Pei Yuxin

The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Exchange to the University of Melbourne, Australia

I was supposed to get something precious from Australia when I left from Hong Kong to go to Melbourne in September 2005. “Your English must improve a lot when you come back.” Among most research students who are required to write in English but have never had a chance to study overseas; my fortune to do an exchange program in Melbourne was thus oversimplified. People seemed to prefer to regard such an opportunity as an advanced English class. Actually, I expected much more and I did receive much more after the six months.

Due to the Chinese self-effacing way, I didn’t tell anyone about what I expected from the exchange programme. Is it an ordinary exchange programme? More than that! I realized it on the first day when I arrived at Melbourne. When the secretary of my host institution found my information on her computer, she looked at me again and declared: “Oh, Yuxin, you got a very prestigious scholarship! You are not an exchange student; your title should be a visiting scholar!” To be honest, I felt a little bit nervous at that moment. Visiting scholar! What should I do to match the brand new title?

According to my research proposal in applying for the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Award, my mission in Australia was to interview 15-20 Chinese women on their sexuality, such as their concepts and experiences on love, sex and marriage. Compared with my existing data collected in Hong Kong and Shanghai over the past 3 years, I wanted to explore how the different social, political and cultural values in the three different cities are being formed by young people’s practice in their every life, especially in their sexual choices and preferences. Young women’s sexuality could be the research site for me to understand so-called “Chinese sexuality” or “Chinese culture”. Most importantly, how and why people define and redefine these concepts from different perspectives in different social contexts. I hoped such a study could not only contribute a little bit more to the established knowledge of “Chinese”, but also provide some insight on the so-called “Western studies”, because we all live in a much wider society now.

My research objectivities must have fit the aims of the Award very well, which is why I was addressed as a visiting scholar in Melbourne. When I realized my new identity, I tried to do much more than I listed in the research proposal. For example, apart from attending seminars, conferences and reading groups in the university, I tried to get involved in more academic activities and the social cultural lifestyle of the city. I presented a paper on femininity in a Chinese context at the 2005 Lilith Symposium. I also presented my primary findings of the comparative study in the research student seminar in the history department of the university. I visited scholars on Chinese and women issues in Melbourne and Sydney and built contacts with them in academic aspects. I tried to act as a real scholar.

To be honest, during my early days in Melbourne, things were not as easy as I presented above, neither in my studies nor in my personal life. The worries from my circle on my English standards were reasonable: I hardly understood anything and struggled to be understood by people in Melbourne if I communicated with people in English. Fortunately, I chose to live with a local family as a homestay student and I persuaded myself not to mix only in Chinese circles, although my research targets were Chinese women. Since I was in this country and my mission was to understand it, I had the obligation to be involved more in the social activities. Based on such a belief and supported by the generous fund from the Award, I made a lot of international friends and adapted to the academic and social life gradually. Can you imagine my additional harvest from such a progress? I extended the score of my research targets and interviewed 10 more young women who were from non-Chinese cultural backgrounds and spoke English. Their interpretation to their sexuality became good footnotes for my comparative study. Most preciously, some of them became my friends, possibly life long friends.

While I came back to Hong Kong, I was asked by friends to make speech in English. “Oh, your English is really improved, and you are more confident than before!” That’s the feedback for my performance. However, I knew I got more than that. What I gained from such an experience may change my whole life, though it’s still a little bit difficult for me to explicate them all.

The following are some tips from my experiences; I appreciate such an opportunity to share them with you.

• The Award is generous, but don’t try to save money for your future studies. Spend the money on your academic activities or social life, it makes things much easier especially in a new environment.
  
  
• Learn how to drink, or just have a soft drink at hand if you are sensitive to alcohol. Drinking is the key to entering the social and academic life in Melbourne.
  
  
• Introduce yourself to everyone who has eye contact with you at seminars, conferences or any circumstances you feel comfortable to do that.
  
  
• Write emails to scholars instead of institutions who have the similar interests to yours, and ask them for a 15 minute meeting or if you can be added to their contact lists.
  
  
• Prepare before you meet someone face to face. Try to ask at least 15 questions if you are not sure how the conversation will move on.
  
  
• Always take a portable digital camera with you. If you can’t make notes, the pictures will be helpful.
  
  
• Prepare plenty of name cards with your most convenient contacts, for example, your mobile phone number in Australia, not your office telephone number in Hong Kong or Mainland China. Don’t feel awkward if no one else exchanges name cards except you. This would make you more impressive to others.
  
  
• Wear a Chi-pao or Chinese tunic suit to some specific functions. You will find that you will easily become the center of attention. I realized it when I saw an ordinary Japanese girl became a star in her kimono. Your cultural identity becomes much more impressive when you are in a multiple cultural environment.
  
  
• If you really miss Chinese food, try to contact at least one non-Chinese friend to go to Chinatown with you. You will find something interesting.
  
  
• You needn’t follow all the above tips, but at least try one you never tried before.
  
  
• Share with me the tips developed by you.

Achievements from the exchange programme:

• Presenting a paper on Chinese femininity at the 2005 Lilith Symposium and contributing the paper to 2006 Lilith Journal.
  
  
• Writing a column on the comparison of women’s sexuality in FHM (Chinese version).

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