It almost 2:30, Monday afternoon. Xue Ya still is haunted by memories of that afternoon. She was in her final year of secondary school, attending a class on the fourth floor of her school in An County, Sichuan Province, when the building suddenly began to collapse around her and her fellow students. An County is situated in the Minyang District, one of the hardest hit areas of the May 12th 2008 Sichuan Earthquake,

A year later, Xue Ya recalls the time of terror. She is far from home, attending studies in accounting and finance at Hong Kong's Polytechnic University. She remembers terror and a desperate rush for survival. Scenes come to mind recalling how she and her classmates tried to do what they could for the injured, some of whom had been buried under the falling debris. She remembers sadness, as she returned to her family's home and seeing it reduced to rubble.

"I cannot make much change to the aftermath of the earthquake now," she said. "I will rather learn and experience more. I may make more contributions when I go back home."

She's come to Hong Kong, looking for new opportunities, new horizons.

In the months that followed, her sadness never left her, even as she arrived in Hong Kong to begin her new life.

"I was very worried. I kept calling my family, asking them how was life, but indeed I cannot help much because I am away," she said.

But Xue believes that giving up studies to go back home would not make the feeling of sadness go away. She takes her mind off it by focusing her attention to study English, which is the medium of instruction for most subjects in universities.

Her concerns for her family have eased a little now that reconstruction is underway. She's excited to be going home to visit her parents during the summer holiday.

"I keep calling my parents more even after their lives have turned better," she said. "The earthquake has taught me one lesson. The most important thing of my life is that I and my parents can stay together. Once that is fulfilled, losing other things becomes unimportant."

Xue's friends in PolyU, Gu Xiaofang and Yao Yao, are also studying hard, hoping that when they graduate they also will be able to contribute to the rebuilding of their home.

"Studying hard here is the best gift we can give to our parents,"Yao said.

Gu and Yao were accepted by Sichuan University's School of Medicine. Both, however, decided to attend PolyU to study logistics and accounting respectively.

Gu and Yao's homes were not badly damaged in the earthquake. They helped other victims of last year's quake. Yao helped delivering aid materials. Gu counseled children.

In Hong Kong, both had difficulty understanding subjects taught in English. And they look for ways to make better use of their time. "The learning environment here is totally different from our high school," Gu said. "Our schedules in high school were fully packed. Now, we have a lot of spare time, and we have to ask ourselves how best we use our time for better studies."

(HK Edition 05/12/2009 page3)