Forming International Friendships in Hong Kong

Emma Lenz
2018
China Center Scholarship

During my experience abroad, I really enjoyed getting to know students from Hong Kong and around the world. I participated in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s International Summer Exchange Program, where I was one of over 200 students from all over the world. Through my courses, I met many of these international students as well as many local university students attending summer courses. I really enjoyed getting to know them and learning about their cultures. I became very close friends with students from mainland China, Singapore, Korea, Turkey, and Belgium. We frequently had engaging discussions comparing our history, education, language, family life, and religion. I especially enjoyed when they introduced me to their traditional foods, many of which could be found around Hong Kong. I also shared some of my culture with them, and they were especially curious about the cold weather and snow in Minnesota. Despite our different backgrounds, I made many close friends, and we enjoyed exploring the city, going to museums, and trying new foods together. I’m very thankful for this opportunity to expand my perspective by meeting students from all over the world and learning about their cultures.

While my program was not focused on language and all my classes were in English, I tried to learn some Cantonese in order to communicate with the locals. I soon learned that, since Cantonese changes frequently and uses a lot of slang, the resources I had been studying didn’t accurately reflect how the locals communicated. Because of this, I found it was more effective to learn by listening in on conversations my friends would have in Cantonese, and asking them questions about it. They were very helpful and eager to help me learn, which I really appreciated. I didn’t focus on learning the writing system, but by the end of the trip I could recognize several common characters. Some of my proudest accomplishments were using Cantonese with locals. This included asking for the bus stop, ordering at restaurants, wishing the librarians a good morning, and even bargaining at the street markets. I was very proud of my progress by the end of the exchange program.

When I arrived in Hong Kong, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make friends with the students who weren’t from the US. Meeting my roommate made me a little more nervous, since she didn’t understand English very well and mostly spent time with other students from Korea. However, as I attended lectures and worked on group projects, I found that despite many cultural differences, I could understand and have meaningful conversations with students from all backgrounds. We found many similarities, but we also accepted and celebrated each other’s differences. By collaborating on group projects, I learned that our different backgrounds did sometimes make it difficult for us to communicate our ideas effectively, but our varied experiences and ways of thinking enriched our projects and took them in new directions. From this experience, I learned that you don’t have to have things in common with others to build meaningful relationships. Our differences aren’t an obstacle that needs to be overcome in order to build friendships; instead our differences allow us to learn and grow. As I return to the US and continue my studies here, I am confident that I can build meaningful connections with anyone regardless of their culture or background.