Argentine Tango Night @ U

I don't know what prompted me to go to the Argentine Tango Night @ U, even when Danielle Sheremeta is not going with me. I don't know anything about tango other than doing the front and back walking while giggling hysterically with Dani and that was it, seriously.

It was a last minute decision as I contemplated dinner or dancing (I just came back from World Market), and settled on the latter. Well, I'm glad I did!

I enjoyed myself a lot and learned some new moves. For example, the 8-step for beginners. I'm weird with people but at least I tried, ok.

Thanks to Chris for the lesson, and Sergey and Brian for being excellent lead(er)s. And to everyone who danced with me, I'm sorry about my sweaty palms. It happens whenever I'm nervous. frown emoticon I feel so bad about it but I can't avoid it.

Carpe Lotion this is why I really, really hope you can perform miracles on me. Fingers crossed and prayers to God. I'll be buying your product in batches if it works, I promise!

Thanks to Global UGRAD Malaysia Global UGRAD 2015-2016 for giving me the chance to explore so many new possibilities in life!

‪#‎UGradExperience‬ ‪#‎Tango‬ ‪#‎WannaDanceWithMe‬?

First-time Skiing

 My friend Junfu won two tickets to Snowbird Center, and he generously offered me one of them. So the week after I came back from New York, we made plans to go skiing together. 

Entrance.

These pictures show the lounge area before you start skiing, and after you get tired and want to rest.

Coincidentally it was Easter's week, so they had someone dressed up in bunny mascot. Of course I won't miss the chance to take a photo with bunny.

The Chickadee Slope for beginners.

We went on the cable chairs to the top.

This is the only picture I have of Junfu. He doesn't really like taking photos. He has a few pictures of himself in his iPad though.

Finally found our place at the Mountain Kids. Basically the slope is a 10° angle which is perfect for absolute beginners. I fell around 3 times here, then it got easy and I could maneuver myself with a little effort.

After that my confidence level went up, and I decided to to challenge the Chickadee. Even though a Mexican guy was kind enough to teach me, I still fell at the bottom of the mountain where there is a steep slope on every attempt. I was scared to bump into people cos I didn't know how to control the speed, so I ended up falling on the snow to prevent collision.

Dani later told me that the Chickadee Slope is most certainly NOT for first-time skiers! No wonder I fell so many times there, cos it's not my level!

The skis will fall off if you have ice sheets at the bottom of your shoes.

Finally, before we went back, I got Junfu to help me take a photo with the sign. The clothes are loose for me because they belong to Dani. 

Cost breakdown:

Entrance tickets: $85 (free cos I got the lucky draw ticket from Junfu)

Ski rental: $35 (I paid only $23 cos Dani loaned me her clothes, helmet and gloves)

Bus round trip: $9 (remember to prepare exact amount, no change provided)

_____________________________________________

Subtotal: $129

(-) Discount: $97

(+) Add Extra: $1 (failure to give exact bus fare)

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Total paid: $33

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U of U Student Evaluation

Recently, U of U asked me to fill in the course + professor evaluation, and I realized a big difference between U of U and UM. From the above picture, you see that the ratings are actually made available to students to help them choose classes for the next semesters, which is very helpful. In UM, what happens to course evaluations is that they get sent to lecturers and that's the end of the story. But U of U has such openness and transparency that they divulge the ratings to students as well. Here's an example: 

 When you click on feedback, it directs you to this page.

You can see clearly the ratings that past students gave to the course and the professor, which helps you in making your decision whether or not to sign up for this course. UM should make this change as well, and it's not for criticizing any particular courses or lecturers, but simply to make it easier for students to decide whether the course is suitable for him/her.

By the way, I love this class - it's so fun and relaxing, and I get to learn something new! I had considered for quite a bit before signing up for this class because I'm not sure if I'm guitar material with my short stubby fingers, but thank heavens I did! This is one of the most enjoyable classes in my UGrad days! Prof Todd is always so kind and encouraging, he made the classes interesting even when we were playing open strings. He used to play in bands when he was younger, but now he's settled in Utah and teaches beginner and intermediate classic guitar classes.

Highlights of Las Vegas Trip

This post is a guide/summary of the fun places that you should consider visiting in your trip to Las Vegas. 

Places:

A wonderful pic with the Las Vegas sign! I walked 30 minutes from NYNY just for this.

A picture with the Egyptian statute of Luxor.

The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens which is located indoors close to the hotel lobby was nothing short of amazing! This season's theme still reflects the CNY mood in February as the decorations are styled to mimic the elements of Chinese culture.

