I am excited to be traveling to Asia for the very first time. I don’t really know what to expect but what I know for sure is that there will be a big difference in culture. This is going to be my third study abroad, so experiencing culture shock is a routine thing for me now. Hong Kong is located in the south of China and it’s in proximity with many countries such as Taiwan, Phillipines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia among others. I am looking forward to traveling to different places during the weekends. First, I would like to start exploring Hong Kong. I’ve already looked up a couple of things to do. The beaches in Hong Kong and hiking the mountains looks unreal. After, I would like to travel to mainland China and many other countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan.
I am also looking forward to meeting locals and trying different kinds of food. I have researched the foods in Asia, and they have a long list of exotic foods that I would like to try. I feel like trying foods from specific regions helps you understand the people’s culture and understand why they like certain things. I have already started to practice eating with chopsticks. I am a beginner at using chopsticks and have only used them to eat sushi. In many places of Asia such as Hong Kong they use chopsticks for everything. I am looking forward to uncomfortable situations such as dropping food all over the table because of my lack of skills with chopsticks! A friend of mine from Rollins named Oscar is coming to Hong Kong with me as well. I am looking forward to sharing many experiences with him while we are abroad. I am happy to be doing all this traveling while I’m young because later when I find a job it will not be as easy. Traveling after retirement will not be the same because you will lack the energy that a young person has. These experiences will shape my future and I am happy to be taking this opportunities and making the most out of them.
Alberto Logrono