Although my life in Hong Kong has been full of crazy adventures and lots of sightseeing, there have also been a lot of relaxing and work-dedicated days necessary for recharging and completing assignments. I thought I’d outline one of these typical days in my life as an HKU student.
I started my day by walking to the post office in my district of Wan Chai and mailing my postcards. I had been amassing postcards from across Hong Kong since I first got here, and ended up with a collection of 14 (although I still want more). After a tedious process of gluing stamps on, I decided to grab something to eat nearby. Even though I was only 15 minutes away from my apartment, there is always so much to see and explore even in a quarter-mile radius in Hong Kong. I walked across a busy highway and soon found a cute café on the corner of a peaceful, secluded street; I ordered coffee and Korean-style eggs benedict and sat at the open window. The food was a really interesting take on the classic Western style and was actually so delicious. The environment was super relaxing, so I decided to stay there and get some work done. I took some notes for my Music of China class, in which we’re currently diving into Chinese opera styles, and studied for my Art History class, in which we’re learning about landscapes in Chinese art pre-Yuan dynasty. After a few hours, I left for HKU and took the subway to campus. I had my Cosmology tutorial at 3:30p, and then lecture after from 4:30-6:30p. One thing that I discovered is that physics is equally difficult internationally as it is at Drexel; my hand always cramps up after furiously taking notes for two hours.
Post-lecture, I was starving again, so I grabbed dinner with some other exchange students. Many of the European exchange students don’t eat meat, which is almost impossible to do in Hong Kong, so we ate at the only Asian vegetarian restaurant on campus, Bijas. Thankfully, all the food there is really great; it’s buffet-style and paid by weight, and rice and soup are free, so I’m never hungry when leaving. I didn’t stay long after eating, as I had another obligation that night: the comedy club. One of my exchange student friends decided to do stand-up comedy at the free open-mic night, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see it.
I took the subway back to my apartment to drop off my school bag, and then took a tram to the Central district, where I met up with some other students at the comedy club. My friend’s set was actually funny—I surprisingly didn’t get second-hand embarrassment from it! We all hung out in the area after the open-mic night had ended, where we caught the end of a live band’s set. The restaurant where they were playing was called Iron Fairies, and had a million fake butterflies hanging from the ceiling! After the band finished, I went home, showered, and watched Netflix for an hour before falling asleep.
Although the day wasn’t filled with life-threatening hikes, museum visits, or extravagant meals, it was definitely a good blend of productivity and fun. I really enjoy the quiet moments in Hong Kong, as well as independently exploring different areas of my district. There is still so much cultural richness to discover. We are all finally feeling like locals now!
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