Week 1

I’m here, I’m finally here! After looking forward to it for so long, it doesn’t feel real. The flight here was really long but everything went smoothly and I arrived on time last Tuesday. The study abroad office at Lingnan assigned us student buddies who picked up a group of us exchange students at the airport. My buddies are Shirley and Yvonne. They are both so sweet and have been really great at helping me and the other students in our group adjust to life at Lingnan. 

The campus of Lingnan is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, with traditional Chinese architecture and gorgeous ponds and trees.

the on-campus hostel where I am staying

the view from my window

sunset from my window

One kind of funny part about campus is that there are dozens and dozens of cats everywhere! There’s a club on campus that feeds them and puts water out and plays with them, so they keep coming around.

On orientation day, we had an awesome dim sum lunch with our buddies at the Chinese restaurant on campus. Dim sum is a very famous meal in Hong Kong that is made up of different bite-sized dishes such as spring rolls and dumplings. All of the food was served community style, with everyone taking from the dishes in the middle. This is how a lot of the meals I've eaten here have been served, and so far I've really enjoyed the sense of community that comes with sharing food this way.

The first weekend I was here, I went on an excursion organized by the study abroad office. We visited the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery, a beautiful Buddhist temple that includes over 13,000 statues of Buddha. It was quite a climb there but it was completely worth it!

The whole staircase was lines with statues of Buddha, each one with its own personality.

On the top of the hill there were some monuments and a main place of worship, all intricately decorated. And the view from where we were was gorgeous!

        

We had a vegetarian lunch while we were there. I think it was my favorite meal that I've had here so far. We had vegetable spring rolls, fried ‘fish’ made out of potato, Chinese cabbage, and ‘shrimp’ made out of…well, I’m not sure, but it was delicious!

Later in the day, we visited the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. We had a guided tour of the Cantonese opera exhibit, and I learned a lot about the history and importance of the costumes, makeup, and performances involved in this tradition. The next day I actually had the opportunity to see a Chinese opera in person. Pictures weren’t allowed, but here’s a glimpse of what the performers looked like.

And here's some more interesting pictures from this week!

one of the outdoor markets we visited

the street right outside campus

the view from my hostel

another view from my hostel

We saw a monkey on the way back from the monastery!

 

These first few days have been incredible, and I’ve met so many wonderful people already. I can’t wait to see what else is to come :) Goodbye for now! 

Preparations.

Hello everyone!

This is the first of many entries that I will use to document my time spent studying abroad in Hong Kong! I hope to use this blog as a place to reflect on my experiences, keep my friends and family up to date, and encourage future students in their study abroad pursuits!

First off, I’ll tell you a little bit about myself. I am a sophomore at Central Michigan University and I am majoring in Women’s Studies and Religion and minoring in Philosophy and Sociology. I love what I study and I am so excited to add an international perspective to my knowledge in these fields! In my free time I like to read, paint, and travel! I am passionate about volunteering, and here on campus I am involved with Leadership Safari, College 101, and International Peer Partners. I also love my friends and family! I am so sad to leave them behind, but I know that this is the start of an amazing chapter of my life and that it will all be worth it.

This semester I will be studying at Lingnan University, which is a small liberal arts university in the suburbs of Hong Kong. To give you some context, Hong Kong was a British colony until control was handed over to China in 1997. Now it is a special administrative region of China, meaning that it has some ties to mainland China but is mostly free to make its own laws and policies. Its fascinating structure and cultural history makes it a unique city, and life there is a blend of both Eastern and Western influences.

Aside from all the cultural differences which I am sure I will experience while I am away, I will also get to see what life is like at a university much smaller than Central. Lingnan has only 2,600 students, which will be a big change from CMU’s twenty-some thousand.

The things that I am especially excited about right now are meeting lots of new people, getting settled in to the hostel where I will be staying, trying the food, and starting my classes. Here’s what I’ll be taking:

-         Language and Society

-         History of Religions in China

-         Gender, Culture, and Society

-         Introduction to Sociology

-         Global Culture and Citizenship

I am sure that this will be a transformative experience that I will never forget, and I am looking forward to starting this scary and exciting time in my life. I have done a lot of work to get here, and those who have helped me along the way have done even more. I already know that I am about to start a journey that will leave me deeply changed for the better, and I can’t wait to see how!