Week 2 - Classes begin... (Professional Blog)

This week I started my academic classes in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, I arrived later than the other international students, so have a lot of work to catch up on because their semester started on the 3rd of January and we have missed 3 weeks of classes. Thankfully, the University is off this in-coming week because of the Chinese New Year and this will also give us the chance to catch up on our studies.  Hopefully, if I work hard, I will also have time for joining in the New Year celebrations, which I am told are spectacular!

This week we had to do some group work for an assignment which is due next Tuesday. I found this a thoroughly enjoyable but also a challenging experience. We had to work with a local student called Edmund and as expected, we encountered some language barrier problems. This meant we had to try and explain succinctly, but precisely, our thoughts and ideas whilst ensuring that he still got involved and was integrated as an active member of the group. I feel that experiences such as these will prove invaluable in the classroom environment, especially back in Northern Ireland due to the increasingly diverse nature of the modern primary classroom. I have learnt the importance of speaking slowly, clearly and using simple language to ensure that we both gain an understanding of what points we are trying to put across. The internet was also a fantastic tool to overcome this problem where any words which we used could be put into the language translator to give a definition in Cantonese. Our group work involved creating two rubrics (which is a statement of characteristics associated with different levels or grades of performance by which student work can be understood) for our assessment class. The first was a holistic rubric which will be used by the audience to assess our oral presentation later on in the semester and the second was an analytic rubric which will be used as a peer assessment tool for each member within the group. 

Working hard in the library!

Yesterday we went out to lunch with some of the people we had met at church. I had an interesting discussion with a primary teacher about her perception of the schooling system in Hong Kong. She told me that the schooling system in Hong Kong is very much based on public examinations and much emphasis is placed on individual success as a consequence of passing examinations. Indeed, even young children at pre-school or kindergarten are assessed before going into Primary School. This is extremely significant and important to parents, as it determines whether the child enters a band 1 top-tier primary school ranging to a third tier primary school which obviously is not as highly regarded. Consequently, education is at the centre of a child’s life from a very young age with the usual pressure to do well.  Unbelievably, parents often feel obliged to provide their children with extra tutoring, resulting in less ‘free time’ (i.e. play time, fun time) for children. In comparison to the education system back home and particularly the hot topic and debate over the replacement of the 11 plus, we would be shocked at assessment of children so young.  However, the strong examination culture in Chinese societies has been used as a means of improving the life chances of individuals for a long time and is an accepted part of their educational philosophy.

We had good fun at the games night in Robert Black Halls!

Despite having classes this week we still had time to have some fun. On Monday and Tuesday night there was a games night where we played a football game called Winning Eleven on the Playstation 2. This was great fun and having been a bit of an addict to the same game back home when I was younger, Allen and I managed to get into the final of the ‘doubles’ tournament where we were unfortunately beaten on penalties!  

First goal in a close-fought final!

On Wednesday night we also attended the Spring Festival on campus. At this event we got a taste of some Chinese culture where we saw a student doing Chinese calligraphy, we also heard a couple of students play the kucheng which is a traditional Chinese instrument. Some of the international students also took part in Chinese game-cock fighting, where I managed to win! 

Rachel and I with our fighting masks on!

My winning prizes!

Some kucheng music being played.

Chinese Calligraphy.

Another highlight of the week was when we went to Lantau Island on Friday. The cable car ride lasted around twenty minutes and gave us a great view of the city. We visited the Giant Buddha which is gigantic - 34 metres tall.  It sits serenely atop Ngong Ping plateau amid the fantastic mountain scenery of Lantau Island. 

The Big Buddha.

Standing outside the monastery on Lantau Island.

Around the campus there has also been a lot of sport going on this week. On Monday night I attended the touch rugby session which was good fun, despite the fitness at the end, after training for nearly two and a half hours! The tennis courts are also very good and I played some tennis, but after watching Andy Murray getting completely outplayed in the Australian Open Final it could take a while for me to recover before I get onto tennis court again!   I have also been to the gym a few times and have been playing some football with the other International students and locals. Being so close to the sport facilities means I am never bored!

