Dave Sabol

The combination of the time change and the hectic schedule really does a number on your sleep pattern so it was nice to be able to sleep in to a relatively late 6:30. It’s not the same for all of the staff from my organization as some will be staying on for a few additional days to run a large follow-on conference and associated events, but for me today is the last day in Hong Kong.

My plan for the day was relatively simple: sleep in a bit, get up, eat breakfast and then meet my colleague to go do some shopping. I had made plans with two of my colleagues to do just that but as with almost everything else in life, things don’t always go according to plan. Because we are in town for a few more days we had to do some preparation for the next phase of the event and because these events are quite large and since our organization is based in the U.S. that means everything has to be shipped, stored and then staged until the time of the event.

Everything that my group needed made it to Hong Kong on time, but the challenge was getting it all to our set-up location from the shipping department at the Hong Kong Convention Center. When we arrived to do what was supposed to be 30 minutes of set-up none of our material was there. It then took the better part of the morning to get it all tracked down, set-up and working the way we needed it to. As a result my colleage wasn’t able to leave the convention center.

Despite that fact, myself and another colleague decided to take a cab and head back to Stanley Market one final time. It would be my third trip, but admittedly the first two I didn’t head in with a plan. This time, however, I had a list and knew what I wanted to purchase. Now it was just a matter of getting there, getting what I wanted and coming back to the hotel. All said things went exceptionally well and I even tried my hand at “haggling” for a better price, which I found to be fun and also learned that I was really good at it too.

In all honesty, my biggest challenge was using the ATM machine to get some cash. It works the same way that our machines do in the U.S. and you have the option to do the transaction in English, which I really appreciated, but when it came time to enter how much money I wanted to take out, I was stymied. I had planned to take out US $100, but found that the machine only worked in Hong Kong Dollars. Needless to say it took me a few extra minutes to do the conversion and figure out that I needed approximately HKD 700 to equal US $100. Another learning experience for me and a sign of my U.S.-centrism.

Despite that small hurdle, the day couldn’t have went any better. I got what I wanted at the market and as I write this, I am just finishing up my room service pizza (see Dad I told you they had great pizza here). I just have to pack my suitcase and wait for my designated pick-up time and be in the lobby waiting for my ride to the airport.

I am a bit sad to go as I found my experience to be extremely worthwhile and enjoyable. The weather here has also been phenomenal with daily high temperatures averaging in the upper-50’s to low-60’s, so it really made the trip that much better. However, even knowing that I am heading home to the cold and possibly snowy weather so typical in Pennsylvania this time of year, I can’t wait to see Laura, Andrew and my mom and dad.

All good things must come to an end, and for me this trip is pretty much over. It’s been a phenomenal cultural learning experience and I am so glad I was able to be part of it.