At CityU, the final examination period starts on the 11th of December and ends on the 23rd of December. I had two final exams to take, and these exams were both for my finance courses. One of the exams for my Derivative & Risk Management class was challenging due to the nature of the content of the knowledge associated with the class. I did not take the exams lightly and spent the whole week tirelessly preparing for both exams with my classmates. I looked back at the notes I took in class, class PowerPoint slides, and previous homework and projects, and I also did a practice test. The effort ultimately paid off, and I answered most exam questions smoothly. During the "exam revision week" (as they called it), student groups on campus and at the student residence offered stickers, snacks, and drinks as refreshments to encourage students not to give up on getting good grades for the final exams and ending the semester on a strong note. Then, when you take an exam, you must show up at the testing venue on time and present your valid student ID to the proctor. The proctor will verify your identity to ensure no one pretends to be you and takes the exam on your behalf. You must also turn off all your electronic devices and put them into your backpack, and failure to do so could lead to the proctors mistakenly believing you intend to cheat during the exam. When the proctor says time is up, you must stop answering and put your pencils/pens down.
After finishing my exams on Monday, December 18th, since I still had roughly ten days before my last day in Hong Kong on December 28th, I decided to visit Shenzhen City for two days with one of my friends I met in Hong Kong. My recommendations for you on what you can do in Shenzhen are to ride the public-sharing bicycles, try the local cuisines and snacks, and take a stroll in Lianhuashan Park. Public-sharing bicycles allow you to travel across the city at a cost cheaper than the metro and taxi and to explore the city's beauty in a more laidback and leisurely manner. The local cuisines and snacks were also delicious and flavorful. I strongly recommend you spend some time at the Dong Men Pedestrian Street, a hub for all the unique Chinese-styled food. If not, Haidilao, a popular chain restaurant if you are into Chinese hot pot, can be another decent option for you. Last, Lianhuashan Park is a popular tourist destination known for its unobstructed view of the urban city at the summit of the park and a statue of Premier Deng Xiaoping, the premier who transformed the openness of China's economy and international relations on a profound scale. Overall, Shenzhen is a large city, and I could only explore some parts of Shenzhen in under two days. I expect to return there this coming summer to continue my exploration.
Toward the end of the semester, you will receive multiple emails from the student residence office that you must follow the specific procedures for checking out from your dorm room. To check out from the dorm room, you first pack all your belongings into your suitcases and clean any debris or trash scattered on the table and floor. The failure to have everything undamaged, in the proper place, and restored to its original conditions can lead to fines levied on you. Your assigned bed and desk should also be tidy to show courtesy and respect to the custodians who work strenuously from hall to hall to maintain a clean living environment. Furthermore, be aware that you must return your room key to the security performing room-checking procedures, which generally take around thirty minutes. Thus, you must plan accordingly to ensure you call the security guards earlier to check out your room before other students so that the room check-out procedures will not interfere with your flight out of Hong Kong. If you do not check out your room by the deadline, you will also pay a certain amount of fines.
To start my checkout procedure, I brought some unused and unfinished products and goods to my family in Hong Kong. As for people who do not have families in Hong Kong, I know that people on exchange student group chats often talk about donating such goods to the community or the local students or selling these products for some cash back before the semester ends. You may also purchase larger suitcases or cardboard boxes to store your goods and ship them back to Hawaii for a shipping fee. I lived in my dorm until December 28th, and two days before I checked out, I started packing my luggage and cleaning my room to give myself sufficient time to see if everything belonged to CityU was intact and everything I owned could fit into my suitcases without exceeding the allowable weight limit on the airplane. On the last day of my stay, I woke up five hours before my flight, ensured I did not miss any of my belongings, called security to perform the check-out procedure, returned my room key, and called an Uber to take me to the airport. The drive from CityU to the airport took about 35 to 40 minutes.