Reflection

All good things must come to an end, and this wonderful semester is no exception. However, it will always lives in my mind as one of the best 4 months I've ever had.

Below are my tips and reflection of this unforgettable semester.

Freeman Scholarship

First of, I would like to sincerely thanks the Mr. Freeman and Mrs.Freeman for the wonderful scholarship, and the helpful faculties in Shidler College of Business for organizing the scholarship. If it wasn't for the scholarship, I do not think this semester would be possible. The money from the scholarship help me fund a large portion of my Fall 2012 exchange. I encourage you apply for the scholarship, there is an international website of Freeman Scholarship which you can apply straight to or you can head up to your academic advisers.

Academic

1. Expect to be different
Hong Kong education system is unlike the US education system. The general differences are more group works , more memorization but at the same time , less individual homework. You should ask your local classmates of what to expect throughout the semester, as well as the instructors. The instructors in Hong Kong is very helpful and are willing to help you figure out a standard guideline.

2. Time Management
It is a semester abroad , which includes intensive academic studying, however, you should time manage so you will be able to travel around, see different sights and sample different foods in Hong Kong. Time management is a vital skill for you to truly enjoy the semester.
You should try to divide your week into study days and break days. With the combination of intensive study and sightseeing , it will be a great semester.

3. Expect less transparency in grading
The grading system is somewhat different than in the US. In UH Manoa , whenever you get an assignment handed back, there are mistakes and correction from the instructor saying what went wrong and perhaps some suggestion in improving your writing/skills in the future. In Hong Kong , students do not expect any suggestions from the professor after each assignment but rather , to figure out by themselves what went wrong in the assignment. It is somewhat good for self-study but not when you cannot figure out what went wrong with your assignment. In addition, after every quiz/examination, you do not get your paper back , what you will get is simply a grade.

4. Don't expect it will be easy
Some classes are not very challenging , while another may be impossible to pass if you don't spend enough time to study. As stated , the culture in City University of Hong Kong is a lot of memorization, you will need to study and memorize each chapters in order to pass the quiz/exams for a certain classes.

5. Do take either Mandarin/Cantonese class
Since you're in Hong Kong , I would recommend you to take Cantonese class , or even Mandarin class. You will be able to learn so much culture from knowing the language. Chinese is a beautiful language which has so much meaning behind it. Beside , it would be a great practice if you're learning Cantonese in Hong Kong!

Traveling

1. Do apply for your visa before hand
This goes especially for China, where it is so much cheaper and easier if you start applying it in the States. You get multiple entries visa to China for $130 in America, while applying for visa in Hong Kong would be the same price but you will only  get single or double entries.
Here are some countries around Hong Kong you may want to visit and their visa policies if you have a valid US passport, for other passport , please refer to your embassy website:
- China : Yes, you need a visa.
- Macao: No
- Taiwan: No
- Korea: No
- Japan: No
- Vietnam: Yes , you can easily apply for it in Hong Kong for a single entry
- Laos: Yes , same as above
- Cambodia: Yes, same as above
- Thailand: No
- The Philippines: No
- Malaysia: No
- Singapore: No

2. Watch your surrounding
Do be careful when you travel abroad. Check your local consulate whether it is safe to travel to a certain countries. It is not the US anymore , and you are subjected to the local country national laws.

3. Familiarize with local currency
If you are planning to travel around Asia , do get familiarize with the currency. After a few countries , you will get messed up with different exchange rates.

4. Groupon.hk
If you know of Groupon website in the US , the groupon site for HK provides excellent discount to some regions around Hong Kong , especially China and Macau. Do check it before you're planning a trip for Macau, it could save you a around 20-40 USD.

5. Watch your luggage weight
During your travel or on the way home , do watch your luggage weight as airliners are very strict about carryon size and weights.

Food

1. Do try local cuisines
You should try out most local cuisines if you're comfortable even if they're a bit 'exotic'. It is what traveling is all about , trying different exotic food and see different things.

2. Watch your diet
If you cook your own food , do watch your diet to ensure you have enough nutrients. If you're eating out most of the time , ordering a few vegetable dishes every meals is recommended to keep yourself healthy

Health

1. Do see the doctor if you're sick
It is covered under the CityU health insurance , so do check out the doctor if you're sick.

2. Shots before travel
You should check the destination country whether you need certain shots before arriving. A quick visit to your local consulate will bring up the list of suspected countries.

3. Keep some emergency medicines
For those late night headache and nausea, you should keep some medicine in your room to relieve those uncomfortable aches.


