Since Hong Kong is a former British colony, English and Chinese (Cantonese) are considered to be the two official languages of the region. For this reason almost everything written around Hong Kong (traffic signals, general information, brands publicity, subway stations, restaurants menus, etc.) is in Cantonese and English. So it is very easy to move around. However, not everyone speaks English. Before coming, I was told by my friends that have been here that all Hong Kongers knew English as they necessary learned it in school. This is not completely true. Almost every young person will be able to have a conversation in English but it is hard to find adults (older than 40 years) who can even understand the language. Fortunately, at the university, English is the official language so there is no problem at all, everyone including professors and employees speak English.
I have been in Asia for 9 weeks and one of the conclusions I can already make about my abroad experience is that English is, by far, the world dominant language. I can make this conclusion based on my different trips around the continent. Everywhere I have been, there is always someone that speaks English, even in China and Vietnam that are led by communist regimes. I remember when I was little that many people used to say that one day we would all have to learn Chinese, it seems like it will not be the case. Chinese are the ones that are learning English so we do not have to worry, for now, on learning Mandarin or Cantonese.
Chinese is an extremely complicated language, not only because words are absolutely different, but also because they use sounds we do not have in English (nor in Spanish, which is my native language.) I have been living here for 9 weeks and I have successfully memorized only one word: m̀hgòi, which means thank you. It seems like an easy word, but it is actually weird and hard to pronounce, it includes moving the throat in an uncommon way. When I travel, I usually learn local words very rapidly, even in Japan I learned three words in just three days but with Chinese it has been very difficult. Also, even though not everyone in Hong Kong knows English, locals do understand the main words: hello, thank you, please and goodbye. These would have been the only words I would have learned in Chinese but since locals know what they mean in English, I have not had the reason to learn them in Cantonese.
A common episode from my abroad experience happens every time I am asked where I am from by a local, it ends in native Chinese speakers laughing at my reply. Obviously Venezuela is not a common country for Hong Kongers, so when they ask me in English where I am from and I reply in English: Venezuela, they do not understand, so immediately I say it in Chinese, which written would be something like: Wenieshueya. Once I say it they all immediately realize where I am from but laugh at my terrible Chinese pronunciation. Hopefully by the end of the semester I will learn, at least, how to properly pronounce Venezuela in Cantonese.
