I cannot believe it is already June. For that matter, I cannot believe I am already a senior in college. Time marches on, as they say; though the reason for this blog is not to reminisce but to document a significant time in my life that takes the form of an internship based in Hong Kong.
I write my first post having already been here for three days; though, already three days of the most impressionable days of my life. I am really enjoying life here and to be completely honest it is difficult for me to begin this post because I am not really sure where to start...
Perhaps we shall start with food. Truth be told, when I travel to new places food really takes precedent over a lot of other things. I will literally search the web for places to eat before looking into much else for any trip of mine. As you can imagine, learning that Hong Kong is considered by many to be the food capital of the world made me happy as a clam.
Really though, it appears as if one were to name any possible food or type of cuisine on the planet it can be found here. That said, in my meals here I have been trying to get a grasp for how the locals live instead of finding comfort in foods that are available back home.
Memorable Meal #1: Sake & Ramen at Tokyo Narita airport. May have spent a bit too much on this meal, but I had a rather long layover in Japan. I searched the airport for where locals were congregated and settled on a small and crouded sake joint. I asked the gentlemen next to me which sake would pair best with my noodles and he hooked a brother up. Excellent meal and made a friend out of it. What a perk to traveling alone.
Memorable Meal #2: Sushi. I had the pleasure of meeting a friend of a friend who is a local here but has studied at ASU for my first night. Now, I know you can find sushi back home but it must be said here that this sushi is another tier entirely. No joke. I can't even say anything else. Perhaps it was because I was so curious about this new place and was taking more time to enjoy and pay attention to what I was eating. I have noticed here that local people (of whom none are fat) are quite mindful and intentional when eating. I often see people eating alone; though they keep a composure that isn't seen in America very often when eating. Hong Kong is a very busy city, but when eating this seems to turn off for a moment of careful reflection.
Memorable Meal #3: Today is Friday in Hong Kong and work is not cut shorter than the rest of the week. It was a long day and I didn't eat much until 7 or so when I got off. So when I did, I decided to go on a food expedition. Why not? ... So I ventured through the nearby food market looking to try something new. I visited 3 vendors and ended up discovering three textures that have never before blessed my palate: 1) squid; 2) lengua; 3) offal. I spend less than five bucks and could not have been more satisfied. I am looking forward to more food adventures in the future.
I would reflect here about how work has been going, but I have decided to keep details about internship-specific work private from this blog. In short; the company is in a major transformation in their rebranding efforts and there is no shortage of work to do. My work hours have averaged from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM.
I'll have to think of something other than food to talk about for this next entry, but there you have it. I am very much enjoying this city. A last note on food: many who google what I ate will turn their nose up in disgust; what barbarians are local hong kong citizens to ingest such icky parts of the cow... Well, here's how I look at it:
You see, there are certain functions of nature which run the... you know... food chain. The circle of life for you disney fans. To me, it is much more disgusting to disregard these glorious parts of the animal we have so slaughtered for our indulgence than to make them palatable. What barbarians are other cultures that have turned the food industry into a highly mechanized hell through which the consumer has no emotional attachment to anything but a company's marketing platform. White meat is bland anyway.
Off to bed for a Saturday of competitive analysis. Drew from Hong Kong; signing off.
I write my first post having already been here for three days; though, already three days of the most impressionable days of my life. I am really enjoying life here and to be completely honest it is difficult for me to begin this post because I am not really sure where to start...
Perhaps we shall start with food. Truth be told, when I travel to new places food really takes precedent over a lot of other things. I will literally search the web for places to eat before looking into much else for any trip of mine. As you can imagine, learning that Hong Kong is considered by many to be the food capital of the world made me happy as a clam.
Really though, it appears as if one were to name any possible food or type of cuisine on the planet it can be found here. That said, in my meals here I have been trying to get a grasp for how the locals live instead of finding comfort in foods that are available back home.
Memorable Meal #1: Sake & Ramen at Tokyo Narita airport. May have spent a bit too much on this meal, but I had a rather long layover in Japan. I searched the airport for where locals were congregated and settled on a small and crouded sake joint. I asked the gentlemen next to me which sake would pair best with my noodles and he hooked a brother up. Excellent meal and made a friend out of it. What a perk to traveling alone.
Memorable Meal #2: Sushi. I had the pleasure of meeting a friend of a friend who is a local here but has studied at ASU for my first night. Now, I know you can find sushi back home but it must be said here that this sushi is another tier entirely. No joke. I can't even say anything else. Perhaps it was because I was so curious about this new place and was taking more time to enjoy and pay attention to what I was eating. I have noticed here that local people (of whom none are fat) are quite mindful and intentional when eating. I often see people eating alone; though they keep a composure that isn't seen in America very often when eating. Hong Kong is a very busy city, but when eating this seems to turn off for a moment of careful reflection.
Memorable Meal #3: Today is Friday in Hong Kong and work is not cut shorter than the rest of the week. It was a long day and I didn't eat much until 7 or so when I got off. So when I did, I decided to go on a food expedition. Why not? ... So I ventured through the nearby food market looking to try something new. I visited 3 vendors and ended up discovering three textures that have never before blessed my palate: 1) squid; 2) lengua; 3) offal. I spend less than five bucks and could not have been more satisfied. I am looking forward to more food adventures in the future.
I would reflect here about how work has been going, but I have decided to keep details about internship-specific work private from this blog. In short; the company is in a major transformation in their rebranding efforts and there is no shortage of work to do. My work hours have averaged from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM.
I'll have to think of something other than food to talk about for this next entry, but there you have it. I am very much enjoying this city. A last note on food: many who google what I ate will turn their nose up in disgust; what barbarians are local hong kong citizens to ingest such icky parts of the cow... Well, here's how I look at it:
You see, there are certain functions of nature which run the... you know... food chain. The circle of life for you disney fans. To me, it is much more disgusting to disregard these glorious parts of the animal we have so slaughtered for our indulgence than to make them palatable. What barbarians are other cultures that have turned the food industry into a highly mechanized hell through which the consumer has no emotional attachment to anything but a company's marketing platform. White meat is bland anyway.
Off to bed for a Saturday of competitive analysis. Drew from Hong Kong; signing off.
