Orientation

The program I am in for the summer is called the International Summer School (ISS)
At the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

Students living on campus move in by the 27th and orientation is on the 28th

I took my campus tour on the 27th but there is designated time on the day of orientation for students who come in very late the day before.
On the tour we went to the office of academic links (OAL) to fill out some forms and get our student id cards
Lucky for us it was a nice day out so walking wasn’t a problem.
At the OAL they also give you your orientation package which consists of your id card, forms, schedule, info packet, gym card, souvenir tshirt and an umbrella (the umbrella was the BEST thing in there since its rainy season here).



The rest of the tour was to see a bit of the rest of the campus but the OAL was by far the most important stop of the day.

Day of orientation all of the ISS students gathered at Shaw college lecture theatre to learn a bit about the school and regulations


Louis Wong, the person most students kept in contact with for questions before coming to HK, spoke to us about the MTR, school facilities, visiting hours for dorms, professors, etc.
He also told us this is a dry and smoke-free campus. if you wanted to take a smoke you have to take the bus to the MTR station, cross to the other side that's not part of campus, smoke and take the trip back up to your dorm... that’s a LOT of travelling for just one cigarette, so just save yourself the trouble and don’t smoke :)



We also took a picture with all of the ISS students. I didn’t realize just how many students were in the program until we all gathered that day.
I will post up the picture when CUHK uploads it.

After orientation students can take the campus tour if the haven’t done so already.
For those who have they had some time before the welcoming dinner at 7pm

Kuo Mou Hall students (that’s me :D) and Grace Tien/Daisy Li students got on different coach buses and met up at the restaurant
We went to Superstar Seafood Restaurant in Tsuen Wan.
The bus ride was around 40mins to the restaurant but time passes by quickly when talking to your new friends :)



For our welcoming dinner we got a 12 course meal to give students a taste of a traditional Chinese dinner
I’d say it was a good dinner and it definitely made me realize (again) just how many students are in ISS; we pretty much took up the whole restaurant!



But...in my opinion it would have been more authentic if we got white rice.
To my fellow Chinese students, no white rice with your dinner sounds just absurd doesn’t it?!


Bbq platter


Steamed buns with bamboo fungus filling


Clear soup


Pan fried prawns in XO sauce


Sweet and sour pork


Deep fried fillet in sweet corn sauce
*my fave*


Mixed veggies braised in broth


Crispy chicken


Fujian fried rice


Braised e mein with shrimp roe


Sweet red bean soup


Split pea and coconut cream cake

I’d say it was quite the welcome. Thanks CUHK :)

<3andrea

first impressions

Hello again :)
I arrived safely into HK at 8:20pm yesterday
It's been a day but ive already made plenty of first impressions

Buses: They are pretty awesome. It was only 22.30HKD to get to Shatin. Very convenient and direct

MTR: Hectic! But less complicated than NYC subway system. My auntie and I got off at the Shatin bus stop then took the MTR to CUHK. Only two stops away and it's not as crowded as other lines.


University: big. the campus is pretty much on the side of a mountain so theres a lot of uphill walking. the campus bus comes every 20mins depending on what time it is, so thats more convenient than walking.


dorms: basic. its corridor style with a kitchen in the middle. each room has 2 sets of beds, closets and desks. the site made it sound like its lower than average, but in my opinion its not that different from stonys. and the water pressure in the showers are AMAZING. its much better than school and even back at home!



floormates: superawesome!! while i was unpacking some of them came by and introduced themselves. then today we spent the whole day together. i suggest you get to know your floormates to enchance your study abroad experience.


its only been a day but i realized there are essential items to have on hand:
1. octopus card
much more convenient than paying cash for mtr. plus you can use it to pay for goods at some places
2. tissues
if its not high end places you are going to you better have napkins/tissues. same goes for bathrooms. and it gets really humid out so you use it to wipe of the sweat LOL
3. shopping bag
when you go to the street markets you can just toss it into your own bag. plus some places charge you for plastic bags so bring your own and save ~$.50 each time :)

<3andrea

ps another fun fact: i love to snack :D
we went to the supermarket today so we could stock up on food. my bag came out to around 82hkd which is only like 11 bucks. yay snacks~!

intro

hello there! :)

i do believe im the first one to write on the blog for HK so lemme introduce myself

my name is andrea
double major business and sociology and going into my junior year

i have a passion for travelling. fun fact: ive been to every continent except antartica :) but i have never travelled by myself before as well as study abroad. my cousin has been on two study abroad trips already and she loved them both.

why study abroad? because its fun AND productive! you work on your credits on weekdays and spend time relaxing with your new friends on weekends :)

why HK? because the three days i spent here a few years back wasnt enough! lol. well, i hope to improve my chinese here; not just by taking classes but by immersing myself in the language by using it on a daily basis. i hope to go sightseeing. and, well who am i kidding, im gonna do a little shopping here too!

and guess what...im flying in less than 12 hrs!
i have an 11am flight out to HKG (with one short layover) and if all goes well ill land at around 7:20pm HK time.
im super anxious but super excited as well

im gonna post again once i get settled down in my dormroom

thanks for reading :)

<3andrea