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.
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| the on-campus hostel where I am staying |
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| the view from my window |
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| 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!
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| 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!
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| one of the outdoor markets we visited |
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| the street right outside campus |
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| the view from my hostel |
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| another view from my hostel |
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| We saw a monkey on the way back from the monastery! |
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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!
