EIL Intercultural Learning

Hi there, my name is Paul. I'm 19, I live in the humdrum parish of Donoughmore and I'm studying Energy Engineering (a course worthy of capital letters methinks) in University College Cork. It is now only a matter of days till the great Oriental odyssey begins and to say that I'm excited would almost be something of an understatement. I have travelled quite a lot for my tender years and, yet, I have never looked forward to a trip as much as this. Hong Kong has always sounded like a mysterious, exotic place and it obviously had much to offer if the British Empire's acquisition of it (1897) is anything to go by. Bruce Lee is perhaps Hong Kong's most famous son and I learned about him through my Tekken days and also by watching his biopic and the famous film "Enter The Dragon". Over the last few weeks I also watched the 1960's film "The World of Suzie Wong", also set in Hong Kong, to get me acquainted with the culture and the setting of Hong Kong.

I decided to enter an essay for this great award as I love travelling and learning about the world through firsthand experience. The prospect of spending almost four months lying idle was also a factor! When I heard the great news in May I was fairly buzzing. The group interview was by no means a foregone conclusion as all the participants were very impressive. I spent the month of June in the great city of London and it should be fascinating to contrast the English way of life to that of Hong Kong. London is probably the greatest city in the world but I have very high hopes that Hong Kong will give it a run for its money. This should be the experience of a lifetime and I am so up for it. Come on!

Roll on Tuesday I say...