Westerners and Diamond Hill

Say hello to my friends! Jerusha is seven and her brother, Joshua, is six. They speak English with each other and their dad, and Cantonese with their mom. (She speaks wonderful English, too) We can’t forget Mandarin though, Sis. Grace’s cousin is teaching the both of them this third language! To clarify--Mandarin is the official language in the PRC (People’s Republic of China), and Cantonese is the Chinese dialect used in Hong Kong. I’m impressed by all the bi-lingual/ tri-lingual children and adults.

The Ralee family (I go to their house for church) asked how I felt about being so different in appearance from most of the other approximately 7 million people in the city. It is interesting, and the curious looks definitely come my way, especially when I am farther from a tourist attraction or the college campus. How do I feel about it? Hmm..nothing really defined. The only time I even think about it is if I'm alone, which is basically only on Sundays. I catch mostly older people eyeing me inquisitively, and they have every right to think, “Huh, wonder what she’s doing here.”

To throw in a bonus fact, since this post is leaning towards the details--Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with an overall density of some 6,303 people per square kilometer. (Taken from the US Department of State) Wow.

Ok, back to the original topic. The family has been to the US, Ohio actually, and Jerusha has good memories and a pen pal. During our conversation over lunch she sighed contently and said, “I love westerners.” Her dad was cracking up, we all were, it was just so funny the way she said it.


minibus stop after church

I stopped at the Nin Lian garden in Diamond Hill on the way back today..and apparently managed to completely miss the attached Buddhist nunnery. The pamphlet I picked up was in Cantonese, and by the time I actually looked at it I was around a couple bends and twists in the path. I knew there was a nunnery from a sign near the MTR, but I didn’t know the bridge at the top of the "picture" led straight to it until after returning to campus. Go figure. So that ones back on the list.




very man-made but still serene