Yes it's that absolutely, mind-blowing time when I have less than a day left in Shanghai. Currently my three roommates are finishing packing, gossiping, and listening to jams. I couldn't be happier even though it will be one of the last times I get to do this.
Since the last time I checked in, I've taken five exams, celebrated one birthday, and had multiple long-nights making memories that I will never forget. Rhett took me to M on the Bund and Char Bar for my birthday, both with breathtakingly beautiful views of this city. I'm going to cling to these last few days when I go back but I cannot deny that I am ready to see beautiful Malibu and all of my wonderful friends.
In one of my first blog posts on KPK I wondered about how the world would shape us all. Thankfully, nearly nine months later, I am still in contact with all of them and can already see the maturity this year has formed. Even more exciting are the days, months, and years to come. I have no doubt that all of our experiences will enrich our lives in this time to come.
So thank you to everyone who has kept up with me. I have been a world away but I have never felt alone or forgotten. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything and everyone who has invested in me during this time has been an integral part of this. So, until I get to thank you all in person...
love,
kpk
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Beijing
Our last travel weekend was such a beautiful way to end our time in China. We saw some of the most iconic symbols of this country and reminisced what a difference 8 months can make! We officially have 10 days left before we fly back to the states and I honestly can't wrap my mind around it. The end of an era but a wonderful learning experience. From this blog to driving around on my moped, I have been stretched very far out of my comfort zone but I am beginning to feel the pride that has come with these experiences. Though I will never be able to fully articulate what this time has meant to me or how thankful I am, but I hope to be an ambassador for our program and for China when we get back.
A big thank you to my parents for making this time possible and for the program directors for being such wonderful hosts in Shanghai! I promise to write again before the end of our 10 days, but I am already feeling a little weepy about leaving so I wanted to start my goodbyes now! Enough sappiness - here are the pictures from Beijing!
love,
kpk
The Birds Nest
- Beijing Olympics Summer 2008 -
The Temple of Heaven
- Used by emperors in Ancient China to pray for good harvest and to spare the people from natural disaster -
Close-Up of the Temple
- Beautiful even on an typical, overcast Beijing day -
Tiananmen Square
- City square in the centre of Beijing, named after the Tiananmen gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace), separating it from the Forbidden City -
Inside the Forbidden City
- Young girls dressed up in traditional outfits posing for pictures -
Forbidden City (and Rammie!)
- In the entrance gate recently restored for the 2008 Olympics -
Chinese Patriotism on the Great Wall
- Entered from Jinshanling, approximately two hours outside of downtown Beijing -
Beverages on the Great Wall
- It was a beautiful day for our hour and a half hike along the wall -
Summer Palace
- Built when the capital was moved to Beijing in the 1100's -
Da Dong Duck
- The most famous restaurant for Peking Duck, it was cooked in the center of the restaurant and carved beside your table!-
Lama Temple
- A unique stop that is famous monastery for Tibetan Buddhism -
Hutong Lake
- A beautiful lake surrounded by restaurants hidden behind alleys of the old Beijing hutongs -
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798 Art District
- An area devoted to fun artwork and shops, we spent a couple hours roaming around galleries -
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Guilt
There are many types of guilt and right now I am feeling a lot of them.
First off, Blog guilt: it has been a month!!! Where has the time gone!? You have a better guess than me. I practically blinked and all the fun events I was anticipating just soared by. My parents stopped in, I went on a field trip to Vietnam, and then here I am. In so many ways I am thankful for this, but I also wonder when the clock is ever going to slow down a little. It is hard to believe that I will be putting the final chapter on my second year of college when I still feel like I should anxiously be awaiting acceptance letters in the mail. I have grown in so many ways these past two years and I cannot even begin to share the overwhelming joy that that fact brings me. Two years ago I would have laughed in the face of anyone who said this is what my life would be like. But it is. And I am in utter bliss.
