Miles from friends and family, exchange students often have a difficult time adjusting to local life. The “One More Pair of Chopsticks” program initiated by School of Science is changing all that with help from Hong Kong students.
With markets, lanterns, gatherings, mooncakes and joy, Hong Kong people love the Mid-Autumn Festival. But often times exchange students can feel home sick and left out. To change all that, the One More Pair of Chopsticks program is pairing international scholars with local students to discover authentic local experiences.
“I really had a great time with the international students and they both enjoyed the meal prepared by me and my family,” says Sara Man, a local undergraduate student who hosted Paula Grossman from Germany, and Angelica Intan from Indonesia.
The program is just one way that HKUST fosters inclusiveness in a caring environment for all students on campus, regardless of which corner of the planet they are from. Local student Jason Ng was more than happy to look after Mashiat Lamisa from Bangladesh and Dovran Amanov, from Turkmenistan, creating a sense of belonging toward HKUST family. Check out how they felt about the program as hosts or guests!