If I had to sum up the past two weeks in one word it would have to be bizarre. I can’t believe I have only been here two weeks and ticked so much of my year abroad bucket list.
Life here is very different to what I expected. Firstly, I have never had to share a room before; my roommate is from Germany and luckily she is very nice and doesn’t snore. Unfortunately nothing could compare to the spacious room I had in first year in Exeter but it will suffice for the year/
They also have very strict rules that are hard to adhere to, for example no alcohol is allowed to be consumed in halls! However, every Wednesdays and Thursdays is ladies night, which means free entry and alcohol all night. I think there is going to be more of a shock when I head back to Exeter and realise I have to pay for my drinks.
The food here is quite something! I have already tried chickens feet and jellyfish and I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t my favourite meal. Chicken feet and jellyfish aside the food here is amazing- greasy but amazing and I’ve only had McDonalds once. I have been fortunate to experience dim sums from a Michelen star restaurant for only 50 HKD (roughly £45) so all in all not bad at all!
Living in Hong Kong has already allowed me to travel and see so much. So far, I have hiked to see the big Buddha, been cliff jumping and cycled around the New Territories. I have also booked my first trip to go to Taiwan next weekend. All this makes it easy to forget that I am actually here to study!
I have just finished my second week of studying and like Exeter it is hard to get back into the rhythm of things, especially when you feel like you are on holiday! University life here is very different, lectures start at the unforgivable hour of 8:30 and some classes don’t end till 22:00. I have found that they love their continuous assessment which means I wont be able to lose focus during the year- which might not be such a bad thing. This will also be the first time in 6 years that I wont have any January exams as their exam period finishes on the 24th of December, so fingers crossed I wont be sitting an exam on Christmas eve. The lecturers here are extremely nice and take a shine to exchange students. Although their English isn’t great they still manage to get you involved and I have really enjoyed my classes so far.
I cannot wait to travel and see more; even the shopping here is insane. I have already purchased a (fake) mulberry purse, which I am sure will not be the last. This has also meant that I have sorted out all my friends 21st birthday presents. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will be able to afford Chanel and Louis Vuitton but its nice to think maybe in the near future!
So it’s only been two weeks but I have experienced so much and met the most amazing bunch of people from such diverse backgrounds. I am extremely excited about this year abroad and I cannot wait to see what else Hong Kong has to offer.
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