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...

Stanley Market: Now and Then

Four years ago when I traveled to China with People to People, my delegation was scheduled to spend 2 or 3 days in Hong Kong. Due to a lovely typhoon though, we had less than 24 hours, and of those 24 hours, we had to sleep and leave China for good. So we only got to see Victoria Peak and Stanley Market.

Last Saturday, I went back to Stanley Market with Kat and Lex. We took the MTR to Causeway Bay and then hopped on a minibus to get to Stanley. When we first arrived, I was taken aback. The first thing I said was “Wow. They’ve definitely done some reconstruction since 2006.” Of course, this was before I noticed that I was not in the same area of Stanley when I arrived in 2006.

We strolled along a promenade before choosing a little seafood place for lunch, where we all feasted on fish and chips. And then we made our way to the market. And I realized I was where I was when I came in 2006 when I saw the Haagen Dazs ice cream store where I stopped for ice cream with a few friends from my delegation.

Stanley Market in 2006:

Stanley Market in 2010:

Lex, Kat and I strolled along the little shops, purchased a few gifts and goodies. This market sells a lot of different ‘souvenir’ type items. Unlike Ladies’ Market, which focuses around clothing’s and purses, Stanley has a lot of tourist things- like the “I Love HK” shirt I brought back in 2006, or pictures/names with Chinese calligraphy. And Stanley wasn’t too crazy. Although the main aisle was small, we weren’t breathing down each other’s neck.

It was great to actually explore and walk around Stanley; there were many Westerners so in addition to reminding me of my experience with People to People, I was reminded of home. J

Farewell Reception and the Weather

Last Monday night, OMIP hosted a Farwell Reception for all Inbound Exchange students. It provided a good opportunity to see a lot of the local and other international students once more before going our separate ways (even though I still have two weeks left). I am surprised at how many international students I don’t see. The first few weeks, I saw these kids multiple times a day, and now I’m lucky if I see them once every two weeks. School makes our lives so complicated.

A few students shared pictures and videos as well as speeches about their time here at Lingnan. It was great to hear other students’ experiences.

Lex, Kat and I at the Farewell Reception

In addition, OMIP does this cool thing called “Gold Books.” Each school it has a partnership with has a book and exchange students are encouraged to share their experiences and comments in the book. So Anna, Tim and I all shared our experiences and placed them in HWS’ Gold Book.

It’s been cooling down here, but by cooling down, I mean it’s still 70 degrees, but to the local students, and many internationals, it’s freezing. And okay, today it was around 60 and I was a little cold, but still, it’s NOTHING compared to winter in Geneva. So at the reception, I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and the Vice President of Academic Affairs (?) comes over and starts talking with us. He was taken aback by the fact that I was in shorts still, and asked where I was from. “Boston” I replied. He just laughed.

Just today (Wednesday, December 8) I have seen so many winter coats. It’s ridiculous. I seriously wonder what the exchange students think when they come to HWS. 

End of Classes!

Today was my final day of classes, here at Lingnan! Sure, I still have 2 papers to write, 2 exams to take, a project and a take home exam to do, but I don't have to go listen to any lecture or participate in tutorials any more! And I am completely done with one of my five classes (we had our final exam last night during our usual class time)!

It's now crunch time but I am trying not to procrastinate (let's see how this works out for me) so I can enjoy my final days here.

Yay!

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.

3 Month Mark

So I’m a little late, but I’ve passed the 3-month mark and have less than 4 weeks left here in Hong Kong! How time flies!

Classes end this week and then come finals! I have 3 exams (one is actually this week, on the last day of class) and then one on the 9^th and one on the 13^th; a paper due the 6^th and another due the 16^th and then about 5 days to enjoy Hong Kong some more and pack. {I’m actually not worried about fitting everything in my suitcase. I am pretty sure I will have plenty of room since I don’t have 4 months of pump supplies to pack.}

I’m excited to go home. I’ve definitely enjoyed my time abroad but 4 months is the perfect length to be away.

