Tomorrow will be my second to last day, on my last program for this job I have had in Asia. I have been killing myself this past month with all sorts of anxiety, but other than that it has been great. I realized the other day that although the job was not what I thought it was going to be, so many good things have happened since I've been out here. And I think my personal skill set has benefitted, for both my work and play lives. Unfortuantely, my work skill set has not benefitted from the job I am working, but from the people who lend themselves to workin there. That part has been really nice.
I have taken pretty good advantage of my free time lately... getting out and hiking, as well as going climbing with some really rad people. My last venture I went out with my roommmate Emma and our co-worker/friend Megan (who works as a ski patroler in SLC, coincidentally) and I was able to get myself up an arrete climb called Blade Runner... which I think was only a 5.9... but it was probably the hardest thing I had to voluntarily do in a long time. Among being one of the harder ratings I've ever climbed, it was also a really high one. It was a 2 pitch that *could* be done in one, if someone belayed from the top. When I got up there, I couldn't even enjoy the view. But now that the airlines screwed up my thailand flight and I have another two days here... I'm hoping maybe to make it back and try again. :)
I also got truly swallowed by a wave while belaying on an island called Tung Lung, but that is a story I would like to save for late nights where there are beers and campfires and hopefully s'mores involved. If theres' one thing they just DON'T know how to do in Hong Kong, it's definitely S'mores. Chalk one up for America!
We are having a big end of season party on Thursday here, and then most of us will be disbanding and heading to all the different places one could head to from the Hong Kong hub. I was supposed to leave for Bangkok on Saturday, but Air Asia screwed me up and never processed my credit card. Which is really bogus b/c an old Hasher friend of mine and her new husband are randomly IN Bangkok on Saturday, and now I don' t even leave Hong Kong until Monday night. B-O-O, H-O-O. Hopefully, though I will get to see them that night, and possibly the next day depending on when their flight leaves on the 2nd.
Beyond that, I'm hoping to leave for Cambodia soon after I arrive in thailand, mainly to see Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. I am REALLY excired for travel, but a little nervous that there will be sooooooo many people that I will just feel incredibly overwhelmed. Either way, plans are to meet up with my rommates in Krabbi to check out the sweet crags and climb our little hearts out. I am especially psyched about this, because I figure by day 3 I will no longer have to remind myself to breathe, and I can actually get some enjoyment out of it DURING the actual climbing!!
I spent 500 bucks on tickets last night, and I'm wondering when I will remember that I am actually POOR. I am heading to Salt Lake in January to volunteer for the Sundance Festival. Old friends have already GRACIOUSLY accepted me into their homes, new friends will most likely be traveling over from the West, and there will tons of BRAND SPANKIN NEW friends to meet during the festival........ which is always a good time... but a better one now that I can enjoy the parties b/c I'm not workina day job :) FUN!
Ooh, AND plans are pretty much set for Guatemala coming in February. So if anyone wants any part of that... the more the merrier! :) I believe myself and my good friend Audrey will be attending Spanish School somewhere in that little country... we haven't yet decided. And I plan to go til I'm good enough to keep it up on my own (i.e., read Harry Potter in Spanish) or til the money runs out. (Or til I can salsa the socks off the locals... and kay-bear.) Oh, and anyone who knows Patio should tell him to come too.
Tomorrow starts the firsts of lasts for me on this journey. I'm sad to be leaving the people I've met here, but really excited to be heading again into unknown territory.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Best Day EVER
This is going to be short, but I am so EXCITED that I have to leave a post. There is NOTHING like having THE BEST DAY EVER! So not only did Obama win today (OH MY FLIPPIN GAWD) but I also did my first lead climb today... on like a 5.7 or something... and climbed higher than I have ever been... AND found the Cambodia guide book I've been looking for for only 5 USD. I mean COME ON. I feel as though the Universe has scooped me up and is rocking me in her arms. It is glorious. I had to say goodbye to a good pal recently and that made me kind of sad. So it was really nice to have a frickin BRILLIANT day... where I write about it in BIG LETTERS because it feels SO GOOD!
It's so rare that the macrocosm and the microcosm fall into place on the same day. But wow. ME = Happy Happy Smiley Girl. And that's all I can say. :)
Oh and HUGE HUGE THANK YOU to my co-worker Geordie who is incredibly patient and wonderful and a GREAT coach and awesome book finder. YAY GEORDIE!
It's so rare that the macrocosm and the microcosm fall into place on the same day. But wow. ME = Happy Happy Smiley Girl. And that's all I can say. :)
Oh and HUGE HUGE THANK YOU to my co-worker Geordie who is incredibly patient and wonderful and a GREAT coach and awesome book finder. YAY GEORDIE!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Listening to Mother
I had originally planned to get up and head out this morning, being as most of my coworkers are actually working. But I opened my window to a crazy chorus of raindrops on the awning outside. As dark skies and wet clothes don't really appeal to me, I thought maybe Mother Nature was trying to me (and the rest of Hong Kong) that today should be more of a still day. So here I am, sitting inside, watching kids run up and down the street outside my balcony, listening to Ani sing to me about Independence Day, and finally focusing on what I am going to do with the next few months of my life.
