Humans of CUHK

Post a picture of your favorite experience in HK on timeline… the post with the most likes wins Mr. Wong’s on us! Don’t forget to put your name, country, and # where the photo is taken!

[Interview with Lasse Blazejewski about hiking in Hong Kong.]

Why do you like to do hikes?
-- Because it's a great way to get away from all the stress from studying, from busy people and from Hong Kong. It's a nice way to appreciate the nature of it more and to just relax for a while. But still being active.

Where have you hiked here in Hong Kong?
-- I've done Dragon's back hike obviously because that's the most famous one. But actually I don't recommend doing it on a Sunday when the weather is good because you will wait in line to get up the stairs. It's way too busy but the view is really good. That was nice. But other than that I've been to some islands and done some hikes there as well. Like Peng chau and Lamma just exploring the island. Walking up some hills, exploring some temples, some villages and then spending the day at the beach. That's really what's hiking all about.

Which one of those hikes was the best one and why was it the best one?
-- I actually think I like the Lamma the most because you have a trail that goes from north to south of that island. It takes about maybe two to three hours. But. You can you have a lot of stops on the way. You've got temples, caves and a windmill. And the views of the island are pretty cool as well.

If you go on a hike what is the most important stuff to bring?
-- Water and food. Because usually a lot of hikes takes about, let's say three hours but you won't really have any chance to stock up half way. So you definitely need to bring water or else you just going to pass out if you're really unlucky and food as well. Always bring your swim trousers because most of the hikes they have like waterfalls or beaches and like pools or lakes or anything. So it's just it'll always come in handy if you want to jump in.

Lasse Blazejewski, Netherlands 🇭🇰

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[Interview with Thijs Van Burk about Happy Valley Horse Races]

Describe the horse racing for someone who haven't been there yet.
-- So the horse racing is like this big arena with an oval like track course with this huge stance to it. And you know you can drink like beers and you just like bet on horses and it's cool. You know all the horses have funny names and you know. It's like that.

So how many times have you been there?
-- I've only been there one time yet.

How would you describe the atmosphere there?
-- The atmosphere is like, yeah it's like kind of chill you know everybody is betting and like everybody is really excited before they're going to bet. They all think like they know what's up. And then when the horses start running everybody's even more happy and excited. Everybody just standing up, jumping and really want to see what's going on. But funny part is most people already know they're going to lose. So it's like it's more like the thrill of it.

So have you won something, and if you did, what's your best advice?
-- Yeah I actually won the first time I made bet, my horse just crushed the opponents and I won like $200 or something. And then the second and third time I lost everything, and I thought to myself “no way…”. My advice is that there's always some Chinese guy standing with a magazine or something, just ask which horse to bet on. My friend won four times in a row doing that.

What kind of person would you recommend to do a horse race and why?
-- So, I would like recommend somebody who doesn't like gambling. Because like you're probably going to lose. The odds are not in your favor so you should just go with your friends for the fun and thrill of it. It’s a big event with a lot of people and a great atmosphere!

Thijs Van Burk, Netherlands 🇭🇰

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[Interview with Matthew Minseok Kim about his studies in Hong Kong.]

Why did you choose HK for your studies?
-- I guess that most of exchange students were asked that question quite many times and the reason why I chose Hong Kong is that I had a big interest in China but I didn't know any Mandarin. So, I think that Hong Kong is a kind of main gate between the other countries and China. And Hong Kong is actually famous for the financial center in Asia. So, I wanted to explore how the market dynamic is and I wanted to meet the professionals working in Hong Kong specifically for the financial sector. And the final reason is that Hong Kong looks very unique like even though it is a really small city. It's really popular not only for the Asian people but also for the other Western people. So I wanted to explore this. That's why I chose Hong Kong.


Did you notice any differences in your studies between Hong Kong and South Korea?
-- First, my major is business. And I think actually we deal with quite different cases. When I study in South Korea we usually deal with a Korean study or American study but in Hong Kong people actually care about not only the Hong Kong case but also the Chinese and European cases specifically the United Kingdom. So, there is one difference I found and the other thing is that I think it is quite common in Korea also, but the different thing is that many students in Hong Kong are really silent in the class. But it depends on the class, what kind of class and what kind of professor. But most of classes are quite silent rather than the ones I took in the United States which doesn't mean they are not smart or intelligent even though they are super smart and super intelligent but they do prefer to ask the professor in the personal way like after finishing the class they wanted to ask the questions. I think they prefer to study by themselves rather than have quite a strong discussion in the class. Even though in Korean classes, many Koreans are also silent in the class, as you know. So, there is a difference between the Asian courses and American or Western courses I think.


What advice would you give to students who will study in Hong Kong?
-- I think it's better for them to define why they want to study here. For me I was a bit disappointing after living here for a while since I expected to improve not only my English skill but also my Mandarin skill. But the thing I was facing off was the people spoke in English but it actually didn't help me a lot to polish and improve my English expression skills. Since most of their English was quite similar to my English and the other part is that most of Hong Kong people prefer to speak Cantonese instead of Mandarin. So, that was the challenges I faced off. So what I actually want to recommend to the people who want to come to Hong Kong is that define what you want to get in Hong Kong and then please ask the people who live in Hong Kong if the goals are really feasible or not. That will actually help you to get your goals easily I think.


