Mixed Emotions in Uprooting (Vent) Support Thread

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  1. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax:
    A
    I worked with a young lady who had never lived away from home (not a day/night for camp/sleepovers and not even for Uni) and was posted to Hong Kong by the (US) company.

    Every morning she was on the phone back home to momsy and popsy, sobbing and blubbering. Unfortunately she did this in the office and everyone had to listen to it.

    She suffered what I can only describe as an emotional meltdown on her 30th birthday which fell during her third month in HK. She left work that day and I hear she left HK within a few days.
    My heartless side would have found that saga quietly amusing.

    Actually I lie - I wouldn't have been quiet about it
    Last edited by MovingIn07; 07-08-2009 at 10:47 AM.

  2. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    My heartless side would have found that saga quietly amusing.
    Thats just normal behaviour, I would of sniggered and probably filmed it and youtubed it.

  3. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by jimbo:
    Thats just normal behaviour, I would of sniggered and probably filmed it and youtubed it.
    This 'event' pre-dates the invention of the World Wide Web. Dang I'm old...

    Every Wednesday we had a department meeting and "Laura" (not her real name but close) would always arrive later and sit there sniffling throughout. Why she ever thought she could manage a move across the globe when she had never spent a night without momsy (her name for her mother) tucking her in I'll never know - but as the resident department gwaipo I was expected to have some understanding into her condition. *sigh*

  4. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax:
    Ahhh, those PRs who can't use chopsticks.

    I worked with a young lady who had never lived away from home (not a day/night for camp/sleepovers and not even for Uni) and was posted to Hong Kong by the (US) company.

    Every morning she was on the phone back home to momsy and popsy, sobbing and blubbering. Unfortunately she did this in the office and everyone had to listen to it.

    She suffered what I can only describe as an emotional meltdown on her 30th birthday which fell during her third month in HK. She left work that day and I hear she left HK within a few days.

    Some people take such a move in their stride; others are psychologically unable to do so. Each has to decide for themselves because being forced into a decision one is not entirely at ease with will only cause unhappiness, bitterness and resentment.
    thats just bad HR to be honest... when i studied this in Uni (we had a specific class on expatriates in HR) and the company HR is supposed to have numerous interviews and actually know what the person is like before sending them over.

    they would have found out that she hadnt left home ever and decide that sending her on a lengthy overseas assignment was not the best idea.

  5. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax:
    This 'event' pre-dates the invention of the World Wide Web.
    THE WORLD EXISTED WITHOUT INTERNET

    Quote Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax:
    Every Wednesday we had a department meeting and "Laura" (not her real name but close) would always arrive later and sit there sniffling throughout. Why she ever thought she could manage a move across the globe when she had never spent a night without momsy (her name for her mother) tucking her in I'll never know - but as the resident department gwaipo I was expected to have some understanding into her condition. *sigh*
    I knew someone like that.. but they moved 108 miles.

    They lasted about a week.

  6. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by alohautopia:
    This is a great thread. Will also help me in my move.

    I will be moving to HK in one to two weeks for a job and while I am also apprehensive about it mainly because I do not know anyone, I think it will be awesome to live somewhere else and get another perspective. How many opportunities do you have in your life to do that? :-) I'm 24, female, no family, have travelled a lot but have not lived anywhere else by myself. This will be my first time to uproot myself and settle somewhere different.

    Frankly, I think I could not have made a better decision of trying HK for my first ever move. It has everything I think I would need: bustling city, perfect public transportation, steaming with expats (which will come in handy since I will have people to share experiences with, since I know zilch about the language), great nature sceneries (I heard there are loads of hiking clubs --> am a mountaineer myself), safe to roam around and very modern. It might not be as much of a culture shock. I'm going to take it as an adventure.
    Best of luck with your new adventure!

  7. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by rapid_jap:
    Carang, Scriptmonkey, Ray98, MinHK and all others (sorry for not remembering everybody else's names) - this is SUCH AN AMAZING thread. Never have enjoyed reading any thread as much as this one.

