Hong Kong!

Hey everyone! This blog post is going to be a bit shorter than usual because I am running so short on time. We get to Vietnam tomorrow morning and I feel like there is so much I have to do before then, but I definitely want to update you all! This post will be more about what I did than what I learned. I hope to be able to give more detail in some of my future posts.

Our ship was docked at Ocean Terminal, which is connected to a huge ten-story mall! We had to walk through the mall to even be able to get out into the city. It was mainly full of designer stores, so I was fortunately not tempted to spend time shopping around in there. Luckily, we got off of the ship pretty early in the morning since only about 160 people traveled on the ship between Shanghai and Hong Kong. The group I was with got off the ship right away and hopped on the Star Ferry that took us to the other side of the island. Here is a picture of us us all. :)

Melia, Summer, Mike, Me, Corrie

Melia had to get her laptop fixed while in Hong Kong, so we first found an Apple store in mall. Hong Kong was definitely the best place for her to try and get that done because most people actually speak English due to the large number of international businesses and American workers that live there. While she was trying to get her appointment made, we stopped at Starbucks and walked around the mall for awhile. Like the other mall, it was mainly filled with designer shops. However, we did find a few places to stop in and browse for a bit. It was also fun to see all of the structure and art displays around the entire mall. This particular panda display reminded me of my sister Jessica, so this picture is for her. :)

Melia found out that it was going to take several hours for her laptop to get fixed, so she told us to go ahead and do what we wanted for the rest of the day. Mike did Semester at Sea last spring and suggested going to see the giant Buddha statue on Lantau Island. Until recently, it was the largest bronze Buddha statue in the world. It is now the second largest. After asking directions from a worker in the Apple store, Corrie and I headed off to the metro station. Mike and Summer decided to go and do something different. We were told that it would be about a 30 minute ride to the stop where the Buddha is. What he failed to mention was that it took another 45 minute bus ride up the mountain to actually get to the site! I had to be back on the ship by 5 to get ready to go to the Cantonese Opera with Melia and the rest of the field program group, so I was a little nervous that we wouldn't make it back on time!

We finally made it up a little before 2 p.m. There wasn't any time to waste because in order to make it back for the opera, we calculated that we should try and get on the bus to the station by 3. We quickly walked up the steps to reach the Buddha statue, snapped some pictures, grabbed a bite to eat, bought a few souvenirs, and then were in line for the bus around 2:50! It was absolutely gorgeous up there. There was a great view of the city, and the mountains were beautiful. Here are a few pictures!

We made it back to the ship around 5:15, so I had a little time to change and get ready to meet Melia and the rest of the group before leaving for the Cantonese Opera performance at 6. The opera was in West Kowloon Bamboo Theater. I was pretty excited for the performance because I had been learning about this type of opera in my Music Cultures course. We were given an English summary before it started, but the show was still hard to follow because they were singing and speaking in Cantonese. Nevertheless, it was really enjoyable and I'm glad I went! I would get into more detail about the history and importance of Cantonese Opera in Chinese culture because it really is very interesting, but that would take quite awhile. If you would like to know more, shoot me an email! Here are a few pictures!

After the show we headed back to the ship to meet a few people and then went to the Night Market on Temple Street to try and find some great deals! I wish I had some pictures to show you, but I left my camera on the ship. The market is open every night from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m.  You can bargain, which was a lot of fun! I wasn't good at it at first, but if you're decent you can get them down to half of the original price pretty quickly. I had an amazing time! I ended up finding a few things that I needed for the trip, along with some great gifts for people back home. I won't share too many of the things on here because I want them to be surprises. A quick example of something I got is a pair of shoes for $6 that would have easily been at least $40, if not more, back in the states. I got some incredible deals. It was a great night!

On the second day, I had a field lab with my Health Promotion and Behavior class that left at 8 a.m. To quickly sum up what we did, we went to two different parks to observe Tai Chi and other health behaviors that either promote or hinder health. Then we stopped at a restaurant for lunch where we had some amazing dumplings. Following lunch, we took a bus ride to the University of Hong Kong where we listened to different speakers give short lectures over topics such as poverty, women's violence, infant mortality, adult literacy, and healthy weight loss. It was very interesting and I got a lot from the presentations. I have plenty of pictures but I won't upload them yet on here due to data limits.

Unfortunately, not everyone was very attentive during our field lab. A good majority of our class showed up, payed attention, dress appropriately, and were respectful of our presenters. However, six people didn't show up because they were out too late partying the night before. At least 15 people that came were very obviously hungover and some were still drunk because they had just gotten back to the ship about an hour before we were scheduled to leave. People were throwing up on our bus and falling asleep during the lectures. It was honestly one of the most disrespectful things I've ever witnessed. I don't understand how anyone would think behaving in that way is acceptable. The academic dean came and spoke to our class this morning. She said that if individuals don't come forward or if names are not given to her, then the entire class might suffer a consequence up to 24 hours of dock time. If the entire class is given dock time because of the actions of a few in our class, I will be very upset. I think those that are responsible should definitely be penalized, but I don't think the whole class should have to suffer. We will see what happens!

Anyway, I am very excited to arrive in Vietnam tomorrow! I would appreciate some thoughts and prayers for my safety! I've heard some pretty scary stories of things that have happened to previous voyagers in Vietnam, so I'm glad that I am signed up for SAS trips during the majority of my time there.

On the first day I have plans with a group to do some shopping and try to get suits and dresses tailored. On the second day I start a 3-day homestay at the Mekong Delta. I am really looking forward for the chance to personally experience the culture of the locals in Vietnam and I can't wait to tell you all about it. After that, I have an orphanage visit and several other things planned. I think it is going to be an incredible experience!

Thank you all! I have so much more to say about Hong Kong but so little time. If you have any questions feel free to email me or comment and I promise I will get back to you!