{"id":106257,"date":"2019-11-21T11:39:23","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T10:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=106257"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:34","slug":"eur-students-flee-hong-kong-ive-learnt-to-survive-on-dry-noodles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/11\/21\/eur-students-flee-hong-kong-ive-learnt-to-survive-on-dry-noodles\/","title":{"rendered":"EUR students flee Hong Kong: \u2018I\u2019ve learnt to survive on dry noodles\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Their semester turned out differently than expected for the 74 EUR students who went on exchange to Hong Kong this year. Due to the ongoing protests, their lectures have been cancelled and Erasmus University has called on them to come home. A number of students have complied, but others from the group have decided to stay in Hong Kong or one of the neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n

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The protesters had to improvise barricades from the available material: here a student is using a power tool to cut through a fence to further build up the barricade.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWouter<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Angry and confused<\/h2>
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EUR student Dorijn at horse racing in Hong Kong. She leaves for the Philippines to complete the final assignments of her exchange.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Dorijn, who\u2019s in the third year of the Management of International and Social Challenges (MISOC) programme, is on the phone from a hotel on the city\u2019s outskirts. She doesn\u2019t intend to return just yet. \u201cI haven\u2019t considered going home, although my plans have changed. This week, I\u2019ll be leaving for the Philippines to round off my final assignments with two friends. On Saturday, my parents will be flying to Hong Kong to visit me and tour the city, but there\u2019s a strong chance they\u2019ll be coming to the Philippines too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dorijn feels angry and confused about the current situation in Hong Kong. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on here is so unjust. The students have been demonstrating since June, but the authorities aren\u2019t listening to them.\u201d By now, the confrontations between the protesters and the police have spread from the city centre to university campuses.<\/p>\n

Home<\/h2>
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EUR student Fideyla left Hong Kong because of the protests. She traveled for three weeks through Thailand, where this picture was taken, before returning to the Netherlands.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Fideyla (21), another third-year MISOC student, used to study at one of these campuses, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). In contrast with Dorijn, she didn\u2019t decide to stay on. Although originally, she would only return in late December, she has been home for two weeks now. \u201cAt first, the demonstrations were only over the weekend, but at a certain point, the students started protesting on week days too.\u201d She says that she saw a lot of damage and that the underground was often out of service. \u201cThe CUHK is in an isolated location and can only be reached by taxi or bus. At a certain point, we even ran out of food and water. I remember thinking: \u2018This isn\u2019t an exchange anymore; this is trying to survive.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Fideyla and her roommate decided to bail. Before returning to the Netherlands, she first travelled through Thailand for three weeks. Although she\u2019s happy about her decision to go home, she\u2019s still very preoccupied with the situation in Hong Kong. \u201cIt still feels strange going to the supermarket without first checking on my phone whether it\u2019s safe to go out. Particularly the first days after returning, I still expected to run into protests or see a situation develop at any time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although her exchange didn\u2019t turn out as planned, she has learnt several important lessons: \u201cI\u2019ve learned to decide for myself \u2013 for example, will I be joining the group or going out on my own? And I\u2019ve learned to survive on nothing but dry noodles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Weird not to be there\u2019<\/h2>
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Wouter Sterrenburg<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

When we speak to Communication & Media student Wouter (23), he has just arrived at his hostel in Tokyo. \u201cI\u2019m happy to have a moment to relax a bit after all the commotion of the past few weeks.\u201d Wouter took pictures during the demonstrations.<\/a> \u201cI saw live streams of the Polytechnic University, which is being besieged by the police, on social media. Some of my friends are taking photos there as we speak, so it feels weird not to be there with them.\u201d His lectures have been cancelled for the remainder of the year. \u201cThat decision was met with disbelief \u2013 none of my fellow students saw it coming\u201d, says Wouter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have any digital classes, and our final assignments have been adjusted. For example, I was supposed to make a short film together with several other students, but they\u2019re all in different countries now. Instead of doing a group project, I\u2019m now expected to make a video essay.\u201d Wouter doesn\u2019t have any reason to return to the Netherlands for the moment, since he\u2019s still in the midst of recording everything that\u2019s going on the city. \u201cI\u2019ve collected so much video material by now that I\u2019m convinced I need to do something with it.\u201d After his time in Tokyo, Wouter will be returning to Hong Kong, although he can\u2019t say what the next few weeks will bring. \u201cThe situation is so chaotic that there\u2019s no sense in making plans. I\u2019m really living from one day to the next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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