At home, ordering food from a menu is a normal, everyday routine. I don't even give it a second thought. In China, it's a whole other story! Here, ordering is a fun game of trial and error, and the adventure begins before the food is even served!

    Many restaurants in central Beijing advertise “English language menus”, but the translations can just add to the confusion. Although accompanying pictures can be a helpful relief, the translations often make the whole experience even more amusing. During my first few weeks in China I tried some delicious dishes with strange names. As an experiment, my friends and I would order things like “students addicted to chicken gristle (软骨)” and “red burned lion head”. It was always fun to see what landed on our table. Eventually we learned that “lion head” was actually pork, and “students” are “addicted” to diced (切碎的) chicken with green pepper.

    Recently, I came across a busy restaurant down a narrow side street in a Beijing hutong. It was lunchtime and the small room was packed with people sitting on small stools (凳子) eating noodles. I was hungry and cold, and the steaming bowls looked irresistible! I sat myself down and called out for a “caidan!” In response, the waitress pointed to a wall at the back of the restaurant. The wall was full of Chinese characters describing numerous dishes. There was only one sentence in English: “crossing over the bridge noodles”.

    I had never heard of the dish and had no idea what it would taste like. I took a gamble and ordered one bowl of “crossing over the bridge noodles”. A few minutes later the waitress carried over a heavy bowl full of broth (肉汤) and I quickly dug in. It was the best bowl of noodles I had ever tasted! I have been back again and again and each time I point at the one English sentence – “crossing over the bridge noodles”. I always enter a restaurant in China feeling excited and a little nervous. Who knows what the next ordering adventure will reveal?

    As you enter university, you are likely to be confused by new demands and challenges. You need to decide for yourselves what you want to achieve when you graduate. It is important that you have appropriate and realistic expectations of a university education and know how far you can go towards achieving your personal and academic goals, so that you will have a sense of achievement at the end of your first year as well as when you graduate.

        This website aims to be a quick one stop information hub to help you understand more about learning at HKU and make better use of HKU's support services.

    University Life is an adventure that—literally everyone here is a key player.

    Your strategic moves at each stage have a direct impact on the outcomes of this adventure. The key to winning is mainly about how you manage your resources, especially your time. Most successful players engage themselves in activities that meet their needs and goals.

    First Year Experience

    As a new player, you may find yourself standing at the crossroads and wondering which directions you should go. An open mind for handling new challenges and a roadmap or planning and setting priorities during your stay at     HKU are what you need to start your journey.

    And don't forget to check out the following to familiarize yourself with the 'game rules', 'support and resources' and 'opportunity cards' on hand:

    * HKU Education aims to help to fulfill what you are expected to achieve.

    * The key cards that contribute to your academic, professional and social excellence, e. g. Horizons Office, Common Core, Centre for Sports and Exercise (CSE), Centre for Applied English Studies (CAES).

    Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family's last vacation. It was my six-year-old son's winter break from school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a week long trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York. So I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.

    The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged—okay, ordered—them to wait at the airport, to “earn” more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?

    Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.

    I've made a living looking for the best deals and exposing (揭露) the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.

    I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money's worth, I'm also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.

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    A five-year-old dog named Kelsey has been praised as a hero for helping to save the life of her owner who slipped in the snow and broke his neck.

The man, Bob, was alone when he left his Michigan farmhouse on New Year's Eve to collect firewood. Expecting a journey of only several meters, Bob was wearing just long johns (秋裤), a shirt and slippers when he went outside, although the temperature was around -4℃.

    After the accident, he was unable to move in the snow. Fortunately, Kelsey came to his assistance.

    “I was shouting for help, but my nearest neighbor is about 400 meters away, and it was 10:30 p.m.,” Bob explained. “But my Kelsey came. By the next morning, my voice was gone and I couldn't yell for help, but Kelsey didn't stop barking.”

    Bob's companion kept him warm by lying on top of him. She licked his face and hands to keep him awake. “Kelsey kept barking but never left my side,” Bob recalled. “She kept me warm. I knew I couldn't give up and that it was my choice to stay alive.”

Bob spent 19 hours in the freezing cold. When he finally lost consciousness, his dog kept barking. Finally, hearing the barking, Bob's neighbor discovered him at 6:30 p.m. on New Year's Day and called the emergency services at once. When Bob arrived in hospital, his body temperature was below 21℃. However, doctors were surprised to find that he didn't have any frostbite (冻疮). They believed it was because of Kelsey's determination to keep him warm. Dr. Chaim Colen, the doctor who treated Bob, said, “Animals can help and his dog really saved him … he was very fortunate.”

    Bob said he was “enormously” grateful for both Dr. Colen and his Kelsey. “They saved my life. They are true heroes!”

    This story happened when I was in Saint Lucia with my family. My sister, Diana, who also happens to be my best friend and one of the funniest and kindest people I know, went blind in one eye about 9 years ago. Diana sometimes feels concerned about the way her eye looks now. The pupil(瞳孔) is no longer black; it's sort of "glows" in photos. Diana recently purchased a special contact lens (隐形镜片) that makes her eye look like it did before it changed color, but she doesn't wear this lens often because it becomes quite painful after about an hour.

    One night during our holiday, a hotel photographer was taking pictures of the guests as they entered the area set up for dinner. Diana casually said if she had known there was going to be pictures taken to capture this special memory, she would have worn her contact lens so her eye wouldn't be so shiny in the picture.

    The next day, I was sitting with Diana and her husband Ted. While we were talking, the photographer who had been at the dinner the night before, handed her a photo, leaned in and quietly said, "I matched the color of your eyes in the picture."

    As he walked away, my sister happily said to me and Ted, "Look! He fixed my eye!" The photographer stopped. He turned around and walked back to our table. He put his hand on Diana's shoulder, leaned in again and gently said, "Just to be clear: I didn't fix your eye. There isn't anything wrong with your eye. I simply matched the color. "

    Her eyes filled up with tears. It was very healing for her heart to hear these beautiful words. It didn't take much time and made so much difference. It helped her change the way she feels about herself.

    I have always loved the quote: "The world is full of good people. If you can't find one, be one!" Your acts of kindness can impact the world in profound ways!

    The Healthy Habits Survey (调查) shows that only about one third of American seniors have correct habits. Here are some findings and expert advice.

    ①How many times did you brush your teeth yesterday?

    ·Finding: A full 33% of seniors brush their teeth only once a day.

    ·Step: Remove the 300 types of bacteria (细菌) in your mouth each morning with a battery-operated toothbrush. Brush gently for 2 minutes, at least twice a day.

    ②How many times did you wash your hands or bathe yesterday?

    ·Finding: Seniors, on average, bathe fewer than 3 days a week. And nearly 30% wash their hands only 4 times a day—half of the number doctors recommend.

    ·Step: We touch our faces around 3, 000 times a day—often inviting germs (病菌) to enter our mouth, nose, and eyes. Use toilet paper to avoid touching the door handle. And, most important, wash your hands often with hot running water and soap for 20 seconds.

    ③How often do you think about fighting germs?

    ·Finding: Seniors are not fighting germs as well as they should.

    ·Step: Be aware of germs. Do you know it is not your toilet but your kitchen sponge (海绵) that can carry more germs than anything else? To kill these germs, keep your sponge in the microwave for 10 seconds.