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From Abroad

Ni How! [Hello in Mandarin-the language they speak in mainland China, which is different from Cantonese(the language they speak in Hong Kong)]

Since being in Hong Kong, I have been very fortunate to be able to travel a few places in Asia. Towards the beginning of my arrival in Hong Kong I got to go to mainland China. It’s funny because Shenzen (an area in mainland China) is just about a 30 minute bus ride away from my university. However, I need a visa to actually enter mainland China. The visa takes a few weeks to get and costs around $100US. This is also for a one time entry to mainland China. It’s actually very weird because I could just take the bus and hang out in China for a few days, but unfortunately I would be paying a lot to do this.

Now getting back on track, I went to mainland China for a week with some of my friends that I have met in Hong Kong. We went to Shanghai and Beijing. It was definitely an experience. Mainland China is very different from Hong Kong. The people are still very nice, but it seemed that they had less manners. My time there was unforgettable though. We only had a few days in each part of China, so we had to pack in as much as possible in those few precious days. However, when you hear that there are millions of people in China and it is always crowded, well that is not a lie. We arrived in Shanghai wanting to go to the museums, climb the Pearl (one of the largest towers in the world), and visit a few other key tourist areas in Shanghai. Unfortunately, this was a public holiday when we arrived. Therefore, not only were we traveling, but everyone else in China decided to travel as well. The streets were packed with people. You had to wait in line just to walk on the sidewalks.

Our day of seeing the sites turned into walking around Shanghai finding something that didn’t have a 3 hour line. It turned out to be a lot of fun, but it taught me to never travel when everyone else in China is traveling. Shanghai was definitely very different from Beijing. Shanghai is where I got to try some crazy street food, finally climbed the Pearl, and just walked around experiencing the busy life of a local. However, Beijing was where I truly enjoyed myself.

Beijing is where I got to walk through the Forbidden City, try Scorpion and silk worm (yikes!), see the Olympic Stadium, and hike the Great Wall of China! These were some of my best memories. I must admit that eating the unusual foods was perhaps one of my favorite moments. Scorpion tasted just like a crunchy piece of chicken, but silk warm can’t even be described. However, let me just say that it was by far the worst thing I have ever eaten in my life!

The Great Wall of China may have been by far my favorite memory in China. My friends and I didn’t just go to the touristy part of the wall where there are actual stairs and you walk out, take a few pictures, and then turn around saying you have “climbed the Great Wall”. No, we actually “climbed” the Great Wall of China. It was a four hour hike on parts of the wall that didn’t even have stairs. We were basically walking up a wall and hoping not to fall back.

Another memory that is really quite amusing is feeling like a movie star while in China. This is probably the closest I will ever get to feeling famous. Since it was a public holiday when we were traveling, many of those traveling around China are from parts that rarely see “white people”. Therefore, my friends and I would be walking and random people would come up to us and ask to get a picture with us. There would be points where we couldn’t even walk because so many people just kept asking to get pictures with us. It seemed that after one person came up then other people would see this commotion and figure they could get a picture as well. It was very funny at times and then quite frustrating at others. Mainly because we only a limited amount of time and when we wanted to actually see things then people would just be snapping pictures and stopping us. Wow, it was probably one of the most unique events I’ve ever encountered. I can see now why famous people go a little crazy. They can never have a real life when people are stopping them every five seconds. We had fun with it though and just soaked it all in as much as we could.

China was a trip that will stick in my mind forever.Unfortunately, there is so much that I could talk about and so many pictures to show. China is truly an amazing and unique place. It has so much history and life to offer. Here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures I took during my trip to China.

