12/15/13

     I woke up very early in the morning. Why? A friend of my friend came to Hawaii for about half a month, and we needed to pick her up at the airport. Maybe it is not a big deal for most of people because they have a car. They can just drive on the highway and straight to the airport. Unfortunately, we don't know how to drive. In addition, our friends who have a driver license and a car have to work. Therefore, we could only take the bus to the airport. It was a very long ride, which almost spent 1 hour... On the way to home, the weather got terrible! Heavy rain, shiny lightning, and loud thunder! We didn't bring any umbrellas. We took a chartered a taxi rather than took a bus to home because we didn't want to get wet, so did the baggage. The taxi driver wad nice and dropped us off just in front of my friend's living apartment. However, when we opened the taxi door, we were shocked. The road was full of water. I mean...the whole street was like a big fish tank or a pool. Actually, I love rainy day because it is cool and refreshing. However, Hawaii's rainy days make me crazy! The roads always remain inundated with water due to slow drainage, including today. Pedestrians always get wet when they walking on the street because of the slow drainage, especially when there are vehicles passing them. This is just what I experienced today :( I hope the drainage system can be improved in the future.

12/08/13

     Time have passed so fast and it is almost the end of the semester. All the final projects, papers, presentations, and exams are upon me or quickly approaching. Unfortunately, I am have a bad cold right now. I have coughed for more than a week. Sometimes, I have a sore throat and a bad headache. Sigh..I think it is the time to test my time management because I need to take a good rest to recover soon and finish all the finals before the deadline at the same time. Umm..how's everything going right now? So far so good. I still have two final papers, one presentation, and one final exam. However, I am having a big challenge on the final papers because I have no ideas what I should write. I am not really good at brainstorming. Anyway, just keep going!

Jigokudani Yaenkoen (Snow Monkey Park)

     For this week, let's take a look on how Japanese macaques spend their winter.

     Jigokudani Yaenkoen, nicknamed Jigokudani Monkey Park, is located in the Valley of Yokoyu River sourced from Shigakogen of the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park in Yamanouchi, Shimotakai District, Nagano prefecture, Japan. The name "Jigokudani" means "Hell's Valley" because of the steep cliffs, the steam and bubbles coming off the springs, and the cold and gloomy forest. The heavy snowfalls make this place buried in snow almost one third of the year. Under this severe environment, however, it is a paradise for the Japanese macaques to live in. The Japanese macaque is a monkey species native to northern Japan. It is also known as snow monkey because its body is always covered by snow in winter. They have brown-gray fur, a red face, hands and bottoms, and a short tail. During the cold winter, snow monkeys enjoy bathing in the hot spring winter to stay warm. They play and take a leisurely onsen (hot spring). These snow monkeys attract a big amount of visitors every year. Visitors watch them bathing and playing, however, these snow monkeys basically just ignore them and continue enjoying their hot spring.

This snow monkey really enjoys the hot spring! ^^

Bathing

Playing

Palm Jumeirah

     Palm Jumeirah is located in Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is created by using land reclamation, and it is one of three planned islands called the Palm Islands. The Palm Jumeirah is the smallest and the original of three Palm Islands. It looks like a palm tree and it is comprised of a two kilometer long trunk, a crown made up of 17 fronds and a surrounding crescent island that forms an 11 kilometers long breakwater. The Palm Jumeirah was launched in 2001 and done around 2006. In October, 2007, the Palm Jumeirah has become the world's largest man-made island. On this island, there are themed hotels, villas, apartment buildings, beaches, marinas, restaurants, and all kinds of retail outlets. This place is really amazing!

BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!

     This week was just a nightmare to me. >_< I was much much much busier comparing to last week because by the end of this week, I have to finish five essays from my three classes. Most of the essays must be at least 3 page long. I had to manage my time wisely and perfectly so that I could get all these things done on time. By the way, the essays really killed me because I'm not good at brainstorming. I always had to spend so much time on thinking what I'm going to write about and what information I should put in each essay. Additionally, I needed to spend more time than any other people on writing because English is not my first language and I have substantial amount grammar errors in my essays. For example, if someone can finish a 3 page in one hour, I think I need to take two or more hours to finish it. As a result, I stayed up late every day during this week and tried to finish all of them as soon as possible. There were also another assignments, such as online quiz that covered three chapters and workbook from Korean class. Fortunately, I finished all the work on Saturday night, and finally I could rest on Sunday! I went out with my family for this whole Sunday. We went eating and shopping. It was just so relaxing and enjoyable! It's  been so long since I spent the weekend with all my family members because of their working schedule. BUSY BUT HAPPY! :)

