Jaime L, Bachelor of Business
City University of Hong Kong (Semester 1, 2016)
New Colombo Plan mobility grant recipient
I completed one semester of exchange at City University Hong Kong. Going on exchange has opened up so many doors for me. My time abroad in Hong Kong has been invaluable to building both my career opportunities and my global mindset. Personally, my whole exchange was a highlight. I have built so many great memories and experiences in the past 5 months that I will never forget.
Highlights
Hong Kong is an absolutely incredible country. It is so condensed yet there is something for everyone. Living in Hong Kong I discovered there is so much more to the country than just high rises and condensed city. Catching a ferry or even bus just out of the city you’ll find so many hikes offering incredible views of the nature in Hong Kong. One of the many things I loved about Hong Kong was the public transport. You can get a student oyster card and ride the MTR for next to nothing, and it’s so easy and fast to use! But we found that even just catching an MTR somewhere and exploring the streets of Hong Kong was enough, there was something to see everywhere!
Finances
I had budgeted $10,000 for the whole trip. I went over budget in my time in Hong Kong, spending around $14,000. However the reason for this was spontaneous trips that I went on to Thailand, Macau and China. I had not planned on overseas travel but when the opportunity arose I jumped on it blowing budget but not regretting it at all. Also, I loved exchange so much I extended my trip at the end, also causing me to go over budget. Getting student accommodation is one of the best things for the budget as it is so cheap. Eating in Hong Kong is generally pretty cheap, unless you eat at Western style restaurants: then it can be quite expensive. CityU has a number of canteens where you can pick up a decent (not great) meal for around $5 AUD. As I mentioned before public transport is not expensive nor is the shopping there if you barter hard enough.
Accommodation
I was lucky enough to be given a shared room at student accommodation. This was great! They had a bus come and pick you up from the airport to take you to residence; they had tours to IKEA so students could get all their bedding and such and also a large number of Welcome Parties and Galas. The room and facilities itself was nice, definitely comfortable although small. I was lucky in that I got a really nice roommate which definitely helped. The accommodation is right next to the uni which is a massive bonus! It was also nice to be living basically with all of my friends I had made there.
Challenges
Overall Hong Kong was easy to live in and feel at home. I had no issues with safety at all which was huge in making me feel at home quite early on. Luckily I had a travel card so when I was running out of money I could easily just transfer across. The main challenge I faced was to do with my subjects. Once I got to Hong Kong Cityu told me that I had to change a subject to meet their requirements, and this was about a week after I arrived. Being in my second last semester of my degree I didn’t have much room to move subject wise and it turned out the subject I had chosen would not work with QUT, however I found this out too late and could not change. This has now resulted in me having to complete 5 subjects this semester.
Tips
- Take your own bedding! Chances are you’ll be arriving late in the evening and just wanting to get some sleep: they do not provide you with bedding so spare an uncomfortable night on a thin unprotected mattress and take some sheets at least!
- Take some extra passport photos, these will come in handy for your octopus card and any visas you may apply for (for example China).
- Go to Tequila Jacks in Tsim Sha Tsui, they have a great happy hour including $2AUD tacos!
- When bartering in the markets do not be afraid to walk away if they are not going down to the price you want, they will chase you lowering their price.
- Be open and friendly, just smile and say hello, you have no idea where it will take you!
The benefits of exchange are endless. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone and everyone who is even the slightest bit interested. There will be times where it does seem tough and you don’t have your family or friends from home, but the memories and friends you make there are invaluable. You build a new support network of people who are in the same boat as you. I think it’s incredible to be able to live in another country for nearly 6 months. Hong Kong has changed my life and opened up so many more doors for me. I wish I could do it all over again!
