An internship with a Chinese Law Firm found its way into my lap.
Back in March, I closed the door on this blog. Back in March, I thought I had posted in this Blog for the last time. However, I got an Internship in Shenzhen, China at the Shekou Law Firm in April and was there for a month. Even though this Blog was about my semester in Budapest, I think this experience warrants a blog post, so this Blog has been resurrected, at least for the time being, and turned into a travel/reflective blog in its own right. To the readers who are back for a second taste, welcome! To the new readers, welcome aboard!
In the five months that have passed since that Blog post, life has been anything but mundane for me since. Part of me is still amazed I even got the opportunity I did. Before I get into the details (Which there are many), I must tell the story of how I even got the position to begin with.
On a lazy Wednesday afternoon in late April, as I'm doing anything and everything I can except study for Finals, I skim through my overflowing New Mail folder on my AOL Mail hoping to find an email notifying me of my acceptance to the Hungarian American Coalition's Internship in Washington, D.C. After all, I had called them in spite of the powers that be on my decision being in Hungary the Friday before asking when to expect a decision. I was told by the lady on the phone that my application was still under review but that she would email me back by the end of the next week with a timetable. As I sift through the endless pile of junk mail in vain, I see an email from Arizona State University's School of Politics and Global Studies, which is the School in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences which my Political Science degree is housed in. The subject line reads "Internships in China!", I save it to my "Saved Mail" pile and make a mental note to check it over the weekend after my work obligations for the week are completed.
Friday came. Friday went. No letter from the Hungarians. I leave class and dress into a nice dress shirt because my job is having an End of the Year Party at Dave & Buster's and the dress is business casual. Afet enjoying the party I head home, exhausted due to being up since 4 AM that day due to an exam I didn't get an A on. That email is almost out of my mind. The next morning, I wake up, check my email again to no avail. Then suddenly I remember that email in there. Reading up on it, I skim through the email until the word 'Legal' comes up.
Suddenly, I had an opportunity to apply for an Internship in China in a law firm. This can't be real, right? This is some stupid trick someone's playing, right? This can not have possibly fallen into my lap. The company's name is CRCC Asia, whose only requirement for qualification is to be fluent in English (Yeah, I think I meet that one), and so I check their web site and do some research on them. They have a Wikipedia article about their company and an article in the Wall Street Journal. Still not satisfied, I read some commentary on it from past interns. Okay, it checks out. It exists. Good, because the program carries with it a $2,800 Program Fee to cover your housing and placement.
During this school year my mother and I had had many conversations that were not very positive. I was feeling down on myself and worthless. The Hungarians hadn't written me back, nor had the few other Internships I had applied to, and at this time, I did not have my Color Run tickets to go to Chicago to reunite with Kristin, Andrew, and other people from Budapest in 2013 due to my mother's advice of waiting to pounce on plane tickets and RUn tickets until I knew I was there. But I tell her I may have an opportunity, but that it may be in China.
"Should I apply?" I ask her.
"Of course you should apply! You lose nothing by applying," is her reply.
So I get my CV and resume together, make some tweaks to it, and apply on April the 28th, three days before the July 2014 1-month Internship program in Beijing's deadline. I receive an automated response back notifying me that a decision will be made in 3-5 business days.
3-5 business days come and go. No response. No internship. I also applied to a local internship at this time with Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema. No response from either.
The morning after my last Final Exam, I sift through the emails waiting to inevitably delete junk and not get an email from the Hungarian American Coalition. My mother continues to be optimistic in spite of me having given up. Well, the HAC once again wrote me nothing, but in my inbox, clear as day, was an email from CRCC Asia.
No. Fucking. Way.
The email writes me urgently and asks me plainly, if I would be interested in setting up an Interview. They had emailed me April 29th, one day after I had applied for an interview, and I missed the email. Instead of just letting me walk away, they followed up with me, and asked me if I was still interested! I actually still had a chance to go to China! I checked my email, and Kyrsten Sinema's office emailed me, too! Suddenly I went from having NO internships, to possibly having two!
The next day, I interviewed for both positions. I was given the Sinema internship immediately, and accepted to China's program the next day. However, Beijing no longer had any openings in the Legal Sector, so they offered me a position in Shenzhen in Southeast China, just north of Hong Kong in the Guangdong province in the financial mecca that is Shenzhen.
Immediately, my summer went from being rather mundane to being a whirlwind. Every day I was making phone calls to CRCC Asia ensuring I got my payments in on time, and that I got my visa processed, and that I booked my plane tickets before the prices went up even higher than they already were! The cheapest ticket I could find was $1,850 with Air Canada. If I waited any longer the prices would double. However, that route to Canada was absurd.
Phoenix --> Toronto --> Hong Kong.
Yeah...No thanks.
