Hong Kong, July 14

I arrived in Hong Kong yesterday from Japan without a hitch. Serendipitiously, the airline I took, Cathay Pacific, was celebrating their 60th anniversay, and served us a multi course, traditional Hong-Kong meal, which was a great chance to try things that I most definitely would never order. Such as, jellyfish and chicken salad. I only ate the jellyfish :) It certainly does NOT taste like chicken!
I got out of customs around 1PM, and wasn't sure whether I should try to brave the subway/bus system (Hong Kong University is located somewhat outside the main city), or just wait until 4 when there was a shuttle provided by Crimson Summer Exchange (CSE; the program I'm here with). I sat down to weigh my options for a minute, and within seconds was curled up in a little ball, fast asleep, snuggled up against my backpack. What seemed like a split second later, I wake up, only to realize that it's about 10 until 4, so if I don't get moving asap, I'm going to miss that shuttle!!
It's always amazing what a small world it can be. One of the other CSE "scholars" here is a girl who knew one of my freshman roommates from summer camp, and had stayed with us on her prefrosh weekend. She also did gymnastics with one of my senior year roommates as a kid, and went to school with all the people I've been corresponding with in Beijing. Craziness. Everyone here seems really interesting; there are a lot of international students--I think we have India, England, Costa Rica, Brazil, and the US represented, at least--and pretty much everyone has either been traveling around before coming here, or is planning to at the end of the trip, so has a lot of interesting stories!
Hong Kong is another amazing city. Nestled in these super green mountains and right on the water, and home to so many amazing buildings, it's really a sight to behold. HKU is a bit higher than the central area, and from my dorm room on the 12th floor I have a view of the harbor and some of the downtown area!
We were going to try to climb Victoria peak yesterday, but the weather looked pretty menacing, so we headed downtown. Evidently there is a summer festival going on here (to celebrate some sort of anniversary) and one of the special events is a nightly light show. So basically, you sit on the avenue of stars, which is a esplanade right on the water, listen to techno meets Star Wars a la 80s style music, and watch different skyscrapers light up in rhythm with the song's beat. It was incredible as is, but to top it off, there was a crazy lightning storm (and a wonderful warm rain) going on at the same time! In retrospect, sitting on the metal railing by the water may have been a poor choice. . . . .
We then explored the Mon Kong (sp) area. Soooooo much shopping! So hard to resist! I keep trying to tell myself that things will be cheaper in China, but all these knock-offs are just so affordable (particularly since the rest of the city is relatively expensive). I bought a change purse, and that's it. It's nice that we begin and end here, because that way I don't feel like this is my only chance to get things here.
I think I found a soulmate, at least on a culinary level. One of the girls and I set out for food, and both saw a bakery at the same time, and gave each other this knowing look. "Let them eat cake" seemed a fitting ending to the day. We sat down on the entrance to a closed store, and split a slice of chocolate and a slice of mango (I'm telling you, we are totally in synch!), both of which were fantastic. My next adventure may be trying random fruits, nuts, and vegetables (I think I'll pass on the dried sardines!) that they have out in front of many of the stores, though it's a bit daunting when I have to choose from "Chinese dried mango", " Philliphine dried mango", "Luzan dried mango", "dried mango", and "preserved mango". The tyranny of choice really kills me!
The only evidence I see that I've gone from Eastern Standard time to EST+13 and now EST+12 is that I have been waking up absurdly early (and not compensating by moving up my bedtime!). Today I woke up around 5:30 and tried to go back to sleep with no avail. I was hoping that I'd be rewarded by a gorgeous sunrise, but I'm starting to think that perhaps sunrises are not a concept in urban areas of China (lots of smog). On that note, I may head out for a short run now. I know that in Beijing and Shanghai, it's not going to be an option, so I'm going to try and get one in while I can!