Tuesday, January 31, 2012
My typical skip through Hong Kong is about 12 hours after a red-eye flight from NYC…this time I thought I’d enjoy the day more if I had a full night’s sleep. Well jet-lag doesn’t always co-operate with plans, but I did get to enjoy a few niceties of the city before moving on to POM.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Waking up in a bed, even if it is 5:30 am and I’ve only had 4 hours of sleep, is nice.
But my favorite part of the last 15 hours is my seat on the flight from Seoul to Hong Kong. When I see my seat number, 21B, I fear the worst: a middle seat.
I already have plans of requesting a change until I see the luxurious space surrounding the seat I am directed to. There are literally sunbeams breaking through clouds highlighting this throne I am about to be seated in…
Monday, January 30, 2011
It is probably not possible to appreciate Seoul from the airport and unfortunately that’s going to be my only glimpse of South Korea.
I did however get a glimpse out the window of the Arctic Icecaps as we flew over (they didn’t look to be melting, so, good news there…). It is pretty cool to look out the window and to clearly see the frozen tundra, and personally I’m quite happy to be in a warm plane above rather than frozen below.
Sunday, January 30, 2012
Once again I depart New York for the land just slightly north of the Land Down Under. Yes, when I mention where I live I often have to tell people where PNG is, no, it’s not in Africa or South America. The mistake is understandable, what with there being a Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana and French Guiana.
I depart on a Sunday and will arrive in PNG on a Wednesday, yes, it’s a long haul, a VERY long haul.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Ok, it’s my last day in NYC before returning to PNG and I have a ton of things I want to enjoy today…
Brunch at some building on Bond Street…oh, it’s actually called Building on Bond with Kate and Olivia, dinner with Cori, dessert with Antonio, last minute shopping, cappuccino with the pretty leaf on it from Cafe Angelique, Mud Mocha from the Mud Truck (so addictively good I think they must be adding crack to it)…
I don’t think I have enough room in my stomach to eat everything I want to eat before I go (I wish I was a cow with 8 stomachs just for today) – pizzas (yes plural), croissants, tiramisu from Veneiro’s, wine, bagels with salmon and cream cheese, cheeses in general, fruits and veggies I can’t get in PNG, a really nice meal, I should’ve been eating more this last week. What was I thinking? I did get my gnudi and hamburger from Spotted Pig last night, after a 2 1/2 hour wait and one too many Dark and Stormies along with an Ethan Hawke spotting. The wait – oh so worth it! The Ethan Hawke spotting, well not too uncommon there.
Things I enjoy about being home
Friday, January 27, 2012
I have to admit I don’t really believe in ‘reverse culture shock,’ which isn’t to say it doesn’t exist. It’s just that I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it. Yes, I see things a little different when I come back. The return to modern conveniences, the availability and range of choice of EVERYTHING and ease of accomplishing tasks is nice, ok, really nice. Being surrounded by a common language, one which I understand, is pleasant. The massive attention the general media and advertising places on ‘having things’ seems excessive. And there are little things… I struggle to remember which side of the road I should be on and have found myself wondering when the car heading towards me is going to move back to its lane before I realize it’s me.
In general though I knew it all existed before and I’m not surprised it still exists a year or two later. There are moments of realization standing in front of the tabloids when I realize I have no idea who anyone in the spotlight is, but then I remember I never really did… It’s sort of disappointing at how quickly I stop noticing, and hence stop appreciating, that the electricity stays on or water will continuously flow from the taps. Maybe all ‘Reverse Culture Shock’ is, is simply a new kind of appreciation or understanding for what you already knew but had never stopped to notice.
Wednesday, January 25, 2011
As I haven’t been in PNG for over a month now I just heard about the landslide that occurred a couple of days ago, very sad for those who were effected.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
…is not my favorite place in NYC, and I think most people who live in the city feel the same. It’s a place I desperately avoided when I lived there and if, by some unfortunate luck was forced to cross through did so by ducking my head and racing through so as to avoid being accosted by the many vendors.
Yet it’s one of those iconic places that nearly everyone in the world has heard about and EVERY visitor to the city wants to experience for themselves. So when one of my co-workers in PNG requested that I take a lot of pictures, ‘especially of Time’s Square,’ I responded: ‘Challenge…Accepted.’
@ the edge 