HKSA Welcoming Dinner

Leah C.

October 16, 2009 - 1:00 AM

Despite all the hard work and uncertainty, the "Hong Kong Student Association Welcoming Dinner" was a huge success! Over sixty-five students attended the event, filling the entire restaurant. The dinner was held at East Meets West, a small restaurant located on 13th Ave. The dinner was also our first general meeting, and what better way to start off the year than with a family style dinner. With a suggested $5 dollar entrance fee, one would be able to eat through eight dishes that consisted of traditional entrees such as stewed beef, and string bean with black bean sauce. To end the night the restaurant gave us all sweet orange wedges and red bean filled desserts shaped like peaches, a symbol of "a sweet life" and longevity. 

It took a lot of planning and the help from all the committee members to pull the event off. I can't express how grateful I am to work with such a dedicated team this year. The number of people who showed up represented all the effort we put in. From passing out fliers, chalking the sidewalk, to making announcements during big events, we really didn't know how many students we would be able to reach. At five o'clock, we started setting up for the night. Streamers, balloons, flowers and table clothes painted the restaurant red and white. As we were setting up, the Vice President expressed how worried she was that we would not have fifty people at the event, our estimated attendance.
By six o'clock students were lining up outside the door and filling out name tags. The tables filled up very quickly, and in 10 minutes I feared that there would not be enough seats! I asked the chef if I could add another row of tables, and an extra order of dishes, basically booking the entire restaurant! The committee members gave up their spots, and instead helped serve, and floated around the tables to make sure everyone was comfortable. Half way into dinner, we introduced the 16 members of our committee, three of which were unable to attend. We also raffled off stunning "I heart HK" T-shirts, and made our announcements for upcoming events both in English and Cantonese. Peter, a fellow blogger, also stopped by to make a short announcement about "Teach for America." A program that I highly encourage everyone to check out.

The HKSA Welcoming Dinner reflected our efforts in getting the group's name out. We also met many Hong Kong exchange students, and those who were simply interested in the culture. I was also pleased to see a few friends who had came to support me. I couldn't have wished for a better turn out. Hopefully, this event will lead to the success of the Hong Kong Student Association. The club started off really small, and somewhat disorganized during the past years. I hope that under my direction and the help of the committee, the Hong Kong Student Association can strengthen its reputation and continue to grow.