Settling In

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I really thank God for the privilege of today!

Sitting in front of the window of my residence room I’m starring out at the 7am traffic. My body is still jet-lagged and so I wake up really early ( 5 or 6am). The residence I’m in is said to be the most luxurious res. In Hong Kong ! They just built it but charge the same price : )

Thus far I’ve been learning some Cantonese, most are so shocked when I speak the little I know. However, Mandarin is what I really want to learn and thus far my Japanese friend who speaks little English has been teaching me some Japanese so that we can understand each other and so in all I might get really confused very soon with all the languages.

I’ve been learning how the MTR (like subways) trains and busses work….one things for sure most people are rude and very brisk. The drivers are quite aggressive. And the pedestrians who don’t speak good English would rather not say anything than speak bad English, which is very different from western culture… its as though they believe that if you cant do something well don’t try and make a fool out of your self.

The food is good, however, I find myself eating rice for breakfast, rice-noodles for lunch, rice dumplings or rice pudding for dinner! My chop-stick skills are coming along nicely. The school is quite huge, and has really new nice infostructures. The professors have been nice and really happy to have me here. The residence is great, really safe with guards everywhere, and in all everything is so structured, so convenient….they have quite a lot of experience dealing with foreigners. In short Hong Kong as a whole is very ready and efficient in welcoming outsiders.

The economy is about to shot up with the opening of the Disney, so many main-land Chinese are sprawling in.

First impressions:

* The air is thick, and unlike in Canada people can smoke everywhere!!!
* Its crowded and really alive. A lot of hustle and bustle…
* There are 2 types of groups my age… one type is very modern, western in clothing, hair cut, music, and rough attitude. The other type is very traditional in attitude, very plain in dressing, so serious, with glasses…borderline geeky.
* Chinese characters are everywhere on build boards, newspapers. Its as though you got hit on the head and completely forgot your alphabets and how to read and so your completely mesmerized that people can make sense out of all this scribbling. And obviously very lost… thus far I’ve learnt the sign for EXIT and NO
* When I see a black person we stare at each other from afar wondering how the other wound up here…its such a rare sight
* I feel so foreign to my surroundings; I obviously don’t fit in and so definitely get cheated. Plus when they tell me … this is 100 dollars I’m always surprised and then I realize they meant Hong Kong dollars and then I try to do the conversion in my head.
* There an obvious economic divide. Some drive the sport fancy cars and live in fancy condo complexes… and others live in very cramped degenerated buildings. But both carry very fancy cell phones and things gadgets!

Commentary

Let me just say that finding a church was such an adventure! Its not that their hidden (or should I say they are) but I guess space is a real problem in Hong Kong that most cant afford visible spacey places.

I really thank God that I’m not afraid cause sometimes when I look around and think to myself “I’ll be here for a year” it sounds so shocking…. Its all so new, so mysterious so foreign…However, I know that in no time it should feel like home once more!

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Photos

view from residence room
I'm on the 13th floor, but thats not a problem cause to the Chinese the bad numbers are 4 and 14 and anything with 4 which sounds like sounds like death!

Busy streets
On every weekend some streets are closed cause Hong Kongers love to shop and the stores are over packed that some streets have to be closed

Drivers
Drivers are very rough and as from what I've seen theres no such thing as speed limits

Language
"It's all like Chinese to me"

Alien
The Indian man that took this picture of me and my very helpful international buddy Vivan...turned to me as said "you dont look like your from here"...and I replied "what made u think that?" he laughed so hard!

Comments

[Aneto]

Hilarious
Your journal is hilarious Cynthia, thanks for putting so much time into it. You are getting me really excited about being there. Too bad Ill only be in Hong Kong for a day it would have been fun to experience a lot of that new stuff together. Have fun

[stella]

first impressions
Cinthia - wow! what a totally different world. I look forward to reading your adventures!

[Elijah Johnson]

Girl you crazy
I can't believe you actually over there! Those pictures look like something you'd see in a magazine. And your butts' gonna be there for a year! It's a good thing to know you can cook for yourself, cause me, for a year without soul food, I'd die. Congradulations again. Real proud of you. And just know you got your ppl here in MTL lookin out for you. Take care girl, E

[Yummy food]

Wow!
So exciting!! I thought I was feeling similar things when I was in Paris and when I first came to Nancy, but man at least its the same alphabet here! LOL, you are THE bravest person I know Cynthia. After everything you've tackled, like premier of Raha night, I know you can conquer any differences=) You will make alot of friends and don't worry if it gets overwhealming at times, it will work out in the end. You really don't worry often anyways. May God be with you. Andrea

[Mine]

cool
Hey Cynthia, Very nice to know u are having fun. The disney thing is soo cool too. I miss u very plenty. I hope u are making friends and all. Mine.