بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

البطاقة الشخصية .... تغريد عوض العويفي الغامدي

مواليد مكة المكرمة ... المملكة العربية السعودية ....١/٧/١٤٠٥ هجري

المؤهلات الدراسية: بكالوريوس تربية فنية ~ كلية الإقتصاد بمدينة جدة ...المملكة العربية السعودية

تلك الألوان التي خلفي ..

ألوان وطني .. الذي نشائنا منة

كما هي الطبيعة التي تشع بالخضار والتفاؤل.. أتواجد ويتواجد معي ما يقارب 2000 مبتعث ومبتعثة و 2000 مرافق ومرافقة .. داخل احضان نيوزلندا .. تلك الجزيرة النائية والجميلة التي تكبدنا عناء السفر لمسافات طويلة من أجل الدراسة والتعلم، لنعود بعد ذلك محملين بسلاح العلم والمعرفة، حاملين في أيدينا شهادات البكالوريوس والماجستير والدكتوراة (بإذن الله).. والتي ستغلف بأزكى العود والعطور، فنمنحها هدية لوالدنا وقائدنا خادم الحرمين الشريفين الملك/ عبدالله بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود .. حفظة الله ورعاه.

لقد منحنا هذا الرجل فرصة الدراسة والتعلم، وبذل كل مافي وسعة لتأهيلنا وتعليمنا، وأعطانا الدعم المادي والمعنوي. لقد أسس هذا الرجل برنامجاً ليس له مثيل في التاريخ، إنه برنامج خادم الحرمين الشريفين للابتعاث الخارجي، وأفتتح الملحقيات الثقافية في الخارج لتدعم الطلبة، وشجع سفارات المملكة في الخارج على السهر على راحة أبناء وبنات الوطن.

إن لبرنامج الابتعاث ثمرات كثيرة، فهو جسر ثقافي شيده الملك رعاه الله، ليتمكن أبناء وبنات الوطن من التواصل مع الأخرين ونقل الثقافية العربية والسعودية لهم. إن الاحتكاك الثقافي الايجابي لهو استراتيجية لا يتقنها إلا أصحاب الاختصاص والرؤية الثاقبة.

سيدي الملك .. لقد وجدنا في جزيرة نيوزلندا قلوب مفتوحة لنا .. ودولة إستقبلت أبنائك وطلابك.. بتلك العبارات التي حروفها مزخرفة بالزهور... فمنذ هبوط الطائرة إلى مدينة اوكلاند والأمان يفوح من أسوار الجزيرة .. وهاهم أبنائك وبناتك .. يمزجون الأيام بالاجتهاد والتفوق مع تذوق صعوبة اللغة التي تمكنهم من محاكاة الأخر .. إن عزيمة أبنائك وبناتك تقودهم لريادة المستقبل بالعلم والنور .. فشكراُ يا من تعجز الألسن والقلوب عن شكره .. بإسمي وبإسم أبنائك نسال الله العلي القدير أن يمدك بالصحة والعافية .. ومع إنتظارنا للأمل .. ننتظر شروق دعمك بزيارتك لنا في نيوزلندا.

