Wrapping up the Student Life: My Last Summer Holiday

My student life has come to an end. It's such a bizarre feeling, since I've been a student for two decades. It's pretty much all most of us have been accustomed too!

Before beginning my new "adulting" journey, I wanted to enjoy my summer holiday to the fullest! Here's a couple of things I've done in the months of May and June, which is luckily, a handful, since COVID has improved. It's mainly been a lot of personal time plus a lot of exploring Hong Kong!

1. Volunteering

One of my favourite parts of holidays is that I have more time to volunteer! This holiday, I volunteered in Crossroads, Feeding Hong Kong and Dialogue in the Dark. I was able to meet a lot of new friends from around the world, and I think that's one of the reasons I enjoy volunteering so much! In these organizations, I helped out with different tasks, such as cooking, packing up goods for distribution, and delivering goods to the recipients.

2. Working on personal projects

I've been working on a lot of personal projects during the holiday, including this blog, pursuing my creative writing again, but most importantly, working on the Workers' Diary! The Workers' Diary is a social media project I've been working on to raise awareness towards domestic workers in Hong Kong. We would talk with domestic workers around Central and Causeway Bay on Sundays, and sometimes, we come across really fun performances! In this picture, we witnessed a Javanese cultural dance in Victoria Park. If you're interested, you can check out our project at @the.workers.diary on Instagram!

3. Hanging out with friends! (ft. the beach)

It's been such a long time since I've gone to the beach with friends! A refreshing, good swim is a must in the summer, and I'm so happy to have gone with friends to Pak Lap Beach! When we went, the beach was relatively empty, since not many people know about this particular beach in Sai Kung (so I recommend it since you get to enjoy the beach on your own)!

One of the perks is that one of the restaurant owners was a Filipino. When he spotted us, he immediately put on Filipino music and a lot of nostalgic music you hear when our family hits the karaoke LOL Overall, it gave Cebu vibes, and it didn't feel like Hong Kong!

I also went to a board game cafe in Kennedy Town called Wheat and Wood. There's a lot of games available, such as Battleship, Jenga, and some more bizarre games, such as Exploding Kittens!

4. Bar, cafe and restaurant hopping

I really wanted to explore Hong Kong's F&B scene, so I know where to relax if I ever need a nice snack or meal. So for one, I went to different cafes in Hong Kong, such as Page Common, Arabica and as I mentioned before, Wheat and Wood!

Though, what surprised me is also how much I actually enjoy bar hopping! I didn't know that cocktails could be enjoyable, since I don't really like strong alcoholic drinks in general. But after exploring different speakeasy bars, such as J. Boloski (my favourite so far) and The Diplomat, I realized how fun it can be to just sit back and relax with a drink in hand as you chat with your friends. It gives a nice ambience for a one-on-one conversation, and the bartenders are usually very friendly and accommodating.

As for restaurants, I found a lot of hidden gems! We even found an airport-themed restaurant called The Galley. The interior gives a lot of airport vibes, even showing the "Departure" sign. For the food, they even offer you the trays they give on the plane. If you reserve a table at the restaurant, you can also sit in the comfort of airplane-styled seating!

OMG Mamaday Cafe is also another interesting restaurant with a loveable and quirky interior. They put up a lot of paintings and humorous quotes. Of course, even the food is delicious, providing a fusion of Western and Chinese cuisine.

5. Learning a new instrument

I've wanted to pick up the violin for a while, especially having this instrument being unplayed for more than a decade at my home. I thought it's probably time to actually use it and learn the basics! Currently, since it's really old, I still have to retune it and pick up some new strings.

TwoSetViolin is one of the reasons I've been encouraged to give it a try. They make the violin look so fun to learn, and I particularly love their sight reading videos, where they play pieces composed by their fans.

6. Enjoying Tsim Sha Tsui's night views

Throughout the holiday, I've gone to Tsim Sha Tsui probably more than ten times. I realized how relaxing the harbour is (and how fun K-11 is). If I ever go here, I enjoy reading my book and waiting for the sun to set by the harbour with a nice cup of coffee. I also took the ferry once, which I haven't done since high school, and it helped me wind down after a long day. I had a lot of nice conversations with friends here, and watching the night views somehow encourages me to reflect more on myself, and also be more appreciative about everything around me!

7. Reading books

I read a handful of books during my summer holiday, which I'm really happy about! Apart from reading some popular books, I also came across a lot of niche authors and discovered some amazing content. I especially loved Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikaze Kawagushi and Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax. I realized how different the writing is between Western and Asian literature. What's especially observable is the difference in their context cultures. Asia mostly relies on high context culture in their writing, while Western writing mainly reflects the low context culture. Basically, I think that Asian authors have a more reflective and philosophical style, compared to Western writing, which focuses more on verbal, emotional expression. That's not to say one is better than the other, but I feel like this has just broadened my interest in the types of books I'm willing to pick up!

8. Exploring sustainability

My courses this semester have taught me so much more about sustainability, which made me reflect more on my consumption habits. So these days, I've tried to approach a more sustainable lifestyle, including exploring thrift shops in Hong Kong. This doesn't only include fashion thrift shopping, but also book thrift shopping! I've also tried to find vegan restaurants, such as Green Commons and Sofia, though ALL of these sustainable options are so far from where I live. So if you have any recommendations, please let me know!

My holiday is coming to an end, and eventually, I am officially out of university. It's quite a bittersweet feeling but I'm really excited for this new journey that awaits! In a way, it feels liberating, since I have more freedom to pick my adventures! Isn't that what life is about?