Leaving the comfort zone.

(From South China Morning Post)

Byline: CUHK student Chan Siu-sin is back in Hong Kong after a year studying journalism in southern California.

THERE IS A scrap of paper at the bottom of one of my drawers with notes I made just before heading off on an exchange programme in the US last year.

Under the "what to take" column I jotted down dozens of items - from maps and a tape recorder to medicines and mothballs.

And under another heading, "things to check", I listed weather conditions, driving requirements, banking and insurance details, luggage limits and campus housing, among other things. I made any number of preparations to study abroad, most jotted down and dutifully checked off.

But there is one thing infinitely far more important than deciding what to pack or even working for TOEFL and SAT exams: deciding to travel with an open mind and accept cultural differences while preserving one's own identity.

More than 2,500 students will be leaving Hong Kong, many for the first time, between …