ففي صغري حلمت يوماً أن يكون من إسمي لوحة فنية .. وتمزج أناملي ألوان الطبيعة والخيال .. وتتمدد خطوطي على لوحات فنية .. مستقاة من إبداع الخالق في كونة .. قضيت سنين طفولتي بين تلك الرسومات البريئة والجميلة .. إنتظرت الغد والسنين تتسابق كي أكون بأول الصفوف الفنية .. والحمدلله .. قضيت أربعة سنوات بين معلومات وألوان وفرش وإبداعات حسية لمرحلة البكالوريوس .. فالرسم والفن التشكيلي أنغام حسّية وعملية لأنامل أي فنان لها أوتارها ولها صداها الرنان، حيث لا نستطيع أن نحصر الفن في لوحة أو عدة لوحات أو عمل أو عدة أعمال .. فهو عالم بلا نهاية. فن الرسم هو أشهر الفنون وأجملها بالنسبة لي .. هو غذاء للروح .. فلم يكن فنًّا عشوائياً، بل إنه يتبع إطارا محددا، إذ له أصولة وقواعدة، إنه الخيال النابع من الأحاسيس الإنسانية، والذي قد يحمل في كثير من الأحيان أكثر من قراءة ومعنى .. لذلك اتجهت لدراسة الفنون التشكيلية، حتى أكون ملمّة بالأساسيات والقواعد الفنية، فالفن يحتل الجزء الأكبر من حياتي وتفكيري، فهو التعبير عما بداخل الفنان، كما يعبر الشاعر عن أحاسيسه بأبياته الشعرية، فالفن التشكيلي هو عنوان يعبر عن صفحات وجدانية بما يطرق أبوابها من أفراح وأحزان وذكريات. ففي آخر مشوار لسنة تخرجي طلب مني ومن صديقاتي عمل جداريات بفن الموزايك .. ولكل طالبة حرية الاختيار في التصميم .. بدا الكل في البحث والاجتهاد .. وكان فني وتصميمي مجسد لملك بلدي .. الملك/عبدالله بن عبد آل سعود (حفظة الله ورعاه). ونفذتها بقطع من الرخام الطبيعي .. وفور الإنتهاء أهديتها للملك أيّده الله.

((هذه هي اللوحة آنفة الذكر والتي تم ترشيحها لدخول موسوعة جينيس العالمية لتحطيم الأرقام القياسية))

لقد تم تصويرها وعرضها على أحد القنوات ورابطها:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz0r0kJ5Np8

بعد ذلك النجاح بدأ حلمي الثاني يترصد لطموحاتي .. وهو إكمال الماجستير .. وأكون مواطنة تمثل وتخدم بلدها بعلم وثقافة ايجابية أكتسبها من العالم الآخر .. ومنحني والدي خادم الحرمين الشريفين منحة دراسة لإكمال مرحلة الماجستير .. فكانت نيوزلندا المطمع الأول بين دول العالم .. فماذا أكتب وماذا اقول عن جزيرة العشاق – كما تسمى – وهبها الله جمال طبيعي فاتن .. وكأنها عروس ترتدي أجمل الألوان وأبها الأشكال .. حيث الأودية تسكن بين الجبال .. وألحان الطيور تملئ المكان .. والشلالات تخترقها أصوات المياة والصخور .. ومن بين السحب تنبثق ألوانه من تحت الأنهار والعيون إذا تدرجت بين شوارعها .. لا أعلم إلى ماذا أنظر للأمام أو للخلف .. أو عن يميني أو يساري .. فكل مكان لة صورته المذهلة.

وصلت أرض أوكلاند برفقة أغلى ناس ((والدي ووالدتي)) جميعنا لا يتقن اللغة الإنجليزية .. كان التوتر مرسوم على ملامحنا قبل هبوطنا .. تسائلنا في حيرة كيف سوف ننهي الاجرات .. وكانت وجوه مبتسمة من النيوزلنديين استقبلونا وكأنهم يعرفوننا من عشرات السنين .. وانهوا كل المطلوب .. وفي طريقنا لمدينة "هاملتون" التي أجد من اسمها نغم وهدؤء وصلنا وكنت أنتظر مرور الـ 24 ساعة .. وأرى منبع الحلم .. جامعة ويكاتو بمثابة القصر للمدينة. بدى البطئ يجاورنا من كل صوب، وتساقط أوراق الأشجار بين ممراتها .. مما يجعلني أنظر للأعلى لا للأسفل .. وذلك لجمال ألوانها .. وكل من عبر من جانبي .. ابتسم وأهداني بطاقة حروفها نهار جميل ويوم أجمل .. أجواء لا توصف .. كميرتي لا تفارق حقيبتي .. كل دقيقة تمضي أجد نفسي التقط أكثر من صورة .. حتى لم تعد تعمل حيث امتلأت الذاكرة وأنا في بداية القصر الشاهق .. زعلت قليلاً واستمريت في السير برفقة والدي ووالدتي .. حتى رأينا جموع الطلاب واستمتاعهم بالجو وأكل الفاكهة أمام تلك البحيرة التي حفتها الأشجار والعصافير من كل مكان .. مشاهد وألوان لم أعهدها من قبل .. بدأت أول يوم دراسي مليء بالتفائل والارتياح الشديد .. استقبلتنا مديرة المعهد وأتاحة الفرصة لنا لنتحاور باللغة الإنجليزية كشكل من أشكال الممارسة المبكرة .. وتجري الأيام وأنا أتمنى ألا تكون سريعة وكم هي اللغة مهمة .. فلماذا لم أشغل وقت فراغي في الماضي بتعلم اللغة .. كانت أول غلطة اكتشفتها في نيوزلندا.