A realistic depiction of monkeys going after the peaches of immortality, which symbolizes longevity.

An artistic display of the word fu, which means "fortune".

Selfie with the sea-horses, whatever that is.

After I helped these girls take their pictures, they suddenly asked if I want to join them for a pic, and I was like sure! So here it is, us in front of the Caesars Palace.

While you're at Caesars Palace, don't forget to check out the Fall of Atlantis moving statues show activated at the top of each hour starting at 11AM. You can feel the heat from the real flames emerging from beneath the statue.

Flamingo Hotel and Casino's Wildlife Habitat. I expected a larger size, but there were only a few types of animals, including the flamingo and mandarin ducks.

Food: 

1. BLVD Creamery

 

Tasted the salted caramel custard with shaved dark chocolate toppings from BLVD Creamery. It's tastes alright, but definitely not a favourite. At $4.59 after tax it's slightly expensive. But as usual, 1 scoop in American terms = 2 scoops in Malaysia, so it wasn't too bad.

2. Earl of Sandwich 

Sandwiches/Wraps are $7.56 after tax. The first time I went I got the most popular one - The Earl's Club, and on the receipt it said that if you filled in the online survey, on your next visit you're gonna get a free drink and a free small bag of chips. Guess what I did? Right, I filled in the survey! Cos I expected myself to return to try the Chicken Chipotle Avocado Sandwich, the second most popular. With the free drink and chips, $7.56 is a pretty good deal for a meal on the Las Vegas strip. 

3. Shake Shack 

I posted this earlier on Instagram, because Shake Shack has the best burger ever. The bun is especially fragrant and tasty because they fried the insides with butter. The ham was unlike any normal patty, it just tasted better and I couldn't tell why, because I usually don't like to eat burgers. I decided to visit Shake Shack because of the rave reviews I read online. The vanilla custard is the bomb. Best custard I've ever tasted, the taste is so unique, you can literally taste real vanilla. I'm planning to try out other flavors when I visit New York later.

At $9.60, this is a good deal for the tasty food.

Traveler tips:

• Make sure to find the best deals if you want to visit the performances/museum/aquarium by purchasing tickets from halfpricetix. Their booth is just beside the Paris hot-air balloon/Eiffel tower building. 
• Make good use of coupons from the booklets you receive, like 15% off Coca Cola store, 20% off M&M's etc
• If you have a friend who's a Nevada resident, get them to help you pay at Hershey's World for 15% discount.
• For food, if you want to save more, fill in the surveys available on the receipts so that you can get a discount/free extras the next time you place an order. If you're really on a tight budget, go for McDonalds/Earl of Sandwich, as they are relatively cheaper. 
• For drinking water, get Dasani mineral water 500ml 2 for $1 at the gift shops one block before MGM, if your hotel does not have any water dispenser like NYNY. 
• Overall, 2 days is more than enough to explore the Las Vegas Strip, and I wouldn't recommend you to stay any longer, because it'll just be a waste of money and time.

Natural History Museum

The view from outside. 

It's located after the Red Butte Garden (which is not open at this time). 

You have to hike up a small trail to reach there if you're walking.

Main entrance.

Buy your tickets here.

Price chart.

It's free for all current U of U students! Hooray!

 Amazing tribal display at the entrance.

Collection of precious gems.

More gems!

Amethyst are usually naturally hexagon-shaped. Never knew that.

A stone that intrigued me because it looks so furry!

The pink gem is so pretty! 

More gems!

Shining stones! 会发光的石头！

Shining stones again!

One day archaeologist.

Our ancestors!

Beautiful aztec-like pattern on ancient stuff.

Ancient pottery art.

This is actually rather intricate.

 

This is surprisingly so cute! Like a modern day cartoon character.

A general view of artifacts.

Rock gets recycled! 原来所谓的海枯石烂是真的！

Stone cycle.

 The evolution of rocks.

Walking through the passage of time.

Say hi to tyranno!

Faker. 

  

Selfie with the dino.

Woolly mammoth!

  

Dinos!

All sorts of dead animals.

Mooooooo

我的好朋友。

大白狼让我想起桐华的大漠谣。

This might creep out some people.

Artsy wall display.

 

The sunset today is beautiful.

My loot of the day.

Even though from the pictures it seems like a lot, but I only managed to cover Level 2 exhibits because I went in late. To better plan your trip to the NHM, please refer to the following:

Address:　　301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108
Hours:           Every day 10am-5pm except Wednesday 10am-9pm

I recommend at least 2 hours to go through all the levels.