Suddenly I don't feel so bad...

VERY HOT WEATHER WARNING

VERY HOT WEATHER WARNING

THE VERY HOT WEATHER WARNING IS NOW IN FORCE.

THE HONG KONG OBSERVATORY IS FORECASTING VERY HOT WEATHER
IN HONG KONG TODAY. THE RISK OF HEATSTROKE IS HIGH.

WHEN ENGAGED IN OUTDOOR WORK OR ACTIVITIES, DO DRINK PLENTY
OF WATER AND AVOID OVER EXERTION. IF NOT FEELING WELL, TAKE
A REST IN THE SHADE OR COOLER PLACE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

THE HONG KONG OBSERVATORY ADVISES THAT PROLONGED EXPOSURE
UNDER SUNLIGHT IS TO BE AVOIDED. LOOSE CLOTHING, SUITABLE
HATS AND UV-ABSORBING SUNGLASSES CAN REDUCE THE CHANCE OF
SUNBURN BY SOLAR ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION.

SWIMMERS AND THOSE TAKING PART IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES SHOULD
USE A SUNSCREEN LOTION OF SPF 15 OR ABOVE, AND SHOULD
RE-APPLY IT FREQUENTLY.

Ha. Suddenly I don't feel so bad about having turned on the a/c this afternoon and falling asleep. Go siesta! I just checked the weather, and not only is there a hot weather warning (it's 5pm and there's still a humidex of 47 degrees), but there's also the Typhoon Warning Signal No. 1 has been hoisted. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to catch a wind drift and fly back to Canada. :)

Not much tomorrow. My ant problem is slightly less urgent. I bought ant traps, but now the stupid insects crawl OVER the traps rather than INTO them. I was wondering why this was, and my friend Alyssa concluded that I've been invaded not by regular ants... But by smart ones. 3 years of university education, and that's the best we can come up with. :)

I had my first semi-interesting course today. My chinese history in the field prof actually taught us something today, which was a nice change. However, you can tell that Hong Kong students don't pay as much tuition as exchange students... We had to wait for nearly 45 minutes while they got the computer to work so he could use his powerpoint slides. In the 45 minute downtime, he just sat at the front of the room and let us chat/sleep/grumble. In North America, they'd have written on the whiteboard or just gone on without the slides. I don't know how much material we missed covering, but the entire situation seemed kinda silly.

Not much else has happened today. I was pretty tired in class due to not getting a good sleep. I had nightmares about not being able to communicate with the people here - things kept happening but I didn't know what was going on and no one could explain. I tossed and turned then finally got up around 6:30am. It was strange, because this is the second night in a row I've had nightmares. (The first night I dreamt that ants were crawling over me, and I kept waking up.) I hope this isn't becoming a trend. :P

I managed to do my laundry. (I finally know how to work Washing Machine #4!) Then I crashed for a bit. I'm thinking of going to the Island tonight to check out a salsa dance studio for lessons, but I'm still feeling pretty tired, and don't feel like trying to find it right now. (More the latter than the former.) Maybe I'll go Monday, when the intermediate class is going on.

Last night was the Shaw welcoming dinner for all international, returning exchange, and mainland students. We were randomly placed at tables so we'd get to meet new people, and there was a head honcho at each table. Bad/Good luck placed me right beside the head of Shaw College, Professor P.C. Ching. He was very pleasant and used to live in Canada for awhile. He had also just returned from a courtesy call with Bill Gates. Cool man. The food was good, with the exception being dessert - they served that damnable sweet green pea soup again. I hate that stuff.

Oh, and I learned a bit about the Taiwanese way of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival! According to Pei-chin, they always eat Pomelos (a kind of big grapefruit type thing - we have them in Canada). She didn't get to eat one like normal, so she bought one. And, for fun, you're supposed to cut the skin off the pomelo very carefully and then put it on a little kids head. We didn't have a little kid, so Pei-chin demonstrated. :)

I'm sure other exciting things have occurred, but I can't remember them right now. I guess you'll just miss out. :)