Working at the Mall

The City University of Hong Kong, where I am placed, faces a severe space shortage and there is very little room for expanding the physical footprint of the campus. In fact, almost the entire campus exists within one very long seven story building – the Academic Building (more on that later). For this reason the unit in which I work – Education Development and General Education (EDGE) – has its offices located in the Festival Walk office tower.

Festival Walk is a seven-level megamall across the street from the City U campus (and my housing unit) and also site of a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station. So, I am essentially working at the mall, though not in retail. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time in this mall – something I did not consider when I imagined my life in Hong Kong – as it is where I find the many things I have needed since arriving and it also contains some decent restaurants, a pretty good book store, and a few places to get coffee.

The mall has many high end stores. It also has a skating rink and a movie theater. The levels are connected by escalators but they do not align so as you reach one floor you have to locate where the next escalator is placed to take you up or down to the next level. This is a shrewd marketing design as it forces you to pass many stores you would originally ignore. Getting lost is the point. It is very difficult to remember what level a particular store resides on, or what the differences is between level L1 and LG1. I find myself constantly wandering around in all different directions seeking out the map, or examining the handy brochure that lists all stores and locations. I have collected about twenty of these brochures because I seem to need one every time I enter the mall. Every day I bring home a new item – coffee maker, large cups, shirts, a pair of pants, a clock/radio, etc. Things that I will eventually have to transport back to the states or leave behind.