Wong Ming Ying

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

I would like to thank the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Scholarship Programme for providing me financial support for my exchange trip to Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia. Having the chance to study overseas is truly a wonderful, precious and unforgettable experience. Even though the struggle to get used to the new environment is really hard and challenging, you will definitely gain lots of knowledge and skills that you could never learn from books.

Before going to Adelaide, I was so excited about the study trip. However, after I arrived, things didn’t really go as expected.

In the first 2 weeks, it was really difficult for me to adapt to the new environment. Everyone, everything was so new to me, I had to learn all from the beginning. During lectures, professors spoke faster than I expected and could understand. Most of the time, I only got half of the content, sometimes even less. All the other students were concentrating on the lessons, where they discussed seriously, raised questions eagerly and shared their opinions and perspectives enthusiastically. It seemed that nobody had noticed my existence, I felt deeply isolated and depressed.

Besides, living in the university hall was another big challenge for me. As I am frightened of darkness, the dim lighting in bathrooms and corridors really scared me. Moreover, when everyone closed their doors at night, it made the whole place even darker. The worst thing was I didn’t know anyone there in the first place, most people didn’t know my existence and I had very limited channels to know people there as well, so that, sometimes I was very lonely.

Luckily, just a month after I arrived, I had got used to everything and had made a lot of new friends from different countries. We supported each other and shared experiences with each other. Once I overcame those obstacles, I really found studying there was enjoyable and wonderful. I love the blue sky there; I love the sunshine there. Even just taking a deep breath on some beautiful grassland and surrounded by many little yellow flowers could already make me happy! Everyday was a joyful day and life became meaningful and fantastic. I had fallen in love with Adelaide!

Joyful times always goes fast, and my time in Adelaide passed like a sparkling meteor. During the trip, I learnt as much as I could in order to become more independent and mature. I enjoyed and treasured every single minute there; all experiences were so magnificent and memorable, I absolutely bear them in my mind forever!

Last but not least, if you are able to get a chance to study overseas, don’t hesitate and go! I am sure that you will gain more than you expect!

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