My Life in Blacksburg, Virginia

LIFE IN A MICROCOSM

This is the third month since I arrived in Blacksburg, Virginia. I cannot say that I am totally used to university life in Virginia Tech, but I am so glad that I have this great opportunity to live in this fascinating place for one semester. I lived in Hall 7 for the past three years and I enjoyed my residence life so much – we have a handsome hall master, kind-hearted tutors, and lovely floor-mates. Our residence never lacked fun because we had parties, orientations, singing contests, basketball games and all kinds of floor gatherings.

Now I am living in Newman Hall in Virginia Tech. The biggest characteristic of this residence is its diversity, just like this country. We have 293 residents from 15 countries. You will see students partying in the lounge, gathering in front of the TV and shouting during NCAA Basketball games, playing the guitar with the door open (like me), or hurrying to the library carrying tons of books (most probably Chinese and Indian students).

I am so lucky to live in a very social residence. On my floor, everybody knows everybody. On the day I moved in, my floor-mates were very friendly. They dropped in one by one about every 10 minutes just to say hi to me. In Newman, if you are not studying, you usually leave your door open. So others may just walk in and talk to you about stuff like: “Did you watch the game between Virginia Tech and UNC (University of North Carolina)?” “Do you want to join me to the French party on Friday?” or “Hey, do you know that cutie?”

Actually, residence life is the best part of my exchange experience. We hang out with hall-mates, have dinner together and party every weekend. And during the Spring Break (like Easter Break in Hong Kong), I went to Myrtle Beach with four other guys, all from Newman.