Classroom Based Learning

It happened in high school. I wasn't ready to go to university - as I had no idea what I wanted to do - so I made the decision to stay behind an extra year. In retrospect, it was a very good decision - otherwise I'd probably be in an expensive aviation management program at another Ontario university, with a larger than normal tuition fee due to the price of Cessna fuel.

That being said, there was a moment in high school in which I woke up and became aware that I was ready to move on; I was done with high school and was ready to become a university student with the university style of learning; the same thing has happened with me and university. I'm not quite done with university at this point, but I am getting awful tired of classroom based learning.

I think a lot of the fatigue and burn out is due to my exchange - not the quality of teaching, but things I've been exposed to, and things I've learned outside of school. Where would I want to go from university though? I'm glad you asked - I'd like to go back into university but in a different context; I'd like to go into research.

Research based learning is an exciting prospect to think about, because it's no longer learning to "catch-up" to mainstream knowledge, it's learning for discovery and that's a thing that gets me excited.

I'm not entirely finished with classroom based learning at this point - it has its places, but I'm just really hoping to offset it with some research when I return for my 4th year of University... and beyond.

P.S. I've attached a picture of me at the most beautiful beach ever in Koh Phi Phi - you should be jealous.  :)

A word on exchanges. (Hypobole).

Hey Guys!

Instead of writing about my personal adventures, I wanted to take a minute to put something into a context that other exchange students can understand - or possibly people looking into completing an exchange.

At Brock University (and a lot of other universities - or so I've heard) when a student goes on exchange, their credits will return to Brock on a pass or fail basis. If I were to take Underwater Basket Weaving 101 at the City University of Hong Kong, and have it tie back to Basket Weaving - Underwater Style 1F90 at Brock University, it wouldn't matter if I could barely wind wicker twine together in a kiddy pool, or complete a deep sea research expedition to explore the strength of wicker baskets at ocean floor pressures - as long as I passed the course at CityU, everything would be fine.

This pass or fail attitude makes for a fantastic exchange, but it also lets academics get a little out of hand. When talking to some of my friends over here in Hong Kong we often throw around the joke "I'm not going to skip a class this week"; notice the describing word joke. I - among many other students - have failed to attend a single week thus far without missing at least one class. 

Now, don't get me wrong; I love education. I respectfully pay for my own education (with the Ontario government acting as my sugar daddy) and am a firm believer in taking advantage of things that you've paid for; hence writing this after getting back from my 4th Ocean Park adventure (to which I purchased a season pass). However, there is a different attitude when you're on exchange - especially in a City as large and bustling as Hong Kong. There are simply more exciting things to do, than to go to class.

When you place them side by side - hiking a mountain and swimming on a beach, versus sitting in a lecture discussing the carbon-rearrangement that occurs in glycolysis - it's not hard to choose which one you'd like to do. I'm a huge nerd, and love me some metabolism shit, but give me a chance to get away from the pollution and the noise and I'm in. The trick however is learning to balance between the two, and not skipping too many classes - something I'm having trouble doing currently. 

I'm passionate about all aspects of education; learning, teaching and researching (though I'm sure there are a lot more). I hope to continue on to graduate studies when I complete my BSc at Brock, however I know I'm going to find it difficult to return to Canada and complete a normal year in a normal classroom because of two reasons.

1. I've had an amazing year, done amazing things, and I'm not ready to stop doing them.

and perhaps the more important:

2. There are more things to learn outside the classroom, than there are within the classroom.

I'm not talking about street sense here; I'm talking about getting out and experiencing different cultures, traveling the world, meeting new people. It builds so much confidence, and opens your eyes to things you never even knew where there. 

I've been told to pick my battles many times - I get passionate about everything, and want to challenge, improve and renovate everything I set my eyes on. I try to limit my enthusiasm, but with the amount of things I've been exposed to it's near-impossible. I used to think I understood the world, living in a quiet Canadian city, viewing news segments online; but until you get out and actually experience everything there is to experience - you're essentially staring at a cup of water next to the ocean. 

