Hong Kong

I’m currently in Hong Kong with my senior thesis advisor and a few other Yalies working on a survey project. The survey project is unique in that it tries to assess China’s true urban composition by capturing China’s massive migrant population. While the majority of these migrations are “illegal” and consequently undocumented, they are definitely not an invisible population. Estimates of the population have been between 150 to 200 million people, which if you think about it, is about ½ to 2/3 of the US population.
The workshop is pretty much Chinglish, extensive statistical analysis, and intense discussions about whether or not there is still a penalty to rural birth. I think I might be thinking harder than I actually did at any point in my second semester of senior year…To be fair, my second semester was kind of like this… Outside of workshop, my life is pretty much dim sum, mangoes and markets, and using HK's extensive public transportation.
HK island from the ferry

I made a trip by myself to Lantau Island, about a 2.5hr trip. It's a beautiful island and I really enjoyed the bus ride that took us up to a giant Buddha statue on the mountain peak. It is the largest bronze Buddha in the world.

HK cemetery nestled in the middle of downtown. I like the juxtaposition of the cemetery against the background high rises.

View of the Catholic cemetery (lots of Portuguese buried here) from the Muslim cemetery, which was located on the hilltop.

I found a sticker of a Sun Bear on the fence surrounding the cemetery. Sun bears are the shared spirit animal of Ray and I. Maybe it's a good luck sign for our upcoming trip to SH! :)