Past Review

By Peter L (Mechanical Engineering., SUNY - Binghamton) for

Study Abroad Programs in Hong Kong

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

In one word, yes. The life experience I gained in the program, that may very well be unobtainable otherwise, has already proofed that the exchange program was well worth its cost many times over.

Personal Information

The term and year this program took place:	Fall 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	Classes in UST are difficult in their own right. That is not to say that it was not a worthwhile educational experience. The exchange is, to me, indescribable. I can only make do with "what an exchange semester."
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Simply the ability and understanding to address the issues efficiently and without delay.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	The Hall I lived in (UG Hall VII) was recently constructed in May 2009. The meant that I and the other residents are the first to live in our respective dorm rooms. The total cost of our double rooms amounts to close to 900 USD. Each suite has a shared toilet and shower which is shared between four residents. Each floor in our building has two common rooms, with sea view and a balcony. <br /><br /> We had a million dollar view. In times that one cannot concentrate, or is need of fresh air, the seaside isn't far off.
* Food:	For one who grew up with Chinese food, this is amazing. Very cheap (average dish is 25 HKD which is a little more than 3 USD).
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	There are a lot to do. Hong Kong is amazing because it offers the heavy urban life as well as the more rural countryside. If one feels up for it, one can hike or mountain climb or perhaps even hike two hours to an isolated beach.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget? (1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	I spent a total of four thousand dollars, without inclusion of tuition and housing, abroad. The vast majority of my expenses arose from food.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Hong Kong is shopper's heaven. There will be instances where a salesperson will try to jib a foreigner, provided that one lets show that he or she IS a foreigner. I came to learn to initiate conversations in Cantonese (I initially was only comfortable with English) and with a little experience in learning the relative prices, was able to avoid further instances.

Language

Language acquisition improvement?	Personally, despite growing up speaking Cantonese, it was difficult to pick up the local syntax. Primarily because Cantonese, I feel, is a very informal language, the locals typically speak with localized phrases unique to present Hong Kong. It takes time and the initiative at times to simply ask for a "definition" of a term used.