【明報專訊】I am a sixteen-year-old from Uruguay. In my exchange year in Hong Kong, I'm having one of the best experiences of my life.

Everything in Hong Kong is absolutely peculiar. At first, there were barriers to overcome, like the time difference (jet lag). However, with the help of my host family, classmates and other friendly people, everything has become much easier. Another big challenge was school. In Hong Kong, studying is sometimes quite harsh. Nevertheless, my classmates and teachers are really friendly, warm and open!

find unique flavours

Finally, one of the adversities is alimentation. Not only foods but also eating habits are absolutely different. To begin with, we consume much more beef in Uruguay, and I wholeheartedly believe beef there is of better quality. It is not common to eat fish there. In Uruguay the normal dinner time is around 2200 hours. To me the Hong Kong dinner time (around 1900 hours) was at first unbelievable. Furthermore, Hong Kong meals are very different. In Uruguay, rice is something to accompany other things (like beef), while here it is the basic element of lunch and dinner. And it was initially quite impossible for me to control a pair of chopsticks. Notwithstanding, it has been very easy for me to find unique flavours here in Hong Kong, and a good example of them is the large variety of dim sum!

text：Renzo Antonio D'Ambrosio Zeballos