Plan of the Semester in UST

Yesterday I had dinner with Fangfang. I used to look forward to this when I had a great many questions to ask about Hong Kong and living in Hong Kong. However, as I'd managed to answer most of them by the time we met, it became a simple chat. Fangfang had always been an aggressive girls since I came to knew her years ago when she was a sophomore. Her aggressiveness and enterprise deeply affected me, and I made up my mind to make full use of this precious semester in Hong Kong, to maximize the achievement, even at the price of making the life in this beautiful, modern city hard or even tedious.

Hence, after I returned to my room, I sat down and began to think about it.

Only 12 out of the 18 credits I applied are approved, this is both good news and bad news. On one hand, I'll have more time to do what I want to do and what is meaningful to me. I always have sufficient ability of self-restriction when I found it necessary, so that's not a big problem for me. On the other hand, I have to accomplish another 56 credits in junior and senior year. That is 14 credits per semester. As I’m planning to participate in some research group in these two years, as well as the annoying GRE and TOEFL, I have to accomplish most of these credits as soon as possible. Leaving 44 credits for the last 3 semesters, which are fully occupied by jobs other than attending classes, is definitely not wise.

However, as far as I know, the classes in UST are small, and the teacher can easily watch all the students. That is to say, it is impossible to do other things and read other books during the classes. Hence, it seems wise not to take too many courses in UST. Firstly, I can attend classes in SYSU, and it’s apparently not I apply for this chance to be here. Time (rather than energy) should be saved for things that cannot be done in SYSU. Secondly, though I may take a few more courses when I’m back to SYSU, I can do whatever I like—memorizing new words, reading other books, or thinking about problems I may come across in researching. I can even skip classes if only I like, and it’s not imaginable in UST. Hence, I think the situation now is just perfect.

So what are the “things that cannot be done in SYSU”? What are unique in UST? It’s definitely not the exhilarating view of Clear Water Bay. I’ve seen enough of these in Zhuhai.

The first thing, I think, is the huge library. I’ve explored the library for a couple of times, and it just astonished me. There are many books and journals rarely seen in Mainland. Some books are either impossible to be found in SYSU Library or difficult to be found (because the library thinks there’s definitely nobody to read them and are not bothered to sort them!) I’ve already discovered many valuable books that I’d always been longing to read, that’s just amazing! If I don’t read them and gain benefit from them, half of the extra money I spend in HK would be wasted! Journals like Physics Review and Royal Society are available, and more journals can be accessed in the form of E-book. These are even more useful to me. It’s the short time I being here that limited my quantity of reading, not the amount of literature worthy of reading.

The second thing is the chance to meet the elites from all over the world. I’ve already met several students that are very capable, and I think I can come to know more of them if I continue trying. These elites I come to know will be proved to be very significant resources. The more I grow up, the more I realize the importance of capable allies. When one come across some problem that cannot be solved by his own, finding someone that is willing and capable of helping him to solve it is a far more efficient way than trying to solve it alone. What’s more, these students are from different cultural background, and the skill to cope with them and to make friend will them is very important, especially when I’m in US. Hence, I’d better practice such skill from now, and UST provides me a perfect platform. All I discussed above are about students, while making friends with the professors can be even more important, though a little harder given the short time of contact.

The third thing is about the city of Hong Kong. As I mentioned before, HK is basically a Chinese city while has many, many elements of western culture. Living in this city, learn to adapt myself to a new environment, is very important for me.

Therefore, my plan here is quite determined. There’s a lot to do, but I’ll try my best to accomplish as much work as possible.

One thing is sure: I’ll have little time to entertain myself, which obviously including relationship. I don’t think I’ve got enough time, energy and money to pursue someone this semester, so I’ll concentrate on what I have to do, and try to distract myself from the need of a girlfriend. However, should I have chance to flirt with other girls, I’d not miss them; should there be anyone silly enough to come to me actively, I’ll accept and enjoy.