My First Year At HKU

Believe it or not, I was a shy youngster. And, I was somewhat of a loner.

I know, I know.

You cannot picture me that way. 

Now-a-days, I will speak up in front of groups, no less. I may, sometimes, as you perceive me, being too assertive, bossy, or even brazen.
Take my word for it. I was shy.
As for being a loner, I am still one at times. And, I am also a cynic.
I always say, "One may have lots of acquaintances, but one very seldom has more than a few 'true friends'. I can count mine on one hand. What about you? 
One may have a handful of 'good friends', if you are lucky, but 'true friends' are rare."
"Don't trust anyone."
"Look out for Number One."
"People will take advantages of you, if you let them."
 
My chosen activities these days: painting, reading, and writing are lonely businesses. Yes, painting can be a lonely activity, believe me.
No, I don't feel lonely these days like I did when I was first at HoTung Hall in Hong Kong.

I had few friends at that time. I was somewhat homesick, and I went home every weekend, and, sometimes, even on Wednesday afternoons. I was blind to the fact that I wasted a great deal of time traveling, to and fro from home to HKU and from HKU to home. HoTung Hall was on the south side of the Island. My family lived on the Peninsula near the Boundary line, close to New Territories. To travel home, I had to take a bus, then the Ferry, and then another bus, plus do some walking each way. I should have made better use of my time, but I was not mature or smart enough to know what I was doing was unproductive.
My first year at the University, particularly the first half of the year, was difficult for me. The students at the Hall were a mixed bag of English, European, East Indian, Malayan, Eurasian, Hong Kong Chinese, and others. And, a very, very few like me, Chinese from Shanghai.
Children and adolescents could be cruel. Some would make fun of me for speaking broken Cantonese, some would do the same with my Shanghai-accented English. Of course, there was always a group of  "holier than thou" snobs, with noses-in-the-air and believing themselves to be superior than anyone-else; girls, in particular. 

Hazing was not really allowed. But it was in the air. Sometimes, what was not said but felt could be equally bad, if not worse. Don't you think? 

I studied all the Subjects  in China in Chinese, except English, of course. Now, the Subjects I would take at HKU would all be in English, except Chinese. Subjects (Courses) were decided upon by the School according to what you are Reading (what you major in), No options. So the Year began with me taking Psychology, English, Chinese and History. Psychology was not a problem, I enjoyed it. Though oftentimes, I had to struggle with the terms. English covered Language and Literature. I managed. Chinese was a breeze for me. I was at the top of the class always. 

Now, History, World History, in the form of thousands of printed pages in English, my second language, became my Nemesis.