Hong Kong Highlights

I found this place shortly after coming to Hong Kong and fell in love.  Despite being outside for two hours in the heat and humidity I enjoyed my first trip immensely.  Now, with only a month left of my study abroad experience, I returned. C h i L i n N u n n e r y The nunnery is a combination of garden and temple.  Located in the middle of Hong Kong the contrast with its surroundings adds to the charm of the garden. My love began in the garden.  The garden is meticulously taken care of and this dedication shows.  The garden has thematic music playing softly throughout the area which, when combined with the sound of several waterfalls, causes one to relax as they delve deeper into the garden.   The creators of the garden worked with the many elements of nature to create this haven - the combined effect of trees, rocks, and water is hard to communicate in words. At the end of the gardens is a cafe and gift shop w...

 I had to pay a bill to my host University.  My payment options?  Through x Chinese banks -> nope  Through direct deposit online -> can't do this option either  Payment transfer through PPS -> I have no idea what this is  Payment online through Chinese credit card -> once again, no  Cash payment at bank on campus -> we have a winner! And thus during a break in my schedule I arrived at the bank and joined the queue.  Wow, did I underestimate this process and the time commitment needed.  The queue was long and moved slowly, except for the people who buzzed past the line and were in and out in 5 minutes.  Apparently, banks can have different levels of status for patrons that confer various benefits, such as skipping the line. In order: regular, preferred banking, and prestige It took 45 minutes to reach the counter in the "regular" line.  I presented the information regarding the payment and my debit card...

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. Bob Marley The first note played and I felt myself shiver in anticipation.  My entire body relaxed and I realized that, regardless of what else happened tonight, this experience was worth it just for that one moment of relaxation.   When asked why I desire to live in a big city, I respond that I want to live in a place filled with museums and cultural events.  Having visited many of the museums in Hong Kong, I decided to begin focusing on the events offered by a city of 7 million that I cannot get in a town of 50,000.  Thus on Thursday night I found myself at the Hong Kong Cultural Center Concert Hall with a ticket to see the Philharmonic Orchestra of Seoul.  Deciding that it didn't matter where I sat provided I could hear the music, I bought a seat in the cheap section which, when added to my half-off student discount, came out to be $11USD.   From my seat I ...

Universities are undeniably about classes, but there are other forms of learning available as well.  I decided to leave my comfort zone behind when I boarded a plane and left the country for six months; now that I am here, I don't want to spend all of my time in my room studying.  Beyond exploring my host city, I am also exploring the opportunities available at my host university.  These opportunities have included guest lecturers, workshops, art classes, and musical performances. I have gone to lectures ranging from violent political issues in southeast Asia to environmental crises in the polar regions as well as in Hong Kong to the analysis of the impact of Confucian ideas in the founding of the United States.  I have enrolled in a Chinese calligraphy course that meets every Tuesday evening and in an online month long course exploring the changing arctic due to climate change.  Deciding to try something I have never taken advantage of at ISU I chose to atten...

Unlike most big cities, Hong Kong does not have a proper zoo.  The closest approximation is the Botanical and Zoological Garden.  At 10:00 one night I got a text from my friend Esme asking me if I wanted to go to the garden the next day, which is how I found myself experiencing something unlike anything I had seen before. The first thing to remember is that almost everything in Hong Kong will be uphill.  Every few minutes we took a pause, drank water, at one point sat down on the sidewalk to prepare ourselves for the next leg of the trek, and crisscrossed the road as needed to remain in the shade.  On the way up we passed a group of Japanese tourists trying to haul their suitcases up the same hill; it was incredible, even without understanding a word they were saying we both picked up on their sentiment and Esme and I grinned in sympathy at each other as we went by.  Twenty minutes after the start we stumbled through the gate to the gardens and both bou...

Necessities for daily life in Hong Kong What I need to get through the day in Hong Kong is different from what Iowa life requires.  For the first couple of weeks, I regularly arrived at campus, rummaged through my bag, and then got to backtrack to the dorms to grab what I had left behind.  For a while there, I really longed for a rembrall to help double check that I had not left anything on my bed or by my desk.  After a month and a half of living in Hong Kong, I can now pack my bag for the day without forgetting the key items to surviving in the city. Daily checklist includes: 1) Umbrella I arrived in the rain.  I found out quickly that August and September are the wet months here.  My poor umbrella has taken a bit of a beating from being shoved into my backpack everyday, but it has saved me from being soaked many times. 2) ID, room, and MTR cards The all-important MTR card In order to function in Hong Kong City University, you need to carry al...

When I was five, my parents took my elder sister and I to Disneyland in Orlando, Florida.  I was young enough that I remember nothing from that trip.  At age 20 I returned to Disney, this time in Hong Kong.  While perhaps not the realization of my wildest dreams, I did enjoy my experience at the park. Getting there The only way to travel in Hong Kong is via MTR (the subway system).  It is faster, easier, and more comfortable than traveling by bus.  That being said, the MTR is very popular with the locals as well as with the visitors.  Leaving at 9:00am, I entered the MTR during rush hours.  It felt somewhat like this: After transferring four times between different MTR lines I arrived at the Disney station and staggered out into the heat to meet up with my friend Sakura.  Ready, set, go! I decided to get a year-long student pass as that was considerably cheaper than paying the entrance fee twice.  After going through the process to g...