الروعة تجعلني لا ارغب بحلول الغروب، حتى لا يأتي يوم جديد فأضل في جمال شبابي، حيث كل شيء يبدو جميل وله وصف لا تكفي الأوراق والصفحات لشرحة .. أجد من طاقم التدريس والطلاب أهل وأسرة لا أود فراقهم .. إنني أعشق الزهور وفوح أريجها .. "ويكاتو" بعد قدوم فصل الربيع .. وتفتح زهورها .. كأنني في يوم عالمي للزهور .. رأيت كثير من الألوان والأشكال .. أقترب منها وكأنها في حالة "ريلاكس" .. فتقف في انحناء رائع .. والندى يبلل بعض اجزائها .. أجلس بالقرب منها وأردد بعض الكلمات الجديدة التي يجب ألا أنساها من اللغة الإنجليزية .. من حين إلى آخر .. أسمع الألحان التي  كان هناك من ينسق الايقاعات .. طيور تغني من استيقاظها حتى الذهاب لنومها .. تنشد مسامعي .. وأرغب حينها امتلاك كراستي والبدء بالرسم .. على وزن تلك الألحان .. وعندما ينتصف النهار .. تشاركني طيور البط في تناول الغداء وكأنة ضيف .. لا أحرم نفسي من الأجر وأجعلة يشاركني بعض مما أحب .. بدا لي أنه يلوح لي بالرحيل فور الانتهاء.

استقبل اليوم التالي .. وكم هي رائعة الدراسة وإكتساب لغة جديدة، والعلم الذي يشبع العقل والفكر بالتقدم والتطور. أسال الله أن يقدرني ويقدر كل من تغرب وترك آهلة ووطنة .. وأن نعود بكل نجاح وتفوق .. ولا نخيب رجاء أنفسنا ومليكنا ووطنا.

ـــــــــــــــــ

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــ

نحن الآن في مدرجات الترحيب ب300 طالب وطالبة لمرحلة السنة التحضيرية (الفونديشن) بجامعة ويكاتو بهاملتون  هذا الترحيب قام به الماوريين لطلابهم

 

... أجد حماس بين نظرات الطلاب والطالبات .. وكأنهم  يحملون في أيدهم جل أنواع التركيز حتى يتخطون هذة المرحلة الصعبة .. فبعد الإنتهاء من الحفل .. الكل وقف على ساقيه وبدا يعرف بنفسه لصديقه الذي كانت اول مرة يقابله فيها ويتبادلون عبارات التحية  .. ويتهاتفون بسنة مليئة بالتفوق .. ذهلتني طريقتهم في ذلك .. حيث يبصمون و يقرون لي بأن (( التعاون أساس النجاح)) بينهم.

 

 

 

جامعة ويكاتو في يومها الأول من العام الجديد ... نشاهد الترحيب

 

 

 

 

.. و الأنشطة الطلابية وأنواع متفرقة من الالعاب الرياضية .. الجميع مبتهج .. على منصة الترحيب يحرصون على النصائح المفيدة و تناول المفيد من الأغذية لانها تساعد على التركيز و القوام السليم .. كذلك قاموا بإجراء مسابقة بين طالبين في من يتمكن من إنهاء ( 2 ليتر) من الحليب الطازج .. ثم تنقلت بين أركان النشطات و أنظر إلى الركن المخصص لنادي المسلمين .. وهو عبارة عن بعض المسلمين في هاملتون

 

 

 

من النيوزلندين والنيوزلنديات وبعض العرب المسلمين هنا .. ويركز على إحتفالات أعياد المسلمين و محاضرات دينية فنحن كمبتثعثين و مسلمين .. نجد الجامعة قد وفرت لنا مصلى خاص بالرجال والنساء .. و الحمدلله جميع المسلمين يمارسون طقوسهم الدينية بكل إرتياح .. شباب وشابات و أطفال المبتعثين السعودين بداؤا في أرجاء نيوزلندا عامهم المحفول بالجد و الإجتهاد بإذن الله .

