Mark C MITCHELL

Student of The University of Sydney, Australia
Exchange to National University of Singapore, Singapore

One of the factors that led me to study abroad was the affirmation from many personal friends that their exchange experience was incredible; outrageous; life-changing. I am happy to confirm that their extravagant and boisterous claims speak only the truth of the situation. My experience went beyond even the incredibly high expectation I had. My exchange semester at the National University of Singapore was an experience that I will look back on fondly, every day for the rest of my life.

Exchange life is such a crazy, out-of-this-world experience: there’s always people to meet, to talk to, to hang out with. The first three weeks were just a whirlwind of activity — they say time flies when you’re having fun but I’ve never felt three weeks move so slowly (in a good way!). In those three weeks I don't think there was a single day or night that I spent fully in my room, there were always some events to attend or new people to hang out with.

The campus community life at NUS is incredible: so many places to meet up and of course, eat! Basically I would spend 30% of my school days in class and 70% eating with friends at one of the 16+ hawker centres. A student mentioned to me that NUS have done such a good job of building a “sense of community” not just with the residences but the campus itself, and I couldn’t agree more. The campus is sprawling, and in every nook and cranny, every walkway, every building, there’s communal tables, food stalls, and couches. The campus has at least 16 food courts, and some are huge in scope. Students are everywhere socialising, eating and studying. Walking around any part of the campus is a glorious experience.

And with Singapore being a travelling hub of SE Asia, it is super easy to check out the region. Within weeks of beginning the semester I was checking out Indonesia, Thailand, and of course their close neighbour, Malaysia, home to the divine mangosteen, so easy to visit from Singapore, only a local bus ride away. It really is a wonderful country. The food lives up to the hype.

At the end of the semester me and a bunch of good buddy exchangers went travelling up into Laos, then down to Cambodia, and back up through Vietnam, ending in Hanoi, running into a bunch of other exchangers along the way, sometimes planned, sometimes randomly like at a riverbank bar in Laos. Because the semesters in Singapore finish earlier than here in Australia, I was in no rush at all to return!

I can genuinely say (which was always going to be the case) that studying abroad is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, second perhaps only to my decision to study at the University of Sydney. Thank you so very much, Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Awards!

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