Arriving in Hong Kong last September was both my first time coming here and my first time going anywhere in Asia. I felt that as an international exchange student, the Family Sharing Programme would be a good opportunity to meet new people in an unfamiliar environment and at a new university. Also, it would be an interesting way to learn more about local culture and traditions, as well as a few useful phrases!
Two students from the mainland were also allocated to our “family”, making us a diverse group – China, Great Britain, and Hong Kong! This made for some rather interesting conversations when we met each other at the inauguration, comparing these very different societies and our thoughts on Hong Kong.
In light of this, thank you for the warm welcome and the invaluable service to help international students, like me, to involve more deeply in local. It is really great to have a friendly welcome to Hong Kong, and someone to ask all sorts of questions on life here.
I particularly enjoyed our “yum cha” gathering at a restaurant in Causeway Bay. As this was the first time that I had been for this type of meal, it was particularly interesting. It was useful to learn the fine points of etiquette and, of course, to taste all the different dishes (ho ho sik!). We also had a memorable dinner at a Korean barbeque restaurant in Mongkok – also my first experience of this type of dining that is popular among Hong Kong people. It was really valuable for us three ‘mentees’ to have your local knowledge of places to go, so that we could go and try your family’s favourite restaurants.
Let’s stay in touch, and organise another gathering in the near future!
All the best,
Ben
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