For slightly cheaper, All Nippon Airways had a route that went Phoenix --> Los Angeles --> Tokyo (Haneda) --> Hong Kong. On the way back, I'd go Hong Kong --> Tokyo (Narita) --> San Francisco ---> Phoenix. A much more sensible route, even if it was a bit longer. At least I wouldn't have a 14 hour layover on this one...And, to give you an idea of how far away the Far East is from this part of the world...Let my flight itinerary illustrate it for you:
You may not be able to be in two places at once, but you can be in two places at the same time on the same day, evidently. Just cross the International Date Line.
Before I knew it, it was time to leave for the complete unknown. Unlike the last time I had an ocean-crossing adventure, this time there was no familiarity, no friendly faces awaiting me, and no idea what I was getting into. All I knew was that I was heading for China to work in a law firm for a month. I had 30 days exactly. I flew out June 24, and I flew home July 23. And boy, oh boy, even with the most mundane of tasks, there was never a dull moment.
Day 1: The suitcase was packed. The passport was in its satchel. I was making final preparations and loading my iPod with some new music for the long haul trip. This trip would begin around 2PM on this Tuesday in June and I would arrive at my accommodation in Shenzhen around two days later if all went to plan. 2PM hit, Dad and I did some last minute things and headed out the door, as he helped me with my luggage. Mom and Kristian were in Hungary already. I reached the security gate, hugged Dad goodbye, and headed through. All that was lef to do at Sky Harbor's Terminal 2 is wait for my plane to come in. I grabbed some lunch and waited at Gate 7. The small expressjet came to the gate. I was taller than the plane. Thankfully this was a short ride. I touched down at LAX just after 6PM. The only thing that awaited me was a 7 hour, lonely layover as I waited to take off for Tokyo in the dead of night, switching airlines from United to All Nippon. Clearing security again, I grabbed a big, fat, juicy hamburger, because I wasn't sure when I'd get one again, and stewed in my thoughts over a cocktail. What exactly was I getting into? I still really didn't know, but there was no turning back now. The only thing I knew for certain was that I was going to a place I knew nothing about and wasn't even sure if I made the right choice. I was seeing my Mom's amazing Facebook posts back in Budapest, and a large part of me, largely my heart over my head, said I should be back there. The hours passed painfully slowly, my friends weren't around to Skype. LAX, one of the world's busiest airports, got eerily quiet as the night got deeper.
Day 2: By the time my gate was announced at half past midnight, halfway down the Tom Bradley International Terminal, the hundreds of restaurants and shops were closed down, and many airplanes set for early-morning takeoffs were simply docked at their gates. I took my backpack down the long walkway and parked myself in front of the gate. The friendly Japanese ladies let us onto the red-eye to Tokyo Haneda Airport. The flight left 1:20 AM Wednesday morning and was set for a 5:00 AM Thursday arrival. A 12 hour flight, and I had the middle seat. Oh boy. Alas, there was nothing I could do about. I will say, though, rather emphatically, that 12 hours is a whole 'nother animal from what 10 was going from Phoenix to London. You'd think it's not much more, but when you're exhausted, and the sky outside is showing sunrise the entire flight, and you're anxious, it gets long quickly. We touched down at around 4:50 AM in Tokyo on Thursday morning. Here I was in Japan, with hours of travel still remaining, and a day lost to the International Date Line.
Day 3: A long, lonely trek to Shenzhen got longer and lonelier. Minutes after arriving into Tokyo, I am greeted by seeing my 8:55 AM flight to Hong Kong is delayed until 1 PM due to lack of aircraft availability. So, I'm now laid over in the middle of Tokyo for eight hours instead of four following a seven-hour layover in LAX and a 12-hour flight to get to Tokyo. Great. Wonderful. By this point I'm tired, hungry, smelly, and gross. I've been traveling for 24 hours already and there was still forever to go. To make it worse, it was barely 5 AM in Tokyo, nothing was open. But, it was Japan, so I found some consolation in that I was certain I could get a Pikachu plushy in Haneda Airport. I had recently rediscovered Pokemon and wanted to get a Pikachu plushy from Japan because...it's Japan and he's a Japanese icon. With nothing I could do about my shitty layover situation but deal with it, I changed clothes, grabbed some breakfast, and patiently waited for the tourist cash cow shops to open. Both of the said tourist cash cow shops only had Pikachu pens. Neither had a Pikachu doll.
Say what? I still don't understand how this was possible. How did a tourist cash trap airport shop in Japan not have Pikachu? That's like the UK not having Harry Potter or Rome not having "I Love Papa Francis" shirts for stupid American tourists (Like myself) to buy in bulk for way too much money.
Japan's biggest airport did not have a Pikachu plushy. I still don't comprehend this.
