First Day in Hong Kong

Alright, now that I am fully rested - I just took a two hour nap- I think I will be better able to explain the events of today's adventure. Late last night I met Sarah, who is from Monterey California and staying in the room next to mine, she is also on The Scholar Ship. This morning we had a wonderful breakfast together consisting of eggs, sausage, hash browns etc. I think they prepared it specifically for us because it looked nothing like what everyone else was eating. Anyway, after brief directions from the front desk we ventured out of the day. First on to the 88G bus at the Tsing Yi stop, we got off at Kwai Fong where the bus driver was delighted to help us to the metro station. Purchasing tickets proved to be more difficult than expected, somehow living in Chicago for two and half years has gotten me no where with common sense. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how to put the ticket into the machine that allowed us to walk through the turnstile. Finally, after making fools of ourselves and rubbing our tickets in every imaginable place a nice woman pointed out how to insert them properly. While on the train to downtown Hong Kong I noticed that I, standing roughly 5'6" tall, was nearly the tallest person on the train.
Sarah and I wandered around the city trying to make our way to Times Square but somehow we kept going in circles - we like to think of it as being so consumed by the culture that we allowed ourselves to be sidetracked. Whichever way you want to look at it we definitely got a good does of Hong Kong. We wandered streets and walked through shopping centers. We got back to the hotel around 4 just in time for a much needed nap and are now awaiting contact from Sarah's friends, who have been living here for a couple of months.
I'll write more when there is more to tell. Sorry no pictures yet. I forgot the cord that connects my camera to the computer. I'll figure that out soon.
Love you all!!

The Flight

To awake in a small white room roughly the size of my bathroom, in a foreign city, such as Hong Kong, is not my typical morning greeting to say the least. Yesterday's travel day was long, but not nearly what I expected. Having arrived at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport around 9:30am I tearfully said goodbye to Matt and dragged my luggage to check-in. I got to my gate and waited... and waited... and waited. The 12:16 pm departure was pushed back later and later, which gave my nerves more time to reek havoc on my mind and emotions. However, in that time I met two people who are also on the Scholar Ship. We finally boarded only to sit on the plane until 2:30 pm. Luckily I was able to get a window seat as well as an open seat between myself and Dan (one of the students on my program). To my surprise the 16 hour flight flew by. Having drugged myself I was able to sleep for the majority of the flight only waking for meals and the occasional bad movie.