Faisal and Bruce Lee save the day

I've been absent for a week from the blogosphere, and my apologies for that. These last few days have meant saying goodbye to the languid lifestyle of a tourist, and getting ready for classes to start in Hong Kong.

Life here is expensive, even after the dollar conversion. The "apartments" are New York style cubicles, where one attempts to wedge themselves in as best as possible. Rents are sky-high, and there are people everywhere. To say things move at a fast pace here is an understatement. But despite the great population density, Hong Kong has amazing infrastructure that keeps it humming. Its subway system is one of the greatest in the world, and best of all, is idiot-proof (trust me, I've tested its limits). Its streets are spotless, and its entertainment and nightlife districts rival those of any cosmopolitan city in the world.

My time these past few days has been split between taking care of administrative details, and hanging out with my future exchange students. The latter has been facilitated by the university that I'm at - the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The name is misleading, because this place is not just a tech school, but has several highly regarded graduate academies. How yours truly snuck in remains a mystery.

Last Friday our MBA program organized a social outing where we got to tour Hong Kong while getting to know our fellow students a little better. The day was packed with sightseeing, including the Chi Lin Buddhist Nunnery, built in the Tang style of architecture that we saw while in mainland China:

Stanley Market (a popular street on the south side of Hong Kong island that looks like a boardwalk straight out of Europe):

And Victoria Peak, which is the highest point on the island. The views from here are stunning, if you can see through the pollution, that is. The picture at the top of the blog is from the Peak.

The exchange students that are here at HKUST are from all over the world, and are a cool bunch of people. Collin (big dude in red t-shirt below) is from Indiana U., and is quite the photographer. His equipment made my digital camera look like a disposable in comparison. Above are the some of the other exchange students: standing are Jacque from Guam (bet you've never met anyone from Guam before), Jameel from Florida, Alfredo from HEC in Paris, John from Manchester, Dan from Cornell, and Neil from Toronto; seated are myself and Steve from UNC. There are several exchange students that weren't at the orientation or in the picture above, but I'm looking forward to getting to know them better as time goes on.

The most important thing that happened on our trip today was a fight that broke out. These thugs came from nowhere and began pushing and shoving , and making rude comments about the ladies. That's when Bruce Lee and I decided to open a can of whup-ass...