Second, Vietnam guilt. As many of you know, we just returned from our Educational Field trip to Vietnam. This five day trip was fully of laughs, new experiences, and fun, but also was sobering when we became more familiar with the war we fought there. Because this conflict has distinctly shaped the current culture of Vietnam, it was unavoidable and frankly, extremely important for us as Americans to grasp the amount of damage each side imposed on one another. It was more than hard to sit through but I am very thankful for the opportunity to understand a little bit more about it. I needed a little extra reading material since I didn't take AP US History, and perhaps some of you do, too. So here is a good link to give you some background on the "American War" as the Vietnamese call it: http://www.historynet.com/vietnam-war, http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war.
Third, health guilt. For the first time this semester I have actually gotten sick. Yes, the laying in bed all day, not wanting solid food sick and it SUCKS. But silver lining? This is my body's way of telling me to tap the breaks. I have 19 days left in Shanghai. That terrifies me and I have been pushing that fact to the back of my mind. I feel renewed over these past few days as my health has been gradually improving, than I am capable of starting out a new adventure next year. It may seem simple to plop back on a beach in Malibu and take classes but in reality it is so much more than that. I hope that the same sense of pride and community is still there, and though I am confident it is, I look forward into seeing how abroad has shaped my spot in this community. But for now, I'm just cherishing my 19 days.
These are my "confessions" for now. Blessings to everyone celebrating the Easter season!
love,
kpk
PS. Happy Birthday to the most beautiful Mother! On April 2nd, the world became a better place because of you! I love you to the moon and back a million times!
First off, Blog guilt: it has been a month!!! Where has the time gone!? You have a better guess than me. I practically blinked and all the fun events I was anticipating just soared by. My parents stopped in, I went on a field trip to Vietnam, and then here I am. In so many ways I am thankful for this, but I also wonder when the clock is ever going to slow down a little. It is hard to believe that I will be putting the final chapter on my second year of college when I still feel like I should anxiously be awaiting acceptance letters in the mail. I have grown in so many ways these past two years and I cannot even begin to share the overwhelming joy that that fact brings me. Two years ago I would have laughed in the face of anyone who said this is what my life would be like. But it is. And I am in utter bliss.
Second, Vietnam guilt. As many of you know, we just returned from our Educational Field trip to Vietnam. This five day trip was fully of laughs, new experiences, and fun, but also was sobering when we became more familiar with the war we fought there. Because this conflict has distinctly shaped the current culture of Vietnam, it was unavoidable and frankly, extremely important for us as Americans to grasp the amount of damage each side imposed on one another. It was more than hard to sit through but I am very thankful for the opportunity to understand a little bit more about it. I needed a little extra reading material since I didn't take AP US History, and perhaps some of you do, too. So here is a good link to give you some background on the "American War" as the Vietnamese call it: http://www.historynet.com/vietnam-war, http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war.
Third, health guilt. For the first time this semester I have actually gotten sick. Yes, the laying in bed all day, not wanting solid food sick and it SUCKS. But silver lining? This is my body's way of telling me to tap the breaks. I have 19 days left in Shanghai. That terrifies me and I have been pushing that fact to the back of my mind. I feel renewed over these past few days as my health has been gradually improving, than I am capable of starting out a new adventure next year. It may seem simple to plop back on a beach in Malibu and take classes but in reality it is so much more than that. I hope that the same sense of pride and community is still there, and though I am confident it is, I look forward into seeing how abroad has shaped my spot in this community. But for now, I'm just cherishing my 19 days.
These are my "confessions" for now. Blessings to everyone celebrating the Easter season!
love,
kpk
PS. Happy Birthday to the most beautiful Mother! On April 2nd, the world became a better place because of you! I love you to the moon and back a million times!
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Singapore & Thailand!
Touched down in four countries in five days. And it was amazing!
