Chopstick Dreams and Bamboo thoughts

The first six months living abroad is the true test in deciding if living in a foreign country is for you. The first four months challenged me in ways I never thought possible, but I made it and here I am writing about it.

In a million years I never would have dreamed that I would ever work or live in Asia. When I think about it, it still seems so surreal. I have always wanted to travel the world or make a life in some interesting place that I had read about in a book or a magazine. I frequently reflect about the series of events that brought me to the fantastic city of Hong Kong whenever I walk down a new street or visit an unusual part of the city.

My main reason for coming to Hong Kong was a job. I was in desperate need of a teaching job and desperately needing to make a life for myself somewhere new. Although, living and teaching school on the West Coast of Canada was my first dream, my hopes of finding work there never did pan out. Instead, I spent six months slinging espressos and lattes at the local coffee shop in my sister's neighbourhood of South Surrey/ White Rock. Resume after resume what shot out in cyberspace and delivered to schools in the local area, but no interesting offers to work at any great schools. In about September of 2006, an offer did come up from a man who worked for a recruiting agency in downtown Vancouver. I was almost off to South Korea to work for an English school when better offer became available from a recruiter in Nova Scotia. While this negotiating was taking place a nuclear threat from North Korea became the hot topic of all the local news channels. Needless to say, you could understand why I chose Hong Kong. Well, really, another factor why I chose Hong Kong was that I had two friends living and working in the same city. Hong Kong it is, I said to myself. I don't know anything about Hong Kong, so off I go to pick up the Rough Guide to Hong Kong. Wow, anything you read about Hong Kong will never prepare you for what lies in store. On December 26, 2006, I left my dreams of living on the west coast; I left my family, my friends, my country and everything I ever new behind to take a teaching job in a foreign country all on my own.

Never did I think I would be a 'foreigner' and 'expat' in this world trying to adapt in a new country while figuring out where my place in this world is. If trying to figure out what being an expat in Hong Kong isn’t hard enough, sorting through the roller coaster range of emotions you experience while being an expat is. Not long after my arrival in Hong Kong, my blog was born. Sharing my experiences, thoughts and feelings with my friends and family about living in this strange yet exotic city, I hope to accomplish making more sense my life here. The truth of it all is that when I left British Columbia almost one year ago, I never had any kind of expectations at all for Hong Kong, just an open mind. Now that the gruelling adjusting phase is over, I am planning many events and trips to live life to the fullest in Hong Kong. Hope you are able to enjoy reading my blogs as I do writing them. Any comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome!

Yours truly, Ronda