By Teresa

Today’s adventurous agenda consisted of going to the beach – however, in order to reach the destination, we had to work hard for it, in the blazing hot sun. The hike that we embarked on was called Dragon’s Back. At first, I thought the hike would be easy because of the numerous elder adults walking on the trails. Little did I know that this would be one of the hardest hikes I have ever attempted. Something surprising that I had heard from Iris was that this was actually one of the easier hikes and that many elders go on this trail. It was shocking to know that many of the older adults are stronger and have better stamina than me, but that just goes to show how important physical activity and health is to the people of Hong Kong. Although the hike was challenging due to ups and downs on the stairs, as well as being startled by the creatures that we saw along the way, arriving at the beach was very rewarding and a huge accomplishment for me. Frankie, the host of our tour, took us to an open area to barbecue as a reward and learn about the different techniques that the Hong Kong locals use to cook the food. The Hong Kong way was much like making s’mores over a camp fire, using a skewer stick to cook the meat over the fire. The Western way was like cooking on a grill, in which there was a grill placed on top of the fire pit and the meat was then cooked on that.  He also showed us a honey glaze that we could put on top of the food that made it delicious. After we ate and relaxed, some of us went to the ocean to swim. It was cool to see the locals interact with us. Marin and Frankie asked if our group could play volleyball with the locals and they happily agreed. The volleyball game went on for about an hour and it was nice to see the locals enjoy our company. It is always nice to be reminded that although we don’t speak that same language, we do share common activities such as playing sports. Although this was one of the more challenging activities so far on this trip, it helped me to remember why I came to Hong Kong, to explore a new country that I had never been to as well as get a closer look into the culture here.

Check out the video above of our group in action!