It's all part of the experience!

So my buddies up at the Hovey House neglected to mention that when they said English is spoken in Hong Kong, by that they meant, not much at all. I arrived at my dorm around 7:30 AM (it's the one in the picture with the red triangle top) after my 15 hour flight only to be greeted by the Hall manager who tried to explain to me in Cantonese how to check in. I tried to throw some papers at her and make some motions that I thought indicated I was an exchange student. That wasn't working so thankfully Enoch, my airport pick up buddy, came to the rescue. I threw on some clothes and tried to figure out how to get to the meeting place for the tour of the "New Territories." Like a gift from God, I saw a Caucasian person. I asked with desperation, "Are you an exchange student?" And thankfully! She was! She had a heavy French accent so I had to have her repeat her name like 3 times before I even attempted to repeat it back to her. Maud. To this day I'm not sure when I say her name whether I should say it with a French or American accent. As of now, I still use the French one and I think I sound kind of silly, so I hope I'll make up a good nickname for her soon. Making a friend always makes things better.

The New Territories were interesting...When we arrived at our first stop, our guide, Cecilia, led us through the backyards and alleyways of some small village's shacks. Then, out of no where, a temple would pop up and with no explanation as to what it was we were looking at, she would say "Ah, okay! Go take picture! Take picture!" So the day went from 9AM-4.

The next day, we were supposed to go on a tour of Po Toi Island and Lamma Island. Unfortunately, we were given no warning that this may not be the best tour for those with a weak stomach. When we first got on the boat, all was fun! 75 minutes to the island? Okay! But about 25 minutes in, things were not so okay. The water got REALLY rocky and pretty soon everyone was fighting for space on the front deck, trying to focus on something stable, and some, unfortunately had to pray to the "porcelain Gods." Needless to say, I was rather disappointed when we arrived at Po Toi Island to see some rocks. By the time we got to Lamma Island, it was raining and all we had to look forward to was a second day of "traditional Hong Kong seafood restaurant!"

So my first few days in HK were a little rough. I was really homesick. I missed BC, warm weather in California and western food! My cell phone service sucked so I could barely talk to friends and family. Skype doesn't work well because the broadband is not strong enough or something. My electrical converter blew up because I think there maybe something wrong with the socket. It is FREEZING here because China is having the coldest winter in 100 years and there is no central heating in the dorms, so I have to blow dry my sheets and wear sweaters and socks to bed. I take 2 and 3 showers a day to stay warm! The local students are super shy and don't always like having to speak English with you. One time, I was introducing myself to some people and when I went to shake this local student's hand, she said "Oh, no thank you! I'm good."

So I felt kind of lonely without anyone to help me through the transition, but then I got a roommate!!