It's been a real whirlwind adventure thus far. On the flight to Hong Kong, I went through Houston and Newark. Here's a picture as I'm leaving Baton Rouge.
And a picture coming into Houston.
And a picture in the Newark Airport.
There was a 6 hour delay in Newark, so my flight came into Hong Kong at about 2:00 am Hong Kong time. This was too late for the Airport Express, so the Airline set us up with shuttles. Here is a picture from the shuttle.
Unfortunately, when the shuttle dropped me off, I had no idea where I was. I hopped into a taxi, but the taxi driver did not know where my place was. I had a map and all, but the building is on campus and set back a little. After a little ordeal, we finally found it and I got settled in.
I woke up early in the morning and wandered around the neighborhood. I found this nice little park-like thing that is essentially a walking track for the elderly. It's the Hong Kong equivalent of mall walking. Here's a picture from the top of some stairs.
My first full day was crazy. I had an appointment for my HK ID at 9:30am. I showed up at about 8:45 and they went ahead and took me. The whole process took about 20 minutes and most of that was the officer rewriting my application because of my bad handwriting. HKID... Check
I had two more tasks to do. I was scheduled to go to Beijing for a conference Thursday, so I needed a China visa. I first I needed to get some cash to pay for the visa. I had some HK dollars, but not quite enough for that, so off to the bank. My plan was to open an account with a cashier's check from closing one of our accounts at our bank in Baton Rouge. I show up at the bank only to find out that they only take international checks of customers who have had a "relationship" with them for more than 6 months. So I give them all the cash I have in order to open the account. The cash would not be accessible until the next day. There goes the cash for my visa. So I call up Elizabeth and talk to her for ideas. Not only do I need money for the visa, but since they won't take my cashier's check, I need money to live on. Wiring the cash directly to the bank will take a few days, so Elizabeth suggests sending the cash via Western Union.
She starts to go through the process and finds out that she can only send a certain amount. It's enough for the visa, but not quite enough to live on until pay day. She goes ahead and sends it and also sets up a bank-to-bank wire transfer for the next day. She gives me the info to the 'Money Exchange' where I can pick up the Western Union money. Off to Western Union...
I take the train (MTR) to Mong Kok and I wonder around trying to find the 'Money Exchange'. It's about 2:00 and I need to get to the travel agent by 3:00. Ah ha, I find the 'Money Exchange', but they don't do Western Union transfers. CRAP! I find an ATM and decide to swallow the really bad exchange rate my US bank gives and I take out just enough to get my visa. Off to the travel agent...
I show up at the travel agent with about 20 minutes to spare. She then tells me I have to pay for my San Francisco trip also. 'Do you take American Express?' Yes. Turns out I didn't need cash for the visa after all. Back to my place to get ready for my first day at work...
I started to go through the personnel forms I needed to fill out. If I don't have everything in line, I can't officially start and the university won't pay for my trip to Beijing. Wait, my wife need to sign these too. CRAP! Well, maybe I can fax these in and it will be OK. While I'm pulling my official documents together, I realize that I need my passport and I had given it to the travel agent for my visa. I call my travel agent and ask her if I can get my passport back. She says 'Copy is OK' and tells me I can come by in the morning to pick it up. They open at 9:00 and my meeting with HR is not until 9:30. I should barely have enough time to make it.
That evening, as I am looking for some dinner, I realize that there are many 'Money Exchange' places. I recalled that Elizabeth said the store hours were 8:00-7:00, so I thought I had a plan. First I would stop by the Western Union to pick up the cash, then drop by the Travel Agent to pick up my passport, and then it's off to meet with HR and start working.
I pull up Google maps and use street view to find exactly where I need to go. It turns out the Western Union was just around the corner from where I was earlier. I get up nice and early and head off to the Western Union again. This time I find it, but they don't open until 9:00. There's no way to get my money now, I'll have to come back later. Off to the travel agent. I show up and she gives me a copy of my passport. Apparently when she said 'Copy is OK' she was asking me if a copy would be OK, not telling me that all she needed was a copy. Triple CRAP!
I head out to my meeting with HR, ready to tell my sad story. It turns out that since Elizabeth is not accepting any of the fringe benefits of the university, she did not need to sign the personnel forms. Also, I can bring my passport later. All they need to check was when my employment visa was valid for. Finally, I get to go to work. Here's a picture of my door.
That evening I run by Western Union just before they close and get my money. I can now eat. I spend Wednesday getting my office set up and preparing for my Beijing trip.
Thursday, I go to Beijing for a conference that runs through Sunday. It was very hot (about 100f) and I only had long sleeved shirts with me. We walked for about 5 minutes between the hotel and the University holding the conference and in that time, our cold drinks were all warm. On Sunday, we took a trip out to the Bird's Nest. Again it was hot and again I had on long sleeves. I did bring some shorts and a tee-shirt for the last day, but I forgot to bring casual shoes, so I was stuck in long sleeves. Here is a picture of the exterior of the Bird's Nest.
And here is a picture of the interior.
They were having international youth football (soccer) tournament that day.
Here is a picture of my dissertation chair and her former professor, who was also the organizer of the conference.
And here is me standing in front of the water cube.
My chair kindly stopped a taxi driver and made sure the driver knew where I needed to be. The flight home was largely uneventful.
Well that's about all that's been going on with me thus far. I hope to take some more pictures and have a few happier stories to tell. This weekend I'm off to San Francisco....
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