The Alliance of Filipino-Chinese Students (AFICS) is the main organization comprised of different Chinoy orgs from five various colleges and universities. In an effort to create stronger bonds among the young Chinoy community, they recently hosted an online kai siao event.
The virtual kai siao event, sponsored by Routeine and Technomancer, was attended by 104 participants and went almost an hour over what AFICS originally planned due to the enthusiasm and enjoyment of the participants. We wanted to hear about the personal experiences of some of the attendees about kai siao online and here’s what they had to say.
While kai siao is usually associated with two people being introduced with the goal of getting involved romantically, April and Jonas* both joined the event wanting to make new friends in the Fil-Chi community.
Alyssa, AFICS president, tells us that kai siao is not exclusive to members of the orgs, but is open to everyone who is interested in the activity, whether or not he or she is of Chinoy descent. It was intended to create not only romantic relationships, but friendships, and possibly professional ones, too. Finding love at events such as these is just a bonus.
While April said that she was apprehensive about the event, it wasn’t because of meeting strangers. However, she added, “Since it’s virtual, the network was unstable so some people got disconnected, but it happens all the time.” Unreliable internet connection may have caused her to miss a valuable introduction.
On the other hand, Jonas had more personal concerns. “I am really a shy type person when it comes to people I haven’t met,” he shared. He does seem to have been able to overcome this since he said he was able to make friends that he’s looking forward to meeting in person once the pandemic is over.
Neither Alyssa, nor our other two participants have ever been kai siao’d before. Alyssa does look forward to joining an AFICS kai siao event in the future, after she leaves her post as president of the org. For their part, April and Jonas both enjoyed their first kai siao experience, which just happened to be online.
Jonas is enjoying talking to many new people that he met and patiently awaits the day he get can get to know them better and in person. Meanwhile, April has found a connection with one.
She said, “We are really good friends for now. Since he lives in another country, we only communicate virtually, but if not for this event, I would have not met him by chance. Really happy to be part of this event since I met great people here.”
For when you do a kai siao in person, here are some ideas for what Chinese flower to give on your date.
*Name has been changed.
