Study Abroad in Hong Kong

The Plane Ride

On the plane I was sitting next to an older Asian man and a young Asian family with a young son. I noticed immediately that the older man wore a surgeons mask throughout the flight. Dr. Knight, the faculty advisor for this trip had told us earlier that many Asian citizens wear these masks due to the SARS outbreak It was really interesting to see this in action and not even be in the area. I did notice that only the older man wore the mask, the younger couple did not. Maybe this is a cultural phenom based on the region you are from or raised? I believe the younger couple was born in America but of Asian descent. The older man has more than likely lived in the Asian area for a long period of time. Nonetheless, he was very pleasant to be around and even helped me to fasten my seat belt. The younger family and I shared laughs the whole trip. I learned they were traveling to Vietnam. I am glad had the opportunity to sit in the midst of 2 different generations.

On my flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong, the experience was very different. I have never been on an international plane before and everything was written in Japanese first, American second. The airline attendants were very friendly and spoke to me in Japanese! the stewardesses outfits were very fitting for their occupation. I like the plane better it Had more space than the American Airline flight and the hospitality couldn’t be beat. This was also the first time I had eaten food that I had never seen nor heard of before. I had seafood curry, flan, and some light purple noodles with Soba sauce. I wasn’t sure how to eat the noodles and soba sauce so I watched the girl next to me since she was from Japan. I wasn’t a big fan of the noddles, but it didn’t hurt to give it a shot! I managed to spill my apple juice, but the staff and my seating buddy were quick to get the situation resolved– I still had wet pants though 😦