The water cube from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing
The bird’s nest from the Olympics
A traditional hot pot meal in Beijing
(You would have raw food and then cook it in a huge soup pot…very yummy!)
Yes, they even have a Hooters in China…we had to go and get pictures!
My friends and I attending a traditional tea ceremony
All of the kids in China loved getting their pictures taken
At Tiananmen Square in Beijing
The Forbidden City in Beijing
Yuyuan Gardens in Shanghai
Dressing up in traditional clothes in Shanghai
Climbing the Great Wall of China in Beijing

When you think of Hong Kong, you may think of nothing but big buildings and thousands of people crowded onto one street. I know that’s all I imagined. However, after living here for a few months now, I have come to the conclusion that no matter where you go in Hong Kong you can feel like you are in a completely different country.

Last week I traveled to a place about two hours away called Sai Kong. It is a small little area with amazing fresh seafood restaurants and lots of outdoorsy things to do. I went with a few friends and we hiked all day to one of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen called Tai Long Wan Beach. I completely forgot that I was in Hong Kong. That is what is so great about Hong Kong. It is truly a place that serves any interest.

The week before that I went to Tai O, which is a small fishing village that is just a boat ride away from Central Hong Kong. There you feel like you are taken back about 50yrs. It is a small area with very tiny houses and everyone seems to just make money by selling dry seafood or souvenirs to tourists. A popular way to make money is by selling shrimp paste. I never actually tried it, but basically you just use it to cook. It is supposed to be very popular with the locals. I just can’t even begin to explain the differences in the way the people of the fishing village live compared to those from Hong Kong Island, and then those that live in the New Territories (where Lingnan University is located).

The fishing village seems so old fashioned, central Hong Kong is filled with Westerners and higher class locals, and then you have the New Territories which is a place where nobody speaks English and the majority of people are older. You go towards the east of the New Territories and you will find beaches and people living the laid back lifestyle. It is just unbelievable that this is all still part of Hong Kong. I love it! It is a place of many worlds in one! You could never even leave the country but feel like you have.

It is just unimaginable how much there is to do in Hong Kong and how there is something that will fit any type of person’s interest. I would have to say that going hiking has been my favorite thing to do here so far. I love hiking and camping back in West Virginia, but to be able to sleep right on the beach after a long day of hiking is something I would never be able to do in Morgantown. In addition, the fact that I can easily go from an overpopulated city, and then just a 2 hour bus ride later I find myself hiking deep into the woods towards a beach is something I never thought possible.

Here are some pictures from various parts of Hong Kong to show the differences in Hong Kong lifestyle….

View from Sai Kung hiking trail

Tai O fishing village

Houses at the fishing village

Me on top of Sharp’s Peak in Sai Kung

Tai Long Wan Beach

Central Hong Kong

Hong Kong architecture tour

The elections are a big deal everywhere! I know in one of my other blogs I talked about the 2008 Presidential election being an important issue in Hong Kong for the locals. However, I never knew out of all the people in Hong Kong that there would be such a close group of people (Americans, Europeans) that would come together to share this momentous occasion. The U.S. Consulate along with the Democrats Abroad and Republicans Abroad came together to put on a free watch party at the Hong Kong Club for the 2008 Elections. It took place on November 5th from 7AM until 2PM.

I found it online and was a little hesitant to go. I thought maybe it would just be a tiny room with several Americans watching election updates. Boy was I wrong! It was definitely an experience I will never forget. It was in a beautiful banquet hall with red, white, and blue shining everywhere. I met people from all over the world that were interested in one thing?.the 2008 elections. I even met a guy from Sweden that knew absolutely everything about both candidates and wished more than anything he could have voted. It amazed me just how involved and concerned people from around the world were in this election.

The room quickly became packed with news reporters from everywhere. I was interviewed by several people. It was something I went into it not expecting. It made me proud though to speak about something that I felt so strongly about. I knew that I was representing America and I was glad to voice my opinion and show my pride. Even being halfway across the world, I felt such a strong bond and sense of pride with everyone in that room. It was also very nice to be able to watch the elections live. My day was filled with interviews, free food, singing, election updates, and finally the biggest turning point in America. It is a day that I will never forget.