February 20th: Taiwan -> Singapore
We arrived mid afternoon to a hot and humid Singapore. The air was crystal clear and we had a lot to see in not a lot of time. We ran to make an evening show of the Gardens by the Bay SuperTree Show. This is an area owned by the Marina Bay Sands hotel. The gardens are 50% botanical garden and 50% SuperTree - aka massive fake trees that have lights and walkways and restaurants - pretty sick right? We took one metro stop down to the Promenade where the Singapore Flyer is located. This is Singapore's version of the London Eye. It had amazing views and I would definitely recommend catching the latest ride at 10:15 with online tickets. We ended the night looping back to the original metro station passing the lantern festival going on the famous double helix bridge which, you guessed it, is inspired by DNA.
February 21st: Singapore -> Thailand
Our one year anniversary! Spent getting the most out of our last hours in Singapore and eating Pad Thai in our Phuket beachside resort. Tis the life of a college student, right? Just kidding. We literally ran around Singapore to see Little India, the Merlion Statue, Raffles Hotel, and the lookout deck of the Marina Bay Sands. All are shown below :) Getting to our Thailand hotel was a struggle but it did not disappoint!
February 22nd: Phuket (Patong Beach)
Beach day! I kept my word and we spent an entire day being beach bums and getting burnt to a crisp (literally). All we did was beach, pool, ping pong, pina colada, and kayak. To grab some food we went to a local night market but it was an overall relaxing day.
February 23rd/24th: Phuket -> Shanghai
A couple hours in the pool and then off to the airport! We had a super long layover so the rest of the day was spent in the Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur airports. We arrived in Shanghai early the 24th!
It was an absolutely incredible trip and I adored every minute. From Taiwan, Singapore, to Thailand - we saw so much and experienced so many different things. Thanks to everyone for reading and a thank you to my parents for allowing me to travel! And exciting news: Mamma and Papa Warne will be in Shanghai this week!!! Can't wait to share with them why I love Shanghai so much! More to come, but as always...
love,
kpk
February 20th: Taiwan -> Singapore
We arrived mid afternoon to a hot and humid Singapore. The air was crystal clear and we had a lot to see in not a lot of time. We ran to make an evening show of the Gardens by the Bay SuperTree Show. This is an area owned by the Marina Bay Sands hotel. The gardens are 50% botanical garden and 50% SuperTree - aka massive fake trees that have lights and walkways and restaurants - pretty sick right? We took one metro stop down to the Promenade where the Singapore Flyer is located. This is Singapore's version of the London Eye. It had amazing views and I would definitely recommend catching the latest ride at 10:15 with online tickets. We ended the night looping back to the original metro station passing the lantern festival going on the famous double helix bridge which, you guessed it, is inspired by DNA.
February 21st: Singapore -> Thailand
Our one year anniversary! Spent getting the most out of our last hours in Singapore and eating Pad Thai in our Phuket beachside resort. Tis the life of a college student, right? Just kidding. We literally ran around Singapore to see Little India, the Merlion Statue, Raffles Hotel, and the lookout deck of the Marina Bay Sands. All are shown below :) Getting to our Thailand hotel was a struggle but it did not disappoint!
February 22nd: Phuket (Patong Beach)
Beach day! I kept my word and we spent an entire day being beach bums and getting burnt to a crisp (literally). All we did was beach, pool, ping pong, pina colada, and kayak. To grab some food we went to a local night market but it was an overall relaxing day.
February 23rd/24th: Phuket -> Shanghai
A couple hours in the pool and then off to the airport! We had a super long layover so the rest of the day was spent in the Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur airports. We arrived in Shanghai early the 24th!
It was an absolutely incredible trip and I adored every minute. From Taiwan, Singapore, to Thailand - we saw so much and experienced so many different things. Thanks to everyone for reading and a thank you to my parents for allowing me to travel! And exciting news: Mamma and Papa Warne will be in Shanghai this week!!! Can't wait to share with them why I love Shanghai so much! More to come, but as always...
love,
kpk
Monday, February 16, 2015
Taiwan!
Hello everyone!
I'm updating you from our hotel in Taipei! Rhett and I agree, this is one of our favorite cities. In fact, we can't wait until the day that we can explore the whole island.
