First Impressions

So after a 13 hour flight to Narita, followed by another 4 hour flight to Hong Kong (in which I got sick and threw up on the plane), I finally arrived in Hong Kong. Good riddance, I say. 6 weeks of doing little to nothing does take its toll on oneself. I hope I remember how to function once school starts on Monday.

Here are some impressions I have on this city and on The Hong Kong University of Science and technology (HKUST)...in no particular order

1. It is extremely cheap to live here. My dorm for this semester cost the equivalent of about $750. That is about the same price as my collegetown apartment for a month! Granted, it is a double room with a skinnier version of a twin bed but still, it shows how outrageous collegetown living is.
   
2. It is pretty extremely cheap to eat here. Lunch today of a sandwich and tea cost about 3 dollars. A whole bowl of noodle soup with dumplings was 3 dollars as well.
3. This university is like a resort/little city. There is a supermarket on campus, 3 different banks, a souvenir shop, post office, 4 or 5 different eating options (I haven't explored them all yet), a campus bar, a mini office store, an indoor and outdoor pool, and a beach!
4. I have to take 5 different elevators to get to class. 5!!!!! Maybe Cornell should devise a system of escalators and elevators too...
5. Hong Kong is much more diverse than I thought it would be. Having gone to China where I was stared at walking down the street, I was expecting my red hair to do something similar here. But not so much. Dinner in central tonight, there were almost more non-asians than asians at the various bars and pubs. However, English is not as widespread as I thought it would be.
   
6. They have this thing called an Octopus card which is like a CTA train card, but can be used to pay for all sorts of things around the city. It's like a universal Hong Kong gift card! In the day I've had mine, I've used it for the transportation (a train, bus and ferry), printing in the library, and buying a pastry.
   
7. speaking of trains...the system here is very clean and easy to use. There re no dividors between the cars so you can stand at on end of the car and look down all the way to the other end. Kind of mind boggling when the train is moving!
8. The weather is magnificant! The few days I have been here have been 65 and sunny. It won't get much warmer than 80 until May when it will get humid with occasional rain, and perhaps a typhoon. The ironic thing is,60-65 is freezing for hong kongers, so everybody is out in their heavy jackets and boots, but they still have the air conditioning on in taxis and buildings.
   

Overall, I'm just really excited to explore and get acquainted with this area. My roomate has told me that she and her friends are planning to visit China, Vietnam and Thailand and invited me to tag a long. When else will I get to experience South East asia in such a carefree way!

Pictures to come...when I'm not so tired.