The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Welcome to the Hong Kong Institute of Education!  I am spending the Spring semester here as a Visiting Scholar with the Faculties of Arts and Sciences.  The HKIEd was founded in 1994 when five teacher training schools merged to establish one institution.  The mission of the HKIEd is to train teachers, though the institution seeks to expand it's mission and become a comprehensive university.  The campus is built into the side of a hill in Tai Po, which is located in the New Territories of Hong Kong about an hour by public transportation north of Hong Kong Island. 

As you can see below, the campus is gorgeous.  The campus is self-contained, offers housing for students as well as staff and has a school for the community on the grounds. 



The campus is built in the side of a hill and
surrounded by mountains.  There are two wings
on the campus.  Shown here is the North Wing




Fountain outside the administration
building. The building in the back contains
student dorms and visitor housing.




View of campus from the Administration building




View from my office.



Karen on the steps leading down from
our flat in the Visitor's Centre

The walkaway along the complexes.

Our new place in Tai Po

 

Our flat is on the 11th floor.  Because the building is
sloped into the side of a hill there is no elevator,
only 130+ steps to our place. Walking up to our flat is like
jumping on a Stair Master for a quick workout.

 We left our flat (apartment) on Hong Kong Island mid January and have settled very nicely into a flat in the Visitor's Centre at the Hong Kong Institute of Education.  I am here as a Visiting Scholar and have been guest lecturing in courses on various topics ranging from Zen and music to health care reform in the US.

Tai Po is located about 1 hour north of Hong Kong Island by public transportation and is a suburban bedroom community in Hong Kong. The air is reported to be the second cleanest air in Hong Kong, though I really do not see much difference here.  There always seems to be a smoggy haze when you look off to the horizon.  Though being in the "mountains" of Hong Kong is really nice, the views are great and it is quiet.  Tai Po is a place where you can find children out riding bikes, playing soccer or cricket, less traffic and a slower pace than on Hong Kong Island.

While the flat is really small by US standards, it is a decent size by Hong Kong standards. 

Here is a look at our new place:
 

The kitchen only has room for one person at a time.
The counter height is about 30 inches and the
hood over the stove is about 5 feet off the ground. 
Definitely a kitchen made for a short person.


   

Living room/ dining room.  There is a love seat, TV stand and a table with four chairs. It is avery sunny room as we have two walls of windows, facing east and west. There are two balconies, each about 4 ft wide off the room.

 
  

 
  




The bedroom has one undersized double
bed, a small desk and closet for storage. There is also a
door out to the balcony. We have two portable heaters
for the flat which have come in very handy.  Hong
 Kong had it's coldest January since 1977.

  

We have storage in the bedroom.
Karen and I share the closet.  Suitcases
are stored on top of the closet.
















  

Bath and laundry room. Clothes are hung outside
on the balcony to air dry








 

  

View from the front balcony. The buildings to the right are luxury condos, not part of the campus. There are several condo complexes near us.  They are gated communities with names like Richwood Park and Tycoon Place, not your average Hong Kong residences.


 

  

The view of the campus from our flat.  The building in the center is where my office is.  I have nice view from my office of the mountains surrounding the campus.