Seeing as I don't have that much at the moment in terms of work, I thought I'd blog about my half day free tour in Taipei that was offered to us as part of the 15 hour stop off. After arriving there at close to 7am, I decided to go check out the free half day tour that was advertised when I booked my flight to the USA. It was pretty much a guess work kind of thing, as there wasn't that much clear instructions.

After clearing customs, I met up with the tour guide. There were 3 others with me, and unsurprisingly all waiting for that same 15 hour flight. We got onto our minibus (小巴) and started doing a tour there. We saw a really old street, I can't exactly remember the name now, but it was cool to see some old Chinese architecture around. We went to a few temples, with the guide explaining features of each one etc after that.

Ah man, life is slowly returning back to normal. It's taken me a few days to come to the realisation as to how different my life was back when I was in the USA. Compared to my lifestyle here, the USA one had me being a lot more responsible for what I did, and had to take care of myself. So what have I been up to in the past week:

• Arriving back from a 38 hour trip - it was horrible, and I was smelly by the end of it. I might do a day in Taipei entry later. :P
  
• Helping a friend of mine move house - He's going on exchange next semester in Singapore! Wish him a safe trip.
• Celebrated a quiet Xmas with Dad and Misa - her family has gone on a trip overseas, so invited her over so it wouldn't be such a lonely Christmas.
• Finished the first season of Gundam 00 - it was pretty good in my opinion! Though, it's the first Gundam series I actually finished. =)
  
• I have a new toy to play with - I've finally joined/given into the PS3 family. After checking the HK prices compared to here, there wasn't a significant difference, so I managed to grab one yesterday. Out of all the games I have so far, I must say that Initial D is the most engaging one, probably because of the wheel I have with it. I'll do quick reviews of the others sometime in the future!
• Reflecting more or less on my experience in the USA, and how to make myself a better person learning from those experiences.

Now that I'm back home, I have heaps of time to blog about stuff. It has taken me a few days to start working on it, but here it is. This is how I spent my last days of the USA:

• Having a Christmas dinner with Kelvin, Yao and Kristen at Kelvin's house - we had rib eye steak, with beans and salad, topped with apple cider/wine. It tasted really good, and it was great seeing their look of surprise when I gave them all a small present each. It was basically a variation of chocolates, a Xmas card, and a picture of me and them.
  
• We went to karaoke, Yao, Kelvin, and I. This involved mainly singing Chinese songs - it was great fun, and made me realise how much I love singing and going there. Too bad many of my friends here aren't into it.
• Had some Korean food - still need to get used to Kimchi haha.
  
• Went bowling: this was the first time in a while since I last ten pin bowled. I won the first game, but came 2nd in the second game. I'm rusty =(.
  
• On the last day, we just went and had some greek food - it was interesting kind of cuisine, pics will be up later!

I really miss you guys, I hope we'll meet up soon, and that I won't be forgotten! You guys have made my experience in the USA worth that while. ^_^

What can I say? It's nice to have a change for a while, taking it easy, relaxing, before going back home. We did quite a few things in the past few days, from seeing snow a few minutes from the campus, to going to the beach, and to going to the arcade as well as eating some sushi! I can't really ask for more, spending time with friends everyday. Better make the most of it. :) Here are some pics:

Oishii ne~

What can I say. I found out today that doing something for others is something really rewarding. Like my friends said - I'm pretty weird, most people could survive with tv and internet, but for me, I was just bored of it. I ended up getting some presents, and Xmas cards too, and helping with some housework. Hopefully, everyone here that I know will enjoy their Christmas! =D

What can I say? I didn't expect extending my stay in the ILC to be like this. I am literally bored out of my mind over here. Basically, it feels like I am wasting my time here not being able to spend my last few days in the USA with my friends. Oh well, I ended up getting some nice surprises for a Christmas dinner soon. Hopefully things look better tomorrow.

