How I Came to Live and Work in Hong Kong

When I was 15 years old, I went to Sedona, Arizona, on vacation with my mother. While there, we went to a unique, artsy jewelry store owned by a lovely woman who told us about her travels to China, where she bought much of her stock. She mentioned the country’s respect for teachers and the many opportunities there for Americans to teach English to native students. I left not only with a Chinese pottery shard pendant, but also with a great curiosity for that ancient nation.

It was certainly an interest in the Orient springing from that encounter, rather than my love of sports, that urged me to sign up for the University of Missouri School of Journalism’s study abroad program in Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympics. With my fellow journalism students, I worked as an English-language volunteer for the Olympic News Service for two months. Of course, being at an international sporting event was an amazing experience. But the interactions I had with the Chinese people and their culture were certainly just as wonderful.

After graduating from college, I spent a year and a half working at a small-town newspaper, which had its down sides, but overall was quite good. However, the time came when I knew I needed more excitement in my life, and teaching English abroad seemed to be the perfect move. In just a few online searches, I found several rather lucrative programs in South Korea and other countries, but I decided I wanted to return to China.

I chose to come to Hong Kong and work for Chatteris Educational Foundation because I was acquainted with two people then working for the nonprofit organization. And, having already lived in Beijing, I thought the international city of Hong Kong would perhaps be more livable long-term and more navigable for a non-Cantonese speaker.

I have now been living in Hong Kong for two months, and the transition to the expatriate life has gone much smoother than I expected. Already I feel more adapted than in my two previous experiences abroad (I also spent a semester in Sydney, Australia). I suppose it helps that I am here with a group of about 50 other young Brits and Americans, mostly Brits, who are also intrigued by teaching and traveling.

This is not to say that I haven’t had to adjust to my new life here – sharing 300 square feet of living space with another girl isn’t ideal. Nor is my minimally equipped kitchen, with just a one-burner stove, conducive to extensive cooking, one of my favorite pastimes. But, these things simply don’t seem to bother me as much as they might at home. Or maybe I’m still distracted by the newness of it all, the excitement and the wonder, to be annoyed.

Author Sydney Stonner is addicted to traveling. After studying journalism and music at the University of Missouri (where she studied abroad twice), she worked for a time as a newspaper reporter. Now, she is living in Hong Kong teaching English to primary school students. So far, she has visited 15 countries and hopes to visit many, many more.