Month: March 2023

Tim used to be my teacher and counselor. He has a cross cultural marriage. I got the chance to meet with him while I was on home visit in Rochester, NY in February 2023. He was gracious enough to let me interview him about his language journey with his wife. Tim has a number of insights on overcoming language struggles. https://vimeo.com/809078268 Here are some of the questions and points from the interview. What kinds of challenges did you face in your marriage? Key points - Language cultural differences can be offensive. Yield to the others cultural expression. What language(s) did…

Last Saturday wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty close. I decided not to bring my camera with me to Trio beach because there was some chance of rain, and my mind was on other things. Mistake, I should have brought it. One well opportunity waits for no one. As I drove the motorcycle down Sai Sha Road, overlooking the waterfront, I saw some beautiful views. The sun was peering through the fog over the water. It looked amazing. https://vimeo.com/808256022 Making Excuses I arrived at the geological park and took my usual walk to the beach. The ground was wet, and…

Home is where the heart is. There are still a lot of things to like about Hong Kong and for now it is my home. I have friends here but I would not say I have a lot of close friends here. I think going deep with people requires the ability to communicate well in their language. There are a lot of foreigners who have lived here for more than 10 years without learning to speak much Cantonese. From my perspective language is essential to feeling at home. Of course, Cantonese is difficult and most foreigners have foreign friends that…

Do you find that the locals speak too fast for you to keep up with? Try finding another source to study from. You have to take baby steps towards your goal. For years people in Hong Kong tried to discourage me from learning Cantonese. They didn't want to speak with me in Cantonese. I found this to be very different than China. On the mainland, they were more willing to put up with my Mandarin mistakes. If it weren’t for the fact that I married a Hong Kong girl, I would have given up. At the time, even my wife,…

A lot of people travel all over the world teaching ESL. With a 4 year degree and a TEFL, Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate, a native speaker can teach English in more than 100 countries. It is a great opportunity to see and experience another culture. More than 70 percent of the people who leave their home country to teach ESL decide to get out of teaching ESL abroad after 1 to 2 years. It seems that for most people teaching abroad represents a relatively short-term adventure and not a career. Teaching English can be quite lucrative, but…

Hong Kong inherited a lot from the British, for example, their love for the rule of law and their love for the English language both stem from the British. Hong Kong’s location made it a perfect hub for international trade. Westerners wanted goods from China, but they couldn't speak Chinese. Hong Kong people provided a go between. Business flourished here and many people came here to make money. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 and political conditions the mood has changed. Many people are immigrating to other countries and taking up jobs there. Hong Kong’s population increased by an average of 53,000…