Exchange Report
Transcription
Exchange Report
Exchange Report Fall 2015 University of Wisconsin-Madison Chan Hau Wan Alvin Risk Management and Business Intelligence Monthly Activity Log August 2015 For my trip to Madison, first I took a flight to the Chicago O’Hare International airport, then I was headed to Madison by the Van Galder Bus. I arrived Madison at 27th August and it was cooler than I expected. But with the help of my exchange friends, we managed to check in our dorm and settle down for the first few days. For the first few days, there were various welcoming activities of the exchange students. In particular, the International Student Services (ISS) offers a wide variety of services and programs to international students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, like there was an ISS welcome reception that gave exchange students general orientation information, and the ISS also held a trip that let us brought daily supplies and food. Besides, I have joined a tour to the Wisconsin State Capitol Building and it was gorgeous! 1|Page September 2015 School started at 1st September, and I found the American students were much more hard-working than I expected. They seldom skipped classes and were quite active during classes. Apart from academic studies, I also joined different events organized by the residential dorm committees. For your information, I lived in the Adams Hall, which offers a multitude of opportunities that introduce residents to other world cultures through activities and programs. Like there was a day trip to the Devil’s Lake, where I hiked with my international friends and the scenery was fantastic. Also, I have been to Milwaukee, another city located in Wisconsin during weekends. It was an Indian Summer Festival, that I enjoyed traditional Indian shows and games with my friends. The house committee also organized a trip to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The highlight event in September was probably the football match. Americans love football very much and they are just crazy about football. I had been to one of the football games and everyone was wearing red shirts to support our team. 2|Page October 2015 The temperature started declining from October. My Wisconsin called it was the autumn, but it just felt like the winter in Hong Kong and the temperature often stayed at single digit degree Celsius. But luckily, since Wisconsin is dry and not as humid as Hong Kong, the weather was not as cold as indicated by degree Celsius. Meanwhile, October was a busy month as the midterms were coming. In UWMadison, it was normal to have two midterm exams for each course, and therefore the workload was quite heavy indeed. Despite of the academic studies, I often spent my time with my international friends. As I am a classical music lover and also I clarinet player, I have participated in their regular school band rehearsals and performed in the auditorium, which some of my friends came and supported me! Moreover, I have been to the NBA pre-game session and it was my first time to watch an official NBA match in the America! 3|Page November 2015 The second round of midterms came in November, but despite of the midterms, I was quite free indeed. So I had been to Canada with exchange friends during a weekend in November. Although the trip was short, we spent a nice time in Toronto and we visited the Niagara Falls, CN Tower and Casa Loma. Besides, at the end of November, it was the Thanksgiving, a huge holiday in America! During the holiday period, I went to the west coast, like the cities in California and also Las Vegas and visited the Hollywood, Disneyland, Golden Gate Bridge, Venetian Las Vegas Hotel… Another highlight was the Black Friday, that there were huge discounts on items and I found lots of good deals in outlets. 4|Page December 2015 So it was my last month in Madison and I really love the city so much. After my final exams, I attend various farewell events, some were held by the hall committees, and some were organized by my international friends. I am really grateful that I met those people, and we still keep in touch after my exchange programme. At the end of December, it was the Christmas holiday, and I stayed at the east coast during the Christmas. Everyone decorated their house and shopping mall in Christmas theme, that the lightings and music were just fantastic. 5|Page General Exchange Information Visa Procedures The visa application to UW-Madison is not difficult. After you are admitted by the college, they will send an admission package to SBM, which you could find guidelines and documents for the visa application. After that, you have to go through an online application in the Consulate General of the US website, pay certain application fees and then make an appointment with the US ambassador. The interview with the ambassador was very easy and the ambassador asked me about my intention to the US and my financial background. Normally the process only takes around 3 days to a week, but due to some technical problem in the Consulate General’s computer system, my passport with visa was available after a month. It seems to be safer to apply for visa earlier. International Services & Activities There is an organization called International Student Services (ISS) in UWMadison, which provides support and information to international and exchange students. In particular, they organized an orientation day and day tour to introduce the campus and facilities. Besides, at the beginning of the semester, there was an ISS reception day, which different student societies set up booths and recruited members. If you want to join student functions, do visit the booths at the reception day. I also strongly recommend the buddy programme, that you may meet a friend from the Wisconsin School of Business. The buddy can probably introduce the campus and city to you, and help you to address you daily problems, especially when you are totally new to the campus. 6|Page Accommodations I lived in the Adams hall, which is an International Learning Community (ILC). Adams hall is a good place to gain international exposure because most of the residents here are exchange or transfer students. They came from various countries so you do not need to afraid that you are stranger while talking to them. Also, the floor committee often organize many free functions, like hiking day, performance night, or even free day trip to Chicago! So I think Adams hall is really a nice place to have fun and meet international friends during your exchange programme. However, only single rooms are available in Adams, so if you would like to meet a local roommate, you might have to consider another dorm or apartment. Course Registration UW-Madison is using the same registration system as HKUST, so it is easy for UST students to enroll into classes there. There are diverse types of classes available and the enrollment time is quite early, so you might have plenty time for choosing the courses and also for the new courses assessment process. Be aware that the maximum credits that exchange students could register at UW-Madison is 18 per semester. Transportation The UW campus is very big, and sometimes it is time consuming to travel among classroom located in different buildings. Remember to get a free bus pass at the beginning of the semester at Union South, so you can travel by bus totally free during the whole semester! In fact, you can arrive most of the places around the campus by catching the bus 80. 7|Page Cost/Expense Airfare Accommodation Textbooks Food Travelling Telecommunications Insurance Grocery Total Cost (USD) 1290 3100 150 1600 3500 250 550 300 10740 Items to Bring and Contacts Winter clothes Passport and visa documents Credit card Chargers and Adapters Laptop Medicine Lotion Pocket Tissue If more information is needed, please get my contact from SBM Exchange Team by emailing at [email protected]. 8|Page