April has come and gone and I absolutely can not believe how fast time has passed. It seems like I just got here, figuring out Hong Kong and the new school, and it's time to go back. It's going to be hard to part from the friends I've made here and got to go on many different adventures with. From getting lost on the most brutal hike in Hong Kong, Sunset Peak, to consecutive nights out drinking, these will be lifetime memories. It was one of our friends birthday and we celebrated with drinks and pizza. She is from Busan South Korea, the same city I'm from. It is a cool experience hanging out and celebrating a birthday with people from different countries. In Hawaii or during my time in the military, I would always interact with the locals. In Hawaii, I tend to spend my time with the my friends a lot and it seems like it is easier to interact with the locals. It feels more comfortable with them and being abroad was a great way to experience something new, step out of my comfort zone, and widen my horizons. Even in the military, you interact with many people from different states but no from different countries. Hong Kong being a "pure capitalist" economy definitely shows the benefits of capitalism. From many high rise skyscrapers to super cars I see on the daily, Hong Kong definitely has lots of magnificent sights. With that being said, you also would see the severe inequality in wealth amongst the people. Just going to McDonald's you see many homeless people there on a nightly basis because they can't afford the ridiculously expensive rent in Hong Kong. They are given the name McRefugees here. Every Sunday, at the main bus stops, you see many house workers from other countries hanging out on cardboard boxes for Hong Kong laws forces them out at least one day a week. I see sights like these back in the US, but unlike the US, these people have no help from the government to better their lives.
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Being a junior right now turning into a senior next semester, one of my highest priorities was to find a summer internship. Since August of 2017, I must've completed over 200 applications. I've had many interviews but so far I haven't received an offer. One of the main reasons I chose to come to Hong Kong was for their large financial district. I figured there would be many firms and lots of more opportunities. I was right but definitely underestimated the competitiveness of the industry. At the University of Hong Kong, I've had the opportunity to work on group projects with "local" students here. All my group mates are from India but study Finance in Hong Kong. I was simply amazed at their hard work ethics. It was common for them to meet before dinner and working past 2 in the morning. What surprised me even more was the fact that they were sophomores and knew exactly what direction in life they wanted to go. They are full time students here and already interning at local investment management firms. It was a great experience to actually meet and befriend some of the peers that I will be working with or competing with in the future. One thing I find HKU vastly different from UH is their final exams. Final exams start on May 7th and ends on May 26th. With my luck, I am scheduled one final on May 7th and the last on May 26th! This is highly disappointing for I wanted to travel to one more place right after the semester ends. But it does give me a lot of time to study for the second final. I also find it unfair, especially for students who has a final in the beginning of finals week compared to the students with finals at the ending of finals week. Students with finals at the end of finals week has 3 whole weeks more to study!! Since we all have different exam dates, we also have different departure dates. Our time is coming to an end and we started making plans to have our goodbye moments before finals start taking up all our time. I am particularly grateful for the people that were on this exchange. It was a cool experience to study in a different country and travel but I truly believe the people I got to meet and spend time with made it so much better. An absolute obsession
As I was enjoying yum cha (same thing as tea time in the UK) on a Sunday, really enjoying the relatively cheap and awesome dim sum when I realize I only have little precious moments left in Hong Kong and I will be heading back to Hawaii. I started reflecting on my journey here and remembered the reason why I wanted to come to Hong Kong in the first place. Hong Kong was very attractive to me for my career goal is to work in finance. Hong Kong is one of the largest financial hubs in the world and I wanted to use my study abroad opportunity to network. I had the opportunity to attend Bank of America information sessions and talk with professionals about their jobs and things they look for in students. Also, I had the opportunities to meet people working in finance casually. Going to Lan Kwai Fong for a casual night out, I've met people working in a high level of finance and I thought that was a very cool experience. I finally attended a high table dinner for my hall. I have missed the previous 3 for I was either traveling or had an exam the very next day. This was the final High Table Dinner and I was glad I made it. It was an unique experience. Our warden was there as well as special guest speakers. The whole speech was in Cantonese but we were provided a translation.
