Hi Everyone! I am Sandy from Hong Kong.
Having a linguistically and culturally diverse background, I noticed some differences between Australia and Hong Kong since I have arrived in Queensland. There are certainly individual differences among all cultures, so I am speaking from a general perspective.
1. Food culture: coffee or tea? (or milk?)
Do you prefer coffee or tea? After arriving in Australia, I realised Australians are big fans of coffee and there is a great selection to choose from. Hong Kong people do drink coffee as well, but not as much as Australians do. I think there are more Hong Kong people who prefer to drink tea than coffee.
Apart from coffee, I am amazed by the variety and quantity of milk in the supermarket in Australia! Milk seems to be a must-have item in the fridges of Australians. Maybe due to coffee making, as well as the love for fresh milk. I enjoy the fresh and affordable milk and dairy products here.
2.Lifestyle: How to BBQ?
I love barbeque. For Hong Kong-style barbeque, we burn charcoals to light up the fire in barbeque areas in country parks or beaches. We use individual long and U-shaped barbeque forks so we are all our own chefs. Almost every type of food can be used for a barbeque.
My favourite foods for barbequing are chicken wings, pork chops, sausages and marshmallows. We put honey on top of the food. As we sit around the fire for barbeque, it is a good time for social chats.
The Aussie barbeque is very different from the Hong Kong style. There are chefs responsible for grilling, and the rest of us can just wait and eat. I love sausages and onions here.
3.Buildings: apartments or houses?
In Australia, houses are quite common. However, in Hong Kong people usually live in apartments. We do have houses as well in rural areas, but they are less common in Hong Kong. I have been to some tall buildings with Australians here. They were surprised that I do not have acrophobia (fear of heights) – that’s because I am from Hong Kong, which has the most skyscrapers in the world!
I have been living in tall buildings since I was born, so height is not an issue for me. But I think living in houses would be quite different, due to the space and also the gardening.
It is very interesting for me to have the cultural immersion here, and be constantly amazed by the cultural differences between different countries.
Despite the differences, I believe we all share the virtues of humanity and human connections.
