Hong Kong vs Britain

I think in general, when you move to a place so different from what you're used to you have to be open just to live your daily life. You're surrounded by new foods, customs, and people, and "new" is your whole life so you can't shut yourself off to it. 

In The Painted Veil, Kitty is not necessarily an "open" person and doesn't need to be when she moves to Hong Kong. Yes, she is in an entirely new place but there is a community full of people she's used to and customs she knows. A lot of the native people to Hong Kong that I've seen in the novel are of lower positions in this society the British people made for themselves overseas. I don't think Kitty has to be as open as we expect someone to be in that situation, especially since the men she is spending most of her time with are white.