Submitted by Liana Tran on the 2016 summer session program in Hong Kong sponsored by the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics…
My entire life I have lived in Delaware. My home is 15 minutes from campus and when I am not home, I am on campus. I have never lived anywhere else until this summer. Coming to Hong Kong, I realize that there are so many similarities and differences to my culture in Delaware. I am an American who was raised in a Chinese household. My parents were immigrants and raised me by their values which align very closely with the culture in Hong Kong. In this blog, I will be discussing my impressions of Hong Kong and how I am dealing with this cultural difference.
My first impression of Hong Kong was: fast paced. When I arrived in Hong Kong, the first thing I noticed was the population density. As I looked out the taxi window, I could see masses of people moving at every crosswalk, not just a few people, but 60+ people at a time. The cross walk lights up and people are hustling to get to the other side. At every sidewalk there are so many people who collect between the last time it was green until the next time it turns green. This just tells you how quick and how many people are moving. Not only the people, but the public transportation is fast. The subways come every 3-5 minutes and the buses come every 5-10 minutes. They have this to accommodate the population. No matter what time of day you step foot into Hong Kong, you pass hundreds of people moving from one place to another. You pass people who are weaving in and out of people trying to get across the overpass. This is very different from home because Delaware is a small state with a small population. Public transportation is not as common and when it is used there are no more than 10 people on the bus. At home, I am always driving to get from one place to another. It is very different to see this many people at one time. I thought the University of Delaware was big until I came here. Hong Kong is busy all the time and this place is always moving at the fastest pace possible.