Hong Kong

Well, if I wanted a good lesson in intercultural relations, I could not have chosen a better day than yesterday! As I arrived to the Hong Kong airport with my 2 very heavy suitcases, I realized I needed help finding my way to a taxi to take me to the port. A nice short Chinese man approached me right out of customs and asked if I needed a cab. Being so tired I said yes, even though somewhere in the back of my mind I was wondering whether I was doing the right thing talking to a stanger... The guy proceeded to caryy my laguage (barely making it:) and took me to the curb outside the terminal where he stoped and used his cell phone. There was no cab in sight... He turn to me and said, "I just go get the van. You stay here." I decided right there and then that I was not going to dash back to the terminal and look for a "real taxi", but rather trust this guy... Minutes later, a van with a Pakistani guy (in Hong Kong?) screeched to a halt in front of us. I got in together with the short Chinese guy and off we went...



As the van was speeding through the highways, the 2 guys were busy talking on their cell phones and I was left to wonder what the hell did I get myself into. Yet somhow, the Chinese man's smile seemed so genuine, that through the fog of my great fatigue, I let my fears go and watched the skyline of Hong Kong passing by through the windows...



When we arrived to the port, the Pakistani man took off with the van and I was left on the sidewalk with the Chinese man who kept asking me "Where do you need to go? Where is your ship?" Of course the answer to that was "I have no idea. My instructions only tell me to go to the public pier and wait for some tendering vessel to take me to the ship..." The man smiled an amused smile (probably thinking I am total nut case) and told me "Let's go!". He took my biggest suitcase and started rolling it toward the pier and I followed him with the other suitcase and my backpack, barely able to move, feeling dizzy all of a sudden with the incredible city lights surrounding me and the uneasy sense that I have no idea where the heck I am and where he is taking me...



We wondered aimlessly up and down the pier as my Chinese friend (by now I decided he must be friendly if he went through the trouble of helping me carry my stuff looking for my ship) kept asking everyone where we can find a tendering vessel that goes out to the large cruise ship...



After 20 minutes or so, I was starting to feel very bad for the man and sorry for myslef. My jet leg did not help much either, since I realized I no longer felt in control of the situation. Then the man stopped and said "I call the police!" Well, little did I know that this is the BEST thing that could happened to me! After a few minutes, 2 policemen appeared and started questioning me about where I thought I was going. Trying not to become irritated, I told them again and again. They stayed very polite but seemed to have a look on their faces that said "This lady is a bit flaky..." Then they asked to take my passport... Not something I relished doing as I stood there with my Chinese man and my lauguage and they dissapeared...



Another 25 minutes went by, and I became aware that I truly felt like a fool! Just off on my "big journey" and already lost???? Yet, the 2 policemen came back with a police inspector; a good looking man in civilian cloths who used his cell phone to find the docking Scholar Ship, get their coordinator on the phone and be given insturctions on where I should wait to be picked up!



As I said my goodbyes to the Chinese man (by now I saw his little daughter's and wife's pictures and heard his life story), the police inspector took me to his little office to put my luggage there and from there to... Starbucks! Sipped coffee, he told me about graduating 30 years ago from Pace University in New York City, retiring from the Corrections Office and taking this current job after a 7 months vacation around the world when he realized he will go crazy if he did find a new job and ended up joining the pier's police department...



When he heard what I was going to teach, he started a series of questions about the China-US global economic relations and ths I ended up giving my first lesson at a Starbucks in Hong Kong to a policeman!



The kind policeman (or Allan, as he wanted me to call him) ended up escorting me back to the pier and making sure I got on the right vessel to take me to the ship. Before he left, he asked fo my business card and promised to email me so we can continue our discussion on the economic future of China and the US... Unbelievable!!!!



I am now awake and just finished exploring my new "home". The ship is an "old lady", and I feel like I have gone back in time 20-30 years just looking at the old fixtures and the amount of reall wood everywhere... But I will leave the description that for next time... Now I am off to my orientation and drug test (I guess it is a requirement)...