Hong Kong - Finding our Feet

When we started planning this trip, I thought that there was nothing that I wouldn't be prepared for. 

In Europe, we travelled to places off the beaten track, interacted with people culturally different from ourselves, ate foods that we might never have tried before - the whole point of our assignment on the first field study was for us to step out of our comfort zones and immerse ourselves in the culture of the places that we went. 

So, when we stepped off the plane for our layover in Hong Kong and it felt like suddenly I was breathing through a hot, wet, facecloth - you could have knocked me over with a feather I was so surprised. I knew it was going to be "humid" in Southeast Asia but, my good god, I was not prepared for this. 

I have never, in all of my life, been so uncomfortably hot and moist. Makeup? Melted. Hair? Plastered to my head. Clothes? Essentially a towel  

I am not typically a vain person, but I had planned my wardrobe with some kind of care for this trip. I think I wanted to look like a traveller. I was also quickly realizing that caring about how I looked was going to be the least important part of our days here. Staying cool and comfortable was. 

In spite of my total and utter shock about the climate, we took the train into downtown Hong Kong to explore. We had no plan, no map, we just wanted to see what we could see. 

Heather on the streets of Hong kong. 

The first order of business we had was to find somewhere to eat. 

We were beginning to realize that the area of Hong Kong we were in didn't have many attractions and was largely a quiet neighbourhood. As such, we walked quite a ways looking for a street that had something on it that resembled a restaurant. 

There wasn't a lot to see, and it felt like we were on any Canadian city street, but then all of a sudden there would be something so foreign that it would take us out of it. The scaffolding, for example, is not made of metal here. It's made of bamboo. 

It makes sense though, it's strong, grows everywhere, and matures fast - it was just one of the many things we saw that reminded us that we were half a world away from what we know. 

At this point in the day I was hot, sweaty, tired, jet-lagged, hungry and I think, just trying to process where we were. Thank god this was the moment we saw a bright sign with both English and Cantonese characters: Tsui Wah Restaurant. 

We fumbled through the menu, which was not at all in english, and I managed to order some kind of broccoli adjacent vegetable with a sweet dark sauce, and a tasty drink. 

I know we didn't really end up seeing much here, but I do think this was a really valuable stepping stone for us acclimating to being somewhere so different. 

I thought our last trip would have made this whole transition a breeze, but our trip to Europe was not the same as our trip here.

In Europe, there was still a sort of familiarity because most of us were descended from Europeans and until we opened our mouths could pass as part of the community if we tried. Even if we didn't speak the language, we could at least understand the alphabet in most of the places we went. 

But here, we are immediately different. Navigating is immediately different. We are completely at the mercy of our charades abilities, context clues, and the patience of the local people we are interacting with. 

I think part of the reason that I wanted to come on this trip so badly, is because I already don't feel very comfortable in most social situations. It's something I've struggled with my entire life - I don't know if it's a traumatic response to childhood mean girls or if I'm just built different, but I find myself studying people in all situations, trying to figure out how I should act based on how everyone else acts. 

It's one of the things that I love so much about Ashnola - she's so good at talking to people. She makes everyone feel at ease around her and you feel able to be yourself. 

I'm determined to desensitize myself to being uncomfy in these situations, and I feel like I've got the best group of gals around me to make that happen. 

We returned to the airport train and Shannon and Ashnola tried to catch a nap before our next flight  I know it’s only going to get stranger from here but I’m still excited to be on another adventure.

Into the unknown we go!