I neglected to show this picture of young Thai kids waiting for a 'Reading Contest' (as I was told) at the Double A Book Tower on Thanon Sathon. It is a large book store with 4 floors but almost exclusively in the local dialect. Foreigners will have to go to the Parragons of this world to get English books, a rarity on the street. Apparently reading is a big thing here, even though it is not as obvious as in say, Tokyo or Taipei. These contestants showed up an hour ahead of time to 'get into the mood', so to speak. They all looked intense, and busy preparing for it like exams. It is admirable to see as their future relies so much on how they do in this space. I strongly believe a key problem with our 'Post-80' generation in Hong Kong ie those born after 1980, is they read hardly enough which directly affects their ability to write and even speak. Their lack of proficiency is not limited to English, but in Chinese as well. It is a scary thought, especially when they are put neck-to-neck with peers from China. I am sure our 'trusted bureaucrats' are aware Hong Kong is playing catch-up in this game. It will be so sad if they are not.
I neglected to show this picture of young Thai kids waiting for a 'Reading Contest' (as I was told) at the Double A Book Tower on Thanon Sathon. It is a large book store with 4 floors but almost exclusively in the local dialect. Foreigners will have to go to the Parragons of this world to get English books, a rarity on the street. Apparently reading is a big thing here, even though it is not as obvious as in say, Tokyo or Taipei. These contestants showed up an hour ahead of time to 'get into the mood', so to speak. They all looked intense, and busy preparing for it like exams. It is admirable to see as their future relies so much on how they do in this space. I strongly believe a key problem with our 'Post-80' generation in Hong Kong ie those born after 1980, is they read hardly enough which directly affects their ability to write and even speak. Their lack of proficiency is not limited to English, but in Chinese as well. It is a scary thought, especially when they are put neck-to-neck with peers from China. I am sure our 'trusted bureaucrats' are aware Hong Kong is playing catch-up in this game. It will be so sad if they are not.
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Hi TCK,
ReplyDeleteSomewhere on this blog you mention a Buddhist book about matters of life and death and the importance of family. I can't now find it. I want to get the book and read it. Could you give the title and author again please? Thanks, David.
"Tibetan Book of Living & Dying" written by the Sogyal Rinpoche, an international best-seller.
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