Don't wake me up...yet.: My European Dream :D

It’s a really nice way for me to have a chance to glance back by doing this reflective journal. By flipping through the photos of Amsterdam and Stockholm, it makes me think back, what were the good days gone?

The pond behind I Amsterdam

Canal in Amsterdam

Canal outside Nordiska Museum
Good days...

Actually in my 22-year life, this year’s summer vacation is the busiest summer vacation I have ever had. Tell you what, before the Study Tour, I went to Japan with my family for my brother’s graduation trip. Soon after got back to Hong Kong from the Study tour, I will be heading to Singapore for my overseas internship. What a nice and fulfilling summer vacation!

A must: brush up my English skills

As the destinations of the Study Tour are Amsterdam and Stockholm, what I have to do first is to brush up my English skills before the trip. Though both of the countries’ national language is not English, English is still one of the major languages spoken by most Europeans. Getting lost is quite common in foreign countries, especially if you are not familiar with the countries. So it’s inevitable to communicate with strangers, to ask for directions. And that is why I need to prepare myself with some sort of English phrases first, for instance, ‘Excuse me, where to go to xxxxx?’, ‘Sorry to bother you, is this the right way to xxxxx?’ etc. And also, I need to prepare my emotional status as well, like to stay calm when talking to strangers. I had this awkward feeling when I talk to them. But after I express my anxiety to my friends and teachers, they taught me how to deal with the awkwardness and my anxiety. And now, I feel slightly more comfortable to talk to strangers or foreigners. In fact, I helped some foreigners to find their ways in Tsim Sha Tsui! Foreigners in Amsterdam and Stockholm are really nice, they are willing to answer tourists’ questions, and some of them even bring me to the location! (Imagine this situation in Hong Kong, guess not much people will care…)

Not only do I need to brush up my English skills, I also want to know some local commonly-use phrases like, ‘hello’, ‘thank you’ in Dutch and Swedish. For ‘hello’, in Dutch it’s ‘hallo’; whereas for Swedish it’s ‘hej’. For ‘thank you’, in Dutch it’s ‘bedankt’; whereas for Swedish it’s ‘tack’. By learning these common-use phrases, it can help me to build up a certain kind of affinity towards the locals, makes me feel like less tourist-ish. :)

Is cultural differences necessary lead to cultural clash?

Learning different cultures is one of my major goals while traveling. After the trip, I discovered a few things. In both cities (can say both countries actually), people tend to have higher tolerance of individual differences. For instance, there is no prejudice towards any kinds of sexuality, especially in The Netherlands. It’s the first nation to recognize same-sex marriage. The Netherlands is considered as a liberal country, with its legalization of euthanasia and also same-sex marriage. Compare to traditional Chinese society like Hong Kong, it’s not so liberal comparatively as there is no legalization of both acts. With these kinds of culture differences, sometimes I may encounter cultural clash. But in fact, as long as you can understand and to be tolerant to one another culture, and embrace the difference, it won’t be a huge problem.

Indeed, I found something interesting in Amsterdam. See these graffiti?

Graffiti in Spui

These can be found in Spui, an a-bit-worn-down area, with quite a few old buildings (imagine like Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po). There are a few graffiti that we can see. Global warming, US President Obama etc… all these global issues are linked up by these ‘artistic’ work. I think art is the way to embrace all the cultural differences.

Another interesting thing about Amsterdam is that, we can easily find a mixture of traditional and modern buildings. I believe that the Dutch government had paid much effort in order to preserve the historical buildings, like the Dam Square, Zuier Kerk, Royal Palace, Rijksmuseum etc. And at the same time, they also encourage modernity, like in the below, there is NEMO – The Science Center in Amsterdam. So eventually, tradition and modernity can be compossible. Hong Kong should make a note of that.

Rijksmuseum

NEMO - The Science Center

For Stockholm, in my opinion, the people tend to be more humble and friendlier compare to the Dutch. (Probably in Amsterdam there’s not much Dutch as it’s a tourist hotspot) Swedish is considered as egalitarian, meaning that everyone is treated as equal in social statuses. I remember I saw this poster alongside the road, and it said something about there will be a gay pride parade will be held in late July to early August.

Stockholm Pride

Seems to me that everyone in here, or Europe, they treat everyone equally, without any prejudice and bias. This is probably the most significant thing that I experience in the foreign countries.

