Wednesday, July 30th (‘Til
We Meet Again, Hong Kong)
Written by Sylvia Trinh
After a
short few hours of sleep, the CTAHR group woke up around 5:00am to pack their remaining things before heading to the airport. Our taxi van was
waiting for us as we hiked up the mountain to the street. We had our hugs and said our goodbyes
to the Hong Kong folks before we got into the taxi van for the one-hour ride to
the airport. At some point between the van ride, waiting for our planes, or on
our flights, we all thought back on our past ten days in Hong Kong.
Selfie on the van ride to the airport
The
trip lacked many things: sleep, physical amenities, and a structured schedule. We’ll
readily admit how much we looked forward to coming home to what we were
familiar with, our families and friends, own beds, clean houses, home-cooked
food, and other comforts that we took for granted when we left them behind for ten
days. But this experience was also abundant in various other ways: humidity and
mosquitoes, of course, but more meaningfully so in friendship and how we all
cared for one another, laughter (some from delirium because of the lack of
sleep and not knowing what was going on, yes, but countless other instances of
genuine happiness over big and little things), and cultural exchange. The
Chinese have a concept of yin and yang to explain how complementary seemingly
opposing forces can be. On this volunteer/study tour, we were exposed to the
good and bad, had our ups and downs, and got to see the urban and rural sides
of Hong Kong. Having undergone what we had during those ten days challenged each and everyone of us out
of our comfort zones immensely, but also helped us come to many important
realizations that may not have happened without experience Hong Kong as wholly
as we did.
Back home!
As one
student reflected, “I learned not only a great deal about Hong Kong’s culture,
environment, and economy, but I also learned a whole lot more about
myself. Being so far from home, I found
out what I truly stood for in terms of what I liked or disliked. I understood myself, my decisions and most
important; I became more confident in myself.” For another, “I believe this
exchange has enhanced my understanding of Hong Kong culture and broadened my
view of the world by introducing new perspectives on issues that originally
seemed so black and white…This trip taught me a lot about myself, and has
sparked my desire to travel the world and take on more risks in life, because
there is still so much to see.”
We
couldn’t ask for a better team of Hong Kong volunteers to help our group learn
about agricultural and food issues in their home city. Not only were open to
learning about us as individuals as well as how our life was back home, they so
willingly shared whatever knowledge they could for us to gain a better
understanding of their true culture. They didn’t try to filter Hong Kong for
us; instead, we were exposed to the city for what it is. All of us who went to
Hong Kong certainly valued having undergone this volunteer/study tour, being
very well aware that such an opportunity to learn and immerse in a culture
abroad in the manner that I and the four students who embarked on this journey were
privileged to experience doesn’t come by so easily.
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