Departure

In 12 hours, I’ll be flying back to America. Eekk! I’m excited. My bags are just about packed, minus the last minute things, my ticket is printed, and my alarm is set for 4am (don’t worry- I have 3 alarms set- I will not sleep through them!). I think I’m ready.

When I booked my flight back in June, Orbitz told me my trip was 127 days and 128 nights. When I thought of it in those terms, day and night, it didn’t seem like a long time; 4 months seemed longer. And now, I can’t decide whether or not it seems like I just got here, or if I’ve been here forever. Looking back, I’ve done a lot. Thankfully I kept this blog because otherwise I am sure I wouldn’t remember half of my experiences. I completed everything that was on my “Things to Do in Hong Kong” list; I traveled to Thailand, Vietnam and Macau; explored as much of Hong Kong as possible and took 5 classes! I am very happy with my semester abroad; I was challenged and pushed outside of my comfort zone; I’ve learned to appreciate America more than ever before, but I’ve also gained a respect and understanding not only of Hong Kong but of many other South Asian countries. I’ve tried so many different types of food and have learned how to cook various dishes in a microwave.

 My List

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I started making a list of things that I would be ‘Taking’ from Hong Kong and ‘Leaving’ in Hong Kong. To share a few (it’s been much easier to decide what I’m leaving rather than taking, but that’s not really important as I am sure ‘Taking’ list will grow once I’m back in America)…

I will be taking my chopstick skills, a greater appreciation for the American education system (the Hong Kong education system is a completely different story- basically only a certain amount of students can continue on after a certain point, and each year that number gets smaller and smaller)

I will be leaving the shower technique (you go to the shower fully dressed, leave the flip flops outside the shower, strip inside the shower stall, hang your clothes over this bar or in a bag, shower, put clothes back on. At the beginning of the semester I just about died from heat stroke doing this, so to avoid this, I timed my showers so my roommate wouldn’t be in the room); the discussion procedures (class discussions are more of a Q&A session rather than ‘discussion’ and the local students rarely talk, so there wasn’t a lot of communication within the classes), and the acceptability of spitting/burping/nose picking in public (it’s just nasty. I’m sorry. I’ve been on the MTR and see people picking their nose with their fingers, no tissues, or people hacking up mucus on the street. Not my cup of tea). I will also be leaving the bugs. Literally, the bugs here have attacked me. Anytime I’m outside, I get about 4 new bug bits. My calves are covered in bug bites.

The bathroom and showers

There are many things though that I wish I could take: the MTR system (literally, it can get you anywhere in Hong Kong; it’s so easy, accessible and cheap. I will surely miss it.), the money (sure, the exchange rate was great, but the smallest bill they use is $10, they have a $1, $2, and $5 coin, as well as $0.10, $0.20 and $0.50 coin. Things only cost $7.90 or $8.00, not $7.99 or $7.49, it’s so much easier to deal with money without having to worry about those little cents). I wish I could take some of the food back (dim sum, this green bean and minced meat meal, the fruit desert I wrote about earlier, all so delicious and can’t be found in the States). The final thing I wish I could take is the cleanliness of Hong Kong (I am pretty sure the cleaning people collect the trash on our floor at least 4 times a day; everyday, there is a lady sweeping the leaves off the path to our hostel; the elevator and escalator handrails are disinfected at least 4 times a day. It’s crazy, but it’s so clean).

Packing...

It’s been a great semester and I am thankful for every moment over the past 4 months.

Also, I'll leave you with a comparision of the weather here in HK, Hull and Geneva...

I am going to freeze.

The Peak at Night

Monday night was Anna, Lex and Tim’s last night in Hong Kong so we, along with Ryan and YoYo decided to check out the Peak at night and grab dinner in SoHo. We left campus a little before 5 and took the MTR to Hong Kong station, where we grabbed a bus that took us to the Peak. Unfortunately, we got stuck in rush hour traffic and it took a good hour for the bus to get to the top, but it was a fun experience. 

