Dear readers,
People say that traveling opens your mind, changes your perspective, and changes you. As I first stepped foot off my plane and onto the territory of Hong Kong International Airport, I immediately began to notice a subtle difference. Aside from the nervous excitement of being in new foreign territory, everywhere I looked, I was shocked at the change in demographics of Hong Kong. On my taxi ride to campus, I could not help but wander my eyes all over the streets and stores. There were a lot of people of my ethnicity. Being a Chicago city native, and going to school in a predominantly white school, it was hard to grasp that this semester was going to be pretty different.
It was quite refreshing actually. Perhaps for one of the few times in my life, I felt like this could be my home. After all, it was going to be my home for the next four months. I was excited! I was ready to explore! Since I spoke Cantonese, I would also be able to converse with the local Hong Kongers in their mother tongue. As soon as I arrived in my room, I already noticed that my roommate had arrived before me. His suitcase was on the floor, but he was not in the room. I met him later, as I was unpacking, and he opened the door. Since I elected to have an international exchange roommate, while I was still waiting, my mind was pondering what kind of person he was, and maybe how having this person would change my semester in a different way than another roommate. He turned out to be a first year master’s student studying mechanical engineering in Germany, but studying here on exchange as a third year undergraduate. After making a little bit of small talk, we eased up and started to get familiar with each other’s brief life stories. He was an avid cyclist, heavy reader, and also wore these dark roundish glasses that made him look like a philosophical character out of a fantasy realm. I was glad this guy, Bernd, was going to be my roommate for this exchange period.
My roommate, Bernd.
The first couple of days here were all about orientation. Among all the different nationalities in which all the exchange students represented, it was simple to make a few general observations. The Germans by far were the most friendly and open to meet and socialize with others. This is not just because of my roommate. I had met a couple of Germans studying at the same school while picking up my new student ID card. One of them, Tino, who was the only Dutch student among the group, joked about our free passport covers not fitting his Netherlands passport. After a few jokes were tossed around, we all got lunch together at the cafeteria for the first time. These German guys: Manuel, Oliver, Tino, Felix, they would end up being a big part of my study abroad experience. In my dorm, Hall VI, I got to know a couple of local students pretty well. Alice, on the executive team of the dorm, was a twenty-two year old junior undergraduate student studying biology. Mankit, was a guy with a nice sense of fashion who also lived in my dorm and was the vice president of the Rotaract club (a junior extension of Rotary). He ended up getting me to sign up, and as I haven’t done much volunteering in my life, I thought it would be cool to try, and I would later be right about this gut feeling. I also quickly became good pals with Bernd’s friend, Jan. He was also a master’s student, but jokingly revealed he always feels like a young teenager.
Pictured right to left: Tino, Oliver, and their friend Kevin.
After getting all the essential official school stuff done, there was some time before classes to start exploring the city. Within the span of a few days, with a couple of other exchange students, I bought a couple of savvy tech gadgets at the Sham Tsui Po tech center, drank delicious coconut smoothies from Mongkok’s street food vendors, watched a real horse race at Causeway Bay’s Happy Valley Racecourse, checked out the nightlife in Lan Kwai Fong at Central, and sampled the delicious night market food at Jordan Night Market. Looking back at this time, I realize I have not had the opportunity to explore so many new places for a very long time. Growing up in the Chicago area and going to school in Evanston didn’t allow me to visit a lot of new places. Prior to college, and even now, my parents spend most of their days working, so we rarely have time to travel. And when we did travel, it would be to the same places we were familiar with, like to my two paternal Uncles’ families in Canada or New Jersey. Already, Hong Kong meant a whole new territory to me.
Jan and I at the Happy Valley Racecourse.
A view of the South China Sea from campus.
I’m glad I met the people I have so far. I am beyond ecstatic for what the next couple of months hold in store for me. I certainly have some expectations, and I will seek to fulfill them. I want to make life long friends, make Hong Kong an extension of my home, really get to understand the foreign culture which is partly already familiar to me, and learn a lot. Hong Kong, my eyes are open, and my mind is looking to expand its horizon. Are you ready for me?
Best regards,
Victor