Evangeline Lam

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

In my fourth year of studies at the University of Adelaide I decided to complete a semester of exchange studies at the Faculty of Law in the University of Hong Kong.

What really attracted me to the cosmopolitan capital was its reputation as being a city of fine food, high-tech gadgets and the language (I would have been forced to learn rudimentary Cantonese, however English would have been prevalent enough to avoid getting into any real trouble). I was also very interested in learning more about how law was thought in other countries.

My first, and continuing impression of Hong Kong was that it was a busy, vibrant and colourful city. Wherever I went – Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, Sham Shui Po - there was always hustle and bustle; street vendors packed into every nook and cranny. The HKU campus was no different. It was very compact, and was extremely crowded during lunch times – so much so that I gave up trying to purchase lunch during my short lunch breaks! The whole atmosphere was extremely different from laidback Adelaide.

My favourite places in Hong Kong are Mongkok, for clothes shopping, Sham Shui Po, for electronics, and Tai Koo for the plethora of Japanese supermarkets in the area. I especially loved getting away from the more touristy areas and simply wandering around the suburbs (and eating places) where normal Hong Kong people lived.

I was quite satisfied with the subjects I chose and the level of teaching at HKU. The lecturers were at the top of their field, and the courses were taught well. I was also able to take a subject on Mainland Chinese law which was one of my aims in coming to HKU, with its proximity to the Mainland. PRC law was one of the eye openers for me, academically, as it was so different from the Common Law system (of which Australian law is a part of).

I lived in one of the university-run halls, St John’s College, while I was in Hong Kong. The attitude towards living in university halls was quite different to the attitude at my home university. Many more students live in the halls at HKU, and hall culture was considered to be an important part of University education. There were many activities to take participate in, either as a competitor or speculator, and these included the inter-hall sports competitions, inter-hall drama competitions and debate competitions.

The organization of most, if not all, activities was also conducted in Cantonese which also made it harder to participate. However, that again forced me to practice my Cantonese which was good fun.

Nevertheless, my only regret is that I was not able to participate in more hall activities. The feeling of cooperation and loyalty towards one’s own adopted hall made me reminisce about interhouse competitions back in high school. I found the local students generally quite nice and friendly. The other girls on my floor at my hall were good fun to talk to, and were a convenient receptacle of local knowledge which I made good use of!

My experiences in Hong Kong were definitely a good one. Everything felt new and interesting. I loved the culture, the food, and the lifestyle. If the opportunity ever arose, I would jump at the chance to go back to live and work in Hong Kong.

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