I am particularly looking forward to the Chinese New Year Festivities next week, one of their biggest cultural activities of the year. I will keep you posted next week on what I get up to during this massive week in Hong Kong.

Until next time...

Joi Gin (Goodbye)

Michael

Week 1 - First Impressions (Personal Blog)

The Hong Kong Institute of Education

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain 

My first few days in Hong Kong have been amazing to say the least and I have tried to embrace the statement made by Mark Twain by making the most of this fantastic opportunity to study abroad. After nearly 24 hours of travelling I finally arrived on Tuesday night at the Hong Kong Institute of Education in Tai Po. Within half an hour I found myself sitting in my first ‘survival’ Cantonese class; Cantonese appears to be a really difficult language to pick up because there are 9 different tones within their spoken language. However, I intend to make a conscious effort to learn some of the language and phrases – despite my Ballymena accent getting in the way! 

Robert Black Halls.

I am staying in Robert Black Halls and sharing my room with a local student called Calvin from Hong Kong. Before I came to Hong Kong I was a bit apprehensive about sharing a room but it has been a bonus being able to talk to a local student and have the opportunity of talking about our different cultures and experiences. Allen, Rachel and I attended a Wii night at our halls on Thursday night, where we met a lot of the local students. I honestly can’t speak highly enough of them; they are very friendly, outgoing and welcoming and do whatever they can to help. Their English is also fantastic so the language barrier hasn't been too much of a problem so far.

Nervous smiles with Simon and his friend Luke before our bungee jump!

On Saturday I met up with Simon Duff, who roomed opposite me in Stranmillis halls during first year. Simon is now teaching in Hong Kong and has been living out here for 18 months. It was his 24^th birthday so we went to Macau and did the highest bungee jump in the world off Macau tower which is 233m high! Doing a bungee jump was on my “100 things to do before you die” list but I certainly didn’t think of this as my toes inched forward at the top of the tower, although the feeling of freefalling is unbelievable.

My leap of faith off Macau Tower!

Today all of the international students went on a tour of Hong Kong. We went to the Hong Kong Museum of History which as a history student I found particularly interesting. After this we walked along the Avenue of Stars which pays tribute to many of the famous actors and actresses from Hong Kong such as Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. We boarded the Star Ferry which gave us a fantastic view of the city, the skyline is amazing and completely different from anything I have seen in Europe. A particular highlight was the Symphony of Lights which happens at 8 o’clock every night in Hong Kong. All of the skyscrapers produce a lights show in sync with music - a magnificent spectacle, which will stay ingrained in my memory for a very long time.

The International students on the Star Ferry.

Tomorrow we start our classes; the modules will address: Assessment, Engaging Reluctant and Challenging Learners and Hong Kong History and Culture. I am looking forward to learning in a different environment and culture and observing their perspectives in education and comparing the differences to ours back in Northern Ireland. 

Trying sushi for the first time!

This week I also tried some new foods for the first time. I had some sushi which is an acquired taste. Ines, a fellow international student from Austria came with us and introduced us to some of the delicacies of sushi! My buddy Emily also was kind enough to make a traditional Chinese dessert, eaten during the Chinese New Year which is during the first week of February. This was an interesting experience because before I arrived I envisaged and dreamt of some banoffee or sticky toffee pudding. However when we sat down to some Tangyuan (a traditional Chinese food made from glutinous rice flour), to say my tastebuds were baffled would be an understatement! However Emily and her friends were very welcoming and we had good fun together.

Eating some tangyuan dessert with my buddy Emily.

The transport here in HongKong is first class, Tai Po is not located in the central part of Hong Kong therefore when we are travelling we use the MTR which is extremely efficient and easy to follow.

The sports facilities at the University are really good and the surroundings are stunning...... This week I hope to play some touch rugby and get involved in the football and maybe play some rugby sevens!  

Until next time.... 

Joi Gin (Goodbye)

Michael

Avenue of Stars.

Statue of Bruce Lee.

  

Jackie Chan on the Avenue of Stars.

Standing at the harbour waiting for the Symphony of Lights to start!

The International Students at the Hong Kong Museum of History.