“Are you awake?” Zihan whispers across the room as the first ray of Hong Kong sunshine peeks through the trees outside our window. The day seemed doomed from the start given that it was 6:30 in the morning and I’d already been up for two hours. The jet lag was real and we both knew that going back to sleep was hopeless so we dragged ourselves out of bed to take a walk. We found our way around Lingnan and the Circle K down the road, before going to meet the Lingnan students. The meeting was honestly a blur because I was basically falling asleep in my seat the whole time. Somehow I made it to lunch and afterwards we took the train to the central city with Harry. Harry showed us bits of Wanchai and Tsim Sha Tsui, and I just remember being overwhelmed. Full of bustling pedestrians chatting to each other in Cantonese, turtle soup, chicken feet, ferry rides and skyscrapers peeking out of the fog the experience was completely new for me. However, the one thing that sticks in my mind right now is my anticipation for tomorrow and the thrill that comes with discovering something so common to so many, yet so new and powerful to me. Now for some much needed sleep.
