Today we had the opportunity to explore various sites in Hong Kong. Here is a brief rundown of our groups’ adventures:
Dixie, B.J. and Sharon visited a local art museum. They saw a mackette, which is a small replica of a Frank Gehry building, ceramics, and traditional Chinese paintings.
Brian W., Scott, Michele and Linda went to the island of Lantau to visit a Buddhist monastery. They also saw the Guanyin, the largest outdoor, sitting bronze Buddha in the world.
Deb, Jim, Brenda and David started their day with a trip to the bird market. There they saw crickets “as large as your fist” (Deb). Then, Jim faced his fear of heights and rode a cable car with the group to visit Guanyin (the huge Buddha mentioned above).
Karen and Muriel “toured” the city via hotel shuttle and spent the day relaxing and exploring Hong Kong cuisine.
Katie met with a former Pitt student, and they enjoyed a dinner together.
Judy went to Macau to visit an acquaintance.
Debbie and Bethany went to Lamma Island to check out the fishing village. They tried a vegetarian lunch, and Debbie took a bus tour of Hong Kong in the afternoon.
Doug, well, Doug happily waved goodbye as he left the hotel on the shuttle, but I unfortunately don’t know where he ended up :-)
As for Rick, Brian S., Toni and I, we had a magical day at Hong Kong Disneyland. Naturally, we observed elements of Asian culture throughout the park. For example, “typical” Disney food usually includes soft pretzels, hot dogs and huge turkey legs. Although we did enjoy burgers and fries - fried rice, noodles, and chicken feet were far more abundant. Though it should have been obvious, I was still surprised to hear Mickey and Minnie (pronounced Mikey and Miney) speak Chinese. We were also excited to see the “Lijiang (Li River) Lady,” which was one of the boats on the Jungle River Cruise. And just as we thought we would go two days without seeing Chinese acrobats – Tarzan performed a few stunts that I know weren’t in the movie.
Today’s lesson, It’s a Small World after all.
Lynda, Toni & Brian S.
Study Tour