I was a bit sad at first that I wasn’t able to be in the U.S. during such an important time in our lives. However, being in Hong Kong for the elections is going to be far more memorable and especially after the experience of the watch party with other Americans. I know it sounds corny, but it really did make me proud to be an American!

WVU football games may be one of the things that I miss the most while being in Hong Kong. However, this has not stopped us hardcore Maniacs from showing our spirit. During the WVU Homecoming game, Becca, another WVU student currently studying at Lingnan, and I decided to throw a WVU tailgate party to show our local friends at Lingnan just how much we loved our Mountaineers.

Since the game was in the afternoon, we decided to have an evening tailgate in Hong Kong and stream the game online. We got updates every so often and could see the field online. Now I don’t think our friends realized how much WVU students pride themselves on being a Mountaineer, so we showed them photos of the crowds, clips of past football games, and taught them a few of our famous cheers. It was nothing like a true WVU home football game, but it definitely…took us home to our country roads! Let’s Go Mountaineers!!

Some of the people that attended our WVU tailgate party…Becca and I definitely got them hooked up with some blue and gold gear!
Becca (left), Gary (center) a local friend, and me(right)

One thing that many students lack here is the ability to sleep, which some may look at as a good thing. I mean sometimes my one wish would be if I could live off 2 hours of sleep a night and be great the next day. Unfortunately, the locals here received that wish before I did. They just don’t sleep here. Now don’t get me wrong they sleep a little bit, but I guarantee you they are rarely getting 8 hours of sleep. I would say roughly around 4 or 5 hours a night.

Now I am one of those early to bed early to rise kind of people. However, my whole sleeping cycle has been completely switched around while in Hong Kong. The earliest class doesn’t start until 9:30AM. The last class won’t end until 8:30PM. After that, societies and study groups will get together at 10PM and sometimes won’t end until 4 in the morning. I talked to one local that said he doesn’t even start studying until midnight because he has club meetings at 11PM! I just don’t know how they do it? I think it’s fascinating how different their living style is from the U.S. Now don’t get me wrong because I know that there are many people who stay up late in Morgantown, but the way they do it here is just so different.

Moreover, they stay awake with very little caffeine and absolutely no alcohol is ever involved. You may think if they are up so late that they are going out or hyped up on Red Bull, but it’s just them living the way they have always known. Therefore, when they aren’t studying late into the night nor going to a meeting then what are they doing? Playing games. This is one thing that I find so different from the U.S. The locals play games ALL OF THE TIME. At 1 in the morning I passed a group of locals that said they were getting ready to play games. What games? They aren’t usually playing board games either. They just make up games and then play them. I still haven’t found out exactly what these games are, but they enjoy them so much that they will stay up until 5AM and then sleep for a few hours and go to class. Although one time I saw a few kids smashing Pringles on the ground, so I asked what they were doing. Oddly enough they just said, “Playing a game.”

The hostels (dorms) are booming at 2AM and completely dead in the afternoons. Therefore, my 11PM to bed and 6AM mornings have been completely shot. I once tried to go to bed early (midnight) and a few different clubs knocked on my door to see if I wanted to join in their meetings. When they found out I was sleeping they kept saying that it was crazy how early I was in bed. I guess this is just one of the many things you have to get used to. It has actually been very interesting and kind of fun because it’s just a completely different life at night. Someone the other night asked me if I wanted to study with him and said he couldn’t meet up until 1AM, and I found myself actually seeing this as normal. It’s just me starting to mold into a local.

