Lucas Pogue
Personally, I've always loved to travel and explore new places and cultures. Knowing that, I had gone into my undergraduate experience with the expectation of studying abroad, though I didn't know where I wanted to go. Academically, I'm very interested in recent global history and politics, especially the international relationships between the United States and countries of the Asia-Pacific region. Hong Kong was perfect for me-- it was far from home in a region I had never before explored, yet it was easy to navigate as an English speaker (especially since all Hong Kong University classes are taught in English). Plus, I absolutely love dim sum and the Hong Kong style milk tea flows like water over there.
The most interesting experience I had was probably my stay with a man in Japan after the semester concluded. Since I traveled abroad in the spring, I had the beginning of the summer to explore other parts of Asia, and a few friends from HKU and I went to Tokyo for about a week. Our host was an extremely charismatic Japanese 'leftist' who was eager to show his guests a 'real Japanese experience.' His shower was broken, so every night he took us to the 'sento'-- a traditional Japanese bathhouse where we cleaned ourselves and soaked in giant steaming hot tubs with nude, overworked businessmen. After that, we went to a back-alley 'izakaya' to eat delicious foods and drink cold beer until we couldn't move out of our seats. Our host was very interested in history and politics (like me and my friends!), and we had intense conversations about our respective histories, identities, and politics. He opened my eyes to problems and cultural norms that I never would have picked up as a visitor without a Japanese host.
There were a couple times when I traveled to places that were not particularly 'English-friendly,' and it was sometimes difficult getting around. However, almost everyone I encountered was incredibly friendly, and I could often get where I wanted to go with a map and some pointing. Traveling through mainland China without a cell plan and internet was a bit tough, but as long as I stayed patient and asked for help I managed just fine.
Every day (except Sunday) I went to an incredible bakery for breakfast in Kennedy Town, about five minutes away from my dorm. I ate delicious pork buns and listened to music as I walked between towering skyscrapers to class. Usually, I stayed on campus for a few hours-- I had classes with friends and we did all homework and readings in the gorgeous campus libraries. In the afternoons I would sometimes go on a run around the hills on the western side of the island. After that, I usually met up with friends for a dim sum or noodle dinner (which proved to be about as cheap as cooking for myself). At night, we would either hang out in my friend's apartment or wander around the city. If it was a weekend, we usually went to the central area of the island for some dancing, but just as often we went to a spot with nice views of the city's incredible skyline and watched the nightly 'light shows.' Parks, hikes, malls, markets, and movie theaters were all just a cheap MTR ride away, so every free day was an adventure.
I took two history courses (one on China's foreign relations since 1600 and one on the Hong Kong film industry), one political science course (on the US-Japan security alliance), and an introductory Mandarin class designed for international students. Overall, the courses were easier than my Berkeley classes, and they were structured more around lengthy final papers rather than numerous smaller assignments.
The most meaningful aspect of my time abroad was definitely just meeting people from around the world. Hong Kong is sometimes dubbed as 'Asia's World City,' and it certainly shows. HKU has a very large international student community, and I got to meet people from all parts of North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. One of the most meaningful relationships I formed was with my roommate from mainland China-- we had great conversations about life in our respective countries. Sometimes we would have slight political disagreements, but they were minor compared to our mutual love of noodles, superhero movies, and Lebron James.
Studying abroad showed me that California is not the center of the universe. I know that sounds silly, but it is so easy to forget that there are people around the world living their lives, often quite similarly to my own. Though cultures and values can sometimes differ, we are all pretty much in the same boat as a global community-- we have similar wants and desires, as well as common interests for the future of our planet.
Do it! Studying abroad was the best semester of my college experience-- you will not regret it!