But alas, it wasn't meant to be. I scarfed down some rice balls then ate a second lunch after I got a coupon for a free lunch after I ate lunch. Then, if today couldn't get any stranger, and as if I hadn't already had enough chaos on this trek TO the actual adventure, as I prepare to go to my gate for boarding my flight, I see a couple at a table who have what looks suspiciously like Hungarian passports, and they WERE! Like, of all places to strike up a conversation in Hungarian, but in the middle of Tokyo Haneda International Airport with two British citizens who are also Hungarian. And again, all this has happened before I actually arrived in my final destination. I board my plane to Hong Kong (finally), and sleep through the entire flight. I got a row all to myself and conked out. I don't think I woke up until I heard the captain tell us to fasten our seat belts for landing. Crazily enough, this day still wasn't done. The final step was to board the ferry from Hong Kong International Airport to Shekou Ferry Port, where CRCC Staff would pick us up and take us to our accommodation, which was Apartment One Shenzhen in the Futian District. I was then introduced to tropical humidity. It was about 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity. The air was thick and dense, and I was caked in sweat just by sitting down with the interns I had met on the ferry, some of which became good friends of mine. I met Camilla from Italy, Claudia from Spain, Richard from the UK, and another UK girl who lived in the other accommodation, so I never saw her again. Finally at 11PM that night I arrived at my accommodation, 42 hours after departing from Phoenix. I passed out almost immediately after FaceTiming my mom, then woke up in the middle of the night to shower before conking out again. Only more chaos would ensue, as the next morning was Orientation Day with all the Interns.
Day 4: It was Orientation Day for CRCC Asia, where we were introduced the basics of Chinese business customs, an introductory Mandarin lesson, and dos and don'ts of living in Shenzhen, of which there were many. We learned how to navigate our way through a taxi thanks to our Mandarin teacher and were explained some basic things to keep in mind during our month there. For one thing, we were warned right away (I found it amusing it even had to be a warning) that none of us would be running the company before we left Shenzhen. Some interns basically were expecting to become high-ranking members of their placement companies in a month. I just had to laugh. Anyone who wasn't there just to absorb all the information they could and network as much as possible was wasting their money. Most of us were there for a month, what could we really be expected to do? We had our Induction at a luxury hotel and got fed sweet bread and dumplings. We then were sent to our first lunch as a group. We'd have a group dinner later that night as well. This was the first time we were all introduced to Chinese custom for restaurant meetings. They are far different than the US. In China, one person usually orders on behalf of the group, and all food is placed on a lazy Susan, which you can then eat with abandon.
The various foods from our first Chinese meal.
During the day I bonded a lot with Camilla, and we discussed going to the beach that weekend with Richard and Emma, and we all headed for our Induction Day dinner. The food was not great, but we were getting fed. The conversation quickly turned to where we'd all head out for drinks afterward. There were some amazing night clubs in Shenzhen, and we all wanted to cut loose after our long trips there. I don't remember the name of it, but Richard, Stephanie from San Francisco, Chris from Belfast (Who was working in my Law Firm I found out), and other Interns whose names blurr into obscurity at this time hit up this club near Chinese Sea World. The alcohol (real and fake) was flowing and the music was loud. A perfect place to cut loose after a very long week.
Jocelyn from the UK (left), and Stephanie from San Francisco (right) dancing on the club stage.
It hit around 2 AM and I headed home, I wanted to go to the beach the next day.
Day 5: Unfortunately, the beach was never meant to be on this day. I woke up at around 9 AM Saturday morning and the hotel was deadly quiet. I soon found out why. The rest of the interns were out until later than 4 AM and each had taken at least 10 shots. So, by the time the early birds woke up at 2 in the afternoon, the opportunity to go to the beach (A decent amount of time away) was lost. To make it worse (But more amusing), Richard and co. were still drunk. They weren't even in the hangover stage yet, and they were already planning their pregame for the night. I wound up going with a group out to some tech market in Shenzhen. It wasn't very interesting, it was filthy, and nothing there was interesting to me. It was all black marketed electronics that probably didn't actually work. But because most of the majors in Shenzhen were in computer programming and finance, they were intrigued. I stood along for the ride before grabbing some dumplings with this Czech intern whose name I don't recall, watching my picture get taken by some Chinese girls, and heading back home. I was going to party that night, but jet lag caught up to me, and I passed out at 8:30 PM.
Day 6: With this being the last day before work started, today became dedicated to two things:
1. Doing laundry and grocery shopping, and
2. More importantly, going to Coco Park, China's largest shopping mall, and eating at this restaurant which actually served Hungarian food.
In the case of the shopping, I will use these pictures to illustrate just how different life can be there.
Live frogs for sale at Wal-Mart and frozen octopus out in the open, no sealed packages, etc. IF you wanted a frog or any living fish, you'd fish it out of a tank like the one pictured above and have the butcher kill it on the spot.