Reflection

It was an amazing semester, one that I would never forget. I've met amazing friends and people that I will be keeping in touch for a long time , if not lifelong friends. I've seen so much stuffs and the people , which in turns enhance my world knowledge. I believe in order to be a world citizen, one must experience first hand the local cultures and different cultures around the world. One should understands and be acceptance of other cultures. I've learn so much in one semester, things that cannot be taught in a classroom setting , it is a life lesson that I will never forget.

Hong Kong has been an unforgettable semester, it was like a dream. I hope you will have as much fun as I did during my stay. As always , if you have any questions at all , please email me at howiengn@gmail.com and I would be more than happy to answer your questions.

Enjoy your wonderful semester abroad.

Ending of a Great Semester

The semester is coming to an end, it's a bittersweet week when exchange students get to say good bye to each other.

Unfortunately, I still have one more examination on the 20th of December before my departure date back to Hawaii. I will do a final wrap up of my blog right after all the examinations are over. It's been a great semester and I can see the end.

Few Suggestions

This is for new incoming students.
From my personal experiences, these are a few suggestions that I can give you.

Class Schedule

Unlike UH Manoa, classes are only either one or twice a week and two to three hours long! That can be an advantage or disadvantage to you. An advantage would be if you planned out your schedule before hand, you can easily get 3-4 days weekend, enough for a short trip to somewhere! Disadvantage would be cramming too many classes in short amount of time.

Examination schedule spans out on a period of two weeks, give you plenty of time to study!

Visa

Speaking of traveling...
If you are planning to go to China (Mainland China), keep in mind that you cannot use your Hong Kong visa to visit China, they are almost separate country!
For American, Chinese visa will cost you about $130-$140 for any types of visa. Here comes the suggestion!
Apply for your Chinese visa before hand, before you leave Hawaii! It will save you so much time and money!
If you apply in the US, you can get multiple entries visa for ~$140. If you apply it in Hong Kong, you can only get up to double entries for the same price!

Most of places around Hong Kong are visa-free except for China, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Three of which can be easily apply for while you're in Hong Kong for about $20 each.

Apply for your visa early!

Some Must-Go Places!

Before coming to Hong Kong, my impression of Hong Kong was this picture.

It is still true of course, if you are looking forward to the magnificence skyline, you won't be disappointed. However, there are more than just that. Hong Kong is a wonderful places with many sides to its modern city.

Below are some must-see places in this wonderful city.

Big Buddha

Also known as the Tian Tan Buddha, it is a major center for Buddhism. It symbolizes the harmony between man and nature, people and religion.  

Victoria Peak

Located in Hong Kong island , it is the highest peak in the island (but not the whole area of Hong Kong). It is one of the best place to observe the Hong Kong skyline.

Lamma Island

If you are tired of the fast moving life of the Hong Kong business area, Lamma island is just 30 minutes away by ferry. You can experience the beautiful beaches with abundant of seafood. The main transportation for the island is bicycle!

10,000 Buddhas

The name says it all. This place contains 10,000 statues of Buddhas from the bottom of the hill to the top. Prepare to spend at least 30 to 45 minutes to hike up to the top!


Beside Hong Kong business area, there are many places that make this a very special and unique places. These are many faces of Hong Kong, something about this city made me closer to it more.

I would like to end this post with this quote. An encounter with Hong Kong.

Examinations and Group Work

As I discussed in previous entries, essays and group work are big things here in Hong Kong!

If you're looking to take about 5 classes, you can expect 4-5 group work and presentation with 4-5 essays on your own!

Grading

Compare to UH Manoa, the grading scales are pretty much the same with typical A-F grades on different assignments. Quizzes and Exams are the bulk of the grade in majority of classes, you can expect about 30% from quizzes and 40% of your grade for the final exam.

Generally, you will have about 2-3 quizzes per semester, they're short but take them seriously! Unlike UH classes, quizzes/exams here focus on details of the chapters. For example, in Hawaii, as long as you grasp the concept of the chapters, you're golden for the quizzes and exams. In Hong Kong, you must memorize the whole chapter in order to get the perfect grade since questions are usually very specific in a chapter.

My exams are from December 15-20, I guess I have a lot to study..

Comparison

Comparison between Hawaii and Hong Kong

Since I’ve been here for more than two months, I have better ideas of differences between Hawaii and Hong Kong. Here goes!

Shopping

One word, amazing.

Shopping malls are plentiful here in Hong Kong. You cannot walk 5 minutes without encounter a shopping mall. Okay, well, it is an exaggeration but there are shopping malls everywhere. MTR stations, Office buildings, Museums, Airport and even school are either really close to a shopping mall or it is inside a shopping mall.

However, people do not come to shopping mall to just shop, there are movie theatres, food court, and supermarket or maybe you just want to cool down and find a place to sit in the shopping mall. Most brands that you would find in Hawaii, you can find it here and more. If you are going to City University of Hong Kong, an extra bonus is that the school is right next to a shopping mall!

