exploring
OUTLOOK
Grant Huyghe immersed himself in a new world of protests and overseas internships in Hong Kong.
raving an enriching experience, Grant Huyghe ‘20 took a leap across the Pacific Ocean last summer, immersing himself in the unfamiliar world of Hong Kong. Once he became an intern at Mayer Brown, an international law firm, everything about his daily routine changed. His morning commute on Hong Kong’s MTR train displayed Hong Kong’s organization, cleanliness and quietness. The locals remained silent, either reading a book, napping or listening to music. At first the s i l e n c e was uncomfortable, but eventually Huyghe appreciated his quiet train rides as he adapted to his new environment. From third to fifth grade, Huyghe lived in Hong Kong where his father worked in construction. After classes finished at his French international school, he hiked up mountains with friends and took taxis without his parents. When he returned to Hong Kong, he did it all over again. “It was kind of like reliving my childhood freedom, being able to go wherever I wanted on the buses and the trains and the taxis whenever I felt like it,” Huyghe said. “I think the freedom was mostly the same.” Standing on top of mountain peaks, he viewed the entire city and wandered down to the harbor to see light shows at night. He visited 18
by elizabeth yu
open air markets. Unlike indoor grocery stores, massive fish tanks filled open air markets. Customers chose which fish they wanted, and stall keepers killed and prepared the fish to ensure it was fresh. “I tried to find areas that I thought were interesting, and I would go whenever I wasn’t at my internship,” Huyghe said. Although he enjoyed exploring the city, Huyghe realized this time around that there was more to the Hong Kong of his childhood. As a child, he stayed on Hong Kong Island, a nice, upscale area. He never saw the mainland until last summer. “It’s all buildings jammed together,” Huyghe said. “I had never seen that before because when I was younger, I didn’t care or pay attention. I was just living my childhood and having fun all the time.” When Huyghe returned to Hong Kong this time, he looked at colleges and explored possible career options. He wanted to learn how to be independent. Huyghe had searched for an internship that would provide opportunities to push him out of his comfort zone, and that is exactly what he got. Instead of shuffling through papers in an office on his first day, he took a forty-five minute train ride to the court house. “I got to sit through a proceeding where they were arguing about the safety of one of the MTR stations,” Huyghe said. “It was pretty fun but also very hectic for my first day at an internship.” Wearing a translator headset, Huyghe sat in the courtroom for over five hours, listening to lawyers switch between English, Cantonese and Mandarin as they spoke to construction workers.
