I first met Zoe Kalbag at a friend’s birthday party, where she introduced herself to me and mentioned she had just moved to Piedmont. I asked her where she had moved from, expecting an answer like Berkeley or Walnut Creek. I was hopelessly far off. Kalbag, now a junior, had spent the past three years living in Hong Kong.

Wanting to hear more about living abroad, I meet her during lunch for an interview. We migrate a few steps down the amphitheater, away from a contingent of friends. Kalbag nibbles her pizza, talking intently while I scribble frantically. Kalbag chooses her words carefully, answering thoughtfully and reflecting the maturity her friends attribute to her.

She tells me that she was born in San Francisco but moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in second grade for her dad’s job. When Kalbag was in sixth grade, her dad’s job at Wells Fargo took the family to Hong Kong for three years.  Initially, Zoe was reluctant to leave her friends behind.

“My basic perception was moving to China, like The Karate Kid,” Kalbag said. “I didn’t comprehend that people would speak English, and I didn’t realize that I would still get to eat my favorite foods.”

Hong Kong, which has been a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China since Britain returned it to Chinese control in 1997, is known for its diversity and filled with expats and their families. Kalbag attended the Canadian International School, where about 70 percent of her classmates were Chinese students who spoke English in school and Cantonese at home. The other 30 percent were living abroad like Kalbag. There were 25 other new kids in her class, many of whom came from England or Australia, so Kalbag did not feel alone. Kalbag learned Mandarin in school, but her other classes were taught in English.

“It’s like living anywhere different,” Kalbag said. “When you’re brought out of a community, you meet new people, and you learn new things.”

Hong Kong was very exciting, but it quickly became part of Kalbag’s normal life, influencing her lifestyle but not completely changing it.

“But also, I know it was hard adjusting to all the new places,” said junior Olive Werby, one of Kalbag’s close friends here in Piedmont.

One cultural adjustment was the idea of helpers. Unlike the United States, most families in Hong Kong employ helpers, usually Indian or Filipina women who help cook, clean, and take care of children.

“My first reactions was, ‘I don’t want a servant. That makes me uncomfortable.’” Kalbag said.

However, Kalbag adjusted to the idea and their helper truly became part of the family.

“When I try to explain it, people here just don’t get it,” Kalbag said. “But it was really nice, and it worked out really well for us.”

Another unique aspect of life in Hong Kong was the opportunity to travel, one of Kalbag’s favorite features.

Her school had “Experience Week,” where each student signed up for one of 23 possible trips. In ninth grade, Kalbag and 25 of her classmates went to a national park in Phuket, Thailand, where they learned about how to survive in the wild.

“They had literally built a dock with houses on it, and that was where we stayed,” Kalbag said.

Another memorable trip was Cambodia, where Kalbag’s mother undertook anti-human trafficking work.

“[My family and I] went to this store and restaurant that had been set up to help women and girls who are trying to leave the sex trafficking industry,” Kalbag said. “They were learning to turn their lives around by learning sewing and other useful skills.”

Kalbag found the experience very enlightening.

“As a kid, you learn a lot but rarely get to see or experience certain things outside of your normal lifestyle,” she said. “Seeing this organization gave me perspective on larger global issues like trafficking and the impact it has on people around the world who are my age.”

Werby agrees that living in Hong Kong and traveling abroad have made Kalbag cultured and worldly.

“We would just walk around the streets of Hong Kong, or explore other nearby islands” Kalbag said. “There were many street markets, a really cool jade market, and I sometimes went to Chinese temples with my family on the holidays.”

Kalbag relished the freedom she had in Hong Kong. It’s considered one of the safest cities in the world, with transportation so efficient that Kalbag and her friends were allowed to go anywhere in the city even at age 11.

By comparison, life in Piedmont can feel confining, but Kalbag acknowledges that there are upsides to a more suburban lifestyle as well. She enjoys having a yard, and walking her dog, Freddy.

“In Hong Kong, you don’t really get much outside time,” Kalbag said. “You wouldn’t be outside eating lunch like we are now, because of the air quality and the density of the city.”

However, Kalbag did play soccer when she lived in Hong Kong, and she played soccer here in Piedmont as a sophomore before trying tennis.

Another continuity in Kalbag’s life since moving from Hong Kong has been her relationship with her family.

“We still have family dinners, and we are still very close,” Kalbag said. “My family is the same, and I don’t feel like I’ve changed that much. I’m still me.”