Vol. 8.3 February 2004elc.polyu.edu.hk/ecNews

History of TravelFrom the dawn of time, people have ventured over theirhorizon and reported on what they have seen and discovered.

Some of these early explorers have gained notoriety resultingin followers yearning to experience, or in some cases, gainriches from their adventures. Marco Polo is perhaps themost renowned traveller from Europe to Asia, who madewhat later became known as the Silk Road widely known in

Europe.

Originally travelling overseas was the exclusive domain of thewealthy. With the advent of steam travel, exploring both landand sea became easier.

From its humble beginnings, travel has grown into one of theworld's foremost industries, benefitting in particular fromjet travel.

More and more Hong Kongers are venturing overseas fortheir holidays. In this edition of ecNews we hear tales oftravel from people on the campus. Why not join us aswe explore the wonderful world of travel?

Independent travelUnlike a lot of people in Hong Kong,Angel decided to organise her ownshort break from Hong Kong withoutthe use of tour operators or tour guides.Her chosen destination was KohSamui, Thailand. We spoke to Angelto find out what she did and why shedecided to backpack rather than join atour.

"Convenience and freedom mainly"she said. "Planning your own tripallows you to fix your own itinerary"she continued, "without the hassle ofearly meetings in hotel foyers waitingfor tardy fellow travellers." She felt

that although tours are a little cheaperand easier to organise, the self-tailoredtrip gave her the opportunity to meetmore locals and other like-mindedtravellers.

A non-package holiday also allowedher to sample a variety of local food.This included wonderfully cheap anddelicious seafood at beach restaurants.

Despite the lie-ins in the mornings,Angel managed to fit in a lot of funactivities. As well as windsurfing,swimming, jet skiing and sunbathingon the golden beaches, Angel alsotrekked inland. She explored thejungles of the island, discovering large

and beautiful waterfalls, snakes andother reptiles.

She also saw the island from anotherperspective while elephant trekking.

Most of these activities were followedby an inexpensive hour long massageon the beach.

Advice to would be independenttravellers. "Spend a little time planningand you might save some money." Sheadds "Girls should go with a friend orarrange to team up with someone theytrust."

Angel Lung is a Language Instructor in theELC

Match the countries to the corresponding flags

Philippines Spain Canada France Nepal Thailand Hong Kong Vietnam

Answers can be found on our website

This is the third edition of ecNews, thecolourful ELC newsletter. In this issue wehave several articles about travel experiencesfrom ELC staff members and students. Wealso introduce one new member of our teachingstaff. As usual, there is information about ELCactivities.

Once again, we ask for your contributions. Ournext issue, in April, will be about jobs. Do youhave any working experiences, good, bad or funnythat you would like to share with other students?Send them to us.

You can ask questions or send yourcontributions to: ecNews@polyu.edu.hkVisit our website:http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/ecNews

Vocabulary quiz- match the words and phrases with their definitions

Words Meanings1. ventured a. modest, not large or elaborate2. horizon b. restricted/only for a special group of people3. notoriety c. the arrival of an important person/event4. renowned d. had the courage to go somewhere

dangerous/unknown5. exclusive e. fame6. advent f. limit of a person's knowledge and experience7. humble g. famous8. domain h. area of activity

Flags

TravellingTravelling

English Award Scheme - A greatadventure. By Rick Lam Chun Yu

Life's not fun without good or adventurous experience.Last summer, I travelled to Toronto and took a summercourse at York University. Staying in a continent thatyou know absolutely nothing about is a great adventure.I met friends from many different places, like Mexico,Korea and Italy. I also experienced learning in anunconventional way, e.g. playing the game Ultimate,having classes outside and sleeping under a tree.

I developed friendships with my international classmates.Of course, it is always valuable to make friends like this.We had such a good time together, playing ball games,hanging out, cooking our home-country food, drinkingcoffee and chatting.

