Getting busier. And Ryan comes to visit.

It's been awhile since my last post because it's been a busy week. Wednesday, I had my two other classes, China in the Global Economy and Political and Socioeconomic Environment in China. Both were really interesting, especially the latter, which basically discussed history and politics of China. After class, a couple of the other exchange students and I went out to a bar in Wan Chai. Back in the old days, Wan Chai housed all the strip clubs and brothels. Now, they have been replaced by bars and restaurants, however, there are still a few bars of the darker variety there. Not surprisingly, I ended up drinking too much and cabbing home well past midnight. Luckily, I don't have class on Thursdays.

On Thursday, I spent most of the day cleaning my apartment and getting ready for Ryan to come to visit. Ryan and I met in San Diego about 6 years ago when he was a traveling nurse. He bounced from city to city, but now resides in San Francisco. He works in pediatrics at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University. He also grew up the in the Phillapines, but his family moved to Chicago when he was 10. I was really excited for Ryan to come visit so we could explore Hong Kong together. Plus, he's a great houseguest.

I picked up Ryan at the airport and we took the train back to Central Hong Kong. We went out for dinner in the SoHo area (which is close to my apt). The weather was warmer so we sat at a table which allowed us to watch all the people passing by. Hong Kong is so multicultural so the people-watching is fantastic. After pizza and calimari, we headed back to my apartment and discovered there is a bar on the second floor of my building. I had no clue! Keep in mind, I'm using the term "bar" loosely. Picture an apartment, which someone converted into a bar. It was definitely not a legal drinking establishment. The place was small and all of the patrons were local. Most were smoking, drinking and playing darts. And the best part...to get in, you have to ring the doorbell to enter. After having a cheap drink at my new study spot (j/k), we ventured out to a club. The music at the club was good, but it was empty. That didn't stop us from befriending the only other people at the club. It was a group of americans from San Francisco who all worked at Gap, Inc. They were in Hong Kong to meet with their suppliers. The picture below is of me, Ryan and our new Gap friend, Kimmie.

Justin