Huntsman MBA students in China

Day One: Arrive in Hong Kong

My first impression of Hong Kong is a mixture between New York City and Mexico. On the streets, there are people constantly approaching you trying to recruit your business, like in Mexico. The most frequent sellers are ladies trying to sell you on buying a foot massage. There are also men dressed up in their suits trying to get you to buy a suit of your own. The New York flare comes from the many exquisite shops, from being surrounded by tall buildings, from the odd smells when you turn the corner, and from the numberless taxis cruising through the narrow streets.

Our first adventure was getting some real food. Not anymore airplane food. The restaurant atmosphere, though similar in many respects, had its own distinct flare. When we first arrived at our restaurant we wanted to know how long we would need to wait. Even though there were several people waiting before us, they worked on getting us a table for 15 right away. As we walk into the restaurant, several employees stop to give you a slight head bow and show their respect to you. Once seated, you could order multiple times throughout the meal. We ordered dumplings, hot and sour soup, egg fried rice, and other authentic Chinese dishes. Many aspects of the meal were very easy including ordering, the service, and the no-tip philosophy. Once an entree was ready, they delivered it. You could begin eating and once the other entrées were done they would be added to the food already out on the table. The challenge for me came when I tried to use the chopsticks. Years of avoiding the chopsticks at Panda Express caught up to me. It was difficult to get a hold of the food. In fact, I still have yet to figure it out. Nevertheless, we had a great first meal. Hong Kong is going to be fabulous, I can already tell and we have just begun.