HO Ka Yi, Sandra

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

Being an exchange student in Adelaide, Australia was the most brilliant decision I have ever made in my life. I tasted a completely different lifestyle in Australia compared to Hong Kong. Adelaide is a small town with great people.

Studying in Flinders University which is surrounded by jungle, I feel the tranquility in my life. The life here is simple but never boring. The school provides well-facilitated gym, court and study areas that encourage students to have work-life balance. The holiday here was a real holiday instead of self-learning at home. During the Easter, I travelled to Sydney and Melbourne. My schoolmates in Flinders who are from Sydney, brought me around the city to visit the massive Opera House, fascinating Blue Mountains and the breathtaking bridge.

After three days in Sydney, I and my friend flew to Melbourne and explored the city by ourselves. Since she was living with her family, we did not spend much time hanging around together. At first I was so anxious to walk around by myself as I was so bad in navigation. Although I got lost all the time, I did enjoy the moment when I found out a wonderful view without any planning. In Melbourne, I did my first sky diving challenge and ticked one of the most terrible things in my bucket list. When the helicopter flew up to 14,000 ft high, I looked down and saw the whole view of the world-famous Great Ocean Road. I felt the vulnerability and fragile as a human being. It was quite scary and painful due to the air pressure, but you would regret if you never tried to fly.

Coming back to Adelaide, I threw myself back to books and homework. The workload was not as heavy as in Hong Kong but equally interesting. After I finished all my assignment for the following weeks, I planned to travel to Cairns, the best place for adventure all by myself. With impulse, I booked the flight ticket and skipped the lesson to fly to Cairns. I did not plan much for my trip but instead joined the local tour after arrival. Cairns was super cool despite that it was quite small. Being alone in a wholly strange city made me excited and anxious. As long as you tried to travel by yourself, you do not want to go with others. You can just have your own schedule and time to listen to your heart. I kept talking to my soul when I travelled. It made you grow and be a person that dare to be alone and independent which was a meaningful lesson that everyone should learn. The best thing I did in Cairns was, with no doubt, scuba diving. This was my first time of scuba diving and I would not tell you that I saw a shark. The Great Barrier Reef was so good to be true!

There was only 20 days before I end my exchange life in Australia. The people, life style, natural environment and harmony here make me want to stay like forever. I got many good friends here and I cannot imagine we are not seeing each other. Departure always makes me down. During the semesters here, I learnt to get along with people with different cultural backgrounds and speak different language. I became more confident in speaking English and trying out new things in life. Most importantly, I have learnt to get along with myself, I can still do things I want without others' company. Thanks for training me to be a more mature girl, Australia:)

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