Hong Kong Polytechnic University
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Long Distance Relationships: overcoming the distance
By Madeleine Dodd, Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong, Hong Kong Leading up to my departure of 5,981.38 miles away, the reality of beginning a long distance relationship became a daunting and heavy feeling. You can only prepare yourself so much, but I will offer you some of my experience in navigating this difficult chapter. Although a hard decision to make, turning down an important life opportunity in favor of a more comfortable relationship is something I promised myself I would never do. And I’d never want my partner to either. Especially with today’s technology, it is not impossible and the growth and lessons learnt through such an experience will…
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Settling into life in Hong Kong: the honest truth
By Anna Belsham, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong I have now been in Hong Kong for four weeks and have just completed my third week of studying at HKPU, it has flown by. I came to Hong Kong with a friend that is doing the same course as me and I had already lived with her for two years and we are sharing a room in Hung Hom halls, this took the pressure off a lot as we were in it together and I did not have to worry about meeting a new roommate, however, I have met so many other exchange students who came on their own and…
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Where has the year gone?!
By Alex Ure (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong) “Hong Kong is a city of paradoxes, where bamboo coexists with concrete, and temples are neighbours with Gucci” – Hong Kong Coconuts. I read an article about a foreign photographer, Kyra Campbell who really captures the true essence of Hong Kong. The article has already initiated my reminiscence of Hong Kong, and I haven’t even left yet! I really will miss the diversity of this culture. Superimposing the ‘old’ and ‘new’ juxtaposed features of Hong Kong together in one photo is really representative of life here. Below is one of my favourite photographs of hers, merging skyscrapers with dried fish –…
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Chinese New Year – Gong Hey Fat Choy!
By Alexandra Ure (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong) I cannot believe that February is drawing to a close, now the Chinese New Year festivities are over and mid-terms are around the corner, I need to get my head down (I’m writing this post first though, as it’s much more fun!). Spending Chinese New Year in Hong Kong has been amazing; many exchange students took the week off as an opportunity to travel. I was intending to travel to Borneo, but had so many issues with booking flights that I couldn’t go. This has been somewhat a blessing in disguise as I’ve been able to experience the CNY festivities in…
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Bring on Semester Two
By Alexandra Ure (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong) I cannot believe that I am now halfway through my study abroad experience in Hong Kong, which is constantly shaping up to be the best year of my life. Semester two commenced a few days ago so I’ve been settling back into the Asian lifestyle after spending the past few weeks back in the UK over the Christmas period. I am excited to be back in Hong Kong to continue to explore and immerse myself in this vibrant, colourful city and to complete my bucket list. Although it has been somewhat bittersweet returning as the majority of exchange students were only…
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Academic Differences – UK to HK
By Alexandra Ure (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong) SUBJECT CHOICES Despite choosing and finalising subjects before arriving in Hong Kong by utilising the online subject choice information for PolyU, which was both informative and useful, I still ended up changing a few modules in the Add/Drop period. Unlike Manchester, you can choose any subjects from an inbound exchange list and change your subjects in the Add/Drop period, which is the first two weeks of the semester. I attended my scheduled classes and additional subjects that I thought I might be interested in, in case I did not like or find the modules I had already chosen to be suitable.…
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Settling into life in HK
By Alexandra Ure (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong) So Hong Kong has been my new home for two weeks already, I have no idea where the time’s gone! It feels like so long since my departure from the UK and I’m surprised at how easily I’ve settled in and how welcoming the country is as a whole. There is perfect marriage of East-meets-West here which I think has made the transition of moving here so easy! I really cannot stress enough how amazing and intriguing I am finding Hong Kong is, I absolutely love it and can’t wait to really start immersing myself in the culture. The locals are…
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Ni Hao Hong Kong!
By Alexandra Ure (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong) After a jam-packed summer of catching up with family and friends, holidays, interning and celebrating my birthday on Friday, I am finally about to commence my study abroad year in Hong Kong. Tomorrow I embark on a gruelling 20-hour journey to Hong Kong with a stop-over in Doha; this was my cheapest flight option but you can fly direct for around £100 more if you’re not the best flyer! I am in disbelief that this is actually happening and at how fast time has passed since handing in my very first Worldwide Exchange applications; it feels so surreal that I will…
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POST POLY U!
By Roopa Hathi (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong). Hey there! So, it is actually the time that I have finished my studies at PolyU! So so strange that this year has flown by!! So, firstly I am going to begin with a brief account of what I’ve been up to since my last blog post! My exams went well, I passed them all which was good! And even passed my Chinese exam – which I am not definitely going to take in final year using the Manchester LEAP program! (Everyone research this if you are keen to carry on your study abroad languages! It’s a program UoM offer to…
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The struggle of learning Mandarin Chinese…
By Roopa Hathi (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong). 你好，很抱歉, 我很忙！我学中文，很难，也很有趣！ Hello, I am very sorry, I have been very busy! I study Chinese, It is very difficult.. but also very interesting! So my time at Hong Kong Polytechnic University is shortly coming to an end, and I have absolute no idea how this has gone this fast! I have been stuck down recently with 3 mid term exams, 3 presentations and 4 reports! And also the focus of my blog entry today- my Level 2 Mandarin Chinese final! I am sure those of you looking to come to Hong Kong to study, are most likely wanting to learn a bit…
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Happy Year of the Horse!
By Roopa Hathi (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong). Hey all, So sorry for my lack of blog posts recently – I have been caught up in the excitement of returning to Hong Kong after Christmas back at home, and most importantly, with Chinese New Year! Since the last time I wrote to you, I have been on holiday to Shanghai and Bali, had a few exams and had to say goodbye to all of the great friends I made! After the most amazing first six months in Hong Kong, and having to say goodbye to some really amazing friends… I am back in Hong Kong for round two –…
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Mid-Terms, Halloween and Diwali in Hong Kong!
By Roopa Hathi (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong). 4 November 2013 Hi all! I have been in Hong Kong for over two months now, but it literally feels like two weeks- It is all flying by waaaay too fast! I have settled in really well, everyone is super friendly and I am making new friends everyday! The past few weeks have been really busy for me, I have had three mid term tests, and multiple deadlines so had been feeling the pressure of studying over here! It is quite difficult to approach and exam here, since I was unsure of what they expect and how they are going to…
