Linda during her internship in Hong Kong

Linda in Hong Kong: “I’m not a fussy eater but I won’t eat chicken feet.”

I thought it was so humid and I got a little bit of an internal crisis how my make-up would survive in such humidity. I wasn’t even totally off the plane and I was already afraid of my foundation being melt off.

So many people

The amount of people everywhere is shocking. The amount of offices, companies, shops and restaurants in such a small space. You can always be out and doing things. Every day there are happenings.

I almost never feel homesick, I skype a lot with my friends and family in the Netherlands.

I understand the culture

At first yes; I look Asian and I understand the culture, cuisine and landscapes. It’s still very exciting to go explore new places. I’ve been very lucky to be able to live and work very comfortably in these countries; my apartment is how I envisioned it and I can do the things I like to do for fun.

Since I don’t speak the language and am not a local person sometimes I realise I will never be part of this society.

Expats

I live in a part where there are lots of expats. I like to befriend the locals by being introduced by their expat boyfriends. A lot of my friends are Dutch/German/French but they are all dating local girls! And I meet them during house parties. You can figure out quite soon who loves to go out or what their hobbies are. Hong Kong is quite small, one way or another you’ll meet all the people in the same circles.

Eating chicken feet

I can’t handle chicken feet! I’m not a fussy eater but this is just bones and skin. Oh and I passed on mice/rat. Didn’t have the chance to try durian and chòu dòufu yet but it smells very, very, very bad.

Places in every culture

It doesn’t really matter where I am, there are always places in any culture and country where people have the same ideas and values as me. I was very shy in the beginning, not being super vocal, to avoid being rude or disrespectful. Pretty soon I learned that if you speak up, there are always people popping up to hear what you have to say - and if you’re lucky, they might even add to your vision. 

Hong Kong is 70% nature and 30% city, but mostly you only see photos of the harbour, which you can run through in 10 minutes! Look at the photos to see what HK truly looks like J

Citizens of Hong Kong in three words:

Diverse, shy (and first), outgoing (when they trust you)