I arrived in the middle of the night, sore and exhausted from the past 24-hours of travel. Three airports, two flights (one of those being 16 hours long), 1 layover and not much sleep to go by, I was happy to have made it safe and sound. I spent less time getting out of the airport than I ever had before, and with only one more destination in mind, my new bed, I quickly went in search of a taxi.

I was assured that most people spoke English in Hong Kong, so a language barrier would not be an issue. I had my doubts about that and was proven right when my taxi driver spoke nothing but Cantonese. Luckily, I was well prepared and had an English and Cantonese translation of my destination. I handed it to him, he read it, said “Okay.”

I asked, “Okay?”

“Okay,” he said. And off we went.

Since I arrived at night, I was glued to the window of the taxi, in awe of the lights. The trip was fairly quick and I arrived to my apartment with no trouble at all, despite my initial doubts. I live right by the bay so the salty ocean smell was an exciting welcome.

Hong Kong is currently 13 hours ahead of Atlanta, where I was coming from. Settling in, I realized my friends and family back at home would be just now be waking up. But for me, it was about to be midnight, tomorrow fast approaching.

Arriving late at night plus encountering sleepless flights, both equaled the perfect recipe for escaping jetlag. I woke up around 6 a.m., ready to explore.

As I was here to study, I had to go through orientation as you normally would when you start a new school or program. The school was in Kowloon, a beautiful and busy part of Hong Kong. The school itself felt creative and open. A wonderful environment for the next couple of months. The tour included seeing the surrounding area and getting our Octopus cards. The card was mainly for all of our transport needs; the MTR (metro) and all of the buses, but you could even use it to pay for food and groceries at certain restaurants and markets. It’s more common to pay in cash vs. card so having an Octopus card provides an extra sort of ease and option.

A short walk from my apartment was a grocery store where I would now be forced to be in at least once a week. Back home, I rarely cooked. I didn’t hate it I just didn’t like how much time it consumed. Though I would love to live on take-out forever, I knew I needed to start cooking here. Food and groceries in Hong Kong are actually quite inexpensive. It’s only when you look for more American imported foods that items are costly. Grabbing all the essentials and a few experiments, I was on my way home again.

 My first official day complete, it was night when the realization hit me once more. I was on the other side of the world, 13 hours ahead, in a foreign place, constantly on the verge of tomorrow. Now how could I possibly sleep.