Arrival in Hong kong

Well, I made it to Hong Kong. As some of you may know, I tried leaving last Friday, but there wasn’t room on the plane. And since I was flying standby I was unable to get a seat. So I spent that weekend in Seattle. It was good to rest and on Sunday I drove up to see my grandparents one last time before I took off, which was really nice. Monday was my birthday and my mom took me out to breakfast and that afternoon I tried to fly out again and whoopee! I made it on the flight. I had it pretty good, there were no seats in front of me, so I was able to stretch out my legs and we all had personal TVs and the flight attendants somehow knew it was my birthday so gave me a special piece of cake.
I landed in Tokyo and made the flight out to Hong Kong right away. So that was great. It was late when I arrived in Hong Kong, and I had no way of contacting anyone so I spent the night at the airport (was lucky to get 3 hours of sleep) and the following morning made my way to the School location lugging my 3 huge bags in and out of trains. Impressive I know! Luckily I knew the way to the school once I was close enough to catch a taxi. And I got there in time to take a shower say hi to all my friends and join in for the first session of class that day.
There are seven students in my school and four staff. This last week we just spent sharing our stories and where we are all coming from and some of our plans for the future. I’m really excited for the actual teachings to start which will begin on Monday. Next week’s topic is history and basis for M work. One thing that is a little overwhelming is our homework. During this school we have to read three books, and then create book reports for each one. We have a weekly journal, a weekly workbook (which takes hours to get through) and we have overall projects on an ethnic group in China. It’s good, because all of the HW is to help us learn as much as we can in a few months. But wow! Maybe next week I will feel a little more on top of it (considering I was a few days late to start the school, so I hit the ground running).
I love being back in Asia. Hong Kong is really nice. The only thing I’m not a fan of is the heat. The average temperature everyday is high 80’s, low 90’s. Plus humidity. Then because we are so close to water sources, there are lots of mosquitoes. I’ve already began a nice collection of bites. But I love the culture. Walking in the village with all the village dogs moping around and napping in the heat of the day. Walking at night and seeing the water buffalo. Then there is town which can either be exciting or frustrating. With throngs of people in the street, guarding your belongings against pick-pockets, making your way in and out of shops, bargaining when you see something you want or need. Then there is all the colorful money, the delicious street food (last night I just tried waffle peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk and sugar…so good), and more. Hopefully this gives you an idea of my life right now. I’ll try to continue to update.