This is my official introduction to language barriers in Hong Kong. Lingnan University is located in the New Territories of Hong Kong (a.k.a the area where nobody around can speak English expect for people on campus). This part of Hong Kong is made up of the older people of Hong Kong. Therefore, they never really learned English, so when I go to the market it is much more difficult to ask for something. I have come to realize that body language is key in this country. You basically just try to use your hands and facial expressions to explain what you want.
Moreover, the locals think that if they keep on repeating the same thing over and over again in Cantonese that you will eventually understand it. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way and I don’t know if they have figured that out yet. Now when you go to Hong Kong Island and Kowloon (the more touristy places) people will be able to speak some English and you may even feel like you are back in the states.
In addition to not being able to understand many locals, it is even difficult on campus at times. If you want to be active on campus you better be able to understand the posters on campus that tell you the times and places of club meetings. However, almost everything is in Chinese. You basically have to ask a local to read the posters to you if you ever want to get anywhere.
Classes are a little easier since the ones I’m taking are in English. However, a few of my teachers are from Hong Kong and I’m the only exchange student. Therefore, the teacher will be speaking English and then have to explain a word to the locals in Cantonese. The teachers will even put the Chinese symbols up on the board for the other students to understand.
Now there is one problem with a class I’m taking. I signed up for Judo, which I officially love! The class is all in Cantonese though. I basically imitate what the teacher is doing and some of the locals will translate for me as the teacher is speaking. It may be one of the neatest things I’ve encountered since being here as far as language barriers go. I have never actually needed someone to translate for me before in a situation like this.
It is also the same with the Rugby club that I’m part of for Lingnan. Most of the people in the club speak English, but one of the captains hardly knows English. When he is teaching a drill another local will translate after everything he says. I have to say that it pays to study the local language before you go anywhere. I’m slowly learning phrases to get by, but it has been a challenge. Let’s just say you have to be very patient and understanding when coming to a place like Hong Kong, but if you are then it will make for a truly amazing experience!

The people of Hong Kong have a different lifesyle to people in the states. I thought these are a few pictures that would highlight some of those differences.

The busy streets of Hong Kong. This is a typical Thursday afternoon.
Almost all of the locals will hang their clothes out to dry. You see this in all of the apartment buildings around Hong Kong. They are all for going green!
The older crowds will spend much of their day just sitting around playing games at local parks.
There are many temples around Hong Kong. This is where they bring gifts of fruit and money to those that have passed in their families. It is similar to us taking flowers to gravesites in the states.

The 2008 elections are very popular in Hong Kong. I have been asked by many locals who I am going to vote for, and also if I will fill out an absentee ballot. I think it is fascinating how involved the people of Hong Kong are with news from all over the world.

This poster is put up throughout the campus at Lingnan University.It just shows that the elections are important everywhere and we too need to be keeping up with world news. Moreover, the elections affect everyone from all over the world.

Arriving in the Hong Kong airport after my 16 hour flight from the U.S, I was greeted with the closing ceremony of the 2008 Olympics.

Everyone in the airport was watching the ceremony on a huge T.V. in the middle of the airport. It was an exciting feeling to be watching the Olympics in the correct time zone and to be that much closer to where it actually takes place. Unfortunately, I have only been able to see the what was left of the excitement that swarmed in Hong Kong because of the equestrian events for the Olympics. There are signs everywhere that express Hong Kong’s pride that an event was held there. Every local I have talked to has also mentioned how happy they were that something like this took place in Hong Kong and would ask if I got the chance to watch it. I would have to say that even being here for the aftermath of the 2008 Olympics has just been an amazing experience.
Besides being greeted by the closing ceremony, I was also welcomed by several local students from Lingnan University. One student greeted me and some other exchange students with rice ball cakes and lemon tea. I would have to say that the rice cake was quite an experience. It is this VERY gummy ball and inside there is a red bean filling. It was my first interesting taste of Hong Kong’s many different foods.
It was also the first of my many encounters with extremely friendly locals of Hong Kong. The friendliness of the students at Lingnan is incredible. They are willing to do anything for you and are so welcoming. The students are always saying hi to you and they want to know so much about the U.S. It is a great feeling to know that I am representing my country, and that I can teach the students of Hong Kong a little something about America.