Thursday, December 1, 2011
Hiff Pang @ McGill University, Canada (from CityU) December 2010- June 2011
Labels: 2010/2011 Semester B
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Vincent Kam @ Brock University, Canada (from CityU) 8 January - 3 May 2011
January 8, 2011 Sunday
—First day in Niagara Falls
January 10, 2011 Tuesday
January 18, 2011 Tuesday
April 2, 2011 Sunday
May 3, 2011 Tuesday
Labels: 2010/2011 Semester B
Friday, October 21, 2011
Yuki Lam @ Bocconi University, Italy (from CityU) 7 February - 1 June 2011
February 14, 2011 Monday
Today the school hold an exchange cocktail party for us. Almost every exchange student attend the party. It is a very fun and new experience to me as this is a rare culture in Hong Kong’s Universities. The wine culture is not that popular in Hong Kong than in Italy, so this was the first time I have ever tried to be welcomed by a cocktail party. After the party, we head to a restaurant for dinner. Again, this is a totally new experience to all of us. A restaurant in the afternoon will transform into a bar with buffet at night. We are taught with a famous Italian culture on that night, which is called “Apperitivo”. “Apperitivo” is an Italian food culture, where we can enjoy all the unlimited food with buying one drink costs 8 or 9 Euro in that restaurant. We were very happy because it was like we can enjoy a budget buffet in Hong Kong. Some foods were quite new to me, there were pasta, cheese, pizza, etc. the outlook of the pasta was quite weird as well. After today, I understand that this world is so large that we may not know everything, so whenever we have chance to learn new things, we have to treasure it and try to enjoy and experience of other culture such as the party, wine and food culture in Italy. Always keep an open mind, respecting our own culture while also appreciate the others.
March 1, 2011 Tuesday
Today I have acquired lots of new knowledge and skills. As one of my objectives to study abroad is to learn from other educational traditions and cultures. Therefore I take courses which do not covered in my University in Hong Kong. I took a management of fashion company course, as I know there is long history of fashion culture in Italy, thus, I know I must be able to learn many special knowledge apart from my original study. What is surprising was that the course professor had invited senior management people from many famous fashion companies to give us a lecture about their experiences such as Hermes, Gucci Group, Ray Ban, etc. these were really rewarding experiences for me to have a further understanding in Italian fashion culture. I enjoyed these lectures a lot and had learnt the Italian attitude of doing things as well. They love perfection, thus they value a lot in quality. Unlike Hong Kong, we always want efficiency, thus somehow we might neglect or forgo quality for efficiency.
After class, I go to ski, which I haven’t tried in my entire life, with the school tour. This is a fun and hard experience because we had not taken any course about skiing, all we did was to look at others and learn. After a thousand falls, we finally could ski for a short path without falling. I have acquired another new skill in my exchange life. What is more, this was not just a skill, but a training of my determination to be prepared any time to take on challenge. This was a good training before my graduation, because I know that there would always be challenges and difficulties when we work in the real world. Thus, I really thank for the school for giving us an opportunities to learn.
March 15, 2011 Tuesday
Another ability that I have trained up with is to do things independently. As we went for exchange and were far from our hometown and parents, we must handle everything on our own. Simple stuffs such as cooking, laundry, booking air ticket and insurance all by myself. Not only have I trained to cook a nice meal, but also handle difficulties on my own. I was living with some of my exchanges buddies on off campus apartment, thus, the host Universities didn’t help us when we had an unfair treatment by the landlord. The landlord accused us for bringing bedbug to her house which we knew we haven’t and we had suffered from this problem once we got into this house already. Then she asked some pest control people to come killing the bugs without noticing us and put all the cost on us which is a huge amount costs 1000 Euro. We were very angry and tried to seek help from host University, Chinese ambassador in Italy, however, no one could help. We were very disappointed, but we didn’t give up and tried to seek help from Italian friends and others to bargain for us. However, though it didn’t work at last, when I think back, I appreciated our efforts because we were united and had tried our best to solve the problem. I understand that when we are away from our parents and our hometown, we are alone, so we had to solve problem on our own. What is more, this is a very good experience to all of us that we have to be very clear whenever we sign any contracts as there might always be evil people trying to trick us. This was an important and costly lesson we learnt to protect ourselves.
