Week 2 in Hong Kong!

This week has been a roller coaster to say the least. There have been lots of hard moments missing Kristen, but also it has been a week full of love and great memories in Hong Kong!!! Everyday I become more and more amazed by the culture here because everything they do here has incredible meaning behind it and these traditions really drive all aspects of their life. For example, most buildings don't have a fourth floor because "fourth" and "death" are pronounced the same in Chinese, so they want to avoid having a "death floor." And buildings must have proper feng shui so that it ensures that those in it will lead healthy and successful lives. Downtown the entrance to major buildings must be to the water, while the back of the building is facing the mountain.

It is incredible that there are a lot of familiar things here in Hong Kong, but there are slight differences that make things so interesting and unique. I'm just going to start blabbing about some of the crazy things I have noticed here... 

• They have an excessive amount of malls here, literally every where you go there is a mall that is usually 6 or 7 floors high and many times you need to walk through a mall in order to get to your next destination. 
• They LOVE to serve us french fries at our dorm, at any meal (especially breakfast) you're guaranteed to be given fries. 
• The language barrier has gotten more difficult in the past few years and we have had some difficulties communicating, especially ordering food or getting directions.
• The marketing and advertisements... I have been so amused at the commercials and posters that are in Hong Kong, they love to use things like anime or cartoons. I need to take more pictures of examples so you can see just how awesome it is... 
• The transportation system here aka the MTR is incredible... so efficient and fast. I don't think I have ever had to wait more than 3 minutes for a metro or bus here, it makes it so easy.
• The humidity here is awful I can deal with 115 degrees in Tucson, but this humidity makes walking outside (even at night) so tough and kinda gross. We have to walk up this huge hill to get back to our dorm and that is killer with the humidity.
• We have been in 2 typhoons here so far... I learned that there are different levels and colors that represent the intensity of the storm. They list either a (T1, T3, T8, T10) out side our dorm and elevator so you know how to prepare for the day. And then they can send out color coordinated warnings Amber (intense storm conditions) Red (no one can go outside) Black (everything shuts down and if you're at work, you have to go home!)
• I expected there to be a lot more Americans here but we've met a lot more people from Europe... France, Britain, Germany, Spain, Ireland, London... etc. 
• Every night they have a light show downtown, where they have lights on all the buildings synced up to music... it's pretty incredible.
• The food has been interesting, especially the meat. They leave the fat, skin, and anything excess on the food... slightly gross and unhealthy. But some of their traditional meals are so delicious, like the dim sum or hot pot. 
• People can be very impatient and not polite here, and most of the time on the MTR... many times people will not give up their seat to the elderly or some one in need.  
• I met this 90 year old lady on the MTR who moved to Hong Kong in 1941 and even though there was a language barrier and you could tell she was getting old, it was awesome to here her story and the coolest thing was is she was on her way to school to take an English class. Very inspiring.

Enough fun facts, now I'll show you some pictures!

And tomorrow I'm going on an all day Junk Boat out on the Hong Kong harbor, I'm so excited!!!

These are the flowers I was given from the program leaders and my roommate, it has been such a rough week, but the little things like this made it so much easier :) Thank you to everyone for being such a great support.

This is Hot Pot which could be compared to a Chinese fondue. Very delicious, but messy and not very filling.

Heading out to Lan Kwai Fong for Ladies Night :) On the MTR.

Glow-in-the-dark and light-up drinks at Club 97.

Some history about Tea in Hong Kong!

Today I met up with Dr. Brown from the UofA who is here for a month this summer teaching and doing research. It was incredible to spend the day with her and some of her fellow professors.

A shot from the Dim Sum restaurant we went to today, probably the best meal I have been to here in Hong Kong.  INCREDIBLE.

For Kristen ♥ Rest In Peace.