 50% that wants to stay longer. =(
The good thing is that I'll see my 2 close girl friends back in HK again~ ^________^
As for the guy friends - adios! *sniffs*
Going to enjoy my last week here!!

Follow me on Twitter!
Username: Tiffany_To

Last 2 Weeks of my Exchange.

Only 14 days left of my exchange experience...

*Let that sink in first before continuing...*

Times really flies...
Feels like yesterday that I was still getting settled in my dorm here - complaining about the bugs and the environment... haha...
Mind you, I still check for bugs every time I go to the bathroom or take a shower and I still brush my teeth in the company of mosquitos/moths every morning, but hey, I've gotten used to it.
This is what exchange has taught me - take whatever comes at you (good or bad), suck it up and learn to live with it! =P

Now that I'm almost about to leave, it feels a tad weird, to be honest~
Anyways, had some visitors lately!

June 2 & 3
SChan, Vean and Natalie came to visit Taipei and I hung out with them for 2 days~ =)
First day, I went to 師大 night market with them.
Second day, I shopped with them at 五分埔 and then went to 西門町 for the good 雪花冰 & night snacks~
Oh, oh, and I bought a pair of very comfortable and nice-looking pair of Birkenstock sandals!
They better be a good investment for all the walking I'll be doing in the next month - being flat-footed and all~

June 6
Joan visits Taipei! =)
Took her out to a good beef noodle restaurant at Taipei Main Station for dinner.
Then we went over to 西門町 for the good 雪花冰 again (I take everyone there now)~
Chilled in the area - got our silhouettes cut out of construction paper! =P

June 12
No visitors today, but Sarah, Haley and I just went out for a good Friday night.
Revolving sushi dinner (as a result of my sudden craving), shop around 西門町(again), 美麗華 ferris wheel at night, 士林夜市 shopping~
Really tired afterwards cuz we didn't get home until almost 1am, but it's something that we haven't done as a group in a long time~ =)

Lately
I don't think I've been having quality sleep because I'm constantly tired during the day~~ =(
Even when I know I'm dead tired, my brain doesn't seem to stop turning before I fall asleep.
And it's not even really thinking about anything in particular - just random snippets of the current day.
I've been having quite a few vivid dreams lately - which kinda sucks too~
I think it has something to do with the rainy season here! Grrrrr... =P

Finals
Well, most of my final projects and presentations are all due next week along with 1 final exam.
Times to pay those dues after a rather relaxing semester (compared to Schulich).
Add oil, Tiff! Don't slack! hehe*
(Actually, my 1 and only final exam is quite the joke. Our prof let us create our own 100MC questions and he's picking 20 from those for our exam... =_______=;;)

June 16 -> BP Presentation + Report
June 17 -> M&G Presentation + Report AND WebTech Final Exam
June 23 -> DCM Presentation + Report

On a Completely Random Note...
Oh, and my craving for a DSLR camera has increased two-fold lately...
Mostly due to looking at my cousin's baby pics, my friend's vacation pics and my other friend's photo blog!
AHH.....! hahahaha...
I'm still waiting to get my baby - sometime in the near future (hopefully)~
Still need to pick a name for it though - Canon or Nikon??? xD

Upcoming
After my exchange, I'm ready to start my travels again! =)
June 20-23 -> 睛 and 嘉 visit Taipei!
June 26 -> Back to HK
July 2-6 -> Haley visits HK - hang out with her and Sarah~
July 10-17 -> 北京, 西安, 桂林 with 2 families
July 17-21 -> Back to Taiwan with my own family
July 21 and onwards -> HK

Paradise Weekend in PengHu (澎湖)

I've been wanting to hit the beaches for a long time cuz I want an escape from the city, but didn't get a chance to go until this weekend.
Sarah, Haley and I chose to go to PengHu (澎湖) County - an area of islands in the southwest part of Taiwan.
It was paradise weekend. =)
Tony, my friend from high school, was staying there for the summer, so I called him up and he took us around.
Thanks so much for everything! ^-^

Saturday, May 30
Took the 7am flight from Taipei to PengHu (澎湖).
Tony came to pick us up at the airport.
Out to the dock to join a tour.
The tour took us to wade within the shallow waters of the sea to find all sorts of sea creatures - fish, sea cucumbers, starfish, crabs, oysters, etc.
We even got to hammer out some oysters to eat on the spot - mmMMmm... =)
Ate lunch to rest from all the tiring walking.
The tour then took us out to an island by boat for water sports - banana boat, water raft, seadoo, swimming, etc.~
Headed back to the main island for dinner at a temple area.
We were lucky and got a chance to attend a festival that happens only once every 10 years or so.
There were food stalls, live performances, parade of floaters (made by the participating temples) and an AMAZING fireworks display~
Guess what I tried for the first time? Cactus ice cream!
It's actually quite good - made from the pink fruit that you find on the cactus~
Apparently cactus-flavoured products are very common in PengHu.
After the festival, we chilled around our hotel area - shopping and eating desserts.

Sunday, May 31
Took another tour that took us out to the surrounding 4 islands of the PengHu County:
- 桶盤嶼 -> 虎井嶼 -> 望安嶼 -> 七美島
Basically, the first 3 islands are for sightseeing - looking at really old houses/buildings and overlooking the sea, etc.~
The last island, 七美 was what we took the tour for~ =)
Finally got to see the famous 雙心石滬 rock formation (see attached picture)~
Went back to the city area after the tour and watched the sunset at the Rainbow Bridge~
Had dinner at a good seafood restaurant.
Bought some snacks and drinks and went back to chill around the Rainbow Bridge area - a really nice and quiet area at night~
Then switched locations and chilled at the pub for a bit~
Headed to our pretty villa - Raid Garden - 北非花園 - for the night~

Monday, June 1
Got more sleep last night cuz we had no plans for today~
Breakfast at the villa~ =)
Chilled at 山水 Beach area - swimming, chilling, eating lunch~
Took 3pm flight to 台中 cuz we couldn't find a flight back to 台北~
We thought the distance between the 台中 airport and the High Speed Rail (HSR) station was close, but it turned out to be an hour bus ride... =_______=;;
HSR back to 台北 and returned to NCCU~

It was a fun weekend~ =)
The lack of sleep again from this trip means it'll be a while before I recover from the sleep debt accumulated over the weekend~ =P

Pics and Video!
PengHu Pictures
Fireworks Video


Upcoming
June 1-4 -> SChan, Vean and Natalie Visit Taipei!
June 16 -> Business Policy Report + Presentation Due
June 17 -> Media & Globalization Report + Presentation Due; Web Technologies Final Exam
June 20-23 -> 睛 & 嘉 visiting Taipei - chill with them~ =)
June 23 -> Demand Chain Management Report + Presentation Due
June 26 -> Leaving Taiwan - Going to HK