Our Volunteers 我哋嘅義工: Angela
In this issue, we would like to introduce you to our volunteer Angela!
呢期通訊，我哋想同大家介紹我哋嘅義工Angela！
Tell us something about yourself
Hi there! I’m Angela Chu, currently a medical student in Cork. Born and raised in Macau SAR, I chose to immigrate to Irelandto pursue this degree and better career prospects.
自我介紹：
大家好！我喺Angela，依家喺Cork讀緊醫科。我喺澳門出世，亦都係喺嗰度長大。我選擇移民到愛爾蘭，就係為咗攻讀呢個醫學位，同埋更好嘅職業前途。
Why did you decide to join CII as a volunteer?
I initially decided to join CII because of my sense of connection to my roots. When I first arrived, I was going through a cultural identity phase. Back home in Macau, you don’t really notice cultural differences because you’re surrounded by people from the same culture. However, being here in Irelandhas given me the opportunity to explore and navigate my identity. I’ve always enjoyed organising cultural and community events even before coming here, so CII felt like the perfect platform for me to advocate for our culture, connect with my roots, and get to know my community here in Ireland.
點解你決定加入CII做義工嘅？
我決定加入CII係因為我感覺自己同原生地有一種特別嘅聯繫。我一開始嚟到愛爾蘭嘅時候，我經歷咗一段文化身份嘅改變。喺澳門，我冇乜點留意到人與人之間存在嘅文化差異，因為大家都屬於同一個文化。但係嚟到愛爾蘭之後，文化差異及身份認同推動我去探索我嘅文化身份。我一向都好鍾意埋組織文化同社交活動，所以CII俾到我一個超完美嘅平台，令我可以宣揚同分享我哋嘅粵文化。透過呢啲舉辦活動嘅機會，我亦都能夠深入探索我嘅身份根源，同埋認識愛爾蘭呢邊嘅粵群體。
What do you hope CII will achieve in the next 10 years?
I hope CII will continue doing what they are doing—maintaining its authenticity and building a bridge with Irish culture, while also engaging with people who may not be Cantonese but are interested in learning about our culture.
你希望CII呢個機構可以嚟緊呢10年達成啲咩？
我希望CII會繼續做佢哋做緊嘅嘢，聯繫接愛爾蘭同粵社群，向所有人推動粵文化。
As an immigrant, how has your relationships with both Cantonese(specifically Macanese in this case) and Irish culture evolved since you arrived here?
Well, since I’m from Macau, I can only really speak on behalf of Macau haha. I’m proud of my background and everything it has nurtured in me. Initially, I wasn’t very fond of mentioning that I’m from Macau because, to be honest, very few people here actually know where it is, apart from knowing that it’s next to Hong Kong. But now I think things have shifted, and I’m happy to just say I’m from Macau. I’m not really sure if I would consider myself Cantonese-Irish, since both of my parents and my family are from Macau, if that makes sense. However I do believe I’ve learned a lot from the Irish culture and really happy that part of me has made me a better individual.
身為一位移民，究竟嚟到愛爾蘭之後，你同廣東話（明確啲嘅話澳門）同埋愛爾蘭文化嘅關係有咩演化？
因為我嚟自澳門，所以我只能夠代表澳門文化發言 XD。我為我嘅背景同埋佢喺我身上培養嘅一切感到非常自豪。一開始，我其實有啲躊躇應唔應該提起我嚟自澳門，因為實話實說，依度冇乜幾個人對呢個地方有任何認知，除咗可能知道佢喺香港隔離。但係依家我嘅諗法唔同咗，我好樂意表明我嘅澳門身份。我唔喺好肯定我會唔會標籤自己為一位愛爾蘭粵語人，因為我嘅父母都係嚟自澳門。但係我喺愛爾蘭體驗到愛爾蘭文化，亦都好高興呢種文化體驗可以成為我身份嘅一部份，令我變成更好嘅自己。