What I think I'm trying to say here is that if anyone was thinking about doing an exchange - you most definitely should place it at the highest possible level on your priorities list. Two years from now when I'm (hopefully) in graduate studies, I'm not going to remember the lifecycle of dictiostelium discodium, nor will I even remember the exact carbon rearrangements of glucose when it undergoes glycolysis; but what I will be able to tell you is the differences between Thailand and Laos, the individual problems people face in Hong Kong, the diseases that affect this part of the world, and the wonderful experiences I've had to shape the life I will be living. 

Not everyone will have this opportunity, but if there's a chance that you might - please take it. 

Sorry about the rant! Just wanted to get that off my mind. In personal news, I really need to start learning how to balance both academics and exchange student fun; but carpe diem, right?

I'll post more later. I'm committing myself to making my blog better.

- Ryder 

Chinese New Year! - The Crazy Night Out

Hey Guys,

I'll start off with my obligatory apology for not updating recently, but here's an update on what I've been doing for the past week/month/indeterminate amount of time.

We just finished the Chinese New Year break, which means I didn't have school. Most people took the opportunity to jump on a plane and go somewhere warm, like the Philippines or Thailand, but seeing how I've already done the beach thing - I decided to stay in Hong Kong and experience the local cultural traditions for the lunar break; I also didn't book my flights in time.

As much as I did this week, it was actually a pretty quiet week for me - which is sort of what I needed, since we had been going out as much as possible before. I did get up to a few things though.

The Crazy Night Out
We had been sitting in the residence cafeteria for a little while, trying to figure out  what we were going to do tonight, when we finally came up with it. We would dress fancy, and aimlessly wander around Kowloon until we found something that we liked. Perfect.

Fast forward a few hours later, and we're on our way out, drinking wine and coolers on the MTR and loving the exchange student life. Our first stop is TST. We arrive via the east rail line which we never take, so we're dead lost in the gargantuan underground station that is TST. Eventually we find our way (by my guidance) to what I thought was the correct exit, but an entirely different area of the city than where we wanted to go... but alas! There is a bar there.

We get into the elevator and it takes us to the 28th floor of this building. As the doors open we're greeted and rushed into a bar with an unparalleled view of the city through a giant glass window. The bar (Aqua) however has a crowd that we're not looking for (middle aged expats, all sitting down, despite club music being played so loud that we can't hear each other talk). Kelly makes up a story that we're waiting for a friend, as Alexis, Lou and I run back to the elevator in order to avoid being pressured to buy drinks.

Once we get to the bottom, we discover a rooftop with plenty of things to do, and a really beautiful view of Kowloon. There are also these horse drawn carriages (missing the horses) that look like they belong in the royal wedding (according to Lou) behind a velveted rope. Of course, we know that we have to get inside them, so that's what we do.

Moving on to the next bar, we eventually find it fighting through the crowds near Jordan, and once again board the elevator to the 18th floor of a building. We don't stay there long, as we don't have a reservation, but it has some amazing views of the HK island.

We wander downstairs, grab some pizza, hit up club7 (7/11 for the non-Hong Kongers - the best bar in the city) and meander down to avenue of the stars (the harbour boardwalk) where we find a dress rehearsal going on for the parade the next day. Kelly and Alexis hop the fence and go right into the stands to walk, while Lou and I are stopped by a security guard. After seeing a really cool cheerleading / I don't know what performance, we meet back up and catch the MTR across to Admiralty... This is where things get fun.

I insist on leading us to some bar that I heard about online called the Lawn at the upper house. Long story short, we're walking through a closed shopping centre, asking "where are we?" every 10 minutes. I collapse on the ground from laughter, from not knowing where we are, and we board this glass elevator. The elevator rockets us out onto the roof of a building, where we wander towards a hotel. They inform us that the upper house is next door, so we walk in and talk to reception.

As we walk in, there is fire coming out of the ground, there are these fancy glass boxes with fire inside to provide light for the room... insane right? The receptionist in a posh British accent informs us that the lawn is an outdoor terrace on the 2nd floor. Ascending an escalator that makes us think we're moving into the future, we find this wonderful outdoor terrace with comfy couches, beanbags, hedges, christmas lights and soothing music... with not a soul in sight.

