The Polytechnic University (PolyU) wonderfully located in TST (right by Victoria harbour) runs a very popular english conversation evening called Big Mouth Corner, during which, PolyU students have an opportunity to come and chat to a group of us from the Chatteris program. It is one of the community programmes offered to us during Orientation. As well as being a great opportunity for the students to improve their spoken, conversational English ( which appears to be a common weakness with most students across Hong Kong, who don't get access to speak to native english speakers ) in an informal and relaxed environment, I have found it is also an invaluable experience for us, who get to chat to people doing the same thing we were all doing not even a year ago! and to find out how their experience is the same as ours in many ways. As well as chatting to them, we also take it in turns to arrange some sort of cultural activities for them to do as a way of learning and sharing about different cultures etc.
It is a wonderful complement to working at the primary level where, you don't get to have such interaction in English and a great way to find out about what life is like in Hong Kong for people our age! As well as having students, I had a lecturer who came along (can you believe all of their lectures are given in English?! it is so humbling when they come along and chat to you about politics, festivals, geography, history etc for an hour and still insist their english needs to be better!) and it was wonderful to chat to him and get an insight in to how life has changed for people living in Hong Kong.
I have to admit, wandering around their campus at dusk time, there was such a buzz and a sense of so much going on. There were posters, notices, signs, events, everything plastered everywhere. It made me remember how all encompassing student life is and what a bubble it becomes and did make me a little nostalgic for the freedom and the time that comes with the student lifestyle! However, I did also pass the glaring yellow lights of the library and was not so sure! haha! No, I miss every part of life of the St Andrews experience and made me think of all my lovely friends who are studying at St Andrews or elsewhere.
So much love to you all and hope you are settling back in to well worn routines or settling in to new ones. Good luck with the classes and the work, I am thinking of you all and can't wait to hear all of your new experiences. xxxxxxxxx
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