We arrived super late on Valentine's Day and took a bus into the city and then a cab to our hotel (which is by some GREAT shopping... a constant distraction for me). Next day we visited Longshan Temple, Taipei 101, and Elephant Mountain. We had an amazing view of the city as the lights came on - magical! Today we took a hop-on/hop-off tour bus along the entire northern coast of Taiwan. The full trip without stops is just under two hours and the highlights were the coastal beach cities and Yehliu Geopark (rock formations from sea erosion).
But... the granddaddy of Taipei that we have completely become addicted to? Night Markets. You can read all about them before you get here but there's really nothing that compares. Vendors upon vendors selling all types of food, goodies, and games. Everything is ordered chaos, another facet of Taipei we have come to admire! Everyone is so kind, smart, law-abiding, and patient. Refreshing! As for the night markets, we have decided to walk the entirety of the market (picking up food to eat as we walk) then decide on one game to play per night.
First stop was Shilin Night Market off Jiantan Station on the Red Line. We walked around for nearly two hours and tried their famous fried chicken, shaved ice, and bean bag game. Tonight we went two markets! First was Tamsui Old Street (off Tamsui station) where we bought some funky socks and ridiculously huge ice cream cones. Last, we went to Ningxia Night Market (Zhongshan station). This market specializes in food and our samplings included a noodle/omelette pork roll covered in eel sauce (my favorite), deep fried cheesy prawn, spicy grilled corn, and boba! But to be honest, we had the most fun playing a ping-pong ball game and we won an adorable little ram after the 2015 chinese new year of the ram coming up. His name is Rammie and he's awesome. We've started a new trend of taking pictures of "Rammie's firsts" (first metro ride, mcdonalds, etc). Look for more pics to come!
love,
kpk
I'm updating you from our hotel in Taipei! Rhett and I agree, this is one of our favorite cities. In fact, we can't wait until the day that we can explore the whole island.
We arrived super late on Valentine's Day and took a bus into the city and then a cab to our hotel (which is by some GREAT shopping... a constant distraction for me). Next day we visited Longshan Temple, Taipei 101, and Elephant Mountain. We had an amazing view of the city as the lights came on - magical! Today we took a hop-on/hop-off tour bus along the entire northern coast of Taiwan. The full trip without stops is just under two hours and the highlights were the coastal beach cities and Yehliu Geopark (rock formations from sea erosion).
But... the granddaddy of Taipei that we have completely become addicted to? Night Markets. You can read all about them before you get here but there's really nothing that compares. Vendors upon vendors selling all types of food, goodies, and games. Everything is ordered chaos, another facet of Taipei we have come to admire! Everyone is so kind, smart, law-abiding, and patient. Refreshing! As for the night markets, we have decided to walk the entirety of the market (picking up food to eat as we walk) then decide on one game to play per night.
First stop was Shilin Night Market off Jiantan Station on the Red Line. We walked around for nearly two hours and tried their famous fried chicken, shaved ice, and bean bag game. Tonight we went two markets! First was Tamsui Old Street (off Tamsui station) where we bought some funky socks and ridiculously huge ice cream cones. Last, we went to Ningxia Night Market (Zhongshan station). This market specializes in food and our samplings included a noodle/omelette pork roll covered in eel sauce (my favorite), deep fried cheesy prawn, spicy grilled corn, and boba! But to be honest, we had the most fun playing a ping-pong ball game and we won an adorable little ram after the 2015 chinese new year of the ram coming up. His name is Rammie and he's awesome. We've started a new trend of taking pictures of "Rammie's firsts" (first metro ride, mcdonalds, etc). Look for more pics to come!
love,
kpk
1. The cone of all cones
2. The most famous rock: Queen's Head
3. Today's goodies!
4. Famous fried chicken that was actually bigger than my head
5. First street food in taipei!
6. Taipei by day
7. Taipei by night!
8. Shaved ice - like tasting a cloud covered in sweets
9. Longshan temple - the decorations here are much more colorful and ornate
10. The Geopark
11. Festival decorations being set up for New Years!
12. Rammie!
13. The noodle egg thing.... Delicious!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Ice Ice Baby
na na na na na na na na.
