Blogging by Rudi Skowronski
I cannot believe that we have already been in Hong Kong for 8 days! Every day has been very educational and full of great new experiences.
Due to Typoon Linfa, our plans have changed a little bit. Instead of learning Tai Chi in Hong Kong park, we started out the day filling out evaluations for all of the presentations and activities that we have participated in throughout the trip. I know, very exciting. Next we came up with a variety of icebreakers and attention gatherers that will come in very handy both through out this trip and during the many many leadership opportunities that will present themselves to all of us through out our lives. Later we split up into our small groups to brainstorm ideas for our projects.
After packing up and saying goodbye to the Y Loft, we took a bus to the World Wildlife Foundation in the new Territories. We were greeted by Walter and Tammy, WWF volunteers who gave us a quick introduction to the different sites in Tai Po that we visited and why smart urban development is important for sustainable growth in cities. After the short introduction we took a bus tour of Tai Po with Tammy, WWF volunteer and our tour guide. First we visited the Tai Po old town which is one of the only planned parts of Hong Kong. While other parts of Tai Po are built up with large living and shopping complexes, old town has preserved a market, and many "older" aspects to the city. After emptying our wallets at the market, Tammy walked us to the Lam Tsun river, which is the focal point of Tai Po. After leaning about urban city planing in the center of Tia Po, Tammy took us to a beach on the outskirts of the city, where mangroves (a Hong Kong native tree) still grow. On the bus ride to the industrial estate, we passed the second largest Guanyin statue in the world. Quite an amazing sight. Before we said good bye to Tammy, and her intern Walter; we had reflections on the day.
After the tour with WWF, we took a bus ride to the New Asia Middle School (High school in Hong Kong is what we call college) where we meet our home stay families. Nick and I were lucky enough to stay with Andy, his older brother Harry and their family.
All of our stories split from here, however the great times don't stop. I think everyone is very excited for everything that lays in front of us. I personally can't wait for the next great adventures that Hong Kong & Guangzhou has ready for us.
For some more photos, please click here
Additional photos by Nate Ivy: