Hong Kong's Welcome

你好!

Currently I'm sitting at the Hong Kong International Airport, patiently awaiting my flight on Dragonair to Hangzhou. The airport is really nice and is quite large and roomy- doesn't feel crowded or stuffy at all, which is something I'm not used to with LAX. The only downside is it seems the internet only works on one side of the airport, and the power outlets for my computer to charge are on the other side. So, I have limited time but wanted to put in a little entry!

The flight left LAX about 1:45 PST and got in early in Hong Kong around 7:00 AM, their time. It was a really nice flight too! The selection of entertainment from my little TV was simply amazing- I've never had so many TV choices, movie choices and music choices! I watched three movies, including Kung-Fu Panda which was actually really entertaining.

After a bit of TV watching, reading and sleeping I finally graced the shores of Hong Kong! It was really beautiful to see the perfectly serene, flat water lapping along coast. The mountains were a really nice greeting as well when I stepped out into the heavily windowed airport- the clouds lazily rolling over the misty mountains is truly inspiring! You'd never see an airport quite like this in America... so I'm appreciating it all the more.

I also converted 15 dollars to buy me an adaptor and some food, and I still have leftover change. I'm REALLY appreciating that- in an airport in America, 15 bucks would only pay for the food!

Oh, and here you'll see Duma, my stuffed Cheetah, peaking out of my backpack. He's sort of my traveling partner... going wherever I go to be my 'back up'. I don't care how old I get, I'll never get too old for him!!

Kalah

Kang Mei

One Step Out the Door...

I can't believe that in about a day, I'll be on a long plane trip to 中国 (zhongguo = China). It makes me extremely nervous and I keep running through my head all the things that MAKE me nervous and also incredibly excited. It's funny in some way, because I'm not nervous about living in China nor am I nervous about the culture shock or making new friends... the thing I'm already nervous about, is that darn language test! I've never been extremely confident with my language skills, but at least it gives me comfort to know that some people who know very little Chinese will be going. Worst case scenario is I learn, right? At least... that's what I keep telling myself!

For those of you who do not know, I will be living in the city of 杭州 (Hangzhou). I've done a little research on it (and I have to go back and reread it so I feel more knowledgable, thank you Wikipedia) and it seems to be an extremely interesting city. It's very close to Shanghai and is considered one of the more beautiful cities in China. It gets a lot of tourism as well due to the large lake that's found there. There's a lot of culture to be had there so I'll be off scampering about, learning new things and trying to absorb the overload of new stuff like a sponge!

The weather shouldn't be too bad either and from what I found, the weather is a lot like Minnesota and Los Angeles if you were to combine them. The temperatures in December range from 51 - 37, which is warmer than Minnesota and a lot more like Los Angeles. However, they get plenty of rain being on the otherside of the Pacific, so in that sense it's like Minnesota again! I'll out buying a raincoat, which will be new to me since I haven't had one since... well, ever. I won't be bringing a winter jacket though, being as 37 degrees really isn't that cold and if I need one, I'll go shopping! :D Wonderful excuse to save space traveling!

As for now though, I'll be shopping later today and tomorrow for some extra clothes and supplies. According to my guide, it is recommended for girls to wear skirts and dresses rather than pants and shorts- which will be interesting for me. I feel rather embarressed bringing my big bag to China (and trust me, it's a big one) but at the same time it really can't be helped. All my bags are either very small for three-five day excursions, or they're extremely large for 2 weeks or longer trips. I'll just bank on the idea that there will be at least one girl who packed as much as me!

Well, cheers for a good sending off! You can be sure that my last American meal on Saturday will be Pizza! :D 祝

好

安康美