Ben's Exchange to City University | Hong Kong
Going on
exchange to Hong
Kong was an
incredible experience that
enabled me to
meet people from
all over the
world, to live
on my own
independently from home
and to travel
to, would you
believe, North Korea.
When I
found out I
had been accepted
to City University
of Hong Kong
I was very
relieved, but excited
at the same
time. I didn’t
really know what
to expect in
Hong Kong. I knew that
it was a
westernised city with
lots of people
from the U.K,
the U.S and
Europe all living
there. But at
the same time
it was still
China to me,
which made me
unsure about any
language requirements that
had somehow slipped
by me! Fortunately,
language wouldn’t be
a problem and
I worked to
acquire as much
money as possible
through scholarships and
personal savings so
that I could
tackle the city
by the horns.
I think
the biggest concern
people have when
they go on
exchange is that
as soon as
they step off
the plane, provided
you came alone,
they are on
their own and
have to start
their experience from
the ground up.
This was the
situation I found
myself in when
arriving at Hong
Kong International. The
first week was
difficult because I had to
adjust to a
whole new country,
culture and people.
But my adjustment
process started on
day one when
I met Andreas,
a fellow exchange
student from Sweden,
at the airport.
During thatfirstweek we
became good friends
and helped each
other with acquiring
sim cards for
our phones, MTR
cards for the
trains and buses
and other things
like bedding and
shopping items.
Andreas was
just the start.
Over the next month
Imet people from
all over the
world.A group of
people that I
will always remember
will be those
I went to
Macau with on
the 70ft yacht
Freefire. Macau was an excellent
experience, mainly because
we sailed their and
slept on the
boat, but also
because of the
Portuguese Old Town
we visited as
well as the
new casinos that
made the city
look like Vegas.
Hong Kong
provided some great
travel opportunities. I
was sitting inmy
room onedayin early
March when I
got an email
asking if I
would like to
go to North
Korea on a
study tour. I
immediately responded saying
yes please and
on the 23
March I was
off through Mainland
China to North
Korea. This had
to go down as the
highlight of exchange
for me because
I got to
go to one
of the most
recluse countries in
the world with
an excellent tour
group. Being able
to visit the
Mausoleum of Kim
Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il,
shoot a North
Korean pistol, eat
dog and walk
the streets of
Pyongyang is something
I will never
forget. A highlight
of the trip
was coming back
to China and
staying in our
hotel on the
border where I
found the tour
leader Tim had
organised a surprise
birthday cake for
me (my birthday
was the next
day). It was
honestly the greatest
birthday surprise I had ever
been given, as
was the letter
I received from
the captain of
the China Eastern
flight I flew
on coming back
to Hong Kong!
I don’t
believe you can
go on exchange
and expect to
have a good
time all by yourself. The
key is people
and it was
no different in
Hong Kong. I
met and befriended
people from all
over the world
that I would
feelcomfortable contacting if I was
ever in their
country. My exchange
to Hong Kong
enabled me to
live independently, go
out for dinner
every night, travel
to far off
places and immerse
myself in a
culture that was
completely different to
mine. So go
on exchange and
meet as many
people as possible
and travel to
as many places
as your budget
will allow because
you will never
do anything like
this again!
- Ben studied abroad at City U Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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