Quality time (updated)

Last night, (well, it would have been early Wednesday morning for all of our stateside readers), concluded week 2 of 6 in our English class we are helping out with at one of the local universities. It’s been wonderful meeting new faces on this campus. Most of the relationships that have crossed our path’s thus far have been graduate students, so it was awesome meeting not only NEW faces, but some more foundation year students. Now foundation year students are most often from Mainland China who are in kind of an adjustment period in HK. The idea is actually pretty cool if you think about it. Before their course work gets too stressful or their plate gets too full with activities, they have time to meet new friends and comfortably settle into this new thing called college life. These foundation year students will more than likely call Hong Kong home for the next 4-5 years as they pursue their prospective degrees. They’re learning how to be on their own for the first time, discovering the in’s and out’s of life in Hong Kong, possibly learning Cantonese and more importantly, learning English. Any Mainland student that is accepted into a Hong Kong university must test at a certain proficiency in English because the majority of their courses are taught in English. That’s where this class comes into the picture. We’ve seen that a very tangible way to share life with these students is by offering our expertise in this confusing language called English. These foundation year students are eager to grow as English speakers and I think it’s safe to say that Wednesday nights are becoming the highlight of our week.

It’s interesting to see how a class like this multiplies in attendance over the first few weeks. You have those that sign up early, those that might be a little skeptical and sign up the day of, and then those go-getters that come the first week and love it so much that they bring 5-10 new friends the next week (you get the idea). As volunteers, it’s rewarding to see the class grow like this. We hope it indicates a genuine interest in our abilities and more importantly, that they know we are committed to them as friends. It’s so apparent that these young college students just want a friend. (If we are honest with ourselves, we undoubtedly see our tremendous need and desire for community regardless of culture and no matter how introverted we think we are ). Our new friends have been completely removed from everything that is comfortable and normal to them in Mainland. I know some have even felt the sting of prejudice simply because they are Mainlanders living in Hong Kong. They want to be heard. They want to laugh over a cup of coffee. They want to learn English and understand Western culture more clearly. May we carry this opportunity and calling well!

“Father, may they know us by our love…”

We will be sure to share more Wednesday night experiences as we continue in the course. Continue to pray for us and these new relationships! Check back in soon for a short video, too.

Below are some shots from the past week-

zach

top