Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Ivan Lei @ University of North Carolina at Asheville, US (from CityU) 19 - 23 October 2009
Monday October 19, 2009
The weather is getting colder in this week. It is around the freezing point in the morning. I had a lesson at 8:30 a.m. today. The bad thing is that classroom is inside the academic building which is most far away from my dorm. I felt like walking in a big fridge on the way. It is October right now, but it is even colder than the lowest temperature I had experience in Hong Kong! I walked more quickly than usual to get to my" shelter" as warm air is generated in the campus buildings. Now I realize that why the U.S. has the highest energy consumption in the world.
The good thing is that, maple leaves in campus are turning into red. They look special to me as I do nor see these kinds of leaves color in Hong Kong. It seems like they are changing cloth to prepare for a cold season. When I first came here, all of them were in bright green. Time passess so quickly here. I think I really wnjoy my life in Asheville as I am totally attracted by the environment and people here, they are magnificent!
Tuesday October 20, 2009
After today's intensive work, I went to an ice-cream restaurant in downtown to have a cup of ice-cream to relieve my pressure. A german girl told me that it is organic ice-cream. An interesting thing is, when people here are talking about food, they like to emphasize that "it is organic!" i didn't feel cold as I was eating inside. Well the weather here is pretty extreme actually. It gets really cold in the morning, but in the afternoon, it could be more than 10 degrees warmer. I needed to take off my winter coat when I was walking in downtown.
I decided to walk back to the campys instead of taking a bus today, as I was in a good mood and I wanted to explore ore in this city. When I got out of downtown and entered into the neighborhood, I saw a house decorated with pumpkins in front of door, abd there were some freaky creatures hung on the ceiling. It reminded me Halloween was coming! I am looking forward to it as it will be fun to celebrate it in this creepy atmosphere. I think I am going to have a special Halloween in Asheville!
Wednesday October 21, 2009
I met a girl from Puerto rico today in downtown. She was transferred from the University of Puerto Rico to study in North Carolina and she graduated a few years ago. Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. but it is kind of independent. You can spend U.S. dollar here and it is no problem to communicate in English. Although Spanish is the primary language in this place, students are required to learn English in school. The law system in Puerto Rico is pretty different from the states as well. She told me that Pureto Rico's law system is looser compare with the states'. She aws so keen to provide me some practical information about this country . She told me that the central of Puerto Rico is rainforest and it is cursed! It scared me off a little indeed, but it should be fun.
I passed through the Botanical Gardens when I walked back to mt room. It is a big and pretty garden with a river, different kinds of plants and animals. You can also call it: Squirrel Empire" as thry are everywhere! UNCA campus is a lot smaller than CityU, but it has a bigger and nicer garden. That's why I love this campus!
Thursday October 22, 2009
Today is the birthday of my friend Melissa! Frankly speaking, I just knew her for two days. I think it was a good timing to know her as I was able to taste her cake! It was not bought from bakery but it was homemade. I did not really know what the ingredients were put inside but it tasted absolutely delicious! And we had a box of vanila ice-cream as well! "Sweet sweet".
People here are really serious about celebrations. They enjoy festivals and commit to their successed. They have a lot of creative ideas for strange decoratiovs and fun games. Most importantly, people can hang out together after work and have a fun day! Before I came here, i thought that Maericans are not as concerned people's relations as we do. The fact is opposite. For example, my roommate's parents helped him settle into the room and move the bed, table and other stuffs. he often spends time with his famility and they go hiking together on weekend. I feel that really love each other and maintain a strong relationship even he has become a college student. I think that it is the thing that I should learn from him.
Friday October 23, 2009
I went to the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival after my dinner at 6 today. On the way, it rained heavily. But I get used to walk in rain already. It is just a " rainforest" in this campus. Ashville is a city which makes trememdous efforts in preseving the environment. Students here are educated to concern about variuos kinds of pollutions, and to think about different possibilities to reuse and recycle wastes.
An evironmental activist delivered an opening speech for the festival. He emphasized the need for collaboration between different races of people to protect our environment. There were several short films showed in the festival. They focused on the problem of water pollution. In one film, a chilean fisherman was interviewed. He said that the beach in his home town supposed to be a paradise for surfing. But the wastes fro a paper plant contaminate the water and he no longer can catch big fished from there as before. While the world's population is growing, we are facing more challenges at the same time. More powe is demanded meaning more pollution can be created. We should be mroe knowlegeable about the consequences of what we are doing.
