Exchange Diary (CityU Students)

Monday, 17 August 2009

Today was the first day of the new semester in Singapore Management University. However, I have no class on Monday, Thursday and Friday. That means today was my day-off. But I still had to go back to school. Because SMU organized an event called “Walking Food Trail” for both international students and exchange students in this afternoon.

“Walking Food Trail” was an activity to let international students and exchange students to know more about Singapore local food, especially those famous food courts and food stores near our host university.

We were divided into different groups and went to different routes and found those “checkpoints”- the delicious food. I have joined into an international group. They come from different countries, like China, India, and Germany. We were assigned to go to Orchard Road and Dhoby Ghaut. Since I have only been to Singapore for one week, those places I never went to before. Those places are closed to my host university. I can go there to have lunch during my whole semester. We have tried many local foods and also other countries food, and I only remember Yakun Kaya Toast, Bee Cheng Hiang, a food court called Kopitiam (It is a famous chained food court over Singapore.). They also took us to try Hong Kong food, but those “Hong Kong food” I never seen in Hong Kong. Obviously, the Hong Kong foods in Hong Kong are better. Finally, our group won the second champion of the game. Each of us gets SGD10 coupon of Ben & Jerry.

I enjoyed the activity very much. I can try many local foods free of charge. Without this activity, I do not know that there are so much famous foods near my host university. Singapore is also a food paradise. I think I will become fatter in Singapore, although I love Hong Kong food more. Also, I meet a lot of friends come from different countries. They are all very nice and they are in the same situation as me. All of them have just arrived Singapore for a week.


Tuesday, 18 August 2009

My tough semester begins! Today is my first day to have lessons in SMU. I have two classes today, one from 8:30am to 11:45am and another from 3:30pm to 6:45pm. I wake up early today at 6:30am. I am quite nervously about attending the classes. Because my CityU classmates told me that SMU is very tough comparing to CityU after they attended the first lesson yesterday. And they said that it is very difficult to find group mates in the class as Singaporean do not like exchange student in their group.

The academic workload here is very high. Also, the learning environment is totally different from CityU. There is no other sound when the professor is speaking. Everyone has to place their name card in the front and the professor will pick you to answer the questions. The proportion of the participation marks is very high. Therefore, all students will not wait for the professor to call their name and raise their hands up to answer the questions. It is totally different from Hong Kong educational system. I feel a lot of pressure under this system. And it makes me feel very tired after the class. I have to keep brainstorming every minute to think the answer of questions. Although I do not like this educational system, I think it will be a good training for me. I hope that I can learn from the Singaporean and bring this culture back to CityU.


Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Today needs to attend two classes. One of my neighbors also takes the same courses with me. She is international student coming from China. Her name is called Chao Nan. She has studied in Singapore for 2 years. She is very nice. She also teaches me Mandarin. She told me a lot of things about Singapore and SMU. She also thinks that studying in SMU is very tough, look like a hell. All SMU students fight for the A+, not only A range. I think Hong Kong student should learn from the Singaporeans. In these two days, I recognized those hard-working Singaporeans. In week 1, they already go to library study. Contrast with Hong Kong student, Hong Kong student may go to play in week 1. Singaporeans prepare all their class material before and arrive at the classroom on time. I really appreciate their learning attitude. I think this exchange experience must be unforgettable and I can learn much things from the Singaporean.


Thursday, 20 August 2009

I get a day-off on Thursday. So today, I went to National Museum of Singapore with my CityU friends; together with a friend come from U.S. is also an exchange student in SMU. National Museum of Singapore is just located opposite our host university. It is an historical building with very beautiful design. I think it is very difficult to find a similar building in Hong Kong.

The Museum provides a multimedia handheld device to guide the tourist around the History Gallery. We can read descriptions, watch videos and listen to interesting stories. I appreciate this device very much. It makes the museum become more interesting to visit. It is better than just read the descriptions near the treasures. We have visited it about six hours long. I have never used so much time to visit a museum and I still have a lot of zones not yet visited. I must come back again.

