Foon Ying & the Chi Lin Nunnery

I joined an organization known as the American Women's Association (AWA) a few weeks ago and signed up for a "Foon Ying" ("welcome" in Cantonese) group for newcomers. My Foon Ying group is really small - only six people. We are led by two facilitators who have been in Hong Kong for a number of years. The purposes of the group are to: a) develop a network of friends, and b) become more familiar with HK by doing half-day excursions around the city.
While AWA has "American" in its title, women from any country can join. My group includes women from New Zealand and Britain; the Americans are from New York, New Jersey, and Chicago. Most of them have lived in several different major cities around the globe. The same is true for most people I meet in HK - when I say I've been in the States (and specifically Kansas) my entire life, people are stunned. I think they are surprised that someone from Kansas could find the way to HK. I may just start telling people that I've lived in Hutchinson, Manhattan, Lawrence, Lenexa, and Olathe and maybe they'll think one of those places was exotic. :)

This week my Foon Ying group went to a Buddhist Nunnery (convent) and Nan Lian Gardens. Like Hong Kong Park, it was a peaceful oasis right in the middle of the city. The gardens were beautifully manicured and the buildings were in pristine condition.


The nunnery building was constructed with no nails and is an architectural masterpiece.

We went to a vegetarian dim sum restaurant that is located behind the waterfall in the gardens.




I am the first to admit that I have virtually NO sense of adventure with food. If it crawls, slithers, flies, swims, walks (or, as I like to say, "it has a mother") it is generally considered edible here. So, I was very excited to have a traditional Chinese meal where I wasn't guessing if there was meat (or what kind) in the meal.

Unfortunately, I didn't find this cuisine to be a substitute for Mexican food. But, really, who could expect yellow fungus with bamboo pith stick soup to replace tortilla soup?

All-in-all, it was a great outing with my new Foon Ying friends. The only thing I wish I had seen was the NUNS at the nunnery. Maybe next time!