Sometimes we had lessons outside the classrooms.Under the clear sky, the warm sun and sleepy breeze,we had discussions and debates about environmentalissues. We got the chance to think and express our pointsof view in English.

After our classes, we could take a rest on a bench, in theshade of trees, or in front of the entrance of our residence.

Sometimes I lay on the bench and slept for a while. Thiswas always a wonderful place for resting and thinkingbecause of the silence and relaxing atmosphere.

One interesting game we played was Ultimate. In thisgame, we used a frisbee and passed it to our teammates.Ultimately, we had to take the Frisbee to the goal line.Our opponents tried everything to take the frisbee. Sowe always chased the 'flying saucer' to ensure ouropponents could not catch it. Can you imagine runningon the grass barefoot? That's what I did on the York Ucampus.

Life is more interesting and meaningful if we can beopen-minded and experience more. Widening ourhorizons by studying abroad and travelling are feasibleways. Applying for a travelling award scheme andscholarship programme, like the English Award Schemeoffered by the ELC, is definitely a good option. Weshould grasp every chance to learn more and experiencemore. Life is a jewel box in which experience andmemories are gems and pearls. Our lives should not beempty, but fruitful. Take your time and take your chance.

Rick is a year 3 ITC student

English Club trip to KoreaBy Kion Lui Ho Ting

During the Christmas break, I joined the English Club'sWinter Study Tour to Sookmyung Women's University(SMU) in Seoul, South Korea. I gained a lot of valuableexperience and happy memories. We stayed in thedormitory of SMU. It was tidy and comfortable. Thetour scheduled many sightseeing activities. For example,we had a chance to visit the Korea Broadcast Stationand had a chance to attend one of its live music showscalled 'Music Bank'. The show was similar to 'Jade SolidGold' on TVB Jade in Hong Kong. Singers performedlive one by one. As well as visiting the Korea BroadcastStation, we also went to Everland, a famous theme parkin Seoul, where I experienced skiing for the first time inmy life.

In addition to these fun activities, we tried a traditionalKorean vegetarian meal in a temple. The meal was ledby a monk, who expected us to make no sound wheneating and required us to finish all the food given to us.

At the end of the meal, we were asked to clean the bowlwith a piece of spicy kimchi and were told to eat thekimchi afterwards. Some participants did not like themeal, but I think it was a special experience that wecan't get elsewhere.

One special feature of this tour was that each group wasaccompanied by at least two SMU students. The SMUstudents in my group were helpful and friendly. I amglad that we were able to become friends and keep incontact after I came back to Hong Kong.

As a project participant, I felt lucky that all participantswere cooperative and got along so well on the tour. Wehelped each other and took care of each other. We hada lot of fun together.

This study tour has given me a good chance to knowmore about the Korean culture, to improve my spokenEnglish, and to learn more vocabulary. It was ameaningful and unforgettable experience for me.

Kion is a BRE student

Getting around in France withoutspeaking French. By Zoe Chan

I went to France last summer,mainly for study, but I also hadtime to do some sightseeing whileI was there. However, I had someproblems as I don't speak French.The first problem was finding myhotel. I couldn't find anyone whowould give me directions inEnglish, so I had to find the wayfrom the airport to the hotel onmy own, using a map, which wasquite di f f icul t ! Eat ing in

restaurants was also problematic. Of course the menuswere in French, with no English. I just chose dishesrandomly ... 'this one ... and this one ...' but everything Iate was delicious!

When I visited the Louvre, the famous art gallery in Paris,I expected that there would be some explanations aboutthe paintings in English, but this turned out to be wishfulthinking on my part! Fortunately, I found the famousones, like the Mona Lisa (which is much smaller than Iexpected!). My next trip is to Italy. This time I'm readingabout the famous paintings beforehand, so I know whatI want to see.

