Welcome to the friendliest city on earth!
Stefanie Cruz
Overseas Columnist
Greetings from the most beautiful city in the world! A bustling city of lights, sky scrappers, immense culture and genuinely kind people has greeted me here in Hong Kong. Thanks to Pepperdine and its wonderful international programs, I have landed in the most welcoming city in the world.
Some people believe that you can only go on an overseas trip your sophomore year at Pepperdine, but the Hong Kong program has proven that theory to be false. As a fourth year student I knew I had to participate in at least one semester abroad before I graduated from Pepperdine. The program is geared toward upper division courses, and I am registered for the same classes I would have taken at Pepperdine this semester.
The visiting faculty this year is Dr. Joel Fetzer of the Social Science division. He is here with his wife and his beautiful baby boy, who have already hosted a dinner for us in their home within the first week of classes. Dr. Fetzer has lined up many exciting excursions for the group this semester, with a weeklong trip to Mainland China Shanghai and Beijing and a weekend trip to Vietnam. A trip to Japan in the spring is also making me reconsider only spending one semester here in Hong Kong.
Although I am looking forward to traveling outside of Hong Kong, I can’t help but get sucked up into all the things Hong Kong itself has to offer. A part of me wants to go down to the Harbor every day at 8 p.m. just to see the light show over and over again, or simply take the star ferry from Hong Kong City to Kowloon every evening to capture the beauty of the Island from a boat.
One of the most amazing parts of Hong Kong is its amazing beaches with white sand and warm water nestled in the heart of its sky scrappers and mountains. There is absolutely never a shortage of excursions in this city and every day is truly a new adventure. In the past week, I have haggled in Mong Kok the local shopping district, stood upon one of the highest peaks and overlooked the city, rubbed the belly of the God of Wealth, learned to use chop sticks and immersed myself in a culture rich with humble and kind people.
A very special aspect of the program is the opportunity given to us by Hong Kong Baptist University to live in a dorm room with a local student from either Hong Kong or Mainland China. I was given the option to room with a Pepperdine student but felt that a true understanding of the culture could be better attained by living with a local student. All eight of the Pepperdine students here are living with local students, and I must say it is one of the highlights of my experience thus far. My roommate Chen Chen is from Mainland China and is a freshman here at the University. We are both learning from each other on a day to day basis, as she works on her English and I practice on my ability to count in Mandarin from one to five. Every morning I begin my day with a note on my desk from my roommate wishing me a blessed and wonderful day.
I consider myself very blessed to have been given this opportunity to study in Hong Kong, especially as a fourth year student who will graduate this May.
09-09-2004