I was often asked how it is like in Hong Kong. And some are surprised of how different I am from their Chinese friends.
When I was with westerners I could see many differences between both cultures. The way we think, habits, interpersonal relationships etc. but it is with Asians that I realized Hong Kong is much more international (or should I say westernized) than other Asian countries (China, Korea and Japan). Interesting facts like:
We all have our own English names
Everyone can read, write, speak English at varying degrees
Some of us can't even speak Chinese
We listen to western music, and dramas and movies
We have so many western brands
We have the same shoe size measurement as Europe and US (or maybe it's Japan who is different)
Our official language is English and Chinese and everyone learns English from kindergarten (and shamefully not speaking well)
We have lots of expats from around the world
And many of us studied or lived abroad for some time
We have restaurants of all kinds of cuisines
And (maybe) our media reports from the western point of view
Etc etc.
Other interesting things:
Our trees never turn yellow in autumn
It never snows
It never had earthquakes (Japanese thought it happens everywhere)
We don't need visa for Russia and Europe
We speak Cantonese, not Mandarin
I begin to feel it is such a comfortable place to live in. Everything close at hand. Convenient, fast, efficient. But sometimes we Hong Kong people lose our strength and instinct with the nature by being too comfortable in the city. Bad times may not come in our lifetime. But who knows? Sometimes it is saddening to know young kids kill themselves for just minor failures. Strange world.
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