Immersing myself in the culture of Hong Kong has been amazing. It is so cool to compare the differences in American Culture to that of Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong have all been very nice- well except for the workers in my school’s cafeteria but that’s the exception. Hong Kong is very much East meets West or as my roommate so perfectly described it “Asia Lite”. I couldn’t agree more with that. I have been able to get by very well with out really speaking any Cantonese.

There are many stores that cater to western tastes and the same can be said with the food. I originally came in thinking I am only going to eat Chinese food, but as I’ve learned, eating a variety of foods- Chinese, Western, Japanese and even Indian, is very much apart of the Hong Kong diet. I think for me the biggest problem is eating enough fruits and vegetables. I’ve had to request many vegetarian dishes to get in my veggies as almost all the dishes in Hong Kong have meat in them.

I will say that one of the greatest things about Hong Kong over Los Angeles is the amazing Public Transport system. The MTR is super fast and efficient, so much nicer and better than LA’s metro. I have yet to really use the bus system but the double decker buses here seem so cool and I will let you guys know. The best part about MTR — and this seems to be a reflection of Hong Kong’s culture — is all the shopping that one can do in the MTR station and it seems that every MTR station is connected to a Mall. It’s kind of cool that I can just pick up a loaf of bread at the MTR station on the way back to my dorm or buy some shampoo.

Hong Kong truly is an amazing city. I can’t speak enough about how nice most of the people here are and how much there is to do in Hong Kong. I’ve been here for 3 weeks now and I’ve only scratched the surface.

-Julia