Charlie Zielinski- Journal entries

As usual, the flight to Hong Kong left me thoughtless and I did not feel I was on my way across the world. I feel that that is something I take for granted. The world is so big and some people in the past have taken years to travel the distance we did under a days time. Maybe thats why it feels like I'm not really in Hong Kong, its just a vision, but my experiences would testify against that.
The next day, we went city sightseeing and all I could think of was how Hong Kong was 100X's better than New York City in every way. All the tropical plants was a surprise and very intriguing to venture off. I felt that the people really had pride in their city and took care of it well, i.e. the huge, old trees everywhere with branches and long roots were all took into consideration when building the city.

Every chance Emma, Amanda, and I had we would try to eat some real asian, Hong Kong cuisine. I felt that one of the most important things to understand a totally different culture is to put yourself in a environment that would be completely new to me. Which would result in new experiences and relationships with all kinds of people, which is important. For example food brings people together through communication. One of the first places we ate was during lunch time in the mid-levels of the city. We were the only Americans or not asian looking people in the restaurant. I was proud and excited to have found a place like this. I ordered toungue with curry and white rice and it was delicious. Another "restaurant" we went to was in Macau and it was outside in the market. It only had a few things to pick from in which we had to point at because of the language barriers. There we met a canadian who spoke english which was weird at first but than exciting to speak to someone other than my classmates. Who could forget the first dinner which had so many courses. I was excited the whole time and ready to eat whatever came on the plates. I was surprised to see how many people who did enjoy this experience, I did not pay three grand to shelter myself from experiences-I wanted to do and talk to everyone I could. My favorite food was by far the vegatarian meal at the monastary which was very good and filled with many different flavors.

My favorite parts of the trip were visiting the Buddhist temples and monastarys. I really got a chance to experience my beliefs which was a relief. A couple of times I lit incense and prayed which made me feel really good inside. I started to believe in Buddhism in high school and this proved to myself of why I started to, it was great.
Every temple, monastary, and park was beautiful. The bonzai trees in the monastary were really a wonderful form of art and hopefully one day I will grow, create one but I don't have the time now.
The huge Buddha on Lantau islandd and the 10,000 Buddha monastary were reminders that in every part of the world people take their beliefs very seriously and take long lengths to satisfy their god no matter what they believe in. If people didnt care much about their beliefs than there wouldn't be beautiful temples, mosques, churches, etc. Seeing the huge Buddha and 10,000 Buddha monastary really influenced me to move forward and learn much more about Buddhism.

The most beautiful thing about the city was that it was more beautiful at night. All of the night markets were exciting filled with clothes, gadgets, and cultural items. I was mostly interested in the food outside near the markets.
One of the free nights Amanda, Emma, and I searched throughout the city for a bar called Gecko. Eventually, we found it down a sketchy ally. The bar was the size of two dorm rooms with a band playing. This seemed like a perfect place to hang out and it was. We met a couple about the same age, the male was from Korea, and the female was from Thailand. They wanted us to come back the next night but we didnt. I wish we did, they said they were planning a trip tp NYC, I wont forget them.

Macau was a very nice place and I was happy I went there. Walking through it, it seemed to me that there is a fine line between the upper class and lower class. Whats different from Hong Kong is that I felt that this place was more of a "melting pot" with people from all over. In Hong Kong its mostly people who spoke Cantonese. I also noticed in Macau the buildings were very spanish and european looking. I know that Macau is owned by Portugal but I was surprised to see how different things looked than in Hong Kong.
The fishing village of Tai O which was also a place I was happy to go to. Reminded me of a place I could see myself living in. When walking through the town I felt a very peaceful vibe which was reassuring that I was safe. To top it off, a merchant asked me, Emma, and Amanda to come to the back of his house in which we sat on a dock and drank tea. Right than, I had wished we could speak to eachother so I could tell him that his place was great. Another vision that stays in my mind is an old woman cutting up a fish which was still flopping its tail and it looked so tastey.

I never been to a orchestra before so all the ones I went to sounded great. I really enjoyed the solo violin because when he played, it sounded dark and gothic to me. I enjoy classical music and I had hoped that the bands we saw would of had vinyl records to buy.
My impressions about the museums and the plays were different. I thought that the plays were interesting, but the museums were lacking. I think thats just me though, museums put to me asleep. Though, at the Hong Kong museum of art one of the artists who passed away that painted on Chinese scrolls. His paintings reminded of the pop culture but of his time.

Hong Kong "came into its own" in the 70's and 90's. I think this is a process we see in the US because ten years ago people thought we would never have a president who is black. Being prejudice and racist is not what it means to be human, and the people before us sheltered themselves from really "coming into their own" by hating because of differences. Right now, the young people, which are the future of this country are helping the US "come into its own" by accepting people from different backgrounds. So like Hong Kong, I think we too are finding ways to become our own.
From my point of view, I felt that the Hong Kong people were happy we were there touring their beautiful city. I know most european people do not like America for our ignorance, but I felt the opposite durring my stay in South Easy Asia. But it was just Hong Kong, I wouldnt be surprised if other countries felt different.
Compared to NYC, the people in Hong Kong were very nice. I felt very safe and comfortable when asking a stranger for information. I also noticed that there were alot of senior citizens walking and that to me means families are taking care of their elderly members which is something I dont see in the US.

Overrall, I think this has been one of the best trips Ive been on and I travel alot. I thought that Dr. Hung and Dr. Wang did very well in preparing our schedule and controlling over twenty people. I loved the food and tried everything, the people and the culture is something I cannot forget. I hope one day I will return. I have always wanted to work in another country and Hong Kong has been a place I would want to live in some day. Thank you Dr. Hung, Dr. Wang, and Mandi for showing this piece of the world to me.