Studying abroad at the University of Hong Kong, I worked twelve to sixteen hours a day in order to stay on top of the bell curve, and stories of other exchange students scoring 90% and above on quizzes and being curved down to failing grades because of a high average kept me working hard. I passed up trips to exotic destinations like Indonesia and the Philippines to keep up my grades, and I gave up weekends in order to complete projects like designing computer servers and writing proofs for theorems in my mathematics courses. However, my time spent in China was also the most socially active period of my life. Whenever possible, I’d go out touring the city, eat at Mr. Wong’s restaurant, or try to hike the 100 kilometer long MacLehose trail—all with the international group of friends I built during my time abroad.
From my Facebook pictures, many people had gotten the impression I had stopped paying attention to my studies. There are some of me at Queen Victoria Park during the Mid-Autumn Festival posing against the lanterns with my good friend Lisa Reinheimer from Germany. That night, we showed up as the exhibit was closing and got the chance to jump the boundaries to get some nice action shots with us and the various lion, crane, and animal shaped lanterns. Other pictures show me standing several feet over a crowd of Chinese people at the flower market in Hong Kong during Lunar New Year (I am six feet, six inches tall), and at the same festival market, there are pictures of my friend Neil from UIUC and I battling with balloon mallets while wearing inflatable bunny masks—2011 was the year of the rabbit. Also, the large majority of photos are of me at Mr. Wong’s restaurant enjoying the never-ending stream of food coming out of the kitchen, an experience that only cost five US dollars.
My friends were largely responsible for getting me out of the library and into the streets of Hong Kong during the weekends and on our weeks off. We liked to claim we were the most diverse group of students of campus, and it was justifiable with only a few Americans, a token Canadian from the University of Toronto, one East and one West German, my close Indian friend Ankit who grew up in Indonesia, a couple of girls from Luxembourg, Koreans, Japanese, and of course a number of local students. The list goes on, but I want to make the point that all these people redefined who I am. For those who met me freshman year at Illinois State before I left for Hong Kong, they would say I gave my studies the highest priority with no room for argument. While in Hong Kong, my group of friends pressed me and pressed me until I finally faltered and learned how to balance my studies with my social life. In particular, Aliina Bohnau (my closest friend while abroad) formed the habit of calling me a fool when she thought I was passing up social and cultural opportunities to study. This frequent reminder from Aliina and other subtle reminders from my friends became the cues to throw in the towel on a Friday night and go enjoy myself.
Hong Kong changed me in more ways than I can articulate. It changed how I talk to people, how I dress, and what I look to accomplish in life. I don’t have the space here to address it all, but I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of those that came into my life while studying abroad. My friends are the ones that made me laugh, helped me cope, and showed me a part of the world far from Central Illinois. For those of you reading this and looking to study abroad, my only suggestions are for you to meet good people, go on adventures, and cause a little trouble.
