Being a uni student was so much fun… especially if you went to the University of Hong Kong. HKU kids had their own lingo, rituals, and ate an obscene amount of tui fahn. If you understand these nostalgic memories, then you are probably a proud HKU alumnus.

1. You speak the HKU lingo: ho chur ah, su ng su, ho that pey, jib…

…And when you accidentally slip one out during conversations with family and other friends, they act like you’re speaking alien.

2. You were intimidated by seniors (dai seen/大仙), especially those in residential halls and committees. Some seemed to have a ridiculously rigid notion of what a good uni student should be.

3. But you also met at least one super caring and intelligent senior who got you through orientation camps, class enrollment, jong* / hall drama, heartbreaks and so much more.

*jong: an endearing term for student committees such as the English Society, Film Society, and the Arts Association.

4. “Campaign meetings,” which were held before you could officially become a committee member for an association or club, involved continuous questioning for three to seven days STRAIGHT.

5. Eating $10 “sad rice” (tui fahn/頹飯). Those in-the-know went to Swire Canteen because it has the best-tasting tui fahn.

6. Rushing to Swire Canteen after your afternoon class because those CRUNCHY, JUICY fried chicken legs run out super fast.

7. Okay, admit it, you typecasted your peers based on their halls and committees.

8. Even if you’ve never chanted “dem cheers*”, you’ve “dem” them out loud by yourself in your dorm room. They’re always stuck in your head!

所謂何東精神，就係團結…我地會煮糖水又會煲粥…

*Dem cheers: a term believed to be the short form for “demonstration of cheers,” which refers to moments when hall members sing or chant these cheerleading songs.

9. You feared every visit to the infamous Sun Uncle (太陽伯伯), the grumpy and foul-mouthed man who operates the printing shop just opposite to HKU’s East Gate.

10. You have taken a set of super elaborate photos in the beautiful Main Building. You did, like, a million poses.

11. You remember spending a late night on campus and sharing ghost stories with each other…

12. Since you got 30 percent off of any Starbucks purchase in Uni, you get an internal shock every time you buy Starbucks IRL.

13. You’d obviously vote NO to Arthur Li as chairman of HKU. Just NO.

14. You used to line up for a superpass fruit (勁過果), which blesses you with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Naturally.