First, I am grateful to every Hong Kong-er, local friend, teammate, and classmate. I am grateful that you've gone out of our way to translate for me at times and I'm grateful that you include me in your daily lives. I really am grateful that you're my friends. I like the people of Hong Kong despite the fast-paced lifestyle. I appreciate the ambitions of my peers. I get along well. People make friends with me. I am glad that the house associations finally got their act together and allowed some international students to play in their inter-house competitions (some of you may remember last year's distasteful incident where I wasn't allowed to play in the 3-on-3 female basketball matches because I was an international student).
But at the end of the day, I still haven't found anyone I've connected with on a deeper level. And even if I can get past the language barrier, my closest friends and I have to struggle to overcome cultural barriers, which can be exhausting. I know if I'm not happy with something, I should start by changing myself and I should learn the language to a fluent level. After all, it's better than complaining. On the other hand, when will I find the time to learn Cantonese with the life that HKUST has burdened its students with?! (P.S. I will be staying in HK over the summer, so that will definitely give me time to perfect my Canto :D)
I just hope everyone can understand where I'm coming from when I express my frustration.
Here's a list of some of the most frustrating parts of being a non-Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong:
1. Constantly asking for a translation. This is one of the most frustrating things... not because I have to do it repeatedly, but because I feel... like I'm annoying to people. I feel like I'm bothersome. Useless. Just some body that people are obliged to translate for. I'm just another chore. Not having an instant understanding of what's going on is difficult.
2. Missing jokes and when funny things happen. When you think about it, jokes and sharing laughs are one of the main ways people bond and grow together. As an international student, I can share a bond with my local friend over the funny things that have happened because of language and culture. In the end, however, missing the funny cues that happen in class or the funny things that people say make me feel isolated... even when people try to explain what happened. It's just different laughing with people when compared to laughing after it's explained to you.
3. Wishing people would just talk to me instead of (a) being afraid that I'll judge them for "poor English" or (b) assuming that I don't want to chat. First of all, even if I thought your English was bad, I would understand. Even if I appear frustrated and even if I act frustrated, deep down, I don't mind. I've had professors with terrifying English. (more on that later)
Also, don't assume I don't want to talk. I'm sad that sometimes people won't pay attention to me because I can't speak Cantonese. There would be times when my roommates would chat happily with each other in Cantonese and I'd just sit there on my computer, having an idea of what they're saying, but not wanting to ask what they're talking about. Now that's not fair. Don't isolate me. It all goes back to item number 1 on this list, though. Maybe they find it annoying that they'd have to translate every single thing?
4. Teachers with incomprehensible accents!!!
Because of this, I have to self-learn course material and going to class almost always seems pointless if I can't understand 70% of what my professors are saying. It sucks. When you can't understand the teachers, how would you ever feel motivated or inspired to learn the material?!?! Even my local classmates have a hard time understanding some professors. However, there are a few teachers that inspire me and have good command of spoken English.
5. Missing out on useful discussions about coursework. Even though the language of instruction is in English, that doesn't mean that students talk about the coursework in English outside of class. It's hard for me to discuss classwork with classmates. While being self-reliant academically isn't that bad, it's still hard compared to when I used to have frequent study groups back in the U.S.
6. Fear of people talking behind my back or making fun of me. Okay, this is an item that's more for the insecure. And at times, I can be. I guess it speaks for itself, no? There was one time in basketball practice, I was particularly sensitive that day. I said something in Cantonese... and one of the captains turned around to a teammate and repeated what I said in a mocking tone. Was that even necessary? Was it funny that I spoke Cantonese? Why disrespect that I try to fit in? Why disrespect that I try to learn the language. That's not fair. But I guess that's just on my sensitive days.
7. Sports. Instant communication has been another barrier to climb. No need to explain this one.
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The list goes on, but there's 7 main points for you and I hope that locals can understand what I go through on an almost daily basis. Some international students deal with these problems by further isolating themselves and teaming up with other international students. Korean students with Korean students. International school kids with international school kids. Locals with locals. Indonesians with Indonesians. It's the natural order of things, I suppose. At this moment, though, I'm demanding respect from my local friends.
Don't try to see me for where I come from or what language I speak. I'm a woman who has passions, dreams, and, yes, insecurities.
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