                                                                                                                                                                                     --------------------

 

                                                                     تحياتي العطرة .. الطالبة/ تغريد عوض العويفي الغامدي

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

]]>

Then I went and viewed Te Papa, which speaks for itself. It has seven levels of all things New Zealand, mostly natural and geological history.

My favorite tour of the day was the NZ Parliament. The Beehive has a wonderful architecture, and its history is amazing. Tomorrow, I go to Picton via Cook Strait. I am excited!

To start with Maastricht is an amazing place, little cobble stones everywhere, grand bell towers, roman inspired buildings and towers, fountains, bicycles everywhere, its just absolutly gorgeous!! What did make my time in Maastricht a truly unforgetable experience was the people. The Guesthouse provided is a great way to meet all the other exchange students who are all in the same boat as you. You then begin to create some life long friendships and live out the most amazing experiences in which you will never forget.

The university itself was a huge challenge for me as it is run with the Problem Base Learning system, a huge shock from Waikato Uni. I think i can truly say that I learnt more at my short time at Maastricht uni then what I would have learnt in a whole year at Waikato. In saying this, yes the workload was hard, but I feel that I have gained signigicanlty from being placed in this situatuion and would not choose another exchange uni over Maastricht any day.

There is a great group of volunteer dutch and german students who are called the ESN group. They organise introduction week, weekly parties, as well as weekend trips away. They provided us with great entertainment and an insight to a different culture.

It was amazing to just say im of to Paris, or Prague for the weekend as every weekend would be a totally new adventure. With cheep ryanair flights and lots of awesme likeminded people who are all keen to travel like myself, you soon get a big group of people traveling to different places each weeked.

Oktoberfest was one of my favourite weekends away, we all piled into a car and travelled 7 hours to Munich where it was all happening. I think its fair to say this has been the most crazyest thing I have ever experienced. We all piled into cheap tents we had found, and lined up at 8.30AM outside a tent, waiting to be served our first beers of the day at 9am.. now these just arent ordinary sized beers, they are one litre (similar to the ones you find at the outback beer fest). The spirit inside these tents was just amazing and gets you so amped up to the best mood ever! Everyone is in their german outfits and in the greatest moodset. You found yourself crawling out of the tent around 1pm, only to have a little nap under a nice shady tree, and then wake up and head into another tent for the afternoon. Oktoberfest is defintly something that everyone should experience in their lifetime!!

I remember the first day the snow came, I was way to excited for everyone to believe haha, I hadnt seen it snowing before so i was defintly over the moon. It was amazing and heading out to your end of year exams with the whole place completely covered in snow will defintly be an experience I will never forget. I always thought that I could never live in a cold place covered in snow, but after this trip I know that I would absolutly love it. Sweeden was my first touch of being absolutly freezing, and getting dark around 3pm fully thats screwing with your mind, thinking that you have to eat dinner soon and then either go out or start to feel tired way to early, and you can defintly not sleep in or then you will only have a few hours of daylight each day.

I really feel that throughout a students university life, to go and experience a new university with a different approach to learning, or even experiencing another culture is defintly an opportunity that should not be missed. Europe is amazing with everything close by, I remember one weekend we all got on our bikes and biked 2ks down the road to belgium and tasted the belgian beer (fantastic by the way). I think overall I went to about 16 countries or something riduculous like that. I defintly feel that I made the most out of every opportunity which was made available to me, and feel that I have gained so many life skills and learnt so much from this experience and would defintely be back there in a second if I could.

From this I have friends all over the world in which i still keep in touch with and know that I will go back and see them one day hopefully in the near future. It just opens so many new doors for your future.

Alright feel like I should wrap this up even though I could for sure babble on for about another 10 thousand words, if anyone wants to know more about my trip or have any questions about exchange or Maastricht, please dont hesitate to email me.

Emma McMahon

One thing that has been asked by many people when I arrived back in New Zealand was along the lines of, "did you enjoy your stay in Hong Kong?"  The people I have met and their various backgrounds, the places I have visited, the food I had the pleasure of enjoying and finally the unique culture of Hong Kong. I have felt privilaged to have had this experience and to tell others about what I have done during my time there. So in short, my answer was, "yeah, of course Hong Kong was great!"

