University of Hong Kong – GW Blogs from Abroad

A Reflection: Attitude is Key

AdminJanuary 9, 2018December 14, 2018

When people go to study abroad, the first identity that is assumed is a student; and the following is a traveler. We should not be too unfamiliar with being a student, but for many people, being a traveler is.

This wasn’t my first rodeo being out of my home country for a long period of time, but it was my first time going alone. While there was some nervousness, I was more excited and eager than anything. I knew what resources that I had, and I felt that I had the energy to tackle any forthcoming challenges. Upon reflection of my duration studying abroad in Hong Kong, I felt prepared for the experience but also learned a lot from it. Here some things to expect while you study abroad and how to have the best travel experience.

What’s Ahead

As with anything, there are good and bad sides. The good side of studying abroad is that you are going to meet a lot of people, make new friends, eat good food, travel to new places, and maybe learn a new language. You will seldom find a time where there is nothing to do with time spent exploring new places with new people and building relationships that will extend beyond study abroad, while not studying. The bad side includes not feeling that you totally fit in the institution, finding thing inconvenient, and/or feeling torn between your old life at home and your new life at your study abroad location. How one experiences any of these study abroad experiences depend on your support at home and abroad.

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A Pull From Across the World: To Go or to Stay?

AdminDecember 28, 2017December 14, 2018

By czhangangel

Studying abroad is a decision that allows yourself to experience the world, be independent, meet different people, adapt to different living, learn about different culture, etc. During time abroad, one will adopt an optimistic, out-going, and relaxed attitude. Your focus turns from school to experiencing as most as you can by traveling the world and making new friends. The overall experience can be addicting and lull one into extending their study abroad experience – at least for me, it did.

I was very tempted to proceed with the process to extend my stay in Hong, but for the first time, I felt held back for once. I thought this situation only happens to those who are “grown up”, or those with responsibilities. “Grownups” have responsibilities to answer to such as family, friends, jobs, and opportunities that should be seized. It is very selfish and immature to just enjoy life without responsibilities – to leave everything behind – because there are people that care about you and want you in their lives, and there are people you will care about too. I asked myself, “Have I ‘grown’ that much to have these responsibilities – to have to make a decision like this?” I understand that studying abroad is a growing experience, but I didn’t realize how much one can grow.

The responsibilities that I believe I personally have are sick family that I must see and take care of, departing friends that I must see, credits I must take to graduate, and jobs and internships to apply for. I had to understand that the study abroad life is not long-term; home is because that is where your past and near future lies. Time flies and things change will you are away and does not wait for you; and the longer you are away, the more you have to “catch up” and accept changes that have occurred. There are future opportunities to come back to your place of study abroad to work or vacation since the location itself will never move.

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Quality Over Quantity

AdminDecember 1, 2017December 14, 2018

By czhangangel

Previously in my last blog, I touched on how the Hong Kong/Chinese school system is a manifestation of and an influencer of cultural values. Recently, I have observed a difference between the young mindsets of Hong Kong residents and those of foreigners. When interacting with students at my school, we can relate to many things since we both have similar interests and life spans composing of development and life experiences. This applies to both my exchange/international friends as well as Hong Kong natives

However, I wonder, “why can’t I connect with Hong Kong natives on a deeper level or more naturally, like I do with my foreign friends?” I don’t believe it is a language or culture barrier since my foreigner friends are from all over the world such as Australia, Sweden, China, Canada, U.S., and U.K. – all with different cultures and where English may not their first language either. It is also not the difference in age or education level since we are all in the same or similar institutions. I believe it goes down to the difference in people’s experiences which helps them relate to and connect with others on a deeper level. In experience, there is a sharp difference between quantity and quality that contributes to character growth.

In Hong Kong, I hear more stories of, in my opinion, immaturity or lacking greater experience. I have been subject to people’s rants of a variety of situations in Hong Kong already – from both family and friends. For example, (in all anonymity) I’ve heard people only going study something at a certain place just because their parents said to, hiding a credit card bill because the person didn’t want his/her guardian seeing the amount of spending, and one asking his/her guardian to wipe his/her bottom after being constipated. Obviously, this is not to generalize all young Hong Kong people. I am only providing the causes for my impression. There are definitely “normal” people in the middle of these situations, but I think there are more cases of this “extremity” in Hong Kong than I have ever observed before.

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Which Came First: The Teaching System and Learning System?

AdminOctober 26, 2017December 14, 2018

By czhangangel

The first criteria I had when choosing places to study abroad was that the school has to be located in Asia. As Asian-American, I wanted to learn more about the culture and ideals in what my own Chinese-American culture is rooted in. The “East” (Asian) and “Western” (European) world are known to have opposite “thinking”, such as collectivism and individualism, respectively. I wanted to see myself if I could completely adapt to the Asian ideals that stray away from what American or “Western” ideals I grew up with. As a student at The University of Hong Kong, I was able to experience the Chinese/Hong Kong culture and thinking through its school system.

Learning

In China and Hong Kong, memorization became a standard way of learning because it is required to learn a language such as Chinese. Characters had to be memorized on how to write and how to say. Students would also be asked to memorize the extensive history and literature that makes up China. This point was made by my Cantonese teacher, who also proposed that memorization helps to recall information faster.

I, an American student, however, was surprised at the request to memorize. Besides preparing material for tests, I was never blatantly asked to memorize anything. I wondered, “Is this why Asians experience the notorious stress that they have due to academics?” In my experience, memorization adds a lot more stress than knowing and understanding material. Information that would be asked to memorize would always be available with the resources everyone has today, so instead of spending time and energy to memorize, I believe in the reinforced American thinking that learning how to think critically is more important, especially in upper-level education such as university.

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It's All in the Details

AdminSeptember 25, 2017

At first glance, Hong Kong is just like the online pictures - a metropolis built on mountains and islands; unique and majestic. Upon arrival, however, there are details available to you that an image cannot capture. Details may be small and easy to overlook, but they can reveal the real story of the environment, culture, and daily life of a place and its people. Allow my first blog post to share how I have come to know Hong Kong through its details.

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