Leaving so soon! Bring it on Hong Kong!
Trip Start
Feb 25, 2012
1
35
42
Trip End
Aug 14, 2012
Where I stayed
Hong Kong, China
Sunday, March 18, 2012
My classes at CUHK and my time in Hong Kong seemed like a blur of lectures, parties, and lots of noodles! It's hard to believe Could move through classes so quickly and retain anything but I actually learned a lot about Chinese business this term. At the University of Florida, I have usually focused my studies,projects, research on Chinese firms, or China case studies, to continue expanding my knowledge of Chinese business, however this term my professors strictly focused on Chinese business and I really enjoyed it!
Professor Lee was full of experience from 20+ years with IBM and now sitting on executive boards for several Chinese companies. I enjoyed hearing his opinions about Chinese culture, government, and business, however some of his assumptions or "realities" were a bit hard to swallow. Many of his ideas were backed by the expressions such as "that's just the way it is," or "this is just the world we live in," "don't hate the player, hate the game." These statements often made me think he was someone who didn't believe in progressive ambitions to change the way things are, which many Americans believe in. Although I didn't share some of his ideas, I certainly benefited from hearing about his business experiences, challenges, and successes. Specifically, he told stories about how to handle employee outbursts, business deals gone wrong, how to think on your feet, what the Chinese businessmen value the most, and so on. He did have a lot of great stories to contribute and I was very interested in his lectures!
Professor Powpaka, or Sam, was a very different professor. In his class, he was full of practical advice and was extremely efficient and organized in his lectures. I really enjoyed his class because I gained a whole new level of understanding about marketing and statistics program SPSS. Overall, I had a great semester at CUHK and really enjoyed my professors!!! Excellent experience.
My first impressions of Hong Kong: I was very surprised about the high level of cleanliness and orderliness of the city and I noticed so many "little"things during my stay in Hong Kong which sometimes made me feel like I wan’tin China at all. As soon as I got off the plane I noticed the sparkling clean airport and waiting in line to get through customs, I noticed the people quietly and privately speaking indoors, even the people on their cell phones were speaking softly!Usually train stations and airports in China are full of extremely LOUD people spitting all over the floors and dropping their trash everywhere. Hong Kong airport was quiet, clean, orderly,and air-conditioned! Of course the city is very tall, surrounded by mountains and the sea, it's a strange combination to see skyscrapers on tops of mountains! I was impressed!
I soon found out that Hong Kong has a substantial art community and musical performances,art exhibits, wine tastings, and lots of these events were accessible and common. Hong Kong also had some fantastic outdoor activities, kayaking, and snorkeling, boating, sailing, hiking on the various peaks in the area, parks,cyclist clubs, and lots of community activities bringing the families outdoor. One of my favorite Saturday afternoons was spent on a row boat out in Tai Mei Tuk where lots of families come to have a barbecue in the park and get away from the city. It was really beautiful out here surrounded by mountains and the sea. Even the Boy scouts had a club function that afternoon and lots of people were kayaking and sailing in the area. Hong Kong definitely has some great areas that you can escape from the busy city life.
Loving exploring this city!