Obviously, I knew I HAD to go there. I wasn't in Hungary, but could get goulash and porkolt in Shenzhen. WHAT are the odds of that? This place also served Italian food, so originally I was going to go with Camilla. But like yesterday, she was asleep till 4PM. 2PM hit and I was simply tired of waiting. I met this guy named Dominic from Hawaii, whose jet-lag was actually worse than mine (18 hours instead of 15), who didn't even know Hungarian was a language when I told him. Yet, he was still willing to go with me to the shopping park to find this restaurant. Now there's a cool dude! Seriously, I never got Dominic's last name, so I haven't been able to find his Facebook since I returned (Facebook is banned in China so I couldn't add the interns that way), but I hope to. I love open-minded people, and he was the definition of open-minded. I mean, he was a hockey player from Hawaii. What more needs to be said? So we arrived at Coco Park (About 1 hour away by metro) and I figure...Okay, this place can't be THAT hard to find...We have the Chinese address, someone will know where this is...Right?
Wrong. Dead wrong. Dominic and I were literally sent around in circles for four hours. Every time we'd go one direction, we'd ask another person for directions and they'd send us the other way. This was a process that repeated itself numerous times for hours. Through all this, Dominic was totally chill about it and didn't give up looking with me. He said he actually enjoyed it because he wanted to learn his way around the shopping mall anyway. Problem solved. Finally, after four hours of looking through this mall, we came across a German restaurant called Brotzeit, but by this time I was so exhausted, as was he, that was waved the white flag and decided to eat there. Then, to my delight, the place had GOULASH and PORKOLT! That made the four-hour odyssey for it all worth it! I even gave Dominic a piece of both of them to try, which he was surprisingly open to. He tried and enjoyed both. Again, Dominic has the right attitude about travel. Try new things, even if you have no clue what they are. Hell, he didn't know Hungarian was a language prior to me telling him I spoke it, and five hours later he's tasting Hungarian food.
Gulyas and Porkolt...In Shenzhen.
And after all that, I still hadn't even started my job. That was to come the next day.
Day 7: It was the first day at all of our Internships, and we were all loaded up into two vans and driven around Shenzhen to each of our locations. Chris and I were in the same van, as we were both interning with the Shekou Law Firm in the Nanshan Skyscraper. We were the last to be introduced to our supervisors, as our job was closest to the accommodation, so it was easier to take us on the way back. We met Michael, who Chris would be working with, and Janey, who I'd be working with. I heard her name wrong, and I called her 'Jackie', yet somehow I was never corrected on this by any of the lawyers. WE were told early on that this law firm did work hard, but that it wasn't a super formal atmosphere and in future days we wouldn't have to wear suits and ties. They then asked us about why we chose to come to China for work, and we both explained our situations. Chris was near done with his law school (It is different in Northern Ireland than here, and you don't have to do grad school after university to be a lawyer), while I explain I still had a ways to go and was here for the experience as well as to get some first-hand knowledge of the differences between US and Chinese law. The day was a typical 9-5 office job, as would quickly become the norm, but all the lawyers were interested to get to meet Chris and I. Chris and I were also much taller than most of the other people in the firm, so we were both asked to take pictures. This first day Michael and Janey took Chris and I out to lunch at a nice Chinese restaurant, where we both were forced to be taken out of our Western comfort zones.
The main takeaway I want to point out from this entire thing (Which will become a recurring theme as I tell about my food stories over this trip) is that we, as Americans or Westerners in any sense, really take for granted that our food is prepared for us. In China, they just give you the fish as it is. The head is still there, so are its eyes, and its bones. Never had I had more appreciation for food that was prepared before it got to my plate than I did after this. For those of you reading this who haven't had to experience seeing the fish as it was when it was killed, take a moment to think about all the hard work that goes into making that fish look aesthetically pleasing for you the next time you're having a salmon steak.
Day 8: On our second day of work, Chris and I again did our work, and were taken out to lunch, this time to a less upscale restaurant, but again a Chinese place. Both Chris and I were adamant about two things:
1. That we try Chinese food even if we don't like it some days and
2. That we eat with chopsticks, even though the struggle was very real.
Seriously, watching me eat with chopsticks was like, to quote Mean Girls, a dog walking on its hind legs. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't efficient, and it wasn't normal, but I got the job done. This was a Tuesday, and Tuesdays were the day that we had Mandarin classes. Initially, I had planned to attend each of these. I wanted to learn some survival Chinese while I was there, merely out of respect for the fact that I was living in a country where I didn't speak the language. However, our teacher, who wasn't the same one from Orientation Day, was completely insufferable and turned me off from reattending. She constantly shushed us like children and bossed us around like we were her little prison bitches. It wasn't a positive experience and I did not return again. I had plannned to, but each night after something came up, but more will come on that later. I did, however, memorize how to say "Ni-hao" (Hello), "Wo jeng Peter" (My name is Peter) "Xi Xi" (Thank you), and how to say "left turn", "right turn" and "STOP!" in Chinese, which is "TING!" So, I guess I got something out of it. Although I wish I had learned how to tell people to...