I found that Singapore’s history is very similar to Hong Kong. I never recognized it before. I even don’t know Singapore was also colony of British. I learned a lot from the museum. I also knew why Singapore can be so successful in those years. I appreciated their President Lee Kuan Yew. The history of Singapore is very short, but they can chase after Hong Kong and even better than Hong Kong. Hong Kong is losing. Hong Kong people should learn from them.


Friday, 21 August 2009

This week comes to an end. Today I joined the city tour for both international students and exchange students organized by SMU. We were also divided into different groups, but this time were a large group and involved more people come from different countries.

I made some new friends from Myanmar. I was very confused when they told me their nationality. I did not know which this country is. One of them can speak Mandarin and she told me the Chinese version of the country name. I recognized which the country is, but I did not know much about this country. They told me that there are many Chinese in Myanmar. They are also Chinese, but only one of them can speak Mandarin. They also told me that many poor people in their country. I think the other memorable experience in Singapore is I can meet many different nationality people. Singapore is an internationalization country. Many different nationality live here.

In the city tour, we went to many famous scenic spots, like Chinatown, Little India, Merlion, Clarke Quay, City Hall. Singapore looks like Hong Kong, but Singapore’s weather is better than Hong Kong. I always see blue sky in Singapore.

Labels: 2009/2010 Semester A

2nd September, 2009

Today was my second day in Victoria. I woke up early because Mary Lynn, Breanna, Coco and I were planning to go hiking. Mary Lynn taught me to play their family game which is to find out one kind of small cars as much as we can during the drive to the hiking area. I was the big loser in the game because their reaction is much quicker than mine. But I still had lots of fun and I felt less nervous in the following conversation. I really appreciated Mary Lynn because she always made fun for us in the whole way.

During the hiking, Breanna and Coco were really energetic. They ran and ran in the hiking path and always asked me to complete with her. But I was tired after just half an hour since I seldom to do exercise in Hong Kong. Mary Lynn said it was important for us to do more exercise in order to keep fit and get a healthy body. Yes, she is right. I always give up to do exercise because of some excuses like feeling tired after part time job or no time to do exercise. I really enjoy this hiking experience because the scenery is beautiful, the air is fresh and the atmosphere is relaxing. We reached the highest part of the mountain and saw the whole view of Victoria. Victoria is fabulously pretty and I love its nature so much. Mary Lynn pointed at some main buildings and introduced them to me so that I can have a deeper understanding of the places. I believe that I will have a happy experience in this town in the following four months.

After the hiking, Mary Lynn took me to buy some daily necessities. The staffs in cashiers here always greet and chat with you during the payment. They are nice and polite which is the place that we can learn from them. After that, we had a yummy lunch at home. She taught me to make an Indian pizza and it was delicious. Tonight, I played a new game called RUMMOLI with the host family and two other Japanese exchange students. It was really enjoyable. Every time when Breanna and Mary Lynn won, they stood up and dance on chair. They are really cute and passionate. Finally we danced and laughed together under the music. It was really an unforgettable night.


5th December Windy

In today morning, I helped Craig to renovate his office. Actually I just did some simple work and listened to him how to renovate a house. It was amazing that most of the parts in the house such as the room of Colin and the windows of the dining room were renovated by Craig and Mary Lynn. They are awesome.

Originally Mary Lynn, Breanna, Colin and I would go to see the truck parade at night, but Colin got accident in the football match and his leg got hurt. Luckily, his leg was not seriously hurt after checking in hospital. Although we cancelled to see the parade, we also had a good night.

Mary Lynn decided to start the Christmas decoration for the house. First, we moved the Christmas tree and decorations from the basement to the up stair living room. They were really heavy and there were more than six big boxes of decorations. Christmas was really an important festival for the Canadian families. After moving all the decorations to the up stair, we took out chips and coke and turned on the music. We were dancing while we were building up the Christmas trees and decorating the house. At this time, Emi came back and joined us. This was my first time to decorate the house for Christmas and the house was already full of Christmas atmosphere although it was just the beginning of December. Now, I really expect Christmas coming since it is my first Christmas outside Hong Kong. Will I have a white Christmas?

After the decoration, Colin came back from the hospital with two sticks helping him walking. But he was fine and then we watched a typical movie together. Today I really had lots of fun.


