Ok so if you read my article from before I told you I was going to Hong Kong to study abroad . And as promised I have your first week update!!! Ok so let me to take you step by step on how I almost got stranded arriving here ( this probably would only happen to some like me lol), and everything I seen so far, and my interactions with people here.
Almost Stranded
Yikes, I had to catch myself from crying in public. I really thought for a second that you guys would never see me again!!! ( it’s not like you even see me now but you know what I mean). Anyway, let’s rewind to the beginning. So, I arrive at BWI on time to catch my flight to Hong Kong. I went to check in,
United Airlines lady: “O your flight’s gone”.
Me: “Whattttttt, I spoke with a representative yesterday and she scheduled me for the 10:30am flight.”
United Airlines: No that one is sold out
Me: I wouldn’t have even known a 10:30 am -6pm flight existed if I wasn’t told about it.
United Airlines: Well your only option now is to catch our last flight leaving in a few hours from DC.
ME: ( At this point I couldn’t miss any more class days, so I couldn’t even sit and go back and forth with her, DC was over an hour away. I needed to hurry) Ok.
Fast forward about 30 hours later and I’m here at Hong Kong airport, 7pm at night I made it through customs and all of that. Using my SCAD guide, I found the next directions which is to take a shuttle to campus. So I find out which shuttle. The school told me to contact the residence manager upon my arrival in order for me to check in. So I call using the airport’s free phone.
I call. NO ANSWER.
So, I call security. He was unsure on what to do but said he would call a supervisor ( what supervisor I don’t know, but I needed any help I could get). So, I email the resident’s manager in the mean time. So, I get back in touch with security he says that the supervisor was on vacation and he didn’t really no how to further help. Just my Luck!!! At this point it’s 9pm, because it took me a while to find the free phone and even longer on figuring out how to use it lol (You don’t dial in the first three numbers). So I’m waiting to hear back, low key panicking because it’s getting later. At that point I’m planning in my head if I’m going to sleep at the airport, just pop up at the dorms and hope for a way in lol.
But Finally!! I got the magical email response from one of the resident managers, giving me important details on how to check in, which tower my room was in, etc. Ok, so now given the green light, I make my way to the bus shuttle stop now. The airport help desk lady said the bus should be arriving soon. So I wait for it. Then a hour and 30 mins past. So I speak with security. He really couldn’t understand me, but he tried his best. He tells me 20mins and tells me to wait on the wrong bus stop. Luckily, I knew which bus stop, but I was still left unsure about the time. So at this point I’m low key panicking in the inside it’s 11pm, I can’t use my phone, and the residents manager was been expecting me to arrive.
Then walks past this magical lady, that saved the day. She called the bus company for the schedule. It’s turned out they weren’t coming for another hour. I definitely couldn’t wait another hour on top of a 40min drive there. So I called the resident manager to update him. Luckily, he was still up and he told me how to catch a taxi. Fast forward it’s past midnight and I finally pull up to our dorms.
I arrive up to these pretty light salmon pink tall towers along the water with palm trees. The form area is a center with towers, a hotel, and plaza full of restaurants, market, and stores. The dorm space has a kitchen, living room with tv and a couch and dining area. It’s three rooms in each unit. But we all have a door for our room, and it’s two bathrooms, and we each have our own nice closet. And not to mention there’s house keeping. So you don’t get a meal plan, but the food is super cheap here that a meal plan wouldn’t even make sense.
So far, I’ve only been to the school and dorms ( 40 mins apart). Here, it’s like a mixture of city life meets nature. It’s so many tall buildings and colorful towers, a lot are which are under construction. Then, you have all this water, and grassy mountains. Like, you’ll literally see a tall tower smacked right onto a mountain along the water. It’s palm trees and other trees. The roads are much larger, and most side walks have railings. It’s parts that look like NewYork with all the stores line up for blocks. But the subway is so clean! Like clean clean. I literally didn’t see one piece of trash or gum. The stations close around midnight I believe. So, they must clean them everyday or something. After midnight it’s busses, taxis, or Uber you can take ( no lyft).
As for as standing out, my caramel skin definitely stands out here. Some people look with fascination, some stare, some don’t pay me any mind, and I had one person point and laugh at me lol.
But now that I’m settled in, I can’t wait to start exploring and soaking up Hong Kong. I happened to bump into a SCAD friend I met in Atlanta, who’s originally from this area. She’s willing to show me around and I became friends with a class mate that is always up for an adventure. So best believe I’ll keep you babes posted with pictures ( I’ll start taking a lot next week), moments, adventures, and crazy story times.
I can’t wait for my first adventure next week!!!! Peace and Love Babes.