Hello, Hong Kong: Collaboration and Cultural Exchange for Sustainable Solutions

By Paulina Vu

When I think back to my time in Hong Kong (which is, admittedly, not that long ago) I still have a bit of difficulty truly conceptualizing what the experience meant to me, and how it has shaped my career aspirations. Those fifteen days were a whirlwind of activity- field trips to Hong Kong’s sites from the sleepy fisherman village in Lama Island to the robust streets of Mong Kok, lectures from a prestigious group of sustainability experts and practitioners, and collaborative work with some of the most talented and driven peers I have ever met. This experience is a keystone occurrence in my life – one that I will not forget, and one that has changed my very being, whether I am conscious of it or not.

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Good-Bye? Nah, I’ll be back: Lessons learned and friendships forged

By Paulina Vu

You know the saying about how time flies when you’re having fun? It seems to me that my time soared, at the speed of light.
I truly cannot believe that a whole two weeks has passed since that first bleary-eyed, anxiety-ridden day. I feel like I’ve aged a year or two (ugh). The past two weeks have been the most intense and exhausting weeks of my life. My team and I essentially researched, designed and presented two posters on the building energy efficiency in Hong Kong in roughly nine or so days. We had a pretty rough critique on the day of our trial presentation in front of the professors, and between poster design and last minute research, my brain was essentially fried.

Yeesh. Sounds awful, right?

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Building energy efficiency in Hong Kong

By Paulina Vu

My last two blog posts have mostly been for fun (with some commentary on culture), so forgive me for the next post. Obviously, I came to Hong Kong to take SOS 494 and learn from assorted lecturers, policy makers and fellow students. More importantly, I came for the opportunity to get some hands-on experience in sustainability issues.

That being said, this course (so far) has been intensive. What should normally take about a semester has been crammed into two weeks. My brain has been working overtime to keep up with the pace. The horror!

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I’m a material girl, in a material world: On consumer culture

By Paulina Vu

So, I’ve got a confession to make. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Hong Kong and before I knew it…there are only about two full days left of the official program. So yes, you will be hearing from me quite often in the next few days.
I’ve been seeing the sights, tasting the tastes and living the life here, and I thought now would be a good time to sit down and reflect on what I’ve experienced. In particular, I wanted to touch on the culture of consumerism shared by Americans and Hong Kongers.

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T-minus 20 days: Hong Kong edition

By Paulina Vu

There are less than 20 days until my flight to Hong Kong SAR. For now, I’m successfully fighting down the anxiety, but as time goes on, I can’t help but to worry (See graph below). As you can see, my panic levels are growing at an exponential rate, and it’s only a matter of time until I’m a shivering mess.

Jokes aside, I’m pretty nervous since this will be my first time traveling abroad on my own. Will I be able to handle the massive volumes of people, things and information coming at me in in Hong Kong? Will I even be able to deal with customs and jet lag? As the youngest on the trip, will I have enough sustainability experience to keep up with my class?

The trip and course to Hong Kong (called Cities, Sustainability and Public Policy) will be very intensive from what I’ve heard. We will be working with City University Hong Kong students to present a local problem and possible policy recommendations. I’m in the energy group and will have less than two weeks to research and finish my project, and then present it to the program directors, fellow students and city officials. Yikes, there go my panic levels again. High pressure and public speaking don’t mix too well with me.

I’ve made it pretty obvious that I’m really, really anxious about the trip as a whole. “Why do it, then?” you might ask. “Why place yourself in a high stress environment?”

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