By Marin
On the first official day of instruction with the FLP group, we were given a tour of the Innovation Building of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which was newly built and a beautiful sight to see, inside and out. After admiring the beauty of the campus for a period of time, we had the opportunity to meet a few 4th-year students from the mental health nursing program, followed by three engaging and fascinating lectures, including one on Traditional Chinese Medicine. In one of the lectures, we were enlightened on the topic of Yin and Yang in regards to its application in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Everyone asked challenging and interesting questions, some of which required the lecturer to step outside of his field of expertise. This made the lecture an eye-opening experience, since we have been primarily exposed to Western Medicine at San Jose State University.
PolyU Campus – Innovation Tower in distance.
PolyU Integrative Health Clinic – Traditional Chinese medicine herb mini-greenhouse.
After the lectures, we were led by a staff member to the school “canteen” or dining facility, where we ate amazingly tasty food that some of us felt we could only eat at restaurants back home in California. Once the meal time concluded, we received an orientation that elaborated on the PolyU nursing program which is a 5-year curriculum. During that time, we met some more nursing students who gave us some direct insight as to what it’s like to be a student in Hong Kong and what is expected out of the program’s curriculum; like the 1,000 hospital hours they have to complete prior to graduation!
Marin’s lunch from PolyU Student canteen.
Frankie and Marin with PolyU Nursing students.
Then in the afternoon, we crossed the street from campus to enter and explore the Hong Kong History Museum. I don’t really visit museums on my own time at home, but the HK History Museum is definitely worth going back to. As I have had a strong fascination with Chinese culture and history, it was a great privilege to see the amount of history presented in regards to food, music, celebration, architecture, weapons for hunting, and much more. The “Special Exhibit” had an elaborate display and context of ancient Roman history, and the occurrence of the famous but tragic natural disaster that killed the people of Pompeii when Mt. Vesuvius engulfed the city in flames and ashes.
HK Museum of History Special Exhibit – lobby banner.
Courtney adding her wish to the Wishing Tree at the HK Museum of History.
Once nightfall came, a few classmates and I went to Ladies’ Market in Mong Kok again, a city just one train stop Easy of Hung Hom where the university is located. A couple of us had the chance to experience negotiation with vendors for the first time. It was interesting to see how persistent the vendors are as they try hard to convince passerby folks to purchase their products. The few of us who negotiated purchases tonight did so rather smoothly, but for others who took long to negotiate or change their minds at the last minute, sometimes ended up receiving an irritated outburst from some of the vendors that were approached. It was a hot and humid evening that was well worth the travel.
SJSU and PolyU students and faculty/staff.