Sorry, have not been posting the past few weeks. Finals had started, I’ve been busy with studying. Finals here at CityU has a different atmosphere compare to UHM. Each student has their assigned seat number and check ID. Take everything very seriously, unlike UH finals and midterms are similar. Examination period is two weeks long, will have full 2 hours for each examination. Liking mention before finals are 40 -60 % of the final grade, so must taking its every seriously, there are be many students studying from night until morning. The semester is ending quickly, I still I have one more final left on Saturday. I feel time fly by so fast, just getting use to this new living environment and style, and its ending soon. I will miss it!
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Mention before about going to Macau but haven't post anything about the beautiful place.
Formerly administered by the Portuguese, this high-energy city on the South China Sea is world-famous for casinos and has also begun attracting visitors with an increasing array of shows, entertainment, and nightlife. The city's is a combination with Chinese and European architecture and culture. Its giant casinos and malls on the Cotai Strip, which joins the islands of Taipa and Coloane, with a nickname of “Las Vegas of Asia”. Take a short trip from Hong Kong to Macau 1- 2 nights, about one hour of Ferry, cost around HK$317 -343 depending if you are going on weekdays or weekends and on special holiday the cost will be more expensive. No need to worry about exchanging money because Macanese Patacas (MOP) and Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) currency is 1 to 1 at Macau. Everywhere will accept HKD Attractions:
There are so many different cuisines served in Hong Kong, but the most famous type of food must be the street food and snacks. Food stalls in the streets can be easily found (especially in Mong Kok). You will see a lot of different food, and may seem weird and worry about hygienic but you “must” give it a try.
1. Siu Mai & Fishball Siu Mai (steamed pork dumplings), sometimes can be made of out fish, but their taste is different from fishballs. Try this combo together with spicy sauce or soya sauce and the taste is simply amazing! While serving the original flavor fishballs, they can be dipped in curry sauce as well. 2. Mini egg puffs/ egg waffles 雞蛋仔 Crispy edges and skin with fluffy texture within the waffle. The classic one is just made of egg leavened batter, with a sweet taste. Nowadays, you can easily find many other flavors like chocolate, green tea, strawberry etc. 3. Steamed rice roll/ Cheung Fun 腸粉 Also served as dim sum, the rice noodle sheets you found as street food is different. There are no shrimp or beef, it’s just plain rice noodle. But what’s so special with this version is, they are cut into bite-sized pieces, sprinkled with sesame, sweet sauce, peanut sauce and even chili sauce. 4. Stinky Tofu As read from the name, the stinky odor can actually be smelled from blocks away. It’s tofu, so inside it’s taste soft and creamy, with a deep-fried crust. Where is the stinky smell from? Well it’s the brine, which usually consist fermented milk, vegetable, fish and meat, that is put for weeks or even months before making. 5. Bubble tea Bubble tea is never a bad choice in summer when Hong Kong is burning hot. It is iced milky tea with chewy pearls made of sweetened tapioca. There are many variations of taste and ingredients inside. Apart from the typical pearls, it can be served with Kelly cubes, white pearls etc. Green tea and roasted tea are served as well. There are many bubble tea shop all around. Must cheese tea, milk tea plus cheese! After my midterm, I took a short break to Singapore with some of friends, that place reminds me of Hawaii. The sunny and humid weather, a great place to visits. Transportation similar to Hong Kong, buses and the MRT. Let me share with you the most popular attraction in Singapore
Classes are going fine, past week been busy studying for midterms. Relatively little homework, all the courses has similar structure of assignments: attendance, midterm, individual paper, and group projects. CityU loves having group projects, not complaining because it is a great way to talk and meet locals students.
