Week Two - Cultural

My first two weeks in Hong Kong have been extremely eventful and I have been given many opportunties to experience the Chinese culture. This week I had the opportunity to visit some of the more remote parts of Hong Kong, away from all the highrise buildings and noise of the city, and into the beautiful countryside.
While I am away in Hong Kong I have vowed to try as many new and interesting things as possible, in order to fully experience the traditional culture of Hong Kong.
I have had the opportunity this week to try new foods for the first time such as sushi (even though it's Japanese!), dim sum (cantonese for a range of small individual portions of food) and a traditional cantonese dessert called tangyuan. I haven't tried the chicken feet yet but I'm here for five months so I've got plenty of time for that! Or so I keep telling everybody anyway! For me one of the biggest challenges so far has been getting used to the food in a such a different culture. However, as I try new traditional dishes I am starting to find some favourites! Some of my friends from halls took me out for dinner last Thursday evening and introduced me to a spicy noodle restaurant in Tai Po market, which was an instant hit and one which I will definately be returning to!

The ride on the crystal cable car

On Friday I visited Lantau Island with Michael, Rachel and our friend Ines from Austria. Lantau Island is the biggest island in Hong Kong and is famous for being the home of the biggest, outside standing, bronze Buddha in the world. We had to take the 'crystal cabin' cable car to the top of the mountain in order to visit the Buddha. Rachel insisted that we splash out and go for the crystal cabin as it had a glass floor, allowing us to look down at the ground below as we travelled over the mountain.

The Buddha

The Buddha is certainly an extremely impressive tourist attraction and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to climb the 268 steps to the top to witness this amazing statue. However, the Buddha holds much greater value for the people of Hong Kong as many regard it as a major centre for Buddhism in Hong Kong. I also had the opportunity to visit the Po Lin Monastery, which is located not far from the Buddha. Many people were burning incense and praying, indicating just how important in a cultural sense these sites are for the people here in Hong Kong. The Monastery was decorated with traditional Chinese art such as paintings of dragons and statues of chinese warriors.

The Po Lin Monastery

Traditional chinese soldier guarding the Buddha

People burning incense

On Sunday, Michael, Rachel and I went to a church in Hong Kong Island called Ambassadors International Church. We heard about the church from one of the girls from Stranmillis who had been away last year and had attended the church during her time in Hong Kong. The people were all extremely welcoming and hospitable, and we even meet some people from the promised land of Ballymena! After the service we were very kindly invited to go for a meal with the young people from the church. It was a great opportunity to meet new people from many different countries of the world, and to experience some more traditional chinese food.

Week One - Personal

Jawaharial Nerhu once said “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” On the 17th January I boarded a plane for Hong Kong, realising that I was about to embark on one of the most significant and memorable experiences of my life. I was naturally a little apprehensive about moving away from home for such a long time, but life is about going outside your "comfort zone", experiencing the adventures the world has to offer and taking great opportunities, such as this when they present themselves. I have been blessed in the past with the opportunity to travel to many different countries such as South Africa, India and America through a wide range of organisations. However, Hong Kong will allow me to experience a different culture and way of life, and will enable me to develop both as a person and in preparing for my future profession.

In my first week in Hong Kong I have done so much and travelled so far! I arrived on Tuesday evening in Hong Kong at around 6.00pm and we were greeted at the airport by Rachel's buddy Jenny Zeng, who helped us find our way to the Hong Kong Institue of Education. The drive took around an hour and throughout the journey I got my first real look at just how different Hong Kong is to anywhere I have ever visited before. The highrise buildings and impressive skyline, coupled with the ranging mountains and open sea surrounding the city, make Hong Kong both a beautiful and cosmopolita city. I was welcomed into halls by my roommate, Michael, who prefers me to use his nickname Sushi (I haven't told him mine yet!). He is from Hong Kong and is extremely good at speaking English which was a relief to me, as my Cantonese is a little rusty!! On the first night I arrived I attended a Cantonese survival course, however I think it is going to take more than a couple of sessions learning Cantonese to help me get by!

One thing which has stood out for me so far is how friendly and welcoming all the people of Hong Kong have been, especially those in our halls. I have been invited on numerous occasions to go for meals this incoming week and I have attended both a wii night and a football tournament where I was made to feel fully involved. It has also been great to spend time getting to know the other international students. Most of them have been here since before the new year, so they have had a little more experience of Hong Kong and more time to get to know one another. Despite this I have been welcomed into the group and I had the opportunity to get to know some of them better during our tour of Hong Kong on Sunday. We visited the Hong Kong History Museum, the Avenue of Stars and caught the star ferry around the main attractions of Hong Kong. I also watched the symphony of lights on Sunday evening which involves all the main buildings in the city lighting up to music. It was very impressive and worth seeing.

I also travelled to Macau on Saturday evening with a friend from Stranmillis, Simon Duff. It was Simon's birthday and he wanted to celebrate in style by jumping off the biggest bungy jump in the world! Im not the best with heights so I decided to skip the bungy and just watch as the other boys threw themselves from a height of 322 metres! It was great to meet up with Simon and he was able to share a lot of his knowledge of Hong Kong with us and the amazing experiences he has had during his time teaching here.
All in all my first week has been amazing and I look forward to what the coming weeks have to offer in this fascinating city.
Allen McCluggage