My Hong Kong Adventure 2012: Week Six: Cultural Blog (3/3/12)

“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit”- Jawahalal Nehru.

I have been fortunate enough over the past years to travel to different countries and to familiarise myself with different cultures first hand. Looking back however, none of these experiences can compare to the learning opportunity that Hong Kong has presented me with already. It never ceases to amaze me just how much I’ve learned in the seemingly six short weeks that we’ve been here. I left Northern Ireland, with lots of expectations and stereotypes packed into my suitcase of what the Hong Kong people would be like, and these have all been broken down as I’ve spent my time learning from the locals and seeing past my own preconceptions. This has made me realise, that stereotypes can be quite damaging, and has made me think of how I could tackle stereotypes in my future classroom.

This week, Heather and I decided that we wanted to learn more about the religious element of the culture here. We travelled to one of Hong Kong’s most popular temples, the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple, which aside from being a bit of a mouthful is a place where all three main religions in China are practiced- Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. We were amazed by the sheer number of people who were at the temple, most of whom were making offerings of burning incense and fruit at the altars, and as time passed, we became increasingly more paranoid that we were the only two tourists there! We spoke with a local Chinese man who was able to share some information about the beliefs of the people who were there. He told us that most of the temple’s visitors come to the temple in search of a spiritual answer via a practice called kau cim. This involves the shaking of a bamboo cylinder filled with fortune sticks until a stick falls out. This stick is believed to give an insight into the worshipper’s future, which is read by one of the fortune tellers which work inside the grounds of the temple. Sure enough, the area around the main altar was filled with the sound of shaking containers, and the odd crash of sticks, as some people got too excited and spilt them everywhere! The intricacy of the detail on the typical Chinese buildings was breath taking, so much so that I found myself just repeating the word “amazing” over and over again to Heather. The temple area was filled with lots of different examples of typical Chinese architecture and it was so easy to see why the Chinese people in general are so proud of their culture (Davis, 2005). This really made me think about how people from Northern Ireland view our own culture, and to reflect on how important they see our culture as being.

People practicing 'kau cim' outside the main altar.

Overhead lanterns at the main altar.

People offered burning incense in front of this beautiful building.

The detail on the buildings was spectacular.

One of the altars at the entrance to the temple.

I had initially expected Hong Kong to be a very religious place, and my experience at the temple this week would indicate that this was true. However, the majority of Hong Kong residents actually claim to have no religious affiliation at all, with only 43% of the population practicing religion in some shape or form. Coming from the most religious part of the United Kingdom where only 16% of the population class themselves as having no religion, this was a very hard concept to truly grasp (Tearfund, 2007). Despite this statistic, the people here are nevertheless very respectful towards religion, and can be very superstitious with regards to certain things at times. It will be useful to see how this lack of religion impacts the curriculum over here, when I get the opportunity to begin my placement.

When I found out I would be studying in Hong Kong this semester, I was genuinely excited. I have always regarded this part of the world to be somewhere steeped in heritage and culture. Obviously being in the diverse and cosmopolitan city that is Hong Kong, the Chinese culture is not the only culture that I have been able to experience, as I have been exposed to other British people, Europeans, Americans, and amongst others, people from other parts of Asia. The International Office organised a dessert party this week, where we got the opportunity to share some information about our culture, and learn more about the fifteen other cultures which are represented at HKIEd. Through conversations with other students about my own culture, and indeed through learning about others, I have developed a genuine appreciation for the Northern Irish culture. It is not uncommon for people to ask about the more dark times in the Northern Irish history, but these moments have shaped the culture as we know it today. I am proud to be from Northern Ireland, and I welcome the chance to share my own experiences with others. Studying here has been a great opportunity to reevaluate my own view on different cultures across the world, and to really broaden my horizons for the future.