By Jamie

Last full day with everyone today! It feels quite bittersweet, but it is eye-opening to see how close everyone has gotten since the beginning of this program. Remember on the first day when we all arrived at the front of the lobby? Although we were not too familiar with one another, we had one thing in common, and that was the excitement we had for this program. Looking forward to explore more of Hong Kong and learning much about its history, we were able to start conversations based on those topics. Shortly after, we were all able to share laughs, try new foods, and even suffer from our constant stomach issues on and off throughout these past two weeks together. We bonded and shared our stories. Now, we can identify each other as one big family.

Going back to today’s itinerary, our day started a little later than usual. Our group met up at 10:00 am to do our individual presentations that we all stayed up late at night to perfect. Throughout the presentations, we learned the comparisons between the Hong Kong and American culture. Mine was specifically on snacks and snacking habits. We learned about the transition from street food Dai Pai Dongs in the post-war years to how far they have become today. Since not very many street vendors were licensed, many Dai Pai Dongs included built-in wheels for higher transportation efficiency. This was to help street vendors migrate from location after location to stay away from the police from easily targeting them. Another main factor we learned from today’s presentations was that there are actually countless similarities and differences between the two cultures. For example, Americans snack mainly on finger foods, whereas as people in Hong Kong prefer to use utensils such as skewers while they snack.

After our first round of presentations, we took a lunch break at the student canteen. The food came in large portions and was very affordable. Not only that, but there were a variety of meals we were able to choose from on the menu. How the student canteen works is comparable to an American food court. The main difference is that there was a separate line for everyone to pay after receiving their meals. One interesting fact that I am sure everyone has noticed by now is that most restaurants and food courts do not have napkin access. The student canteen was one of the very many places without napkins. From today’s presentations, we were able to learn one theory to explain this. One theory as to why many food places in Hong Kong do not hand out napkins is because they believe it is a sign of respect for the food when people do not wipe their mouths while eating. This represents how delicious the food is and shows that they would not want to stop eating. It is quite interesting to learn about the traditions and reasoning behind why people in Hong Kong do certain actions that may seem uncommon to us.

PolyU’s Dr. Sau Fong Leung handing out gifts to SJSU students

For our last night here all together, we had a banquet dinner with some of the Poly U staff and host students who spent the last two weeks with us. We went to this restaurant that was on the Poly U campus, but was exclusive for only the staff members. When we got out of the elevator, we were amazed by how fancy the place seemed. It almost felt as if we were no longer on a student campus. The food was buffet style and was filled with Western cuisine, including a variety of meats, vegetables, and fruits. There was so much delicious food that we all wanted to try, but unfortunately we consumed our first plate too quickly and was stuffed shortly after. Some made room for dessert, while others just had some fruit. Having this dinner was a nice way to interact with the host students one last time before we all head our separate ways. We reflected on the past 2 weeks and exchanged different experiences with one another. All in all, we have all grown to treat each other as a family and it is truly one bittersweet moment to say “see you again.” We have all learned and grew a lot as individuals, whether it may have been through good or bad times. This abroad adventure will forever stay with us no matter where we travel because we all made lifelong friendships from another part of the world. Remember, what happens in Hong Kong does not stay in Hong Kong. Instead, we will continue to spread and encourage others to experience going abroad as we share our memorable stories.