Conclusion, if you like shopping , you like Hong Kong.

Food

Hong Kong is truly where the East meets the West, you can find virtually any kind of food here in Hong Kong! From McDonalds to fine dining Italian restaurant, Hong Kong has everything. But! I’m sure you don’t come to Hong Kong for western food, then you won’t be disappointed with the amount of local food and oriental food. Please watch yourself as you can’t stop yourself from eating all the food!

Compare the food of Hawaii and Hong Kong is difficult, Hawaii has a large population of Asian American thus the selection of food are quite similar to Hong Kong. However, there are more exotic and interesting food at places such as Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui. If you come to Hong Kong for the oriental and local Hong Kong food, you won’t be disappointed. If you come to Hong Kong for the European and American food, you may be going to the wrong place but you can still find good Western food here! If you come here for Spam Musubi and Loco Moco, then well… you better make it yourself!

Nightlife

Did I said Hong Kong is amazing? Well, the nightlife is Hong Kong is at the top. From the party capital of Hong Kong, Lan Kwai Fond to Wan Chai to the less touristy Tsim Sha Shui and Prince Edward. There is something for everyone. Do you want to do some bar and nightclub hopping and meet more international traveler? You will feel right at home at Lan Kwai Fond. Do you want to sit down and relax at an American and British style bar/pub but still want to meet more international people? Wan Chai will do it for you. Do you want somewhere with less people and socialize with your friends? Tsim Sha Tsui is the place to be. Or do you want to experience the cultures and meet up with more local Hong Konger? There are quite a few places but Prince Edward is a good place.

Transportation

If you are a regular commuter in Hawaii by the bus system then you will fall in love with Hong Kong Mass Transit Rail or in short, MTR. It is one of the more efficient rail system in the world, the train is rarely if ever be late and if you are on one of the main lines, the frequency is 1-2 minutes wait at most.

The price is cheap, and with student discount, it’s even cheaper with HK$5-10 everytime you do one jouney, that’s less than 1 US dollar!

You are to get an Octopus Card, it’s a card that you can use to purchase your train/bus/light rail transport in addition to 711, McDonalds, Super Market… and so on. One tip from me is that you should put 300-500 HKD at a time and use it for your daily purchases to eliminates the needs for coins!

University

Unlike Hawaii, Hong Kong education system is quite different. Instead of spreading out the hours of a class throughout a week, a class meets once a week for two to three hours. Therefore, it is possible to have most of your classes in 2-3 days a week.

In Hawaii, there are more homework compare to essays and group works. It is the exact opposite here in Hong Kong, there is rarely any homework with the exception of in class exercise that takes as little as 5 minutes to complete.

Group work is a primary element here in every class, 4 out of 5 of my classes consists some kind of group project in it. Group work requires you collaborate with others to work toward a common goal, it is especially hard as some local student do not have the sufficient English skill to communicate.

So be prepare to write a lot of essays and lots of group work, either with international students or local students.

Please do email me if you have any question on settling here in Hong Kong.

howiengn@gmail.com

Hong Kong - Place of Wonders

Hong Kong – A Place of Wonders

Even though I have been in Hong Kong for more than two months, there is something about this place that I cannot seem to grasp. It is truly where the Eastern culture meets the Western culture, it is a place where the fusion of the virtues of both world creates something quite different from other world city, such as New York, London and Tokyo.

When I arrived in Hong Kong, what I expected are just a modern city such as New York/London but simply in Asia. Oh how wrong I was. As days passed, I noticed there are many parts in Hong Kong that makes Hong Kong what it is today.

From the busy area with skyscrapers of northern Hong Kong Island where all major financial institutions are to the crowded street of Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok on Kowloon side and the peaceful mountains with beautiful beaches in Sai Kung, Hong Kong is simply a unique place to be in.

I could not imagine this when I am back home in Hawaii. Before coming to Hong Kong, I only have one perspective of what is classified as “Hong Kong” but as little as two months of living in Hong Kong, I opened my eyes to more perspective.

Compare to Honolulu, the business practice of Hong Kong is a fast-pace and work oriented. Unlike the tradition “Hawaiian Time” we experienced in Hawaii, Hong Kong is operating on a timely schedule. Proof of such is the MTR or, the Mass Transit Rail, it comes every few minutes with rarely any delay if ever! On the busy streets of Central or the crowded Tsim Sha Tsui, people are always in a hurry to get to where they want to be. Overall, it is a very rushed style.

Perhaps my biggest mistake is that I treated Hong Kong as just another world city when I arrived. I did not explored further into the culture of the city thus wasting a considerable time learning about the city. With as little as two months left, I will continue to explore the cultural aspect of Hong Kong and the people.