Get ready for the adventure of a lifetime in 'Asia's World City' Past Review
By Carter R (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., Tufts University) for
Tufts Programs Abroad: Tufts in Hong Kong
Yes. It was great to be in a somewhat westernized city that is still very Chinese so that I could gain a better understanding of the world's newest superpower. Also just a fantastic city in general. I'd love to return there to work.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was far less for the liberal arts courses I took than it would have been had I taken the courses at home. However, considering I was abroad, I didn't really mind: It meant more time to explore. It's important to note that the classes and teachers weren't worse than ones I at home, they just had less work. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Vera is a FANTASTIC advisor! Aside from the advise about dealing with certain aspects of HKU bureaucracy, she took us on several amazing trips to mainland China. She even met us at the airport and took me to dinner while we waited for a few more arrivals. The orientation events gave us a good base of knowledge of Hong Kong. She has her priorities straight, like making sure we all got cell phones on our first day there. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Dorms were a bit less well maintained than the ones at Tufts. Also, the fact that you couldn't have guests in your dorm after 11pm was a major downer. (Thankfully, the dorms are huge (mine was 16 floors) so you'll probably know many people in you dorm.) There isn't any other type of curfew. You're free to leave and return at 3 a.m. if you so choose. Also, you can't just walk to campus from your dorm. It's about a 10 minute bus ride to get to classes and you'll have to take a bus or taxi to get to the city/nightlife. |
| * Food: |
Dining Halls were okay, but there were very few options of where to eat near the dorms. The food around Hong Kong was fantastic. Plenty of options ranging from all over the world. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The best part of being in Hong Kong. We had three fantastic trips to mainland China. One was an epic Beijing/Shanghai weeklong trip during Chinese New Year. There were several cultural events Vera organized, like a trip to see the local symphony. Hong Kong is also a fantastic springboard to the rest of Asia. I personally went to Singapore, Taiwan, The Philippines, Macau, India and Nepal. I know people that also went to Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia, etc. Hong Kong has plenty of museums, etc to keep you culturally entertained for 5 months (even though it's probably more well know for things like shopping -- which is fantastic if you're into that). Also, the movie theaters show plenty of western movies, so I didn't miss out on seeing The King's Speech or Thor on opening weekend. And the nightlife is excellent. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I never felt remotely unsafe. I often jogged at 10pm on a roadside alone (granted, it was in one of the nicer areas of town). Vaccines were minimal and probably just a precaution. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Varied wildly. We got about $20 USD a day to spend of food and transportation. if you were frugal, you could spend little more than half that per day. But you could also spend several times that if you went out to dinner and nightclubs afterwards. Everything else (electronics, clothes, books etc) cost about the same as in the U.S. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Nope, Textbooks are way cheaper than in the U.S., though. Also, don't go expecting to pick up cheap clothing or electronics in Hong Kong. The mainland, though, can scratch that itch. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Are you independent and unafraid to explore? Go to Hong Kong and seise the time you have. It'll be gone before you know it. Also, don't go crazy spending all your extra money or stipend clubbing or gambling in Macau or on horse races in the first week. You'll be glad you've saved up a warchest for travel during spring break and exam season. (Exam season is a month long and most classes don't have exams, just essays, so it's a great time for longer trips). Finally, schedule your classes to avoid Friday classes! It makes more travel options much more feasible. |