    As you read post after post, the whole tone of the thread just keeps getting stronger and highly inspiring. Loved it! Thank you all for contributing great real-life experiences in HK.

    I was reminded of our move here as well.. not as adventurous as yours but I was still nervous coz' it was a new place. You might laugh about this one but my first fear (which made me lock myself up in a washroom and cry for 30 min.) was tall buildings ))) In our first serviced apartment in HK, we were on the 25th floor which somehow made me feel very lonely. But once I got on the streets of Central, roamed all over the city looking for apartments, I felt like a HK queen, part of all the vibrance. One piece of advice - when you get here, initially, try to stay close to crowds (LKF, bookshops, central streets), at least during some part of your day everyday. That really worked for me. Soon, as you see people from your own country, hit the bars / pubs /coffee shops with them and you're all set!!

    Finally, of course, you have to first be OPEN to try all this or anything else that you feel might work for you. Come with an open mind, not-so-high expectations and a very low resistance to change / difference. I think (hopefully), you'll love it here just as we do.
    rapid_jap - I'm thinking that I will do what I've always done when I moved around (that is within Toronto) and explore by foot. Finding the idiosyncratic characteristics of the area and integrate into it. For anyone who lives/lived in Toronto, I had a hard time moving to Richmond Hill, but now can't imagine why I thought that before. So with that said, I'm feeling increasing confident with the "big" move.

  8. #38

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    Quote Originally Posted by Allicat:
    I remember before we moved here, I came up for a look around and I remember going home and crying and thinking what on earth are we thinking! Among other things we're moving from a house with a huge back garden to an apartment (which was the option we chose because of circumstances), but wouldn't have missed this opportunity at all.
    I found it difficult for the first while especially when the other half is working and they are pretty much settled with their day-to-day activities but for me staying at home I found it a bit of a challenge to get into a routine and meet people at first. Mind you with kids it is probably different.
    Also had the interesting supermarket experiences and working out which brands are best suited to us, which bread is the best, which supermarkets stocked certain items (eg City Super in TST doesn't do toothpaste, toothbrushes etc, so it would be off to Wellcome, Watsons etc). And just generally finding out where to go for basic necessities - stationers, drycleaners, etc.
    There are still the days when I just get so frustrated like having to deal with the crowds of people on tiny footpaths and things not being like what they are at home, but HK has got in my blood now and I don't ever want to leave.
    So embrace the change, know that there are going to be horrible days but that's normal, find something you like doing to keep yourself sane, and just think of all the cool things you and your family can do and experience! (And one big plus - winter's aren't nowhere near as cold as in Canada!)
    I'm a winter baby so the cold is my friend, but the heat, not so much I'm not a fan of huge crowds, so quiet times and places will be something I will be on the look out for. Life with two kids three and under will be challenging there, that's for sure. Thanks for sharing and for the pointers of locating daily necessities; didn't think about that before.

  9. #39

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    Both my wife and I are well traveled and understand that when speaking to those who are not fans of traveling, you end up hitting walls in many topics of discussions. But I digress, there are travelers who are happy to jump in front of X and take a photo and say they've been to X, and then there are others who explore the area a little deeper and find a connection to the culture. Not judging here, just that I've been in conversations where we talked about the people of X, while the other person remain fixated on what they read from Frommer's guide and their photos. Nothing wrong with either, just hard to have a conversation when both people think they are talking about the same topic, when they really are not.


  10. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by UK/HKboy:
    thats just bad HR to be honest... when i studied this in Uni (we had a specific class on expatriates in HR) and the company HR is supposed to have numerous interviews and actually know what the person is like before sending them over.

    they would have found out that she hadnt left home ever and decide that sending her on a lengthy overseas assignment was not the best idea.
    Being in HR, I totally agree. You go through a process before you actually send someone like that. Gone are the says of, "here's a plane ticket, good luck!"

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