The weather is getting colder in this week. It is around the freezing point in the morning. I had a lesson at 8:30 a.m. today. The bad thing is that classroom is inside the academic building which is most far away from my dorm. I felt like walking in a big fridge on the way. It is October right now, but it is even colder than the lowest temperature I had experience in Hong Kong! I walked more quickly than usual to get to my" shelter" as warm air is generated in the campus buildings. Now I realize that why the U.S. has the highest energy consumption in the world.The good thing is that, maple leaves in campus are turning into red. They look special to me as I do nor see these kinds of leaves color in Hong Kong. It seems like they are changing cloth to prepare for a cold season. When I first came here, all of them were in bright green. Time passess so quickly here. I think I really wnjoy my life in Asheville as I am totally attracted by the environment and people here, they are magnificent!
Tuesday October 20, 2009
After today's intensive work, I went to an ice-cream restaurant in downtown to have a cup of ice-cream to relieve my pressure. A german girl told me that it is organic ice-cream. An interesting thing is, when people here are talking about food, they like to emphasize that "it is organic!" i didn't feel cold as I was eating inside. Well the weather here is pretty extreme actually. It gets really cold in the morning, but in the afternoon, it could be more than 10 degrees warmer. I needed to take off my winter coat when I was walking in downtown.I decided to walk back to the campys instead of taking a bus today, as I was in a good mood and I wanted to explore ore in this city. When I got out of downtown and entered into the neighborhood, I saw a house decorated with pumpkins in front of door, abd there were some freaky creatures hung on the ceiling. It reminded me Halloween was coming! I am looking forward to it as it will be fun to celebrate it in this creepy atmosphere. I think I am going to have a special Halloween in Asheville!
Wednesday October 21, 2009
I met a girl from Puerto rico today in downtown. She was transferred from the University of Puerto Rico to study in North Carolina and she graduated a few years ago. Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. but it is kind of independent. You can spend U.S. dollar here and it is no problem to communicate in English. Although Spanish is the primary language in this place, students are required to learn English in school. The law system in Puerto Rico is pretty different from the states as well. She told me that Pureto Rico's law system is looser compare with the states'. She aws so keen to provide me some practical information about this country . She told me that the central of Puerto Rico is rainforest and it is cursed! It scared me off a little indeed, but it should be fun.I passed through the Botanical Gardens when I walked back to mt room. It is a big and pretty garden with a river, different kinds of plants and animals. You can also call it: Squirrel Empire" as thry are everywhere! UNCA campus is a lot smaller than CityU, but it has a bigger and nicer garden. That's why I love this campus!
Thursday October 22, 2009
Today is the birthday of my friend Melissa! Frankly speaking, I just knew her for two days. I think it was a good timing to know her as I was able to taste her cake! It was not bought from bakery but it was homemade. I did not really know what the ingredients were put inside but it tasted absolutely delicious! And we had a box of vanila ice-cream as well! "Sweet sweet".People here are really serious about celebrations. They enjoy festivals and commit to their successed. They have a lot of creative ideas for strange decoratiovs and fun games. Most importantly, people can hang out together after work and have a fun day! Before I came here, i thought that Maericans are not as concerned people's relations as we do. The fact is opposite. For example, my roommate's parents helped him settle into the room and move the bed, table and other stuffs. he often spends time with his famility and they go hiking together on weekend. I feel that really love each other and maintain a strong relationship even he has become a college student. I think that it is the thing that I should learn from him.
Friday October 23, 2009
I went to the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival after my dinner at 6 today. On the way, it rained heavily. But I get used to walk in rain already. It is just a " rainforest" in this campus. Ashville is a city which makes trememdous efforts in preseving the environment. Students here are educated to concern about variuos kinds of pollutions, and to think about different possibilities to reuse and recycle wastes.An evironmental activist delivered an opening speech for the festival. He emphasized the need for collaboration between different races of people to protect our environment. There were several short films showed in the festival. They focused on the problem of water pollution. In one film, a chilean fisherman was interviewed. He said that the beach in his home town supposed to be a paradise for surfing. But the wastes fro a paper plant contaminate the water and he no longer can catch big fished from there as before. While the world's population is growing, we are facing more challenges at the same time. More powe is demanded meaning more pollution can be created. We should be mroe knowlegeable about the consequences of what we are doing.
Labels: 2009/2010 Semester A
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