There’s Still a Long Way to Go

While this is how Chow Chun Shing, Johnson humbly describes his level of Russian, his passion for travel and photography keeps attracting attention. This time he gave a presentation organized by the Russian Club in Hong Kong

“Traveling around Russia, Breaking stereotypes and Useful tips” is a talk organized by the Russian Club in Hong Kong in collaboration with the Central Asia Culture Festival. The presentation was held on the 20 th of March at HKU SPACE, Hong Kong. Local university student Chow Chun Shing, Johnson shared his experience about studying in Russia as well as photography. French traveler François Jeux also talked about his hitch-hiking adventures. More than 50 people from Hong Kong, Russia, India and France joined the event.

Johnson gave his first public talk about study life in Russia. He was impressed by the Higher School of Economics (HSE)’s energetic and dedicated teachers during his intensive Russian language courses. His internship experience in HSE’s International Office was also refreshing as he could utilize his passion for design, writing and photography. In the Diplomatic Academy, Johnson attended a series of lectures which benefited his international exposure with students from the world.

While Russia is often regarded as a boring country with cold faces, Johnson’s experience suggested otherwise. When he travelled around Russia, he met lovely young Russian children, helpful strangers who offered a hand to hold his luggage during Moscow’s rush hour, and patriotic locals who welcomed foreigners in the World Cup.

As a food lover, Russia also surprisingly did not disappoint this student from Hong Kong. In stolovaya , or Russian canteens, even the simplest pancakes ( blinchiki ) left everlasting memories. It is also striking to know that Russia had in store an exotic range of cuisine, such as North Korean. Even Hong Kong pales in comparison.

In general, I felt Russia is a safe country with comfortable streets. But for travelers, I advise that it would be handy if one could learn a few basic phrases to make life easier

Chow Chun Shing, Johnson, Hong Kong
Russian language summer student and intern at the Faculty of Economic Sciences, 2018

The audience enthusiastically responded to his presentation with laughter and approval. Some of them were interested in Johnson’s skill of Russian, which he honestly replied “there’s still a long way to go”. To a normal Hong Kong person however, it is already surprising to know that some of your fellow citizens can speak the language of a nation thousands of kilometers away. Other audiences are also engaged by his discussion of a distant Russian city –Yakutsk. This unique place is known for its freezing temperatures during winter, even by Russian standards. They actively approached him and asked about his plans for future travels. In the exchange, names like Lake Baikal, Trans-Siberian Railway and Irkutsk came up.

Johnson’s presentation offered practical information about studying and travel in Russia. Hopefully, the audience can learn from and be motivated by his sharing and begin to look up on events related to Russia. One local participant in particular was inspired by his endeavor in learning Russian as well as personal experience of being alone in Moscow. He mentioned he would approach the speaker in the future and may begin learning the Russian language.

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After the talk: Even more encouraging is that a native Russian participant personally messaged Johnson on Instagram, saying that she enjoyed his presentation and was delighted that a Hong Kong local appreciated her home country.

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There are still three weeks to register to the HSE Summer University where you can study Russian language, do REU in Math, take classes in English, travel and study in Siberia, Nizhny Novgorod and St Petersburg.
Application deadline 15 April, 2019.
Apply online via link  https://www.hse.ru/international/summer/

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Check Johnson’s new website with great photos of Moscow and other travels