Photos by Josh Rasay
Weeks 2 & 3 | September 2 - September 15, 2017
Living
A D V E N T U R E S
Exploring (Hong Kong & Taiwan)
Photos by Josh Rasay , Nicky Taechaplalert, and Andy Yang
Weeks 4 & 5 | September 16 - September 29, 2017
"Living in Hong Kong is fun except for the heat, humidity, and smog. It's not raining, it's just the thousands of AC systems dripping water."
ACCLIMATING
heat and speed
Alright, so Hawai'i is very tropical. The island chain is known for its blue skies and beautiful beaches--postcards cannot capture its true beauty. We are also know for the heat, but we do maintain cool temperatures thanks to the trade winds. In Hong Kong, the heat is trapped by the high population and high concentration of skyscrapers. The hot air is also paired with high humidity so not only do you sweat a lot, but the sweat will not evaporate. Handkerchiefs and mulptiple daily showers are necessary! Additionally, the air from mainland China blows over, constantly covering the city in a smog that covers the mountains. I have very sensitive lungs so I occassionally find myself struggling to breathe regularly. Let's just say that when I got a cold, the cough remained.
Still, the weather did not stop me from exploring the city as well as its surrounding landscapes. I have made regular trips around several sections of Hong Kong such as Mong Kok (great street food, shopping), Central (dowtown), Tsim Sha Tsui (great views of Victoria Harbor skyline). As much as the city excites me, I realized that Hong Kong has such underrated greenery. Henry and Matt (another exchange student) hiked the Dragon's Back, a very long trail that traverses many different parts of southern Hong Kong island. It was a fun and easy hike (thanks to my hiking experience in Hawai'i), although the bug bites and beads of sweat (that did not evaporate) were not appreciated. Make sure to bring towels and snacks!
Another obvious difference to deal with in Hong Kong is the pace of life. Island lifestyle is arriving to events late--the relaxed ambience in Hawai'i has rubbed off on me but not as much as it has on other locals. For me, Hong Kong's pace is just right for my personality; Hong Kong citizens value efficiency and speed. I am always getting from Point A to Point B. I am sure that some Shidler students recognize me as the person always running around the college desparately trying to finish something. I blend in here!
SCHOOL
3 hr classes once a week? YES!
School life here in Hong Kong is so exciting! The amount of participation from the large student body is pretty inspiring. The atmosphere is also quite studious; students are alreadyfilling up the halls and libraries with their readings and homework! I consider myself quite studious back home and I know some people who share the same mindset, but the energy from these Hong Kong student is on another level. Still, my schedule doesn't really requiret that much energy since Iam only an exchange student. I am only taking four courses which satisfy the two main requirements of my study abroad academics:
(1) HALF of my courses should be offered by the college of business (CityU requirement)
(2) MINIMUM 12 credits taken during the semester (CityU requirement)
(3) at least THREE BUSINESS COURSES (Shidler requirement)
(4) courses taken should not satisfy NO MORE than 3 courses in ONE MAJOR or else the major will not be valid (Shidler requirement)
With that said, I chose 10 courses during pre-registration that could satisfy these requirements in addition to one cantonese course since I would love to add that to my growing repertoire of basic proficiency in several languages. After pre-registration during July and dropping other unneccesary classes assigned to me, my final schedule is as follows:
GE2202 (BUS367I): GLOBALIZATION & BUSINESS
wednesdays 9am - 12pm A class lecture with two final group projects as well as smaller weekly group projects. It is split between two professors with different focuses in globalized business. The first half of the semester will be taught by one professor focusing on Operations Management and Supply Chain Management as well as industry analysis. Thelatter half will be focusedon economic impacts of globalized business.
EF4312 (BUS367F): MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
thursdays 9am - 12pm A class lecture with two final group projects and weekly grop homework assignments. It is a comprehensive lecture series on mergers & acquisitions mainly in the United States; however, projects will be to apply the understanding within the Hong Kong markets (local merger analysis, merger proposal).
MKT4637 (BUS367K): EVENT MARKETING
fridays 9am - 12pm A class lecture with two final group projects and occassional group assignments. It is a very unorthodox subject matter but it is interesting to approach event planning with a corporate lens especially since most of the assumptions learned are common sense (but there are still event failures; common sense is not always so common).
CAH2996 (NON TRANSFERRABLE): BASIC CANTONESE I
thursdays 3pm - 6pm A class lecture with no final group project or final. It is a learn-as-you-go class that focuses on verbal aspects of cantonese rather than writing. It doesn't approach it as a traditional language class with vocabulary and grammar but rather just phrases. It is a very open class so we can always ask the professor how to translate certain phrases in certain situations at any time during class.
As you may have already noticed, college classes in Hong Kong (and most of Asia) are only once a week for 3 hours instead of the Shidler schedule of two1.5 hr classes a week. Personally, I love this 3 hr system because it allows formore flexible schedules especially for internships and homework. I also have the stamina to go through 3 hours of coursework. It is important to note that there is the argument that some students do not have the stamina or the professors can become lazy and not teach as much. Still, I love this Wed-Fri class schedule because I have a four day weekend every week. That means more time for exploration and reflection!
My first week of school and exploring the city has been exciting. It can only keep going up from now on! I love it here!
"Before even embarking on this study abroad journey, I planned to push myself creatively and socially. I am adamant about improving my photography."
