Melanie's Exchange to City University | Hong Kong
I am
not a planner
or an over
thinker so to me, the
idea of going on exchange
was an easy choice.
Just over a
year ago I
received an email
about potential scholarships
that would help
fund exchange. I
jumped at the
opportunity without a
second thought and
then the next
thing I knew-I
was packing to
go away on
exchange for a semester in
Hong Kong!
I
had travelled a
lot throughout the world,
spending almost 2yrs
backpacking and exploring
different countries on
different continents. So
the idea of
Hong Kong (as
I’ve already been
there and grew
up in Asia)
did not seem
so foreign to me,
the idea of
missing home or
experiencing culture shock
seemed extraneous to
me. But boy
oh boy was
I wrong, I
was not prepared
for the year
that lied ahead of me.
I recall
getting to the
airport in Perth,
saying goodbye to
my loved ones
and feeling nothing
but joy and
excitement. When I
finally landed in
the airport in Hong
Kong, I felt
the complete opposite,
I was feeling
so overwhelmed ,sad, scared and lonely.
I was in
a place where
I knew no
one, no faces,
no names and I
would have to
be in this
place for the
next semester. I
remember arriving on
campus with only
2 other exchange
people on this
big bus full
of empty seats
and I started
to worry. What
if exchange wasn’t
all I thought
it would be? I
entered my room
and met my
roommate, Maggie, who
was absolutely wonderful but
didn’t speak a word
of English. I
tried to remain
calm and so
I took a
walk around university.
I was walking
around on my
own looking at
unfamiliar faces, getting
lost and still hadn’t
made any friends.
What was I
thinking? Should I
be here? Did I
make the right
choice? BUT then, by
the end of orientation week
I had made a bunch
of friends and
attended a lot of
functions that the
university held.
I
finally had people
I could go
to dinner with
or go explore Hong
Kong with. All
the paranoid feelings
I had felt
slowly faded away.
There were parties
full of beer
pong, dirt cheap
authentic Chinese dinners
in dodgy alley
ways, hiking mountains
to swimming in
waterfalls, all these
activities were held
openly and anyone
and everyone was
invited! There were
at least a
hundred or more
people that I met in
the first few
weeks so it
wasn’t hard to
make friends at
all. I slowly
formed my close
knit group who
were from ALL
OVER the world
but this didn’t
stop anyone (from
exchange to local
students) from mingling
with each other.
What needs to
be remembered, is
that every other
exchange student is
in the same
boat as you,
so everyone is
so open and
friendly because they
too, want to
make friends and
just have fun on
their exchange. When
I think about
my bedroom view on
the 13th floor, my
jaw still drops!
It was a
view that had
a mixture of
buildings and mountains, and
this to me,
is exactly what
Hong Kong is.
A city where
nature meets man,
where the East
meets the West,
a completely beautiful
concrete jungle that
never sleeps. Hong
Kong was fast
paced, heavily polluted
and insanely populated
but it was
a wonderfully organised
chaotic mess. If
you wanted anything
in the world,
Hong Kong had
it. Any type
of drink or
food, you could
find it at
an expensive grocery
store, a fancy
restaurant or at a
cheap local market
stall. The city
itself is massive,
with tall sky
rise buildings but
if you venture out of the centre
you will find the
country side almost
untouched. And no
matter where you’re
looking in Hong
Kong, you will
ALWAYS see mountains
in the backdrop from
any angle.
This is
what makes Hong
Kong magical to
me. A standard
week for me
would consist of
Billy Boozer’s on Mondays,
a shabby but
cosy pub where
students from all universities would go
to drink at
student prices, then
Tuesday was always
Taco Tuesdays, happy
hour cocktails and
Mexican food(what more could
you want?!), Wednesday
was ladies night
in Wan Chai(ladies
drink for FREE)and
Happy Valley where students
and expats would
go to place bets
on horse racing,
Thursday was yet another ladies
night in Central
Lan Kwai Fong,
then Fridays and
the weekends would
be used for
exploring, hiking, swimming,
camping and island hopping (Hong
Kong has many
islands).Oh I can’t forget
to mention Mr. Wong,
a pretty eccentric man
who runs a little
joint that served
unlimited food (covered with
MSG I’m sure)
and beers at nearly
no cost, this
was the student
exchange heaven of
Hong Kong.
What also
proved to be yet
another great aspect
about Hong Kong
was its location.
During public holidays
and long breaks
I was able
to travel. I
went to Malapascua
Island in the
Philippine’s with 10 other
exchange students and
we went diving
with Thresher sharks.
I went to
South Korea and explored
the history of Korea and
ate pretty much
all of South
Korea. I road tripped
around Taiwan and went
swimming at midnight
in the Taroko
National Park waterfall.
I took a
girls trip to
Singapore where I went mad
with shopping. I
scootered around Siargao
Island in the
Philippine’s learning how to
surf with 12
people I now
call my Hong
Kong family. I
became a qualified
dive master in
Gili Trawangan, Indonesia during the
university semester break. So
now I guess
you are thinking,
hey, what about
study? Well yes,
I studied A
LOT there. I
was enrolled in
units that I
chose and loved.
The
university I attended
was so hands
on, putting skills
into practice and always encouraging
innovation. Because of this,
I was able
to explore many
social enterprises and
network which is
exactly what I
needed to do.
So how do
you balance the
exchange life with
study? You just
do, because you
have to, because
you want to
and because it
is a once
in a lifetime
opportunity. So my
advice to you
about exchange, DO
IT. I had
only planned on
going on exchange
for one semester
but I LOVED
it so much
that I extended
to another semester
to make it a year.
Yes, it was
that good. I
have memories that I will
cherish forever and friends
from around the
world that I
will always call
on.
When I
look at who
I was before
exchange and who
I am now,
I can’t say I am
the same person.
Exchange puts you
into situations you
were never prepared
for, hypes all
your emotions and
challenges you to think
for yourself.
- Melanie studied abroad at City University in Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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