Orientation Week & Week 1

Orientation week

I arrived on the 25th and checked in to my temporary dorm. Since it was temporary I did not unpack much as I did not want to have to repack everything. The next day I completed my student registration and picked up the merch they gave us. Nothing was going on until the the 27th so I had some time to myself to explore. I thought orientation would be like the way I saw the local student's ones, but ours was more listening to people speak rather than activities.

Registration is very different here, especially for student who have the status of an exchange student. We can't register until a week after school officially starts during the add/drop period.

On Saturday, the school brought us to a nice looking place for a Chinese banquet style dinner.

The restaurant was on the water

Week 1 of Classes

The classes I am taking here range from 2.5 hours to 2.75 hours but they only happen once a week, which is very different from how it is like back at UH Manoa. It is a bit challenging to sit through the class and be able to stay attentive due to the long duration. Some professors offer short breaks, but it is completely up to their on discretion if and how long to offer it for. Since I am only officially enrolled in 1 class from the course pre-selection, I did not have access to the online platform that is used and had to ask other people for the syllabus.

On another note, the campus is hugeeee! My dorm is towards the upper part of campus and most classes are in the lower part of campus, which is a 20+ minute walk, but in the 90°F & 80% humidity weather walking is really unbearable. Luckily they do have busses for students and staff, however, space is limited when everyone is trying to get to class. I once had to stand on the edge of the bus's stairs and hold onto the rail very tightly.

Hanging on as the bus speeds down twists and turns

This week's campus eats!