Ni Hao Hong Kong

I’m here! I arrived safely to the University yesterday at around 10PM.

So first impressions of Hong Kong and how it’s different/same as my experience in China…

1) Way different from where I was in China last year! So much more “city” like and I can tell it is definitely more “Westernized”.

2) I went for a run this morning, and it was extremely humid at 6AM in the morning, that is something to look forward to ALL summer! But, when I was running I was reminded of a familiar flowery smell, that brings back memories from my time in China last summer! It was great and for a while I forgot about the humidity!

3) Like in China, there are stray cats everywhere!

4) Everyone is super hospitable. I was given a “Welcoming Packet” upon arrival with water and information and a University postcard. The University even has an entire Orientation just for International Students and organized tours of Hong Kong for the next two weekends. Tomorrow we have breakfast with the President of the University!

5) My room is extremely small! I have a “closet” that is really a cupboard, a bed that is perfectly 6 feet long, with the addition of the thinnest mattress ever invented, and a desk that wraps around the back of the room that I’ll share with my roommate (who is not here yet). There is a window in the back of the room and when I look out I can see a huge bush, that kind of looks like a rhododendron bush, and lots of trees! I would say the room is 12ft x 10ft. There is a community bathroom just down the hall that I’ll share with 11 other girls! Even though the room is not that big, I really think it’s going to be okay! The best asset to my room is the air conditioner!

6) Coke LIGHT! Yes! Praise the Lord! They even have Coke Light in vending machines. In China I could barely ever find Coke Light.

7) People stare and occasionally laugh at us – same as in China. There was a group of 10 International Students, plus myself, who went shopping today! We caused quite a bit of attention.

I’m looking forward to meeting new people. There seems to be a lot of International Students. At the airport, there were students from New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain…and New Student Orientation hasn’t even started yet!