Paris McKey

Deakin University, Australia
Exchange to University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

I went on exchange to The University of Hong Kong (HKU, as it is commonly known), which boasts beautiful old sandstone buildings that house the lecture theatres that thousands of Cantonese, Chinese and international students vie to get a place in.

Friends are easily made, as everyone is alone and eager to meet others and explore. Every weekend was busy and you could always find someone to go on an adventure around HK or Asia with you. I was able to travel to meet many like-minded people and travel to various countries including, but not limited to: China, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and Cambodia. Hong Kong was definitely a fantastic base to travel from, and all of Asia is so accessible and cheap!

On the island though, there was still so much to learn. I decided one way to help me assimilate with the locals was to join a sporting team, so I picked the culturally unique dragon boating, which Hong Kong brought to the international arena during the 1970’s. It was fun to hang out with the team after practice and have dinner or go to the arcade. I learnt more and more about local life and how they chill out away from university.

The hall I lived in was Patrick Manson. It has recently, as of this semester, been turned into an all-girl dormitory and the four floors consist of an interesting mix of international people. I got to know many people from all over the world: Finish, Chinese, American, Dutch, Irish and Korean - to name a few - as well as some Australians and made many lifelong friends. Thanks to Facebook, we’re all still in contact and I aim to go on another trip to visit them one day.

The Hong Kong transport system operates on the Octopus card. It is like Melbourne’s Myki, but better! Not only can I use it on every single mode of transport excluding taxis, but also in stores. I can use my Octopus to purchase my groceries or liquor at 7/11 or on campus. If you left the house with one thing, it would be your Octopus card.

At the beginning, before I was used to the MTR (Mass Transit Railway), I had fun wandering around the streets and getting lost, and had just as much fun trying to find my way back to the MTR. The mix between the scaffolding and shanties and neon lights and blinging accessories is bizarre, yet so Hong Kong that you absorb it through every pore. It really is a mix of east/west and old/new - and I loved it!

HKU has an odd 'Add-Drop period' for the first two weeks so that meant we could pick and choose between the classes, trying out as many as we wanted. It is an interesting system in theory, but in reality it just adds greater stress to a vast number of exchange students - you have to ensure that you're picking the right units to match up with your home university that complies with everything. As a result I picked units that I enjoyed, but didn’t match up to my home university and I therefore had to sacrifice my double major. I believe the exchange experience was much more important though, as it has transformed me as a person and my outlook on life.

A university exchange to HKU was definitely a life changing experience and the good memories far outweigh the bad. In fact, I would argue that I have no bad memories, just challenges, which I overcame and learnt about myself in the process.

There is nothing, I’d argue, as exciting in life as discovering another culture.

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