Busy Week

     I was kind of stressed out and tired in this busy week. I had one lesson exam and 1 vocab quiz for my Korean class. I was worried about the lesson exam because it was different to other exams I took before. It covered information from two lessons. Therefore, I needed to memorize all the grammar and words from these two lessons. It really took me a long time to memorize them because I forgot most of the stuff what I learned from the previous lesson. For the newest lesson I learned, I still had no clue what's going on because it was too new, and I needed time to absorb all the knowledge. One thing made me frustrated was that some grammar points were very similar, so I kept reviewing the PPT slides, textbooks, and worksheets. For one of my online class, I just finished the midterm paper final draft last week, but the final paper is coming. Therefore, I started writing my final paper proposal. Also, I started working on the academic article assignment...This week seems busy, but I think the following weeks are going to be much busier because finals are coming. Good luck! -_-

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

     I am a panda lover, so this week, I'm going to introduce a lovely place to you--Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (short Chengdu Panda Base) is a non-profit organization engaged in wildlife research, captive breeding, conservation education, and international educational tourism. It is located in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Chengdu Panda Base was founded in 1987, with 6 giant pandas that were rescued from the wild. By 2011, Chengdu's captive population has increased to 108 individuals. This place covers an area of almost 200 hectares. Red pandas, golden monkeys, and other rare animals also live and breed here. I have been there once, and I will visit there again when I go back to China next time. The giant pandas and the red pandas are very adorable!

Panda cubs

Pandas are playing

Two panda cubs and a panda breeder

Red panda

Potato Chip Rock on Mt. Woodson Trail, Poway, San Diego County, California

     I have always seen many pictures of people standing on the edge of a rock that looks like it will break at any moment on Instagram. People called this rock “Potato Chip Rock”. The hike to potato chip rock is located in the city of Poway right near Lake Poway. The trailhead starts from Lake Poway Recreation Area, just right near the restrooms. Potato chip rock is at the end of the Mount Woodson Trail, about 4 miles uphill. It takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to the summit and see potato chip rock. As you can see in the pictures, the rock is a large thin slab that hangs over the main boulder. It looks like it will break at any moment, but it can hold a lot of weight. There are also a lot of people jumping on the rock for their memorable photos. If you are a crazy hiking lover, you should hit this trail. (TIPS: bring plenty of water, wear a hat and sunscreen, dress appropriately, and leave early in the morning!)

The fog on Lake Poway

People jumping on potato chip rock

Doing a handstand

ALL PICTURES ARE FROM GOOGLE

Venice

An aerial view of Venice

   I have heard a lot about Venice, but still not have a chance to visit this city. Venice, a city of beauty, charm, and romance, is located in northeastern Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. This city is renowned for its architecture and art works. Venice is a magical place as it is one of the few cities in the world where the sound of cars are never heard. Imagining that sitting in a small boat on the river and enjoying the sight of the characteristic buildings on both sides. Don't you feel relaxed or peaceful? Moreover, I want to experience the Carnival of Venice, an annual festival held in Venice. Everyone dresses in elaborate costumes and wears various, colorful marks. They dance and make reunions in San Marco Square, and the city becomes even more energetic and enchanting. I hope I can visit this city soon!

A lady wearing elaborate costume and distinctive mask.

Venice at night
I really love this picture!

Old Town of Lijiang

     Old Town of Lijiang (also called Dayan Old Town), a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Lijiang City, Yunnan, China, with its beautiful culture of Naxi people, unique old wooden houses along the canals, and picturesque gardens. This old town has two faces. In daytime, especially in the early morning, it is plain, neat and quietly elegant. Along the street is full of interesting handicraft shops and old styled tea houses. After sunset, this Old Town becomes gorgeous, pretty and lively as it is brightly lit with red lanterns and spotlights. Along the street is full of clubs and bars, and music, either from pub singers or music player, either traditional or modern, either soft or loud. Old Town of Lijiang is a place for you to stay away the stressful life in the modern city and relax your mood.

Early morning in Old Town

Old Town with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain as background

Wisps of smoke rising continuously from a house in Old Town

Old Town at late night

Old Town at night