Michael LAI

Student of The University of Queensland, Australia
Exchange to The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

My exchange trip to Hong Kong was nothing short of amazing. Being born in this city before migrating to Australia when I was young, this adventure would turn out nothing less than I had expected. I shared the joy of being with my extended family, wild and crazy times with friends from all over the world and had a deeper understanding of who I really am. Of course, I also had a fair share of my academic studies.

On the academic side, the University of Hong Kong offered a wide range of courses, especially for the likes of my degree. The lecture classes were smaller in number and more interactive, although timetables were rather rigid due to the extra lecture (two lectures a week) and a different system of signing-on to tutorials (by preferences, rather than first-come-first-serve). Some courses I took (eg. Macroeconomic Policy, Financial Management) proved to be a challenge, up to a point where I could study till 3am in the morning at the library. However, they gave me a deeper insight of how the global financial machine worked.

Meanwhile, life outside university was exciting and vibrant. Transportation in Hong Kong was extremely efficient and cheap, and the city never seemed to sleep. A perfect day can start with university in the morning, shopping at one of the many malls in the afternoon, eating with friends at a Brazilian BBQ restaurant for dinner, heading off to Lan Kwai Fong for a drink, having all-you-can-eat sushi at around 10pm, watching a movie at midnight before going back to the halls….for a last minute visit to 7/11!!! (yes, it’s 7 guys rushing into 7/11 for ice-cream).

A special mention goes to my roommate. Never having to share a room with anyone before, the first thought of having another person living next to you seemed strange. We were complete opposites of each other from first sight - he was big and strong while I had a small stature, he was from the far north Scandinavian country of Sweden while I was from down under. He lived and grew up within a Muslim family while I was brought up as a Christian. However, it was precisely because of these differences that a friendship I would never forget was forged.

As an extra for me, I got to spend time with my extended family and to know them better. Having migrated to Australia with my immediate family as a young boy and only visited Hong Kong a few times, I never had the chance to know my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles very well. This trip provided me with the perfect opportunity to participate in family traditions and festivals, along with a deeper understanding of my family roots and history.

This exchange was more than just Hong Kong. One gets to know cultures from all over the world. On my floor alone, thirteen people from nine countries came together to convene the best, once-in-a-lifetime experience of my life.

© Copyright 2018 CK Group. All rights reserved.