Day 54 Attitudes

If you have read my previous entries, you must know that I really enjoy living here, and there are tons of reasons for this: the snow, the weather, the people, the school, the feeling of being away from Hong Kong, the feeling of being away from home, the feeling of being away from HKUST.

But after talking to a couple of exchange students here (who equally love this place), we have come to a conclusion that it is most probably our attitudes that make the difference between here and our home countries.

Quite frankly, being on exchange means that you only need to get the credits and transfer them back to our home universities. Most exchangers here do not really study and treat this as a break from school. As a student, once you are relaxed about grades and school, you are really quite stress-free for the whole semester exchange! Of course, you maybe a little stressed that you are not making full use of your time traveling and exploring new places. But that aspect only applies to a small group of exchange students, because as I observe, most exchangers here just stay indoors, party and drink like there is no tomorrow.

As for me, don't worry mum, I am not a big fan of "drinking like there is no tomorrow", although I enjoy sipping wine and talking to other people in a nice and cozy bar, listening to jazz or sometimes weird music. And, don't worry dad, I still want to learn something out of this exchange, I do study (nerds will be nerds...).

Now you see, it is our attitudes of not stressing about school-work that makes this exchange very enjoyable. When you are happy, you think the place you live in is nice; you think everyone around you is nice; you think everything is good.

I suppose if there is anything I can bring back from this exchange, it is this attitude. Sometimes I am just a bit harsh on myself that I don't really let myself enjoy much back in Hong Kong, stressed about everything. I like how I have only been here for 2 months and already I have learnt something that may be useful for the rest of my life, it is way better than any 2 months spent in Hong Kong!

If anyone reading this blog is considering going on exchange, I say, don't think about it anymore, just go for it. Sometimes, you just never know what you will learn until you are in a completely different environment and have to force your way through a strange setting.