Another thought that somehow crossed my mind or put towards me as another question was: "Do you want to go back to Hong Kong?" This can also be answered with a short "yes", however it also has a much more in-depth, complex answer: my time at the Chinese University of Hong Kong carries alot of fond memories, of which I will cherish into the forseeable future. But if I am to return to Hong Kong, my experiences cannot be replicated as the same people will/may not be there. Things do change, but I may have to face the idea of moving into a world outside of NZ as I consider what I could get out of my chosen career. The future can take me anywhere: America, Europe, Asia..... But in knowledge that Hong Kong holds a very high standing after my student exchange, it is very much in high contention.

Bryan are you glad to be back home (in NZ)? It is great to get back in touch with family and friends, but re-counting and reminiscing what I have done, I do miss Hong Kong. To ask what is better is somewhat an unusual question, you just don't compare apples and oranges.

P.S.:  I would like to thank everyone at Waikato and the Chinese University of Hong Kong who helped me with the exchange and answering my boatload of questions. I can never seem to put all questions in one mesage.

P.P.S: To all future outgoing exchange students: don't get caught up in your studies while overseas, you're not in NZ  - enjoy yourself, it will make for a better story when you get back home.

Both of us are looking forward to the Christmas break as well! we have a couple days off so we plan to spend it on the beach with another german couple that we have gotten to know well throughout the year.

I am also loving the new scooter, Sasha that has been epic to rip around on. 50 cc of pure muscle :).

Lastly, the University of Waikato is closed over the Xmas break so I have no internet but I will try and update again soon.

Also, here are some long overdue pictures of my November trip to lake Tarewera. Enjoy!

The Crew ^^

On the Lake ^^

]]>

Despite being near winter, Hong Kong does not go down as far as New Zealand in terms of temperature, nor does the weather change far from a mild breeze. Hell, it doesn't seem to get that cold at all.

However, there is constant reminder that I - along with many other exchange students - are nearing the end of the semester. And for many of us, this means that we are going back home. On the bright side, I have am going to come back with much more (and not just experience).

For me this period is kind of a strange waiting game. I have applied for a ridiculous amount of jobs, somewhere in the mid 50's neighborhood or so, with one unsuccessful interview... However there are still so many applications in the works that I am still hopeful... I also haven't gotten any marks back yet from my exams, although they should be coming soon. Ahh well it is summer!

My girlfriend Lisa got here on Sunday and that has been really sweet to see her again after a 4 month separation. Plus the new flat is wicked, with epic fooseball challenges being fought on a daily basis. All in all, not to bad of a start. Lets just hope it gets hotter. 

Here is the pictorial equivalent of a thousand words as a great summer reminder during this rain...

enjoy!

I just recently spent a few nights at Lake Tarawera, just outside of Rotorua with a few mates and it was amazing. We left Hamilton after a mad cleaning session, stopped in Rotorua and bought, between the seven of us, about $150 dollars worth of food, the majority of which was sausages, patties, and cookies, and then took off for Tarawera where my mate has a Bach. First however we stopped at some jumping-rocks and got a little wet and cold. The next three days were a blast, with many highlights.

We went for a 20 km paddle in some kayaks out to a place called hot water beach, across the lake and around the corner from where we were staying. There we sat in a home-made pool of hot water caused by geothermal activity and ate some food. Then we spent a day on the beach, played some music, jumped off some more rocks, played ultimate Frisbee and table tennis, and had endless BBQ’s. It was mean, kiwi as. Another highlight of the trip included a late night bush stroll up to an old, dried up waterfall that is now inhabited by a large colony of glow worms.

Today however it is back to “work” and reality. I desperately need a summer job at this point, and so spent the day applying online for anything that turned up and looked half-reasonable. Tomorrow I plan to survey the city and hand out C.V.’s. Hopefully something, or a combination of something’s, turns up. However if nothing appears it will be back to Canada and a search there, but this is a last resort.  Not because I don’t want to go home, but because since I have set so many summer plans in motion, it will suck to have to leave so early for winter.

