The Hobsons International Boarder of the Year Competition 2008
17 April 2008
The Hobsons International Boarder of the Year Competition 2008
Congratulations to Hing Chai Fung Dennis who has been selected for the final of the Years 9 - 11 category of the Hobsons International Boarder of the Year Competition. The award ceremony for this prestigious competition takes place in London on the 13 May. Three finalists from three age bands are invited to attend the event.
Dennis, who lives in Hong Kong, joined Loretto Junior School in 2004 at the age of 12. He is currently in the fifth form at the Senior School.
Entry to the competition is by school nomination. Pupils are required to submit an essay and to detail their achievements and extra curricular activities at school. Entries are also supported by references from the school.
Attached is Dennis' essay about how his boarding experience at Loretto has helped him to develop an appreciation of another culture and country.
"It has been four years now since I arrived here, meaning four years living abroad, away from my family and friends. I came here aged 12 and I am now 16. The years I have spent here are very important ones: this is the period of time when we all turn from a child into a teenager, a young adult. I have spent this very important stage of my live in the U.K. When everyone else is starting to grow up, developing their own skills and personality, I am doing the same and from the unusual experiences I get from boarding and living in a foreign country, I receive something much more, which I would like to share with you.
Since arriving, I have changed a lot, learnt a lot, done a lot and most importantly, experienced a lot. As any other foreign and local student, I came here and settled down in a boarding house as my second home. To be honest, my first month or two in Scotland were absolutely dreadful, a completely new environment, no close friends or family, most people had an annoying Scottish accent and the fact that my level of English was appalling didn't help. Just like any other, I worked hard to adapt to my surroundings. Eventually, I started to become part of the school, the community; I usually hung around in town, looking at buildings, the shops, even the animals interested me. Things are totally different back in Hong Kong. There is certainly no shortage of tall buildings or modern industry in Hong Kong, but then it is very rare to see an old fashioned villa or even a large area of grass, not to mention seeing rabbits and squirrels. As a boarder, I have to live and communicate with the British all the time. It was a hard task at first, but then it quickly got a lot better. Both teachers and students helped me so much to improve my English writing, reading, speaking and listening especially. It wasn't long until I got so used to Scottish English I even started using some myself.
In the Junior School, outings were organised for us boarders at the weekends: usually short trips that only took up half a day. There is no doubt that they were always fun and useful. We went to all sorts of places, museums, galleries, swimming pools, theme parks and Murrayfield (rugby matches). These very nice memories have now turned into knowledge and will help me on my way to seek this country's culture, history, traditions and politics. As I stay here longer, the word homesick hardly ever crosses my mind anymore, I am slowly discovering what this country is, deep inside. I am no longer looking at the country's surface, but the content of it, where it is calm, relaxing and yet, passionate. For me, at least, this is a very comforting country, but there are always excitements. Things here are delightful, people and life here is just fabulous. My appreciation of this country builds, developing more and more every day.
Back to my boarding life, there is one thing which I have not yet mentioned; the one thing seems the most important, friendship. No matter what a marvelous time I am having, I still have to face certain problems. My friends play a prominent part in my boarding life. I have to be honest that if my friends were no longer my friends and if I don't have any friends around me, I would have left ages ago. It is because of them, that the boarding house is my second home. It is because of them that my second home seems so divine. The best way of knowing a country, a culture is to live within it, including socialising with people who are originally from that culture. My friends did teach a lot, from pronunciation of a word to complicated Scottish dancing or even how to put my kilt on when I first arrived. Since then, my English has improved a lot but I still cannot find a way to express my thanks. My best friend is the one I have to thank most. When I was worrying where to go over half term, he invited me to stay with his family. When I went to his house, I really was living with a true Scottish family, and it was very good experience to have to eat haggis with whiskey just like a Scottish person does! The most unforgettable experience I have had here was when I went and stayed with an American friend and his family for a weekend. We had brilliant food, great chat about several funny stories and the laws in America. It was a nice evening ending with a game of German bowling. (His father is from Germany.) Experiences like these give me an appreciation of other countries and cultures without me noticing. Before that weekend I never knew that you could be arrested by showing your underwear on the street in certain parts of America and would never have had a chance of finding out that there are only two holes in the ball for German bowling.
I have also got friends from France, Russia, Africa, Australia, other parts of the U.K. and for sure, if I were no longer a boarder, I would miss them. In my point of view, boarding is really a key or a shortcut if you like, to seeing the true self of a country and its culture. You get much more chance to explore cities and to get help from teachers and friends more than anyone else. I am sure that being a boarder rather than a day boy has helped me develop an appreciation and love of the culture and country and its people so deeply. If any of you are planning to study abroad, I strongly recommend you to go to boarding school. What better way to learn about the culture of a country?"