DICTAabroad
Wallis Rushforth in Hong Kong, China
East of Suez: Call of the Canton
W
hen explaining why they chose to
study abroad, students usually mention relishing opportunities and passion.
But my answer to the question is somewhat self-explanatory: because Hong Kong
is one of the greatest cities on Earth.
The University of Hong Kong is one
of the world’s leading academic institutions. The standards are high, the calibre
of students higher, and the facilities are
virtually unparalleled. The Law campus is
an impressively modern structure - a synthesis of glass, greenery, and technology.
The archaic charm of Wills Memorial has
been thrust into realms of nostalgia. The
courses offered by the Law Faculty are
hugely varied: anything from Refugee Law
to Cross-Border Corporate Finance. The
professors range from esteemed academics
to industry professionals, making for interesting and engaging classes. It truly is quite
an honour to study here.
I feel, however, that I ought to qualify
this romantic portrait of HKU: the classes
are each three hours long and the workload
is offensive. But exchangers diligently subscribe to the ‘work hard, play hard’ mantra
to get us through the arduous assessment
periods.
I essentially live in a shoebox. My
room is approximately 10cm² and I share
a bathroom with fourteen mainlanders. But
being the only gweilo (ghost man) on my
floor has been an amazing cultural experience. Not only have I improved my spoken Mandarin, but I have also had a crash
course in the art of making dumplings.
Hong Kong is fantastically mad. It is
a beautiful amalgamation of globalisation
and tradition. The beacons of capitalism
that tower over Central are skirted by street
vendors; shopping malls stand beside fruit
stalls. Cross over to the Kowloon side of
Hong Kong and you’re in the most densely populated place on Earth - Mong Kok,
or ‘busy corner’ in Cantonese. There are
130,000 people packed into each square
kilometre and the streets are an epileptic fit
waiting to happen. It is also home to the
Triads. Imagine that Hollywood vomited
up Chinatown, and multiply by five.
By nightfall, you will find exchange
students marauding the city’s thoroughfares of iniquity. Lan Kwai Fong is the
clubbing epicentre of Hong Kong, where
the atmosphere is electric and the end of
a night is signified by sunrise. Wan Chai,
on the other hand, offers a number of excellent British pubs and live music venues.
You have not partied until you have partied
in Hong Kong.
Another key feature of exchange is
travelling. Hon