9th September, 2009 Wednesday Raining

Today was my first school day in University of Victoria, but it was raining most of the day which was annoying. My lessons started in afternoon so I followed Mary Lynn to a local big store called Costco to buy food and daily necessities. Only members could come and shop here. There were lots of different types of stuff ranging from clothes, furniture, decorations to food. The most interesting was all packages of food are in large size, but the price was relatively lower than the stores outside. I was excited and curious about everything. We spent the morning in the store and bought more than CAD 300 stuff.

After backing home, I quickly took my lunch and then went to school. This was my first time to take the bus here. Maybe due to less- dense population and most people drive to work, the bus lines are few and schedule is not tight. I waited for long time. But the driver was very helpful and polite. They greeted to everyone and thanked you after you pay for the fare. The most surprising thing is everyone said ‘thank you’ to the driver when they took off the bus. People here were really nice and polite. When I arrived, I could not find my classroom since the university is huge. Luckily, two Canadian students guided me to the classroom and I could attend the lesson on time.

I was excited about the lessons because the learning environment was new but I was also so nervous because everyone spoke English and I was afraid I could not make new friends. What was surprised me was their interactive learning atmosphere. The local students were so active to ask and answer questions. But they speak English too fast and I just can understand half of the meaning. I worry I cannot communicate with them in the discussions in following lessons. Here, the coursework for each course was not heavy and the learning atmosphere was much relaxing. It is very different from Hong Kong which has heavy academic work load and stressful learning atmosphere. After the lessons, I went to visit the bunnies again. There are many rabbits in this university which have many different colors and pattern like brown, black, grey, white, etc. I love them so much.



10th October, 2009 Sunny

Today was the second day for my Rocky Mountain trip and it was my first time to see snow. It was really an exciting and glacier experience.

We woke up at five thirty then took the tour bus towards Columbia Icefield area through Icefield parkway. In the way to the Icefield, we saw the mountains covered with snow which were very beautiful and marvelous. However, I also saw one large part of trees was logged. I know Canada has lots of natural resources such as timber and its economy relies on it. But I do not understand why on one side, Canadian emphasis on environmental activities such as recycling. On the other hand, they waste the energy. For example, all the shops in Victoria will light up at night after closing hour with the view to let people look at inside to prevent theft. There are other ways to monitor the shops and no need to light up the shops for whole night.

After few hours, we arrived the middle of mountain and then transferred to a special designed icefield bus to enjoy the Canadian Rockies and reached the peak finally. When the bus stopped, all the exchange students were excited and took off the bus immediately to have a snow fight. It was an amazing experience that I was surrounded by thick snow. We took myriad pictures and really do not want to leave. The nature is unimaginable and mysterious.

Then we transferred to one of the world’s most beautiful scenery—Lake Louise. The water was very clear and calm which never could see in Hong Kong. We took pictures with the lake and ice mountain as background which just like pretty and imaginable pictures in the journey books. Travelling can let you see more, learn more and widen more your horizon. This is really true.


30th October, 2009 Sunny

Today was so happy and memorable. All Chinese exchange student cooperated to organize a Chinese Party tonight and it was very successful. There were more than seventy exchange students joined the party and everyone had Halloween dressed up which has a strong Halloween atmosphere.

Every Chinese student made at least one dishes and brought to the party. I made the dessert ‘Sawdust Pudding’ and help Charlotte to make her dish ‘Ma Po Tofu’. When I bought the ingredients in the China Town, I saw the Winter Olympic torch relay. Since I had to prepare my dessert, I could not stand there to watch the relay although I was excited. It was really difficult to buy Chinese ingredients in Canada even there was China Town. After that, we started our cooking and it took us more than three hours to finish the dishes since the size of the dishes were relatively large.

Then we went to the venue to set up the tables and heat up the food. There were more than twenty types of food which were unbelievable. Exchange students come one by one and most of them dressed up as different characters like monster, angel, etc. Some of them I even could not recognize. When they saw the food, they were surprising and could not imagine that all dishes were made by us. All of them thought the dishes were tasty and always asked the name of the dishes. There were interested in the name of ingredients too. That was interesting.

