What does it mean to be an international student
Shakhnadir Makhmutov | Kazakhstan | Year 2 Student | Economics
“Being an international student means being a hardworking student, reliable friend, and, most importantly, a good person”.
These were the words my dad said to me before I went through the gate doors to catch a flight to Hong Kong. Coming from a somewhat conservative family with its own believes, traditions, and customs meant that I had to be what my dad told me to be. But at the end of the day, we are all human…
It feels like it was my destiny to end up here in Hong Kong.
I could not be an international student my dad thought of me. My grades are not “ideal”, some of my friends do not talk to me anymore, and others think of me as a bad person. Every time I look back at my first semester at Lingnan, I ask myself:
“Why didn’t you drop out and go home?” And every time I hear myself saying this question out loud, I say: “Because there are reasons, circumstances, or fate that brought me here to Hong Kong”.
Steep learning curve.
Looking back to my previous semesters, I understand that being here in Hong Kong and at Lingnan taught me how to be a better person that I am today. It taught me how to live beyond home, how to make new friends, how to interact with mentors, professors, classmates, and peers, but most importantly, living in Hong Kong taught me how to be an independent individual who is ready to face challenges and hardships of the modern world.
Yes, my high school also had a mission to teach that, but when you are in your hometown, and when you are in an unknown metropolis thousands of kilometers away, the experience is going to be much different. Unbeknown to myself, I started doing things I would not usually do at home.
Learnt to enjoy small things.
I started going out a lot more, be that a picnic, a hike, or as simple as a walk around the campus – I started a regular habit of not staying in my room for more than couple hours. Meeting new exchange students and showing them around Hong Kong became my new routine as well. I understand how hard it can be for them:
I have been in their shoes once, so I decided to be a helper for them during their exchange semesters.
Finally, I've discovered myself.
Coming to Hong Kong did not turn me into the “perfect” international student my dad imagined, but it did something even more important: it helped me discover who I really am. I learned that grades, friendships, and people’s opinions about you will rise and fall, but the long run of this all is the courage you master along the way.
Lingnan University has become the place where I made mistakes, learned from them, and slowly became a more independent, and empathetic version of myself. I may not be the ideal representation of my dad’s words, but gradually, step by step, I happen to grow into the person that I strive to be – and this is a journey I am proud not to have given up on.
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Last updated: September 3, 2026