What I Ate...Beijing Style

Egg tarts with mango on top= happiness

Buns!!!

Tofu with chili!!!

Spicy food at a restaurant with a lady who LOVES foreigners, especially Melissa.

So McDonalds has a new product out called black/white burger. The black burger is a squid ink bun, 2 patties, bacon, mash potatoes, lettuce, and truffle sauce. A deluxe burger at McDonald's? Let's just say my mind was perplexed. 

The Babies of Beijing

As any of my HK friends can tell you, I am obsessed with Asian babies.

I think they are one of the cutest things in the world.

And even though there are lots of adorable Asian children in Hong Kong, whenever I go to Mainland, I am beside myself with all the cute babies there.

So I used my stealthiness to snap some pictures of some of these adorable small children.

The little prince is unhappy. :(

Jammin' out to an accordion.

Those cheeks!!

Check out those tights!

And that hat!!

Are you feeling Asian baby hungry now?

Good.

Why Everyone Needs to Go to Beijing

Yes, the pollution is disgusting. Yes, people are going to rip you off. Yes, children will go to the bathroom anywhere and everywhere.

But despite that, Beijing is a place that everyone needs to visit.

Why?

1. The Sights

The sights of Beijing make the trip totally worth it. The morning of my first day in Beijing, all I wanted to do was rush back to safe, little Hong Kong. I had already been ripped off twice. The hotel/hostel room we had reeked of smoke. The pollution was absolutely terrible.

But once I stepped into the Forbidden City, I was overtaken by the magic that only Beijing can provide. It was a dream come true.

In Beijing, you have access to all of those famous Chinese sights like the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Bird's Nest, and access to multiple parts of the Great Wall. Places that will leave you in awe with their grandiosity.

2. The Food

Courtesy of Melissa Woodbury

Beijing is the capital of China and therefore, you have access to the many Chinese cuisines. And real chinese food is SOOOO good. I wanted to smack all the tourists who whined about how different real Chinese was from (American/French/Spanish/insert country here) Chinese food. Duh it's different! And better! You just have to know what to get.

Even if you just eat street food (what we did), Beijing has delicious choices that will make your tummy happy. May I recommend buns and dumplings. You can't go wrong with those. But if you want to try more adventurous things, I suggest trying Sichuan food or getting dim sum (yin cha in Mandarin).

3. A look into the Communist regime

In America, we are taught to have a certain opinion about China, especially its government. But I believe it's important to see and experience it for yourself and develop your own opinion.

I had a great time in Beijing and I know I'll be coming back.

1 Week Left

After my first week in Hong Kong, I was walking to the cafeteria on campus thinking to myself, "Well, 16 more weeks to go." And that seemed like forever away.

But now, school is over and I have one week left in Asia.

And it's made me pretty sentimental.

For the past four days, I've been tearing up randomly. It started in Beijing on the bus to the Great Wall. We were passing through streets of chaos as Beijingers made their way to work and I was overwhelmed with the magic of Asia and, yeah, got a little teary-eyed. And since then, I've been a little bit of a sappy mess.

But truth is, I love Asia. I always knew I would like Asia, but it has been great to see my love confirmed.

Asia is so different from what I knew before coming here. There's a different set of rules that can make a Westerner uncomfortable. I mean, pedestrians don't have the right of way? There's TWO words for thank you in Cantonese? But if you stick with it long enough, Asia has plenty of rewards in store.

But anyway, I am being way sentimental and I really need to get off campus and take advantage of my last week in Asia.

So I'll get back to you later.

What I Ate

Nothing like getting a whole chicken for 1 HKD. Too bad it was cold chicken (one my least favorite things in the world) and there was that bird flu scare.

Some Portuguese curry that Anisha had in Tung Chung.

Fancy Ramen!!

Asian cole slaw.

Hot pot, the best idea for a meal in the whole world!!

The fish that cost us 1 HKD. SOOOO cheap!!

Fish skins....my favorite?

BFFs- Best Friends Forever

This is a post dedicated to my bestie, Jiff.

Before she dyed her hair, cut it short, and got contacts.

I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. And we are lead to those who help us most to grow if we let them and we help them in return.

                                                                                  Glinda, Wicked

Who would have thought that the crazy hippie girl I was so worried about living with freshman year would turn out to be my best friend?

For three years we have been laughing, crying, eating, chatting, playing, and making our way through the craziness of college life. We've supported each other through boyfriends, heartbreaks, life decisions, finals, and roomie drama. We've dragged each other to parties, dances, dates, midnight premieres, and Arizona. We slowly started melding into each other. I started saying "y'all". She started eating more "exotic" foods. We both have watched The Phantom of the Opera too many times.

Basically, it has been one heck of a good time.

