Hey Guys,

It's been one month and 2 days since I've been with the guy I mentioned in the previous post.

It's been a happy month. On the day that marked the one month...it wasn't exactly what I expected nor was it great. Maybe it's a girl thing to be excited over that kind of thing. Just hope that we will get through all our turbulences alright.

Got a new hamster on the one month mark. :D Named him Dexter.  A 1.5 month black male teddy!! Such a sweetie. Wouldn't get off my arm but is so timid. Let him slowly get used to his new enviroment.

Reason why I got Dexter: Jayme passed away on the morning I got back from Paris D:
                                          Want to have a memory with my bf, D, on our one month mark.

Peace out and stay cool,
-Emz

Hi,

For anyone who actually reads my (dusty) blog knows that I don't really talk about my personal matters here. But this is sort of different...because I really need a place to talk about this...

I don't know. There's this guy who I've gotten to know really well in the past week and I seriously think there's room for development. I've known who he was for a while now since he's in the same company for cadets but I never talked to him, like NEVER. But a couple of days ago, he added me as his sister on FB and we hit off just like that! It was amazing but I don't know whether he's like that to everyone or I'm actually special...He came out to the gathering on Mid-Autumn just to see me. What does this mean?

He's a nice guy. And maybe he's just acting too friendly^^ And I, again, am thinking too much. This world is turning again.

My grandpa is in the hospital right now because of a lung infection.
I love you and get well soon<3

-Emz

Hi people,

School's started! Woohoo...not. The IBDP is really getting to me but it's only the beginning so I'll just have to deal with it. I absolutely love the program but I don't like the work load. I'm currently still debating over whether I should drop my Higher level Chemistry for Geography but Chemistry is better for university application but on the other hand, the HL Geography course is very similar to the Environmental Studies course I'm planning to take at university. *sigh* decisions, decisions, decisions... I could drop my HL English for Geography as well but I like the HL course and I'll most likely need it for the journalism/English minor.

So why does it seem like I'm so free right now? Blogging at 9 in the morning when I should be at school and more specifically in class.I would be in math right now if I didn't have a fever. But even if I was at school, I'd be able to blog since we have wifi and more importantly, free lessons! Today, I should have had math, TOK and double Geograhy...and the Geography test was supposed to be today as well. I can't believe I missed it. I left all of my math stuff at school so I can't do my math :(

Oh well. Need to get some sleep before I go to the doctor's.
Love and Peace
-EMZ

Greetings to the humans on Earth!

Earlier on in June, I did an interview for Shark Saver's new and upcoming film. They were interviewing people of all age groups from around Asia and the world to tell people to stop eating shark fin soup.

And now they have a teaser out and I'm in it :)
Check it out!

Video: http://vimeo.com/13354705

I pledged not to eat shark fin soup.
Join me already, will you?

-Sharks loving Emz

Salute :D

My blog just passed the one year mark on AnD and surprisingly, I'm still using it!
So as a treat; well not really a treat, I'll post the first two days of my Dali Expedition in this entry as well. I promise to add the pictures that come with it sometime in the next 48 hours. x

July 13, 2010--Afternoon

The Dali Expedition has finally begun! Right now, I’m sitting at the airport in Kunming awaiting my next flight to Dali. I was the last passenger to get on the plane from Hong Kong because the employees at Starbucks took a long time to prepare my venti Java Chip Frappuchinno. I got on the plane just in time before the gates closed. I wonder if I would have been like that lady on Youtube who missed her flight if I had missed mine. The flight was pleasantly quiet but the food was honestly awful. I didn’t really know what I had put into my mouth; I think I heard the flight attendant said something about pasta and beef but I can’t be sure if I heard her right.

I can’t believe I actually fell asleep during the landing. I think this proves how much better the quality of the flights has become because my ears usually can’t stand the pressure.  When it was time to pick up my luggage, I was thankful that I had put a label on it because I seriously didn’t recognize my black suitcase. My other piece of luggage, which my dad had suggested that I should hand carry but didn’t, had been left at the Hong Kong airport and is due to arrive in Kunming at 6pm. Nice. To make matters worse, I was pretty much mute during the entire process. Why? I couldn’t really speak Mandarin and they couldn’t really speak English. I think I will stick to English for the rest of the trip. I mean, I understood what they said…it’s just that I didn’t know how to reply. I have an hour until I need to be back to pick up my luggage but I don’t know my way back since it’s a one-way only terminal. How am I supposed to claim the bag now? Did I mention that bag contains all of my clothes for the trip? I seriously need that bag back! Guess what? I will make sure that I carry that bag onto the flight with me this time around. I cannot afford to wear the same set of clothes for all 9 days.

When I got out of the customs area, people surrounded me asking me whether I wanted to rent a taxi. I got so freaked out but I had to keep walking. The airport was very different from what I imagined. It’s cleaner, less crowded and a lot smaller! I didn’t know where I was supposed to stay for 5 hours; luckily I found a café with a nice view of the take off zone. The short buildings that are not that far away from the airport keep reminding me that China sure is different from Hong Kong.

