Chameli Vong, Silvia Martins and friends work at the Taipa Square Hotel, as ushers.

The wave of sport excitement was back once again to Macau as volunteers looked very busy preparing themselves to contribute to the success of the 1st Lusofonia Games which was held between October 7 - 15.

Such excitement was explicit, as many of the delegations of participating countries were arriving in Macau looking forward to experiencing the Macau culture and its people.

"Despite the language barrier in communicating with athletes, as they only speak Portuguese and a few words in English I found out that they are very nice and polite people," said Chameli Vong; a local student who is studying Psychology at Macau Inter-University Institute (IIUM).

"It is a good opportunity for me to know different cultures, to practice and improve my English skill, to gain knowledge about working in hotels," she said as she planned to work in the hotel business in the future. "By holding such an important event in Macau, it can help promote Macau's image in sports since most people only know Macau as a place for gambling," she added.

Silvia Martins a student of Portuguese Law at UM joined as a volunteer because she is from one of the participating countries- East Timor.