The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Ni Hao! Wo jiao Miao Shi Wei. If you’re receiving this email, it’s because I (or someone I know) thought you might be interested. This is my first journal entry from my studies abroad. All photos are original, taken with a Sony DSC-T9 digital camera. Enjoy!


The Chinese University of Hong Kong campus is magnificent, with rolling, tropical mountains capturing three quarters of the landscape and an open sea greeting from the East. It is, however, the rolling mountains that are fuelling an epic civil war between my thighs and eyes. The mountains themselves pose no real threat; however, the flawless trifecta of mountains, 90% humidity and 95 degree weather has launched a strategic attack on my rapidly depleting energy reserves.

As large beads of sweat fall onto my freshly folded laundry, I wonder what administrative flaw put a 250 lb American 5 floors above the closest washer and dryer. Of course I could wait for the un-air-conditioned elevator, but it seams to have a mind of its own. When it’s working, it’s usually going in the wrong direction, and when it does climb it seems to be doing so without any justifiable explanation or input. (not unlike our Presidents approval rating)

This campus is hailed as the most beautiful in Asia. The wonderful contrast of tropical plants, modern architecture and cascading water are a perfect distraction from the insane heat. (As is the Chinese Pottery Museum in central campus… best air-conditioning in Hong Kong and great place to feign interest in 2500 year old water vessels)

When I arrived at CUHK it took me a little while to notice my surroundings. At first it took a bit of effort to leave the air-conditioned dorm and go exploring, however after orientation they shut off the free air-conditioning and we now have to pay for it. For me, this has provided adequate motivation to go out and embrace the tropics.

When I began writing this journal it was early August and it is now late September. The weather has improved dramatically and it is quite comfortable now.

Since then, things have calmed down. Only a typhoon and an earthquake last week are reminders that I’m “not in Kansas anymore”.

One evening we traveled to a three story river front restaurant in Shatin. There were 400 of us and we only filled up one of the three available dining floors. We were treated to an 8 course meal, only some of which I recognized. The fish and chicken were unmistakable as they were served without waste.

I went back to Shatin last night to purchase a desk top fan. The fan was in a bag clearly labeled with a price tag of HK$399. I asked the shop keeper to plug it in for me and he obliged. When writing my sales ticket, I noticed he charged me $599. I pointed out the tag and told him I would prefer to pay the local people price. He had a sheepish grin on his face as he tried to explain the “Bush Tax” to me. In the end he settled for HK$350 and an ear full.

(Note: I would have just gone to another vendor, however this guy earned huge creativity points in my book for his attempted explanation of the Bush Tax. I can certainly appreciate originality, especially in this country.)

Classes started in early September and are progressing nicely, although I admit I am having a difficult time focusing. I am taking a relatively light load this semester (15credits) so that I can do some traveling and learn more about the Asian culture.

I picked up my multi-entry Visa for the mainland yesterday. I am only a few minutes train ride away from the boarder and plan to take numerous trips into the mainland. My Cousin and her husband are teaching at a University a few hrs north of me and I hope to visit them soon.

I am staying in the International House dormitory (1 of 2) and it is quite comfortable. I share a room with two other exchange students from Beijing.
Having never lived on a college campus before I was a bit anxious about the experience, but it has not been a problem for me. My room mates are both interesting guys. Both are 20 and neither has ever kissed a girl, which I find terrifying but they say it’s the norm. One of them is an expert pianist and I enjoy listening to him play. We have a nice piano in the common room and it seems to always be in use. The musical talent that is emerging from my building alone is phenomenal. I have never heard Mozart and Beethoven played to such perfection.

Frank has the unusual ability to hear any song and directly write down the sheet music. I’ve never seen anything like it. I have played my Fur Elise for him and he is helping me work out the few remaining bugs. On numerous occasions he has expressed amazement that I can play with such “fat fingers”… Robert you should enjoy that.

The other room mate is Alex. I call him the “toucher” because… well… he is constantly touching me. Every time I come into the room he pats my stomach and says “wow… so soft!” I’m sure it is a cultural thing, and I am trying to endure with a good sense of humor!

As you can see from the picture above, taken from my living room and the pictures on the first page taken from my balcony, our flat has an incredible view. The only drawback about the I-house is that the closest free bus stop is 6 flights of stairs and a long hill away and the closest class room is even farther.

I have been taking some time to party, of course, but I am trying not to forget the reason I came here. Learn Chinese and a better appreciation for Asian culture.

To that end, I'll leave you with a fun little story that happened to me the other day.

I was walking across campus one evening and ran into a huge crowd of water gun toting Asian students. Apparently they were having a freshmen initiation and there must have been 50-100 people in this huge water fight. They had filled three small kiddy pools as well and were using these to refill guns and to dunk people in. I'm not sure how I became a target but next thing I knew I was in the middle of a full fledged war. Being the only white face in the fray, and being an easy 6 inches taller and wider than their largest representative, I became a popular target. 3 of the Lilliputians (ref Gullivers Travels) tried to pick me up and drop me into the pool. It amused me to watch them tugging at my legs in a futile effort to dislodge my footing, however my smirk quickly vanished when I realized they subscribed to the Power in Numbers theory. I quickly began to empathize with Gulliver when I was dropped into the pool and bucket after bucket of water was poured onto my head. The Lilliputians began to chant in a language that I didn't understand and which I can only assume was a celebration of my defeat. (more than likely a local college initiation song) Then, as quickly as they appeared, they vanished. I could hear their continued cries echoing across the campus, but there I was, holding a bucket of water in a sea of discarded guns and buckets and not a soul in sight. Cosmic….