1. Stop honking their horns, and when they subsequently didn't,
2. go fuck themselves. ^_^ There were many positives about China, but the horn honking wasn't one of them. Wiley, from Colorado, had been to Peru, and once commented to me, "You'd kill yourself in Peru. They honk their hrons 24/7 there."
Guess I'M NOT going to Peru. Ever. Every hour of every day, the Chinese would honk their horns incessantly. Even if there were four cars in front of you, they'd honk at you. Turn signals and stoplights were also mere suggestions.
I usually don't stereotype, but this stereotype was true. Asians cannot drive. A lot of other stereotypes were debunked, not that one.
Day 9: By the time I had gotten to this day, I felt like I had been there for a month. This day wound up not being very significant. I was supposed to got a Chinese Business Seminar, then after finding out all the other interns were blowing it off, I joined them in blowing it off and didn't attend. It was too hard to navigate the streets of Shenzhen by myself at this time, so I chose to relax and have a fight with my laundry machine.
Did you read that right? Yes, you did.
Another foreign country, another battle with a laundry machine I did not win. My washing machine in my hotel room drove me bonkers. First of all, it was all in Chinese. At least if it had Hungarian words like in Hungary or even normal letters I could somewhat figure out what the hell to do. In this case, no. I would stick my clothes in there, turn it on, and then the water wouldn't flow. After about three hours of my clothes being locked in the washer and not even getting wet, I finally tell the staff to help me and that I think my washing machine is broken.
Day 10: Another day at work, more Chinese food, more looking like a retarded seal with chopsticks, more meeting really sweet people and getting to know Janey better, then when I got home, finally getting help with my washing machine. The reception came up to my room, I explained to them the issue, then the front desk guy, who jokingly called himself John Wayne when talking to us Westerners, turned the knob to the right, and the water flowed.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ. Do you know how helpless you feel when you can't figure that out for yourself? I thanked them greatly then just sighed as I finally ran my laundry and had some clean clothes at my disposal. I need to just find a professional maid for when I go abroad, because I am too American to use a foreign washing machine, evidently.
Day 11: It was July 4, and as one of the few Americans, I heard "Happy 4th!" all day from coworkers and interns, it was great. One of the most fun things about this night, besides the party later that night, was I got an opportunity to Skype both Mom/Kristian in Hungary and Dad back home. Here we were, Skyping on July 4, one just waking up (Dad), one just back from school and a day out (Mom/Kristian), and one ready to go get drunk (Yours Truly!). After some nice discussions, I bid them adieu and head next door. My next door neighbor in the hotel, Wiley, was from Colorado, so he was setting a party up for July 4th. He even bought American-flag styled flip-flops for the occasion. Emma from Northern Ireland, Romans from Latvia, Camilla, Chris, Richard, Jocelyn from the UK, Dominic, Stephanie, and numerous others were in Wiley's room, playing loud music and drinking. It was a great night, celebrating America's birthday from an ocean away. Then we went to this club, a hot Chinese girl whose name I never got took some interest in me, we danced for a little, I got a bit more drunk, then I came home and crashed, but I didn't eat or drink anything to set off the alcohol.
Day 12: After the first weekend went to shit due to hungover interns, I made an executive decision that I would go to the beach this weekend and Hong Kong this weekend, followed by hiking a mountain and going to Beijing whether or not other interns wanted to come along. I invited many, but they did not want to commit to anything. Many of them were doing a "Dragon Trip" Program, meaning they'd backpack China after their Internship was finished. I didn't have that luxury. Time was of the essence. I had met Jack Catchpole from the UK and he also wanted to go to the beach, so I told him the day before that I would go and would want to leave at around 11 AM. I felt sick to my stomach the next morning, but I didn't care, if I was gonna throw up, I was gonna throw up and then get a margarita and hot dog on Shenzhen's beach. Why? Because I'm not gonna get another chance to be here. So I'm taking advantage of it now.
Jack was awake and ready to go at 10, I came down a bit late due to feeling ill. I even told him I was just hoping to puke so I'd feel better. I never did, but I toughed it out. I packed a few packs of potato chips (These saved my life many times in China) and Sprite to try and ease my stomach. Although we had a long trip to the beach, we decided to make a pit stop at the Hotel St. Regis, which is the equivalent of Shenzhen's Sears Tower, as it's very tall and has a gorgeous lookout on the tallest floor. Jack and I stopped there and were simply mesmerized by the miniature-model like view we had of the cityscape.
The tallest building in Shenzhen, the St. Regis Hotel
Views from inside the St. Regis, both of inside and out.
