**Lack of pictures because my laptop crashed! Sorry in advance!**
Well, I’m done and I’m back in the United States of America! Where should I start? I spent 4 months on the outside of the world in a country I only heard about a couple of times through friends and on the Internet. When I first arrived, I had all this excitement in me and I knew that it was going to be a great time. Hong Kong at first glance was very much like New York City, very busy and fast pace with people on every corner from different walks of life. Yes everything was different, but I knew I would fit in in no time and be able to navigate everywhere with no problem. Being in Hong Kong and at HKUST has taught me about my lifestyle, my education, and new aspects about my life that I have never seen before.
HKUST is different in Drexel in its own unique ways, but from some of the aspects of UST that I noticed it felt a little similar. UST has showed me that I got way too comfortable at Drexel and it’s teaching environment. Since Drexel is on a quarter system and UST is a semester system, the adjustment was difficult at first and it was hard to keep up with wanting to explore Hong Kong and focus on my classes, but I got a schedule down in no time. I was able to manage my time better and find where I needed to improve in my study habits. I feel that being at HKUST has helped me to be a better student and has helped me learn from all of the mistakes I have done in the past as a student. From a student prospective, I am glad that I was able to get this experience to improve my studies and carry over new skills into my future career.
Before I left for Hong Kong, I was scared that I wouldn’t make friends because I am somewhat of an introvert and don’t really like talking to people. However, despite all those fears, I made the some of the best friendships I could have ever imagines. My exchange buddy Ansh has become my new close friend and I am really happy that we meet. He really helped me a lot with adjusting to UST and since he is a very social, I meet some people through him. When I was having a hard time adjusting I turned to him for help and he was very supportive. I hope that we will continue on our friendship and that I’ll be able to visit him in Mumbai. The girls that I hung out with the most at UST are from Drexel and Rutgers and I am glad that I was able to meet them. They helped make my time in Hong Kong very enjoyable and I learned a lot from them also. My roommate Youli also helped make my stay in Hong Kong one to remember. She was honestly the best roommate ever and I can’t wait to go visit her in Tokyo. She and I have some things in common and we learned a lot from each other. I was very sad to leave all of the friends that I got to meet in Hong Kong, but I am happy that I also made some friendships that came back with me to Drexel.
I have always wanted to travel because I knew that it would help me find myself and learn more about the how the world operates outside of the US. I did get to go to countries that I have always wanted to go to, but I regret mostly not getting my visa and going to Mainland China, since I was right there. Japan, Macau, and Thailand were on the top of my list and I am glad that I was able to visit them before I came back home. When I went to Phuket, Thailand with my mom, sister, aunt, and cousin, I had a wonderful time being able to see part of the country with my family. Since I was able to go Hong Kong, it provided my family the opportunity to come to Asia also. I had a lot of fun being able to spend time with them abroad and explore different places in Asia.
Overall, my study abroad in Hong Kong was one to be remembered. Even though I lost a lot of pictures from my computer crashing, I still have all the memories that I need. I made the best memories while I was abroad and I am happy to say that I was truly blessed to be able to go on such an experience. Being in Hong Kong has to be the best thing that has ever happened to me in a while. I feel that I have reached goals that I set for myself later on in my life and I know that I will continue them in the near future. Even though I was in Hong Kong for only 4 months, I consider it a new home for me because I plan to go back. Hong Kong is an interesting place to be and it has so much to offer. I hope you all enjoyed reading about my time abroad in Hong Kong and I am happy that I was able to share it! Have a great New Year, I know I will!