Zoe is a post-graduate student of Applied PhysicsZoe tries eating snails in France

Never tell anyone your PIN number!!By Eve Chan

While on holiday in Madrid in Spain last summer aman approached me and my husband saying he wasan Italian tourist. He tried to make friends with us byoffering to take some photos and to show us a niceplace to take photographs nearby. But he led us to anarea with no people around. Suddenly two large mencame up, saying they were policemen and waving theirID cards. They warned us that the Italian was a drugdealer and promised to protect us from him. Then they

decided that maybe we had bought drugs from himand they wanted to search our wallets. Our wallets,not our bags! We showed the 'policemen' our walletsand after searching them for drugs they becameinterested in our credit cards. They asked us for thePIN numbers. Of course now we were suspiciousbecause we know never to give our PIN numbers toanyone, not even the police. So we both said that inHong Kong we do not have PIN numbers, and theybelieved us and gave up and went away!

Eve is a Language Instructor in the ELC

New staff memberGan Zhendong [ ] joined the ELC last November. This is his first full semester. Beforecoming to Hong Kong, he taught English for several years at the University of Science andTechnology of China [ ]. The university is in his hometown of Hefei[ ] in Anhui Province [ ] in China. His wife and daughter are living there at themoment, but he hopes they will move to Hong Kong soon.Dr Gan has been in Hong Kong for about 5 years. Before joining the ELC, he was a Phdstudent in the English Department. His Phd topic was a comparative study of Mainland

China and Hong Kong university students. If you want to know about his findings, please feel free to ask him.

We also asked Dr Gan about travelling. He has been to Utah University in Salt Lake City in the U.S. He wasvery impressed with the campus and the quiet atmosphere for work and study. He was also impressed withthe atmosphere of the city. While having a strong religious tradition, it is also a modern city and there seemsto be no conflict between religion and the modern lifestyle.

Did you know that ... ? The CN Tower in Toronto is the world's tallest free-standing structure: it reaches a height of 113 storeys,553 metres (1,815 feet), whereas Hong Kong's Two IFC has 88 floors and is 415 metres (1,362 feet) tall.

The Great Wall of China stretches over more than one-twentieth of the earth's circumference.There is enough material in the Great Wall of China to build an eight-foot wall circling theglobe at the equator.

Tomatoes were first cultivated in 700 AD by Aztecs and Incas. Explorers returning from Mexicointroduced the tomato into Europe, where it was first mentioned in 1556. The French called it'the apple of love' and the Germans named it 'the apple of paradise'.

The temperature in eastern Siberia can get so cold that the moisture in a person's breath can freezein the air and fall to the ground.

New York City's Central Park is nearly twice as big as the world's second-smallest country, Monaco.

The world's longest street is located in Canada. Toronto's Yonge Street runs 1,900 kilometers/1,190 miles.

Istanbul in Turkey is the only city that resides on two continents, namely Europe and Asia.

The country of Indonesia is comprised of more than 17,000 islands.

In New Zealand, there are four sheep for each person. The Falkland Islands have a human population ofaround 2,000 but a sheep population of 700,000, making 350 sheep for each person.

Bottles labelled 'gift' in Germany are highly dangerous. In German, ‘gift’ means poison.

English Club study tour to South KoreaWith the help of Sookmyung Women'sUniversity, a winter study tour toSeoul, South Korea was successfullyorganised by the English Club duringthe semester break. About 40 PolyUstudents attended this 5-day study tourand were well guided by the studentsof Sookmyung Women's University tolearn about Korean culture and to visitvarious spots in Seoul. The group visitedplaces such as the Korea BroadcastStation, the Korean Folk Village, andthe demilitarized zone between Northand South Korea, where students hada chance to visit an infiltration tunnelsecretly built by the North Koreans inthe 70's for invasion purposes. BothPolyU and Sookmyung students had agreat time. The English Club is nowplanning to run a reciprocal tour inHong Kong for Sookmyung students inJune. We hope this tour will turn out tobe another unforgettable trip for bothparties!

