“My experience at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong completely intellectualy transformed me. Having majored in biological sciences as an undergraduate, I came here with hardly any training in social sciences or humanities but a vague curiosity and interest in anthropology. When I graduated from the MPhil program two years later, I found my interests not only stronger, but more importantly, much more organized and geared to further research. This change was accomplished by the superb research environment offered by the Institute. My supervisors, Prof. Angela Leung at first and then Dr. David Palmer, provided me with guidance ranging from inspiring new directions to line-by-line proofreading of papers. Other scholars here are also approachable and willing to chat with students. The compact arrangement of the May Hall and the teacher-student ratio further facilitate intellectual exchange among its students and researchers. In addition to its regular cohort of scholars, the Institute always hosts several internationally distinguished visiting scholars for months or even years, and holds academic talks at least once a week. I have benefited significantly from attending these talks and discussions with the visiting scholars and presenters. Moreover, the administrative members of the Institute are all very nice and efficient. They helped me go through the necessary paperwork for postgraduates smoothly so that I was not distracted by administrative issues throughout my study. It is these aspects, among others, that made my two-year study at the Institute, not without its stresses and occasional frustration, most fruitful and transforming.”