Wei Jie

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AT 7 p.m. sharp on Tuesday, Murat Kara, from Türkiye, started learning how to greet his classmates in Cantonese during a language class in Shekou.

“Nei5 hou2, ngo5 giu3 Agnes [Hello, I’m Agnes],” the Cantonese instructor said while introducing herself to more than 20 participants at the Shekou Management and Service Center for Expats (Shekou MSCE). The class marked the start of the Shekou Night School for Expats’ fall term.

Kara, a Ph.D. student in politics at Hong Kong’s Lingnan University, said he doesn’t speak much Cantonese and wanted to learn practical expressions for daily life back in Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong.

Putman felt the same. A teacher at an international school in Shenzhen, he is a fan of Cantonese cuisine. He hoped a few local phrases would give him a taste of being a Cantonese local.

Initiated by the Shekou MSCE, the Cantonese class and the Chinese (Mandarin) class, which is scheduled for Wednesday nights, are designed to help expats overcome the language barrier and integrate into local life, said Rita Yang, director of the center.

Wednesday’s Chinese class attracted nearly 40 expats. “More people wanted to join, but we had to cap the enrollment because of limited space,” said Yang.