Christmas is just around the corner. Where will UM members\ngo for the holiday? In this issue, we interview several UM students and staff\nmembers, who share with us the things they always carry when travelling around\nthe world.<\/p>\n\n
A Companion on 20\nTrips<\/b><\/p>\n\n
Liu Tzu-Ming, an associate professor in the Faculty of\nHealth Sciences and an expert in biomedical engineering, has been a camping and\nhiking enthusiast since he was a university student. When he goes hiking, he\nalways takes the same backpack, filled with hiking and camping gear. He has\ncarried the backpack, which usually weighs about 20 kilograms, for at least 20\ntrips in the past 15 years. His destinations have included Dabajian Mountain in\nTaiwan, Mount Tate in Japan, and H\u00e1c-S\u00e1 Reservoir Natural Park in Macao. The\nbackpack is an important part of his journey through life, from studying in\ncollege, to falling in love, to getting married. In the beginning, he went hiking\nalone, but now he is joined by his wife and two children.<\/p>\n\n
Hikers sometimes run into unexpected situations like getting\nlost or sudden changes in weather, but Prof Liu sees them as opportunities to\ndevelop his crisis management ability. At work, he studies the physiological\nstate of cells in living bodies with optical microscopes, and applies\nphotoelectric technologies to precision medicine for cancer treatment. \u2018Hiking\nclears my mind and enables me to spend quality time with my friends and family,\nwhich sometimes inspires new ideas that did not occur to me in a laboratory,\u2019\nhe says.<\/p>\n\n
In the coming Christmas, Prof Liu will travel to Hsinchu,\nTaiwan again with his family. He says, \u2018Stepping on the needle leaves on the\nhills feels like jumping on a boxspring.\u2019 Indeed, nothing makes him happier\nthan returning to nature.<\/p>\n\n
Reading while\nTravelling<\/b><\/p>\n\n
Sun Sisi, a resident fellow in Lui Che Woo College, always\ntakes a book when travelling. This Christmas, she will visit Jilin province\nwith some students in the college, and she plans to take the book The Great\nOcean. \u2018Books are the spice of life,\u2019 she says. \u2018I think it\u2019s romantic to carry\na book when travelling. One chapter in the book, The Great Ocean, mentions that\nunlike most mammals, baby dolphins can\u2019t breathe in water, so baby dolphins are\nusually born tail first to minimise the risk of drowning. The female dolphin\nwill then hold the baby dolphin above the water to help it take its first\nbreath. I\u2019ve learned a lot of fun science knowledge from these books.\u2019<\/p>\n\n
Sun loves books about history, psychology, and science. She\noften organises book reading events for students in her college, hoping to\ncreate an atmosphere where book lovers can learn from each other and inspire\nother students to also read.<\/p>\n\n
10-kg Camera Gear<\/b><\/p>\n\n
Eric Chan, a PhD student of mechanical and electrical\nengineering, who is also a staff member at UM, travels during most holidays\nwith his ten-kilogram photographic equipment package, which includes a\nbackpack, a laptop for image and video editing, a camera with three prime\nlenses with different focal lengths, batteries, filters, mobile phone\nstabilisers, and a tripod. In November, Chan and his family visited Shikoku,\nJapan, again with his photographic equipment. Apart from taking pictures, Chan\nused his new mobile phone to produce Vlogs and shared them on Facebook. \u2018I\nenjoy sharing wonderful moments during my trips. I feel very happy when people\nlike my pictures and videos,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n\n
On that trip, he took many beautiful pictures of natural\nscenery, two of which have become his Facebook profile pictures. One was taken\nin his guesthouse, depicting the sunrise, and the other is a selfie with autumn\nleaves around. He wrote a caption on Facebook: \u2018I have truly enjoyed the beauty\nof Shikoku\u2019s natural scenery, which embodies the beauty created by God.\u2019<\/p>\n\n
Travelling in\nTraditional Chinese Costume<\/b><\/p>\n\n
Li Yue, a third-year student in the Department of Finance\nand Business Economics and a member of Chao Kuang Piu College (CKPC), loves\nChinese culture. She is not only a good calligrapher, but also a big fan of\nHanfu (the traditional clothing of the Han ethnic group that was popular before\nthe Qing dynasty). She often wears Hanfu and considers it a symbol of Chinese\nculture. When she travels, Li carries several sets of Hanfu to fit different\nlocal attractions. This has sometimes led to interesting interactions with the\nlocals. Earlier this year, she went to France for a summer exchange programme.\nDuring her stay there, Li\u2019s teacher was amazed by her beautiful Hanfu. When\nwalking on the street one day, she even met an old lady who liked her Hanfu so\nmuch that she asked to take a picture with Li.<\/p>\n\n
Li says, \u2018During my journeys, I want to make new friends\nthrough my Hanfu, and promote our traditional costume to the world.\u2019<\/p>\n\n
Playing Badminton on\nthe Go<\/b><\/p>\n\n
Walter Tan from Malaysia is a fourth-year student in the\nDepartment of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management and a member of CKPC. He\nlearned to play badminton from his father when he was a child. According to\nTan, badminton is so popular in Malaysia that it is considered the national\ngame. Before coming to study in Macao, he often played badminton with his\nschoolmates. At UM, he is the captain of CKPC\u2019s badminton team.<\/p>\n\n
Tan prefers taking his badminton racket when travellingto\nleaving it at home or in college. He likes to play badminton with new friends\nhe makes during his journey. He was once pleasantly surprised to learn that his\ntravel partner was in fact a member of a local badminton club. They then went\nto the club to play badminton with the members there, and had a wonderful\ndinner afterwards.<\/p>\n\n
Making Friends via\nTraditional Timorese Handicraft<\/b><\/p>\n\n
Eurico MCS Martins from Timor-Leste is a fourth-year student\nin the Department of Management and Marketing and a member of Henry Fok Pearl\nJubilee College. He takes Tais, (a traditional handicraft woven by Timorese\nwomen, with colourful patterns and ethnic features) with him when travelling,\nso that he can give them to new friends he makes on the trips. According to\nEurico, Timorese wear Tais during festivals and other important occasions.\n\u2018Tais is essential to me because it is a symbol of the Timorese nation,\u2019 he\nsays.<\/p>\n\n
Martins once met a man in Hong Kong who kindly showed him\naround the city. At the end of the tour, Martins gave Tais to the man to mark\ntheir friendship and fond memories.<\/p>