My Exchange at The Chinese University of Hong Kong
One of the first things I considered when choosing my Global Studies degree was the role understanding different cultures would have in my learning experience. It was upon this consideration that I knew I wanted to go on exchange to Asia, thus my search for exchange opportunities began. This led me to go through the application process for my exchange, eventually leading to my arrival in the wonderful city of Hong Kong in late August 2023.
After a long journey of approximately 36 hours given a visit to my parents in Colombia, I landed in Hong Kong. The flight arrived early in the morning, and the city gave me the most beautiful welcome. It was completely different to anything I had ever experience before, with its large buildings and even more impressive skyline.
I arrived directly to campus, and checked into my accommodation – Lee Woo Sing College. In general, I was quite happy with my accommodation. While it was definitely university accommodation, the facilities were extremely nice. However given the difference in cultures, the rules were more restricting. This was not an issue, but initially made it difficult to host anything past 11:30pm, until we were told there was a place on one of the bottom floors available to everyone on campus. The campus itself was easy to navigate and extremely pretty. It had a large selection of canteens, quite a few well-stocked libraries and a decently well equipped in-campus bus system.
We were provided with not only a great many activities for orientation – a campus tour, various tours of Hong Kong, introduction assemblies and even a high table dinner with the vice-chancellor of the university and everyone on the exchange – but were also provided with opportunities to learn about the culture in Hong Kong through activities like painting.
In terms of academics, I was both pleasantly surprised and adequately challenged. I took 5 classes, which was easily balanced with social events and extracurricular activities, however I was lucky to not have very many exams or tests making it easier to manage than what I saw some people have to manage. I really enjoyed my classes, the topics they covered, the teaching methodology and the discussions held in class.
Now that we have talked about the university side of my exchange, I will share some of the other aspects of my exchange experience. Firstly, the cost of living in Hong Kong was cheaper than Auckland when talking about accommodation. This is mostly because of the access I had to university accommodation. Canteen food was also pretty affordable, if a bit repetitive after three months. Given the large number of facilities available to us at the university, it was convenient and easy to not leave campus. Food outside of campus was definitely more expensive but also more varied and more often than not, tastier. The prices for food was determined by location, sometimes being quite a bit cheaper than in Auckland and other times matching or even exceeding Auckland prices. The cost of living truly depends on the choices you make in terms of shopping and food.
The cost of living is also easily influenced by the activities you choose to partake in. I personally preferred to explore Hong Kong, thus not joining any of the sports teams due to the time commitment. I did partake in most of the art and culture activities available, and many of the outings to explore the areas surrounding Hong Kong. These outings were easily some of my favourite, as it gave us the opportunity to explore the Hong Kong culture outside of the city. Furthermore, Hong Kong is close enough to the rest of Asia to make travelling easy. Travel to Mainland China was very easy to get to after acquiring a visa. I was able to visit the city of Guilin, and the nearby town of Yangshuo, both beautiful and worth visiting. In the short break we had for one of the national holidays I was also able to visit Taiwan – a short 1 hour flight away – with a few of my friends from the exchange. While I did not travel as much as a few other people, I did end up being fortunate enough to visit Nepal after exams, proving to be a wonderful end to my travels before going home.
All of this being said, Hong Kong was wonderful because it was Hong Kong, but mostly because it brought together a group of people who somehow ended up being some of my best friends. The activities I was able to partake in were wonderful because they introduce me to a completely different culture, but were even better because they brought us all together. This was the biggest highlight of my exchange.
I would say that the challenges I faced were what you would expect from moving to a completely different country alone. I would say that it would be more useful to give solutions to the challenges I faced than list them out, as everyone reacts to stress and change differently.
Before going on exchange, I would suggest you prepare yourself for everything to work out completely differently than you are expecting. Classes won’t always be available, emails won’t always be answered, people won’t behave how you want them to. But that is part of it, and it is a way to train yourself in patience and resilience. I would also suggest doing research on what you want to do during the semester. I did not do this, and would have been able to travel more if I had had a clear idea of what I would have wanted to do and what I wanted to see. Finally, I would suggest knowing what you want to gain from the exchange. This was something that I had pondered before, and knew my focus was in learning as much as possible, but some of the people I met who did not enjoy their exchange semester were those who did not know why they wanted to go on exchange. If you are going to spend so much time in a place, you want to be sure you will enjoy it.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
I definitely enjoyed the role having smaller classes played in creating a closeness between students. It is also easier to ask questions when there are 20 or so students, compared to 150-200 students.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
I would recommend taking the time to explore Hong Kong. It is a beautiful city, with diverse activities. There are many hikes, islands, and little nooks and crannies to explore. Even with the time I took to try and get to know the city, there was still a lot that I was unable to see.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
1. Do your research on the city, and maybe reach out to people who might live in Hong Kong
2. Have a long list of possible classes, as they are not always offered
3. Make the most of the activities offered by the university
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
I budgeted around $8,000 NZD. This was enough, as the exchange rate was in my favor, and prices for things in Hong Kong were not that high. The price of housing was extremely low compared to Auckland, freeing up a large part of my budget. However, I would say that I would have made sure to pack properly and look into the weather a bit more, as part of my budget was used in weather-appropriate clothing. I would also suggest using all of the student discounts available, and cooking some of the food. The canteens are quite cheap, but it is cheaper to buy a bag of oats and having that as breakfast for a week or so than it is to spend 30~50 HKD every day on breakfast. Bottom line: do your research!
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
The two biggest takeaways from my exchange were:
1) While cultural differences can generate some cultural shock, it is always worth taking part in activities you might not have access to otherwise. Obviously, some things will never be worth it, and your well-being is always more important, but if hesitation to partake in an activity is because of fear of the unknown, it will almost always prove to be worth it.
2) You are always capable of the challenges you are presented with, be it to learn to say “no thank you” or to increase your capacity. Discomfort brings growth.
Final Comments
I would give my exchange at the Chinese University of Hong Kong 5 stars.
Tags: 2023, Global Studies, Report