{"id":6615,"date":"2017-06-21T14:48:31","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T21:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?post_type=stories&p=6615"},"modified":"2017-06-21T14:48:31","modified_gmt":"2017-06-21T21:48:31","slug":"my-dmin-journey-color-me-hong-kong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/my-dmin-journey-color-me-hong-kong\/","title":{"rendered":"My DMin Journey \u201cColor Me Hong Kong\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"12042287_882927371755802_1653692133_n_rose_on_planto<\/a>My \u00a0\u00a0DMin Journey at George Fox Evangelical Seminary:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0In the beginning, after all of us had been accepted into the Leadership Global Perspective of the DMin program at George Fox Evangelical Seminary and before settling in \u00a0with our assignments, we were getting our shots and passport ready for our first Leadership Global Perspective,\u00a0 Advance 2015 in Hong Kong. The excitement was stirring in the air, and I was eager to meet everyone face to face. The day<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>finally arrived, \u00a0it\u00a0was Sunday September 20<\/em>th<\/sup><\/em>, 2015. I arrived at the Chicago O\u2019Hare \u00a0International airport three hours earlier , just to be told the flight was delayed for two hours, which turn \u00a0out to be one delay, after another\u2026 there is \u00a0more to the delayed story. It was to be 15.5 hours flying time; but it turned out to be\u00a036.5 hours including airport and flying time \u2026 hanging out, around United Airline, waiting for \u00a0Flight # 895, to\u00a0leave Chicago for\u00a0Hong Kong.<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally on the plane and now we are flying\u2026Yes!<\/span><\/b><\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Introduction:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The question in my mind was who can or where can \u00a0one find information about the city of Hong Kong while traveling, I thought perhaps, one can get a true picture of a city, from the tourist guide?\u00a0This is how the guide described Hong Kong, as<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u201cA city of contradictions, Hong Kong\u2019s steel and glass exteriors belie its traditional heart. Fast-paced, innovative, and ambitious, this is also a city where Buddha has his own mountain, noodles are slurped in alleyways, and Cantonese opera is sung on the streets. Here, Shama offers residents a choice of serviced apartments in the city\u2019s most happening neighbourhoods: hip Hollywood Road, exciting Central, thrilling Tsim Sha Tsui, and convenient Fortress Hill. Each offers an enviable location, supreme style, and all the comforts of home\u201d. It sounded great and I thought I was in for a treat.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\"300px-Kowloon_Waterfront,_Hong_Kong,_2013-08-09,_DD_05\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"800px-HK_Toyota_Comfort_Green_Taxi\"<\/p>\n

\"HK_Lantau_Island_Taxi\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"10847967_565478596885555_7342301319150239395_nColor_me_hong_kong\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes I was expecting just that, but my own observation shows another picture with different colors, this was my first experience in HK. As I departed the airport,\u00a0jumping into the taxis<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>as<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>my choice of transportation, it was around 11:30 pm reaching the hotel., but to my surprise Hong Kong taxis, came in 3 colors, the red taxis have the highest fares among all, and serve all areas of New Territories, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, how, unfortunately that was the \u00a0area in which my hotel was located.\u00a0I learned that the green taxis was the second most expensive, serve only parts of the New Territories, including Sha Tin, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Fanling, Sheung Shui, Pak Tam Chung, Tai Po, West of Ting Kau and North of Chuen Lung, except Lantau Island, and lastly\u00a0Lantau taxi<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>was the blue taxis run exclusively on southern Lantau Island, Tung Chung, the Airport and Disneyland, thus they are restricted to a small area. They are not quite as ubiquitous: there are only around 50 of them. So\u00a0 \u00a0I rode in a red cab and \u00a0arrived at the hotel safe and the driver assisted me with my luggage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Color Me Hong Kong:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I choose to call my story \u201cColor me Hong Kong<\/strong><\/em>\u201d;because of my first experience and later learned that Chinese culture is the big daddy of cultural symbolism, the hidden meanings behind colors, especially in connection to effective marketing and communications in China. The highly resonant symbolic memes run so old and deep so\u2026 there is a \u201cSymbolism of Colors\u201d, \u201cAssociations of The Five Elements in Chinese Beliefs and Feng Shui\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 There you have it!\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>HK Lights\u2026 \u00a0\u201cColor Me Hong Kong\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"IMG_9916\"<\/a><\/p>\n

wednesday September 23rd 2015 Program: “Orientation\u00a0cohort LGP6<\/strong><\/p>\n

