Culture shock, what?
June 19, 2005
The biggest shock has been how little Hong Kong feels like a foreign country. Sure there a few things that are different - I don't bus my own tray at fastfood restaurants, the signs when boarding the tain say "Mind the gap" and not "Watch your step", and they got these sweet proximity cards that you can use for paying for the subway or buying stuff at 7-11. But every sign is in English and I've been hanging out with the other Yale students doing the Yale - China Association Internship I've been in a completely English bubble. I'm living in a university, not a host family like I did in Japan, so I don't feel as if I'm really experiencing a different culture.
Yesterday we went to a lunch with the Yale club where we got to welcome new freshmen. I also met several current Yale students. One of the guys I met had been in my MechE class, but I hadn't talked to him all term. Now that we're 10,000 miles away in Hong Kong it's so much easier to just strike up a conversation and get to know each other.
After lunch we watched Dragon Boat racing in the harbor. We then saw Batman Begins (awesome), had dinner, and hung out at Starbucks for a bit before heading back. Again, really not that different than America.

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