Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Recent Discoveries



Classes have begun and I've even gone to a couple (just kidding - no skipping here). Despite the hellish process that is adding and dropping classes, my schedule is awesome. I only have class Tues-Wed-Thurs. Four day weekend, every weekend! With my free time and even while racing to classes, I've discovered a few things about the area.

1. Macau is the Las Vegas of Asia
On my first Saturday here, Suri, from Finland, and I decided to go to Macau. She needed to activate her student visa, and I simply had nothing to do. The ferry ride from HK to Macau is about an hour long, complete with Abandon Ship instructions. We knew there was gambling but little did I know that is was ALL gambling. At this point in my life, I can't afford to gamble, so after wandering a bit we chose a fancy looking poolside bar to have a fancy looking poolside drink. It was swank. I most likely overpaid for the drink, but the atmosphere was worth it. Next time in Macau, perhaps I'll bite the bullet and bet a dollar.
Our friendly poolside dragon. 

2. If you're going to the beach (or anywhere), know the bus stop. 
No class on Fridays = Beach Day. We took the metro, we took a bus. Then we walked 2k. No beach. Then we walked the 2k back. Got back on the bus. Got off the bus at the nearest civilized area and took a ferry. Beach! I get lost nearly everywhere I go, so I wasn't too concerned when the trip out took an hour longer than planned. The beach was gorgeous, and the water was warm. I did step on a barnacle and got a nasty cut, but I think the salt water cleaned it out....
My first dip in the Pacific Ocean

3. This campus is not wheelchair accessible. 
Let me walk (pun intended) you through how I get from my dorm to the humanities building, where I have only one class (thank god). I take an elevator down 10 stories, then a different elevator up 4 stories. Walk a bit. Up 6 flights of stairs to central campus. Walk a bit. Walk up 8 flights of stairs to the humanities building, and lastly down a flight of stairs to the first floor where my classroom is. Math tells me I've only gained 6 stories worth of elevation, but my burning thighs tell math to stuff it.


These stairs come complete with escalators, but none of the other walkways are that blessed. 

4. Check the language of the class before you go there. 
I was understandably nervous for my first day. New country, new school, new classes. My very first class was in the theology building which is way on the other side campus. I passed the metro station, the pond, the track, and the meditation garden. Overall a very nice walk. After asking several people for directions, I found the classroom - only slightly late. Sheepishly, I entered the classroom and sat in the back. I hoped and prayed that the instructor wouldn't pull a Prof. Blake Whitten and draw an unnecessary amount of attention to the late and apologetic international student. But to my dismay the entire class stopped and stared at me. I stared fixedly at the syllabus. "Excuse me, Miss. Do you speak Cantonese?" Uh oh. "Uh, no, I don't. Is this class in Cantonese? I'm not even registeredMy adviser told me to take this class. I thought I'd check it out. I'm sorry. I guess I'll just go. K. Thanks. Bye." Despite it being an honest mistake, I was embarrassed. I went home and checked the languages of my other classes, and even after triple checking, I was nervous each time I entered a new classroom. I think I'll start practicing my Cantonese.

5. Dim Sum is amazing. 
The shrimp, the pork, the spring rolls, the dumplings. SESAME BALLS. The food here: Yum. Admittedly there is a distinct lack of fruits and vegetables (good luck being a vegetarian here), but I will definitely miss Dim Sum.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Exploration begins

So I'm approaching one week since I've left the grand ol' US. It's been both busy and boring. All the international students were basically given four days to run around Hong Kong without a care in the world. The question became "Who is there to run around with?" Luckily everybody is just as new as I am. First night here, I went out with a group of people from Canada, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, US, and Indonesia.We went to Temple Street Market, one of the tons of open air markets around. I can't count how many times I was asked "You want purse? New watch? Good price." After one such encounter, I told the man I already had a bag and didn't need another. He took one look at my purse and said, "You never get husband with that ugly bag. You need new one. Good price!" Although I was almost convinced by that line, I didn't end up buying bag from him.

I did buy a wallet at Ladies' Market. Bargaining is pretty common at the open air markets. Even though I don't speak a lick of Cantonese, with the help of a calculator, even I can bargain with the locals. At first I was very intimidated - afraid I was going to offend someone or make a fool of myself. However, the first time's always the hardest, so after my first successful bargain, I felt like I'd just passed an impossible exam (Tom Carroll's class, anyone?)

I've officially moved into my permanent housing. My roommate's from Austria and my next door neighbors are from Taiwan and mainland China. I've certainly had to brush up on my geography since moving in. I've got a room with a view!
Living on the 9th floor has its perks. 

During the move from the orientation hostel to our permanent hostel, we were locked out of the buildings from 9am to 5pm. My orientation roommate and I spent the day at Sha Tin mall. Shopping is crazy here, and I better slow down my spending if I don't plan on being destitute at the end of the semester. So while wandering around the mall, which is packed, I had a group of locals run up to me: "Can we take a picture with you???" My hesitant response was something along the lines of "uhhh......" so they explained: "It's for a scavenger hunt. We must take a picture with a foreigner." Who was I to say no? I was approached not once, but twice for my picture at the mall. I guess I don't quite look like a local.
Can you find me?

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

First Steps

At the beginning Fall Semester 2011, my professor gave a presentation on "an exciting new program," "a once in a lifetime opportunity," "a resume builder." I leaned over to my friend Sarah and said "I will do this." Fast forward several months to the day the application was actually due. I hadn't exactly written it yet, but I was stilling thinking "I will do this." Forcing myself to sit down in the Pappajohn Computer Lab, I wrote the essay and voila! I was officially a founding member of the CUHK - Iowa Accounting Exchange Program.

For the weeks leading up to my flight, I was really nervous. I mean like that feeling you get when you're walking in the streets of Iowa City and you're suddenly unsure if that car's going to stop or not. I don't speak the language, I don't know anyone, and up until recently I couldn't exactly find Hong Kong on a map. However, I booked my flight, and just kept telling myself It'll be an adventure, Being nervous is all apart of the experience.

My method of packing went something like this, "Have I worn/used it in the last year?" "Yes." "More than once?" "Doesn't matter. It's going in the bag." This method actually ended up costing me a pretty penny (turns out the airlines are not amused by over stuffed bags), but I feel confident in what I brought. I do have some worries for the flight home - as Hong Kong is a Shopping Mecca - but I'll worry about that in four months.

Let me just say this: In my experience, Asian airlines rock. Full meals, blanket, pillow, my personal television. I watched the entire second season of Game of Thrones while eating a single-serving sized carton of  Haagen Dazs Ice Cream.

I landed and stressed about immigration. Immigration was a piece of cake. I grabbed my bags and stressed about hailing a cab. The taxi was a cake walk. So an hour and several metaphorical calories later, I was safe and sound in my room (seen below). Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

My spacious accommodations