My thoughts....
In the coming September, I will start my last year of university. September 6 will be not only the first day of my class, but also the day of becoming Canaadian citizen. Time really flies, so amazing. On the other side of the globe, many of my friends have already done their degrees and have begun their jobs. Sometimes I do feel bad because I am a year behind of them. Am I a victim of the discrepacy of the Hong Kong's and Canada's ecucation? I lost contacts with many of my friends in Hong Kong after moving to Canada. It does not sound good of living in Canada. Well, things can not be said in this way.
I used to have such feelings. But, it can be more optimisstic. In these 4.5 years in Canada, I really saw many new things and met many wonderful people. My first year in Canada gave me time to adjust to the new community. I also picked the chance to increase my language proficiency. Before coming to here, I could only communicate in Cantonese. However, the multicultural environment in the Canada pushed me to speak more English. Also, the increasing number of migration of Mandarin speakers helped me a lot to practice Mandarin. As a Chinese, I strongly believe Mandarin is the most standard form among all dialects. I can't say I am very fluent in speaking English and Mandarin. One thing I can guarantee is that I have no problem in using them to talk with the native speakers of the languages. In Canada, I can communicate easily with the locals. In Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, I chatted with the locals in Mandarin.
Also, staying in Canada makes me to be more culturally sensitive. When the locals (or Canadian borned Chinese) asked about Chinese customs and traditions, I start to realise how bad I am of not knowing much about Chinese culture. It is this reason inspiring me to understand and to know more my true identity.
I also got opportunities to make friends from all around the world. This is really once in a life experience that I don't think I could have if I stay in Hong Kong. Since my first year in McGill, I have been interested in East Asian culture. Opportunities of travelling (discount tickets offered only to Canadian residents) appeared and my friendship connections in various Asian countries allowed me to actually experience the differences among the races in this continent.
My 3 years in university taught me a lot in how to live and think independently. I learnt to turn everyday life problems into solutions. Sometimes, I am mad as the outcomes are out of my will. But, it is always better to learn from failures. This is the best way to improve myself.
As said before, this page would contain many of my writings. At this moment, most of the writings in the journal are about my feelings of travelling. For sure, I will add some more other things progressively. At the same time, I would keep some information of me updated!
August 24, 2001