Working 9-5? Yeah, Right!

The Skyline from Tsim Sha Tsui- whoever says that modern
skyscrapers are not beautiful has clearly never been to HK

I cannot believe how much I have to post already- I mean it has only been a few days and it already feels as if I have been here for months. I guess I will just pick up where I left off from the last post.

Ladies Market Mong Kok

Kornhill Apartments

Recreation space on top of one floor

We moved into our apartments in Quarry Bay which is an area of Hong Kong considered the "suburbs". Of course, this suburban area warrants a re-definition of conventional white-picket fence, spread out suburbs I am used to. Rather than a concrete jungle with tons of businesses, it is a concrete jungle of homogeneous skyscraper apartments connected by the vast mazes of walkways which allow the people to walk from community to community without ever stepping a foot outside. We somehow have managed to get lost multiple times, even with a map. There are jungle gyms and play structures, random garden areas/ recreation areas in between the cracks of the different skyscrapers where you literally could hop onto your neighbors balcony in an adjacent apartment structure because as I have mentioned before, the buildings are built in a way that defies personal space.

Quality

Apartments

looking towards the water from
apartments

The first night at the apartments we explored our apartment building and discovered the vast city of supermalls around our apartments. Let me just preface my description of our experience in these malls by saying JUSCO makes Walmart look like a small kitchen cupboard. As we traveled up and down the around 6 flights of escalators, I found it extremely difficult to navigate what section we were in and where we were going as the majority of the signs were in Cantonese and no one spoke english. We finally found the supermarket at the bottom floor where we uncovered the delicious bakery that sells delicacies such as cream cheese filled mochi pancakes (YUM!!!), pork buns and amazing breads-- I realized later what makes all of the hong kong bakery items, even plain bread so delicious is their "extra" ingredients (i.e. butter and cream). JUSCO was just one of around 100 stores or more just in our surrounding area. I still have so much more to discover in our small area but have found a starbucks which I will no longer go to as I refuse to pay $3 USD for a small cup of coffee.. have eaten chicken served with the head at a restaurant there, found the H&M, and unveiled the Food Republic. I am sure that this food court is not "quality" Hong Kong food but it was delicious to me! I got sweet and sour soup with vegetable dumplings (still have pork in them because vegetarian is unheard of here) and noodles. All for the equivalent of under $4 USD. Pizza huts here are nice sit-down restaurants and of high-quality, no one cooks because there is not enough space.

View of Central

Now to the other part of my experience here: Interning at Konew International Group. Unlike the others I am traveling with who have to be at work by 9am, I am able to have a leisurly ride on the MTR around 10:15am without the men with sticks trying to fit people into the MTR during rush hour. My hours are set for 10:30am to 6:30pm, but I have been told that I have freedom to really do whatever I want because they really would like me to experience Hong Kong and understand the culture. Upon arrival, the HR director who I have been in close contact gave me the warmest welcome and was so greatful to have me at Konew Financial Express, Ltd. The first part of the morning I spent reading about the company and then reading the vast amount of travel brochures she had prepared for me. I learned that Konew International Group is a family company started by Mr and Mrs. Lee, parents of USC Alum and CEO Steven Lee who I had the opportunity to meet and talk to on two occasions just the first day. He was very warm and welcoming and let me know that he plans on taking me and some of my co-workers to a very nice sushi restaurant tomorrow! (thurs).

From Left- Jeffrey, Charlie,
Elaine, Candice, Esther,
Grace

My lovely workplace

Konew Financial Express, Ltd is a growing property loan and property development company that is the main branch of Konew International Group with 80 people and growing. For the next 2 months, I will be working a few floors up from the main office in a new branch called Maxcolm Credit. It is a very new branch that is an extension KFE by offering personal loan services that may not only be property loans. I am VERY greatful to be working up in this office as I am working with 6 others-- all very young, very energetic, and mostly customer service and customer relations assistants. There is one token boy working up here as shown in the picture and upon my first introduction with them, I learned that he plays field hockey here in hong kong (very uncommon), soccer, and runs marathons.  The girls are obsessed with shopping and talking, sometimes I catch one of them online shopping. The atmosphere is very social (although most of the time they speak cantonese and if something happens they clap and cheer and then explain what is going on), the constant chatter is very confusing sometimes but my only hope is that I pick up some of the language soon!

I have just finished my first project- developing a Balanced Scorecard system for Maxcolm Credit as a well-rounded way for them to evaluate themselves, for the customers to evaluate them, and for their supervisors to evaluate them. It utilized more of the business side of my education rather than the finance side, which I had expected but it should be interesting to see what other projects I am assigned to.

View from the ferry after work

Dead serious. Not a postcard.

As for the area around my work, Central is the hub of finance and business and offers many upscale luxuries such as the Louise Vuitton right across the street from my office, and the swanky restaurants in the IFC mall. My co-workers, however, have been determined to show me around everywhere and pointed out the alleyways and restaurants to eat at that are inexpensive and truly hong kong style. The first day the HR director, Averil, took me to the most popular hong kong fast food called Cafe de Coral where I had eggs with meat and rice, and the second day my co-workers ordered in food that consisted of rice, soup, tofu, chicken wings, and pork with vegetables, all for $3 USD. They then continued to show me what I will now forever think of as the Hong Kong golden food. The Hong Kong egg tart is TO DIE FOR. One of my co-workers brought me one fresh out of the oven from the best store around and I must say, it restored the legitimacy of the hong kong food delicacies after my chicken head the other night.

LIGHT SHOW {:O!

Less busy times on the street.

Last night we watched the incredible light show between all of the skyscrapers of hong kong island and Kowloon which runs for 15 minutes starting at 8pm, after taking a ferry across the harbor and seeing the incredible skyline unlike I have ever seen before. With so much to do and see and explore, my internship for the next two months is not going to be the traditional 9-5, tedious task internship. It will be more like 17-18 hr days full of hard work to make the most of my experience in this city that really and truly never sleeps-- and neither will I! My excitement overpowers any exhaustion I may feel-- tonight my co-workers are compiling a list of what us USC kids should do and see. Until next time....