If that is the case however, I will not be the first summer job casualty. A mate of mine recently returned to Chile for the summer after also patrolling the city for jobs to no avail. Such is the fate of students in a recession I suppose, especially if the “what” you know outweighs the “who”, as is the case with many international students with no work experience in a foreign country. Not to fear though, many students have and do find jobs; I think success is there for those who seek it (I really wanted to throw that in there).

In summary, while the job market in New Zealand may not be bursting at the seams with vacancies, there are still many jobs available if you look for them. I get the impression from people at home that similar scenarios are playing themselves out all over the world, and thanks to the folks and SJS and others, I may be making money yet in the city of the future.

And so the search continues.

Until I buy internet again,

Cheers

D

P.S. I will upload pictures of my recent trip as soon as they become available. This picture isn't us (clearly), but its what I imagine we may or may not have looked like, if you replaced the pool with a lake and the board with a cliff.

Speaking of places to see, the Ngong Ping on Lantau Island is a must. Known as the place of the 'Big Buddha', Ngong Ping features many 'touristy' attractions including theatre shows, many souviner shops, among others. The island itself holds the International Airport and its landscape is ripe for camping and tramping. Although there is definitely nothing wrong with the Cable car to reach the village

Festivals are afoot!

First off is National Day. Celebrated in China and it's regions on the first of October, it also happens to be one of the only times in HK that fireworks are allowed (the other obvious one being Chinese New Year).

I did, however, get the Friday 'break' to get uni stuff done, then.... Mid-Autumn Festival!

For many, it is a time to get together on the public holiday, eating mooncake, lighting lanterns and admiring the full moon. For some it is a time to hangout with friends and have a good time. It also happens to be near the National Day of the People's Republic of China, making for one messy timetable that week (catch-up lessons on Sundays anyone?).

Note: Is this in NZ yet?

Luckily, there are many other options available to a student looking to work through the warm summer months. For me, the most available of these is the Student Job Search option. The SJS has both an office on campus and an easy-to-use website. It takes almost no time to set up an account with them, and once you do, they work as sort of a middle man between you and potential employers to ensure you can get paid this summer. They also offer services for part time, casual, permanent, and what is called “one-off” jobs down here (one time only jobs like promos, etc).

This may seem like a plug for the SJS, but in fact this is just what I have observed so far. I know quite a few people who have gotten jobs through this manner, and find that the “guidelines” for employer/employee expectations helps to make SJS a reliable, trustworthy course of action.

Additionally, Trade-Me also has an employment section, as well as the usual and almost outdated newspaper classified ads. As of yet I still haven’t found myself a summer job, but its officially open season on the hunt…

So far I’ve registered with the SJS, began checking the site and TradMe, looked through the free papers all around campus, and hassled friends and acquaintances for leads.  This is Act 1 of the hunt, which I have aptly, unofficially, named the “beginning”.  Act 2 is soon to follow. Happy hunting….

Heres some random pictures of my brothers back in Canada... notice the snow =)

But enough about that for now, there’s plenty of upcoming time to devote to the joys of exam studying. In the last few weeks I have managed to continue my participation in extra-curricular activities, despite my best efforts.  Some highlights include,

camping in the Northland at Mangawhai Heads, trip to Raglan, watching the All-Blacks test match and the Cameron-Tua Fight, the Great Gallagher Race (we beat Oxford, talk about creating school pride), mountain biking in Rotorua, enjoying the hamilton Night-Life, and just because if I don’t school will be left out, a moot for my legal method class. 

I was curious before the moot because I am inclined towards the litigation side of law, and this was my first sort of taste of the “courtroom” experience. Luckily, it went smashingly and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, confirming my previous inclination. Anyways, duty calls (read: school work) however in the interest of informing those who are interested, hopefully these entries will become slightly more consistent for the rest of the school year, as I plan to chronicle the joys of studying for the equivalent of the first half of a law degree in one year.

Here are some random pictures, enjoy =)

Food

One thing that is quite achievable is to eat out for dinner each night. Yes, you are not looking at it funny: each night. Affordably, healthily, and from a large selection. It's not often you eat out everynight, forgoing eating back on-campus at the local canteens or in the hostel kitchen. I didn't want to buy pots and pans for one semester's meals, bringing them back with me. Although sometimes I think as to whether I will return fatter due to the amount of non-home cooked meals, or thinnner due to a potentially healthier diet.

