What is culture shock because I still don't know.

Thank God for the diversity in New York City and the variety of cultures represented at Babson college for helping my transition to Hong Kong go so smoothly. Honestly, I feel like I’ve been l've been in Hong Kong for almost two days already and surprisingly I don't feel ANY culture shock at all. I honestly feel like I can take a bus and I'll be back in New York. I know I told myself that I did not think if I could ever live anywhere else besides the US, but I can definitely see myself living here. It feels like a very large version of Chinatown in the US. 

Before I start talking about how it feels to be a student in Hong Kong, I want to point out a few differences:

For starters the exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar and the US dollar is 7.7 to 1 so for every USD I have 7.7 HKD.  This means I have a lot of buying power, which I have been taking advantage of lol!! As hard as it was for me to believe, I have already spent about $500 in less than two weeks. I've been telling myself that its because I need to buy all the essentials and I'll start spending less money, but I really hope that's true.

 Next  I'll talk about the restaurant scene. So there are a myriad of different restaurants here that serve full meals of good food for less that $10 USD. You can even get a good meal for less than $5 USD. I'm no restuarant connoisseur, but I know what I like and so far I've loving everything...except the ox tongue, which was not what I expected. Just to recap what I just said, I ate ox tongue for the first time. For all you Africans, and Latin Americans this may not be that big of a deal, but for me it was a leap of faith. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. I just feel like it wasn't prepared properly. I also ate a dragon fruit for the first time.

 To continue what I was saying about restaurants, at every restaurant, they serve hot tea with the meal unlike in the US where they serve cold water. If you want cold water you have to specify that you want cold water because if you just ask for water, the person serving you will probably serve you hot water. The first few times this happened to me I thought there was miss-communication due to the language barrier but I was informed that I would have to specify. Also if you want to thank your server for the tea, you just tap your pointer and your middle finger on the table twice. (For the sake of brevity, if you want to learn more about why people tap their fingers when tea is poured you can read this article http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chineseteaandliquor/f/finger-tapping.htm). Another aspect of the dining culture that I can't help but say I feel in love with is the fact that you don't have to pay your server a tip. It is seen as disrespectful to pay a tip. Not say that I am cheap or anything (cough cough), but I'm trying to be more frugal to stretch out every cent that I have here.  One thing that made my jaw drop was when I went to the mall and saw that Pizza hut was considered fine dining. To get into a Pizza Hut, you have to wait outside to be directed to a table before you are served. This is truly culture shock.

One major thing that I have observed is how structured the culture is here. For example, I went to the movies the other day and on my ticket it had an assigned seat like professional sports game. Also since the culture emphasizes more community right instead of individual rights, the police have a right to arrest and detain you without cause. So I can get arrested for not doing anything at all, but from what I hear that almost never happens. Most of the crime here is intelligent crime. I will be blown away the day I see a public fight here. 

To wrap things up, I want to point out a few not so shocking aspects of culture the culture.One they drive on the opposite side of the street. Most people don't throw away their garbage in fast food restaurants. I went to KFC once and everyone just walked out with their trays still on the table. Finally littering is a huge offense, you can be fined up to $5000 HKD for litering. Although I haven't seen anyone get fined for that, its still something to be conscious of. 

Sick In Hong Kong...What a tragedy

So I realized today that I have been slacking on posting blog entries so I have to ask for your forgiveness. I have an entire list of things to blog about....More entries will be coming soon.

Anywho, I've been feeling under the weather for the past two days. My symptoms include soar throat, runny nose, head aches, and physical weakness. In other words, I've been coughing so hard its making my throat dry and there was one point when my head hurt so much I felt like I could do telekinesis (start moving stuff with my mind). At first I couldn't understand how I got a cold. I honestly thought I would get a stomach virus before I got a cold. It's 90 degrees every single day! It wasn't until I talked to one of my professors that I realized it happens to many foreigners.  I have what is called a "summer cold." You get this when you sweat a lot due to the hot climate and then go indoors with air conditioners. I guess it wasn't a good idea to turn up the AC before I got to sleep. At least now I know how to save money because I have to pay for the AC every time I use it anyway

After missing two days of allowing myself to suffer and missing one class I finally decided to go the clinic on campus. (Quick side note about missing class before I continue: I'll have you know that a lot of the locals in Hong Kong wear medical masks whenever they feel sick as a way to prevent spreading their sickness. This is because of the SARS outbreak in the past. Many locals fear the spread of disease and we were admittedly advised not to go to class if we felt sick.)  So I went to clinic on campus and I after an hour of waiting I received "consultation" from the doctor and medication all for $30 HKD which is approximately $3.8 USD all without insurance. Imagine walking to the hospital and asking to be treated without insurance in the US and expecting to pay on $3.8, that would be a miracle. To make a long story short I was given three medications and cough syrup and asked to take 4 dosages a day for 3 days and I should be better.

Getting to Hong Kong

It was no surprise to me that I went to sleep at 3am the night before I had to catch an 10am flight. Since I knew that I had to be at the airport at least two hours before my flight I set my alarm clock to 7:15 thinking that I would at least get 4 hours of sleep, but NOPE! I woke up at 6am to my mom pulling the sheets off me reminding me that my flight was today.  Thankfully, I didn’t feel a single bit tired since I was hopped up on the adrenaline from the anticipation of the journey that awaited me. I also knew that I would have a lot of time to catch up on sleep during my sixteen hours flight.