Also see article by Kion Lui Ho Ting

English Debate Group

The Hong Kong PolytechnicUniversity English Debate Group(EDG) is actively involved with theJUDC (Joint University DebateCompetition). We recruit newmembers annually in September andhold regular training and debatepreparation sessions. If you wouldlike to help the team, particularly bycoming along to one of the JUDCdebates to support us, please contactus through one of our EnglishLanguage Centre Advisers :

Dr Mike Courtney & Charles Griffiths

Email: ecmike@polyu.edu.hk

English Drama Club

The English Drama Clubis running workshops onscriptwriting and acting.

Drop in and br ing yourimagination.

Date: 13, 20 & 27 February5 March (Fridays)Time: 6:30 - 8:00Place: AG301

No need to enrol - you can go toas many sessions as you want, just

one or all four - just come along!

Enquiries: Email Steven at:02911915d@polyu.edu.hk or

Drama Club at:engdrama@elc.polyu.edu.hk

The ELCReading Group

The ELC Reading Group provides anenvironment in which students canimprove their English and enrich theirgeneral knowledge of the world throughleisure reading and group discussion.Student members choose and read anybooks in which they are interested, andthen share their thoughts with otherstudents in the regular meetings facilitatedby ELC teachers.

Here is a comment from a student whojoined the group last semester:

"The reading group provides a relaxingatmosphere for students to practise their spokenEnglish. During the discussion, group memberstalk to each other freely. We are more willingto talk than in a classroom or a formal lessonbecause of the relaxing atmosphere. As studentstalk more, they are more confident. When wetalk, we find out our mistakes and the teacherhelps us correct them. It's really a very goodway to improve spoken English as we meetregularly. Besides, we can always learn alesson and moral from the book. We can alsolearn other things from our teacher whenwe chat."

If you want to find out more about theReading Group, you are welcome tovisit their web-site:http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/readgroupor send them an email atreadgroup@elc.polyu.edu.hk

The Centrefor Independent

Language LearningIntroducing The CILL studentcommittee, "the CILL Team", studentsWakey, Tracey, Joey and Mandy willwork with CILL staff to make sure thatyour comments and wishes are heard.T h e C I L LT e a m w i l lc o l l e c t a n dexchange ideasand help staffto maintaina n d e v e nimprove thehigh standardof service thaty o u h a v ecome to expect from your CILL.We all appreciate The CILL Team'scommitment to CILL.

Thanks!

EnglishClubBIG MOUTH CORNER

Big Mouth Corner resumedon 4 February. It will run

continuously throughout the secondsemester from week 2 to week 14, everyWednesday between 6:30 and 8:30 onEF podium. All PolyU students arewelcome. No prior registration isrequired. At the Big Mouth Corner,you will have a chance to meet andchat with young native Englishspeakers from all over the world. Youcan practise English, make friendsand learn about other cultures. Don'tmiss this opportunity to improveyour English!

IELTScourses

The ELC is running IELTScourses. Each module,writing, reading, speaking,listening is covered in twoor four two-hour sessions.R e g i s t r a t i o n a n dinformation in CILL,AG305.

You can also find IELTSbooks and tapes in CILL

IELTS website:http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/IELTS

PIFS announces more film events

The new PolyU International FilmSociety (PIFS) Team has arranged asemester of exciting film events thatpromise not just to entertain you butalso to stimulate your thinking and broadenyour horizons!We started with a movie that reflects thesentiments of Valentine's Day;'Edward Scissorhands.' This was followed by aspecial party to celebrate the PIFS 'birthday' andthe new team's formation as well as a discussionof the film itself.The next movie, on Friday 20 February, is thecontroversial 'Bowling for Columbine' whichtakes a look at violence in the USA. Other filmsto follow include the hugely enjoyable 'Lilya 4-Ever'. You are all welcome. The more themerrier! Your modest membership fee will bemoney well spent!

For more information about PIFS and our eventsvisit; http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/Film Society/