Misconceptions

I arrived in Hong Kong and went imediatly to the toilet to put mosquito spray. The doctor told me I should put it everyday as well as sun scream. The sun scream I brought backfired, it was expired I'm guessing by the way it looked ahah. So I just filled myself with mosquito spray. Walking in the airport I saw a lot of people with masks. I couldn't avoid feeling scared. Should I have a mask? Probably yes!
After picking up my bag I went looking for the bus to Zhuhai. Found a counter with it, the ticket was 200 Hong Kong dollars (23€), a bit much I thought but I had to go... I bought it and a guy took me to the bus. He was in a lot of rush, was super funny. Reminded me a bit of my experience in Morocco or Turkey where they "take much care of the tourists" when in reality this treatment is there to cover they are really taking advantage of us. When I arrived to the "bus" I understood why so expensive. It was a car... I saw many buses going to the same stop. I understood in this moment my life will not be cheap here as long I don't understand how people and language.
I arrived in Zhuhai, I understood it was an airport and I waited my host. Waited and waited... Nothing. I tried to find internet but no one spoke English. It was hard. Finally I found a security guy that "helped" me. He started making a lot of questions actually. I answered but I wasn't understanding why he was asking me about my passport and to where I was heading. I just wanted internet!!! Then I realized... To go to Zhuhai I had to pass the checkpoint. Show my passport, visa and paper with detailed info of my stay. And so I understood my host was probably waiting for me but on the other side... Shit!
I looked for her... Nothing! I looked for internet... Difficult. My bag was heavy like hell and it was too hot. At some moment I passed a guy that told me what I understood it was "Cassie?" that's my Organisation's coordinator, I thought it was weird so I asked a bunch of times. Finally he said for me to go downstairs. I asked confused "Are you sure?". I went down and saw a bunch of taxis. So he was saying TAXI!!!!!! Ahah, ok understoodable mistake, or NOT!
Finally I found Internet in Starbucks (ahah always). Contacted her and she came to meet me. She's nice but there is some language barrier. I didn't know how to greet her, it was weird of course. Now I now, a handshake is it.
On the way to the restaurant I kept asking questions as everything is so new and I really want to understand what should I act like or be careful with. I'm guessing they take some behaviours in a bad way. I want to be careful. The air is super polluted here, I felt the heavy air and was even afraid of opening the window dispite the hot. Wendy (my host) said here the situation is actually better than in the rest of China, "The air here is not polluted at all compared", she said. Got me worried... If this is the less polluted I can't imagine Beijing....
The situation was very funny at the restaurant, she took a while to understand I didn't eat meat. When she did, told me that probably there was meat in every meal. I asked if she could talk to the waiter... Obvious for us, no? For them not so much. They do pretty much everything by apps/internet. The order was through an app. But she could just ask anyway no? I mean, there were waiters there... She did and pointed one specific meal without meat. So I ordered it and an ICE TEA. The waitress brought an iced water (whaaaaat) and for Wendy was just funny, she laughed. Ok, water is not bad, it'll have to do it. And then the meal arrived too.... IT HAD MEAT!!! My life here is going to be difficult, I thought. It was funny that waiters in that restaurant (at least) didn't do much but bringing the food. We had a drawer in the table with bowls, shop sticks, etc. Everything but napkins, like whaaat? You don't clean your mouths? Apparently they always cary tissues.
Next we went to the police station to register me. I went to the car alone to pick a photo of me and OF COURSE I couldn't find the way back (yes, I'm that stupid and my sense of orientation is bad as shit). So I kept asking on the street for the police station. NOBODY spoke english. On 10 minutes I found ONE! Once again, difficult han?
After that was settled we went home. They have dinner super early here (18-19h) and lunch at 12h. They have a lot of health food care. Water they drink it warm, doctors say ice water is bad for fertility!
Wendy prepared a lot of food, she was concerned with was could I eat, so sweet. They eat so differently- shop sticks for starters (but that I knew), they don't mix food- taking a bit of each and eating separately is the right thing to do. They don't have different courses. What's a soup? Nope, they eat everything in the same time.
My friends told me it was polite to burp after a meal and do noise while eating noodles. Misconceptions... It is actually not! Maybe in another part of China as there is a lot of regions here.
During the meal Wendy kept on putting things on the table- a robot she insisted I would try (didn't speak English, don't know how she thought I would use it), a bath cover for my hair and some anti-germs product to put when I wash my clothes. Ahah, she's definitely concerned on making me feel comfortable here. I can't even help here with anything. She doesn't let me!
After the dinner it was time to sleep for me, I couldn't much in the past days and I want to get used to their time zone. It was complicated to sleep this night tho. Because of the mosquitoes firstly. I'm so scared, applied more mosquitoe spray (3 times yesterday), lighted a thing to keep them away and tried to killed them!! Then because the mattress is very hard, doctors say it's better for your column. It's supposed to be true but damn, my back hurts. And finally because of the difference of hours AND one of the kids was sick and CRYING ALL NIGHT. Well, even so I manage to sleep so not so bad!