Would you recommend Hong Kong and CUHK to your friends?
-- For sure. Since the experience in Hong Kong and CUHK is really amazing. The weather was quite bad though. Since I arrived, I couldn't go outside and I didn't want to go outside, ever. The weather was quite humid and hot. But the opportunity in Hong Kong was really valuable since I have never got this kind of networking opportunity. And why CUHK? I think CUHK is one of the best schools in Hong Kong so you can actually visit the recommend talks like Goldman Sachs or McKinsey or other great companies even though sometimes many of these companies require you to speak Mandarin or Cantonese but this experience would be quite interesting. And the other thing is that CUHK has quite a unique culture since it is composed of eight different colleges so depending on your college you can actually join the different kinds of events. So, one of the things I remember is that many freshmen shouted and danced on the street. That was really funny for me to see what's going on on the campus since I saw that many Hong Kong people are really shy but at that time they were not. So that was quite nice.


What was the strongest experience for you on a personal level?
-- For me, it was really nice to see both sides. I don't like to say oh Hong Kong is the best, I just experienced a really bad thing in Hong Kong. For sure, I was disappointed a lot in Hong Kong as much as I felt the great thing in Hong Kong. So, through these kinds of fluctuating feeling I know how to manage myself in different places. You know studying abroad is quite unique experience but you could get a lot of problems because of the cultural differences or money, whatever. But the thing I learnt is, I know how to manage myself in quite a different culture or a different area. I think that we live in a globalization era. So, it is not my first but the second experience to study abroad. So basically, I got the knowledge and experience how to deal with the different difficulties I was facing off in the different countries. And for sure, I will adapt my ability and my possibility in different countries very well.

Minseok, South Korea 🇭🇰

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[Interview with Allysha Blackman about main party district LKF]

Who is the typical LKF-goer? Who goes to LKF?
-- Do you want a censored version or the uncensored version? Students. Hookers. Gold diggers. Drunk people. I've seen so many girls be like "So what's your job then, how much money do you earn?" before they even ask the guys' name. So it leads me to think there are a lot of gold digging women decide to go there.
What's the best and worst thing about LKF?

-- The best thing has to be the atmosphere like it's really intoxicating when you get there. It's really exciting. There's so many people. Everyone's like rallying to get you into their clubs to get drinks. The worst thing... It's probably the same thing. The rallying people all around you like gushing in. Sometimes you're in the mood for it, sometime you're not so it can be really suffocating. Just depends on the mood you are in when you go there.

Any particular bar or club you recommend to someone who is coming to visit or just new international students next semester?
-- Definitely hang outside 7/11 for a few hours and get a few drinks. And then my favorite is Play, which is the club just below Levels. I don't know, I really like the music there. The people are really chilled out and it's just got that good English partying vibe.

So is it more international students?
-- Definitely. There's a lot more R&B/Hip-hop, a lot of things in charts on the Western side of the world.

Have you ever swiped right on someone you later saw at LKF?
-- Ah yesss. It was so embarrassing because it wasn't just someone I swiped with. My friend goes to the same University as him so she introduced us and I was looking like s**t, oh sorry, but I was looking really bad that day and he was like oh yeah hi and hugged me everything. I was just like I just wanna go home and die in a hole right now. It was so embarrassing.

Allysha, UK 🇭🇰

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[Interview with Nina Nordberg about the popular Junk Boat Party]

Describe the boat party in 3 words beginning with the letter "B."
-- Oh damn. Uhhh with B? Beer. Best friends.. That's one word right? And I want to say, ah bathing or something. Beer. Best friends. Bathing.

Can you describe the features of the boat? Like water slides, bar, music... for someone that hasn't actually gone there?
-- We didn't have any slide but we were, I would say, drinking, playing beer pong, and jumping out of the roof and bathing with noodles. You know this ones *hand gestures* the floating noodles. And laughing a lot and music.

Of all of those things you've described, what's your favorite if you had to choose one?
-- Beer pong and jumping off the roof. Make it just one activity.

You kind of explained this earlier about mentioning Best Friends. Did you meet any new friends there on the boat or was it mostly people from the same group?
-- Yes. New friends, they are becoming my best friends here. Great group.

How would you rank the boat party compared to other student events in Hong Kong? Like the White Party in the beginning of the semester or other ones you have to pay in advance.
-- I wouldn't know which one would be better so I would say this was the best, yeah.

Nina Nordberg, Sweden 🇭🇰

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[Interview with Jordan Klein about the famous Mr. Wong's.]

Describe Mr. Wong's in 3 words.
-- Unlimited. Beer. Food.

What's the vibe like?
-- Very, very energetic. Not at first, I mean at first when everyone has a couple beers and gets their food. People are kinda angry and anxious at first but then overtime they become very happy, very energetic...

Who is Mr. Wong? If he was going on like a blind date or something like that, how would you describe him?
-- Mr. Wong is someone who can barely speak English but very charismatic. Very, very happy. Loves his job, you can tell. No one knows his job. His real job. But like I asked him and he said he like sells property and just likes to do this. Which either is complete bulls**t or actually true.

How do they make money? Do you think it's a cover up? And if so for what?
-- I personally don't think it's a cover up. Everyone does but I don't know. I think like how so many people go to this place he could actually be making money but then some people, some people don't pay every time. He's right there. I'm not sure, I don't think it's a cover up though. I think he just somehow has some other stuff he's doing.

What makes Mr. Wong's the place so popular? Why do people go there?
-- Every college kid goes there. All you can eat, all you can drink. I mean one like every American is going to go there because we love all you can eat and we love all you can drink even more, especially because we can't drink below 21. Also the atmosphere. So I would say definitely all you can eat and all you can drink and the fact that the food is not as bad as the canteens here.

What do you think about it only being exchange students there?
-- Makes it better. I mean like to be honest if there were, if it was like half locals and half exchange students it would just be weird because the locals would sit together and the exchange students would sit together. So the fact that it's all exchange students kind of like it adds fuel to the fire basically. It makes it a more fun, welcoming environment. No separation really.

Jordan, USA 🇭🇰

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