It’s still warm here, weather wise. It’s been in the 70s for the most part; therefore, I am still in shorts and t-shirts. It will be such a dramatic change when I land in JFK on December 22 (which reminds me—Mom, you should probably bring a jacket for me since I’m pretty sure my light sweater won’t do any good!). The sudden temperature change will be crazy but I’m starting to miss wearing winter clothes.

I’m starting to get sick of rice. I never really loved white rice. At home, whenever my mom made rice with dinner she always had to make two kinds- white rice for my sisters and rice pilaf for my dad and I. I’ve always found white rice to be rather plain and dry and being here has just confirmed that. So whenever I get white rice here (which, as I am sure you expect is at most meals) I always try and combine it with some sort of sauce or main dish just to add some flavor to it. It’s been working but it’s getting kind of old. But I have discovered the art of cooking a potato in the microwave. I forgot how much I loved baked potatoes.

3 months in and I still don’t know how to walk in public though. Literally, I have no idea which side is the correct side to walk in. But it’s okay, because I don’t think the locals do either or it’s not a big deal to them because they just walk all over the place. And I am still struggling with the language barrier. There’s this one lady at the canteen who doesn’t understand English. So when she sees me in line, she usually asks the student ahead of me to wait and translate for her. It’s great and I always laugh it off. But the language situation in the classroom has drastically improved and for the better. It’s been nice being able to have discussion with the local students (even though discussions are more like Q and A’s rather than discussions).

The list that I created while driving to NYC in August, of things I wanted to see and do while in Hong Kong is slowly dwindling- just about 7 things left! But I’ve scheduled time/days for all of them. Things left to do include, but are not limited to: Macau (next weekend), Tea at the Peninsula Hotel (sometime during Finals), the Peak at night (again, during Finals), Happy Valley Horseracing (some Wednesday night?) and the Wetland Park.

AHHH! Only 25 more days! But that means I’ve been here for over 100 days already! I don’t know which is harder for me to believe- that I only have 25 days left or that I’ve been here for 102 days?

Gold Coast and Cheung Chau Island

Last Friday night I went to Gold Coast with Lex, Anna G., Anna S., and Kat. Just a bus ride away on the K51, Gold Coast is a little seaside residence with a variety of restaurants and shops. We wandered around for a bit before deciding on a Thai/Indian restaurant for dinner. I ordered a huge bowl of veggies; it was delicious. I had been craving veggies for a while and this hit the spot.

 Anna S. and I at dinner

After dinner, we roamed around- we explored the Gold Coast hotel and then ended up walking along the beach for a while. It was so nice to hear the waves rolling in and out; it seems like it’s been forever since I’ve heard that. We also came across a BBQ pit area, where there was a bunch of people gathered around various fire pits cooking dinner.

 Gold Coast Hotel

On Saturday, Lex and I decided to explore Cheung Chau Island, located just off of Hong Kong Island. We grabbed breakfast at the canteen before heading out to the Central Pier, where we took a boat over to Cheung Chau. 

When we arrived at Cheung Chau, I was reminded of Lamma Island- lots of bikes and seafood, but Cheung Chau had its own personality. We roamed around the island (it’s only a square mile in size) for a while and got lost numerous times. We found Pak Tai Temple early on, and had our heart set on finding and exploring Cheung Po Tsai Cave but it was impossible for us to find. In the meantime though, we walked the ‘Mini Great Wall’ and got to see spectacular views of both Cheung Chau and the surrounding water. We walked along numerous beaches as well as seafood restaurants and shops. The seafood was similar to Lamma Island, in that it was all open-air/open market.

 Pak Tai Temple

 Part of the 'Mini Great Wall'

While we were walking around we kept seeing people eating this stick of fruit. It looked delicious and we went on a mission to find it and luckily we did. Although the fruit was frozen, it took a little bit of time for it to defrost, but it was delicious and held us over until we grabbed some Mexican food in Soho later on.