My Singaporean Saga: Hong Kong

This past weekend I chaperoned a group of 16 Middle School students to Hong Kong to volunteer at an English camp at a local school there. We left early Friday morning and arrived shortly afternoon in Hong Kong. We spent the first day there just traveling to our hostel, unpacking, and going to a nearby mall for dinner. It was on the journey to the mall that we encountered our first scare as all of our group was able to fit onto one of the trains, well all except three students. But that was quickly remedied and we were off to dinner, where I was talked into eating McDonalds for what was the second time already this trip (knowing that we would be served McDonalds for lunch the next day as well). Not much adventure in the stomach of a early teenager. After dinner it was back to the hostel where I futilely attempted to get the boys to sleep at a decent hour.

The next day was the English camp. We arrived a little early at the school so that the kids could set up for the games that they would be conducting throughout the day. As the Cantonese students poured in, it was easy to tell that they were a little reserved. Our students were the first native English speakers that they had ever encountered, so feelings of intimidation and inadequacy were probably summoning in the beginning. It was a little of an awkward beginning as our students found that each of their questions was met with blank stares, but as the day wore on the kids began to become more comfortable and shockingly display quite an impressive grasp of the English language. Throughout the day our kids led the camp in different games, songs, and activities. However, the highlight of the day was a mime/skit that the students had been working on that had a strong Christian message without being explicitly Christian (as that would not have been allowed here). The mime portrayed a kid who falls victim to worldly temptations and enjoys it at first, but then finds that they lead to his destruction and becomes controlled by them. In the end, a "man" (we know who this is right?) comes in and removes these temptations and saves him. After the mime/skit, our students went back to the groups to answer any questions. Although we were not allowed to witness to the Cantonese kids, if they asked questions about who the "man" was then our students were allowed to answer. PRAISE THE LORD! A few of our students actually got this opportunity to share about who the "man" was and how he saved the boy. No, no students came to Christ, but we can pray that curiosities were roused and seeds were planted. In the end the same students who were too afraid to talk in the beginning were running around trying to get a picture with all of our students and write down their e-mails. Quite the turnaround.

After the camp we were guided down a famous market in Hong Kong called the Ladies Market. In short, it was a street with hundreds of different stalls where you could buy all sorts of junk and valuables together. It was a nightmare for the chaperons who had to keep up with all the students in one of the most crowded areas of one of the busiest cities in the world, but we managed to get through it.

Sunday we got up and headed to Victoria Peak, a mountain that offers a wonderful view of Hong Kong and the harbor. That is, of course, unless the sky is a blanket of fog covering the entire city like it was on this particular day. We were fortunate enough to be blessed with about 30 minutes of clear skies, which opened up a spectacular view. It was a nice peaceful touch to end our time in Hong Kong, as we packed up and left early the next morning.

All in all it was a pretty nice trip. Bonding with students, experiencing a new city and culture, and making many memories.