1.14.18

This post is a bit late, as I got in late last night from Shenzhen. So the day started with a really great gathering of alumni in the morning and afternoon. Hearing about their experiences and how they, in many cases, made it from homes in the U.S. to HK was super interesting. They were all extremely friendly, and it was a pleasure to spend that time with them. I showed two of them the way to the subway, and after saying goodbye, met a friend of mine who goes to school here. We took the bus to the border with the mainland, and video chatted a mutual friend in Taiwan who will be coming to visit HK this weekend. There were a lot of people at the border this time, but the guards were friendly and we eventually met up with a friend who goes to Shenzhen University. It was a pretty hot day, so the three of us first went to find a Gong Cha for some bubble tea at a massive shopping center nearby called “OK Mall.” After hiding the bubble tea, we entered the movie theater to see 无问西东. Its really difficult to summarize this movie, as it takes place in three separate time periods, but it was really brilliant (and starred Williams alum Wang Lihong). The three time periods were: WWII, Cultural Revolution, and the present day. I was really moved by the Cultural Revolution part, and hope that Chinese can continue to be more open about this tragedy. After the movie, we left in a taxi for an absolutely delicious hotpot. This restaurant was right near the campus of Shenzhen University, and was very different from Haidilao or other fancier places. The hotpots were all outside, with each table complete with different colored plastic stools and a small propane tank. It was overall a very memorable evening, and the casual environment surrounded completely by other college students enjoying delicious food was just great.