So this time I will go more into Uni life.
Add and Drop period being over and the cluster fuck that is HKU course selection therefore ended, I am stuck with 4 courses:
- Principles of Management
- Current topics in HR
- Introduction to marketing
- Chinese as a foreign language 1
All around that’s an alright selection of courses, even though I only got 1 of the courses I really wanted, which is the Chinese one, to finally force me to learn the language and actually have the motivation for it due to it being graded.
All the other courses were chosen on a “ok yeah, better have to do something, at least this is easy”-basis, when I am not allowed to do more difficult courses, or other fun courses like not being admitted to a journalistic photography course.
On the golden side of the coin, the courses that I have, have enabled me to connect quickly with people, all while having a bunch of free time (for the moment at least).
All courses except the Chinese course have some kind of groupwork baked into them, which forces you to socialise, for me probably worked best in the HR class, due to having group work in every lecture. (Greetings, if one of you reads this 😊)
Attendance gives points towards your final grade, which is great. You only have to remember to turn up on time to sign your name to a piece of paper, otherwise they might fail you, if you never attend or always come to late. Some lecturers also choose to give out assignments, like sending a mail to the technical assistant during class answering a quick question or submitting other exercises, Haven’t had the urge yet to skip a class, but this will definitly keep me from doing it.
Another thing is, that between lectures, you only might have a 10 minute break and thus don’t get to eat lunch in between, because you are running/walking swiftly from one side of the campus to another, upside to this of course is that I don’t have any downtime at all and can use my time very efficiently.
Talking about running through campus, during this you search for food, drink and access to lavatories and a few bins now and then.
There are many many restaurants and canteens covering all kind of cuisine, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, American, Italian, you name it they got it. In a few locations there are also vending machines for drinks and snacks (why anyone would eat the chocolate out of them is beyond me, everything melts immediately anyway, well maybe in winter). Yet next to the vending machines, there are never any bins, thus you either have to go out of your way to find one or know if there is one on your way to the next lecture. Otherwise, you end up taking the can you bought everywhere. This is not only a problem for the campus, the MTR is also quite good at hiding bins sometimes.
To the last point of lavatories, it’s a hit and miss. Usually they are fine, even though some people should really learn when to use a normal toilet and when to use pissoir, this is especially true in any public toilet in the city. Yet on campus, there are some that are just horrible by nature, main library 2nd and 3rd floor for example are not advisable, they look like you could contract any virus of the last 50 years if you sat on them.
At last I could mention the Chi Wah Learning commons here at HKU, it’s a big building, 2 floors and everyone here is A) silent and B) super focussed. You can only hear the AC rush in the background. It has a lot of spaces, if I would have to guess, there are at least 500 students here and its 22:45 on a Saturday right now as I write this blog entry. I enjoy coming here, it is very relaxing to get away from all the hussle and bussle of the city down below the uni, which sits on a side of a mountain, its open from 8 am to 6 am and so you don’t get bothered if you have load neighbours or anything, really something my local university should adopt.
The one thing I love most about these learning commons is though, that they have chairs with holes in them so you don’t sit in a puddle of sweat after a study session, like in all other classrooms. Until now all my classrooms have these plastic chairs with a little wood attached to put a laptop on, if it fits that is. You really have to store everything away before getting up, because you will always collide with the chair. It seems to be build for children and yet the worst is the ability of these chairs to collect all of the sweat and not letting it evaporate out the back, but just making you sit in it.
Other than courses, you can join a variety of clubs, ranging from History over LGBTQ+ to Sports and Arts. Or attend one of the many parties with the other exchange students (bit hesitant on that one, because it feels to me a bit consumption based, which I am not really a fan of)
Anyway, this even more free time of not joining clubs or attend parties, allows me to meet a lot of new people each week and form friendships this way. So I have experienced a variety of great food and went swimming on a near empty beach, another bonus if you have no lectures after 11:00 on a Thursday or non at all on a Tuesday.
I don’t know if it is me who is more open to socialise since I am here, or of it is the environment that makes me or people tend to be more accessible here than back home in Germany, or simply the fact, that Hongkong is 10+ times the size of Bremen population wise and so the pool of people interested in a certain topic bigger.
Photography is going well so far, the inspiration this city gives me is immense, I have never had so much fun going out strolling around and discovering places, if it’s the harbour side, looking over from TST or other places to Central or rediscovering Mongkok anew every week. I even hoped for rain, to get a new challenge and new conditions and got my wish on the 23rd for 2 hours, which really brought out all the lights that Mongkok has to offer. The reflections on the street really bring out a new vibe to the city, yet with a camera, you have to watch out to not get completely wet, even after it stopped raining, as all signs and buildings still dripple water for at least an hour.
I think this should complete this update on life in HK, read you again next time. Enjoy some of the following photos.
Niklas' Photo 