(Adam
Cheung)
We enjoyed more than two hours of
sharing in this Kubrick Poetry session. The topic of traveling lent
itself to stories after stories, and personally, I learned a lot.
I learned from Apple that taking a trip
on one’s own is a way of building self-confidence. Also, in one of the
pieces she read, she mentioned that when we go on a journey, it is not only
about what we see, but also how we have changed. Apple shared about her
recent trips to the older cities of China and her April visit to Japan. I
actually got to know Apple as we were lining up to pass customs entering Japan.
We took the train together from the airport into the city of Tokyo.
She exuded so much confidence as a girl traveling by herself to a country
she had never been before. After seeing the pictures she took, I learned
she’s a very observant photographer as well, with a keen interest to dogs on
the street.
I learned from Cyrus that often much insight
can be gained from visiting a country that is poorer than where we live. Cyrus
said that while visiting Cambodia, he came to realize how unhappy and limited
we are in Hong Kong. He saw that those in Cambodia had so much less than
we did and yet they seemed so much happier than Hong Kong people. I found
Cyrus to be a very entertaining presenter and I hope he is able to escape the
rat race of Hong Kong soon.
I learned from another regular
supporter that in order to enjoy our time in another country, we must put away
our judgments and completely immerse in the culture of that country. He
shared about the time he lived in South America. He said it was
refreshing to see that people did not see things just in terms of money.
I was most impressed with how he said he had his money and possessions stolen
in the early part of his long journey, and how he was determined to stay in
South America, and eventually, he was able to not only get by, but also
experienced a very meaningful trip, as he brought back humorous anecdotes and a
personal scrapbook. He also said he plans to revisit the continent for
the first time since he was there more than ten years ago.
Thanks to all those who showed up and
stayed for this extended version of Kubrick Poetry. Special mention to
Polly for sharing Japanese haiku, movies such as Before Sunrise, Before Sunset
and the upcoming Before Midnight, and to Mok Tze Yan for returning to Kubrick
with a unique book of poems that explored Hong Kong’s contemporary issues in
traditional poetic structure.
