Transitioning into a New Place

Mong Kok, Hong Kong

Mong Kok, Hong Kong

Moving away has always been a sort of dream of mine. To start again somewhere new, where no one knew who I was, where I was on my own. Now older, obviously starting over is somewhat difficult and hard to do without a purpose, i.e., for work, school, etc. Not to mention the family and friends you would be leaving behind. The loophole I found was to study abroad. It’s almost like I’m able to sample new places. I live abroad for a few months, have a purpose through my education, and really get to live and see a place as a local would and not a tourist. Which, to me, makes a big difference. In the end, I return back home changed and matured ready for the next place to call home for a bit or even one day, for a bit longer. A type of nomadic journey you could call it.

I had never been to Hong Kong or any part of Asia before my study abroad trip so when I arrived everything was utterly foreign to me.  It was very much unlike my previous study abroad experience to Paris, France. I had been to Paris and a bit of Europe a couple of times prior because of family living there. So when I moved to Paris I was already familiar with the city, the people and the way of life in general. I’ve always had my heart set on one day permanently moving to France so that small taste definitely had me in love and comfortable. Hong Kong was of course a wonderful opportunity for me, but I hadn’t given much though to it before. I’ve always been more interested in Japan or India if I were to choose where I could go in Asia.

Before my trip, I hardly did any research on Hong Kong and had a sort of ease and ‘whatever’ mentality. My family couldn’t even imagine how I could go across the globe for a couple of months and be so calm. But maybe it was my love of travel and starting over somewhere new that I was looking forward to it. Adapting to a new place is annoying to some, but adventurous to me. Finding a new routine, breaking it and finding a new one. Recognizing familiar faces, stepping out of my comfort zone. My time flew by before my trip and all of sudden I was saying my goodbyes. That was the part that hurt the most. Once I arrived, the buzz of the city was contagious. I was ready to explore, get lost, and then found again. My apartment was by the bay, a bit further from the city. Before, I thought how inconvenient that seemed but now I love being able to only hear the wind and waves crashing outside of my windows. Waking up with the view of the water instead of another window with laundry hanging from it hidden in the overcrowded city, was simply magical.

My first few weeks were disorientating. Finding my way around, learning to understand the gestures of people I couldn’t speak to, discovering a new gem around each corner, and not to mention starting classes! I was pretty exhausted and the toll was beginning to add up. I’ve finally found a better balance to manage my time with school but still explore to my hearts content. This calm and balance, however, was after a good hibernation from last weekend. I checked out from everything, finished all of the work I needed to do and just took my time to sleep, be lazy and take it slow for a bit. Even though I wholeheartedly agree that you should take full advantage of your time, I was conscious of my health. I could feel the stress building up and I needed to just breathe and take a moment for a slight pause.

A month into my trip I still feel as I did on that first night when I arrived. Anxious, excited, scared and unbearably happy. The biggest change being that in this foreign place I now feel at home. 

It’s Tomorrow in Hong Kong

Central, Hong Kong

Central, Hong Kong

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.