Hospitality Intern – It’s Fine As Long As You’re Still Breathing!| 4 min read

I had an initial sense of quasi-isolation when I arrived in Hong Kong (from where I had to transfer to Beijing) when I realised I was practically the only Anglophone on the plane. This feeling only grew stronger when I arrived at the airport, and I was approached by a few airport officials, for no other reason than that I had a “different” look to me.

On walking through the exit I was kindly greeted by one of the ImmerQi staff members, a very nice and hospitable young lady.  Realising that at least one person in a city of  was around to help me (and even willing to wait for an incorrigible traveller such as myself to find his bags) brought me tremendous solace.

The cab ride home was interesting to say the least. From the back seat of a cab, the world around me was an interesting mixture of hieroglyphics, smoke and relatively shabby-looking buildings. The traffic flowed in a mysterious and not altogether predictable manner, at times making me wonder if I was in an anarchist society. The cab drivers didn’t hesitate to sound his hooter as many times as was necessary. But in spite of being in what, for all intents and purposes, seemed a strange and unforgiving environment, I felt like I was at home in the back seat of a car with a lady who seemed to be capable of guessing my next thought.

I arrived at a hostel, where I had a room to myself for the night. I sat on my bed and I rummaged through the bag I had just been given by the ImmerQi staff member. I hoped I would find something that would miraculously equip me for the next 6 months. I found the closest thing to it and messaged home on it.

I woke up the next morning (yesterday) and met with another member of the ImmerQi team. It was to be one of the longest days of my life, one in which information overload threated to turn me insane. I was taken to the hotel where I am going to be interning for the next 6 months and introduced to various members of staff. Conversations were carried on almost exclusively in Mandarin with the odd English interlude to ensure I was still breathing. I was shown to my room, which was very dingy by western standards but apparently near palatial in China. In my less than lucid state I was given an orientation where I was told about the main differences between China and the rest of the world (spoiler alert: everything) and how I should deal with them. Later in the day I got to view the efficiency of the Chinese subway system. Seeing it, and the mass of people it catered to, made me feel like a tiny little part in the massive machine that is China. When the day finally ended, I went to bed on an apology of a mattress, with my head spinning and my thoughts poorly arranged. It was the best sleep I ever had.
And here I am… What the next few months will hold no one knows. But I’m ready for the adventure.

Robbie Stuart, a a hospitality intern from Hospitality Internship Program, was placed in Beijing in 2015.