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Josephine DERRINGTON
University of Newcastle, Australia
Exchange to Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong
I originally applied for the exchange student program not thinking I would actually get to go because of my age. I figured they・d be sending people younger than myself. But you never know unless you try.
I haven・t done much travelling before so I picked Hong Kong because I wanted to go somewhere that was going to be culturally different. Before leaving, my impressions were that Hong Kong was just the iconic Hong Kong Island, people lived in small apartments, and lots of tall buildings.
When I arrived in Hong Kong my local student buddy, who HKIEd had matched me up with, met me at the airport. As I had arrived very late in the night I was invited to spend the night at her home and meet her family. Yes they do live in small apartments in very tall buildings! The next day my buddy helped me get to HKIEd, explained the MTR system (train system), introduced me to the lovely ladies at the International Office at HKIEd and helped me move into my student accommodation on campus.
The room I was allocated was small. I shared with a local girl who was never there and being on the top floor I had lovely views of the campus・ surrounding bush land and I could see the sea out in the distance so there were no tall buildings around the campus! HKIEd・s campus is on the New Territories and in Tai Po, which is about 5 train stops from the Hong Kong and Mainland China border.
During the 4 months I did apply for the China Visa (which is different from my Hong Kong one) and was able to go see Guilin, Yangshou and Beijing. In Hong Kong I was pleasantly surprised at the actual size of the city and enjoyed exploring the different sights. I visited a 10,000 Buddha・s Monastery, Disneyland, Ocean Park, Tai O (a traditional fishing village on Lantau Island), the big Buddha on Lantau Island, and Lamma Island. I enjoyed going for nights out dancing with the other exchange students in Lan Kwai Fong and karaoke nights with some local friends at a bar in Tai Po Centre.
At HKIEd I joined the Freshman Danso (dancing society) team. We had practice 3 nights a week and towards the end of the semester we performed in front of the school. If I had stayed on longer than 4 months at HKIEd I could have joined the pre-team where I would have trained for competitions against Danso teams from other Hong Kong universities.
I found my courses interesting and they challenged many assumptions I had. I learnt more about my place in this world and Australia・s as well.
Overall, I would recommend to anyone thinking about going on an exchange program to just do it! Don・t let your age or perceived ability to afford it put you off! I had a fantastic time and made many friends. I would like to thank Newcastle, DEEWR and HKIEd for giving me the chance to have this experience.
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