With no guarantee that Jack and I would ever actually locate this beach, which, at times during the 2+ hour bus ride we were skeptical even existed and if we weren't just being sent off to work in some rice field in Ho Chi Minh City, we both agreed that the views we had from the top of the St. Regis made the day worth it in and of itself. There were many more photos that for the sake of space I left out here. After hours of horn-honking, near bus-crashes, and a few times I thought I'd be killed, we made it to the beach! I had a hot dog on the beach, and since it was still July 4 in Hawaii, my mystical adventure for a hot dog (I was adamant about having one for July 4), I fulfilled my goal.
Scenes from the beach.
Jack and I finally returned home at about 9PM that night, he went out to party, I flopped down on my bed and slept. I had another tiring day tomorrow, as I was heading for Hong Kong next, and that was even more exhausting than I thought it would be. Stay tuned!
Day 13: Hong Kong was visited on this day. I nearly didn't go. I spent the morning debating with myself whether or not to go. I examined my alternatives for the day (They ween't that appetizing), so I started figuring out the best way into Hong Kong. I had multiple options, try to navigate the subway and find some place to exchange my Yuan for Hong Kong Dollars (HKD), or take the ferry from Shekou Port where I came in to Macau Terminal which is in Hong Kong.
Now, I want to pause this post to make a point. Hong Kong, in spite of its definition, IS a country.
Hong Kong has the following...
Its own official language (Cantonese) spoken nowhere else, not even China,
Its own currency which is not accepted elsewhere, the Hong Kong Dollar,
Its own separate government with its own separate laws,
Its own national flag,
and, most importantly, you need your passport to get into and out of Hong Kong. Its citizens have its own passport as well.
So, yeah, it's a country. I had to go through customs twice just to enter, but it was definitely worth it! More than anything, because English is the second language of Hong Kong, it was a day where everyone around me knew English, something I was no longer able to say was a luxury I had on the mainland.
The other tricky thing about Hong Kong is that not only do they drive on the left side of the road, but they also, due to lack of space on the ground, built their entire city vertically. The only way up? Concrete steps or travelators. I took option B. Here are some pictures from the day:
Yeah, Hong Kong is impressive.
Day 14: Today wound up being a down day, but plans were finalized on this day with Janey and Michael to take Chris and I to the Chinese district courts to witness an arbitration hearing, and learn more about the Chinese law system, which was an opportunity neither of us would turn down. We set the plans to go and be shown around town and the different district courts on Tuesday, and actually witness arbitration on Thursday.
Day 15: Initially,. Chris and I were going to go to Mandarin class after work. However, the lawyers invited us out to a business dinner, so naturally we were not about to disagree. Chris asked me if we should go, to which I said "Absolutely", and after a lunch of tea and rice, we had a huge group dinner with the lawyers. Chris and I simply soaked in the experience, while the Chinese lawyers attempted to get us drunk. They didn't succeed.
Chris (left), Myself, and Janey (right) at the dinner, enjoying ourselves.
Chris and I with the entire firm.
Day 16: Today was another day of work at the office, and another invite out by the lawyers' office. Today the group took us out to another Chinese place, and this time I have to dedicate this day to pigeons, because I remember nothing else about this day, except that. As Janey was in charge of ordering the food for lunch for the group today (A custom in China; One person orders and pays for everyone), she ordered beef, pork, and duck, and then a surprise. Pigeon. No, that's not a misprint. We each put on some latex gloves and prepared to eat the pigeon. Not gonna lie, I wouldn't recommend this. The pigeon is extremely gamy and bony, with very little meat and basically seasoned with salt. I attempted to taste the pigeon but wasn't able to get a bite down. I felt bad, because I could tell the lawyers were disappointed I didn't like it, but I was simply grateful for the opportunities they were giving me to try new foods and observe the daily routines of them in the office. That night after work, with the World Cup just over, a few of the Brits, Dominic, Myself, Chris, and a Portuguese intern decided to go play soccer on a local field. It was another reminder how nonathletic I was. I couldn't keep a goal out of the net for the life of me, but I guess that was to be expected when you don't play the sport at all. They grin and bore it while I was in the game, and it was an enjoyable night playing against the locals. Thankfully the rest of the team WAS athletic and was able to pick up my slack. We won a few games.
Day 17: Today was the day Chris and I were taken to court by Janey and one of her coworkers (Whose name escapes me at the moment), and shown around and explained the arbitration hearing. It is different from the United States, in that China is a civil law system, while the US is a common law system. The rules are far more concrete in China, so most arbitration hearings are settled very quickly. These were no exception. The court building, though, was very imposing.
Futian District Court in Shenzhen.
Day 18: It was Friday, and as is customary with Friday, everyone was making their weekend plans. My plans included hiking a mountain and going to a Buddhist temple that's within a beautiful arboretum in Shenzhen. I got some tips from Janey on how to get there, then headed out after my shift was up. I Skyped my best friend Ashley on this night, which is always a fun and enjoyable activity. Got to Skype my parents as well. I'm very grateful to have loving, supportive parents. It makes everything easier.
