Samantha Trippy, HKUST Exchange, Fall 2014
But I’m not the only one. You’re reading this blog, aren’t you? Thinking about studying abroad? Well, I’ve been thinking about studying abroad, too. A lot. Perhaps an unhealthy amount. Fantasizing about what my life will be like abroad, watching this BEAUTIFUL video tour of my campus, planning my backpacking adventures with a fellow NU student studying abroad in Southeast Asia… so what if I spent a significant chunk of my summer with my head in the clouds? I’m about to embark on, perhaps, the biggest journey of my life, thus far.
Oh, did I forget to introduce myself? My name is Samantha Trippy and I’m a junior studying Computer Science at Northwestern. In two days, I will be an exchange student at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, (HKUST) a popular exchange and study abroad destination for students from all across the world.
Despite all of my visions of what I hope things will be like abroad, (and sometimes, of what I hope things won’t be like abroad) it really just hit me this past week that this is happening. I received my student visa, my housing assignment, and began emailing my “exchange buddies,” two local students who were chosen to help me transition into life at HKUST. I even registered for my courses on a web interface eerily similar to Northwestern’s passionately disliked and soon-to-be-replaced CAESAR program, though using this interface is much less painful and more exciting when you are using it to choose courses abroad.
I expect things will only become more exciting once I arrive. I cannot wait to meet local students from Hong Kong and international and exchange students from all over the world. I will be updating this blog throughout all of my adventures to come, so stick around!