Day 28

I leave for Beijing tonight.
My plane is at 8am tomorrow morning.

Why? It is logistically impossible for me to be on time for my flight tomorrow morning if I leave any later than 8:45 tonight (almost 12 hours in advance.) In order to get to Shenzhen where my flight is departing, I will have to take the metro to the border crossing. From there I'll immigrate into China at Lo Wu and then ride out to the airport on one of the last metro trains around 11. When I get to the airport, I'll be waiting for a while... I'll see how that turns out. I'll be back in Hong Kong Sunday night.

The reason I'm really posting is to address the goals I set last week. According to the blog schedule I was given I should have allowed more time for their fulfillment but the logistics of my trip don't fit that schedule at all. I'll probably do another update before I leave.

So:
I think I've discussed some of the cultural/political differences between the mainland and Hong Kong. The politics are more relaxed here and there's more tolerance of popular opinion. By the same token I think I am understanding more and more what I am studying and working towards as I accomplish things at my job. Working here gives me perspective about how the component parts of China's export industry work and how to enter this industry.

Honestly, I know hardly any Cantonese since being here. I speak Mandarin at work and when I buy things mostly. Or I just don't say anything. I've tried; I can say "hi", " thank you", "good morning", "bye", and "yes". Also this week I learned to count. So it's a work in progress.

The professional goals I set were addressed mostly by the first answer about culture and politics in Hong Kong. My personal involvement in international trade hasn't gone to plan yet, but the pieces are all there.

Mostly I'm just excited about Beijing. It'll be worth the (awful) trip.