June 1, 2011 Wednesday
Today is the last day of the exchange study, I had a farewell dinner with all exchange students. We are glad to know each other, we are happy to learn a lot from other countries and culture. This was a day and a good opportunity for me to review my half year experience. When I first came to Milan, I heard from others that Italy was dangerous, especially at night because there are many pick pockets and gangsters. And we have real experiences happened around us, some of our buddies’ wallet or other personal stuffs had been stolen. Therefore I had paid extra attention no matter when I was walking on the street or riding on the tram. Luckily, I haven’t met any of these robberies. However, when I looked back, I started to understand that this may not be related to luck, but the attention around the new environment. This was a really good training for me to protect myself. I know that although there are lots of evil people in the world, we can still escape from them once we know how to protect ourselves. After this exchange study experience, I really feel myself had grown to be an adult.
Labels: 2010/2011 Semester B
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Heather Wong @ University of Strathclyde, UK (from CityU) February - June 2011
Time flies and I finally came back to Hong Kong. The last half year was a dream to me, an extraordinary and unforgottable dream. I experienced so many different things during this half year, including changing attitude, meeting new friends, experiencing different cultures etc.
I did have high expectation about excahnge before the trip, a lot of fantacy. But at the same time, I did also understand that I may have to gone through a lot of difficulties and delimmas. So I felt complicated before the trip. Attitude influence mind set a lot, I can only think of the negative side if I think in the negative way. Luckily, I always believe that a coin has two sides. When I lose something, I must have gain something at the same time. And it is very important to have such belief not only when I go exchange but in my entire life, to keep optimistic and striving.
I met so many different people during the last half year and they all inspired me a lot. Being an exchange student, I admire that I was not good enough at the beginning. Maybe due to the unfamiliar environment, I did not take much initiative to get to know more people in the first welcoming event for exchange students organized by the host university. But then I met a Spanish exchange student. He came to me and said” Remember, you are an exchange student! You do not need to be afraid. Just go and meet people, learn new things and enjoy your life here!” These words influenced me a lot and I always keep them in mind.
I found that such exchange experience to be very memorable. During the last half year, I met so many friends from different countries: France, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Australia etc. We went picnic, dined, watched movie… And we still keep in touch with each other even though we now back to our own countries.
On the other hand, such exchange experience helps me to become a better person. Before going exchange, I was a person who easily gets panic if things do not goes with the plan. My professor joked that he hopes I will lose all my wallet, money and passport that I can learn how to stay calm when bad things happen. And just like what he wishes, I suffered many different dilemmas such as buying the wrong tickets and get lost when traveling. The first time I bought the wrong ticket, I was shocked and panic. I was emotionally upset and take quite a period to have emotional recovery and think of the solutions. But then, similar situations happened again and again, I started to get used to them and more importantly, I understand that there is always a solution. The most important thing is to “keep calm and carry on.”
Almost everybody envied me that I can travel in Europe. That is true and I am glad that I have such opportunity to travel around. I am always interested in different cultures and I believe that the best way to learn a culture is to experience it. The most unforgettable experience it the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. It is such a grand event. And this is one of the many special experiences that I had.
Being thousands of miles from home was not always easy. But it was also an opportunity for me to learn. Being the eldest child in my family, I am taught to be a very independent person. I get used to take care of my own and my younger sister and brother, do all the housework, cook the dinner, handle all the sundry duties etc. However, I was still like a “princess” at home. My parent loves me so much and they always put me first. Although I love my parent so much as well, sometimes I was impatient when they talked to me. Being apart from them, I know how their love is important to me and I learned to cherish it.
Before going exchange, I had a lot of fantasy. Having tried to live a new life, meeting new friends, improving English, learning and experiencing different cultures… It was really fantastic in some aspects, but things are always two-sided: When you gain something, you always lose something. It is not pessimistic, but preparation. It is always good to adjust our attitude and thought in order to face the fickle environment. It is not pessimistic, but instead optimistic. It is always good to remember that things are two-sided: When you lose something, you always gain something.
Although I gone through a serious of difficulties, I did gain a lot far more than I expected including academic knowledge, personal moral, attitude and a lot more. These experiences are definitely unforgettable and critical in my life.
