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LEARNING how to communicate and interact with people of different nationalities is not an easy task.

  About 10,000 young delegates from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong had the chance to do so at a large-scale youth camp recently.

  The Korea Camporee, organised by the Hong Kong Macao Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, was held in Korea.

 Some 50 secondary school students from Tai Po Sam Yuk Secondary School, Kowloon Sam Yuk Secondary School, Hong Kong Sam Yuk Secondary School and Sam Yuk Middle School attended the camp.

  They were members of an international organisation called Pathfinder Club which belongs to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

  The youngsters experienced cultural differences but learned a lot while communicating with other campers.

  Mr Lawrence Yu Cheong-ning, teacher-in-charge of the Pathfinder Club at Tai Po Sam Yuk Secondary School, said the camp gave the youths an experience they could not get in Hong Kong.

  ''They made friends with youngsters of different nationalities. But most importantly, they learned how to solve problems by themselves,'' Mr Yu said.

  The Hong Kong delegates also learned from their Korean counterparts obedience and discipline.

 Before the trip, the delegates took part in a three-day camp during which they did bodybuilding exercises to prepare for the Korean camp.

  After they reached Korea, they learned some simple Korean from their tour guides and started their five-day sightseeing tour in Seoul before going to the camp in the central part of South Korea.

  During the five-day camp, the delegates made a lot of friends who introduced them the Korean language and culture.

  Wong Kit-ying, Ho Yin-mei, Sin Wing-yi and Leung Shu-ming from Tai Po Sam Yuk Secondary School said the camp was an experience to treasure.

  ''I appreciate the enthusiasm of the Koreans. They were very friendly and they cried when they took us to the airport,'' Kit-ying said.

 She added that even though there was a language barrier, as the Koreans did not speak much English, they managed to establish friendship using body language.

  Yin-mei and Wing-yi said the camp helped them become independent. Basically quiet and shy, the two teenagers became more active and outgoing.

  ''I would never talk to strangers in the past, but now I have changed; I was moved by the Koreans' eagerness to meet new friends,'' Yin-mei said.

  Meanwhile, second-former Wing-yi said she would not lock herself in a room again. She wants to meet more people and widen her horizon.

  Fourth-former Shu-ming said the Korean youths gave him a new perspective on life. He admires their kindness and politeness. ''They are now my best friends. I will write to them regularly.'' 



A taste of Korean civilisation