June 3, Trying to Make Good Impressions While Sweating in Dry-Clean-Only Business Attire

Today was the first day of work, the first day of class, and therefore the first day that I put real effort into my appearance. The lack of motivation up until this point has to do with the plain fact that I live in a sauna. Apparently SE Asia has four somewhat distinct seasons: hot, wet, hotter, wetter. As things go, my classmates and I are caught in the hotter/wetter part of the year, which makes it difficult to look halfway decent and put together for important days – such as this one.

For my first day of work I picked out a bright red/pink dress…a lucky color in the feng shui tradition. I blow-dried, flat-ironed, and more or less shellacked my hair into place. I put on makeup and high heels and armed myself with an umbrella as I headed off to class. Ten minutes out the door…my hair had frizzed and curled. Emerging from the MTR…my makeup was dripping off my face. Trekking up the steep hill to the meeting place…my feet were begging for mercy. Tomorrow, I’ll know better.

Our class meets once a week at 7:30am for breakfast at the HK Foreign Correspondents’ Club – we discuss our internships, current affairs in China/HK, and Mike has arranged for several influential speakers to come to our sessions. This morning we were joined by pro-democracy HK legislator Lee Cheuk-yan. Cheuk-yan is one of the major organizers of the Tiananmen Square commemoration to be held tomorrow evening in Victoria Park – this year’s commemoration marks the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

From the FCC I made my way over to the Hong Kong Tourism Board office – and somehow (I was naïve to think I could end up any worse) walked into Human Resources even more disheveled than I had been upon entering the FCC. Huffing and puffing, hair wilted and dress wrinkled, their much anticipated American intern had arrived…and they greeted me with a glass of ice water. I think it’s the start of a beautiful working relationship. Poetic really.

I spent most of the morning sifting through emails and news briefs, getting acquainted with current projects, and meeting my co-workers. My boss, Mayee, is very friendly and will be a great mentor. I’ll be assisting her with the “long-haul” markets: the US, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand. The main tourism program/promotion for these markets is Hong Kong’s Food and Wine Year, which I am really excited to be able to work on, for obvious reasons. I will also get involved with ongoing media familiarization campaigns, stakeholder and community relations, and visitor materials.

Three of my coworkers took me out to a Thai restaurant for lunch, which was delicious and a welcome respite from Cantonese cuisine. We had a fun time together – they were very nice and welcoming – and we had a lot to talk about since we are all close in age. They gave me some great advice about things to see and do in Hong Kong and said they were going to give me a list of bars and clubs to go to with my classmates on the weekend. I wrapped up the day creating some mock itineraries for different themed stays. I left the office at 6pm and met my classmates in Causeway Bay for dinner and an unsuccessful attempt to get into a Jazz club, which after much confusion and upon closer inspection was actually a hair salon: Jazz Cut. At the end of the day, it still feels ok to be foreign and confused – because life is laughter – and we do a lot of that here.

Tomorrow it’s pony-tails, breathable fabrics, and much more.