Growing up in multicultural Melbourne, Australia, allowed me to experience the richness of other people's cultures.
This area of my upbringing would have been lacking if I had grown up only in Hong Kong. In comparison, Hong Kong certainly has its own distinctive style and vibrancy created by its inhabitants, the majority of whom are Cantonese-Chinese. I have found that other cultures tend to adapt and blend into the Hong Kong lifestyle rather than retain their own original forms.
This is probably because of the limited geographical space that forces everything to adhere to a more uniform and compact form.
In Melbourne the various cultures have their own urban centres far apart from each other, and this allows them to retain much of their original flavour. Fortunately, at the edge of these cultural centres are places where the various cultures mix, and this allowed me to experience other people's lives.
I remember growing up going to Greek weddings where I didn't understood a word being said during the Greek Orthodox ceremony but still enjoyed myself, thoroughly absorbing the sights, sounds and especially the smell of the spit roast goat that was waiting outside for the post-ceremony party.
I remember visiting my Lebanese friends' homes and got a first-hand taste of homemade authentic beef kebabs and chicken shwarma served with hummus, falafel and Lebanese spicy potatoes. I really miss my Lebanese friends.