We, the twelve\u2019s cohortLGP6, met with our\u00a0mentor, advisers and each other face to face for the first time. an introductory took place and we did a little small talk.\u00a0I learnt a lot regarding the culture of\u00a0\u00a0Chinese society and took some notes as well. In the meeting, I learnt about communication in a forum context. I practiced the various communication theories, that\u00a0have written about in some of my blogs.\u00a0 Then it was time for the twelve of us to split into our personal groups of four or more to meet our advisers.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0First things first\u2026 \u00a0\u00a0meeting mentor, advisers<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Four of us with our adviser\u2026”FACE TO FACE”:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d almost forgotten how important real conversations, in real time, in real rooms, could be. That day I was reminded again that there is nothing like a face-to-face meeting. I\u2019m a huge fan of social media. We are learning on it, I write about it; our\u00a0media site\u00a0is for the Leadership and Global Perspectives LGP6 Cohort at George Fox Evangelical Seminary. It consist of\u00a0 \u00a0a\u00a0group of twelve cohorts, and within that group, we are a group of four, who are bonded together to builds our strategies together to reaching our goal. After spending just few hours with my cohort group, I had a significantly deeper sense of who they were, how they operated and their personalities. All\u00a0of which will \u00a0help make me \u00a0more productive in\u00a0working with them in the future.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 About\u2026Cohort LGP6 \u00a0Reading Blogs!!<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\"21480658019_13b7be6e8a_zGROUP<\/a><\/p>\n

\"21479654078_00963cfb10_z\"<\/a>Our reading assignment was\u00a0bringing the some of the part together for us, to see the whole picture by the end of the semester.The first reading assignment, I called it \u201cWord by Word\u201dthen we read doing\u201cVisual Ethnography\u201d, which gave us the visual picture of what we write and how we see things, but it has layers, I called it the \u201cReal World\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Next was a Guide to Critical Thinking, which I called it, Student\u2019s Supplement Guide (SSG)<\/strong>\u00a0for us to carry with us on the DMin journey. Now we are in”\u00a0Hong Kong, at \u00a0Advance 2015.\u00a0 At this Point, we have been given three Reading Assignment, which gave us three focus\u2026\u201cWhat you read, what see and how you think\u201d. We had read about our HK Advance; but we are here and it is real. This is the real World, our real assignment, we are getting the real picture, but it has many layers of real work that lie ahead for us. \u00a0We are at \u00a0a real Place\u2026Hong Kong; therefore we need to do some Critical Thinking about our mission and the undertaking of our DMin journey.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 Two Days Later … the Gang were there\u00a0\u2026Cohort LGP4,\u00a0LGP5:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The activities pickup, we were moving in high speed,\u00a0learning and having fun together\u2026 work load was heavy and days were long. The event took on a new form. We are now “ONE”.<\/strong>
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They told us that Cohort LGP4 was the\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>lively group. What do you think?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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The Impact of the DMin Program:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The program made me appreciate people of different cultural background. I learnt that colors in Hong Kong and China in general meant a lot. Adapting to a new society calls for understanding of the general community and accepting the people living there. I enjoyed my stay with Chinese right from the time I landed at the airport. The taxi man was a cool guy with nothing much to say. He meant business and giving his clients the best, it seemed to be his aim. He assisted me carry my luggage to the hotel. That was quite courteous and welcoming. Chinese are great people. I looked at the positive side of everything, therefore it\u00a0\u00a0was easier for me to \u00a0interacted with \u00a0their culture and my stay in Hong Kong was \u00a0great!\"21708119352_667d648c0e_c\"<\/a>
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Meeting in the Lobby<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Field Trip: Hong Kong\u00a0Lutheran\u00a0Social Services : \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were several scheduled field trips, including the Lutheran Center for the Elderly, which Assist senior to remain in the community and to live a healthy and well respected live style. They are also providing \u00a0daycare facility serving the children of Hong Kong.\u00a0One of the places of interest to me was St. Stephen’s Society Hong Kong<\/em><\/strong>; we were graced with many positive words of encouragement in being\u00a0\u00a0servant-hood\u00a0 leaders, by Jackie Pullinger,\u00a0w<\/em><\/strong>ho \u00a0is currently house 200-300 men and women, facing all kinds of addiction problems? They live in houses around Hong Kong where they are healed, restored and prepared to go out and share the love of Jesus…<\/p>\n

