36 HOURS on Adrenaline!

Dear Everyone,

Day 1: Here in HK! It's amazing and terrifying and AMAZING.

Lots of things are not as bad as some people say (it does NOT smell that bad--it's actually really REALLY clean and the smells are interesting and fun) (the air pollution is also not that bad--I say as I smear grit out of my contacts for the 50th time this morning...) and lots of things are not as good as people say (...can't think of any right now).

It's a huge relief to just BE here, experiencing what I've been looking forward to and hearing hearsay about for so many months! Family!

Our flights went off without a hitch. I [was able to] eat all the on-plane meals; they all seemed very Chinese and got more Chinese-y as we traveled further East. Taiwan was the first big shocker. Wait, I take it back. The international flight terminal in San Fran was the first big shock--all glittery and white with not a white PERSON in sight.

Oooo, I made a rhyme.

I take it back again--the first big shock was FINALLY GETTING INTO THE VAN outside the MTC! Monday was so crazy (and feels like YEARS ago!!) with packing, packing, packing and finishing last minute details (like getting a picture with President Brown! I really felt like Ron in the MTC, following around my dear Sister Harry Potter Farr and scoring off all of her awesomeness and friends in high places and her mom with awesome baking skills and my Harry Potter metaphor is now breaking down but that's OK--I am the luckiest companion ever!!). It was so fun to talk to you all--although I wish I'd made you talk one by one at a time, so I could talk to you more personally--good thing a round TWO is coming up! Mother's Day! If you don't mind, please call US at 9:30 am on Monday morning MY TIME. I'm pretty sure that's really late at night in OK on Sunday--I'm sorry--but my companion says this is the best and easiest way. I'm gonna send this now because the comp [computer? not companion] is doing weird things and I don't wanna lose this like I keep hearing about in Song Jeung Loh's old emails that Brian sends me :)

I love you people and I love this place!!! Sister Dia Darcey