 When we finally got to the top, we got a little lost, since the bus dropped us off in a different location, and we ended up getting separated from Tim, Ryan and YoYo. Anna, Lex and I finally made it into the Peak Terrace, where all the shops are and wandered around for a while. We stuck around to check out the light show at 8pm, but we were on the wrong side of Victoria Harbor to actually see it. So we headed to SoHo for dinner. We grabbed dinner at Jasper’s, a restaurant that had a variety of dishes- from Italian and Mexican! 

We then headed back to campus, and reminisced on our past semester. Once we got back to campus, we said our good-byes, since Anna and Lex both left Tuesday morning (it is now Tuesday night, Hong Kong time).

The Beginning of the End: Temple Street

Saturday night, I joined Lex, Anna, Kat and Kat’s mom for dinner at Temple Street. Temple Street is famous for its night market, so we decided to grab dinner before strolling through the market. While Ladies Market in Mongkok is mainly for women, as it’s mostly clothes, scarves, etc., Temple Street is the “men’s Market” and focuses on electronics, cds, videogames etc. It had a few vendors selling souvenirs and t-shirts, but not nearly as many as Mongkok. The market at Temple Street opens around 4pm and stays open until around midnight; we were there between 7 and 10pm and it wasn’t too busy, which was nice- there was actually room to walk around! 

 The entrance to Temple Street

We grabbed dinner at a restaurant on a side street. At these types of restaurants, patrons eat outside at small tables and on little stools. We shared a few dishes- sweet and sour shrimp, broccoli, some sort of noodles and veggie spring rolls. It was delicious! I will definitely miss the classic Cantonese/street food!

 Kat, Anna, Lex and I at dinner! (Lex's photo!)

We said goodbye to Kat before heading back to campus, since she was staying with her Mom and heading to India on Tuesday we wouldn’t see her again before leaving for the States. Although it was sad, we all know that since we all live relatively close this wasn’t the last time we’d see each other. We’re already planning a reunion in the future!

Walking Around Yuen Long

After taking a quick trip to an organization in Yuen Long earlier this semester for one of my classes, I’ve always wanted to go back and wander around. It seemed like such an interesting place, filled with people and activity. So Sunday afternoon, when I had nothing to do, I decided to take a stroll around Yuen Long.

This is what I found:

 

A few  fruit vendor.

Multiple meat vendors. Yep, the meat is hanging and customers just point to the piece they want and the seller puts it in a plastic bag and continues with the sale.

A bakery.

And I didn't take any pictures, but there were SO MANY people. And I was the only Westerner I saw, so of course everybody was staring at me since I stuck out like a sore thumb. Oh well. I'm glad I had the chance to go back and explore Yuen Long on my own.

Hong Kong Wetland Park

Saturday, Lex, Anna, Tim, YoYo and I explored the Hong Kong Wetland Park, just outside of Tin Shui Wai. A short ride away on the Light Rail, the Wetland Park was one of those places that is surrounded by skyscrapers but inside, it’s a completely different world. 

The Wetland is a popular sport for bird watching, and we were able to see a variety of birds. Signs told us that there were Herons in the area, but I didn’t see any. :-(

If you look really close you can see a little white bird in the middle

The Wetland Park had numerous paths that weaved in and out of different areas and habitats, allowing us to see quiet a variety of things.

We met a girl from St. Olaf’s College who is currently studying abroad- she’s on a five month program that started off in Geneva, Switzerland, continued on to Cairo, Turkey, India, Hong Kong, and will finish with Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul! We all enjoyed talking with her and exchanged our perspectives as well as various ins and outs of Hong Kong.

Dim Sum and Other Yummy Foods

The first weekend I was here at Lingnan, I had dim sum, but I didn’t know/didn’t really understand the whole concept of it. I just remember about 15 dishes being served throughout the entire time we were sitting at the table. I didn’t know what I was eating, even though the local students tried to explain the dishes; it was just an odd experience, probably because I wasn’t able to actually ‘participate’/order.

I’m not really sure how to describe it, but dim sum is a meal, usually served at breakfast or lunch, where you choose a bunch of different dishes and share with your table. Apparently at some restaurants, they wheel the dishes around on a trolley and you pick and choose what you want to eat.

