Expat Women in Hong Kong

            Hong Kong is a global city and very absorbing to be. First of all, it is known to be as the safest place to be and every expatriate living in Hong Kong is assured of security. In terms of accommodation, expatriates find it easy to find apartments in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is also viewed as a peaceful place to be and most of the expatriates are satisfied with the level of security (Marcarian, 2015). Hong Kong also has high quality education and better travel options. However, expatriates face a challenge of cultural differences. There are many existing differences between the expatriates and the locals of Hong Kong. Even though the locals use English as their official language, their accent is far different from the American accent, thus, they may not communicate agreeably. When expatriates meet in Hong Kong, they prefer interacting amongst themselves. The cultural difference can come as a result of different languages. Thus the expatriates find it hard learning the local language. This makes it hard for them to make friendship with the locals of Hong Kong (Chakales, 2009). Thus, the locals of Hong Kong appear unfriendly for this case. There is also long working hours for workers in Hong Kong. This makes the locals spend many hours at work hence lacking time to interact with the expatriates. There is also a different eating culture in Hong Kong, which may not be easily adapted by the expatriates. Therefore, the problem with the spouses is failure to adapt the culture in Hong Kong (Chakales, 2009). This makes the expatriates view the people of Hong Kong as unfriendly, but it is because of their inability to communicate and agree. Hence, expatriates tend to separate and associate amongst themselves. In this case, the locals of Hong Kong are known to be so absorbing, but we realize the problem is with the expatriates. They have excluded themselves from interacting with the locals of Hong Kong and adapt the way of life in Hong Kong so that they can freely associate with them. 

            Interacting with other expat-families only, may not be a solution. First of all, expatriates are few in number and locals are the people to meet more frequently, thus by only depending on fellow expatriates, it can lead to a state of loneliness. Also, expatriates need locals at work place, for instance, for better cooperation; they need to have a common understanding. It is always insecure to live an isolated life because people need. It is always important to explore and embrace every culture we meet so as to be able to cope with cultural differences in life (Holdsworth & Courtauld, 2001). Additionally, there are so many things expatriates need to know about Hong Kong, and they can apply them in their local countries. Especially in this business world we are living in today, there is a need to learn how business is being run in Hong Kong and what makes people successful there. Implying, there is a need to interact with the locals so as to gain experience in various matters of life. As a result of not interacting with the locals, expatriates can meet various challenges, for instance, an expatriate may find it hard to attend a Chinese ceremony because of not knowing the basic way of life among the locals (Holdsworth & Courtauld, 2001). This implies that they both need to interact and know each other. Therefore, for any expatriate, the solution is not to only interact with fellow expatriates, but to learn the existing differences and find a way of getting along with the locals. This is the only way expatriates can feel at home while in Hong Kong.

References

Chakales, Sarah, (2001).Expat women in Hong Kong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5Mk6o_QXlQ

Holdsworth, M., & Courtauld, C. (2001). Foreign devils: Expatriates in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.

Marcarian, J. O. H. N. (2015). Expatland. S.L.: Longueville Media.