We absolutely love this place, so we stay here for god knows how long, before all having to go to the bathroom. Mischievously I lead everyone into an elevator I randomly found, and hit the button for the 49th floor. The doors close, and before any of us clue in, we're committed to this.

As the doors open, we discover that we're not only on the 49th floor of a building on top of a mountain, but it's actually a fancy hotel. We quickly run into a corridor where the washrooms are, and after going through the door, I discover that it's the nicest washroom I've ever been in, in my life.

There are real towels first of all, cologne, and a V shaped window overlooking the entire city. Everything is made of mahogany, and despite being dressed fancy, I know I'm definitely out of place here... but that's never stopping before.

We must have spent 10 minutes alone in the bathrooms just looking at the view, before we went back outside and found a lounge overlooking the city. Naturally, we took some pictures, and pretended we were guests; played a little backgammon, I checked the NASDAQ index to be fancy, and repeatedly switched languages to try and convince the staff that I wasn't a broke student.

Long story short we get out of the hotel without any problems, and make our way over to our other friends in Wan Chai (the classiest place in HK - hardcore sarcasm here). Running the opposite way on moving walkways, and taking underground tunnels as much as possible.

Then the night gets a little weird. We stayed in Wan Chai for a little while, and took advantage of the 24/h MTR service, by catching a train to Central. We then went on a wild wandering adventure again, and ended up in a few parks (one looked like a jungle). We stayed out talking until 6AM when we decided to get some breakfast. Taking the MTR home while people were getting up for work, there was a sense of wrongness going through my head.

All and all though, an amazing night, but I need a break from going out for a while!

I'll post pictures on here soon!

Dragons, Roller-coasters and Machine Guns: A weekend in HK

This weekend has been absolutely crazy - let me sum it up for you.

Friday
In the early morning, I woke up for Biochemistry at 8AM, to go to class at 9... I'm not too pleased about that, but it's gotta be done. After about an hour into the 2 hour class, I decided that I didn't really want to review basic things about carbohydrates that I learned in year 1, so I decided to leave the class halfway through to get some maccas breakfast.

At 11 I met up with some people who were hiking the Dragon's back trail, a long 8 kilometer hiking trail on the Hong Kong Island. We jumped on the MTR, caught the train to the island, and then caught a bus around the back, where it let us off at a stop in the middle of nowhere, which a stone staircase leading up the mountain into the woods... why not?

The hike took about 3 hours, and was actually really fun. We had some stops along the way to take pictures of the amazing views of Shek O (a small beach village) and the southern part of the island. The trail was called the dragon's back because it moved from mountain to mountain, moving up and down like the back of a dragon... It wasn't a difficult hike by any means (as there were stairs) but it did have some fun moments.

Later on in the hike it was all a shaded area, basically like a walkway, so after taking about different things, my friend Karma (not the thing, the person!) took the time to explain to me the situation with Israel and the disputed territories. History is far more interested when it's told in the form of a story - why wasn't it like that during high school? I would have payed attention...

Anyways, the hike eventually started declining, until we happened upon a smaller beach village known as Big Wave Bay. After grabbing some ice cream and speaking about ourselves in the third person, Ryder and his friends decided to go to the beach.

The waves weren't too large, and the water was cold at first, but boy it was a fun time. We spent the time body surfing the waves as they came in, and diving into the bigger ones. The sun was setting, and everyone started walking back into the shallow shore, while my friend Inez and I stayed out in the deeper area to dive into one last wave.

The 6 foot wave swelled about 30 feet before us. I was 20 feet behind Inez, and she was running to dive into the wave, as I followed suit. All of a sudden, before the wave crashed in the swell, these three (I kid you not) meter long fish appeared swimming inside the wave, right towards Inez. I yelled out her name, but she had seen them, screamed so loud, and was booking it towards the shore. I ran initially too out of fear, but after that couldn't stop laughing at the sight we had just seen. It literally looked like aquarium tank quality, these three fish swimming towards us in a huge wave, it was horrifying, but also a really cool experience... Needless to say we stayed out of the water after that.

