Greetings from Hong Kong!

I flew home for 5 days after landed in Hong Kong to quickly activate my training visa.

I flew back to Shenzhen (border city on the mainland side) on 14 Oct and arrived at my service apartment half past 9 pm. 3 days before my arrival, I received an email from local HR to confirm my accommodation. I was assigned to stay at Sheung Wan, Hong Kong island, a historical neighbourhood 10 minutes away by walk to Central. 

SIZE

I happened to learn about the crazy rent that my employer is paying as part of my expat package, from which I developed a modest expectation. "Good facilities, and the size of a pigeon hole as it is Hong Kong after all." I thought. The concierge guard opened my door and was 'Miss Li'-ing me the whole time, "Miss Li, This is your room!", he said. It was good facilities, but in a matchbox. And this matchbox occupies the whole floor of this building. My dad joked that then it is not a building, more like a chimney! 

This is all of my space except for the kitchen

DISTANCE
My office is right above the Kowloon MTR station which has a very good connection with the Central MTR station. The fastest way of travelling would be Sheung Wan  MTR(one minute from my residence) --> Central --> Kowloon. But I thought, why not walk 10 minutes to Central? The walk is on a flyover that lasted all the way from Sheung Wan to Central. It is always warm and sunny, and I got to breathe some air. But everyone else (except for my Dutch colleagues) reacted as "What? You have to walk? And for 10 minutes? That is so far!" 

I realized at that point that I have very different perception of distance (incl. the preference of walking) and size :)

OFFICE
I started immediately the 2nd day after my arrival. First of all, the office is at the ICC tower, one of the tallest skyscrapers in Hong Kong. The first few floors of the building is a very grand mall, Elements, with ALL the luxurious brands one could ever imagine. The closer one walks to the office section where all the tenants are big banks, the more expensive stuff she will see.For a brand that I would just see a few shoes in a corner @ de Bijenkorf, here there would be a whole store dedicated to it. SO MATERIALISTIC. Show your wealth, the more, the merrier. If I were a girl who really desires to own these fashion items, I would work for Goldman and still feel that I could never earn enough! 

Luckily I regard all the shoes and clothing as wearable art pieces, and everyday the walk to the office is like dancing through a gallery. 

Hello bankers, fancy a hat?

I forgot to take a picture of the office, but it feels like working in a 5-star hotel, high ceiling, plenty of space, everything is a bit shiny. In the toilet next to the sinks there are even hand lotions and Listerine mouth wash :P 

The view from Floor 70. I should have taken one of the gulf  

I found it very interesting that it is exactly the opposite to in Holland: the Dutchies make their home very comfortable and nice, but do not care too much about the office spaces; whereas in Hong Kong people live in very cramped place (and usually not very organized) but every day coming to the office is like walking into a wedding reception. This is what I would call 'prioritize your appearances above your inner comfort', quite typical Chinese. 

Or this could simply be the result of longer hours at the office? For 3 days in a row, I worked non-stop and only left after 7pm. And my manager said, 'you have arrived in a good time, because it is not busy..' Dear me. Normally I wouldnt mind if this happened in Amsterdam, because I have my boyfriend waiting for me at home and everything is set up. But for the past 3 days I have paid 0 visit to any supermarket/grocery store, and I need time to settle in..

I am lucky to know many friends in Hong Kong, from my primary school all the way to Cambridge times, I am already convinced that I will not be bored :)

A friend from old times took me to a Michelin 1 star restaurant. I love IB friends.