Carina Tang

University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Exchange to Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

It has been nearly one semester since I returned to Australia and still, my exchange from University of Technology, Sydney to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (or PolyU as the students call it) feels like a surreal dream that was too short, if anything. Let me put this into context. I am an Australian-born Chinese who had never set foot outside the country prior to taking part in this international exchange programme. Itching to leave the comfort of home and everything I was familiar with, this decision stunned most of my friends who thought studying overseas for months was daring and uncharacteristic of me. It was time I forced myself to be my own parent and, as far as I was concerned, the tougher the challenge, the more thrilling it would be. Another reason for my enthusiasm, which I strongly made clear in my Cheung Kong Scholarship application, was to learn more about the Chinese culture, an important part of my identity. I concluded that studying in Hong Kong would allow me to immerse myself in an unfamiliar environment, as well as use Cantonese in day-to-day conversations. It was, believe it or not, an experience very different from roaming around Sydney’s Chinatown.

I packed up and left for Hong Kong late August in 2006 and by the time I arrived in Hong Kong, it was night-time, and a very humid one at that. That night, my Hong Kong buddy (whom I had bombarded with questions via email) guided me to the PolyU student residence and took me for a taste of Hunghom. This was to be my home for the next semester and as far as challenges went, the biggest one at the time was to cope with the incredibly humid nights.

Throughout my exchange in Hong Kong, my excitement did not dwindle once. Never before have I experienced such an exciting assortment of personalities, stories and cultures. With new friends from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Britain, Denmark, Vietnam, Japan, America and Korea to name a few, conversations ranged from future plans to hilarious comparisons between British, American and of course, Australian English (which I gladly represented).

PolyU did a wonderful job of introducing us to the culture and city of Hong Kong, including free servings of delicious Chinese sweet soup and special tours of historically important sites. That was only one half of the cultural appreciation PolyU encouraged from us. One particular highlight of their student exchange programme included ‘International Cultural Night’, a brilliant night filled with proud and frivolous promotions of home countries by international students. Ironically, it was in Hong Kong that I finally learned how to bake potatoes and cook steak (as part of our Australian booth).

Many international students cleverly took advantage of their exchange and travelled outside Hong Kong and around China throughout the semester. I myself grabbed at the chance to live in the city of Jiangmen for a few days with family friends, putting my China Visa to good use. Also intent on making this a valuable experience for me, local students kindly and enthusiastically volunteered to show me the best of Hong Kong, including the Peak and of course, it’s glorious food.

This may sound incredibly corny, but I arrived in Hong Kong without a single relative there and feel like I have left with a large family now scattered around the world. An educational experience on many levels, I became aware of many points of views as well as people I otherwise might never have encountered. I studied Chinese calligraphy, Mandarin, spent hours in museums, celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival and blended in as a Hong Kong local. This exchange has influenced me in ways I’m probably not even aware of yet, but looking back at the objectives I laid out in my scholarship application, I am proud to have taken part in such an awarding experience. This is what tertiary education should be about.

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