In this blog I plan to describe a typical day in the life as a University of Hong Kong student. I will separate the discussion into weekends and weekdays, simply because they vary so much. Obviously my typical day varies greatly from what another student’s experience might be, but I can only speak to what I know. Additionally, some days are not like this at all and things come up, but this is just the norm.
Three times a week I do not have class until the afternoon, giving me a free morning. I frequently choose to wake up relatively early though at around 8am so that I can get my day started. There is a Swiss Diner on my street that I go to on almost all of these days because it is so close to my apartment, has a good price (With the purchase of a meal, you get a free cup of coffee), and brings you your food and coffee quickly. The dish I usually get is a ham omelette with toast and beans.
I then head over to the library, regardless of the amount of work I have. The wifi there is much better than in my apartment, so even if I don’t have much to do I can catch the end of any on going NHL, NFL, MLB, and NBA games or watch some Netflix. When I do have work I can print my readings there and jump ahead on some of my homework for the week. I find that it’s a great place to get work done and by going incrementally throughout the day you can actually accomplish a lot. The library is very cold though so I always make sure to bring a sweatshirt or something.
Next, I’ll make sure to get some lunch before I head to class. Lunch time usually means that I am going to one of my three favorite places on campus; The Canteen, Deli France, or Ebeneezers. Again my choosing of these three is based on their speed of service, taste, and price. By the time I have finished eating it is basically time to go to class.
After class (I typically have one per day, except on Tuesdays) I usually go to the gym. With a change of clothes and having finished class for the day, I find this is the best time to go. Moreover, the gym is not too busy when you go in the mid-afternoon, because many students still are in class or studying. The gym can get very busy at night time so I try to avoid going then. Some of my flatmates like to shower at the gym but I usually prefer to just head home at this point since it can be annoying to bring your shampoo, soap, and towel to the gym.
After showering, I usually go back to campus or study at my apartment a little more. This is entirely dependent on where I am going to eat dinner to avoid walking back and forth too many times in a single day. Dinner is usually the meal that is the longest and most expensive for me, unless I choose to eat at the Canteen. I usually try to go to my favorite restaurant Classified only once or twice a week because it can be a little expensive (For more on that, see my previous food blog).
Upon return to my apartment from wherever I chose to eat dinner, I will do a little more work at my apartment. When I am finally finished doing work for the day I will just hang out with my flatmates doing numerous activities ranging from board games to binge watching a Netflix show (We just finished Narcos Season 3, I highly recommend). This is definitely my favorite part of the day, after accomplishing so much it is nice to just relax and have a good time with friends.
On Tuesdays I have class all day so this doesn’t really apply. However, there is not much to say about these days since I simply am in class the entire day. On Friday’s I have early morning class for two hours, but after that class I basically do all of the same things that I have mentioned above, in a slightly different order. Additionally, on Wednesday nights there is the Jockey Club Racing which we attend biweekly on average. It is kind of the main thing to do during the week, so if we are not too busy my roommates and I will try to go.
For weekends this schedule is pretty different. In fact, my weekends are almost never standard. Weekends are great to use for day trips to different Hong Kong Islands such as Kowloon, Lamma, or Lantau. If you have the full weekend available you can even leave the country and do a more significant trip. I went with my roommates to Macau one weekend which was absolutely amazing. I am also going to Bangkok, Thailand next weekend which I will be posting about. There is also a weekend in December that we are taking advantage of to go to Singapore. Finally, we will be going to Shenzhen, China for a couple of days later on in November. As amazing as Hong Kong is to study in, part of study abroad in any location is traveling to all of the other nearby locations. I think that despite the time constraints, it is essential to travel as much as you can. I only have three or four more weekends in the Hong Kong area actually.
On weekends that I am not traveling I usually try to have one or two fun days and use the other days to do homework and just relax. A fun day can mean a number of different things, including going to the beach (Yes, it is still beach weather), going for a hike, or even using the day to shop. The great thing about Hong Kong is that it is so big and diverse that it provides many opportunities to do a number of activities.
