My Love Story with the English Language and British Cultures
By
LEUNG Yuen Sze Sally
‘The course of true love never did run smooth’. Well, it is nice to read a quote from Shakespeare
before I share with you my sojourn experience in the country where he was born, is it not?
As an English major, I am truly fond of the English language. This love relationship began when
I was only in Primary 3 and it has always been perfect. I have been using English to write my diaries and
text all my friends in Hong Kong for more than 10 years. Sometimes, I think English is the best
language which I can use to express my true feelings. With an aim to further improve my English
proficiency, I decided to go on exchange to the United Kingdom.
Unfortunately, dating with the English language in England happily was only my wishful
thinking. The nightmare began when I ordered my first meal in the UK. In the menu, there were
numerous words which I could not even guess what they mean.
The menus were rife with words that are alien to me!
Squash soup? Do they put the squash that we played in sport lessons into the soup?
Oh my, what are the difference between pepperoni pizza and margherita pizza?
What are harissa meze, wensleydale, bhaji wrap....? 1
When I asked the staff about the food, they replied in a strong Geordie accent and I could hardly
understand what they said. Therefore, most of the time, I did not know what I was eating!
Apart from eating ‘unknown food’ in the canteen, when I went to the pub with some UK students
during Fresher’s week, they all spoke colloquial English very fast. The style of their language is totally
different from the English that professors use during lectures and is definitely different from the styles of
English which I was familiar with. When I first arrived, it often took me a few seconds to figure out
what they were talking about. Unfortunately, when I finally understood the topics and was about to
generate a reply, they had already started discussing other subjects. Hence, for the first time in many
years, I became tongue-tied in an English conversation. I kept silent most of the time that night in the
bar, faking a smile but not truly smiling deep down in my heart.
Not being able to join in the discussions of local students, I strongly felt that I was an outsider in
the UK. Dejected and frightened by that terrible experience in the bar, I became much more introverted.
Since I did not want to look like a mute and stupid girl who cannot join any conversation, I seldom
chatted with the local students again that week. I found that no matter how much I love or loved the
English language, it is still my second language. It was extremely tiring to speak and hear English every
second everywhere.
The English language around me was no longer the one that I was familiar with. It seemed that
my lover had changed to another person. At that moment, I started to know more about the negative
sides of him. Love is blind! I was fooled by him for the last 15 years!
When a couple argues, they can choose to stop seeing each other, but in a relationship with the
English language in the UK, I could not. This annoying language kept entering my ear when I spoke to
anyone anywhere. I eagerly wanted my sojourn to stop temporarily so that I could forget English for a
while. I no longer wanted to use English any more. This is indeed a shameful thing because I am still an
English major. I felt so bad about it.
Apart from my broken relationship with the English language, I also had lots of conflicts with
British cultures, which became more and more outlandish to me. For instance, I thought I could often
savour delicious British afternoon tea and other finger-licking British food, but the meals from my hostel
canteen were awful. Most of the time I only had tasteless potatoes and cold sandwiches to choose from.
We Chinese people think that it is unhealthy to eat cold food, particularly in the morning, but I was
given cold milk for breakfast every day. Moreover, you could imagine my disappointment and
frustration when I paid £30 (approximately HKD$360) for the high table dinner but merely got for the
main course some chicken breast—the least desirable meat in Chinese cuisine!
So this was the darkest period in my sojourn. Depressed, I chose to spend most of my time with
other Hong Kong students and did not establish any close friendship with the local students. In fact, I
bought six mooncakes from Hong Kong and was planning to share them some locals and international
students. Two weeks had passed and the mooncakes were about to expire, but I still could not find a UK
friend to share them with. All the local students who I became acquainted with were hi-bye friends who
would merely exchange greetings with me when we meet in the pantry. In the end, I ate up all six
mooncakes myself. These six Chinese delicacies which were supposed to be used for cultural exchange
eventually served to be a soothing reminder of home, which further trapped me in my comfort zone.
During the dark times, I began to question why I chose to come to this foreign country to endure
loneliness and horrible food, and end up breaking up with the English language. This inspired me to
review my goals for this sojourn. I then realised that staying with Hong Kong students all the time and
staying in my comfort zone during my sojourn is not what I came here for! I must try harder to establish
intercultural friendships no matter how challenging it is. I must not end my love relationship with
2
English!
To face the problem directly, I then devised a more specific plan—the ‘take-one-step-further
approach’. This means that whenever I meet the local students whom I am acquainted with, I should not
merely greet them, but should take a step further to chat with them so that we could understand one
another better and thus develop stronger friendship.
I also learned to act like a British. For instance, after noticing that the Brits usually hold the door
for others even though the next person is many steps away, I did likewise to show my friendliness and to
immerse myself into the local culture. With a sense of goodwill, it does help me start a conversation
with the local students.
Furthermore, I signed up for numerous activities and joined clubs and associations which I like
and feel most comfortable with. It is much easier to chat with local students in the society meetings than
in the noisy bars! Soon I made quite a lot of like-minded British and international friends!
Things improved gradually. Having developed stronger bonds with the local students, I have also
gradually started to rebuild my love relationship with the English language. I no longer felt tired to hear
and use English every day. I have become even more bilingual than before as I am now totally
comfortable with speaking English all the time! In my room, I talk to myself in English, I think in
English. I even use English in my dreams when sleeping at night!
The views of the boundless fields in North-east England from the flight which I took to Durham.
When rebuilding my relationship with the English language, my identity is enriching, but not
changing. My Chinese ties are still as strong as before, but I have started to embrace elements from
British cultures. I reckon my identity is an endless field. Like the fields in North-East England which
seem to have no borders, there is always unlimited room for me to plant new exotic crops. When I plant
some British crops, I never have to cut away my original Chinese crops. When looking at an issue, I can
always choose to see it from any part of my fields and look from different perspectives. I now have both
the Hong Kong and British mindset. For example, I still love Chinese food very much, but eating cold
sandwiches and drinking cold milk have now started to make sense to me. If we Hong Kong people do
not find it strange to eat hot noodles or rice during scorching summer, then why is it strange for the
British to eat cold sandwiches in freezing cold days? In addition, I still appreciate the high efficiency in
3
Hong Kong society as much as I did, but now I do not mind the staff in Britain chatting with other
customers despite the long queues and I certainly enjoy chatting with the staff when I go to the bank!
After all these incidents, I am so glad that I have eventually amended my relationship with
English. With an adjusted positive mindset, I will continue to love the English language and the British
cultures, as well as my Chinese cultures. It is hoped that the new British crops will forever flourish in
my endless fields of identity and I shall live with the English language happily ever after!
About the author
LEUNG Yuen Sze Sally is a 3rd-year student majoring in English at CUHK. She is participating in a
year-long (U-wide) exchange program at Durham University in England for the 2015-16 academic year.
4