1 exam down! 1 more up! I was filling up my feedback form for my exchange to be sent in to the Office of International Relations. They had categories such as classroom experience, education, getting started there, accommodation, social life, etc. I realised on this formal note, that my exchange experience was BAD.

How did you obtain information prior to going for the exchange?
I got it through a friend who went there on exchange previously. Wuhan University had a website, but it wasn't useful. I didn't have the course outline for the next semester. I only could register for my courses when I reach there.

What was your first impression of your hostel?
It was dirty and mouldy. I was the first to arrive there, and no one has stepped in to the hostel for around a month. The fridge was mouldy, and my room smelled. There was a bed, but we had to buy bedsheets and pillows ourselves.

Did you open a bank account in your host country? If yes, how did it proceed?
I opened two bank accounts in China. The process of opening a bank account was horrendous. Besides the queue, we had to fill in multiple forms before we managed to open a bank account. One of the banks insisted that we fill in our forms according to the name in our passports after we have filled our forms with our Chinese name. We had to fill in the forms again. I had to open a separate foreign currency deposit account as direct transfer of money from a Singapore/Malaysia bank is not allowed. For Malaysia side, the exchange rate is worse as there is no direct exchange from MYR to RMB. All money from MYR has to be changed to USD before changing it to RMB.

Yar, I didn't have a good exchange experience in terms of the bureaucracies and number of processes/people I had to go through before obtaining something. All the "formal" stuff is haphazard. Traffic was crazy. You think Penang is crazy, try Wuhan. I tell you it'll scare you away. The positive comments I made so far in my feedback form is about the resident hostel manager, who helps us everytime something goes wrong in our unit. But as you can see through what I mention from my exchange, I had a blast there, a world of a difference, learning new things about myself and others.