Category: 2024-25

It was an early April day when my friends and I decided to go to Mui Wo a small village on an island a little off the coast of Lantau. We had to leave really early in order to catch the bus on time to go to the island.

When we got to the island, we went to see a famous waterfall. Humorously, we found a very tiny waterfall because we forgot that it was not the rainy season and so there would not be that much water to flow from the waterfall!  We did see, however, many Chinese buffalo around the fields of the people living there.

We also saw many different traditional houses and shops around the village. While it was a holiday and most of the stores were closed, we saw many different stores and buildings.

We also found a small cave while exploring. It was apparently a small cave meant to bring silver up out of the ground. However, prospectors soon realized that the silver vein was not that deep and chose to stop excavating the cave.

One of the nicest things there was the beach. While it was a little bit too cold to swim, the water was very pretty and would occasionally sweep up and the mist would cool us off.

Eventually we got lunch and started to tour the rest of the town. We saw a very friendly dog and were even able to pet him for a time. He really liked my friend Morgan and would nuzzle her forever if he could. We also saw a local bookstore and bought a couple books. The funniest thing about the bookstore was it being attached to a salon, so you could have your hair cut and find a good book at the same time!

Taila

My friend Laya’s uncle from Belgium came to visit her this weekend. Laya invited me to have lunch with her and her uncle which was very sweet of her. Her uncle was originally born in the Ivory Coast but moved to Belgium with his wife and kids to provide further opportunities for himself and his family. We ended up going to a Lebanese place in Central which had very good reviews.

We ordered hummus, fattoush (a Lebanese salad), baba ganoush, and various kebabs. I thought all of the food was good, but I particularly liked the baba ganoush, which is an eggplant dish made into a dip like hummus. I also really liked the hummus, but I was not quite used to having ground beef as a part of the hummus so it took some getting used to.

In Central, there is a very famous series of escalators which took us from the bottom of Central to high up in the mountains. My mom told me to check it out because it is the longest series of escalators in the world. It was quite nice to see the difference between old and new Hong Kong. Central has a vast network of older cultural buildings and newer skyscrapers and businesses. However, the escalators did not take us to the true top of the mountain. We had to either take the famous tram, or the bus.

We did not know how to get up to the top, so we started walking from the top of the escalators to the tram. At some point we must’ve gotten lost along the way because we were hiking up the mountain before we eventually gave up and got a cab to the top of the mountain. At the top was one of the best views of Hong Kong, and they’ve even managed to build a small mall at the top as well. I thought it was quite funny to see a big monopoly statue as a showcase for one of their pop up shops.

Taila

While Hong Kong food is delicious, many of us wanted to have some food from back home. A few of my friends chose to make their traditional dishes from  home. Since we come from many cultures, each person had a night where they would cook.

One of my friends from Italy made a recipe that was handed down by his grandmother. It was a simple tomato sauce with penne pasta and basil. We ate it with bread and a simple side dish of salad. On another day, I helped him make a quick pesto dish that we were able to eat with bread and cheese. Both of these dishes were delicious.  I thought  it was nice to experience the culture of places I have never been to. While the United States has many dishes from different cultures, it is not the same as experiencing the food from the home country.

I thought this was especially true when one of my friends who’s Palestinian made us hummus for the first time.  She told me that each family has slightly different recipes, but common ingredients include chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, and lemon juice. Her family also adds ice to smooth the consistency of the hummus. It was quite an ordeal to make the hummus because we did not have a food processor on hand. So in order to make the hummus, we had to borrow a tiny blender from our floor’s RA.  However, the blender was tiny and it was difficult to make the hummus without dulling the blades. In the end, while the hummus was chunkier than my friend would’ve liked, it was delicious! We even managed to find a couple pieces of flat bread to eat it with to make the meal that much more authentic.

Taila

One of our friends is in the local orchestra. A couple weeks ago, HKBU hosted a concert of difference concertos composed by Brahms and Mahler. We were invited by my friend to watch them play the flute for the concert. The concert was hosted in Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall in Tsim Sha Tsui.  My friend Rebekka  has played the flute for fourteen years and was very excited to play in an orchestra while she’s traveling abroad.

They played Brahm’s Violin Concerto in D & Mahler’s Symphony No.1. I personally liked Mahler’s Symphony No.1 better because the symphony felt lighter and more lively than Brahm. However, the violin soloist was very good and was even studying in Austria to play in one of the orchestras there.

I met lots of new people at the concert as well! It was even Colin’s birthday. He’s from Hunan and was turning 20 that day. After the concert, we gave him a small pastry and added a candle to blow out when the clock struck midnight. Since everyone was from different countries we made a video for him of all us saying “Happy Birthday” in our native language. Some of the languages included Turkish, German, Finish, and Arabic.

A few days later my school was hosting an event. Everyone was given a ticket, and if you completed all of the challenges you won a prize. I had a lot of fun doing all of the mini games. A few games include: eating a lemon slice without grimacing, darts, and ring toss.