After studying for midterms, writing paper, or tired of school. Take a short trip to Cheung Chau, apart from the busy city. Cheung Chau is one of the outlying islands in Hong Kong. The island’s most famous sight is Cheung Po Tsai Cave. It’s said Cheung Po Tsai was a pirate who sailed the South China Seas and Pearl River Delta Pearl pillaging villages, terrorizing locals and swigging rum. You can explore the winding passages in the cave. There are a lot of delicious local street food you should try such as the “mango nuomaci” mochi, giant fish balls (super good, love the spicy sauce). Cost for the ferry is ranges from HK$ 13 - 36, depending on the ferry types: ordinary and fast ferry. Duration from Central to Cheung Chau takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour with the ordinary ferry and 30 - 45 minutes with the fast ferry. The peak; A ride on the Tram Buses, subways and taxis are the common transportation in the world. But the best way visiting the Hong Kong Island is taking the double-deck tram. The tram is the icon of Hong Kong and has more than 100 years of history. One of the most popular attraction in Hong Kong. The tram passes through the city’s busiest streets and taken in some of its key sights such as Admiralty and Causeway Bay. Take a seat on the top deck and enjoy the street view in Hong Kong! It's an amazing collection of unique must-visit attractions, providing you with a diverse fun-filled experience of Hong Kong's living culture. The tram rises to 396 meters above sea level. It is so steep that the buildings you pass look like they are leaning a gradient of between 4 to 27 degrees! The Sky Terrace 428, standing at 428 meters above sea level, offering a stunning 360-degree panoramic view across the Hong Kong. Prices Peak Tram Sky Pass (The Peak tram & Sky Terrace 428) Return (Adult): HK$ 88; (Child 3-11, Senior 65 or above): HK$ 42 Single (Adult): HK$ 75; (Child 3-11, Senior 65 or above): HK$ 34 Peak Tram Tickets Return (Adult): HK$ 45; (Child 3-11, Senior 65 or above): HK$ 20 Single (Adult): HK$ 32; (Child 3-11, Senior 65 or above): HK$ 12 Sky Terrace 428 Tickets Return (Adult): HK$ 48; (Child 3-11, Senior 65 or above): HK$ 24 Symphony of lights, Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) Clock Tower (Both located in the same area) The symphony of lights is a ten-minute show which lights up the incredible Hong Kong skyline. Lasers and spotlights are blasted on more than 40 skyscrapers along the Victoria Habour. The show takes places on the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade at 8pm every night and it is completely free. Another landmark that you can trace back to Hong Kong history, you can go to the clock tower. It is the only remaining part of the old Kowloon Station in Tsim Sha Tsui that used to be part of the Kowloon-Canton Railway. It was used as a landmark for travelers many years ago, and is still a popular meeting spot among locals and tourists today. The Avenue of Stars
The Avenue of Stars is a tribute to Hong Kong’s movie icon and it is depicted as “Hollywood of the East”. Currently under repair and improvement works, expected to be completed around the end of 2018. But in the meantime visit the Garden of Stars and the Starry Gallery (located in TST) for exhibitions related to the Avenue of Star and Hong Kong Movies. Exhibition at Garden of Stars Includes
Let me briefly describe the university, CityU campus has three main buildings name Academic 1, Academic 2, and Academic 3, where all the classes are held. Very easy to get around the campus, also CityU is connecting to a mall called Festival walk (easy access to shops and restaurants) and walks through the mall to get to the Kowloon Tong MTR station. Classes are similar to UHM but the only difference is classes are longer. All the courses I’m taking require group works/discussions which a way of meeting the locals but can be hard to become friends with them. Even though, CityU teaches in English, but local students will communicate with each other through Cantonese. If you are Asian looking, they could automatic start speaking Cantonese to you. For me, I can speak Cantonese but at school I feel more comfortable speaking English. However since, I can speak Cantonese locals will expect to communicate though Cantonese with me.
Next about the student residence, all the halls are located in one area. It is very close to Academic 3. There is one canteen at the student residence called Homey Kitchen prices are around HK$ 20 - 40 for a meal (super cheap! around US$ 3 - 6). My dorm is decent, two room sharing one bathroom. One down side is there is no WIFI at the room, for MacBook users, need to have a thunderbolt to gigabit Ethernet adapter (can be purchase at apple store @ Festival walk for HK$ 218 = US$ 28.10 for cheaper options can go to Sham Shun Po 深水埗) connecting a cable to the laptop for Internet. Only the Accommodation room has WIFI. Also laundry, can purchase a card or use coins only HK$ 1 or HK$5. For washer it cost HK$ 5 and for dryer HK$1 = 4 minutes. Beside school, I have become a tourist and going to attractions such as the Big Buddha, Lan Kwai Fong, Star of Avenue, Victoria Harbor, and many more. The past weekend went to Macau for the first time! And Happy Chinese New Year (1/28/17)🎊, one of the big holiday at HK and China! I will going back to China - Zhong Shan for CNY. 🤗
I am writing to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Freeman for making the Freeman Study Aboard Scholarship to help Shidler business students to fulfill their wishes in studying abroad. I was thrilled to learn that I was selected as a recipient of your scholarship and I am deeply appreciative of your support. By awarding me the scholarship, you have lightened my financial burden which allows me to explore and learn more about the social society and culture of different Asian countries,
As a finance and international business major, it is important to understand the market. In Hawaii, our customer groups are mainly Asian. In order to better service them, I must culturally and socially be able to connect with them. In order to do so, I must immerse myself in a culture to truly have understanding. I will be attending City University of Hong Kong, one of the top business schools in the Asian Pacific region. Furthermore, I will be studying finance and gaining knowledge on Asian business. Aside from education, during this trip, I want to challenge myself to try new things and step outside of my comfort zone. I may have an advantage since I speak Chinese but it will be a challenge to readapt to the Chinese culture. Once again, I would like to thank you for this opportunity. I will strive to professionally represent Shidler and the Freeman Foundation |
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