After studying a while in a small city, I decided to apply for a semester abroad at our Partner University #HKBU in Hong Kong. Only 2 were to be picked, so at the beginning of 2015 I was super thrilled to hear about the news! A lot had to be planned: Visa, accommodation, payments, flight, insurances and the courses from the Acadamy of Visual Arts. Time went by and on the 24th August 2015 my adventure began!
After 10 hours of flight, we landed in the late evening and got picked up by students. We received our student ID, which we could use for practically everything: 7/11, metro, coffeeshops, access to university facilities, our dorm and so much more! But when I arrived, I entered a really tiny room for 2 and a bathroom between two rooms. I expected something small, but it was still a shock, moving from a 37sq.m. apartment into a 15sq.m. room and sharing it with a stranger! I was so nervous. The first night was obviously the worst, because of the humidity, no bedsheets, no pillow whatsoever:D It was harsh. My roommate seemed to have moved in earlier, but she didn't arrive for the following 2 days...which made me more nervous:D But all went well, because I met Gabrielle, who is from La Réunion, the neighbor island of my place of birth Mauritius and our journey just skyrocketed from there on:)
Hong Kong consists on three main territories: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. HKBU is located on the Kowloon Peninsula in Kowloon Tong. Our nearest station was about 5 min away and it didn't take long to other stations like Prince Edward, Mongkok, Center, Wanchai. I guess the most famous and touristy stop was Mongkok. The area is filled with markets like the Flower Market, the Goldfish Street/Market or Ladies Market. You can also find loads of shops, restaurants and night markets (Temple Street).
On the first days we got the typical tour around the Campus and in Kowloon Tong to get to know the shops and restaurants nearby, but also to get to know the other students and the many clubs and programs the local students had to offer. So Gabi and I decided to join the Muay Thai Club at the Gym, which I will give a short summary in the section Activities. The Academy of Visual Arts was only 4 minutes away from my dorm and almost every course of mine was held there. I ended up enjoying my new life in the dorm, even with the weird and strict regulations like no alcohol and no visitors after 11pm. The community was really joyful and each hall had their own color and theme with many meetups....we were the CL. Soong Hall, but I have to admit after a while the singing and the abuse of the microphone in the court started to annoy me a bit, because you just couldn‘t bypass the noise in the 12th floor! We just started to flee somewhere else:D
Sadly I didn't get into all the courses I chose 6 months before, but in the end I was still satisfied. I attended Furniture Design, where the goal was to create a chair till the end of the Semester, Prototyping, where we should model and print out a passive walker, Independent Music Video, The Art of Glassblowing and Mandarin(-Cantonese wasn't available anymore).
The most time consuming, but also my favorite class was Glassblowing, which I had Mondays from 9am-5pm and Wednesdays from 12-3pm for practice hours with my partner. It was just something random, that I never thought I would do and ended up loving it so much. (Future blogpost about the process and the results coming soon.:)) All the other courses were once a week from 9am-5pm with an one hour break. Here are some results of the courses:
So I mentioned Muay Thai. But it didn't start there:D We tried out for Karate, but failed miserably...or more so me:D I knew it takes time, patience and discipline to learn a new sport especially martial arts, but I just wanted to try out something, where I wouldn‘t feel like a total noob for the next four months. So there was Muay Thai! Once a week and so much fun. I looked totally ridiculous, but it was just a good and hard workout, we laughed a lot and it made me feel strong and fit for the time being.
Other than that we just used the free outdoor workout spots, went out in large or small groups for lunch and dinner, partied a bit, made tons of trips, because Hong Kong has a large list of islands, where you can also leave the hectic city in less than 30 minutes behind. Depending the mood you‘re in and what others where planing, there's so much for everyone, which I love!
At first I didn‘t want to drag out this post into a second one, but I realize this is getting way too long and I want to be more detailed about my hangout spots in Hong Kong, the trips I made from there (Vietnam, Shenzen, Macau, Thailand, Taipeh, Beijing) the super delicious fooood and the Nightlife.
Here's a little sneak peak of a tip we got for a great view in the City:
The Hopewell Center in Wanchai. That building has so many entrances and levels and different stores, it took us so long to find the scenic elevator, but we didn‘t want to give up! I guess after 1 hour in that building we finally found it. I don‘t know the completely correct direction anymore, but it was an elevator starting from the 17th floor to the top floor restaurant called The Grand Buffet. Was it worth while? DEFINATELY!! We drove up and down so many times, because we enjoyed the view so much- the waiters at the entrance of the restaurant probably thought we were nuts! The Hopewell Center, is with 216m the first circular and 20th tallest skyscraper in HK. It was once the 2nd highest building in Asia in the 80s. What makes it so unique is, it‘s surrounded by the many buildings in the center of the city and you‘re getting a different view for free.:) We also went to the Ozone Bar, the highest bar in Hong Kong (claiming: highest bar in the world) at 467m and I preferred the free elevator. The Ozone Bar was just too overpriced and so far away from the city. We mostly saw the reflection of ourselves. Maybe you are lucky and have a great view with the sunset. The interior & atmosphere is great, so you‘ll have a good time, but we only got smog and saw tiny lights at night, so the Hopewell Center was the WINNER for me!:)
I am not an expert of this City, so I am always happy to hear about insider tips, because I want to visit Hong Kong again:)
xxx.