Welcome to Harbin! The coldest place I have been ... EVER! Temperatures were in the negatives the entire time we were there but nothing too drastic (only 10 below)! It was a winter wonderland but only tolerable thanks to 3 layers of pants, 2 shirts, 2 jackets, 2 pairs of mittens, 2 pairs of socks, and handwarmers all over my body. Craziness. But, hey, you've got to do it. The Harbin ice festival is like nothing else in the world. Between the snow sculptures that can be seen by day and the ice sculptures that are lit up at night, there was always something exciting to see.
We started off our first day with a walk down the pedestrian street sampling street food (our favorites: hot coca-cola and cream popsicles, go figure), then walking across the frozen songhua river to reach the snow sculpture park. These are serious sculptures, too. Competitors come from around the world to carve their frozen masterpieces and past winners/famous sculptors create the park centerpieces. The largest display was easily the size of a football field! After regaining feeling in our toes and playing a couple hands of shanghai poker at a local cafe we ventured over to the main event of the festival: da bing jie (大冰界) literally translated as "big ice world." It was freezing at night but that is the best time to see it all lit up :) SO worth the entrance fee. We ran around like kids and did all of the touristy things: ice slides, lookout towers, corny pictures, holding an arctic fox, taking shots at the ice bar... it was a blast.
The next morning we woke up bright and early to go see the Siberian tiger park. We first held a baby tiger, then took a bus tour of their segregated "parks" which hold free-roaming tigers, and then walked around the young lion enclosure where we proceeded to see a few unique things... 1. A real-live liger (half tiger/half lion) 2. A pheasant clinging to dear life in a tree while being taunted by lurking tigers below and 3. We saw who's live chicken would last the longest out of the 4 we threw into the den. I would like to argue that mine lasted longer.... however, it never made it to the ground. It was quite the experience but I am happy to be back in Shanghai and not spending 30 minutes piling on layers every morning.
Here are pics from the trip! Talk to you all soon!
love,
kpk
Welcome to Harbin! The coldest place I have been ... EVER! Temperatures were in the negatives the entire time we were there but nothing too drastic (only 10 below)! It was a winter wonderland but only tolerable thanks to 3 layers of pants, 2 shirts, 2 jackets, 2 pairs of mittens, 2 pairs of socks, and handwarmers all over my body. Craziness. But, hey, you've got to do it. The Harbin ice festival is like nothing else in the world. Between the snow sculptures that can be seen by day and the ice sculptures that are lit up at night, there was always something exciting to see.
We started off our first day with a walk down the pedestrian street sampling street food (our favorites: hot coca-cola and cream popsicles, go figure), then walking across the frozen songhua river to reach the snow sculpture park. These are serious sculptures, too. Competitors come from around the world to carve their frozen masterpieces and past winners/famous sculptors create the park centerpieces. The largest display was easily the size of a football field! After regaining feeling in our toes and playing a couple hands of shanghai poker at a local cafe we ventured over to the main event of the festival: da bing jie (大冰界) literally translated as "big ice world." It was freezing at night but that is the best time to see it all lit up :) SO worth the entrance fee. We ran around like kids and did all of the touristy things: ice slides, lookout towers, corny pictures, holding an arctic fox, taking shots at the ice bar... it was a blast.
The next morning we woke up bright and early to go see the Siberian tiger park. We first held a baby tiger, then took a bus tour of their segregated "parks" which hold free-roaming tigers, and then walked around the young lion enclosure where we proceeded to see a few unique things... 1. A real-live liger (half tiger/half lion) 2. A pheasant clinging to dear life in a tree while being taunted by lurking tigers below and 3. We saw who's live chicken would last the longest out of the 4 we threw into the den. I would like to argue that mine lasted longer.... however, it never made it to the ground. It was quite the experience but I am happy to be back in Shanghai and not spending 30 minutes piling on layers every morning.
