College of Science and Engineering STUDENT EXCHANGE BLOG (OUTBOUND) City University of Hong Kong
My Profile My Name: Wong Ho Yin My Host Institution: University of Kiel My Department: Department of Biology and Chemistry My Programme: Applied chemistry My Exchange Period: Year 2 (Summer Semester )
My Pre-departure Checklist 1. Student Visa: The details can be found from the website of the Germany consulate. But there are a few things should be noted: 1. You must hand in the visa application as soon as possible as their processing time is usually quite long 2. Letter of admission is required for the application, so make sure the host university send you this document on time. Otherwise, ask for your exchange co-ordinator for help.
My Pre-departure Checklist 2. Flight ticket: Try to book the flight with the arrival time to Germany (Hamburg Airport in my case) as their weekdays and daytime. In Europe, most shops do not open at weekends (especially Sunday). Also, it must be easier for you to find your way to your hostel during daytime.
My Pre-departure Checklist 3. Make sure you have brought enough money (Euro) as you need some money right after your arrival (e.g. bus ticket and hostel fee) 4. Bring both winter cloths and summer cloths as if you arrived there in May or June, it is still cold there (sometimes below 10 o C). Only until July, the temperature will rise. It s better check the weather forecast before departure.
My Pre-departure Checklist 5. The destination airport is Hamburg airport. The transit airport is usually Frankfurt or Munich. Consult the airline company for details. 6. Do not forget to bring an umbrella with you as it is always rainy in Kiel. 7. Download a German-English dictionary apps to your phone first so that you can read the German in daily life
My Pre-departure Checklist 8. Buy adapters for the electric plug: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/schuko 9. Better search for all the emergency contact number of Kiel in advance. The most important two are: 110: police 112: ambulance 10. Bring a camera with you, you can take a lot of stunning photos here as this place is so beautiful
My Pre-departure Checklist 11. Learning German You may wonder whether you need to know some German before arrival. I can tell you nearly all people in the University know German. Also, many knows basic English, so communication is not too big an issue. But it s of course better for you to know some basic German like greeting. Search for some videos from youtube. There are a lot like this: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=plsoawwtvf3l 0JhCo4RSPG7Ex84l7RWT3T
Just Arrived 1. Bus to Kiel: When you have arrived the Hamburg Airport, you need to take the bus to the City (Kiel). The bus name is called Kielius This bus run on an hourly-basis. You can buy the bus ticket at the airport counter and even make any phone call to their local people. You can find the bus when you leave the Airport through the Terminal 1 exit, there is a bus stop relatively far to the left, with the green KIELIUS Logo The bus information: http://www.colorline.de/polopoly_fs/1.26757!/mdb_95 638_121114_lyflyer_kielius.pdf
Just Arrived 1. Bus to Kiel: As I remember, there are two stops for this route. Only drop off the bus at the final stop. DO NOT drop off in the middle stop. Then somebody picked me up at the final stop and then brought me to the hostel. If no one will bring you to their hostel, you should better go to the hostel straight by taxi at the airport. Show the driver the address of your hostel.
The bus from the airport to Kiel The final Kielius bus stop
Just Arrived 2. Do not be surprised that the sky is still bright until 10 pm. The daytime of Europe is quite long during summer time. 3. They call the hostel as guest house. It is not easy to find if no one led you. It is better to ask someone in Kiel to pick you up and led you there. Also don t forget to ask for the gate password of the guesthouse. Otherwise you can t get in. 4. Then you should register and get your room key in the office that you first see right after you enter the guest house.
Just Arrived The guesthouse The address of my guesthouse: Wirtschaftsakademie, Schleswig-Holstein GmbH Hans-Detlev-Prien-Str. 10, 24106 Kiel
Just Arrived 5. As I arrived Kiel during daytime, it is possible to buy stuff from the supermarket. The supermarket is only about 10-minute walk from the hostel, and its opening time is from 7 am till 10 pm from Monday to Saturday.
The Guesthouse - My Room They are all single room. In general, it is quite comfortable
The Guesthouse Common room Most basic cooking utensils are present. If they are not present, you can buy some in their supermarket, or in IKEA.
The Guesthouse Internet connection is bad, and you need to pay 10 Euro for the wifi card with only1 month and limited capacity access. No WLAN connection, only wifi network card, unfortunately.
The Guesthouse The nearest bus stop to the guesthouse
The View from Guesthouse: Sunset
The city The city is quite nice, it feels like a nature. You can see many green stuff and a huge amount of birds. There are two lakes in downtown near the city hall of Kiel. Also, Kiel is a navy base. So you can witness some navy ships near the sea.
The city
The campus
People I Met As this exchange program is not a normal one (fyp exchange program), so you do not need to attend any classes, but only stay in the lab. It is quite hard for you to meet some new local student friends in the campus, but you can probably meet some at your hostel. And you can meet a lot of staff from their science department as they will hold a lot of activities. In general, the local people are very nice, they are all very willing to offer you help if it is needed.
People I Met Another HK student from HKBU besides me and my schoolmate Me, my schoolmate and a newly-met Chinese who is working at the University. He invited us to his apartment for a dinner.
Out of Classroom There are many activities that I may experience in Kiel. One of the largest festivals in Germany, Kieler Woche, is held in Kiel every summer. In the festival, many events are held like music concerts, parties, fireworks, sailing event, talent shows, etc. And you can taste the food from all around the world in the festival. There are other activities that I have done in Kiel like football matches held by the Science department, parties, etc
Out of Classroom Kieler Woche
Out of Classroom Football matches & BBQ
Goodbye Of course it is very sad to leave the place as the city is so comfortable, and the people are so nice. My supervisor took a very good care of me. So it feels really tough. The most challenging part is that it is the first time I leave HK and I need to look after myself including washing cloths, cooking, etc. I only got one HK company, and sometimes it is a bit lonely for both of us. Because of this, I have learnt to be more independent and tough.
Sharing One last thing I want to share is never be shy and fear, try everything that you may and travel as much as you can as you may never experience and visit this place anymore. The more you are willing to try, the more you can gain. The most precious thing that I gain is memory. I hope that you will have your own! My goodbye gift from my working group
Overall Rating Please rate your overall exchange experience: 4 (1 = the least satisfied and 5 = the most satisfied)