Thank you to all the readers. With this, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Harris Tsam. I am the founder and photographer of Fotocatch, writer, and webmaster of Oranghongkong.com and Indocatch.com, and I grew up in the Yuen Long area of Hong Kong.

To this day, many readers and even Indonesian friends often wonder how I—someone from Hong Kong who only lived in Indonesia for four years during my teenage years—can still speak Indonesian so fluently.

Starting from now, I am opening a new column themed "Author's Story" to gradually share my life experiences, how I learned Indonesian, and why I fell in love with Indonesia.

Never Taught Indonesian During My Childhood

My father is originally from Hong Kong, and my mother is of mixed Hong Kong and Indonesian descent. However, for various reasons, my mother never taught me Indonesian, and I rarely had the opportunity to hear her speak the language.

Moving with My Parents to Indonesia at Age 11

When I was in my first year of secondary school (junior high school), my parents decided to move to Jakarta, Indonesia, to start a business. I was 11 years old at the time, and I had absolutely no idea what Indonesia was like.

6 Months of Private Indonesian Lessons at Home

Because I didn't understand Indonesian at all, and my parents wanted me to enroll in a local school to better understand Indonesian culture, they decided to look for a private tutor. They found a tutor originally from Medan who grew up in Surabaya and could speak Chinese. This tutor taught me Indonesian at home, which is one of the reasons why my Indonesian carries a Javanese accent.

Attending a Local School and Repeating a Grade Due to Language Barriers

After six months of private tutoring at home, my parents began looking for a local school that would accept me as a student. After trying several schools, I was accepted into a school in the Pondok Indah area of South Jakarta. They gave me the opportunity to start from the first year of junior high school, but I didn't pass the grade in my first year because my Indonesian language skills were still very limited at the time.

Always Scoring a 9 in Indonesian Language Class

Thanks to the support of the school principal, teachers, and classmates, my grades took a major leap in my second year. In fact, I frequently scored a 9 in Indonesian language class, and my overall exam scores usually ranked in the middle tier.

Leaving Indonesia with a Heavy Heart

By my fourth year in Indonesia—which was my third year of junior high school—I had fully adapted to Indonesian culture. I even felt like an Indonesian myself, thanks to the warmth and hospitality of the people around me who always looked out for and helped me.

Then one day, I received bad news: our family had to leave Indonesia and return to Hong Kong. It was with a very heavy heart that I had to leave all my friends behind.

Re-assimilating in Hong Kong, But Not Forgetting Indonesia

After returning to Hong Kong, I worked while continuing my high school and university education. My social circle consisted primarily of local Hong Kong people. Although I had a few Indonesian friends back then, the number of young people from Indonesia in Hong Kong was very small at the time.

Starting to open my own business and reconnecting with many Indonesian people

After working in a local Hong Kong environment within the IT profession for more than 20 years, I had the opportunity to open a photography company, and with the help of several friends from Indonesia, I managed to secure many clients from various cities across Indonesia.

Launching the Oranghongkong.com Website During the Pandemic

Because of my IT background, I first had the idea to create a website about Hong Kong in Indonesian back in the year 2000. However, due to a busy work schedule and continuing various courses, that dream remained unfulfilled for nearly 20 years.

When the Covid-19 pandemic first hit Hong Kong, practically all of my work ground to a halt. It was then that I remembered my old dream of building the website. I went ahead and built it with the initial goal of providing information about Hong Kong to my friends and clients. However, the primary mission became writing articles and news about current events in Hong Kong for Indonesians living or working here.

Thank you for reading this brief story about me, I will share more interesting experiences starting from my childhood days.