Janine's international exchange in Hong Kong!

Friday, March 29, 2019

Janine-Liao
My name is Janine Liao and I’m in 4B enrolled in the Computing and Financial Management program. I’m currently on exchange in Hong Kong at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) for my Winter 2019 term.

I’ve always wanted to experience living in Hong Kong, as it integrates cultures from both Eastern and Western societies, along with diverse sceneries of mountains, water, and skyscrapers. I had also heard that Hong Kong is a very safe place with lots to do, and an excellent location for traveling to other countries in Asia.

Another reason why I decided to study in HKU was because I heard they have a strong Business faculty that offers a wide range of transferable courses and I wanted to take all Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) and Economics (ECON) courses in 4B. Currently, I’m taking: Big Data Analytics Applied towards Quantitative Finance, Investments and Portfolio Analysis, Economic Development, Introduction to Marketing, and Business Ethics.

University-of-Hong-Kong

The course load and lectures are not as time-consuming compared to Waterloo so I find myself having more free time here. I try to do most of my homework and studying in between classes on weekdays so that I have the rest of the time available for meeting with friends and traveling. There are also a lot of holidays and breaks during this semester, so I try to organize most of my trips around those and finish any assignments/projects beforehand.

Hiking-at-Victoria-Park
The destinations I’ve traveled include Philippines, mainland China, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, and Korea. I honestly love all of these places, as they captured different adventures and experiences for me.

In terms of making friends, it’s generally very easy as an exchange student to meet other exchange students. There are exchange orientations and activities in the beginning of the semester organized by the university/faculty. Most of my friends now are other exchange students that I met during the first few weeks.

High-table-dinners
One of the cultural/social norms that surprised me was being seated together at the same table as strangers during busy hours in some restaurants, and sometimes washing utensils before eating. Moreover, there is also one type of bus, called a minibus, that goes really fast - you need to wave your arm at the driver to get on the bus and shout to the driver when you want to get off. This part is still intimidating for me, but I’m trying to become more comfortable with shouting on a quiet bus!

Some advice I have for others who are aiming to go on an exchange is that if you know early on that you want to go, I highly recommend planning your courses so that you take mostly electives or easily transferable courses on your exchange term. The required upper year courses are sometimes more difficult and tricky to get direct equivalences or enrollment approvals at the host school, especially since exchange students get last priority. Don’t be surprised if you end up having to rearrange your course schedule multiple times during the first few weeks.

In general, try to keep things flexible! Situations may not go according to plan or expectations, so being adaptable to change will save you a lot of stress.

view-from-residence
Overall, I would rate my experience in Hong Kong very high! This exchange term has been a totally different social and academic experience from any other term I had, which is what I was looking for. Meeting and studying with people from very diverse backgrounds has given me so many new insights and perspectives. There have been plenty of new experiences that have pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me to learn more about myself (as cliché as that may sound, it is so true). I highly recommend exchange for students who are seeking more adventure, challenges, and unique experiences during their university years!


Interested in going on exchange? 
Faculty of Mathematics offers International exchange program for students so that they have the chance to study math abroad. Attend a mandatory information session hosted by the Study Abroad team. If you are not in Waterloo, please contact the Study Abroad team to make alternative arrangements.