International Festival

Last Wednesday, the international office of HKBU put on the international festival, where 9 groups of exchange students representing more than 11 countries hosted tents representing their countries.

Of course we couldn't let America be left out, so Izzy and I put together a booth to host for the night. We included several foods to taste, including cheddar Sun Chips, sour cream and onion Lays, as well as Jambalaya with shrimp and ham. The Jambalaya was a little hard to make. I had to improvise with several steps, like the whole dish was made in a wok and my measuring cup was a washed out coke can- still tasted as good as usual though!

No matter the steps to make it, the food was a hit!! Students and teachers were coming back for seconds and thirds, and many brought friends back to try the food as well! Part of what helped us, was that we were serving little testers, whereas many of the other booths were dishing out plate fulls of their dish, so they ran out of food within the first half hour while we had food till the very end!

Besides food, we also had a Prezi slideshow constantly running that featured beautiful pictures from across the US. Pictures included everything from the Texas State Fair, to Myrtle Beach, the Washington Monument, and Bush Gardens. I had a playlist made to go with the show that featured American Oldies like Queen, The Beach Boys, MC Hammers You Can't Touch This, Journey's Don't Stop Believing, Wagon Wheel and other favorites.

To get people involved at our tent we had a game they could play. They would draw a slip of paper out of a box that had one of the state names on it. They then had to match the name to the map of the US we had taped to the table. Attendants really loved this! Even other Americans  played (some did better than better than others). People typically knew immediately where states like Texas and California were, but most of the time people knew the general area, or were really off in their guesses. We didn't make it easy for them though! I had printed off the map of the US, and didn't realize that it didn't include Alaska or the Hawaii Islands, however, Izzy made the slips of paper and left those states in the mix, so several people pulled states that weren't even on the map! Oops!

Then, for further entertainment, there was also a fashion show where countries could wear the traditional outfits of their country. Most countries had these beautiful outfits with colors and embroidery and real significance to the country. However, America- represented by Chris, a boy from my school- paraded around in his cowboy boots and hat, plus jeans and a plaid shirt. The whole thing was a little (okay a lot) cliche, but it made me laugh and Chris did a great job up there!

The whole night was so much fun! We got to go around an see the other tents and try their food, like Crepes (France), Nutella (Italy), and local dishes I could never pronounce. Plus, students love America and several had studied abroad all around the country and enjoyed to talking to us about their visits! It was so great to hear from other people and watch as they tried our food and played the game. Many even wanted pictures with us! We felt famous:) It was an incredible experience and I'm so glad I was here for it since it is only in the fall semester.

Cheung Chau

Several weekends ago, a local friend, Shirley, took several of us to an outlying island called Cheung Chau. It took about a beautiful 1 hour ferry ride to get to the island. and then we got to explore!

The first thing we did, at Shirley's suggestion, was to try a local snack of fish balls in a sauce. They were....interesting. Not bad per say, but not what I expected. It was like someone blended a bunch of fish meat, then packed it into a ball, boiled it and dunked it in a sauce o your choice ( i got satay and its kind of like a watery, spicy bbq sauce). I'm glad I tried it, but I'm not sure I'd do it again. One food that we had there that I really do want again was this egg waffle thing. I'm pretty sure it was just a sweeter, buttered waffle in a form that looked like massive bubble wrap but whatever it was,it was delicious. Another good meal (I promise eating wasn't the only thing I did) was dinner, when the six of us shared some grouper in corn sauce, sweet and sour chicken and calamari that was all very delicious as well!

Other than trying food we could only get at the island, we explored some of the beautiful features. This island is known for having been a trade point for several pirates. So, after renting bikes to get around the island faster, we made our way to these caves that the pirates used to smuggle goods through. On the way up there were some beautiful views:

The cave itself was short (thank goodness) because it was a small cave that had one point where you needed to turn to your side, suck in and shuffle your way through. That part nearly gave me a panic attack, but thanks to friends (and literally light at the end of the tunnel) I made it through with only a minor scratch! It was cool, and I could do it again because I know what to expect (but I'm pretty sure I'm never going to). After the cave we took a detour to a beautiful ocean front path before heading back to town:

In town we made our way through the local streets and its shops. They sold everything from shoes and bags to glass figurines, shells and friendship bracelets. It was like the Florida Keys meets Hong Kong.While we were shopping, we managed to catch an incredible view of the sunset before we made our way to dinner and the ferry home.

Despite being a shorter day (we were only on the island for a several hours) we were all tired. So, back at the dorm, we all showered and then got together for a relaxing movie (cheetah girls baby!!) before calling it a night with this on this incredible day.

The Only language I know

I mentioned a few weeks back that I agreed to teach 15 students English. By teach I mean chat with them and help them better the English they know, not teach them everything from the beginning- I don't think I could do that.

At this point I have had two classes and I'm so glad I did this! I've yet to have all 15 students show up to class, but that's good, because then the ones that do show up get the ability to talk more this way. Most of them come from Mainland China, and are here just to better their conversational English. In order to do this I've been working with them, telling them common idioms (like cool it and get a move on, and I'm beat) so they can better understand conversations, and just having them talk by answering questions like "if you could have any superpower what would it be and why?" They all like to talk and it is so fun and interesting to hear their answers.

