Exchange report University of , , Canada Haskayne School of Business

Cheung Ho Hoi (Information System & Operation Management) Spring 2018

Monthly Activity Log

January 2018

On the first day I arrive Calgary, I was amazed and shocked by how Canadian are kind and nice to others, our taxi driver doesn’t just drop us in school office, but also help us to find the correct hall, he even carries our luggage to our room, and ask a local schoolmate to show us around the campus. Canadian will give a warm welcome to all the foreigner, no matter how cold the weather is.

I get to know some friend in the orientation day, and we spent some time exploring Calgary. We went to the heritage park and gasoline museum. Do remember a lot of place will be closed during winter, including Heritage park, so do check the opening schedule.

We also went to the peace bridge, one of the landmark of Calgary, and it connected the two parts of the Calgary.

-Heritage Park @ Calgary

-Peace Bridge @ Calgary

February There will be a week holiday (reading week) during February, which is the only long holiday during the winter semester. But if you want to travel during the holiday, be sure to do your revision and homework before the holiday, since late February is the time for midterm and paper submission.

During the reading week, I went on a road trip to Banff, I spent 4 days in Banff and visit all the famous tourist spot. The moment I get off the coach, I realize Banff will be my favorite place in the world, I am fascinated about the shape of mountain, how the rock and snow matches together. There are several gondolas in Banff, do try one, it’s definitely worth it.

-Me and my roommates

-Lake Louise @ Banff

After the trip to Banff, we decided to visit the capital of Alberta – Edmonton. Between Calgary and Edmonton, there's a small town called Red deer, it's where my roommates from, he took us to have a quick tour and stay for a night, it's a typical gas town, where the tallest building is only 5 floor tall.

We drove 2 hours to Edmonton, we visit the west Edmonton mall, it once is the largest mall in the world, there's casino, amusement park and roller coaster inside the mall. There's a hiding gem in Edmonton, called the end of the world. You can see beautiful sunset over a frozen lake. After spending 2 days in Edmonton, we headed back to Calgary and be prepared for the midterm exam.

-Sunset at The End of the world

March After finishing midterms doesn’t mean you can take a break, since all the subject want to keep you busy throughout the semester. But I am starting to get used to this way of study, I spent time to review the lecture every night and briefly read the material before attending class. Since the weather was getting hotter, I already adept to Calgary’s weather, I spent more time

I go for a one-day road trip to Drumheller, it’s a small town next to Calgary (About 2-hour drive), it’s famous for dinosaur fossil and has the only museum dedicated to paleontology in Canada – Royal Tyrrell Museum, one of the world’s largest displays of dinosaurs are offered by museum. Drumheller has a unique landscape, it looks like a desert covered with snow. It’s a completely different view from Banff’s mountain.

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Beautiful landscape in Drumheller!!!

-The Smallest Church in the world @ Drumheller

During the weekends I stayed in Calgary, I went to the (COP) – Calgary for a full day ski. It’s an official skiing venue of 1988 Olympic. COP have hills for different level of player, so even I am a new to skiing, I still enjoyed a good time. I even rode the gondola to the highest hill.

Apart from the outdoor sports event, I also attended an indoor shooting function held by the UoC firm arm club, you can try different types of gun, and even unlimited ammo for pistol. There’s no required qualification to join the function, you only need to bear in mind safety comes first.

-Calgary Shooting Range

Also, I went to for penguin walk, it's a winter exclusive event, the zoo keeper will lead the penguin to walk around the zoo, but if the weather is too cold, the function will be cancel.

-Penguin walk@Calgary Zoo

April When it's April, it's not only the final exam period, but also the last school month I spent in Calgary, so I spent more time on study and writing paper on weekdays, so I can free my weekends times to go out.

I went to Banff twice during April, the lake is staring to melt and green start popping out. People always said the best times to stayed in Banff is Autumn, but I do think the best time is all year rounded, winter is the best time for mountain view, Autumn is the best times for lakes. Banff will surprise you every time.

-Lake Moraine @ Banff

-Secret Cave @ Banff

After finish all my exam, I took a flight to the other side of Canada, and started my US and Canada trip, if you want to know more about it, feel free contact me in person.

May After finish my US and Canada trip, I went back to Calgary to pick up my luggage, before heading to Vancouver for my flight back to Hong Kong, I went to Banff and Canmore one last time.

