Attaching to New Values
● Individual Independence
It wasn’t until I talked to my German buddy that I realized
how the individualistic society actually works. German
university students usually live an independent life at least
in terms of finance, partly due to the education policy that
there are no tuition fees. Students here are also able to
work 120 days full-time, or 240 days part-time, which makes
it exceedingly easier for students to earn their own living
compared to students in Hong Kong. Seeing this, I have
been very inspired and motivated to find a student
internship upon returning to Hong Kong. Besides financial
independency, German people seem to be more likely to
enjoy their own free time. I’m not saying that people here
don’t have communities, as they do have communities, and
these communities are usually quite colorful and lively.
What I mean to say is that their awareness of personal space
and private time is more so acknowledged. People here are
strongly aware of their individuality, and they are good at
distinguishing between work, study, and personal life. For
example, don’t expect to ask about official or formal affairs
during non-office hours, and don’t expect to get professor’s
email reply on a public holiday in Germany.
● Recycling as Part of a Lifestyle
It is hypocritical to talk about green lifestyle in a city like
Hong Kong, where people just talk and hardly practice the
proper sorting and recycling. It’s quite common to see a
whole mixture of various trash occupying the big trash can
in the shared kitchen in a student hostel. On the contrary, in
Germany, people are generally more cautious about the
commitment to recycle for every type of waste, for example:
The bio waste like your leftover Pizza→ Brown bin
The plastic cover of German sausages→ Yellow bin
The paper cover of your favourite yogurt→ Blue bin
Everything else → Grey Bin
I became familiar with this soon after I practiced the ritual
several times, and I hope to continue to do it when I’m back
in Hong Kong. However, I suppose it harder to do this
because there are much less recycling bins in Hong Kong.
MAY 2017
|
08