My Arrival, Part 2: This Place is Ridiculous

Camille and I arriving in Hong Kong after our flight!

So upon my exiting of the airport in Hong Kong, I was struck with two things:  the humidity in the air (not exactly a surprise, but you can't help but be struck by it) and the beauty of the mountains surrounding me.  Everywhere I looked, there were lush, green mountains that, at 7am on this morning, had a layer of mist surrounding the top.  And of course, this natural beauty is juxtaposed with all of the modern architecture of the Hong Kong high-rises, so it makes for a really interesting sight.  Check out the pictures below!

Driving out of the airport...

Some buildings in Kowloon - these were taken while driving, so forgive the slight blurriness.  

See, Kacie, here's a bridge for you!

Our first full day in Hong Kong was essentially an exercise in being wined and dined.  As soon as we dropped our bags off at our (precious, wonderful) apartment, we were whisked away to breakfast at the Hong Kong Jockey Club in Shatin, the closest city area to CUHK's campus.  About 20-30 years ago, Shatin was just a small fishing village on the outskirts of Hong Kong, but it is now a 600,000-strong metropolitan area with tons of retail and restaurants.  Perfect for decorating my apartment and stocking up on new wardrobe items!  The Jockey Club was delicious, but I decided to forgo the usual Chinese breakfast for waffles, though I made up for it at lunch!  Annie and Allyson (our two second-year Fellows) took us out for dim sum in Shatin for lunch, where we met up with Peter and Jonathan, the two out-going Yale-China Fellows.  Dim Sum was fantastic!!   I had lots of steamed dumplings (of the chicken, beef, and shrimp varieties) plus BBQ pork buns - my favorite so far - as well as, you guessed it, chicken feet!  Chicken feet were not nearly as scary as I would have thought, and while they were not my favorite thing we had that day (they're very bony), I'll be having them again.  Yum!

After the lunch excursion, we went shopping to look for the apartment essentials (bedding, towels, mirrors, etc.).  Being an indecisive shopper, it would take me three shopping trips to final decide on what to buy, needing to consider carefully what color scheme I wanted for my room, haha.  But after initial purchases were made, we headed back to the apartment for some unpacking and general relaxing.  Somehow, I managed not to sleep too much!  During the day, we also had the chance to go walk around CUHK's campus a bit, which I must say, is really quite lovely.  It's beautiful, though in a very different way than Yale is, but aside from the walking-uphill everyday, I feel like I will love it here very much.  

The whole campus is carved into the side of a mountain - I had heard this before I came, but didn't really realize how true this was until I got here.  Like actually, I live on top of a mountain.  I get off at University station at the bottom of the mountain and take the campus shuttle bus up the mountain, where I get off at New Asia College at the very, very top.  My apartment overlooks Tolo Harbour, and it's just lovely :)  The only problem I foresee living here is how tall the campus is - it takes about 20 minutes to get from one side of campus to the other, but it is beyond exhausting because you are climbing a mountain while doing it!  Here are a few pictures of campus so far!  More to come soon:

One of the sights on Central Campus - apparently many people get married in front of these.  I couldn't capture it with my camera, but the flowers and the whole scenery make this a really beautiful place.

Allyson and Camille in one of the many gardens around campus!  

Right across the street from University Station - this is at the bottom of campus, so you can see how all of campus rises up behind the field.  Pretty cool, huh?

For dinner on the first night, we were treated again by Dr. Man, who took us out to meet another former Fellow, Rachel, who now lives and works in Beijing.  The food was again delicious, though jet lag had definitely set in at this point, and it was the best I could do not to fall asleep on my plate of goose.  

The second day was nearly as eventful as the first, marked by Cantonese class orientation and meetings with the out-going and in-coming English Department chairs, as well as more shopping trips!  We met up with Peter and Jonathan again last night in Mong Kok for Peter's going-away gathering, so it was a nice cap to another busy day.  I can't believe I've only been here for two days, we have definitely packed a lot in!

I should have more fun stuff to report after today, we're going into Hong Kong Island for the day!  It's Hong Kong Establishment Day, which is kind of equivalent to July 4th, as July 1st was the day Hong Kong sovereignty was returned to the Chinese.  So there's lots going on today - I'll try and get lots of pictures and stories for you!

Happy Establishment Day!   

xoxo,

Jenny