Hong Kong a city that foreigners call home
Print Edition
ON the wall of Stacy Belcher Lee’s office hang two pieces of delicate embroidery featuring Suzhou Gardens and the West Lake in Hangzhou.
The director of University Archives at the University of Hong Kong also has sets of traditional Chinese garments hanging on a clothes rack.
Lee, a blonde, blue-eyed American, prefers not to be called a “foreigner.” For her, Hong Kong is home.
“I’ve been living in Hong Kong for almost 11 years, and my husband is also a Hong Kong native. I usually speak Cantonese,” she said.
Lee arrived in Hong Kong in 2006 after resigning from a university in the United States, knowing nothing about the local language and no one in the city. But she quickly got used to life in the city.
She found Hong Kong people to be friendly, courteous, and family-oriented, just like those in her hometown of Virginia.
After traveling back and forth between Hong Kong and her hometown for a few years, Lee realized it was time to settle down.
When she got married in 2014, she chose a traditional Chinese dress, decorated with dragons and phoenixes.
Hong Kong, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of its return to the motherland this year, has become even more diversified and international over the past 11 years, Lee said.
Like Lee, Swathi Kr Iyengar, from India, regards himself a Hong Kong local. For Swathi, it is where dreams come true.
Swathi arrived in Hong Kong about 25 years ago with US$800 in his pocket. He used to have three part-time jobs and shared a tiny apartment with people from different countries.
As Swathi puts it, life in the past 25 years was arduous but full of hope. Now his family is living in an upscale community, and his two sons attend a renowned school.
The children have won prizes in local Chinese language contests. “Chinese is an important language in the world today,” said Swathi.
Swathi regards Hong Kong as one of the safest places in the world with an excellent business atmosphere, efficient social system, well-equipped infrastructure and convenient working conditions.
For Jose, a Mexican, three years was long enough for him to fall in love with the city.
Jose was assigned to work in Hong Kong in 2014. “I got lost in the surrounding skyscrapers,” he recalled of his first day.
Now, he enjoys getting up early for a morning run, exploring nice restaurants with friends, watching horse races, hiking and cycling in the suburbs.
Jose regards Hong Kong a desirable place for foreigners.
“No matter which lifestyles you prefer, Chinese or Western, you can find whatever you want” in Hong Kong, he said.
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