Hello! I'm Kyler (he/they) and I am currently participating in the GlobalWorks Internship program in Hong Kong doing software consulting! I am a first generation sophomore at UO majoring in data science. I'm also a Pell Grant recipient. Because of my requirement of financial aid to help me through school, I was unsure if I would be able to afford to go abroad. That said, I was relieved to be able to apply my financial aid to the GlobalWorks program, making it much more realistic to be able to go, especially with the estimated cost breakdowns provided by GEO.
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I chose the Hong Kong program because I wanted to know what it felt like to be in a culture very different from ours back home, seeing the differences not only in work, but also in everyday life. I had also been really interested in how Hong Kong had a bustling nightlife as well as beautiful, serene beaches and nature.
Getting to Hong Kong was an overwhelming process at times. The total travel time, including a 3 hour layover in Seoul, South Korea, was around 20 hours. The longest stretch of flight time was between my home airport of Seattle to Seoul, which was about 12 hours. However, once I got to my apartment building in Hong Kong, I settled in quickly. I started my internship the day after I arrived, and I could already feel the difference in work culture. From day one, it was clear that everyone worked together to keep up their reputation as a company, rather than as individuals. Although this meant long hours for some and picking up others' slack, it truly seemed to bring our small team together.
Aside from work, getting to explore where I'm staying in Hung Hom, as well as Hong Kong in general, has been the highlight of my experience. Just recently, I took a trip with the other interns and my program coordinator to Discovery Bay, an amazing beach town on Lantau Island in the western area of Hong Kong, only accessible by a beautiful ferry ride.
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I can definitely say the hardest part of being over here has been the language barrier. In Hong Kong, they speak a dialect of Chinese called Cantonese, which is much more difficult to learn as an English speaker than its standard Mandarin counterpart. Although I had tried to pick up some basic phrases before coming, I still found myself struggling to express what I wanted or how I was feeling in the language. Luckily, many people did speak at least a little English, so we are able to communicate in fragments, at worst.
So far, I am loving living and working in Hong Kong. I am looking forward to getting to know my area better and seeing all that there is to enjoy here!
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Kyler Creech, Diverse Duck Ambassador
GlobalWorks International Internship in Hong Kong