Scenic Hong Kong

We just landed from LAX in the Hong Kong airport and now we're waiting for our connecting flight to Shanghai. The title of this post is a bit sarcastic, as all we're doing is looking out the airport windows at Hong Kong, but I'm also completely serious: the backdrop to the airport is stunning, with rolling mountains and the bay.

I think I arrived at the Denver airport about 23 hours ago, but the time on the plane and traveling doesn't feel as bad as it sounds. The flight was *almost* enjoyable (I think saying that a 14 hour flight was enjoyable is a bit looney) and Cathay Pacific was really nice. My ankle swelled up a lot -- I had to loosen the boot once we got on to relieve some of the pressure, and bothered the person sitting next to me to get to the aisle and walk around every so often. But that was probably the worst part, which is not bad at all.

There were an abnormal amount of little kids (Asian, mostly) on the flight. Normally when I travel with friends or a group of students, the general sentiment is something like "hey little kids, shut up, I want to sleep" but this past flight was completely different because the group I'm traveling with is going to TEACH students. Almost everyone liked the kids running around and would smile and play games like peek-a-boo with them. There is something really refreshing to see a white, American college male breaking all sorts of stereotypes and giggling with a bunch of 6-year-old girls.

That's probably a good indication of why I feel good about the trip right now. Or maybe it's because I'm on little sleep and have no idea what time or day it is?

Being in Hong Kong is really exciting. We're just sitting in the airport, but I'm already trying to suck as much of it in as I can.

There isn't too much to say about Boulder that wouldn't bore most of you. I had an absolutely phenomenal time, and it passed much too quickly. At this point it feels like much longer ago than it actually was, but it basically consisted of cramming everything that Angie, my best friend at Cornell, has done in her hometown over only a few days. Along the way, I met friends, family, and visited all the kickin' high school hang out spots. I can't upload pictures at the moment because we're in the airport and my cord is in my luggage getting loaded onto the Shanghai plane, but I will at a later date, hopefully.

Speaking of a later date, crossing the international date line is pretty trippy.

I hope this post makes sense. I don't feel that jet-lagged, but you never know...

Oh, and one more thing. The LAX Bradley International Terminal had a bomb threat about 12 hours after we passed through. We just heard it on the news in the airport. Weird.

Bottom line: I'm in China!