Last Day at School

May 28th, 2010

I am writing this on my final day at school. I can’t believe that I have completed 9 months at the school and my time in Hong Kong is almost complete. I fly back to the U.K. on June 2nd to see family and friends and to start training for a teaching job in London.



This week has been really difficult as the students slowly realize you are leaving and say really kind things and make beautiful cards and presents for you. I have had so many photographs with staff and students in and outside of lessons which will be a lovely memory to keep with me. Everyone has been so welcoming here.



My teacher – in – charge, Cecily, asked me whether Hong Kong was what I had expected and it took me a while to think of the answer because, it’s hard to remember how you felt and your feelings and views before I had experienced any of this. However, upon pondering for a while, I think I am right in saying that it is not what I expected, but its better. There are so many things I have experienced and learnt here that has been over and above my expectations and even hopes for this year.



For one, I did not expect to have become so much part of the school, to have been welcomed at every turn to join in and participate as one of the staff rather than as a language assistant. I have been privileged to have been asked to join in both whole school events, and daily activities like assembly and to be able to be completely immersed into school life here despite the language barrier.

Most importantly, I did not expect to meet such wonderful people and to have made really genuine friends at the school, with whom I want to keep in touch with, but I have, in abundance. I did not expect to have been so completely humbled by how the students and staff have gone out of their way to make me feel as welcome and as valued as I have been made to feel. It really has been a privilege to work here and I will miss it very much.


I did not expect to have learnt and experienced as much as I have whilst being here. Living and working in, not only a different country but a vastly different culture, where the values and the norms often vastly differ from that which you have assumed to be normal, has resulted in a steep and often overwhelming learning curve, having to adapt and adjust in order to understand the different mindset which accompanies how the people live their lives here. This ranges from the widely practiced tai chi ‘morning exercise’ here, which you see practiced each week by the whole school, in parks, playgrounds and even on the public transport as early as half 4 in the morning by huge numbers of people across the city. This calm, focus and serenity, demanded by the practice of tai chi, stands in stark contrast to the seemingly never ending bustle and noise of the 7 million people in the city. It is so enjoyable to come across it when you least expect it. E.g. on a basketball court on your way to work or in a courtyard next to the school, as I am waiting outside the classroom for a lesson. Not only does it have clear physical benefits, improving your agility and flexibility amongst others, it also is probably also a real help when dealing with the fast paced life that makes up Hong Kong, enabling people to keep focused and not get stressed or angry or frustrated with the crowds, as is so often the temptation when you are trying to make the leap onto an overflowing MTR carriage or simply trying to move along the pavement to get home!

Also, another small thing is the way in which, despite the often stifling heat here, they do not eat nor drink cold things. They believe that cold water, especially, is bad for your stomach and always drink hot water. Indeed, all of my staff, throughout the day seem to drink little else than hot water. They hardly drink caffeine, as dairy is also not part of their diets in any big way at all, often just having herbal tea or usually just water. It is a habit I found really odd and almost absurd in 35-40 degree heat but, sufficed to say, I now drink mainly hot water as well! Similarly, with food, the only cold food I think they eat is sushi. All meals are hot, from breakfast to supper and often snacks are often hot too. They often have bakery products but they often warm those up as well. Again, while I thought it was strange at the beginning, I now find myself swapping my homemade sandwich and joining the microwave queue to heat up my rice and vegetables at lunchtime!

I could continue forever, but I guess the only other thing I want to mention is the hygiene and the cleanliness of the whole city. It seems a given that people are clean and hygienic but Hong Kong makes me and U.K. appear filthy! It was not helped that, when I arrived, they were still highly paranoid about the H1N1 virus, and so as soon as I got off the plane, my temperature was taken, a face mask was put on me and hand wash was applied to my hands, even before I have left the airport! An overwhelming but in many ways accurate taste of what was to come!

On the MTRs, in lifts and any public buildings, you will find signs saying that the buttons, handrails escalators, doors, etc have been sanitized every 2/3 hours. Often they are covered by protective plastic that is again replaced often to prevent contamination. In KFC, when you order a basket of chicken, you get clear gloves to put onto your hands to eat them with! At school, all the staff mugs have a cup cover, - a sort of lid that is applied to the cup while it is not in use, to prevent germs getting in. Mine, being basically the only one that doesn’t, is covered by a cloth each night by the janitors..! Then, there is the ubiquitous face mask, that we all wore every day for the first few weeks when we arrived and still remains as standard practice for people of all ages, who are feeling unwell so as not to spread germs. It is strange how something that seemed so strange and foreign, becomes so commonplace and expected – indeed I do not even think twice about seeing people in masks and have gotten quite used to wearing them myself if I am not feeling well.



I guess these, and the million other small things are all part of adapting to a new culture and the fact that they become normal is, I guess, I sign that you have started to become a part of it, adjusting your own views and expectations to be more in line with the environment that you are in. And these are the things, bizarrely, that I will most probably miss or find strange back at home as well now! I feel as though this year, I have learnt, and experienced so much that it is hard to put into words and I sometimes wonder how easy it will be to slot back into life in England after this 9 months here. However, I reckon it will be easier than I think and I am sure to be back in the swing of things soon. I am excited to get back home and see family and friends and to start a wholly different challenge next year.

I am aware that this is a long and rambling post and I will end it soon! But, sufficed to say, Hong Kong as a city, is one of the most interesting, exciting, vibrant, energetic and manic cities that I have ever been to in the world, and one that was worlds away from the small Scottish town of St Andrews, and even so far removed from where I went to school but one which I really have grown to love and would recommend to anyone to come and experience it for themselves. I did not expect, I guess, to have settled here as firmly and as well as I have.



Thank you all for reading this blog!