Denise Cheung

The University of Queensland, Australia
Exchange to The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

My exchange adventure to Hong Kong was amazing and unforgettable. From the entertaining orientation day and welcoming ceremony, it was clear that my time in Hong Kong would be a unique and thrilling experience. It was not uncommon in the first few weeks to meet a dozen new people every day and expand your phone contact list at a scarily fast rate! I met people, not only from Hong Kong and Mainland China, but also from countries all over the world including Finland, the Netherlands, Canada and Denmark, just to name a few. The opportunity to be involved in a mass globalisation network was incredibly exciting and beneficial, as I became close friends with so many people from around the world.

Adjusting to the university’s style was interesting, but I had an unforgettable experience participating in events that were to become regular activities. Examples include 3am (yes, AM) dim sum meals, late nights at LKF (although I wouldn’t recommend that become regular!), floor soups and random dinners in Kennedy Town. Other interesting events that occurred throughout the semester included Superpass (the chopping of the suckling pig), trips to the Peak, Chinese New Year celebrations, exploding water pipes in the hall (causing 17 floors to be flooded with water!), cheap Starbucks on campus, and the discovery of the best drink ever to be put in a vending machine (G/F, Starr Hall, Guava drink with Nata de coco!).

I also took the opportunity to travel around and I visited Vietnam with some other exchangers during the mid-semester break. As I write this from Xi’an, China (part of an end-of-semester 3-week China trip!), I can safely say that my exchange has presented one of the best times in my life and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to participate in such a programme. I could not have been involved in this exchange were it not for the generous Endeavour Cheung Kong grant and I must take this opportunity to express my thanks and gratitude to the Cheung Kong Group and the Australian Government for their assistance.

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