Alessandra Chow
Year 4 student
BA(Hons) in Chinese and Bilingual Studies

This January, I was given this amazing opportunity to embark on this amazing journey. I personally have been to Europe many times since my mother lives in Spain. However, I have never been to the United Kingdom. Thus, I was very excited about this trip, especially because it was my first time travelling alone. In light of the covid pandemic, my parents and I were very worried and stressed out about the journey. Covid isn’t only a threat to our health, it is seriously impacting our society’s economic situation. I was very torn whether I should go on the exchange since I did not want to economically burden my parents. Thus, I very much appreciate the Sin Wai Kin Chinese Humanities Exchange Scholarship. The donor’s generosity enabled me to take on this amazing journey and enjoy every bit of it. I came back bearing gifts for my parents, and also some for myself, which are the knowledge, experiences and excitements gained from the trip.

Academic-wise, I registered a few interesting courses, including Ethics, Introduction to British Identity and Nationhood, Stage 6 English and Gender Studies. The nature of these courses is actually very diverse, since they all cover different aspects in life. For example, Ethics talks about morals and how a decent human should behave or make their decisions. British Identity and Nationhood focuses on how British people construct their identity, which is very interesting and complex. This is because not all British people share the same identity. Depending on the location and culture, some may consider themselves Irish, some others may consider themselves Scottish, Welsh or English. The way how a person identifies themselves has a lot to do with the kind of culture and customs they are brought up on. Stage 6 is a very interesting course which mainly teaches the English language, but not just the superficial layer of it. The course covers things such as punks, political correctness, British’s humour, jargon, and other controversial themes such as the immigration issue and poverty gap. Last but not least, the course Gender Studies, which cover things such as gender expression, masculinity, femininity, feminism and other transgender related issues. The reason why I picked these courses is because I wish to receive a relatively diverse and enriching education experience. Besides understanding affairs in my own country, I hope to understand what is happening around the world, perhaps learning about the UK culture and customs is a good place to start with. In addition, I think that controversial issues regarding the LGBTQ community is something that we should be well aware of, given its sensitive and controversial nature. I really enjoy the classes in the University of Southampton. There are many in-class discussion sessions, and students are strongly encouraged to speak up during classes. This really helped boost my confidence, enabled me to talk freely and confidently in front of others.

Social-wise, I still remember my first attempt in speaking with foreigners. I was a bit shy back then since I was going to know all these new people by myself. I was worried about not fitting in, not being like them enough and so on. But in reality, all I really needed to do was to take the initiative and be myself. They were all very welcoming and accepting, and excited to meet new friends as much as I did. Our differences were actually what drew us closer. Since we all come from different places, we have tons of things to share with one another, including cuisines, sceneries, lifestyle and history etc. For example, some of my friends from Barcelona told me that they identify themselves as Catalans instead of Spanish. They relate more to Catalan’s culture than they do to Spain’s. They introduced the language Catalan to me and showed me how different it is from Spanish. They also introduced me to some very typical Catalan food such as Escalivada and Canelons. My friends were so passionate that they even made me some so that I could have a taste of it before I went back to Hong Kong. In exchange, I taught them how to make sweet dumplings and they absolutely loved it. During Easter, we even organised some weekly panic gathering in the university so that everyone can cook some authentic dishes and bring it over for others to try.

Visiting the museums was one of my favourite activities during my stay. I still remember traveling all the way to London with some friends so that we can visit the British Museum together. As we walked around the museum, my friends would tell me history about their own country, so that I can have a better understanding of the history timeline. Besides, we also had the opportunity to try some world-renowned English cuisine, such as full English breakfast and fish and chips. After travelling to London, I went to many other places in England, such as Brighton, Bath, Bristol and Exeter. We visited one of the most famous spots in Brighton, the Seven Sisters Cliff. It was a long hike but the view on the cliff was magnificent. The air was refreshing, and you could have a panoramic view of the shores. Bath and Bristol are very close to each other, so we visited both places on the same day. Bath has many famous restaurants and Bristol is known for its market. However, my favourite out of all has to be Exeter, which is a four-hour train ride from Southampton. Exeter is not very city-like, the town almost looks like a few villages combined. I personally love it since it is less packed and I was able to find some cute cafes here and there. There are also many antique shops there so I could find many classy, elegant jewelleries.

To conclude, I am extremely grateful for the exchange trip and everything I have learned from it. I personally think that I have grown a lot and am more capable in solving problems and overcoming obstacles. I have also become much more independent since I had to do everything by myself. The people I met were all amazing and they had such a good influence on me as a person. I personally got to know so much about the different culture across the globe, and I intend on learning more about it.

Lastly, I would like to thank the Sin Wai Kin Chinese Humanities Exchange Scholarship donor once again. Their financial support has allowed me to enjoy my stay and motivated me to pursue further in the University of Southampton. This exchange trip was one of the best things that has happened in my life.