End of Week 1 at HKUST

So now it's finally the end of my hectic first week as a research intern at HKUST and also my first day meeting my PhD student supervisor and professor supervisor.

Here are some of my reflections on life at HKUST so far:

1. Although HKUST is practically a single, giant building (one Academic Building connected to multiple student residences by bridge links), it can be very confusing to navigate. As you can see in the picture below, differences in elevation mean that what is the "Ground" floor in one building might actually be the 10th floor of a connected building situated on lower elevation. And no, "Ground" floor is not the 1st floor at HKUST, even if the elevator buttons list the floors as Ground, 2, 3, ...

2. For some reason (or is it a mere coincidence?), it seems like my floormates at the student residence (UG Hall II) are also members of my lab (HLTC - Human Language Technology Center). They also happen to have lived together off-campus at Hong Kong Adventist College before I arrived. Some coincidence, eh? It is quite nice to work, eat, and live next to the same people.

3. It is very important to establish a schedule once your lifestyle drastically changes (for example, moving to a foreign country). For the first few days, I was grappling around with my fluctuating schedule (when to wake up, when to shower, when to eat, etc.). But now that my schedule is finally settling down to a more-or-less finalized state, I'm starting to feel more at home.

4. Cafeteria food at HKUST is nowhere near the 1:1 ratio of fruits and vegetables to grains that is recommended by Canada's Food Guide (although it is not as bad as Western cafeteria food, of course) - I have to remember to eat more fruits to compensate! It is also remarkably cheap - an average lunch or dinner costs on average 20-25 Hong Kong dollars.

5. The campus population seems to be separated into three distinct demographic groups - Cantonese-speaking Hong Kongers, Mandarin-speaking Mainlanders, and English-speaking non-Chinese. And what's more, the administration at HKUST seems to give almost equal weight to all three languages - quite a different scenario from the clearly dominant position enjoyed by English at the University of Toronto. At the cafeteria, Chinese-looking people are first addressed in Cantonese and then Mandarin. Non-Chinese are without exception addressed in English. Even in my lab, one can almost hear all three languages in equal usage. As for me, a Canadian-born Chinese who speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and English (although trilingual individuals are by no means the exception at HKUST), I have the interesting choice of deciding my own cultural identity. Is that ample justification for this blog's name?

6. The hot and humid weather of Hong Kong took a few days for me to get used to at first. When I left Toronto, the weather was hot but dry and had some winds. When I first stepped off the plane at the airport, the first thing that struck me was the hot and humid air of Hong Kong - it smelled and felt like a sauna. But I've gotten used to the weather by now - you just have to ignore the sticky sensation of sweat on your skin!

7. The campus facilities at HKUST are superb. As opposed to the ancient campus buildings at the University of Toronto, HKUST was founded in the early 90's so almost all the campus buildings were designed with their current purpose in mind. With the campus perched on a hillside facing Clear Water Bay, I get stunning seaside views into the South China Sea everyday as I walk to the lab. The only major problem I have with their design is the fact that the storeys in the Academic Building are sometimes partitioned. That is, the area in Floor 2 accessible to Lift 2 might not be connected to the area on Floor 2 accessible to Lift 4. This is why locations in HKUST are always referenced relative to the nearest lift - a lesson I learned the hard way by trial and error!

8. Apparently, no-one at HKUST uses Cantonese romanization as a computer input method. Keyboards are often of the "Chinese Traditional (Taiwan)" standard which has labels for QWERTY, Bopomofo, Cangjie, and Dayi keyboard formats or the "English (United States)" standard with QWERTY labels. Too bad - my Cangjie skills are almost unusable!

A "Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)" keyboard, with key labels (clockwise from top-left): QWERTY, Bopomofo, Dayi, and Cangjie

Tomorrow's Saturday, so I am planning to go pay a visit to Hong Kong Island. Until then, see you!