For service learning, we visited a primary school and an elderly care centre. In mid-July, we went to Sunnyfields Primary School located next to Middlesex University London. The primary school students were mostly six to nine years old children. We played games with them and taught them how to use chopsticks and play shuttlecock (or Jianzi). The children there had much more space to do physical exercises and a greater variety of sports when compared to ordinary Hong Kong children. Surprisingly, I had more fun visiting the elderly care center in late July. We went to a Jewish elderly care centre named Clore Manor, which was around 20 minutes walking distance from Middlesex University London. I saw many old things which I believed belonging to the residents there,  a Designer and Cutter certificate issued in 1937, a ration book issued by Ministry of Food during 1951-1952, a fashion guide called Ponting' s Easter Fashion News in 1958, to name but a few. We gave a brief presentation about different aspects of Hong Kong. In addition, we sang Cantonese and English songs, taught Chinese words, served cakes and gave out souvenirs to people there. I talked to a couple of old people and they told me about themselves and asked me questions. Only few people were able to express themselves clearly and showed interest in our presentation and activities. " LEE Kin Yan Kathryn

We had regular English lessons in Middlesex University on weekdays. My teacher was Marilyn. She was a funny and experienced teacher. Marilyn always prepared extra notes for us such as some good writing examples and some focus exercises for boosting our English in a short period of time, and taught us tactics of getting high marks in IELTS. We all enjoyed her lessons and had a happy time there. What distinguished Marilyn from other teachers was that she loved telling stories. She told us about the history of London and also her past experiences. Sometimes, we had schedules in the afternoon such as visiting historical attractions. She would then tell us the stories of those attractions. The most unforgettable London history for me is the 1966 great fire of London. It was a really cruel history; many people died. Also, I could understand the struggle of the Government that burning down the city could totally stop the disease but also killed many innocent lives. Although our teacher was good and we had a happy time, it was not easy to cope with the programme as we had a lot of homework and little leisure time. The lessons in the UK are totally different from Hong Kong. I was first worried about finding the lessons boring and hard to go through this month, but now time flies and I have known more about London and finally fallen in love with this place. " Li Hiu Yan

Homestay is the most essential part of the programme. Each student was arranged to stay in a host family. My host Thelma is a kind old lady. As our schedule for each day was different, it was quite inconvenient for her to prepare meals for me. Still, she was so kind that she remembered my schedules and cooked dinner for me. It was my first time to travel to Europe by myself and stay in a homestay. I felt very nervous at the beginning, but Thelma gave me lots of help and support. Even there were lots of activities, the homestay was the best place for me to rest and get prepared for the next day. After a month with Thelma, I felt so sad that I had to leave.

Since I am a final year student, this would most probably be my last overseas programme. I got many new and eye-opening experiences in London and I really enjoyed spending time with students from different departments and people from different countries. It was a fabulous and exciting trip with lots of great memories. They gave my university life a perfect ending. "Yeung Kwan Ling Queenie