“I’m from Nigeria, and came to Hong Kong in 2020 as I got a scholarship to do a Masters degree in International Banking and Finance. My first impression of the city was that everything is so tiny! Back home, things are so much larger - the roads, the homes, the open space…so that has taken some time to get used to. I want to pursue a career in finance, which is why I came to this financial hub in the first place! My goal is to do a PhD in economics one day. I started working at this coffee shop after I attended one of the events here. My job is to ensure that everything at the cafe is running smoothly, look after finances and oversee sales - a little bit of everything!” 

「我係尼日利亞人，2020年嗰陣嚟咗香港，因為我攞咗獎學金嚟呢度讀國際銀行與金融碩士。我對呢個城市嘅第一印象係所有嘢都好細！喺我長大嘅地方，啲嘢係大好多，馬路啦、住嘅地方同埋室外嘅空間⋯⋯所以我要花啲時間去適應。我想喺金融業發展，因為咁我先至嚟咗呢個金融業嘅樞紐！我嘅目標係讀埋經濟學博士。我喺呢間咖啡店參與咗一個活動，之後就開始喺度做嘢喇。我會確保咖啡店嘅運作暢順，管理財政同埋睇住個銷量 - 乜嘢都做的啦！」

“I’m learning a lot here about how to run a business and I’ve really come out of my shell through my daily interactions with customers. I’ve also learned the importance of not taking things personally. Sometimes customers might be having a bad day - you never know what people are going through - but I choose not to absorb that negative energy and pass it on to other customers, because it’s important to maintain good service and a positive attitude. I’m actually an extremely introverted guy and find socialising in big groups particularly draining. I would never have agreed to doing this interview a few years ago! The team at this cafe has been encouraging me to build my confidence by engaging with people and making conversation - I’m very grateful for that and am growing into it!”

“A lot of Nigerians want to launch their career in the US, but I didn’t want to be like everyone else so I chose to explore Hong Kong instead. I soon discovered that there is a big African community here! Many of us come here to study and do business. I really miss Nigeria and haven’t been back in three years. My family is spread out across the world so we are thinking about meeting up in Dubai, which is somewhat in the middle! In my spare time, I like to write poetry and take inspiration from many things. Since coming to Hong Kong I’ve been writing more about Africa and my country. I also teach drumming and dancing at the Africa Centre on my days off, which I really enjoy. I used to be the guy happily dancing in the corner at a party, but now I’m quite comfortable being in the middle of the dance floor!"

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「喺呢度我學到好多關於經營生意嘅技巧，同客人嘅日常互動亦令我變得開朗咗。我學識唔好將事情擺喺心度。有時客人可能就係嗰日心情唔好，你永遠唔會知道佢哋經歷緊啲乜嘢，但係我會選擇唔去吸收佢哋嘅負能量，或者帶去俾其他客人，因為好嘅服務同埋正面嘅態度對大家都好重要。其實我係一個好內向嘅人，喺多人嘅社交場合會特別容易攰。幾年前嘅我一定唔會應承做呢個訪問﹗咖啡店嘅同事一直都鼓勵我透過同人交流，同客人傾計去建立自信，我好感激佢哋，而家我都慢慢掌握到喇﹗

「好多尼日利亞人想喺美國發展佢哋嘅事業，但係我唔想同其他人一樣，所以嚟咗香港。冇幾耐就發現呢度有一個好大嘅非洲人社群！我哋好多人都係嚟呢度讀書同埋做生意。我好掛住尼日利亞，已經三年無返過去。我嘅家人分佈喺世界唔同角落，所以我哋諗緊喺杜拜見面，因為好似喺中間！我得閒鍾意寫詩，從好多事物當中攞靈感。嚟咗香港之後，我寫多咗關於非洲同埋我個國家嘅嘢。放假嘅時候我都會喺非洲中心呢度教打鼓同埋跳舞，我好鍾意㗎。我以前會喺派對嘅角落自己跳舞，但係而家我喺舞池中間跳舞都幾自在！」