"PERHAPS IT'S BECAUSE I'AM AN ONLY CHILD, I could be very 'stubborn' and often didn't know how to see things from another angle." Tong Lik-hang, Axel, a third-year student in the language degree programme reflected when he shared his two-year hostel experiences with us.

Lik-hang still remembers the time when he discovered that half the
bottle of liquid detergent in the kitchen had disappeared in just half a day.
As an executive member of the floor committee in his hostel, he was very angry and decided he was going to find out who the 'culprit' was, so that he could teach that person a 'good lesson'. However, he was dissuaded from doing so by a fourth-year student who was also a floor tutor. He suggested that communication could be achieved by more effective means.

Since then, Lik-hang has gradually improved the way he handles things and deals with people. Hall-mates and floor tutors have become his confidants. "Every time I was worried about something, they always gave me invaluable advice. I could understand myself better afterwards. Through these floor committee 'dessert-time meetings' and 'talks into the small hours', I came into contact with fellow students from different social backgrounds and started to learn how to get along with other people. "While living in the hostel, Lik-hang was very active — he was, among many others, secretary for the 8th Floor Committee of Northcote Hall, a student ambassador, deputy editor of the Student Union's Editorial Board, as well as a volunteer tutor for RTHK's Tutor Online programme.