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Are foreigner don't like to make friends with Local Hong Kong people

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  1. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by shenwen:
    your neighbours are french.

    say no more...
    Is french hard to get along with?

  2. #22

    Well woodywoody fashion industry sucks!! I worked in fashion industry and in my office made friends with the Chinese colleagues (1 local, 2 bbc) and not the other westerner a as they simply weren't nice!!
    Agree with others, try hobbies to find people to make friends with and everyone is under a lot of pressure here, stress, financial, long hours, home sick.., :-/


  3. #23

    WoodyWoody - Wondering if you are actively trying to make friends with your other neighbours ?

    If you are purposely aiming to become friends with people based on their race/nationality, then really it is not much different to these same people preferring to amongst their own kind is it?

    You should be making friends with people because of common interests, join a group and see what happens and don't get so caught up on where they are from.

    phooey, AT_0518, Ramdom and 4 others like this.

  4. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by woodywoody:
    Is french hard to get along with?
    Nope, friendly bunch.
    dear giant likes this.

  5. #25

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    I am dating a local.

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  6. #26

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    I think a number of good points have been raised - that westerners tend to make friends based on mutual interests rather than location (except maybe in smaller towns in some countries), wherever you go in the world people usually mix same-same except for young kids, and that there is some trepidation about causing offence or being offended when crossing cultural boundaries. In Hong Kong, there is also some concern about the language barrier, as many people are not comfortable speaking with people who can't speak comfortably with them.

    My own experience is like Carang's - even a bit of mangled Cantonese from a friendly gwai-lo/mui/po brings walls crashing down (and 25 years later, some of my local friends still remind me about the time I asked for a cup of forks instead of a cup of tea!).

    carang likes this.

  7. #27

    My other obstacle is also the language barrier. I found myself could speak fair English since I have been studied in Australia for few years and also working part-time there. But the thing is I could not really speak as native as abc bbc ......and I can,t understand what the foreigner saying sometimes when they speak too fast. I feel so left out when a whole bunch of people joking around and I have to pretend to laugh but actually I can't even hear a word they saying, sigh! I think most of you have such experience...in reverse.

    I just wonder would you guys dun like to get along with people who can't speak well English?

    dear giant likes this.

  8. #28

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    I think the reason why most locals don't feel comfortable around foreigners is their fear of speaking the English language. They try to avoid eye contact to not open the opportunity to be spoken to. Language is the barrier.

    It seems to depend on the environment. I hope the gweilos in my workplace wouldn't feel too bad. It's an American company where English is the major language of communication. Most of us are quite used to speak the language. We will chitchat and go to lunch with expats colleagues.

    By the way everyone, join this meetup group if you are interested to get together for movies:
    Movies and Dining Meetup Group - Hong Kong (Hong Kong) - Meetup

    anny

    Quote Originally Posted by audiot:
    its true tho.. it's mostly the reverse case.. most locals in a mostly local environment will basically try and avoid you.. I know this from working in a local office for 13 years! you are outside basic hierarchy - I had people look at the ground rather than meet my eye in the corridors!!!

    also in the first 3 years in my village I would say almost no one spoke to me...

    it takes a lot of effort. and most will ignore you..

    now I have a few that will talk to me.. this means say hello - this is 4 years in - I expect a conversation in 10

    to the Op - be patient. and some great suggestions above - we all live so close to a big city.. so maybe it takes time for the big city vibe to relax, but also maybe some people prefer to be anonymous!
    dear giant likes this.

  9. #29

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    Great points have been raised, there is not much to add. And yet, I'll put in my couple of cents

    Yes, foreigners tend to make friends/start relationships with other people based on common interests and not where someone is from.

    I agree that sometimes locals may not be very friendly when I am trying to strike up a conversation with them, but I am not too bothered by this - at least they are not rude to me! I try to get to know someone who is friendlier then and, most importantly, who can talk about the same things! I am always open to meeting interesting local people. Always willing to practise my Cantonese (especially when I think it's such a beautiful language).

    That said, I have to admit that there is always this thing called 'cultural barrier'. It's not a monster that everyone has to be scared of, but it does hamper communication and building relationships sometimes. There are certain nuances - mostly cultural - that guide or influence our lives, and it's very hard to change them. It's like shaking off your roots...impossible! So even though I am married to a local, I have to admit that partially it is possible because he is so not like most locals! He himself admits that his mentality and habits are so different from those of typical Hongkongers, that it may be the reason why he has so few friends among them.

    There are many details if one tried to list them actually...They all seem small as you look at them one by one, but when added together, they make one big difference. There is attitude to work, leisure, family, priorities...even arranging a home! We've bought an apartment and are still in a process of renovating it. This has given me another opportunity of looking into differences between us. Enlightening and discouraging at the same time.

    Anyway, try to join a group or two at Meetup and I am sure you'll meet many people who will be happy to make friends with you.


  10. #30

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    Wouldn't you consider all hkers to be expats of the Chinese nation?

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