LocalHood Content Volunteer: Introducing Magic Myriam 💕

Hello! I am Myriam from Australia!

A bit about my personal Life

I have had the privilege of being in this amazing city for just over 3 years now. Time has really flown! I love Hong Kong more every day. There is a sense of happening here, a buzz at any hour of people working, eating, being together, which is like nowhere else.

I’m big on nature and being active, so being able to step out the door for a hike or trail run is another thing I love about Hong Kong. I feel I have become fitter living here, purely because of all the hills you need to climb every day😃 ! At one stage we were climbing the peak with my dog every morning, which was a great work out. Come summer and the overwhelming humidity, we still try to do it regularly.

Initially, I was working as a research assistant in the medicine faculty at HKU, in a lab which investigates neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. I am fascinated by biology and medicine, particularly the human body.

I was lucky to get a beautiful view of the sunset over lamma from the lab. After falling pregnant, I stopped working and become a full time mum.

Now I have my beautiful family, I have seen another side of Hong Kong life. We still love being outdoors with our dog The Doctor (It's actually his name😃😃) and having coffee at the local cafes.

Pic: Top of High West mountain with The Doc.

Why did you join LocalHood ? Originally I signed up on LocalHood to benefit from the discounts it offered at local vendors. There were loads of places I went to regularly so I could make the most of it straight away. When I was filling the form, the box for volunteering was there, so I decided to give it a go. At the time I had a newborn baby and was struggling to keep a sense of ‘baby-free’ purpose about my life. It seemed like the perfect way to have a project of my own which I could work on in my own time. I have always enjoyed learning and writing, so it was the perfect fit for me. My impression of ‘volunteering’ was mainly for events. Like a need for extra hands to help in the community activity or event. Micro volunteering in a sense.

I actually had very little idea of the whole picture of what Local Hood was at the time. After meeting with fellow volunteers and attending a meeting I felt I had ideas and stories to contribute, even if it was as simple as where to buy foods which remind me of home. Ha ha! Since then I have learned so much about the community and Hong Kong culture. It’s interesting to find out more about the local side of Hong Kong, meet so many new people and try new things. How are you involved with Local Hood? LocalHood volunteering is divided to different sub groups like the Content group, Event group, Vendor marketing group , IT group etc. I m part of the Content group which involves brainstorming content for articles on the website, doing the research for articles - like talking to shopkeepers or doing interviews with people from the local community - and writing up articles. I'm not a professional or even an amateur writer but no body in the LocalHood Content team is! You get the chance to write about what interests you!! For me it’s all about the people, the places, the experience... It’s all about telling their story

Pic: With the LocalHood Content Team

Working in the Content team is very open and everyone gets a chance to share and discuss ideas. We often work in pairs on articles which mean that you get to know the other members well. How has it impacted you on a personal/ family/ social level?

Pic: With my family ❤

After joining the Local Hood team I felt an extra level of connection to my neighbourhood. I am more aware of people in the community I see day to day and make an effort to give them a smile.

I run into people I know which makes me feel like I’m part of something and

makes it feel so much like home.