PHOTO ADVENTURES
pushing myself technically and creatively
It has been about a year since I have taken up photography seriously. I took a film photography class back in high school and it really sparked an interest. Unfortunately,my schedule was so busy that I never had the time. In college, I have had more time than I did back in high school so to finally pursue my hobby was possible. I bought a camera and began to just have fun with it. I moved from a Canon T3 to a Nikon D3200. And just two weeks before going on this study abroad, I bought a newer, smaller camera: a mirrorless Sony A6000. Learning a new operating system is hard enough while trying to push your limits in terms of creativity and comfortableness with the photography know-hows. These past few weeks, I have met several fellow photographers/instagrammers (full time CityU students) through my Indonesian friend against whom I competed in the HSBC/HKU competition--she and her team at CityU were the champions (she also happens to be one of the resident tutors--RA equivalent--in my residence hall haha). They are a mix of local HKers and international students so it is great to have a group of varied personalities but with the shared passion for photography. We all teach each other tricks in terms of our own visions as well as have fun while just snapping photos on the streets. We end up being each other's models most of the time (haha).
RECENT PHOTOSHOOTS: Instagram Pier, Rooftops in Sham Shui Po, Nam Shan Estate
TAIWAN
4 days, 3 cities
My friends, Henry (another Freeman scholar) and Matt (from Toronto, Canada) took a trip to Taiwan!!! With my schedule, I have an extended weekend from Friday afternoon to Wednesday morning. Henry and Matt flew a day earlier than me since they didn't have class but they did leave a day earlier as well.
TAIPEI
Such an amazing city filled with the nicest people. The three of us looked forward to the many famous night markets! We stayed in Songshan in Taipei near Raohe Night Market! We also checked out the other famous ones such as Liaoning Street Night Market, Ning Xia Street Night Market, and the largest one, Xilin Night Market. We ate so many different street foods from tang hulu (fruits--usually hulu berries or strawberries or tomatoes--covered in hardened caramel), giant grilled octopus legs on sticks, pork buns, and more! We also drank doujiang and other delicious/popular foods in Daan and Songshan! When going to Taipei, make sure to have an empty stomach because the food is AMAZING!
JIUFEN
We decided to visit Jiufen, the Santorini of Taipei, which has one of the setting inspirations of the famous Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away. It is a small but very crowded town (thanks to thousands of tourists) on the side of a mountain that overlooks the landscape that once was a popular gold mine that reached the ocean. MAny traditional Chinese treats line the Jiufen Old Street where wares are also sold. It is crowded and lively, carrying the smells of pineapple cakes, peanut ice cream wraps, and freshly brewed exotic teas! We also had an amzing photoshoot in oneof the manyterraces that overlook the horizon and the amazing seaside. This peaceful little town definitely reminded of Japan because of its clean and dainty side streets and the amount of people. I could definitely see the Studio Ghibli vibes (there are so many Studio Ghibli inspired stores!).
Getting to this northeast town is by train to Ruifang from the Taipei Center Station then a short bus ride (follow the tourist flow to the busses!).
TAICHUNG
After Matt and Henry returned to Hong Kong, I had an extra day to explore Taiwan! I decided to visit a western city called Taichung! I asked around how to get to Taichung at the Taipei Central Station and something amazing happened! I asked someone how I could get to the platforms in my subpar Mandarin after getting my ticket to Taichung. I was a little lost so an old janitor came over to see if I was alright. He did not speak a word of English so I triedto communicate with him where the right platform was; he understood me for the most part but felt very uncomfortable replying to me because he asked a random woman to make sure I could understand him. Let's just say that I have a hard time understanding Taiwanese accents. The old lady didn't know much English either except for numbers soshe just kept pointing towards the direction of the correct area where I should wait for my car. At first, I didn't really understand her so I asked if she could go slower. They eventually walked me to the correct platform and the woman remained with me to make sure that I could get on the right train--she was so sweet! Then I asked the old janitor where I could buy some water since it was going to be a four hour train ride. He just pulled out a just-bought, unopened water bottle and gave it to me. I tried to pay him back but he insisted that I just take it and he just gave the biggest smile. I felt so warm and thankful for their generosity and helfpulness. I smiled the entire time I was on my way to Taichung.
There is not much to do in Taichung except for transferring to buses to get to tourist areas that are a bit out of the way from the city itself. Still, there are wetlands and villages to visit if you have time. I could only visit the famous Rainbow Village after taking a 1 hour bus ride from the train station! It was well worth the wait!
REUNITING WITH FRIENDS!
As I have mentioned before, I participated in the 2017 HSBC/HKU Case Competition where I befriended many talented students throughout Asia. Ialso did that same earlier this year (February) when I attended and competed in the Spring 2017 Harvard Project for Asian & International Relations (HPAIR). I contacted several of my friends to see if they were free so we could catch up! I also wantedto make sure to meet with them so Ican see their home through their eyes--a more authentic and different view of the country that I was visiting. Many were very busy but, still, I got to eat lunch with most of the Taiwanese team from the HSBC/HKU competition and at least one of my fellow delegates I befriended in Boston at the HPAIR conference/competition!
My heart is just filled with happiness and warmth when I have the opportunitiy to push my creativity because of my free time. I am so thankful to have theopportunity to travel to otherplaces and reunite with my friends and experience the places they call home! I hope to see them all again in the future and I wish them all the best!
From exploring the beautiful places in Hong Kong to the different cities/towns in Taiwan, I cannot wait to continue discovering more cultures and areas in Asia!
- hover over photos for descriptions -