One of the interesting games we played was 15, 15, 20. In the game, each person chooses a number 0-20 that is a multiple of five at the same time. As they shout their number each person holds up either one, two, or no hands. If the number of total hands is equal to the number the person shouted, they would win a stamp to add to their ticket. It was actually really challenging because you couldn’t guarantee what the other person would do and could only hope for the best. In the end, I completed all of the mini games and received a bear for my prize.

Taila

Crossing the border from Cambodia to Vietnam via bus was a nerve wracking experience. The bus driver asked everyone for their passport so that they could send the passports in bulk. Looking back on it now, the trip was not as stressful as I made it out to be in my head.

Once in Vietnam, we went to get dinner and see the sights. We landed in Vietnam right before Tết or Vietnamese New Year. The whole city of Ho Chi Minh was decked out to the nines. There were Vietnamese flags of various sizes strung along balconies as well as displayed on buildings. There was a real sense of pride of the people for their country.

At the countdown to midnight there was a fireworks display held along the river that many people attended.

The following days we were able to tour the outer regions in Vietnam. One of the main places we visited was the Vĩnh Tràng Pagoda on our way to the Mekong River Delta from Hanoi. We were able to see the Laughing Budai and Guanyin at the pagoda.

These statues are a part of a larger Buddhist temple complex called the Vĩnh Tràng Temple. The Budai is known to bring people fortune and abundance with the help of his bag. Guanyin is associated with compassion. Their name is short for Guanshiyin or “the one who perceives the sounds of the world.”

On the tour, we were also able to see the Mekong River Delta, which is a large river surrounded by lush foliage which supplies much of Southern Vietnam’s agricultural nourishment. We rode in gondolas through the river. Many of the boats were pushed by women, as it is one of the main ways the women can make money for their families. We were fortunate enough to receive hats from them as well!

Taila

For Lunar New Year, many people were telling us to go abroad during the break. So that is exactly what a few of my friends and I chose to do. With much heated debate, we settled on going to Cambodia and Vietnam for a nine day trip.

We first chose to go to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capitol. We were able to see the Cambodian history museum and go to a traditional Buddhist temple over there! The temple is colloquially known as the Monkey Temple because of the local monkey population over there. Often visitors are able to hold out food to them and have the monkeys take the food from their hands.

We were also able to try many new foods while in Cambodia. One such food is the fruit called Rambutan. It is similar to eating a lychee with a fluffier outside. We also ate traditional street food. One of our friends was even able to eat a fried tarantula. We also ate traditional barbecue over there where.

We ordered a set of food for each of us and cooked it ourselves! For me personally, my favorite traditional Cambodian food is amok. Amok is a traditional steamed fish curry which is usually served with rice inside wrapped banana leaves or a coconut shell.

We then took a long bus ride to Siem Reap in Cambodia. There we were able to see Angkor Wat, the biggest religious site in the world. It was originally a Hindu memorial site honoring a king in Cambodia’s history. However, now it is a national heritage site and a museum! The temple spans over 400 acres of land with many different entrances for the different castes in Hindu society at the time. The temple was intended to worship Vishnu the Hindu god of protection and Lakshmi, his wife and goddess of wealth and success.

Along with Angkor Wat, Siem Rip has five more famous temples. My friends and I chose to attend two more. The smiley face temple, traditionally known as Bayon,  showcased thousands of smiling Buddhas. We also visited the Ta Prohm Temple known for their massive Banyon trees. The temple was created by Jayavarman VII during the 12th century in dedication to his mother in the traditional Buddhist style.

Taila

A red eye to Narita and a five hour flight to land in Hong Kong near midnight the next day – it was my first time ever flying to another country by myself. With this new experience under my belt, I checked into a hotel for the night and went to campus the next day. The airport in Hong Kong is on the Lantau island whereas Hong Kong Baptist University’s campus is on the island of Kowloon.

A couple of days later we had our orientation for the exchange students. I was able to meet many new people and take a tour around the campus. After the tour was over, we broke into groups to tour the city a bit more. On this night, we chose to eat traditional Shanghainese food and drink some soup due to the chilly temperature.

A few days later, some of the people from the tour wanted to go for a hike. We chose to hike Lion’s Rock which is located near our school. One of the girls, who is on exchang for a year, was able to point out our school for us at one of the peaks.

The entire distance of Lion’s Rock is about 7 miles and a five-hour hike. However, my group only chose to do the front half of the hike and forgo the first two hours of hiking. It was such a clear day, that we were able to see almost all of the island from where we were standing. We could even see monkeys during our trip there!

About a week later it was one of our friend’s birthdays (the girl on the right). For her birthday she wanted to showcase some of her culture to us and took us to a local Lebanese restaurant. In the restaurant we had many traditional foods like hummus, fattoush, and Lebanese baklava!

Taila