My sophomore year at university, I got this itch to go on a study abroad trip for May term (one month either spent traveling or in class) to Asia, though I’m not sure what possessed me seeing as my family had never traveled outside of the country. After having convinced my parents that China was where I wanted to go, I spent a month with my fellow classmates traveling the country. Within 24-hours of being in Beijing, I knew that I was going to live in China someday. And at the end of my years in college, I applied to a school in Shanghai but ultimately decided it wasn’t the right time for me.
My college travel buddy and me in HK in 2004
Instead of a big move to China, I decided to take a job offer to teach at a rural school in Illinois about an hour away from my hometown. After having failed to leave college with a single friend thanks to a drowned relationship, I was excited at the prospect of meeting new people. My school was an absolute gem and my coworkers were friendly and fun, yet I was still having troubles making friends with my same interests. The teachers were all married, and many of them had kids in that small town sorta way. I went to yoga a few times a month, spent Saturday nights grocery shopping or at my parents’ house, and diligently set my VCR any time I had a school function after hours. While I loved reading and drinking tea, preferably at the same time, I cringed at the thought of going to the book store or coffee shop alone. I wouldn’t have dared to go to a restaurant by myself, and a solo trip to the movie theater was out of the question. Sad and lonely, I clung to the job I loved, spending hours planning lessons and decorating my classroom.
More times than I can count while living in Hong Kong, people told me that Americans were a hard group of people to truly like*. Non-Americans complained that Americans were loud, wore inappropriate clothing, and acted entitled. I’d go to a museum and hear the Americans coming. I’d walk into a store and see a line of Americans complaining. It was embarrassing. I am proud to be an American, certainly, but I wasn’t proud that a select group of Americans were worldly enough to hop on a plane to Asia, but were not cultured enough to know how to assimilate, or at the very least, not stand out.
While living in Hong Kong from 2010-2012, I caught the travel bug visiting 11 different countries, most of which were in Southeast Asia, except for my trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina during summer break. I wrote about a few of my experiences in my then-blog, Ashley’s HK Experience. As a new travel piece to this blog, I’m reposting my piece on a trip to Buenos Aires where I went to visit my friend Steven in August 2011.
Granted, I live in a country where English is not the (only) official language and I am sufficiently able to survive, but Buenos Aires is not quite the same as Hong Kong. With its signs in letters and characters, Hong Kong is easy on the eyes and brains of travelers and expats alike. Buenos Aires, on the other hand, has signs only in Spanish. Now if you donned a Spanish name, learned to count to 100 starting with uno and how to order a cheeseburger in high school Spanish class, you could easily survive the capital streets of Argentina. But for those of us who sported berets, listened to stories about Pierre et Fifi and watched movies with Gerard Depardieu, Buenos Aires can be a tricky location to find your way around. It’s not that I can’t match street signs to the Spanish words on a map, but asking for directions, ordering lunch or shopping for a pair of new boots can seem to be on the verge of impossible.
While living in Hong Kong from 2010-2012, I wrote a lot about my experiences in my then-blog, Ashley’s HK Experience. As a new travel piece to this blog, New Girl in the City, I am re-posting travel pieces. I wrote this one before my bestie, Kira, came to visit me in December 2010.
Traveler’s Tips for Hong Kong
Rubbish bins are optional. Those of us not used to this would prefer you use them though.
Be careful what you wear! You don’t have to match here, but you should steer clear of mini-skirts and high heels…if not, you may look like you belong in Wan Chai (see #3).
Speaking of Wan Chai, unless you want to be the only white girl and the only non-prostitute in a bar, don’t go. Unless, you want good Mexican food, then bring a friend or two.
You don’t need to know Cantonese to survive here. There’s enough English around to help you. You might even learn a thing or two about how to speak like other expats i.e. arvo, wonky, rubbish bin, far out, and mate. Can you guess which countries my friends were from?