\u00a0Hong Kong\u00a0Lutheran\u00a0Social Services briefing:<\/strong>\"12079491_10207248309913501_2490274855047078052_ngroup\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Impact of the\u00a0 population<\/strong>\u00a0:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

China is among the populous nations in the world. The population of China is 1.36 billion and is mainly centered in the Chinese cities, Hong Kong being one of them. The large population makes business a rewarding opportunity in China. There is always a stable market for all types of products in China. Besides this, the large population encourages unity and community in doing some projects. \u00a0<\/span>The picture below (eating at round table) is a symbol of unity among the Chinese people.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\"12144750_888087771239762_393227684829177808_nHERE<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0 Doing Business In Hong Kong, …\u00a0interested me the most:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I spent some time interviewing local businessmen about the pros and cons concerning the local markets. Some of the challenges faced by the local businessmen are the increased local products in the Chinese market. The other challenge is strict competition from many local firms. The advantage of the local firm is that most of these firms is that most tourists prefer their products because most of the products are natural.<\/span>Hong Kong’s Fading Tailoring Industry<\/p>\n

Hong Kong’s Fading Tailoring Industry:<\/span>\"IMG_2539_tailorsshops\"<\/a><\/h1>\n

One of the shop owner told me that \u201cHong Kong’s tailoring industry has been declining for years, by the digital age; and many of\u00a0owners of\u00a0tailor shops have watched their businesses dry up\u201d so they are eager for \u00a0visitors buyers. They get it. \u00a0They know fashion. \u00a0They know what looks good on you. \u00a0And they’re not afraid to take a chance on something either. These Tailors are fantastic, who are super talented, professional, and best of all–down-to-earth friendly people. \u00a0It doesn’t matter if you’re getting a suit made there or getting pants hemmed, they treat you right. You can get customized suits and shirts made by the popular tailor, made in two days at great prices. Well, I was told by my friend, \u201cDon\u2019t come back to the\u00a0states without having a custom made silk suit from Hong Kong.\u201d What do you think I did?\"IMG_2542<\/a><\/p>\n

\"21480679939_fd16d8bb15_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The local Chinese market<\/strong> is full of various products. Most of these products are used locally by the people living around Looking keenly, they adopted some elements of the Western culture in their shops, and this gave their products some kinds of global\u00a0appeal. Hong Kong is a treasure trove for anyone who would like to shop. In China, travel agencies have contracts with local markets such that when tourists shop, they get part of the money. This way, the \"21701554501_4539e2bc31_zMARKET\"<\/a>market is improved and services are efficiently offered. Some of the local markets have Chinese handicrafts from different parts of the country. Walking through the shop gives nothing but a perfect authentic feeling. Culture is very important in China and the shops selling handicrafts are highly valued. The shop gives\u00a0newcomers\u00a0to\u00a0the country \u00a0feeling of belonging ,to a different society. \u00a0The Chinese are \u00a0not left behind in fashions. As evidenced in the \u00a0picture below,<\/strong><\/em> there are different kinds of fashions. We can note the colors,<\/em><\/strong> the nature of the products, and the writings. As we know, Chinese have their language which is quite different from English. It was a surprise to me to see the writings in English \u201cTokyo Style Plaza.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\"IMG_2560<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0The high fashion shops<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Trust is the Glue that holds,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>George Fox Evangelical Seminary<\/strong><\/em>, Leadership<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Global Perspective, \u00a0DMin Program together<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"HongKong2015.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Reflection on Leadership:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"24131_414511505759_7248950_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hong Kong was the perfect Place chosen for our first Advance 2015; which captivity the\u00a0Global Perspectives,\u00a0and the leaders ensure that the environment was one that encourages everyone to work to the best of their abilities. This process started us building relationships, a primary function of those serving in a leadership role. Life is about relationships, and success in the\u00a0workplace\u00a0or\u00a0ministry is intricately tied to the personal connections that are built and maintained. Self-help author Brian Tracy said, \u201cThe glue that holds all relationships together\u2014including the relationship between the leader and the led\u2014is trust, and trust is based on integrity.\u201d\u00a0 Establishing trust is the most basic requirement of any relationship. Without it, all else falters. I admired and take my hat off to salute our\u00a0servant-hood\u00a0leadership, their spirit of humanity, and how they served us well\u00a0in HK ,<\/strong><\/em>therefore \u00a0they set a high standard for \u00a0the\u00a0Leadership Global Perspective, DMin program at George Fox Evangelical Seminary Advance 2015, the bar was raised. There is no other program \u00a0quite like it!<\/p>\n

