Georgia SANDS

Student of Griffith University, Australia
Exchange to The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

My exchange in Hong Kong is without a doubt the highlight of my undergraduate degree to date! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing and experiencing first hand the university life of students in other countries during my time at the University of Hong Kong. I was thrown together with students from all around the world and from different parts of Hong Kong and China both in class and living in the student dormitories near campus. Sharing a room with a girl from Hangzhou studying in America was an insight into Chinese daily life and gave me the opportunity to practice my Chinese language skills.

It was a delight to explore everything Hong Kong had to offer as a vibrant cosmopolitan city – interesting people from all around the world, incredible food (from dingy dim sum dives to restaurants by world-renowned chefs) and a fascinating blend of Eastern and Western culture. I discovered many sides to Hong Kong that tourists passing through for a stopover would never encounter – hiking trails accessible by subway, local snacks and delicacies, Chinese opera in a traditional bamboo theatre, small villages and heritage trails and numerous festivals and traditions.

A particular highlight was celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year with a Cantonese family. The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations included every living generation of the family who could make it, a 13-course banquet at a restaurant, karaoke and mah-jong. Chinese New Year was a more intimate affair, with a focus on the immediate family and home-cooked food; I was honoured to be invited to such a small, family-centred gathering, where I was taught to play mahjong and introduced to many auspicious Chinese foods.

My exchange allowed me to find out more about myself and grow as a person by living away from home and adapting to a new environment. It was certainly a challenging experience at times but having to understand how another culture thought and operated and resolve problems on my own were invaluable skills that I will take with me wherever I go.

After spending more than six months in Hong Kong, it feels like a second home to me. I can definitely see myself returning there to live and work in the future…and get my fill of dim sum again!

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