Labels: 2010/2011 Semester B
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Chung Sai Yau @ Singapore Management University, Singapore (from CityU) February - June 2011
My name is Chung Sai Yau. I am a year 3 student from The City University of Hong Kong majoring in China Business under The Marketing Department. I will graduate in July, 2011. I have been awarded the Principal’s List in recognition of Outstanding Academic Performance in semester B, 2007-2008 when I studying in College. Moreover, I have been awarded Hong Kong Tai Po Good Student Awards by Tai Po School Liaison Committee of Hong Kong from 2004 to 2007. In addition, I have been awarded the 2002 Best Improved Students Award of Hong Kong when I studying in secondary school.
I have three mains reasons of chosen Singapore as my exchange destination. These were learning different cultures, polishing my language abilities, and experiencing the differences between Singapore and Hong Kong.
Learning different cultures
Singapore is a multi-cultural country. It has a diverse population of close to five million people made up of Chinese, Malays, Indians and other countries. Nearly 50% of populations in Singapore are foreigners who study and work there. Since the information communication technology, transportation and the network technology is improving day by day. The world is becoming smaller and smaller. It is very easy to do business with other people from different countries. In this globalization trend, doing business is not confined within one country. As a business student, I should learn the cultural differences among many different countries in order to know how to do business with other people who have different cultural background. More importantly, gaining friendship with other people who have different cultural background is one of the most meaningful life experiences in this Singapore exchange program for me. It may not happen again when I graduated from university.
Polishing language abilities
As mentioned before, Singapore is a multi-cultural country which consists of many races. Also, Singapore is a country that the people can speak many kinds of languages. They can speak English, Mandarin and other languages very well. In this program, one of my aims was that polishing my English and Mandarin abilities in speaking, writing, reading and listening areas. Fortunately, most of the subjects in Singapore Management University were project-oriented. I can form a group of students with different background students that I can improve my language abilities through interacting with my group mates. It was the rare chances that I can communicate with them using English and Mandarin. Furthermore, they taught me how to write a professional business report in proper English and Mandarin. I have learnt a lot of skills in these aspects and it can help me when I go back to Hong Kong to study and work after my graduation.
Experiencing the differences between Singapore and Hong Kong
Many news reporters always comment the government policies, economic environment, living standard and so on by comparing Singapore and Hong Kong. It is hard to experience the differences between Singapore and Hong Kong by watching newspaper. In my point of view, it should be experience in person. In this trip, I want to experience the education system and citizenship consciousness among these two places. Firstly, the education system was very well in Singapore. Most of the students can use English and Mandarin which were two of the most popular and comment languages in the world. It would gave them the competitive advantages when they going out to find a job or doing business with other countries and people. Although Hong Kong is an international city, the amount of people who can speak very well in both English and Mandarin are lower comparing with Singapore. On the other hand, I can always see that the Singapore citizens have the good citizenships which always gave up their seats to the people in need. Also, this city was very clean because most of the people will throw their rubbish at the dustbin rather on the street. It should be the learning point for the Hong Kong people.
MY COMMUNITY SERVICE EXPERIENCE
I
had joined two community service projects during my exchange program in Singapore, which were organizing a one-day mid-autumn festival celebration for the mentally ill patients in Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and helping the children who come from low-income families, and many have parents who are either divorced or separated in Learning is Fun and Exciting Program (LIFE) under the social service institution - Beyond Social Services to assist them with schoolwork and engage them in other recreational activities such as play, and group singing sessions. Furthermore, we will help them produce a CD that saying their voice.
Although I had joined a lot of community service project in Hong Kong, this was the first time for I participated the CSP in the foreign country. The one-day mid-autumn festival celebration was organized by Caretalyst which is one of the community service clubs in Singapore Management University.
Institute of Mental Health (IMH)
The purpose of the CSP was interacting with IMH patients through celebration of this special festival as to bring joy to them. A group of volunteers had participated this meaningful event.
In this day, all of us have to prepare some card which a lot of encouraging sentences were written down that we will give them after the celebration in order to encourage and motivate them in the treatment period. Moreover, we had playing some games and showing some movies with them for ice-breaking. Also, we had singing karaoke and dancing with the patients. In the beginning of the game, most of them were very passive. They seem not interested in the game. Fortunately, they were enjoyed and happy in these games after our motivation. During the karaoke session, surprisingly, they were actively participated in singing the songs that was the most impressed me. At the end of the event, all of the patients can get one card written from us. I saw their face were very joyful and smile. Everyone was happy with this ending and the effort from all of us was no wasted at all.
