Sailors assigned to amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and amphibious transport dock USS Green Bay (LPD 20) visited Lan Chi Pat Memorial Secondary School in Hong Kong as part of a community relations outreach, Sept. 30.

During the visit, Sailors practiced English with students and participated in various activities and games, including tug-of-war, word scramble, pop quiz races, and games of basketball and volleyball.

"Today we participated in a community relations project where we interacted with children for an English class, and had a cultural exchange that taught us a little bit about the culture here," said Bonhomme Richard's Assistant Chaplain, Lt. David Hammond. "It is an opportunity for us to interact on a human level, and there is a sense of service in coming to the school and spending time with the kids. It is a positive representation of our government and our time here."

The volunteers got an opportunity to learn about the education the students receive, while the students had a chance to practice English language with native speakers.

"Some people are used to service projects where we work on building something, but this event focused on interacting with the students, giving them and us a positive outlook on cultural differences," explained Hammond. "It is always rewarding when we get an intimate look at the culture, rather than seeing it from the outside. When you are in school, seeing the children interact with each other, seeing how they are educated and their environment gives us an inside look and helps us understand the culture. It is also fun to play games with the kids and watch them enjoy learning English."

Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian Varilla, assigned to Bonhomme Richard, explained he initially thought people of Hong Kong only spoke Chinese and was very surprised to learn how well the young students could speak English.

"It is fun and exhilarating to make new friends in a local community; this is why I volunteer," said Varilla. "It also gives us a chance to experience the culture of the country we are visiting, and interacting with the locals is one of the best experiences."

King Miu Yung, the panel head of the school's English department, was one of the organizers of the outreach for the students.

"The interaction with the Navy helps students understand U.S. people better and helps promote international relationships, because the more we know one another, the better we can live together," said Yung. "There are a lot of cultural differences in our thinking, but if we have more contact it will be better and will promote world peace."

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