CW Chu College The Chinese University of Hong Kong eNewsletter

Mr LIN Tzu Heng is from Taiwan. He is a founding student of CW Chu College, and is thrilled to share his experience as an undergraduate at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the person-in-charge of planning the Taiwanese Night and Movie Night.

By Mr LIN Tzu Heng

Being the organiser of the Taiwanese Night and the Movie Night was a valuable opportunity. Not only was I able to promote Taiwanese culture and gain experience in event organising, but I could also meet and make new friends at the College.

At first, I expected to see more local than international or Mainland students at the event because the impression that Hong Kong people loved Taiwan and its culture was deep-rooted in my mind. Since I entered the University, I have always been told that Hong Kong people enjoyed travelling in Taiwan and savoured Taiwanese delicacies. Therefore, when I was planning for the functions, I avoided what I thought was familiar to most Hong Kong people and chose what was most likely to be unheard-of in Hong Kong. Much to my surprise, the majority of the participants were non-local students. If I had known that the participants were mainly non-local, I would probably have prepared something well-known and popular.

As a matter of fact, I took joy in holding the two events even though it was somewhat disappointing to learn that many Exchange students did not understand what the movie was about at the Movie Night. Later, I have come to realise that it was a clear example of cultural difference and represents the value of an Exchange Programme—a chance for people to learn about a new and different culture, which resembles my experience in Hong Kong. My five years here was like a long-term Exchange. At the very beginning, I was excited to visit to a place that I had never been to; yet everything was so different from that at home. Therefore, there was a period of time when I was hit by a culture shock. Apart from the cultural difference, I was also somehow faced with a language barrier, although mine was not as great as that of an international student. Even though Hongkongers and Taiwanese people theoretically share a common language, Chinese, the language varieties we use are very different, in terms of writing and speaking, owing to the underlying cultural differences. Therefore, it was not easy for me to become close with the local students although they were nice and friendly. Speaking of this matter, I am glad that I entered CW Chu College as the College's small student body has fostered bonding among students. Eventually I overcame the culture shock and language barrier, and made some friends for life there.

Throughout my undergraduate studies, I tried hard to improve my Cantonese, attempted to be proactive and make new friends, and got to know more about Hong Kong. I have never lived in a place for so long other than Taiwan. These few years has made Hong Kong my second home, and I now consider myself as half-local. The College surely provided me with a perfect environment to meet and make friends with people from various backgrounds, whether local or international.

My fellow College mates, let me end this sharing with a piece of friendly advice—'Always seize the opportunities that cross your paths and make your College life more fruitful by making good use of them!'