What can I say. The final week of UCSC has past. Having to spend most of this afternoon by myself helped me reflect on the times that I enjoyed here. Pics later! What did I do on the final week? Here's the list:

• After waiting for a week, I finally got my exam - it was easier than what I had expected, could be a good/bad thing haha.
• Celebrated Kana's Birthday
• Went to a farewell pizza party
• Attended a small gathering late at night.
• Cooked instant Yakisoba

• There are certain types of personalities I like hanging around with, no matter what their background - usually people who are warm, and with a touch of innocence.
• People that I don't like hanging around with: people who are just arrogant, by always thinking of themselves rather than others (self explanatory)
• Although being money conscious is good to survive, you can't enjoy life if you don't spend some.
• No matter how trivial a promise is, it is still a promise, and you should follow it out anyway.
• Miscommunication is always an issue - we just have to minimise it.
• Goodbyes are not forever losing someone, rather, it is more the beginning of something more.
• I'd like to avoid loneliness if possible, I'm just realising the aftermath effects of it, after seeing people just a day ago!

• If it wasn't for UCSC, I wouldn't have participated Modern Dance. It has been really fun participating there, and I have met some cool people, like Sam and Janey! I can confirm how unco I am now.
  
• Working at the soup kitchen was a new experience for me also. Just knowing that being there, can make a difference to someone, and it has slightly changed my view to those people that live on the streets. Doing that subject has allowed me to meet people like Bee, Anita, and Sujin well. It was also my first time doing painting too.
  
• Having people come over and appreciating the breakfast that I make is something that I want to take further. I realise how much I love cooking now, and I'm determined to learn more from mum!
• Actually understanding the American way of life - not so much in Santa Cruz, but when I was in LA, the fast paced way of life was a real eye opener for me.
• The friendships made - nothing can describe this as I never thought I would be close to people since it was only a 3 month period we spent together. I'm just glad that the world is so connected nowadays, that it's easy to meet up with people. It's always cool to find people from different countries that have common interests too. Who would've known? Tatsuya, and his otakuness being one of them =P
  

Wow, week 12 already. I skipped last week, as the only interesting thing was LA =P. Time sure flies over here. It was basically the last week I could spend with people. So what happened over the past week? Here's a quick summary:

• Took heaps of pics
• Last round of classes
• Christmas College night
• Attended the farewell party - exchanged notes with people that I knew.
  
• Went to DDR with David - he's pretty good!
• Chilled out with Kelvin with Gundam vs Gundam on PSP.
• Made an Aussie brekky for a few friends.

I think I'll upload the pics after Thursday, when most of my assessment has been done.

My last two days in LA were a lot more quiet and relaxed. It involved going to have some decent Chinese food that I haven't had for ages, as well as visiting the Getty Museum, and just car tours here and there.

We went to the Getty Museum, having no idea what it was. It ended up being an art and architectural exhibition that was interesting. Unfortunately, I'm not really a person that can appreciate art that well, but I have taken a few pics here and there, for all you readers who appreciate art.

Afterwards, we just had a car tour around Santa Monica, especially the beach. Unfortunately, the two ladies at the back were a bit exhausted, so all we did was drive past different areas.

For dinner, we ended up getting Bo Zai Fan, which is claypot rice. It was not the best Chinese food, but a lot better than what I have had here in the Bay Area. We also had some of the Chinese Chinese food with rice that I miss so much. Afterwards we had bubble tea - they call it Boba here which I was confused at before. It wasn't anything special to me, but a good change from soft drinks.

For our last day in LA, we just ended up getting Yum Cha Brunch, they like to call it Dim sum over here. It was good to have Yum Cha after so long, almost 3 months now! Kinda bored of the Dining Hall food they served here already. My favourite Dim Sum would have to be Siu Mai - a pork and shrimp dumpling that is a staple to the Yum Cha Diet.

We ended up departing for Santa Cruz at about 2pm, and managed to get back at about 1am. I really appreciate the work the Kelvin put in to driving us there and getting back safely. He almost fell asleep on the wheel though mind you.

This LA trip made me realize how sacred time is, because before you know it, it is all over. I thought it would have been a nice slow paced, 4 day holiday, but it went past just like a flash. It was good to actually get to know my three friends, but reality shows that all good things must come to an end. I hope that we will at least keep in contact, and go on another trip again some place else around the world. But I might just be a little bit optimistic, but who knows, it could come true.