About stephen_saravara@uml.edu

Professor and group leader

Funny Advice

It’s always important to inject a dose of humor into international travel.  I recently came across this funny picture from a service called “ifunny”  which demonstrated a situation where someone left their Facebook account open on their phone as it was going security at an airport.  A humorous but poignant reminder to secure your electronics!

facebook-logged-in-newcastle-international-airport

Dim Sum

Dim Sum table (1024x768)

Hong Kong is probably one of only a very few places where one can try just about any type of dish served in the world.  Dim Sum is a Cantonese style of food preparation where small dishes and/or dumplings are mostly steamed and served in small bamboo baskets.  It’s very healthy, delicious and economical.  I like to take groups of students out to a local dim sum restaurant before we arrive in Hong Kong so they can sample the food before we arrive.

Here is a picture of a group of students I took for dim sum a few month ago in one of the more well known dim sum restaurants in Boston called The China Pearl.

Pre Departure Orientation

hong kong

Before heading off to Hong Kong, students must go through a “pre-departure” orientation.  This consists of several meetings in a classroom where we go over the specifics of the trip, the academic requirements, field trip locations, cultural excursions as well as advice on traveling abroad, health and security.

In addition, I also take students out to eat at a local dim sum restaurant where they can sample a taste of the food they will be eating, as well a tour of one of the largest Asian supermarkets in the area.