Science Student Exchange Programme

Raymond Heish

Exchange Year (2006-2007)
Royal Institute of Technology

Hello, everyone, my name is Hsieh Wai Lun, Raymond. I’ve just come back from my one-year exchange in Stockholm at the Royal Institute of Technology. Participating in the one-year exchange programme in Sweden was probably one of the wisest decisions I’ve ever made in my life.

How would life be if the sun set at 14:30 everyday? It’s really dull to have so little natural light all the time, but that’s the way the Swedish live for their whole lives. With all the snow covering the whole city, I have the chance to engage in activities I’ve never done in Hong Kong, like skiing, snowball fighting, sledging, and making snowmen.

My trip to Kiruna – the northernmost city of Sweden, 100km inside the Arctic Circle – was unforgettable. I felt like I was an Eskimo in a documentary as I rode on a dog-sledge pulled by huskies. At a temperature of -29oC, it felt like the wind was tearing your fingers apart. It was freezing cold even though I was wearing the professional clothing tailored for the Nordic weather. Arriving at our destination, we chopped wood ourselves to make a fire for the sauna. The temperature inside the sauna is around?60oC, creating a temperature difference of 89oC between the sauna and the surrounding outdoor environment. It seemed like we were crazy to go back and forth – naked, wearing nothing - between the outdoors and the sauna in order to enjoy the authentic taste of the Finnish Sauna culture. Meanwhile, above us in the starry sky shines the eerie Northern Lights. I couldn’t believe what came into my sight; the Northern Lights were actually moving as if they were a living creature. Looking back at the photos I took, I still can’t believe that I was actually there in person.

Besides traveling, another important aspect of my exchange life was hanging out with different people. I lived in a dormitory with a common kitchen, and the residents were a diverse group of people from all over the world. I cooked every day with an Iranian girl. I also completed a group project with a fellow from Nigeria. We had a great deal of fun dining, hanging out in pubs, chatting, and playing football together. It was through these gatherings that I could learn more about other countries and to distinguish reality from stereotypes. Moreover, other students were also very interested in China and Hong Kong, and through answering their questions and telling them about my culture, I became more aware of my home country.

What does it mean to broaden one’s horizon? In my opinion, it is to experience something completely different and to start asking questions on things and issues we’ve taken for granted. I can never be more thankful to have had this eye-opening opportunity to participate in the Science Student Exchange Programme.