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Name: Waitress 2 (Unwillingly to disclose)

Migrated to Hong Kong at 1993 (20 years)
Mother tongue:  Thai
Languages spoken: Cantonese, Thai,  a little bit of English
(ranked by usage in everyday life, left as the most frequently use language)
Marital status: Married to a local Hong Konger
No. of children: 0

​​Linguistic Profile​
This waitress of Thai barbecue is a Thai born Chinese; however, she does not know any Cantonese before coming to Hong Kong. Her Cantonese is acquired from courses provided by her employers (duration - 3 months) and courses offered by the Thai Consulate General in Hong Kong. 

She does not receive much education, so she only knows few English that allows her to do basic English conversation. She rarely uses English during her stay in Hong Kong. 

In her workplace, she communicates with Thai colleagues in Thai, and Hong Kong colleagues in Cantonese. Sometimes, they will code-mix Cantonese and Thai by using Cantonese structure and inserting Thai terms and vocabularies. 
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Although Cantonese constitutes an important part for her to live in Hong Kong, she clearly expresses that the use of Thai language is still frequent. For example, she still uses Thai to communicate when she shops for her Thai shops, such as groceries, in Kowloon City. 

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​"Yes, we learnt Cantonese for adapting lives here, but sometimes Hong Kong people are interested to learn Thai from us. Some customers will ask us how to say the some of the Thai dishes in Thai. I am glad to teach them."​

Life as a Thai in Hong Kong​​

To make a living in Hong Kong, being able to speak Cantonese seems inevitable. Other than work and communicating in Hong Kong people, this interviewee said she lives as if she is in Thailand. 

"Cantonese is, of course, crucial to our lives in Hong Kong, or else we can't get a job."

"Our restaurant plays Thai channels. In Kowloon City, I can still keep track of the trend in Thailand. It is very easy to purchase up-to-date Thai films and shows. New films and shows will probably arrive Hong Kong about one or two weeks after their release in Thailand."

"I don't particularly miss Thailand. Living in Kowloon City makes not much difference than living in Thailand in terms of language use, lifestyle, and culture"

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​Religion
There are Thai temples in Hong Kong, for example, in Yuen Long. Since there are so many Thais living in Kowloon City, Waitress 2 mentiones the Thai monks will come to Kowloon City every weekends. To follow the Thai customs, she still prays and talks to the monks in Thai. 



​Identity

Having stayed in Hong Kong for 20 years, the interviewee said she seldom go back to Thailand and she already regards herself as a Hong Kong people.



"Hong Kong people still regard me as a Thai, but I think they like Thai people. Employers think we are more friendly and hard-working, and most importantly, many of us speak fluent Cantonese".