Finnish invasion

Some Chinese game going on in Mong Kok

I promised to Nina that the next time I'm writing on my blog it will be in English again - so Nina, this one is for you :---)

Life has been good in Hong Kong, many wonderful things have happened since last time I posted. We had a Christmas party at our student halls, which was quite nice, I didn't expect to get any Christmas spirit at all in here but in the end the mashed potatoes, herring in a mustard sauce, salmon rolls & ginger bread actually made me feel at least a bit christmassy. We were just hanging out, enjoying red wine, we even had a (plastic) Christmas tree, got some live music from a few cool local students, and started watching Love actually around two in the morning (such a great movie! Makes me happy every time!). To be honest I really missed home and wished I could have spent Christmas in Finland, but you know, you can never have it all. Of course I am lucky to have the chance to be here and stay in Asia for such a long time, so no reason to complain here. Just thinking of the smell of the (real) Christmas tree in my parents' living room, staying up late watching TV, overdosing ham, and the fact that my family was enjoying these things on the other side of the world without me - well, I guess it's understandable it made me a bit wistful.

This is what our Christmas party looked like in t he beginning of the evening.

A gigantic Christmas teddy bear. I thought it was a bit scary?

Symphony of Lights on Victoria Harbor, on the 26th of December

So after surviving from Christmas, the Finnish invasion started. First Aino came to Hong Kong for a few days, since she is traveling in Asia for some weeks, and on Thursday I went to the airport to welcome Inka and Jenny to Asia. It's cool to have someone to show Hong Kong to during my last week here, it also makes me see things I haven't paid any attention to in a long time anymore and then again making me remember again how it felt to be here in the very beginning. Also I am happy to notice that I have seen quite many places and sides of Hong Kong. I stopped carrying map with me already in October, and noticed that Hong Kong Island and Kowloon are extremely easy to get around as soon as you get even the slightest idea of them. A few tips for future exchange students: use the buses more than MTR and walk around. The distances are surprisingly short.

Just another market stall in Mong Kok.

Some beautiful Chinese lotions & tiger balms & medicine

A random man taking a nap in front of a temple.

Our student halls around five in the morning.

Jenny & Inka finally here :)

The most famous sightseeing spot in Hong Kong: Victoria Peak. Most of the people go there even if they spend
only a few days in Hong Kong, but I went there for the first time the last week of my exchange :'D

Awesome Finnish people on top of Hong Kong.

Asian sunsets...

Walking in Victoria Park and enjoying the space around us.

Milk / bubble teas

Hong Kong has been much colder lately than I ever expected it to be. There's no point in buying a bunch of warm clothes now that I'm heading to the Philippines so soon, so I'm just suffering with my very thin jacket for a while. Today it was also windy and probably less than +10 degrees during the day... And if I ever say anything about the weather being too cold, I get all these "But you're from Finland! You can't feel cold here!" phrases from other people :D

Tomorrow I'm planning on packing my stuff ready to go and celebrating the year 2013 in Hong Kong style. Can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

Sometimes it's hard to understand the point in it all.