Tuesday, October 25, 2016. Newark, New Jersey. I flew from Charlotte to Newark and arrived around noon. We flew on the west side of the Hudson as we landed and saw the whole New York City skyline. Caught a van to the motel and rode with Carolyn McCarthy, Charlotte Catholic high school counselor, who was on the same flight. Kathy Freeman and Reid Smith, both with New Oasis (our recruiting agency partner in China), who came from Raleigh, were also in the same van.
At 3 pm, our group of seven educators met for an orientation which included an introduction to New Oasis and a discussion of the interviewing process. We went to dinner at Nico's in the New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts.
Thursday, October 27, 2016. Sixteen hour flight to Hong Kong yesterday. Slept fitfully for probably half of it. Watched movies and read a book of Gary Snyder essays.
Friday, October 28, 2016. Eaton Hotel, Kowloon (Hong Kong). Full touring day. I have a much better appreciation for Hong Kong's geography. Hong Kong includes 260 islands, many uninhabited. The population is 7.5 million. Since 1997, Hong Kong is no longer a British dependency, but the Chinese agreed to not change the capitalist system there for 50 years. Hong Kong is a financial and tourist center and depends on imports for all basic commodities.
We took a bus to the waterfront. Walked past the Peninsula Hotel, one of the finest in the world, took pictures on the waterfront, and the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island, the commercial center. Walked to the old market district. The collection of skyscrapers on Hong Kong island is staggering. We hand lunch and shopped early afternoon. Drove up to Victoria Peak at dusk. The view is spectacular in every direction. Out to the South China Sea you see many islands and a long line of ships streaming into harbor. The view of Hong Kong Island below and Kowloon is spectacular at night. We took the tram down the mountain and a bus to dinner. Good food. Back to the hotel. We travel to Shenzhen and Shanghai tomorrow.
Sunday, October 30, 2016. Shanghai Marriott. We drove from Hong Kong yesterday morning into the mainland at Shenzhen. Shenzhen has a population of nearly 20 million people, is China's high tech center, and had begun to rival Shanghai as a world financial center. Over the last 30 years, the city sprang from nearly nothing. We interviewed students yesterday afternoon in Shenzhen and flew to Shanghai. Here for three days. We interview students all day here.
