CW Chu College The Chinese University of Hong Kong eNewsletter

'Time elapsed without trace'. In retrospect, this was the must-write sentence in the written exam during my secondary education, in the hope of getting higher score in the column 'advancement in choice of words'. For such a young boy at that time, it is not likely for me to have any in-depth feelings towards the rapid changes in time, but not this time.

The half-year exchange programme finally came to an end. All the lasting scenes would be forever engraved in my memory. The senior students always say that we should join the exchange programme at least once, which could make your tertiary education remarkable. As a freshman, I was so ignorant and had missed out a lot. This was until I was informed that there was an extension for the application period of the college exchange programme, then I was suddenly so determined, and turned open the world map. I stared at the lands from the other side of the world, and finally made the decision and pushed my pin into that point – Sweden. That was it; I embarked on my exchange journey with both excitement and anxiety, for all the nice things I was going to experience and for every challenge I may have to encounter.

Surprisingly, everything turned out well. It was expected to have something going wrong, or that I would be homesick; after all, it was the first time for me to travel alone to a culturally different place. Thanks to the nice environment and the tolerance of their people, I fitted in quite comfortably with the new place and built up my social circle.

The summer days there were nearly polar days: the first faint light of dawn entered my single room every day at five o'clock in the morning. The Ikea clock next to my bed moved very slowly, as if the time there went slower than in Hong Kong. Outside my room, it was an endless piece of green planted with vegetables, and a row of low and plain houses. These beautiful views marked the wonderful beginning every morning. Under such an amazing environment, I experienced a lot of my firsts: the first time to speak so much foreign languages in a day; the first time to see a bar in a Western country; the first time to watch a movie in the cinema alone; the first time to be in charge of all the housework; the first time to mess up my food during cooking; the first time to bike for 6 hours and ride around the whole town; the first time to be a backpacker and travel in Europe; the first time to take part in an Alpha course and have a deeper understanding on life; the first time to take a Chinese culture course conducted in English and to have a review on my own culture; the first time to take part in a pride parade, and to appeal to the world in a joyful manner; the first time …

Despite all the delightful moments and the awesome friends I met, I was perplexed and lost on several occasions for several times. After all, I did not belong to Sweden. I couldn't bring all these beautiful things back to Hong Kong. I started to ponder: what is the meaning of having this exchange journey if all the beauties only last for half a year and it was known that I was going to lose them all after that? An exchange journey is like letting you practice saying goodbye, for every person you meet on every occasion, you know deep in your heart that it is not likely to see them again.

I am now back in Hong Kong. The streets are still swarming with cars, my parents are still caring and my friends are still sincere, as if nothing has changed over the past half year. But I know, something has changed, and I feel unprecedentedly filled up. When it comes to the benefits of the exchange programme, there is nothing else but clichés like broadening the horizons, being more equipped, and so on. I asked myself: have I achieved all these? I have really no idea, but at least, I am so satisfied. I believe in a sentence in 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty', 'beautiful things don't ask for attention.' The beauties I saw and the beautiful things I experienced could never be converted into words or images. So, my dear friends in the College, don't confine to your comfort zone; go to explore and embark on your journey of experiencing.

There is a lyric by Soda Green: 'Eternality is composed of pieces of scenes.' Even if it lasts for merely a moment, it is eternal and endless if you once possessed it.

Lee Pok Wah

Year 2 student, CW Chu College