 Shopping

Hong Kong's reputation as a location for near-endless shopping is thoroughly intact. Not only are there the many malls/shopping complexes, but also the renown street markets are thriving with various goods (Tai Po, Temple Street, Ladies Market, etc.). They all sell items that can be negotiated (aka Haggled) for, if you know what to say. They may also carry calculators, but it doesn't mean you will get the cheapest price.

Nightlife

The nightlife, especially in an area called Lam Kwai Fong (LKF) is known for its many nightclubs and bars. It's common to see students from many universities moving (by however means) back to their hostels early in the morning. Thursdays are also Ladies' Night in LFK.

Location and Proximity

Given a break, and it does happen, especially during the lazy Sunday, take a trip to the Mainland or any other areas around south-east Asia (i.e. Macau). You may need a visa for some areas, but it's better than sitting around in your room staring at the side of a hill during that time.

Hostel Life

If you have not read into the make-up of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), then you most likely don't know that CUHK is comprised of four colleges: Chung Chi, New Asia, Shaw, United. Each college has a set of hostels which, combined, house half of the student population. International students, which includes the exchange students, may instead choose to stay at the I-House. Recommendation: I-House may seem like a great idea, but in my opinion it is not. Some student helpers like to talk about each of the colleges and their attributes in terms of canteen, gyms, class proximity, etc. but go silent when you say you are at the I-House. O-week in the hostels is a great time to interact with fellow hostel-mates, participating in activites for bonding and making new friends. It's also part of the culture of CUHK, and each of its colleges. As an analogy I heard, it's like "Hogwarts and the Four Houses."

Recently, I have joined a few clubs within CUHK (none of them are archery) and participated in trips put organised by IASP, the international centre in CUHK.

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Shatin, Hong Kong SAR. This is university I will be spending my B semester (with different start and end months of course). Getting off the plane into Hong Kong (HK) may have nothing to write about, but the climate of an extremely powerful summer is. Back home in Hamilton, we are just getting into spring from the winter, about 10C to 20C. HK is about 32C, and ALOT more humid. You kind of think that after living in humid summers in NZ all your life, you would be used to humidity, but I'm not. This is on top of packing some of the worst gear possible in your luggage: a few jackets (I thought it was actually going to be winter) and alot of jeans (same reason).

A recommendation for any future student going for a student exchange in HK around Sept-Dec: pack your luggage like it's a summer, including something for the beach.
Apart from the wrathful weather, HK is facinating, vibrant, and modern. You cannnot possibly experience all of what HK can offer in less than a week. That means that HK is more than just shopping and food, although you should still try as much as you can while you are here. You may regret not doing so.

The number and variety of international students in CUHK is extensive. The number of students is approximately 450, and range from:

*       America
*       China
*       Canada
*       Germany
*       Italy
*       France
*       Poland
*       Sweden
*       Korea
*       Singapore
*       UK
*       Mexico
*       Australia
*       Kuwait

I'm almost sure I got them all, but one thing is certain: I am the only kiwi. Definitely makes for an interesting start to a conversation.

The university itself is something that needs mentioning. It would be wrong otherwise. The campus 135 acres and is spread across the side of a very steep hill. This hill can make for some really good cardio workout. On one of the many bright sides, the views from the many hostels is astounding - especially during the night. To help offset some of the effort required to scale and transverse the hillside, there are free shuttle buses and lifts in the campus, effectively cutting around 10min off your time travelling. The facilities here are both extensive, efficient and most off all cheap. Extensive in the library resources. The library statuses of each book is traced online, and you can gain access to texts off campus from other universities such as Hong Kong University. There is a 'dairy' on campus that sells most essentials, and you can have breakfast at a canteen for just over NZ$3.
What makes the most of my semester so far is the number of students whom I have met in the past week, and experiencing some of HK's attractions in good company (i.e. Victoria Peak, Avenue of Stars, Symphony of Lights, etc.). It is also nice to have a nice, cold beer at the end of a hot day. On the other hand, I can't really say much about drunken antics yet.

And to think that I have only begun the actual semester at CUHK.