I am proud to be in the DMin program\u00a0.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\"11225736_888727601175779_6704751337118760331_n\"<\/a>Rel<\/strong>ating my visit to Hong Kong to my Studies:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Relating my visit to Hong Kong to the \u201ccontemporary social theory<\/strong><\/em>\u201d, I learnt a lot regarding the theory and its practicality. At some points in life, we tend to believe or imagine that we are much better than other people and thus we make the best decisions. Before travelling to Hong Kong, I knew very little regarding Chinese culture. I had imagined that Chinese can be very friendly and hardworking. The taxi driver and his courtesy made\u00a0me, be\u00a0surprised<\/strong><\/em>. As Anthony Eliot puts it, what constitutes the contemporary social theory is the relationship between individuals and society or the impacts of our decisions and actions on the social structure of the society. Eating on a roundtable, going to stalls, and meeting friendly sellers and other shoppers made me change my attitude and beliefs about China.\u00a0 China is a great society but what we, the West think sometimes is not right. We need to travel and know people, by where they come from and how they behave before making judgments.<\/p>\n

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The values that dominate the society define the nature of that society. China is dominated with kindness and love for each other and visitors. I also had a belief that Chinese prefer purely strange dishes. This was \u00a0not the case. Chinese are liberal. Fish is one of the most common foods they eat. The photo on the left\u00a0is an example of a Chinese cutting and preparing fish for cooking.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I also learnt something about leadership theory in Hong Kong.<\/em> <\/strong>The other reading asks \u201cWhat is leadership Theory?\u201d \u00a0The leadership theory enables us understand what is required of leaders. Leadership is all about being a servant rather than a rule. It is all about accepting other people\u2019s behaviors and improving their abilities. It is all about motivating others. Our adviser, Dr. Simmons was an embodiment of good leadership \u00a0 during our stay in\u00a0Hong Kong. She shared a\u00a0lot regarding<\/p>\n

Chinese culture and how to live in \u00a0a differ culture, yet respect that culture. It may have \u00a0looked a little \u00a0simple and obvious introduction but it was a sign of great leadership since it was meant to make our lives better in Hong Kong. In addition to this, the Chinese I interacted with always showed kindness to help us\u00a0understand their culture, during our\u00a0stay in their\u00a0city.<\/p>\n

The \u201chistory of the media<\/strong><\/em>\u201d was my last reading. It involved understanding the transformation that the media has gone through. It elaborated the manner in which audio-visual media became popular and face-to-face communication seriously affected. It explained the impacts of technology such as mobile phones on communication and media. While in Hong Kong, I learnt that Chinese people being some of the most entrepreneurial in the world appreciated technology a lot.\u00a0\u00a0 This is evidenced from the type of products they sell as well as the manner in which they are displayed at the stalls. Another notable observation is that the large population in China makes face-to-face communication much easier sometimes compared to other types of communication. Visual communication is also common. As I call my story \u201cColor me Hong Kong\u201d, color in Chin<\/strong><\/em>a has a lot of meaning. Different colors communicate different messages to the people. As illustrated above, in China, taxi colors define the fare price<\/strong><\/em>s. That makes everything easier for travelers when choosing the type of taxi for\u00a0a given \u00a0location. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Hong Kong Experience:<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a great experience; but it caused me to looked back over the events of\u00a0\u00a0my life, and wonder, how could a girl born in rural Magnolia, Pike County, Mississippi, and later move to the small town of McComb, Mississippi, with such humble beginnings and upbringing, and have such vast experience, end up in doctoral program. On my flight home, thoughts of my early educational training which was done under circumstances that today would be considered deplorable. Despite the odds, learning took place. Boys and girls were inspired to look beyond themselves and their circumstance and dared to say, as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King said, \u201cI have a dream.\u201d Here I am today, late in life, a student at GFU. God has been merciful to me. Let my words make a joyful sound, I am thankful, grateful to God for his favor on my life<\/em> .Just my thoughts<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is us Folks!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong>Leaving HK<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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On the City of New Orleans, going home.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Midnight Train\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201c<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Color me Hong Kong\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>
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