O Hong Kong

The more time I spend in Hong Kong, the more I am beginning to like it.

At first glace, it's easy for me to disdain the lifestyle here. It's heavily consumeristic and materialistic, the advertisements create an overstimulation of the visual sense, while the sounds and noise are hardly a pleasant cacophony. Yet there are so many things to appreciate about this city.

My dad has been bringing me around to many places, and having someone accompany me to the places I want to visit has been delightful (and safer too!). On Sunday, my dad's middle school friend took us hiking up the dragon's back (Lung Chek). It was a beautiful day for a hike--not too sunny, and with a cool breeze. Butterflies of all species and colours flittered past, and it was nice to admire the city from afar. Sometimes it's easier to be surrounded by nature and see how beautiful the city is, than to be in the city and notice its beauty.

Yesterday, we finally visited Tai O on Lantau Island: a fishing village I had hoped to visit since the first day I arrived. It was definitely food for the amateur photographer, and I enjoyed it very much, apart from the mosquito-bitten calves and sunburnt arms I left with. The sky was blue for once, and the way of life was so different. My dad starts conversations with random people (I get it from him), and we had the chance to hear life stories from two very elderly residents.

When I was younger, I used to pity the poor who continued to use old appliances and lived in one-room houses, but now that I'm a bit older, I'm beginning to appreciate the simple lifestyles. The old lady we spoke to told us that her children and grandchildren would keep asking her to live with them in the city, but she would refuse because she had lived here for the 50 years of her marriage and she belonged here. As an inspiring Urbana speaker once said, "Where you settle is where you will die." I better settle carefully.

Another thing I appreciate about the Hong Kong people is their proactivism. July 1st not only marks Canada Day, but also handover day when Hong Kong was released from British colony rule back to China. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR), which means that it is the only democratic area inside a communist country. The citizens here value their democracy so much because it is vulnerable. Democracy is fragile. So on this public holiday, there are no less than 7 marches and demonstrations, one of which I may take part in. There is a public spirit that docile Canadians seem to lack--simply because it seems superfluous in a democratic country. I like Hong Kong.