24 Hours In, Comfortably Uncomfortable

In 24 hours we went from a comfortable suburb in Indiana, across the world to a foreign land. Is it everything we thought it would be?

I am definitely out of my comfort zone. This was anticipated and is appreciated. But being outside your comfort zone is still…uncomfortable. As we start the trip, we have to get back into our traveling groove. It’s going to be awhile before it kicks in that we aren’t going home anytime soon. It takes time to get used to things like:

• Temperature in celsius
• Currency conversion ($ means HKD not USD)
• Metric system (meters, grams, kilo-, centi- …)
• Avoiding tap water (we each drank 80-100 ounces, err… 2-3 liters 🙂 of water a day at home)
• Not having a phone or mobile internet access

Soon, this will become our new normal. Every few weeks a new country, a new language, and new people. When we traveled through Europe together, it was our first time out of the country and we had no idea what we were doing. By the end of that trip, we felt like old pros. We are in the same boat today and I know it’s only a matter of time before we are comfortable being uncomfortable.

I am glad we started in Hong Kong. It’s vastly different from any place we’ve ever been, yet we can still get by speaking English (thanks Britain!). The week here will probably seem short in comparison to other places we are going, but it’s the perfect mix of unknown and familiar to break us into this new life.