So following the horrible semester end, came a horrible start of summer. I was gonna join the HKUST research program, but it started very wrong.
Didn't Get Exit Endorsement when Arriving
So I didn't get an exit endorsement for study, or a D visa when I got here.
Another reason not to use Chinese, it is simply too hard and too ambiguous(or simply I am too bad at Chinese) I would prefer to use English for any kind of documentation and communication from now on, I think.
It's sort of like this, you need to get a student visa from a Hong Kong university(like HKUST), then go to the local office in Mainland China to get a stamp.
Worried Sick in PreDawn Hours
So I went here and got stuck in the customs. I tried to go through the customs and showed the person my student visa but she wouldn't let me in, saying I could only go with a traveling visa(needing to exit for 7 days).
I arrived at around 0:30 on July 1st, and I was worried sick in the predawn hours. I thought about calling my parents but they were sound asleep and on their way to Northern Europe.
Going Out of the Station
After 4 hours I finally decided to go out of the station and went on a bus to HKUST. I was really anxious and told to leave in 7 days.
Seeing Dockers and Podmans on the Bus
I saw Dockers and Podman on the bus. I didn't take pictures of them.
Turned out the Dockers are actually cranes on a dock for handling containers(so I gave them the name "Docker"), and the Podman are actually workers on a dock (I gave it the name "Podman", I blurted out the word without a second thought)
So I arrived at HKUST at around 7 am, and dude, was I tired? It was so hot.
Joining the Flag Raising Ceremony
I joined the flag-raising ceremony that day with my schoolmates. It was like singing Hong Kong's anthem and China's National Anthem celebrating Hong Kong's 27th anniversary of returning to China.
There were Hong Kong police(the host said they are from HKUST). They are a tall and handsome young man. It was raining hard.
9 police were raising 3 flags, the Chinese National Flag, the Hong Kong Flag, and the HKUST flag, only the Chinese National Flag wouldn't raise, and they tried to raise it for some time, and it finally did.
After that, we(USTC schoolmates who joined the research program) were taken to a room and asked to introduce ourselves. There was an alumnus (I think a professor in HKUST who was also from USTC undergrad chatted with us for a while about AI, Physics, and research in general). He praised Claude Sonnet 3.5 for his extraordinary ability.
Contacting My Parents
My parents were helpful and provided guidance for me. Anyway, after lunch, I got on a bus to go back to Hong Kong airport(to go back to Shanghai).
Well, my parents are the only people in this scenario that would support me though, so I guess I am very grateful.
Staying at Home from 7.2-7.8
I stayed in Shanghai for a week waiting for my EEP to be stamped. I got out every 2 days to go around Shanghai and played with NEXTJS and MongoDB the other times.
I cycled 40 kilometers from 0 to 3 am.
The other day I walked around 20 kilometers around Nanjing Road and People's Square and back to Shibei Middle School in XiZang Road, ahh the old days. LIke the place changed a lot I would say but anyways, it was no longer relevant.
Going back Again at 7.8
So on 7.8, I got my visa stamped, and I booked a plane ticket rat night right away.
It was past midnight when I got out so I decided to stay a few more hours at the airport and went on the bus at around 5:30 am.
Everything turned out fine and the professor asked me to book a time to meet. (I got so touched by understanding like literally, I didn't expect anyone to understand my problematic behavior)
Some Pictures I Took on the Bus
Dorm
I am so lucky to have a single dorm(staying alone in a 2 person room).
People say it's insanely difficult to find a house in Hong Kong, so I'm really lucky that I got a house in Hong Kong like the school provided one for me.
Octopus Card
Buy an Octopus Card at a subway station out of the airport.
Chargers
Need a converter
Sim Card
Can get one at Seven Eleven.
Cantonese??
I can't speak Cantonese and I can't understand Cantonese. In fact, I struggle to understand Mandarin. Just use English as it's also the official language here.
Foods
There are all kinds of food here. There's some McDonald's and it was delicious.
You can pay by both WeChat, Octopus, and a bank card like pay by both methods in China and the United States.
Scenery
Queuing Culture
Hong Kong has a queuing culture. I used to lurk around and jump to the start of the line at any opportunity, that's how it works in mainland China anyways. However here it was considered very rude and problematic behavior(I went on a bus like that and was frowned upon, people don't queue for a bus in mainland China, just rushes on at first opportunity). So in the end I usually just wait till everyone else finishes and quietly waits at the end of the line.
Other Rules
Hong Kong has some very strict rules.
For example you get into jail for shoplifting. I was like what? In US it seems like a fine and warning is just the usual procedure for dealing with this kind of stuff.
Smoking gets fined for thousands of HK dollars(like several hundred USD) it is that strict. Of course I never smoke, just imagine those people who smoke literally everywhere in mainland China.
Littering gets fined for a lot of dollars. Also partial culture shock since in Berkeley there was this place called people's park where there are tents with groups of homeless people and trash and dirty smell everywhere. In Hefei though there aren't groups of homeless people you can see lots of stores with smelly garbage right in front of it.
Also spitting is considered very bad. Imagine those heavy smokers who spit regularly.
Also you don't eat or drink in public transportations.
Like following the rules isn't just limited to white collars here, but hard labor people also follow the rules, so it's pretty amazing what this city is.
In many ways Hong Kong is akin to what I heard about Singapore, except good news you won't have to go through conscription, one of the worst nightmares in life.
So in conclusion it's best to mind my "problematic" behaviors and not get into trouble here. I already had problems of a lifetime last semester, hopefully everything will go on smoothly. It's necessary to mind my behaviors.
Like some people are just known to be smooth in life and not cause any troubles, while me on the other hand causes small troubles regularly. Although I never caused any great troubles fortunately.
Also it's not like you can't go off wandering in daydream cuz like you can basically end up in great trouble if you just go to a store then in daydream pick something and get out of it store with it with no bad intentions.