And now, the next chapter is beginning. Jiff goes into the MTC Wednesday to serve an 18-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She is going to the Sao Paulo East Mission. And I couldn't be more excited for her. I always wanted her to have an international experience and now she's getting one. A big one. And she is going to be a great missionary.

But I'll miss her. That's for sure. BYU will be a different place without her.

So ciao meu amiga!! God be with you until we meet again!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I am one of those people who believe that things happen for a reason.

And Stephanie Fay Toller being my mom is no exception.

I am so grateful that my mom also happens to be my best friend. I mean, how cool is that? We can talk about anything and everything. We spontaneously go for McDonald's ice cream cones and talk for hours in the parking lot. We throw random dance parties. We have mommy-daughter cuddles.

It's pretty great, our own version of Gilmore Girls (except she wasn't a teen mom, the opposite really, and I don't go to Yale). But basically, yeah, we're the Arizona Mormon version of Lorelai and Rory.

So I would just love to express my gratitude to my wonderful mother whom I have so much fun with. Thanks for having patience with me and knowing what to say when I feel down. I'm thankful for your guidance. I'm grateful for the moments we have and I am so excited to see you in the flesh in a few short weeks.

I love you!!

(PS But, can you please stop buying me clothes? haha)

(PSS My life is so hard. Haha!)

5 Best Photos of My Trip to Thailand

I was just posing for a picture when, all of a sudden, the water show began and basically, I freaked out. Props to Agnes for capturing this special moment.

When I first saw this lady, I actually thought for a second that there was a real headless body walking ahead of me. Luckily, my common sense kicked in and I realized she did, indeed, have a head. But this picture still cracks me up every time I look at it.

Probably the most epic jumping picture I've ever taken.

Just one of those moments when your camera does everything right and you come out with a beautiful, National Geographic style picture.

My pure, unedited emotion about riding barebacked on an elephant. I was so afraid I was going to fall off and get trampled by the elephant. But after the initial 30 seconds of terror, I actually got to enjoy the awesomeness of riding an elephant. Straight up the best part of my trip.

The Island Life

Fruit shakes. Beaches. Clubbing. Snorkeling. White Sand. Sunburn. Thai. 7-11. Sea urchins.

Buried in the sand. Colorful Rooms. Ferries. Filippino band. Seafood. Banana boat. 

Night swims. Delicious fruit. Giant swing. Laundry. Fire dancers. Noodles.

Piers. Russians. Health clinics. Thai soap operas. Icecream. 

Green truck taxis. National park. Koh Samed.

Thai chocolate boy toys.

The island life.

The School Side of My Study Abroad

My blog mostly showcases my adventures of my study abroad. Vacations. Animal Encounters. Culture. Food. But my blog doesn't really touch the "real" purpose of my study abroad--to study. And since I'm hoping that someday this blog will inspire someone to take the plunge and go on a study abroad (maybe even to HKUST! Do it!!) I thought I would write a post about all the learning I've been doing at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

My Classes

Strategic Brand Management- Definitely my favorite class that I'm taking at HKUST for 3 reasons. 1) Attractive professor--it really makes a difference. 2) They don't offer this class at BYU and since brand management is something I'm interested in doing as a career, I really enjoy not having to wait until Grad school to learn about it. 3) I'm actually growing. I love classes that allow me to grow as a person or a business person (in this case). The class is pretty difficult. But I have seen my critical thinking skills get better as the semester goes on.

Mandarin for Non-Chinese Background Students- The class that tries to teach me Mandarin. It's a very interactive class with lots of group activities. My laoshi (teacher) is a really nice lady who has an adorable small child whom I get to see sometimes at random HKUST events.

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Studies- Another class that pushes me to my limits, but I'm learning a lot. The whole class is learning the life cycle of a venture from idea conception to IPO (Initial Public Offering). Plus, there are no midterms or final exam. Student do have to write a business plan, which is a hefty assignment. I really enjoy the guest speakers from top ventures in Hong Kong.

Consumer Behavior- My least favorite class. The professor just lectures at us for an hour and a half in a soft voice that puts me to sleep. But despite the struggle to pay attention in class, I am surprisingly learning a lot. In Thailand, I saw consumer behavior terms in practice as I watched my fellow travelers make decisions on what to buy.

HKUST vs BYU

A question I get from a lot of students at HKUST and from home is "How does HKUST compare to BYU?" One of the nice things about UST is the smaller class size. It's nice not to have a class with 800 other students. Therefore, it is easier to participate and participation is expected. Participation plays an important role in your grade at UST. It's not enough to just come to class.

As for work load, UST is very similar to upper level classes in the Marriott School, lots of group projects and case studies. And I felt about the same amount of stress that I feel at BYU.

I do think that tests are harder at UST than BYU. They are very memorization heavy, rather than application heavy. I had to revert to studying techniques I haven't used since high school like Cornell notes.

So that's a little bit about the academic side of my study abroad.