Before going to the airport, my mom thought it would be wise if I go to the bank and withdraw some money. So we sit in the car, start driving and everything is going well. All the roads are clear because its 7am on a Sunday. When we get to the bank I take out about $1000 USD. As soon as I get back in the car, my mom starts the engine and…….NOTHING! We both look at each other with an, “Oh my gosh I can’t believe this is happening face!” My mom tries to start the engine two more times and still NOTHING! I’m sitting there trying to figure out how this is happening, when I look over and my mom had already opened the hood of the car and is already looking around.  I know my mom isn’t an expert in the mechanics of cars, so I motion to her asking if she needs her. She smiles and declines, knowing that I’m less of an expert than she is. Even though it wasn’t a big deal her rejection was a subtle blow to my masculinity. She spends about one minute fiddling with things under the hood and gets back in the car and tries to start the car again….still NOTHING.  She suggests we pray. We pray and she tries again. She turns the key and we both sit there in suspense. It seemed like it was going to be another failed attempt, but the car finally starts. Talk about 5 minutes of pre-departure anxiety mixed with faith in action!

We finally arrived at the airport after a 40 minute drive. By this point I’m excited but I’m still keeping my cool. I didn’t think the excitement would fully hit me until I got to Hong Kong. As a whole I was being really nonchalant about the whole travel things.

I get to the airport and I see my friend Joy from Babson checking in. He is one of the three Babson students I will be traveling with. He it takes him 5 minutes to check in. While waiting on line, I see Imran, another one of the Babson students come in. As soon as he comes in, he goes into the express line since he had already checked in online. I tell my mom that I had already checked in online and she scolds me for not going into the express line earlier. For a brief moment I hesitated because I didn’t want to make a scene by moving my three heavy suitcases packed with everything from clothes to laundry detergent under the rope separating the two lines, but I quickly came to my senses and remember , “who cares I’m going to Hong Kong.”

After checking in, we get to the metal detectors. I remembered that my mom had already warned me not to take any liquids on the plane because they will be confiscated and I could even get detained.  Also after walking through metal detectors every day for four years at DeWitt Clinton High School, I think I was well prepared for this. I walk through the metal detector with no problems, but unfortunately, the person behind me wasn’t so lucky. They got stopped for having an opened bottle in their bag. Thankfully there wasn’t a big scene, but wouldn’t it have been amazing if after they got stopped red flashing lights and sirens went off and special forces officers came out of the wall and had to carry them away. That would be terrible for them, but it would definitely make for a good story.

Anywho….. Since Imran was close behind me I decided to wait for him before we both decided to go upstairs.  We finally got upstairs to the waiting area where we saw Joy and Matt, the other Babson student who will be making the trip with me. After an hour of waiting I got on the plane for sixteen hours of meditating on how much Hong Kong was going to change my life. In other words, sleep.

If you want to read more about the crime rate at DeWitt Clinton High School you can check out this article by the Daily New. Keep in mind, this article was published in 2012, I graduated in 2010 when it was a lot safer.. Also don’t be swayed by the journalistic bias.

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-08-29/news/33481978_1_metal-detectors-weapons-seizures-drop-in-school-crime

Blog Expectations

Just as any travel blog goes, I'd like to lay down some expectations that you should have from me and that I have of you.

1. I will do my best to write weekly blog entries.

I know at first it will take time to get the hang of blogging but I can guarantee that you will have the inside scope on whats going on while I'm in the lovely metropolis of Hong Kong.

2. I want this blog to be interactive.

I expect likes, comments, criticism, some "Oh my gosh what were you thinking when you were eating that!" every so often.

3. I am not going to Hong Kong to pursue a Masters in English Language so please excuse the gramatical and syntactical errors.

Please dont expext this bloh to be grammticly sound!

(The mistakes above were intentional and were a test of your tolerance for mistakes in grammar lol)

I'm not perfect so in other words....don't judge me! :)

I want this blog to be a fun way to express my homesickness, excitement, sadness and all the crazy adventures I get into.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENCOURAGED ME TO WRITE THIS BLOG AND ALL THOSE WHO INSPIRED ME BY STARTING THEIR OWN BLOG!

Also THANK GOD......just saying!

The Beginning of the Journey Unfolding-Hong Kong

The Beginning of the Journey Unfolding-Hong Kong

I'm not even there yet and people are asking me about Hong Kong like I've sent spies there surveying the area to prepare for my arrival.

I'm not even there yet and I've been asked if I'm excited more times that I got wished happy birthday this year....at least it feels like it

Especially since the weight of anticipation far exceeds the maximum weight I'm allowed to bring in my suitcase as I board the plane.

So does that mean I'll have to pay more for the  time I spend thinking about whether I'll be the only black male in the country?

Or will that time get lost with the change in time zone as I fly east across the Arctic Ocean.

Hopefully its worth every US dollar that I gain from the exchange rates.

All I know is, this the a vacation I've been waiting for since High School.

I hope I still think that when I sit alone sipping noodle soup missing that sweet plantain and peanut butter soup. (You Ghanaians know what I'm talking about). #homesickness

All that aside, the time is slowly drawing near and my impatience is getting heavy.

Hong Kong I hope you are Ready!!!!