Hi again! As midterms begin, marking the halfway point of my time here, I thought I would reflect on how I've adjusted to living in Hong Kong. I can hardly believe my time here is halfway over. I guess it's true what they say, "time flies when you're having fun." Since arriving, I've experienced so many new things. From learning how to say phrases in Mandarin and Cantonese, to navigating the city through various modes of public transport and trying new foods, there's a lot to talk about.
When thinking about living in another country, I used to think that the biggest change would be speaking a different language every day. However, that's not the case for where I am living in Hong Kong. Because the British colonized this region in the 1800s, English is spoken by almost everyone I've come into contact with. I have learned a couple of phrases in Mandarin and Cantonese, though. For example, in Mandarin, "I am a student" is Wo shi xue sheng (pronouced wuh shuh shoe-i-shung). Another phrase that I use often is "thank you," which in Cantonese is m̀hgòi (pronounced mmm goi; the word "goi" rhymes with boy).
One tough part to learning Mandarin and Cantonese is that how you pronounce a word is very important.
