I met Sarine Lok through a mutual friend during my own exchange at the University of Hong Kong and found out to my surprise that she was coming to the University of Helsinki for the fall semester. Here’s what she has to say about her exchange experience so far…
Major: General Linguistics
Year: 3rd
Hometown: Hong Kong
Hobbies: Exploring new places and taking photos
What is the hardest part about leaving for an exchange?I would say it’s stepping out of my comfort zone and entering a totally new environment.
What were you looking forward to the most in Finland?I was really hoping to see the northern lights!
Favourite tv show and why?It’s got to be Friends, because I love a good laugh. Joey is definitely my favourite character out of the six and one of my favourite episodes is “The One With The Thanksgiving Flashbacks” (season 5 episode 8). You know what, I think I need to rewatch the whole series again…
What has been the biggest culture shock in Finland so far?Probably that Finns need quite a lot of personal space. I remember this one time when we were queuing for the ATM and I was really surprised at how much distance the Finns kept between each other. In Hong Kong there would have been at least four other people queuing in between!
Three things you would take to a desert island and why?My ukulele – might as well make some music to lighten up my mood – pen and paper to write down my exciting adventure (can these please count as one item?) and my camera, just because I take it with me everywhere I go.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?Nothing fancy, being able to fly is enough for me. I’d want to fly as far away from home as possible – maybe to Greenland!
Three things you will miss about Finland?The fresh air, my lovely flatmates, and Lyra!