Some of them could not use chopsticks. But they were willing to learn and it was funny to see them use the chopsticks. The happiest thing is most people like my dessert and many girls asked me how to make and even asked me send them the recipe which was shocked me. I really enjoy chatting with them. I also asked them what kind of dessert they usually made and they said they may organize French food or Korean food party. I was looking forward to joining their parties.

After that was photo-taking time. We ran in the crowd and asked people to take pictures together no matter we knew each other or not. Everyone enjoyed the time and made new friends. However, time flew. The party had to end and we took the group photo together. I believe that everyone will remember this year Halloween, a special Halloween which we shared happiness with people come from different countries.

Labels: 2009/2010 Semester A

Monday – Date: 14/12/2009
It comes to the end of the semester. Time is passing without a sign. Exams and reports were finally finished. There was a Cocktail Farewell Party at school. We all gathered, we danced, we sang and we hugged. We have sadness and happiness at the same time as we miss our home countries and Lille. But we enjoyed every moment in the previous three months together. After that, we went to a Chinese restaurant. We sat in a round table and I taught them the skills to use chopstick. We started to create an Erasmus story. (Erasmus means international students in France.) We made a lot of fun. Then, we went to Palace café to play snooker which was my first time. We didn’t care about who was the winner. Although time is flying and life is busy, we will store those happy memories in our heart. It is unforgettable.

Tuesday – Date: 15/12/2009
I need a rest after exams and reports. Therefore, I was at home today. I woke up late and had a coffee with some biscuits. I used 30 minutes to enjoy my brunch and read a meaningful book called "sixty", what’s a relaxing moment. C’est parfait! (It’s perfect!) The book is saying that French people “smoke more cigarettes, drink more alcohol and eat more fat than anyone in the world, but have the longest life expectancy.” And that is totally what I observed and experienced in France. Compare to other Europeans, they are slim and look healthier. They love drinking and smoking especially when they were young. But why? I am still discovering the “secret” reasons behind by going through the book.

Wednesday – Date: 16/12/2009
How’s the Christmas in Lille in France? Let’s go and feel it!
Today, I went to the city centre, La Grand Place, with Finnish and Dutch girls to have a look of Christmas market (Marche de Noel) and buy some Christmas gifts for my family. All shops are decorated with colourful lights. We tried Vin Chaud (hot wine), a traditional drink for Christmas in Europe, which can keep you warm in winter. It contains less alcohol than normal one and it helped keep my body warm.

Turning round and round, the big wheel in centre is going round. We took a ride on it. The night view of Lille is amazing since there are full of Christmas lights cover the whole street just likes another piece of little sky.

Thursday – Date: 17/12/2009
Today is 17 December 2009. The first snow I saw in my life. When I woke up at around 10, the snow was falling softly. The snow also came to the balcony of my house because of the wind. All the grounds, trees and streets are white. I could not believe the scene which was exactly what I saw only in movies or pictures, but now, it was real and amazing. I could not wait to touch them and to make many snow balls. There were a couple and a family with son and dog going to the garden to make their own snowmen. The scene was so warm and that reminds me my family. Although there was beautiful snowy scene, I would like to share with my dearest family. Since it seems that I, a girl from Hong Kong, am the only one who have never seen snow before. I went out to the nearest park alone and played on the snowy ground. I know I looked so childish, but forgive me please, it was my first time.

Friday – Date: 18/12/2009
Many of exchange students including my roommate have already come back to their countries because of Christmas. Another student from Hong Kong and me are waiting and expecting to have a White Christmas in Finland. What else could be better than spending Christmas time in Finland or Village of Santa-Claus exactly? We are planning to enjoy our time in Finland for the Christmas. And we decided to stay in the house of a Finnish exchange student. It is so great because on one hand, we can save money for our trip, on the other hand, we can know the real life of Finnish people. But now we found out that snow is angel and devil at the same time. Some of the flights and trains were cancelled or delayed due to bad weather conditions. We hope we are lucky for the whole journey. God bless us! It’s time to go. Bonne chance! (Good Luck)

Labels: 2009/2010 Semester A