Smog is the silent cough-inducer. It’s a little hard to see around the tall buildings, but the second you step out of the city proper of Hong Kong, you’ll notice a big difference. Maybe you should bring a surgical mask…you’d fit in and no one would think you were weird.
You will walk EVERYWHERE! Start your exercise early and often before arriving. Stairs will actually become your friend just so that you don’t have to walk up the steep inclines in your heels.
Unless you’re siestaing on someone’s couch, be ready to pay a ton of money for a closet, I mean a bedroom. It’s quite possible that your bathroom will double as your shower and that your closet will be your bed. Find a friend instead!!
Happy hours are the best mid-week de-stresser. Lucky you if you are stressed after coughing up a lung because of the smog and all the walking because happy hours exist at almost every bar and restaurant in town. Walk along the escalator (the one time you don’t have to walk uphill) from 3-8 and you’ll find awesome deals galore. Take advantage of this because as soon as 8 o’clock hits, you’ll pay a fortune!!
Old Asian people love to exercise, do tai chi, walk to a clapping beat (believe me I know and curse them every Saturday and Sunday at 7 am), slap themselves all over their body, and stretch in the most random places. Don’t fret! They don’t belong in an institution; rather they’re doing it on purpose…and actually believe that it all works and keeps them keen and skinny.
You’ll probably get stared at…a lot. But, trust me, you either get used to it or walk around with a silly grin on your face all day just to appease them. Don’t, I repeat, don’t get mad about it! You’re a different and lovely addition to their day of everyone looking like them.
While living in Hong Kong from 2010-2012, I traveled to many different countries around Southeast Asia and wrote about a few of them in my then-blog, Ashley’s HK Experience. As a new travel piece to this blog, I’m reposting my piece on a trip to Sri Lanka that my friend Jamie and I took in January 2012.
Thank Buddha (and, believe me, I saw a lot of them this past week-in parks, downtown, in the middle of farmland, etc.) the sun was out when I arrived back in Hong Kong today. After a week in Sri Lanka with its sunny and 27˚C weather every day, I wasn’t sure the smog and chilly January air would have enticed me back to HK. But it wasn’t just the gorgeous weather or the fact that I could actually see the sun that made my seven-day journey through this serene island country a fantastic getaway.
As many of us transients know and live (or is it love?), Hong Kong is the place to party. With constant happy hours and free ladies’ nights, most of us can’t resist the urge to sip a chocolate martini or guzzle a Pure Blonde most days of the week. But, if you want a break from the liver damage, don’t choose Boracay for your next beach vacation; instead choose the chill Sri Lanka with its beaches, stunning drives through the mountains and cultural sites to drink in.
While living in Hong Kong from 2010-2012, I traveled to many different countries around Southeast Asia and wrote about a few of them in my then-blog, Ashley’s HK Experience. I’m reposting my piece on a trip to Zhu Hai, China that my friend Karen and I took in September 2011 to my new blog as a travel piece.
Once upon a time there were 2 American girls who lived in Hong Kong, hoping to see the world and wanting an adventure. They both were addicted to online coupon deals and couldn’t resist the promise of fun with a package to China and Macau. Little did they know that the big, bad China would be there every step of the way, fooling them, not talking to them, making them eat with chopsticks, and peeing in toilets in the ground.
Saturday began like any other Saturday, with TV shows and lying about until the time came when the ferry to China was to depart. The ferry was clean, but nobody looked like these 2 American girls or spoke their language. The girls laughed out loud, but secretly hoped that at least 1 toilet in the next 2 days would have toilet paper and wouldn’t require them to squat to the floor on their haunches. Their wish certainly didn’t start off very well with the ferry bathrooms being a squatter with no toilet paper; the boat swelled and swayed and the girls wore flip flops, a piss poor combination for squatting toilets! Continue reading Zhu Hai: The Fairytale China Experience→
Taking Chicagoland by storm…one date, one yoga class, one salsa lesson, one blog post, one trip, one drink, one meal, one new friendship at a time.
New City Life Adventure 