Service Learning in Hong Kong Past Review

By Adan G (Chinese Studies., Trinity University) for

Lingnan University: Hong Kong - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

Everything was indeed worthwhile because it all became a wonderful thing. Even getting lost or feeling unsure of things was nice because it was good to see a side of myself that could only be there when I was lost or unsure. I enjoyed that and for that reason I would do it again and go somewhere new next time.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The grading system was fair, the workload was manageable and the teaching methods used were very good.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	The program is small, but the University had many resources for the program to draw from, most importantly a good, welcoming staff and student volunteers who were willing to help. The people knew about the differences in culture which would affect us as we went through the program and they were all ready to help, everyone from the staff to professors to even the locals working and living around campus.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	It was a dorm room with community restrooms, the mattresses were pretty hard, but the other people were nice.
* Food:	The bread in the train stations at any of the little bakeries in the rail stations is very filling - if I were to give advice, it'd be to eat the fried combination rice when it was available but also to adjust to the food portions as well as possible. It seems crazy at first but the people in Hong Kong and pretty much any Asian country are a lot healthier than we are partially because they know exactly how much they need to eat.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	We were the for the Dragon Boat Races which got rained out but we also got the chance to visit a small fishing village outside of the city through the school and then on our own we went to Macau.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	Everything was safe and well lit. I had no health issues.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* 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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	It was probably about 30 to 40 US dollars a week total on expenses and I was there for 5 weeks. I found it useful to open a bank account there temporarily to hold money and to use the Octopus card for everything - that was the most useful thing.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	It's really important to give yourself money in case you need a mattress or a long taxi ride home. And always have some US money stored away that you plan on taking back home with you.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	None

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university?	Exchange

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Hostel
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	An education/anthropology major would get something out of this. Education majors would learn about how people learn and anthropology majors would learn about how boisterous Americans are if they don't already know.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Community Engagement through Service Learning
Course Department:	SLP 101
Instructor:	Professor Carol Ma
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The field trips were relevant and the course was challenging in that we had to find ways to apply what we were doing as part of the internship to what we were learning in class.
Credit Transfer Issues:	None, the transcript was mailed from Lingnan to Trinity.