Fun and Exciting Program (LIFE)
The project goals of another CSP which was helping the children in LIFE program was that helping the children from disadvantaged backgrounds, raising awareness for Beyond Social Services and sustaining our project in long term. It is one of our projects in the course – Leadership and Team Building.
Firstly, we helped children from disadvantaged backgrounds by volunteering at the beneficiary at least twice a week. Most of the children come from broken families and suffer from some form of financial difficulty. In general, the children are recommended by their schools to join this after school program so that they can receive additional academic support and behavioural counseling. Our team was able to help the children by providing them with academic support whereby our team tutored them with their homework.
Secondly, we raised awareness for our beneficiary. We were given a booth at Power 98’s Carvivor Rally event, where we held our publicity campaign. We educated the public about Beyond Social Services by giving out flyers that elaborated about the purpose of the organization. We spoke to members of the public, and shared with them the details of our project and the beneficiary. Through the publicity campaign, the public offered their words of encouragement for the children of the LIFE program to achieve their goals in life, through a photo scrapbook; in addition, they were allowed to pledge donations to the beneficiary, thus helping to sustain the efforts of our beneficiary to continue to provide support for many more children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Lastly, we managed to sustain our project. We will provide continuous funding for the beneficiary through the sale of the CD as the beneficiary has agreed to sell the CD on their website. We have managed to secure sponsors that were willing to cover the cost of the CD production and the songwriter, vocal coach and recording studio have provided their services and expertise for free. This would include the composing of the song, vocal lessons for the children, the charges of using the recording studio and the mixing of the music that would be produced into a CD. Thus the money raised through the sale of the CD would go entirely to help sustain the programs of Beyond Social Services, which will include the LIFE program.
Although there were many challenges in the CSP, after all the events, we were successfully produced the CD which can raise fund for their program in long term sustainability, but more importantly, the children can express their feeling in the CD. It was an unforgettable experience for them. I hope that they can change their future by continuously chasing their dream. That was the ultimate goal of our project.
MY STUDENT EXCHANGE EXPERIENCE
In SMU, I have learnt a lot of skills including presentation skills, discussion skills and creative thinking skills. Most of the subjects in SMU are project-oriented based. We need to present our ideas to the professors during the class. I have learnt a lot of skills in creating a professional PowerPoint and presentation skills from my classmates. Also, class participation occupied a lot of percentage of our final grade. Thus, most of the students will express their opinion and ideas during the class. I can learn a lot of things which I should aware when I discussing with others such as no blaming and focus on the main situations rather than people. Furthermore, I have learnt a lot of creative thinking skills thought my creative communication class because the professor invites a lot of professional who are working in the advertisement firm or the story writer. They gave us many lectures that told me how to think creatively. In addition, we have to create a storyboard for the real business company. It can give me the thinking training in different dimension that can help me think critically and creatively.
On the other hand, I had joined the host family program organized by SMU. I had joined them in a lot of significant activities including SAFRA Singapore Bay Run and Army Half Marathon 2010 and the 2010 Formula One Race. All of these activities were very famous in Singapore and luckily I can join with my host family. It was the first time for me to run on the road in Singapore and the first time for me to hear the very louder engine sound in the formula one race. This host family program can gave me a lot of understanding for the Singapore culture. At the same time, my host family can have a better understanding about Hong Kong.
Last but not least, I have been travelled a lot of places which including Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and so on. It gave me the chances to explore other cultures. Also, studying and living in Singapore for four months opened up my eyes as well as strengthened my independence, learning skills and language skills. It was the very important experiences which could help me in the future success.
CONCLUSION
In this Exchange Program, I have met a lot of friends from different countries and city including China, India, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan. It gave me the chance that extended my network in all of these countries and city. It was very difficult to establish friendship within four months exchange program among more than seven countries and city but finally we can establish the long term friendship and network. That was the most meaningful experience in my life.
Furthermore, this program provides me a lot of local community service experiences. In this time, I understood that there were no boundaries between countries and countries. We can help any people in need in anytime and anyplace if you are willing to give your helping hands. After this trip, I hope that I can establish a social service institution that helping people around the world and without any boundaries in the near future.
Lastly, thank you for the Alumni Giving Club and City University of Hong Kong. They gave me a lot of supports and chances to experience Singapore, serve the community and extend my global network. Thank you!
Labels: 2010/2011 Semester B
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