Reuben's Exchange to City University | Hong Kong
Student exchange was an incredible and
unique experience. Being in a foreign country and culture with nothing but
money and time is something special. I had the opportunity to do and see so
much, including setting off fireworks during Chinese New Year, hiking through a
firefly forest, visiting a Buddhist temple, traveling to Macau and Mainland
China and much more. There wasn’t a single moment where I was bored.
I studied at the City University of Hong
Kong, which is located right in the middle of Kowloon and next to a major train
station. Interestingly enough, I took a course in urban planning which was
taught by a lecturer from Melbourne. The teaching style in Hong Kong is quite
different from ours, and if you’re going to CityU, be prepared for 3 hour long
lectures (you do get a small break). I wasn’t a huge fan, but there is one at
least advantage to it; less contact time, which, when you’re on exchange, is
definitely a good thing. The on-campus accommodation isn’t anything flashy, and
the rooms are small, but it’s cheap, free in my case, and when you’re living in
the most expensive property market in the world, that’s a big plus.
Speaking
of expenses, I was lucky enough to get a New Colombo Plan Scholarship to fund
my exchange. It was enough to cover my living expenses for the whole trip as
well as my flight. If you’re thinking of going on exchange, keep an eye out for
scholarships, they are one of the best ways to fund your experience. You may
not get to choose where you go, but to be honest, that’s not a bad thing
You’ll have no trouble getting around
Hong Kong. It has one of the best public transport systems in the world. The
trains can take you anywhere, including across the border. Five minutes is a
long time to wait for a train, something I miss now that I’m back in Perth.
The city’s locals
are all a very nice and friendly and will be happy to help you if you’re lost
or confused or just want a photo taken. English is widely spoken, enough so
that language won’t be a huge issue.
If you’re
attending City University a good place to visit is Nam Sham estate, which is
about a five minute walk from the campus. It has some of the best food around
that’s all authentically Hong Kong (the green tea ice cream was my favourite)
as well as some other wacky things like a 2 inch bottle of lemonade. Just make
sure you have a local with you, there aren't many English menus about.
Another
good place to visit is Mr Wong’s, which for roughly AU$20 is all the food and
drink you can ever want. It’s quite popular with international students from
all of Hong Kong’s Universities. Just make sure you go as a group, Mr Wong gets
affectionate.
And
if you’re ever feeling a little homesick, there’s a really good Little
Creatures bar on Hong Kong Island, I spent my birthday there, giving my new
friends a taste of Australian culture.
One thing that really made the experience
for me was the politics. My major is Global Politics and Policy and it is
something I enjoy studying. The opportunity to study it overseas was exciting, and it was particularly good good
given that I was there during an especially eventful time. While I was on
exchange, in semester 1 2018, Hong Kong had a series of by-elections that put
the pro-Chinese party in power, negotiations between the United States and
North Korea began, and Chinese president President Xi Jinping greatly expanded
his own power by removing the two-term limit on his office. To be in China at
that time, when what will likely be very important events in their history took
place, was really something special.
Aside from
current events, it was really interesting studying politics in a system that’s
so different from our own. We tend to take democracy for granted in Australia
but that’s certainly not something the people of Hong Kong can say. Many of the
people I met were active participants of the Yellow Umbrella protests in 2014.
One friend even told me the story of how he got pepper sprayed by police. While
their situation is not something I envy, it was definitely a good learning
experience to observe as an outsider. And it was especially valuable after
returning to to Murdoch; I’ve used what I’ve learned about China and Hong Kong
in assignments that I’ve had to do here.
But I didn’t talk
politics with just the Hong Kong locals, but exchange students as well, from
all over the world; Americans, Canadians, Europeans, Brits, Arabians and
Russians, were able to give a unique perspective on politics and current
affairs. And that’s one of the best things about going on student exchange.
Whether you’re studying politics or journalism or physics or psychology, you’re
going to meet a lot of people from a lot of different countries
In the lead up to semester starting, I
made sure to join a lot of the on-campus clubs, like the International Society
and the debate club. That’s something I’d really recommend to anyone going on
exchange, get fully immersed in campus life. The International Society ran
events like laser tag and boat parties.
The debate club was interesting as well, unlike the International Society, it
was made up primarily of local students, who were happy to tell me about their
city and show me around. Not only were these clubs fun in themselves, they were
also a great way to make friends, both local and international.
Going on student exchange can seem
daunting, for many it’s a great leap out of their comfort zone, it certainly
was for me. But I can promise you that it is worth it! You’ll learn so much
while going on exchange. Not only about your host country and the wider world,
but about yourself as well, and you’ll return home a changed person.
- Reuben studied abroad at the City University of Hong Kong
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