In the past two/three weeks though, I’ve had it twice and have loved it.

Lingnan has a restaurant above the school’s Canteen that offers dim sum every day for lunch. A few weeks ago, Anna, Lex, Kat and I joined Jessie, an OMIP staff worker for dim sum/lunch. Jessie is a local and was very helpful throughout the entire meal as she was able to easily communicate with the wait staff.  Anna, Kat, Lex and I went back last week for a final dim sum; we ran into a few problems, communication wise, but everything worked out fine.

The meal starts off with the table getting two tea pots- one full of tea, the other with water, and a large empty bowl. You then proceed to wash/rinse all of your dishes because the Chinese don’t trust the restaurants. You pour the dirty water into the empty bowl, which is then removed from the table. At the school’s restaurant, they have paper menus on the table, where you choose your dishes and mark how many you want; then somebody takes away your menu/order and you wait for your food to arrive.

{In the United States, everybody’s meal is served at the same time. Drinks appetizers are served first, followed by everybody’s meal. In Hong Kong though, and especially at dim sum, the dishes are brought out whenever they are done. I’ve been out with large groups and somebody is usually done with their meal by the time the last person gets their meal.}

Both times we had dim sum, we tried a variety of dishes, but I only have pictures from our last meal. Dumplings, rice, noodles, veggies, water chestnut cake (?) and a variety of sauces.

Shrimp Dumplings

Shanghai Dumplings- pork and some spicy things...

Vegetable dumplings; you can also see some fried rice in the background

Water Chestnut cake. It's much better than it sounds, but I have no idea how to explain it...

Veggies.

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Last week, Lex and I also tried this popular desert place. It’s all over Hong Kong, and people rave about it, but neither of us had tried it, so we wanted to give it a go. I have no idea how to describe what I got- basically fruit mixed with aloe balls, ice cream. But they also specialize in various fruit drinks and other things. I think the pictures I took show a little more…

Coconut ice cream surrounded by cantaloupe, strawberries, watermelon, honeydew and kiwi, all 'floating' in aloe balls.

Aloe Balls...

Tai O

Yesterday, Lex and I went on an adventure to a little fishing village on Lantau Island called Tai O. I had heard about Tai O from a fellow Heron who spent a semester here last year. She said it was best to go later in the afternoon, around sunset, so that’s what we did. We grabbed a quick lunch by school and then started the 2-hour journey to Tai O; an hour on the MTR and then another hour on a bus. It wasn’t too bad, but it made for a long day. The bus ride went up/around/down/all over the mountains on Lantau; the roads are extremely small and the bus was a coach bus so the ride was a bit bumpy and crazy. It was quite the experience.

We arrived in Tai O around 4pm and spent our time wandering around the village. Tai O is famous for its stilt houses because the villagers don’t feel safe on the ground. We passed numerous shops selling dried fish; one even had a huge dried shark!

Various people were offering 20-minute boat tours, which brought you around the houses and then out into the open water to look for the famous pink dolphins in the surrounding area, so Lex and I decided to go on one. We went at the perfect time as well because the sun was just starting to set so I got some nice shots of the sunset. 

After the boat ride, we wandered around some more before it got dark and then headed back to campus.

Halong Bay

Sunday morning, we were off for a 2 day/1 night tour of Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Located 3 hours outside of Hanoi, we spent our days exploring the waters and a cave, kayaking, swimming, playing cards and relaxing in the sun. (It reminded me of Antarctica so much. Swap the cold and white for blue/green and sun and you have Halong Bay)
I'm going to let my pictures do the talking...

Our boat

Black and White

We explored a cave

Not a great picture, but it's the only one I have of us jumping off the boat into the water.

l

We got back to Hanoi late Monday afternoon. We grabbed a quick dinner and then met Tess for ice cream before heading to the airport. We left for Ho Chi Minh around 10pm and got there around midnight, slept in the airport and then left HCMC around 7am and arrived back in HK around 10. It was a long day, but worth it. :-)

We even found comfy massage chairs in the airport to sleep in!