I made it. After a 13 hour flight, which amazingly I slept through about half of, plus a stressful 2 hours at the airport, then at my hotel (which won’t let me check in because its too early), here I am in Hong Kong. I guess my adventure really starts here, not in 2 days when I get on another plane and head over to Beijing. It’s only been a few hours, and already I remember certain aspects of Chinese culture I do not miss. I almost got run over by a baggage carrying cart here, by a airport escort, too eager to assist foreign looking visitors, which unfortunately did not include me. I was redirected 3 times at the airport, to a different counter each time in order to find a bus to get to my hotel. People!! Don't sound so confident when you tell me where to go, if you don't know yourself! You can simply tell me you don’t know; something to do with ‘saving face,’ perhaps.
The air here is so thick, and the moment I stepped off the airplane, onto the runway, I realized, I seem to only have remembered the good parts about Asia. Which is strange, because I remember telling people why I was happy to return to America 1.5 years ago. But maybe it was the excitement, the itching for adventure, traveling again, being able to come back, that drowned out the fact that I dislike the densely populated… everywhere, the humidity, and other aspects that now as I’m back I’m beginning to recall.
Internet is also impossible to get here (hence the scatteredness of this blog – 5 minutes here, 8 minutes there…). I’m sitting at Starbucks for the second day to take advantage of their 20-minute free wireless. I can’t wait to be at school in Beijing, where there’ll be internet access, I think. Hopefully the Great Firewall of China will allow me to keep writing. Until then though, much love, from Hong Kong. Beijing, Here I come.
