“Time flies- it’s up to you to be the navigator”- Robert Orben.
It seriously seems like two days ago when I uploaded my week six blog. Time is flying by, and the days are escaping us so quickly. More than anything, this has really taught us to continue to embrace every opportunity that comes along, so that we don’t regret not doing enough or missing out on chances which we will most likely never have again.
When we first arrived in Hong Kong, Heather and I sat down and made a list of everything that we wanted to do before we returned home. We compiled our twenty five “things we must see before we leave” list rather easily, and it was great this week to look back to this list, to check off the spots that we have been to, to delete the spots which we no longer want to see, to add some spots that we now want to see, and to see what places we mentioned on the list seven weeks ago, and still haven’t visited. It would be very easy for us to get caught up with assignments and group work that both seem to be piling up at the moment, but Heather and I have promised ourselves to really plan the time we have left so that we leave here knowing that we made the most of every second of our time here.
The church that we have been attending since our arrival is in Wan Chai, a popular and central area on Hong Kong Island, and it has two services every Sunday. We decided that we wanted to check out the church that the Stranmillis students who studied here last year recommended us to visit, an international church called ‘Ambassador’. We got chatting to a man after the service who was originally from Ballymena, and he introduced us to former Stranmillis student, Jim Nelson. It really struck Heather and I how small the world actually was, and it was lovely to hear a familiar accent again! Jim studied in Guangzhou during his third year at Stran. Our conversation really opened my eyes to the increased opportunities that studying abroad can give and it made me realise that moving out here to teach after graduation is a very real option, particularly with the current job market for primary teachers in Northern Ireland.
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| A demonstration in Central: Heather and I feared for our lives! |
Some of the people from church invited us out to lunch, and it was great to talk to different people and to find out what brought them to Hong Kong. After lunch Heather and I decided that in light of the beautiful, clear day, a trip up Victoria Peak (the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island) would be very worthwhile. The peak is a very popular tourist attraction which provides panoramic views of Victoria Harbour to the thousands of tourists which flock there every day. We decided to take the most direct route to the summit via the Peak Tram, which was a very exciting experience- a tram and an uphill ascent of 373m just don’t mix very well in my head! Upon arrival at the top, we made our way directly to the viewing platform buzzing with excitement to absorb the beautiful views of Hong Kong. Unfortunately, we soon realised that a thick fog had descended over the Peak, which made it very difficult to see the picturesque views that we expected! We will however, be paying another visit to the Peak before we leave as it is arguably one of Hong Kong’s most notorious tourist attractions, and we do not intend on missing it. We do hope that next time we might be able to see a little more than 25m in front of ourselves!
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| The starting point for the Peak Tram. |
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| The Peak Tram halfway up its ascent. |
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| I am enjoying the "panoramic" view of Hong Kong Island. |
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| The Peak Tram at the summit of Victoria Peak. |
The Hong Kong Institute of Education offers a wide range of sporting facilities for the students free of charge, which Heather and I have both availed of since arriving here. We finalised our travel plans recently, so are very driven to achieve those perfect “bikini bodies” for the Philippines, Thailand, Beijing and Dubai, by spending some time at the university’s gym. This experience is such a great opportunity to see places that we have never seen before, and that we may never have the chance to see again. We are also both really looking forward to visiting the Stranmillis students who are studying in Guangzhou next weekend.
It is so weird to think that we have been here for nearly two months, but continuing to maximise every opportunity will ensure that the fun that we are having here keeps going. I am always so thankful to have been given this opportunity of a lifetime, and to be honest, I never want it to stop!
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| Heather and I at Madame Tussauds, Hong Kong. |
Baai baai! (bye bye!)
Andrew Scott