This time I hiked a famous mountain called Hai Ling peak, it has an elevation of 1000 meters, it’s about 2500 meters tall (The tallest mountain in Hong Kong is only 947 meters). When I reaches the peak, it’s one of the most breathing-taking view I ever seen, but the hike is pretty challenging, on the last part of hiking, there only tiny rocks that makes the road so slippery.

-Hai Ling Peak @ Canmore

For the 5 months I stayed in Canada, it’s a life changing event. I have numerous of once in a life time experiences, and I am really looking forward for my next trip in Canada.

Visa Procedures

No Student Visa is needed for one semester’s exchange in Canada for Hong Kong students. But you do need to apply eTA for your first time’s arrival in Canada. You can apply it online with easy procedures, an email will be sent to your mailbox for confirmation, be sure to starred it, since you need eTA for getting a bank account and phone card. Also be careful to choose the correct website, since you need to do online payment.

Orientation

There is an orientation day for exchange and international students, it’s around a week before the start of semester, be sure to check for school calendar or school mailbox before booking the air ticket. You can meet other student from Hong Kong and many useful tips will be cover during the orientation.

International Service and Activities

CISSA is the center for promoting international student’s activities and providing services. They will organize some activities for exchange student, twice per month, including one day trip to Canmore and Banff, movie night and Archery lesson. These are fun activities which offer at a discounted price, be sure to follow CISSA’s Facebook and subscript to its email to get the latest news.

Accommodation

I lived in Glacier Hall, the hall fee is around CAD3800 for 4-month’s accommodations. A regular 2-man dorm has an open kitchen, one living room with sofa, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 toilet and 1 storage room, it’s huge for HongKonger. One downside is Glacier Hall has a long history, the equipment always stops working during the winter. But I do recommend Glacier, since it’s the nearest hall to the academic buildings, food court and gym room. Glacier hall and academic building are connected with underground tunnel; you can stay indoor for the whole day.

Other choices, such as Cascade, it offers 4-men rooms, you need to share the living room with 3 people and less living space, but Cascade is newly built. Olympus, which is similar to Glacier.

For the check out time, the default checks out time is 2 days after your last examination, but you can apply for late check out with reasonable reason. I submit a copy of my air ticket and successfully postpone the check out day to 1 week later.

To apply for on campus housing, you can do so even without student ID, so do it fast, at least 4 months before your move in date.

For living outside the campus, the rate should be more or less the same compare to hall. However, during heavy snowing (Which is really common in Calgary), you will have a hard time to go to school.

Course Registration http://contacts.ucalgary.ca/info/ha/courses/w18 You can check what courses are available for different semesters in the above link. all the courses aren’t guarantee to be opened, so check the availability from student’s portal and compare with the credit transfer equivalence database.

I have taken 5 courses in total during my study. Which includes MGST 453, OPMA 409, OPMA407, SOSC201 and PHIL249. Normally, students take 4 subjects per semester, unlike HKUST. If you wish to take 5 courses, be prepare for a tight schedule and heavy workload throughout the semester. All the subjects required you to read the materials before attending class and have homework to submit to keep track of your study progress. On average, I got 2 quizzes every week.

Among the 5 subjects that I take, I strongly recommend SOSC201, the lesson covers about Canadian society, it’s a good way to know more about Canada. Although it has 3 midterms, all the examination is in All MC format, and this course have less requirement on memorizing the lecture material.

Financial and banking

I got a free student bank account in RBC, just apply and present eTA, passport and student ID card to the branch inside the campus. I strongly recommend getting a debit card, since it’s widely accepted in Canada, and free you from the trouble of calculating tax and service charge.

Social clubs and Networking Opportunities

I joined the fire arm club and outdoor activities clubs, they both offer fantastic activities which you can rarely do by yourself. The hall committee always organize activities, which allow you to meet and greet other neighbor.

Transportation

All student need to pay for a UPass which allow them to have unlimited access to all the public transport. The public transport system is well- developed in Calgary. There is also an app can check the bus schedule and choose the best route for you.

Climate

Calgary is extremely cold during January and February; the average temperature is around -25 degree. But one thing special about Calgary is it’s sunny all the time, I can wear a t-shirt and a light jacket during day time, but 4-5 layers of cloth during night. Since the temperature fluctuates a lot, wear in layer can help you cope with the weather easily.

Enjoy your time in Calgary, try everything if you get the chance, step out from your comfort zone. XD

If you wish to have more detail, feel free to contact me via email [email protected]