Angelica Grant, a Psychology major in the Verrazano Class of 2013, is spending the Spring 2013 semester in Hong Kong as part of a College of Staten Island Exchange Ambassador program. Angelica is a Verrazano Study Abroad Scholarship recipient, and she will be serving as a blog correspondent this semester and posting an update each month about her overseas experiences. Her first post was written shortly after her arrival in Hong Kong in mid-January.
Today is my sixth day in Hong Kong since arriving at the
City University of Hong Kong on Monday and it has been an amazing experience so
far! This week alone, I made friends with local and international students from
all over the world, toured the campus, used the MTR subway system, visited the Mong
Kok shopping district, and saw a light show on the skyline! It has been an
amazing week. Although I expect the next few weeks to get a bit more intense as
classes begin on Monday, I’m glad these first few days of orientation were a fun
and relaxing introduction to the campus and customs of Hong Kong!
I arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport on Monday
night with another CSI student, Michael, who is also participating in the
Exchange Ambassador Program for the Spring 2013 semester. Once we arrived at
the campus in Kowloon, we were greeted by staff and shown to our dorm rooms. The
City University of Hong Kong (also known as “City U”) classrooms and
administrative buildings are right down the street from the residence halls. It
is a very lovely campus with many subsections. It was a little confusing for me
to get around the campus at first, but since everything is located so closely
together (the local mall and the MTR are both walking distance), I found that
it is very easy to get around here and explore different parts of the city.
I also registered for
my courses this week, including an introduction to the Mandarin language course
and two psychology elective courses. I am hoping to learn Mandarin in order to communicate
with native mainland Chinese speakers and upon arriving back home to build
connections with international students and staff. The two psychology courses I
will be taking are on cognitive psychology and violence and crime in society (the
second of which ties in very well with research I did last semester on
children’s perceptions of bullying during middle childhood).
So far, I have noticed a few customs in Hong Kong that are
completely different than those of the United States. First, driving in Hong
Kong is not the same as in America; it is standard for people to drive on the
opposite side of the road, which means it is very important to look both ways before you cross the street here!
As well, meals on campus are typically very nutritious and come in reasonably
sized portions. Many stores also sell herbal tea and other healthy drinks to
choose from. For example, I was very surprised when ordering a double cheeseburger
at McDonalds that the drink offered to me with the meal was milk and not soda! I
don’t normally associate milk with fast food, but I thought it was interesting
how there are so many different efforts made in order to promote health and
wellness here in Hong Kong!
Apart from studying, my goals for the next four months are
to volunteer at the local Salvation Army, learn some tai chi, and practice speaking
Cantonese with my roommate (who is a local student). Acclimating to life in
Hong Kong has been quite incredible and I plan on making the most of my time here
as the orientation week ends and classes begin. I’m looking forward to even
more new experiences in the weeks to come!
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