As I stared out of the plane’s windows to the various islands of Hong Kong below me, I became very anxious. In addition to being completely alone and thousands of miles away from home, I needed to find my way to City University without a working cell phone. Also, a few weeks ago, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal discussing the city’s dangerous air quality; about 1,600 people died from the smog and air pollution in 2013.

Upon arriving in the massive Hong Kong International Airport, I had to track down my luggage. Having never done this before, I went to the first conveyer belt I saw and waited. And waited. And waited. About ten minutes later, I decided to go ask one of the airport staff members for help. Using English, I asked about where I can find my luggage, and received a blank stare. This was when it really hit me that I am no longer at home in America. I showed the staff person my luggage receipt, and she pointed me to a television screen without speaking a word. I tracked down the proper conveyor belt and retrieved my luggage. What a relief!

I wandered aimlessly around the airport, hoping to find other exchange students heading to City University as well. It was the first day exchange students were supposed to arrive, so I figured it was worth a shot. Sure enough, I spotted a group of lost but excited people with a ton of luggage who looked foreign to Hong Kong. As suspected, they were all exchange students! Some were students going to other universities in Hong Kong, but a majority of them were waiting together to take a shuttle to City University. This was the happiest I have been since leaving Philadelphia. I had my luggage, and a way to my new home for the next four months.

After an hour and a half of getting to know these other students, a gentleman walked up to us with a sign reading City University; he was here to lead us to our shuttle. As soon as we left the airport the hot, humid, smoggy air hit me. There was a faint funky odor in the air, a bit similar to Philadelphia’s Chinatown minus the fishy smell and more herbal shop smell. It took me a few minutes to adjust to the air and smell, but soon enough it passed. I got on the bus and noticed the steering wheel was on the right-hand side. Hmm...

Traveling has never been a large part of my life. In fact, I have never spent more than a week outside the city of Philadelphia. My first time on a plane was several months ago to Disney World in December 2012, and that was just a 3-hour flight.
While in the car to the Philadelphia International Airport, I began wondering how I was convinced to leave everything and everyone I know behind for such a long period of time. Why did I agree to sit on a plane for nearly 20 hours so I can miss my friends, family, and finish an amazing co-op experience a bit early?
Studying abroad has always been on the back of mind, but I never seriously considered it. As my third year at Drexel started coming to an end I realized that if I did not go abroad now I may not get another chance to live outside of Philadelphia for longer than one or two weeks. Out of impulse and quickly approaching deadlines, I decided to apply for an exchange program. I knew I wanted to do something different, and learned of a new partnership Drexel started with the City University of Hong Kong.
After applying, I still had no idea if I would actually follow through. After consulting a few Drexel alumni, they all pointed me in the same direction, east. The common theme I noticed in our conversations was regret. All of the alumni I spoke to mentioned not being able to travel for long periods of time after entering the workforce, and that they should have studied abroad in college. They said that going abroad is a great way to broaden my horizons, meet new people, and most importantly learn about myself. I was convinced.
The car suddenly stopped, and I noticed that I was at the airport. I unloaded my suitcases and walked through the revolving doors. I was lost. The airport is huge, where do I go? How does one check in luggage? What if my luggage never gets to me? What if I missed my flight? Why in the world am I here? All of these thoughts raced through my head before I realized that there was a staff person from the airport asking for my flight information. The next thing I know, there are clouds below me. I guess I am on my way to Hong Kong!