Day 19: I awoke early and headed for Buddhist Temple and arboretum. It was a long journey there, one in which I landed caked in sweat by the end, but I'd never trade the experience for anything. In spite of being entirely exhausted before I even got to the temple, I wouldn't trade this day for anything. Pictures can do it more justice than I can do it with words, so here is the vast arboretum and Buddhist Temple.
Day 20: This was my last down day on the entire trip, as it turned out. After being entirely exhausted from the hike the day before, I chose to run my laundry for the day and have that get me through the rest of the trip. I spent the day resting, reading, and napping. It was a nice change of pace. Oh, and I booked my flight to Beijing with Hainan Airlines.
Day 21-23: For the first time on this entire experience, I can simply mesh three days together here. Outside of a very cool meeting on Day 23 (Wednesday, July 16) with the founding lawyer of Shekou Law Firm, these were run-of-the-mill days that were just normal, everyday life-like, which was a nice change of pace after the first 20 days were anything but. I did, however, want to make a point of repaying Janey and Michael's kindness and introduce them (and Chris) to something from MY culture. Since Chris is from Ireland and was never exposed to Eastern European culture, but all of them had been exposed to American culture, I invited them all to dinner at Brotzeit to try Hungarian food, and they were all surprisingly ready to jump on the opportunity. Other than that, these were average days.
Day 24: After work on this day, we had a much-anticipated event. KTV (Karaoke TV) is a huge thing in China, but it's completely different than Karaoke in the Western World. In China, you get a room with your friends, get drinks and sodas, and get to sing and party to your heart's content in the privacy of your own room and without the embarrassment that comes with getting up in front of total strangers. We were all out late, drinking and letting loose as our days together were coming to an end. Nearly everyone was there, and I gave my own rendition of Rolling In the Deep, although I'm unsure how good it was, since I couldn't hear myself think. But that place was ROCKING that night. I would say I took pictures and videos, and I did, bu they will not be shown here for the privacy and consideration of my fellow Interns. What happens in China KTV...Stays in China KTV.
Day 25: The final Friday at the Shekou Law Firm. I was both excited and nervous because I knew I'd be introducing Mrs. Ding, Janey, Michael and Chris to Hungarian food and culture, and I was worried they'd all dislike my food. But, I was secretly relishing the opportunity to watch the Chinese eat with forks and have the roles reversed for a night. Thankfully, this night went extremely well and everyone said they loved Goulash and Porkolt and enjoyed the food. Chris even asked me for Porkolt and Goulash recipes. Score. I introduced four people to Hungarian food and they wanted more. Good. This wold needs more Langos, Goulash, and Porkolt. :) Then it was a trip home on the subway and packing for an early morning flight from Shenzhen to Beijing.
Day 26: At long last, it was off to Beijing! I was in disbelief! I knew exactly what I was going to do. Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, The Bird's Nest Olympic Village, and the Great Wall. All I had to do was GET there. I awoke at the crack of dawn to catch my 4.5 hour flight to Beijing, and landed just past noon. I grabbed lunch at an old coffee house in the airport, and headed out in search of the 365inn in Beijing, which, by the way, I'd highly recommend. Rooms are about $13 a night and is extremely cheap. It cost more for my Great Wall tour that I booked with the Hostel than my room. By far. But it was a clean, nice place with showers and no bugs. All I needed. Here are some photos from this awesome hostel.
I immediately set off for my destinations, Tienanmen and the Forbidden City. Sadly, it was closed fo the day, but the outside was still walkable, so I walked it. I also nearly got scammed into going to a 'tea house' by some very horrible Chinese actors who tried to get me to their tea house. We lost one and then the other one called her friend on the phone, I then darted off in the other direction and met this Dutch couple whose names I couldn't pronounce, so I called the girl Lilo. They wanted to go to the Bird's Nest as well, so here are pictures from the City and Tienanmen (Which is just a square with tons of national buildings around it) before we head to the Bird's Nest.
Tienanmen Square and Forbidden City.
Lilo, he fiance and I then were packed into a sardine can, I mean subway train, to get to the Olympic Village. More pictures!
Bird's Nest
Lilo (left), her husband, and I (right) at Bird's Nest before saying goodbye.
The Water Cube.
Water Cube at night.
Michael Phelps happened here.
Hungary's Water Polo Gold Medal happened here.
And if that wasn't all amazing enough...I was heading for The Great Wall the next day. Which will again be illustrated by pictures more than words.
Day 27: The day I had been waiting for since I got to China. I knew I HAD to see The Great Wall, and now I actually was going to! I was still in disbelief it was actually happening when it was. The thing is truly amazing to behold, it is so vast, so expansive, and so incredible. Words cannot describe it. You have to see it to believe it. I met a French girl named Ambre on my trip to the Wall, who was actually younger than my brother, Kristian, but we stayed together on the Wall and hiked it together, and I made a friend out of it! Here are the pics!
