Gareth Brown

Flinders University, Australia
Exchange to Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong

During one of my first classes at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, I was introduced to a group of friends who were very keen to get to know me. I stayed close with this group of friends throughout my stay in Hong Kong, one of whom lived on my floor.

They took to me to many places that I would not normally go had I explored by myself, places where mostly locals go. There is a difference between local Hong Kong and tourist Hong Kong, which I’m sure is the same for all countries, but thanks to the group of people I met I wasn’t just confined to locations in the lonely planet guide.

My new friends tried to teach me Cantonese but strange words are quickly forgotten and once I mispronounced a word and instead said something quite rude, which they all thought was hilarious.

They also helped me out when I needed local advice and took me to places that I wanted to go – without meeting these friends, I am sure that my stay would have been very different to what it was.

When it was time for me to go home, a going-away dinner was organized for me and everyone came to say goodbye – they all said that they would miss me.

There are so many things to learn from going to another country, it’s not just learning about that country, it’s also learning about your own country.

Getting put into a position where you don’t know anyone quickly forces you out of your comfort zone because you have to get to know new people, but it also teaches you to value the good people you have in your life.

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