Here are pics from the trip! Talk to you all soon!
love,
kpk
Monday, January 19, 2015
Back at it!
Apologies for leaving my adoring fans for a month (just kidding). Seriously though, it's been a crazy month. Between my twin 24 hour travels I reconnected with my love of the south, friends, blue skies, my family, and the beach. And there was a perfect amount of time to have my sleep schedule readjust before screwing it all up again. But I have officially been in China 10 full days. The splendor of returning has worn off and I am back in the routine of sleep, mopeding everywhere, having zero privacy, and a million and one obligations. But I love it. I had some initial moping, but I have attributed it to weather adjustment. We were spoiled first semester with uncommonly low levels of smog and then winter break was life-saving in the air quality department. But it's worth it!! I can't explain the sensations that come with exploring this city. Or even realizing that all the things you used to point frantically at first semester you can now say with ease. Beyond cool.
Ok the mental tirade is over! Here's a look at some amazing things I've seen/eaten/experienced over the past 10 days that will hopefully excuse my virtual silence :)
1. Delicious Food! - Korean chicken and rice noodles, Chinese fresh squeezed juice, and the White-Chocolate Oreo Cronut from Woody Baker. So different but show the great diversity of foods in this amazing city that we love seeking out!
2. Starting off the Shanghai 33 for the spring semester with these awesome Indiana bros. Chris on the left and Gus on the right. Gus already did 17 of the 33 before the semester even started! But sorry about the Colts.... Moving on!
4. Momi Cafe (aka The Time Travel Cafe): purchase a postcard and address it to anyone, in any country, at any time. Seriously! The slots behind us are just dates for this year and the white boxes in the distance (over Rhett's shoulder) are for years in the future - going all the way up to 2026!
5. The 1933. Previously a slaughterhouse, this warehouse (and the blocks around it) have transformed in recent years to hold a variety of shops and art exhibits even though the true star is the architecture of the building itself! Awesome to walk through!
6. The Cool Docks - Right by the warf of the Bund, the cool docks are a series of small warehouses converted to high end shopping and retail. Cool to walk around, but we suggest walking a block north to Buba's Texas Barbecue. Never thought there would be BBQ as delicious as this in China!
7. The Avocado Lady - Crowded at all hours of the day, this little hole in the wall offers a variety of products westerners love but have been disappointed with when purchasing form other "foreign markets." And as you can probably guess from the name, her speciality is avocados.
8. Nanjing Lu Pedestrian Street - you could spend DAYS exploring each cafe, store, and restaurant tucked in the multilevel shopping complexes an hotels lining this street but I think the true value of this area is the people watching. Hard to explain, but my personal favorites were the endless crowds of locals dancing (with and without props) to all sorts of music! Adorable.
9 and 10. Buddhist Xiahai Temple and Tilanqiao Prison. Right around the corner from one another, these marvels of Chinese architecture greatly juxtapose each other as well as the sectors of society that they represent.
11. Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center - Behold! The entire city of Shanghai in miniatures! Crazy seeing your home fits into the massive puzzle that is a thriving metropolitan city. I could have stayed for hours pinpointing all the amazing facets that make up Shanghai.
11. Table-Tennis Class at Pepperdine Shanghai - this is their classroom! So jealous that I don't have enough units available to take the class, but this is where they get to battle it out. Pretty impressive isn't it? Apparently their professor is UNREAL. Can't wait to go watch!
12. Ye Garden - Surrounded by a lake perfect for skipping rocks, gazebos positioned for relaxation, and tunnels egging you to explore every little hideaway, I can see how wonderful it would be to be treated at a hospital that allows you to take a stroll in this tranquil, un-crowded garden. I would suggest a visit when the vegetation has grown out a little! Very nice stop!
until next time!
love,
kpk
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