My roommates are traveling to Thailand when we are finished with this job, and they have been talking about it for the past couple weeks. Originally I thought I was going to jump on that bandwagon with them, but then I came to the conclusion that the Unvierse had other plans for me. I have been thinking about Cambodia since I got here -- being that my cousin just went there, and I used to have a roommate a long time ago who used to talk about it. In mentioning this to a teacher who was working with one of my groups, he began telling me about a place called Siem Reap, which he believed I would really enjoy. But because I am spending a bit more money than I thought I was gong to here, I have really sketched myself out about doing any traveling. However, I went to a boostore yesterday and sat down with a Lonely Planet book for about an hour. (Note: This is a TERRIBLE idea if what you want is to be pracitcal and listen to your empty wallet.) And as you can imagine, by the end of that hour.... well, I was more than hooked. So it looks like I will be snagging a round-trip ticket from Hong Kong to Bangkok for about 250 usd, and then a one way from bangkok to phnom penh for about 85 usd. I can travel overland from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, spend some time there and then cross the border into Thailand by slow train or bus. From there I hope to meet up with my housemate... but that will be hard without a phone or anything. Either way we will have the same plane back to hong kong, so at least I'll have bookends of friends. And seeing as how I'm not leaving Hong Kong for my job, this is the next best thing I have to look forward to! And it's looking awwwwfully sweet.
Beyond that I'm trying to get my act together to be able to do some trips here inside Hong Kong. As I mentioned, I wanted to get up and out this morning, to go and hike a little tiny mountain called Stenhouse, which is the tallest on the island that I live on. However, the rain kind of thwarted me there, and so I'll have to do that another time. THe other two hikes I want to do are on islands seperate from mine. One is part of the Lantau Trail, which would consist of two peaks and a big buddha at the end, which looks li
ke this. It's probably the biggest religious statue I have ever seen. And that should be sweet.
And the other hike I want to do is called Sharp Peak... which is very aptly named. Some of the people I work with were telling me that i can hike that peak and then connect it with one of the trails out here called teh MacLehose trail. It's weird... but because of the landslides and rain out here, many of the "backcountry" trails are paved. I was told that this one is better than most, but that I will still probably be very surprised to find how much of it is concrete. So my task for today is to play around on the computer for a while and do some planning... which has been absent from my life for the last month or so.
And last but not least, I have to attend to Audrey and Guatemala. If I can wrangle the money to do it, I'd like to head out to SLC for Sundance, and then head from there to Guatemala for Spanish School for a couple of months before heading back to THE BAY AREA which is my most favorite spot so far in all of the great nation I was born in.
Oh and DON'T FORGET TO FREAKIN VOTE!!! I am SO SO bummed I will not be in the States for this party. I will be watching Michael Moore's SLACKER UPRISING tonight to prepare for tomorrow. You can download it here: http://slackeruprising.com/ and it's free to watch if you are from Canada or the U.S. Let's FINALLY kick some REPUBLICAN TRUNK!!
And for kicks, here's a picture of my most favorite thing so far in Hong Kong:
My roommates are traveling to Thailand when we are finished with this job, and they have been talking about it for the past couple weeks. Originally I thought I was going to jump on that bandwagon with them, but then I came to the conclusion that the Unvierse had other plans for me. I have been thinking about Cambodia since I got here -- being that my cousin just went there, and I used to have a roommate a long time ago who used to talk about it. In mentioning this to a teacher who was working with one of my groups, he began telling me about a place called Siem Reap, which he believed I would really enjoy. But because I am spending a bit more money than I thought I was gong to here, I have really sketched myself out about doing any traveling. However, I went to a boostore yesterday and sat down with a Lonely Planet book for about an hour. (Note: This is a TERRIBLE idea if what you want is to be pracitcal and listen to your empty wallet.) And as you can imagine, by the end of that hour.... well, I was more than hooked. So it looks like I will be snagging a round-trip ticket from Hong Kong to Bangkok for about 250 usd, and then a one way from bangkok to phnom penh for about 85 usd. I can travel overland from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, spend some time there and then cross the border into Thailand by slow train or bus. From there I hope to meet up with my housemate... but that will be hard without a phone or anything. Either way we will have the same plane back to hong kong, so at least I'll have bookends of friends. And seeing as how I'm not leaving Hong Kong for my job, this is the next best thing I have to look forward to! And it's looking awwwwfully sweet.
Beyond that I'm trying to get my act together to be able to do some trips here inside Hong Kong. As I mentioned, I wanted to get up and out this morning, to go and hike a little tiny mountain called Stenhouse, which is the tallest on the island that I live on. However, the rain kind of thwarted me there, and so I'll have to do that another time. THe other two hikes I want to do are on islands seperate from mine. One is part of the Lantau Trail, which would consist of two peaks and a big buddha at the end, which looks li
ke this. It's probably the biggest religious statue I have ever seen. And that should be sweet.
And the other hike I want to do is called Sharp Peak... which is very aptly named. Some of the people I work with were telling me that i can hike that peak and then connect it with one of the trails out here called teh MacLehose trail. It's weird... but because of the landslides and rain out here, many of the "backcountry" trails are paved. I was told that this one is better than most, but that I will still probably be very surprised to find how much of it is concrete. So my task for today is to play around on the computer for a while and do some planning... which has been absent from my life for the last month or so.
And last but not least, I have to attend to Audrey and Guatemala. If I can wrangle the money to do it, I'd like to head out to SLC for Sundance, and then head from there to Guatemala for Spanish School for a couple of months before heading back to THE BAY AREA which is my most favorite spot so far in all of the great nation I was born in.
Oh and DON'T FORGET TO FREAKIN VOTE!!! I am SO SO bummed I will not be in the States for this party. I will be watching Michael Moore's SLACKER UPRISING tonight to prepare for tomorrow. You can download it here: http://slackeruprising.com/ and it's free to watch if you are from Canada or the U.S. Let's FINALLY kick some REPUBLICAN TRUNK!!
And for kicks, here's a picture of my most favorite thing so far in Hong Kong:
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