A handshake from Jesus

The other morning I woke up, my first morning in Hong Kong, after a great night's sleep. Jet Lag,...I think I kicked your @$$.

I rose up out of bed with the adventuresome spirit of a little guy we call Columbus. But, since I wasn't on a boat in the middle of 'the world is flatsville' I headed down to the shopping mall nearby to buy a towel for my shower. I discovered that this was all I was lacking in IKEA-ville. There will be no bucket showering here!

The night before, I was shown a restaurant that is good for breakfast. I head in to this joint and the breakfast menu looks great. I tell the lady behind the register, "ham, egg, and cheese sandwich and tea please..."

She looks at me like a deer in the headlights, or should I be more culturally sensitive and say like a dragon in the moonlight…either way, she was not receiving the communicator signals I was sending her way…no, not one bit.

::: This is where I realize how alone I am, no knowledge of language, no one to translate for me, no attempt at deciphering the Latin roots of the words to try and understand the symbols on the wall before me :::

Then,...she speaks up. This angel of a woman behind me, orders for me, double checks that I want tea, and then gently says with a smile, "For here or to go?" Her simple act this morning was like a handshake from Jesus and hearing him say..."Michael, I am here...remember, I will be leading you and sticking with you, comforting and protecting you. Welcome to this next adventure, this next part of your life. We are pleased, and this is right."

Dang. And I all I was looking for was a sandwich and a towel.

All of the seats in the restaurant were taken...and with the pride still tender, I was not going to be taking any drastic attempts at communication while still in this restaurant. Finally, I see a table that was freshly de-occupied in the private smoking room. I breathe deep, swallow my pride...and head on in. I am the only one not smoking with my breakfast. I sat in silence, staring at the men in there and the world around me. I just soaked it all in, and it soaked in me. STOP...shower time! Oh oh oh oh...oh oh, oh oh!

"Hammer, don't hurt em."

I left the smoking breakfast and headed into the grocery store. I picked up a few things now that I knew what to expect at the quarters and thoroughly enjoyed my shopping experience. A bottle of Snapple Lemon flavored Iced Tea, Apple juice, Soy milk (or juice for you Mom and Dad), and a few air fresheners. Seems the living quarters come with a smell that is remnant of your buddies worst farts. Luckily, this is confined to the kitchen only. YES mother, I checked it for gas leaks.

Now the area smells like an Ocean breeze with a hint of Juniper Berries and Cloud Mist. Yeah, so when you buy three air fresheners and put them in a space the size of a small apartment...it is, "a veritable buffet of protection"...for your nose that is.

So, off from there and back in for the shower. Great experience, resulting in one clean me. I totally figured out how to use the water heater that is mounted in the shower without scolding myself. I head downstairs to meet up with someone who is supposed to help me run my errands today. He makes a phone call and we head back up to the quarters. He brings an ethernet cord, and hooks up my internet. He says see you down stairs at 12.30 for lunch...um, okay.

I jump online and get my email and get a chance to send one out telling the loved ones I made it ok. Turns out I have some more time and Cheryl is on AIM. Man it was good to talk to her today. She is super sick and I wish I could be there to help her, but her Dad drove in and is keeping an eye on her. She has a laundry list of illnesses!

Dad emails me back, and it was real good to hear from them too. I will try and figure out the calling for free online and video chat tomorrow. There are a few kinks right now, but I am sure it is only a settings change.

Lunch time is here and off we go. Dim Sum at a local restaurant with the local admin support staff of the school. It was a blast. I ate chicken feet again, and this time it was awesome. That was the adventurous part of the meal! Still too much work for the little meat that it provides.

I set out on my own and walked around a bit after lunch and found my way around this part of town. I was looking for a power adapter and was guided to a store by one of the main staff here at the school. I picked one up and off to the quarters I went.

I was so anxious to get my iPod alarm clock up and running after getting it replaced with a new one before I left. I asked the man if this is what I need to run a plug from the States and he said yes. So, I plug it in and, viola! It works and the lights light up and I start setting the clock, then….POP! Then, SMOKE…lots and lots of smoke! And now, I have a room filled with smoke, and no power outlets because the breaker flipped...and I may not have a clock.

So…lesson learned. The man at the little hardware store combined with the man I asked did not have all of the information necessary to make a good suggestion. I should have carried the plug in with me.

It took a day to find someone to turn my power back on and get my computer up and running in my room instead of the kitchen. And, no network ports in the kitchen as you can imagine!

So I am behind on this ol’ bloggy blog blog. Forgive me. I will try and get caught up this weekend.