To dig into one’s culture, you need to get a taste of their food

Cuisine, restaurants. What a nice topic. I have heard from somewhere in one magazine, it said something like ‘If you like to explore one’s culture, you have try the local food first’. And perhaps that was the best place to practice the phrases that I learnt beforehand. The foods in western countries are mainly fries, hotdogs, pastas etc. Fries are everywhere in Amsterdam. It’s easy to find one right around the corner. The fries is different compare to the Hong Kong one, it’s thicker, richer but softer. Not only have they offered ketchup, but also garlic, mustard, mayonnaise etc. The mayonnaise sauce was the best sauce I have ever tasted! And also, the waffle with ice-cream is quite nice too.

Waffle :D

The coldness of the ice-cream mixed with the warmth of the waffle, what an amazing match. Another signature dish in Amsterdam is herring, it is a forage fish which is commonly served in smoked, salted or pickled in Europe. I didn’t try it though, ‘cause I don’t like smelly fish… (and this herring is served in raw, RAWWWWWW) I know that I should try new things in different countries as I may not have the chance to try it again, but I know one day, some day, I will be back to Amsterdam.

In Stockholm, I ate hotdogs and meatballs all the time, and pastas. If you don’t have the chance to visit Stockholm yourself, just try the meatball in IKEA, exactly the same stuff. (I still can’t get rid of the scent of the Stockholm meatball in my mind…) On top of this, ice-cream! Throughout the whole trip, ice-cream is just like hot-dog, as I can find it anytime in anywhere, so convenient. I like the pecan flavor in particular, the nutty flavor combined with butter, so-far it's the best ice-cream I have ever tasted.

Ice-cream in Stockholm :P

There is a Chinese idiom said ‘The food on the next table always tastes better than those on mine’, meaning that, you will always have the feeling that others’ stuff is better than yours. I think this can apply in the trip, Western food is much more better than compare to Chinese food. (But fairly speaking, if you want to find foods that have milder scent, go for Chinese food, it will give you a milder flavor of the food, and healthier also! (I guess…))

Learn from mistakes

As one of the committee members of the Study Tour, it’s my responsibility to be in charge of the airport pick-up and also activities in Amsterdam. The planning process was quite interesting actually, as I have to contact the person in charge through email. Throughout the whole planning process, countless emails were sent, luckily they replied me quite efficiently and promptly. (guess this situation in Hong Kong, quite unlikely to happen…) I remember, on the first day of our tour, right after we arrived in Amsterdam, we have to find the airport pick-up immediately as all of us have already checked out and got our luggage. As I was in charge of this, I have to find the pick-up spot first. Since everything looks unfamiliar to me, I managed to ask the locals to help me with the location. Luckily, the pick-up spot was quite near to our location and we managed to be in there on time as well. I guess it’s quite a nice start? Nope it’s not. Mistakes are yet to come.

Reading maps and instructions in the travel guide are quite crucial when you are travelling overseas. And that was exactly my problem of misreading the instructions of the travel guide. During the tour in Amsterdam, there was a day that we were heading to Zaanse Schans, a windmill village. We needed to take a bus from Amsterdam Centraal Station to get there. At first, we had already encountered some problems prior the trip. the when we got to the Centraal Station, I had to exchange the travel guide ticket to the transport ticket. During the period, I misread the instruction and went to a wrong place. It took me almost 15 minutes to figure out what was going on. Eventually, we sorted the things out, but I knew that this mistake can be avoided by simply study the instructions beforehand. (Before the whole trip I mean).

Another problem that I encountered is the departure pick-up spot. In the day of our arrival, our airport shuttle driver gave us a ‘city-tour-ish’ bus tour in Amsterdam, after that he chose to drop us off at a spot that was different to the spot that was mentioned in the invoice. I was a bit confused by the time we were leaving Amsterdam to Stockholm, as there was two similar hotels around the area that I thought it was the pick-up spot. Unfortunately, I messed up with the place and went to the wrong pick-up spot. (I was a bit glad that it was only me who dragged my own luggage to the wrong place, not the whole pack of people. If so, then it was really problematic.)

Looking back

During the Study tour, mistakes were made, some stupid ones as well. The responsibility was all mine as I was the one who was responsible for the matter. I learnt that I need to be well prepared before the trip, reading through the travel guides and maps, identify the places that we need to go, and find the best transportation route to get there. Well-prepared beforehand is vital when travelling, and be alert of any emergencies. And that’s what I have learnt in this tour. Those were the lovely days in Europe, the trip makes me think about a lot of things. (Though the saying is lame, I still wanna say, I am grateful to have the opportunity to participate in this study tour, I can have a chance of get out of my comfort zone, which is nice) I miss the days in Amsterdam and Stockholm, really. And I know, I will be back soon, real soon.