Week 1 - Summary

First, my apologies to those who have been anxiously waiting and waiting for updates on this blog (Hi, Mom!) It's been nearly a week since my last post, but these past few days have been so busy - a non-stop stream of activities, sightseeing, and socializing - that I've hardly had the chance to spend much time to myself.

I will attempt to summarize each day's activities since the last post:

Wednesday, 1/6 - Arrived at HKG on schedule. The logistics were a breeze. I was impressed how uneventfully I transported myself and my luggage to an opposite corner of the world. It made me feel smug. But in hindsight, I was definitely exhausted this first day, despite efforts to nap throughout the flight.

Sleep-deprived and completely lost in my new environment, I managed to do the following:

• Check-in to I-House 1 (Floor 9)
• Check-in to IASP @ OAL
• Meet a bunch of cool people who were hanging around in the OAL
• Go on a campus tour that left from the OAL
• Open a Hang Seng bank account
• Buy water, bananas, and toilet paper at the campus "supermarket"
• Procure an Octopus card
• Eat a chicken sandwich at a popular fast food chain inside the New World Center
• Visit Tsim Sha Tsui and Avenue of the Stars

T Minus A Few Hours

Normally, I like writing blogs or journal entries or reflective essays - whatever - in a slow and contemplative manner, huddled up in my bed late at night, with nothing else to do but to quietly reflect on a day's activities. It's a nice experience - just me alone typing away at a keyboard trying to find meaning and substance in what could otherwise be an ordinary and forgettable day. Sadly, these moments are far and few between; there's rarely ever the time to sit down, write, and well, think.

Take now, for instance: I've only three hours left before I leave for LAX, and I've still got a crapload of things left to do - print my check-in confirmation, buy notebooks and other school supplies for class, gather together important documents, and so on. When I'm actually in Hong Kong, things will likely be even more hectic and busy. My goal for this blog, then, is to find time within each day (or I suppose more realistically, each week) to capture fleeting moments of inspiration and reflection.

Right now, it's only dawned on me that I'll be entering a world completely different to what I'm used to in just a matter of hours. Wow. I have a number of goals for this semester abroad, but the biggest one on my mind right now is to just grow - academically, personally, inter-personally, however you want to call it. Come to think of it, I've actually never properly been in a new environment all by myself. This should be amazing. - MS