Saturday
I woke up with a pretty bad cold, which was strange, but I sucked it up and met my two friends Karma and Francesca to head to ocean park - Hong Kong's Canada's wonderland - to make our recently purchased season passes count.

After a long MTR ride, missing three busses, and the bus stop by a good kilometer, we had arrived, and caught the cable car into the other side of the park. Karma and I being veterans at this place knew where we were going, so on a surprisingly hot saturday, we decided to check out the raft ride first. This is the kind of ride where you sit in a circular raft, and you go down a water channel (very similar to the one at Wonderland for the Canadian readers). The sign at the ride said "You will get wet, you may get soaked"... I got the latter.

To dry off, we went on a couple roller coasters, including Hair Raiser, which is my favorite (similar to top gun, but hurts you less). After that, we checked out the drop zone, which scares me every single time, and a couple more rides. By that point my cold was getting to me, and I wasn't feeling it, so we came home, hung out with some people, and had a chill night in (as everyone else went out to the warehouse party).

Sunday
Just got back from Wargames... Absolutely crazy. I was a little confused as to what it was at first, but it's basically airsoft guns (which look incredibly like real guns) with no orange-tipped ends, or safety regulations on power, shooting plastic BBs, that looks like a heavy duty machine gun.

We started the day by waking up at 8 (which my cold did not appreciate) but in the end, absolutely worth it. We got some quick breakfast, and then headed to Yau Ma Tei, where we were met with a crowd of gun-carrying, camouflage wearing, backwards-colourless american flag bearing wargames enthusiasts. They go absolutely all out, like, all the gear is there. I was a little weirded out that people took it that seriously, but whatever floats your boat.

We boarded a minibus and took it on an hour long journey into the new territories, and after driving through a dodgy area, arrived at a bunker filled with guns, and lots of war equipment. We took 30 minute to unpack, get ready, and put on all our coats, camo pants, load our mags, and try shooting our guns... then we went to war.

Wargames is basically paintball, but with airsoft. People take it super seriously, and it's done on an honour system, so if you get hit - you throw your hands up and say that you're out. I didn't think the honour system would work, but even though the BB's weren't painful, it still was not pleasant being hit with them.

The first game was an absolute diaster. They basically dropped us into a forest, and we had no idea what we were expecting. Ryan, Kristine and I were wiped out all at once in the first 5 minutes while hiding in a bush. That was probably the worst we all died, because who ever got us out would not stop shooting despite us yelling stop in Cantonese. I got hit all across my hands, face (I had a mask) back, arms, chest, etc.

The next game we were more ready, but still got taken out by a sniper that snuck around the back... The third game in that forest was the best though. We had gotten a bigger team, and I basically army crawled through the forest with Kristine. I lasted till the end in that game (about 15 minutes) which was awesome. I almost got shot at the end, but I got my first kill (I think...). I'm still not sure about any of my kills.

The next area we went to was a lot scarier, as it was basically a field with long grass, a bunch of broken cars, and metal barriers. The sound of the BBs off the barriers was horrifying. I was terrified at one points, but once again found my courage. It was in this arena we learned to work as a team - and even took the other team completely by force within the first 2 minutes of the game - communication was the key.

We broke for lunch (which was provided) and afterwards were ready for a last two areas. In the first, I never saw the enemy, only heard the pellets whizzing past my head as I ducked. At one point Kristine and I were full on scaling an incredibly steep dirt hill as we were taking fire - amazing. I spent most of the time in this arena hiding in long grass, and firing widely into the forest.

The last arena seemed the biggest, because it was half on higher ground, half on lower ground, with a series of very deep trenches (I could walk upright with no problem). In one game I got completely owned by a guy in bushes, but I took him apart in the next game by sending a good 40 rounds ricocheting off his face.

Overall an absolutely amazing, fun, and very exercising experience. I'm covered in cuts from the bushes, and sore from jumping down into trenches, army crawling through bushes and rolling to avoid automatic riffle fire, but I'd definitely do it again.

I've got class tomorrow - got to give a presentation on wheat, so interesting I know. I'm gonna be having Wargames PTSD during the presentation.

Anyways, until next time!