The first question I asked them was why they wanted to learn English, and their answers shocked me! They told me that English was a connector. It allows them to be able to talk to people from nearly any country. One boy even told me about a time when he met a boy from Korea or somewhere and they were able to communicate only because they both spoke English! I had no idea that English meant so much to people around the world (and than goodness because it is the only language I speak).

Another great part about teaching this class is that I am making friends I didn't expect to make. After class last week a girl contacted me and asked to grab coffee so she could practice and get some tips on how to be a student ambassador for an American journalist coming to speak. This week, on our way to coffee, another student saw us and joined. In the end the three of us sat at Pacific coffee for over an hour just talking and having a good laugh! At the end, we agreed to meet up before class next week and try lunch at a delicious noodle place right next to campus:)

This class is giving me so much more than I thought. I expected to feel good for helping people, but I'm making friends and gaining insight that I never would have if I hadn't have taken this opportunity.

Holiday Break

This week we had Wednesday and Thursday off for the Chinese National Day. What was great about this week is that because I don't have classes on Tuesday or Friday I had a 6 day weekend! The downside is that the protests were blocking large portions of Central, so several buses were rerouted or suspended. Also, several of the friends (including one that was going to give a local citizens tour of the island) wanted to be at the protests, causing several plans to be reworked. However, this was still a fantastic holiday.

We decided to spend it getting to know Hong Kong better. Starting on Tuesday, a few of us ventured out to temples around the island. Our first stop was the 10,000 Buddha Monastery, and boy was it an incredible sight! It sat atop over 400 steps (and we couldn't have picked a hotter day or time to climb them)! Lining the steps the entire way were golden statues portraying what I believe were monks:

Once you finally reach the top of the stairs, the view is incredible:

Then you enter the Temple's grounds. Outside in the courtyard of the temple are statues of Buddha and his followers in different states. Each one was ornate and many were beautifully painted:

Sadly, pictures were not allowed inside the actual temple, but I was able to catch one of the outside:

The inside was unforgettable and truly filled with 10,000 Buddhas.  On each of the walls were 30 shelves, each lined with 100 Buddha statues, holding a variety of poses. Then in the middle were 3 massive golden statues of Buddha and his disciples, reaching nearly to the ceiling. In front of the three beautiful statues was the "Indestructible Diamond Body of Buddha"  covered in ornate robes and sitting inside a glass box. In total, it was a sight you could never tire of, with more things to look at than I could ever describe. Before we left the temple, we stopped at a stand they had selling souvenirs and religious items. Here, we each bought a beautiful bracelet that had been blessed by a monk to forever commemorate the trip we had to this incredible site.

From there we traveled to another religious site, this time the Chi Lin Nunnery. This is the largest group of hand made buildings in the world. Though I believe we missed the incredible gardens that accompany the site (apparently they were across the street, but it's ok, I'll come back with my family) The actual temple portion was beautiful.

Sitting in the middle of the city, this structure sits right beyond Plaza Hollywood, looking, from the street, unimposing. However, as you travel up the steps and into the courtyard you are met with beautifully hand crafted wooden masterpieces(or buildings, whichever you wish to call them) surrounding a concrete courtyard with lotus ponds placed throughout:

Once again, pictures were not allowed within the temple.Inside were several rooms, each containing a different golden version of Buddha and his disciples accompanied by a short blurb on a plaque about their significance and their story. Then as you enter the main temple area, you are met with an breath taking sight. In the middle sits Buddha on a lotus throne, as tall as the room, with a beautiful filigree throne back. to his sides are his highest two disciples, and between them and Buddha, two more followers, each offering something to the center statue. The sight, and the dwarfing feeling the statues created, are memories I will never forget. Though there was less to see here than at the first temple, the sights here were no less incredible, and made for a fabulous end to our temple tour.

The next few days were spent relaxing on several beaches. On Thursday we went to Repulse Bay, It was cloudy all day which has its ups and downs. On the bright side, I didn't get burned, I just got a little tanner (which like never happens!). On the down side, the view wasn't as visible and the sunset (the reason we went to this particular beach) wasn't visible at all. Even with that the day was so much fun! I haven't been in the sea for years, so just floating in it was exciting. Plus,the beach had floating platforms stationed a ways out in the water that you could lay on. Those were so relaxing as they rocked with the waves. Later on in the day a few of us decided to play in the sand and we made me into a mermaid! It was so entertaining because people kept coming up to us and asking for pictures, so I'm in the photo books of several mainland tourists:)

On Saturday we went to another beach, Clear Water Bay. This beach was much the same as Repulse Bay, with the floating platforms and the beautiful view. This water was more clear, I could see farther down into the water, but it was by no means crystal clear. The day was once again cloudy, and it looked like it was going to rain for a while, but it was still a lovely, relaxing day. 

Sunday was mostly homework. I did try an English Church with some friends in the morning. The pastor is from Arkansas, and, while small, the service was enjoyable. Afterwards, several of the younger members got together to get lunch, which was really interesting, because it was the first time I met non-students in Hong Kong. 

Over all it was an exciting break. I got to see history, and beautiful views and I finally made it to the beach (and I plan to go back every week until I leave)! I'm sad to have to go back to school, but I guess it is inevitable (doesn't mean I have to like it).