So how did I spend the last two and a half hours? I ordered a pineapple sorbet at the café and watched the first two episodes of this Taiwanese drama called “I Do”. I still haven’t figured out the plot because I had to keep repeating parts of it since I missed a lot of their dialogue. What should I do now? Read another chapter my non-fiction novel? Watch another episode of I Do? Explore the airport to find the counter for my next flight? Order another drink? Buy souvenirs?

*Looks out window, sees plane landing* Wow…

 

July 14, 2010--Morning

The other Climate Champions are on their way to Dali from Kunming. They will arrive at approximately 1pm and I can’t wait to see them! They’re taking a coach that will take about 5 hours whereas if they took a plane, it would have taken them a little under 2 hours from Kunming to the place we’re staying at. But hey, the carbon emissions for a plane are much higher than a bus!

Back to last night: after I left the café, I wandered around the airport and then guess what? I got bored (typical Emily) so I went back to the arrival hall but it was overcrowded with people so I slipped into a “tea bar”. I had to order another drink so I decided on a rose tea but again, it was a disappointing drink that cost RMB$32 which means I spent almost RMB$80 just on drinks at the airport! I stayed there for a while and then decided to check if my luggage arrived yet. Nope, it hadn’t. The plane wasn’t even in Kunming yet. So much for six o’ clock. It was almost 7 when the conveyor belt started moving. There it is! It came back a bit dirtier and the handle broke but it’s mine! After doing a brief examination of the bag I found that nothing was missing except for the zipper. Luckily, the contents inside didn’t explode because that would just be plain embarrassing.

I went back to the Departure counters figuring that it would be best if I checked in got rid of my luggage. Shortly after completing that task, I found Cathy and her family! We had dinner at one of the restaurants at guess where…the AIRPORT! I must have spent around 7 hours there by then and it’s the longest I’ve spent at ANY airport so that’s a record! Dinner was absolutely delicious with local dishes like boiled fish in a Chinese-style chilli stew, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, stir-fried vermicelli with cabbage and served on a piece of fried egg. Okay fine, it doesn’t sound very local but you’ve got to admit it does sound tasty!

When I went through the security check, the lady kept accusing me of carrying a knife because the metal detector kept beeping when it came in contact with the buttons on my shorts. She eventually figured out that those were the “knives” she was talking about and I was let off the hook. Phew! In the hour that was left before the plane took off, I finished my book. So what will I do now? I’ve finished my only source of entertainment that does not require my laptop. Oh no! I still have the trip back where I will again be stuck at the airport for 6 hours.

I was asleep for most of the flight to Dali except the landing but I kept dozing off when the plane was descending. The passenger sitting next to me was, coincidentally, from Hong Kong as well. However, I did not speak a single word to him so how did I figure that out? I’m not going to tell you.  I was relieved that I had left the Kunming airport but only to arrive at another airport. It was a good thing that we didn’t stay there long; we were on a taxi in no time.

Arriving at the school that we’re staying at, I got to my room and fell into a deep sleep in the comfy bed. I woke up only to find out that the breakfast is served until 9 and it was already 8:50! Dang!

July 14, 2010 –Evening

After almost a year since I saw them, our group of YAs or the new name for the campers, Climate Champions, has finally reunited! Everyone was so excited and happy to see each other again. Not much happened today except for two somewhat significant events like…going to a Wal-Mart for the first time in over 3 years! Isn’t that exciting? The sign outside said Wal-Mart Supercenter but inside, it didn’t remind me of the store that I remember at all! Perhaps, it has asianized too much that it has lost its style so it can fit the Chinese market. I wonder if all 91 of the Wal-Marts across China are like that as well.

Other than buying snacks for the tea breaks, I also got the chance to visit the wind farm in Dali which is owned by a Hong Kong and state-owned Mainland China company joint-venture. Does that even make any sense? It doesn’t but whatever. Most of the talk was in Mandarin so I didn’t understand what it was about but I did pick up some key points. The wind farm gets sixty cents RMB for every kilowatt they produce and in approximately 10 years time, the cost of building the turbines. The construction of the entire plant consisting of sixty turbines was about half a billion RMB. I think that was all I got from the experience. What a waste of time.

The room I stayed at last night was only for one night so now I’m at one of the student dormitories. The contrast between the two is very big because last night’s was a staff’s dorm so it was much nicer than the students’. Bunk beds aren’t the problem; it’s the facts that the toilets can’t flush and the washroom IS the shower tray.

I’m going to bed now. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

So those were the first two days of my trip :D
Not very useful but it sounded okay...didn't it?

Anyways, need to sleep now; I've got to get my Return China Card renewed tmr morning.
Peace,
Emzz