Tran Chon Ip,
Third-year Student from the Department of Management and Marketing
I know how to perform magic tricks. So whenever I meet someone for the first time, I would introduce myself as a magician, to which the person would always say, ‘Wow. So you know how to do magic!’ I often participate in magic shows on campus, and in the process I have made many friends from different countries. I have also made many friends off campus because of magic tricks. So you can say that magic is the ‘magic trick’ that helps me make more friends.
Margarida Freitas,
Third-year Exchange Student from the Department of Communication
I mostly make new friends through my current friends. Many of my friends at UM are from mainland China. I had some awkward experiences when I first came to Macao from Portugal. Back then when I ran into local friends on campus, I would greet them with a hug, but they always acted surprised. That made me realise the cultural difference. In my country, we always hug friends when we meet them, but in Macao, it’s not common to see friends hug each other.
Lao Lai Fong,
Fourth-year Student from the Department of Communication
I love challenges, and I enjoy working with others. So I often participate in different kinds of sports and other activities. For instance, I give stilt walking acts off campus, and have made many friends in the process. Working with them has improved my stilt walking skills and communication skills, and these things can’t be learned from a textbook.
Wang Ke,
First-year Student from the Department of Mathematics
I make local friends thanks to my poor Cantonese. I didn’t start learning Cantonese until after I came to UM, so my funny pronunciation often makes people laugh. But I don’t mind it, because if making people laugh can help me make new friends, then my purpose is achieved. All the friends I’ve made on campus are from Macao. My best friend is also from Macao. I am a very cheerful person and rarely feel sad. Apart from language, if you are also sincere and warm, I think almost everyone would want to make friends with you.
MD Shohrab Hossain,
Second year Student from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
I make new friends through photography. I established the ISG Photography Club at UM. Currently we have more than 50 members from different parts of the world, including Malaysia, India, Brazil, Ecuador, the Philippines, mainland China, and Macao. We communicate with each other in English. If I were in my own country, it would be very difficult for me to found such a club, because there simply aren’t so many international students in my country.
Ng Weng Ian,
First-year Student from the Faculty of Law
My secret for making friends is ‘Have a thick skin.’ When I first started speaking Mandarin, it was not very good, but I have a thick skin, so I just kept practicing it without worrying about making mistakes. Once I mispronounced ‘take a shower’, and it came out sounding like ‘wash feet’. To this day, my friends tease me about it. In our residential college, we have Floor Activities on each floor. I made many new friends by knocking on every door. The first time I did that, it felt a bit awkward, but soon I got over that, and made a lot of friends. Also, with the help of the resident tutors, I’ve made friends with college members from different groups. Some of my friends come from mainland China, and some from Macao. My best friends I’ve made at UM are from mainland China. We spend a lot of time together, which helped improve my Mandarin.
Wong Chong Hoi,
Fourth-year Student from the Departmentof Accounting and InformationManagement
I became a Christian at the age of 14. Christianity advocates treating everyone and everything with love and tolerance. This teaching has influenced me to be sincere and patient towards everyone I meet. Everyone wants to be cared about and understood. Being a good listener and taking some time to care about those around you is the key to making friends. Of course in the process obstacles are inevitable, such as having different opinions or not being on the same wavelength. I think arguing angrily is never an effective way to communicate; listening is. Listening allows us to see different points of view and helps broaden our horizons.
Iong I Teng,
Fourth-year Student from the Faculty of Law
I like playing tabletop games, because it improves my logical reasoning. I play tabletop games at least once a week, and through these gatherings I have met many postgraduate students from renowned universities, including Nanjing University and the Chinese University of Political Science and Law. I’ve learned a lot from them. Mainland students are very outgoing. They will often take the initiative to strike up a conversation. Students from Macao, on the other hand, need some time to warm up. My secret for making new friends is, be warm to people and talk about their interests and hobbies, this way they usually open up very quickly.
Ma Zhihao,
PhD Student from the Department of Communication
I am a resident tutor in Chao Kuang Piu College. I often need to organize various kinds of activities, and in the process I’ve made some good friends of different ages. I’m almost ten years older than those freshmen. So in the beginning I did have difficulty communicating with them. My experience is, seek common ground. If you can find common ground with other people, it will be easier to find like-minded friends. Through working together, you will soon know more about each other and become good friends. When I meet someone for the first time, I will start with some light topics such as interests, hobbies, and the trivia of everyday life. I certainly won’t open the conversation with heavy topics such as the meaning of life.