I'm feeling very conflicted for my time abroad is coming to an end and I want to enjoy my last days here. At the same time, the semester is coming to an end which means there are exams and group projects coming up. In all of my classes, the final exam is worth more than 50% of our grade. HKU's final exam period starts on May 7th and ends on May 26th. Oddly, I already had a final for one of my classes. Since coming back from Japan, I had a lot of catching up to do, especially with the final exam coming up in a week. On Friday, I took a break from studying and went to Korean Culture Night hosted by the school. It was my first cultural night I've been to and absolutely loved it. There was live music and dancing performed by the students. And the best part, free food! After taking the exam, I went shopping. Hong Kong is famous for their outlet malls. I went to Citygate outlet and Mong Kok. I needed to buy sunglasses for I lost it here. I spent about 8 hours shopping and finally ended the day with some octopus street food in Mong Kok.
The month of March came to an end and I can't believe I only have 2 months left in Hong Kong. I absolutely fell in love with the unique culture Hong Kong offers. It seems like Hong Kong is where Western culture meets the Eastern Culture. I ended March on going to Japan. My brother's family was there so I decided to visit. I've always wanted to go to Japan but didn't have the opportunity until now. With 2 of my nieces there Disneyland was definitely on the list of things to do there. At first I didn't really like the idea of spending two days in Disneyland for I thought I was too old. But as soon as I got to Disneyland, my whole attitude totally changed. As soon as I entered the theme park, I was greeted by the iconic Disney castle and felt excited as a kid again. Last time I was in Disneyland was when I was 11 years old and I still felt that same excitement. Being in Japan at the end of March was perfect for I was there for the Sakura season. Seeing the beautiful pink and white flowers in person was magnificent. The sight of those flowers alone made the trip to Japan worthwhile!
I had 2 midterms after my trip to Korea and basically spent almost all my time studying for the midterm. I also had a group project due the very next week so it was like back to back time consuming tasks. But after I was done with all the work, I had the chance to go hiking at Dragon's Back trail. It was a very easy hike with a great view. The very next day I went to one of the famous rooftop bars in Hong Kong. It's called Skye Roofbar. The bar was located on the 27th floor of Pullman Hotel. The view from the top was absolutely amazing and the best part of it was the drinks were pretty fairly priced. I was very surprise for how fancy the bar and hotel was.
Prior to arriving in Hong Kong, I knew I was going to visit family and friends in Korea while being abroad. I try to visit Korea once every several years and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to visit. I arrived in Korea in early March and it was absolutely freezing there. I spent the first two nights in Seoul and got to see tourist sites and go out to Gangnam for drinks. The rest of the time I was in Busan. I got to go to Jalgachi fish market, the biggest fish market in Korea and try their unique food. I tried this one octupus dish where it's still moving in your plate. Apart from the fact that it was moving, it was very good.
After spending 6 days in the Philippines, I had some catching up to do for my classes. I had a group project due and reading week was just right around the corner. Reading week is a week given to students to prepare for midterms. I planned to travel to Korea during reading week so even more I had to study. I spent the whole week in the Chi Wah Learning Complex. Getting ready for exams and participating in group projects took most of my time this week, but I still had a chance to go out on Friday night to LKF for drinks.
Third week of February was the first time I left the country. I traveled to the Philippines for the CNY holiday break we had. Airplane tickets were more expensive for this time of the year but it was definitely worth it. I have never been to the Philippines and made it one of the places I must visit while in Hong Kong. Some people thought it was not safe there but I never felt like I was in danger. The weather in the Philippines reminded me of Hawaii but a little hotter. It was nice to take a break from the cold in Hong Kong! In Manila I had the chance to visit the Manila Cathedral. Many tourists from all over the world was there. Some were just tourists and some were there for religious reasons. The cathedral was huge. Inside, there was the history of the cathedral shown in pictures and writing. I also got to go into the mountains of Philippines and go ATVing. It was a great experience as I rode past cows. The views were absolutely amazing. Upon from getting totally dirty, it was a great experience.
The second week of February was Chinese New Years (CNY). Growing up in Hawaii, I have always enjoyed the CNY celebrations in Chinatown. I was ecstatic that I could witness CNY in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, this year, there was a tragic bus accident in Hong Kong. This event caused the cancellation of their annual firework show. Even with the fireworks cancelled, there were many other things to do and see. One of the first things I've done was to attend the Lunar New Year Fair. It was absolutely packed with people! At the fair, they sold many souvenirs and traditional Chinese food.
Another thing I've done was go to the temple. It is a tradition here for people to visit the temple during New Year. Finally, I attended the the world famous Hong Kong CNY Parade. It was an absolutely amazing experience. There were many shows and blimps to see. This too was absolutely packed with people. |
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