Ambre and I on the Wall.
This day was amazing.In every way. I am such a lucky individual and I feel so blessed. The fact that I got to be on the Wall at all. Sadly, the way back to Shenzhen was a bit rough. My flight on the way back got delayed, so I arrived to the airport, and I found Hainan put me on an earlier flight...that was boarding 3 minutes after I got my ticket. Suddenly I had to race through security and sprint down the terminal to even make my flight. Thankfully, I did, but still, this was unneeded.
Day 28: My penultimate day at the job. Today was also sadly the day I had to say goodbye to Janey, who was so kind and such a great supervisor who taught me alot about China and allowed me to observe what she was doing. Today wasn't a day of goodbyes, but it was on her count, which was sad. After that I spent the day just working at my own pace before heading home and preparing to pack for the long trek home two days later.
Day 29: The final day at work. I had long wanted to have hot pot, which is a Chinese staple, while I was there. So it was now or never, so Ms. Din took me to a place to eat hot pot that day. It was delicious! That evening I said goodbyes to Michael, the CRCC Asia Staff as a whole, and then returned to the hotel and prepared for Emma and Camilla to get home so we could go to a final dinner together and bid each other farewell. We also ran into Jack and Jocelyn on our way to dinner in Shenzhen's city mall. So, of coruse, photo-op! Before, though, here are some pictures with Janey and Michael on the last days:
And now the photo-ops...
In the top photo: Jocelyn (left), Emma (middle left), Myself (middle), Camilla (middle right), Jack (right)
I had a great final dinner with Emma and Camilla, who I adored and miss dearly, and had a bittersweet goodbye at the hotel, hugging them both tightly before heading to my dorm for the night to finish packing and prepare to head home.
Day 30: For the final time, I awoke in Shenzhen. I had a 4:30 AM wake-up call due to the ferry leaving Shekou Port at 7:45 AM to Hong Kong Internaional Airport and my flight with ANA left at 9:40 AM. It was a bit tight, but I was assured by CRCC Asia I would be able to get home no problem going this way. I did a final check of my room, lost my 800 RMB deposit on my room due to melting the rice maker by accident. (Not a misprint...oops), and headed for the ferry port. Then, hell broke loose.
Getting up to the ticket counter, I present my itinerary to the people and prepare to buy my ticket to the ferry, and they refuse me admittance onto the ferry.
WHAT?! They explained to me the Hong Kong Airport stipulates that to be admitted onto the ferry you must have a valid boarding pass for that day of travel that also has to be at least 150 minutes after the departure of the fairy. By this point, I was furious! 7:45 was the first ferry out of Shekou Port, so I had no earlier options. I explain that I find this to be bullshit and completely ridiculous seeing as I had no earlier options and would have taken them if they were available. The lady at the boarding pass counter is very sympathetic (And simultaneously fearful for her life, I think) and explains I can go to Shenzhen Bay Port across town and take a taxi to HKIA from there. She says she can't guarantee I will make my flight, but she can guarantee I won't if I stay here, so off I go, swearing and bitching all the way.
I make it to the taxi port, explain my situation, get directed to the right window, and thankfully there was little traffic, we were sent through customs quickly and efficiently, and there were no delays on the trip to Hong Kong Airport. Although, our taxi driver did nearly get us into an accident, so I did nearly get trapped in Hong Kong. Thankfully, though, I didn't. I went to the ANA check in counter, checked into my flight, told them what the Ferry Port did, to which they sympathized with me and explained I would've been clear for takeoff.
Oye. I had never been happier to get to an airport gate than I was to get to this one. I flew back to Tokyo Narita safely and very relieved. I also got a nice stiff glass of wine on that plane, you better believe. Had I known I could've gotten a Sea Breeze, I would've gotten that and been nice and lit. Oh well. For next time.
I land in Tokyo and have 2 and a half hours to kill, so I kill it by searching for a Pikachu plushy again to no avail, and tasting real Japanese sushi. It was delicious! Then, it was time to board the 9.5 hour, time-traveling flight to San Francisco. I sat next to a woman named Karie who had spent a month backpacking Japan with a friend. She was excited to go home to her daughter. She was headed home to Austin. The flight there was very bumpy, but I didn't care. I was just happy to be heading back to the US.
I touched down in San Francisco at 11:05 AM Wednesday, so I had officially time-traveled. I was exhausted, but had a 4-hour layover in SF. So I pigged out on Fish and Chips and sourdough bread. I also reconnected with Facebook and YouTube, both of which I terribly missed while in China. Then, I boarded my flight to Phoenix, came home sweet home without a hitch, and hugged my dad at the gate as we headed home.
What an experience! What a time! But, I'm so happy it's over now. It was a total whirlwind, but I'm glad I did it!
