Confessions of a Corporate Shopaholic

The life lessons we learned in a school filled with so much diversity never meant to be easy.  When you were 17 or 18, you weren’t such well-behaved, accepting and politically correct as you are now.  Most students had never set foot out of their countries or even their hometowns.  We ran into schoolmates whose countries we couldn’t pronounce.  We celebrated each country’s national day, and we brought along our so-called national costumes to showcase in cultural events.  (Don’t ask me what national costume I brought along)  No matter how many seminars and coaching sessions the school teachers had hosted from day one, there were still many cases of disputes, complaints and charges on racial remarks, disturbances, and sometimes even physical fights.  However it was also these painful incidents for us kids to learn in a hard way.   Of course, there are still lots of funny bits which I can still remember quite vividly, even after all these years.

1. To Eat

With students coming from over 65 countries, there is only one commonality of all: we all hated the cafeteria food.  It serves American/Mexican and occasionally blends in exotic choices from around the world.   Regardless of their efforts, no one was pleased, including the Americans.  The result was that the dorm pantries were filled with students scrambling for the shared pots and pans to make their own meals, utilizing less than exotic ingredients we could gather from the nearby Safeway.   Our American friends were not used to the pungent smells and smoke we created downstairs, but when hunger striked, you often saw them digging in the stir-fry you just finished from scratch.  It was loads of fun when you find eating the ultimate universal language.  It is unimaginable for us now that the most popular staple food in school used to be the super unglamorous and unhealthy instant noodles.  The instant noodles they sold in the school’s store as well as in Safeway was the worst you could find on earth, with bizarre flavors named “Oriental”.  Yet on almost every hungry long night, nothing was more satisfying than a hot steaming bowl of noodles.  The Asian students first started cooking them and after a week or so, all of our European and American friends became adopters.  Soon after we experimented various new ways of cooking instant noodles like pan flying or mixing with other ingredients we stole from the cafeteria.  I always had my American friends knocking on my dorm room door at 3am, asking whether I could spare a pack or two.  I miss those simple days.

2. To Hear

There was one public phone per dorm and it was always occupied.  I think some of my schoolmates lived there.  In those days long distance calls were incredibly expensive and I barely made one every few months to call home.  I could understand how emotionally challenging it was for all the international students, but I couldn’t help to frown at those American friends who were glued to the phone every night.  After all, they could have their families visited them, on campus, much easier than everyone else.  To this date, my parents still have absolutely no idea what I went through in those 2 years.  I could have attended Hogwarts with Harry Porter, for all they care.

3. To Run

You would think that with all those physical exercises as described in Part Two, we would all be sound asleep at nights.  Oh no, there would be on average a night per week where we would be awoken by loud piercing fire alarm at 4am.  Everyone ran to the porch where you could see the weirdest pyjamas of all cultures.  Some wrapped themselves with blankets, and some amazingly fully clothed as they had not even been to bed yet.  It was always caused by kids smoking inside their rooms, or somebody forgetfully leaving their bag of popcorn in the microwave.  The most interesting scene for all, however, was to see who came out together from a room.  I am not talking about roommates here, people.

4. To Perform

You are naturally possessed with patriotic adrenaline the moment you enter the school.  Since you may be the only one from your country, you become the ambassador.  I remember I used to write to the Hong Kong Tourism Association offices in the States to ask them to send me all kinds of crap to spread the goodwill across, and they did!  I had beautiful posters of Hong Kong skyline, junks, lion dancing and dim sum, and I also got cardboard displays sent in.  My dorm room looked like a freaking tourist information center, for god’s sake.  Yet that was the pressure I felt back in the days.

And then there were these yearly cultural performances we had to perform.  Asian National Day, Latin American national Day…you get the picture.  We scratched our heads out thinking what we could do including Tai Chi, Kung fu, Chinese dances, reciting poetry, calligraphy etc..  It was hugely entertaining for us since we could just draw up random figures on red paper in front of unsuspecting audiences. 

The UWC life is a very unique experience.  Since my time, more schools have been opened, including one right here in Hong Kong.  Each school has its particular offering which no other could compete or replace.  I wish I could have kept in contact with more of my schoolmates, though it was challenging when e-mails weren’t too popular when we left.    One thing I know, is that many of them are now working in public offices and environmental bodies.  To me, I am just grateful to be sponsored to enjoy such rewarding experience.