Hong Kong

         

(Causeway Bay)

          Hong Kong - woow. It's a cooool city. I have been here two and half weeks and I already feel established; have new friends, plenty of activities - I can't keep up, interesting & informative internship, nice people, great weather, delicious inexpensive food, easy clean public transportation..... unique surroundings... I could go on.....

(Traditional Hong Kong meal (vegetarian style) and soooo good)

I came to Hong Kong for an extension of my 6-month co-op in New York. There, I worked for a design and wholesale manufacturing company, Nation Design. I came to Hong Kong to intern at two companies Nation Design manufactures with. I work five days a week, Monday thru Friday. So far, I have worked with the design team and fabric technicians. The company is called Tungtex (Holdings) Co. Ltd., it is located in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

At the end of this week I will visit Tungtex's factory in mainland China, where I will apply and hopefully receive a multy-entry visa at the border of Hong Kong and China. I am very excited to visit the factory in China... I have a few ideas of what it will be like, but am really unsure if it will like I am imagining... China and Hong Kong are now one country, after Hong Kong was given back from the UK in 1997. They now operate as one country but under two governments. Hong Kong is more much more liberal than China. The people in Hong Kong have the opportunity to vote for leadership roles, like we do in the U.S.  But China does not, a couple girls from my internship told me that unfortunately there is no chance that China will ever gain voting rights. China also bans Facebook and Google.

(Lunch with co-workers from Tungtex)

When I first arrived to Hong Kong, I stayed two nights in a hotel in Causeway Bay. Causeway Bay, Central and Tsim Sha Tsui (everyone calls it TST) are the most centralized areas young expats to live. There are a lot of restaurants, bars and shopping in these areas. During my first days I found an flat to stay in for the first month. I was advised by friends and family to wait until arriving in Hong Kong to visit the apartments, before putting a deposit down. Often times the photos online do not represent what the apartments truly look like. Finding an apartment was the most difficult task.. there were several challenges. And it took several realtor agencies and serviced apartment companies before finding the right one. But I eventually found an apartment with a great location, good price, nice young flatmates and clean. It took me one week to adjust to the 12 hour difference from Philadelphia (now 13 hours. My first week was tough... But now all worth it!)

(Views from my hotel)

(Outside my apartment, daily fresh food market)

            There is a great international website you should all check out. It's called Meetups.com, created by an American guy. I have joined a volleyball, tennis, hiking leagues and ballet lessons, all through this site. It is very popular in Hong Kong with young people and has been a great way to quickly get involved and meet new people! Most of the events take place after work and on the weekends. And there are groups for everyone! It's a ton of fun and we often go out after the meetups.

More to come...!

Christa