The Cantonese Culture Club held its kick-off meeting of the semester, where they hosted a Kahoot to expose current and prospective club members to Cantonese culture on Jan. 21 in L04. Through the Kahoot, club members taught attendees about the different Cantonese provinces, names of foods, and conversational language. In addition, the meeting introduced students to Cantonese food, and provided bolo bao — or pineapple bun — to those who RSVP’d on a Google Form.
The club specifically focuses on the Guangzhou and Hong Kong regions, where Cantonese culture is found, freshman and event director of the club Aimee Luong said.
“We eat a lot of food, and then we also have some special events that celebrate things that typically happen in Canto-speaking regions,” Luong added.
The club allows other Cantonese students to learn more about their culture and brings a sense of community because students are with other Cantonese students, senior Melody Lee said.
“The first meeting I’ve been to, we learned about traditional desserts and pastries, and I thought that was really interesting because I did go to those Dim Sum places, and I didn’t know what I was ordering”, Lee added. “So going to that little session really helped me learn about what I was eating. That was really nice. It helps me gain a stronger connection to the culture that I didn’t really think about before.”
Sophomore Wannie Fong, who found the club meeting through the club’s Instagram post, wanted to go to the event because she wanted to find more people who spoke the same language as she does, she said.
“I think it helps me connect with culture a lot more,” Fong added. “Most of our activities incorporate a lot of Cantonese culture, and we do a lot of fun kahoots, too. So I feel like that people can bond over here as well. We learn a lot about food and phrases and greetings that are spoken in places that are predominantly Cantonese.”
What distinguishes this club from other culture clubs, is that the president of the Cantonese Culture Club, Jonathan Choi, teaches club members through personal experiences, as he lived in Macau, publicist and sophomore Eric Song said.
“There’s a lot more diversity to (Chinese culture). And we just want to bring awareness to the Cantonese,” Song said.
