Andrea FOX

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

As a mature student I suspended my role back home as wife, mother, employee and part-time student and headed off on a new adventure - a semester in the HKIE as part of my Bachelor of Education degree course in primary teaching.

As a Cheung Kong Endeavour Scholarship exchange student, my stay in Hong Kong helped me acquire new ways of thinking and knowledge – an experience I will always cherish. How lucky I am to have had the opportunity to live, breathe, study and be totally immersed in a city and its culture for 5 months, rather than spending just a week or a few days passing through as a tourist.

I discovered that Hong Kong is so much more than a shopping paradise and a global financial hub for the Asia-Pacific region. This small piece of land, once a British colony and now home to 7 million people, is a prosperous world city where east meets west. I loved every minute of being in this vibrant, dynamic melting pot of humanity.

Here are some of my memories:

The cheap and delicious food; the harbour; the outlying islands and the “secret” hiking trails; the fashion sense of the Hong Kong women; the Hong Kong people’s strong devotion/interest in grooming and dressing their pet dogs; the sparkling city lights (suspend your concern about global warming as you look out on to Victoria Harbour from the Peak at night); the elderly men playing Chinese chess or Mah-jong in the park; the efficient transport system and the trusty “Octopus” card that can get you anywhere in Hong Kong at a low cost.

And my most lasting memory:

The generosity, friendliness and helpfulness of the Hong Kong people.

My living quarters for 5 months was the on-campus hostel at the Hong Kong Institute of Education located in the New Territories. I shared my accommodation with my Chinese roommate from Beijing who was doing her Doctorate in English Language teaching. We spent time together which included cooking meals and snacks (making her “mashed potato” was considered quite a delicacy!), watching the popular Japanese children’s cartoon “Doraemon’ on YouTube in our room, and having frank discussions on the current ongoing social, economic and political changes in China. To have the stories of her parents’ and grandparents’ generations come to life for me (first-hand accounts of the 1960’s Cultural Revolution - a tragic and painful period in modern Chinese history) was very important to my understanding of China.

I went to Beijing for a weekend and had the opportunity to see the centuries-old buildings of the city and to marvel at the newly-constructed architectural wonders of pre-Olympic Beijing. I also got to meet my roommate’s parents who treated me to home-made dumplings. Apart from frequent border crossings to mainland China’s Shenzhen for shopping, I mainly stayed in Hong Kong for the whole 5 months. I’m amazed that with all the time spent there, I still feel like I haven’t experienced all that Hong Kong has to offer.

My study time in Hong Kong has given me a strong focus in pursuing a career in English language teaching. As well as my study load, I made time to volunteer at an International school (Year 3 class) and to run 2 weeks of “Fun with English” drama workshops for 40 English language teachers from Guangdong province. I’d say getting to do the English/Drama workshops was a highlight in my exchange study – we laughed a lot, exchanged knowledge of the teaching systems between Australia and China, and compared our own life situations.

Leaving my husband and son back in Australia for so long was at times difficult and I weathered some bad bouts of homesickness; but as a family, we are all committed to supporting each other to reach our personal goals. My son is now 12 and I’m proud that he has witnessed his mother achieving her academic goals. I’m very grateful to have received an Endeavour Cheung Kong Scholarship. It allowed me the opportunity to embark on a fantastic and enriching life experience which continues to influence my personal and work life. Thank you all who made it possible for me.

© Copyright 2018 CK Group. All rights reserved.