Student Journal 2
Hong Kong
After almost 36 hours of smooth air travel including a layover in New York, we arrived in Hong Kong. We arrived at the Royal Pacific and to say the least I was very satisfied with the Hotel amenities. Our first order of business was to get ready for our first group dinner. The restaurant of choice was unable to accommodate our massive group size (we had an incredible group participation rate) so we had to ‘call an audible’ and relocate to ‘Fook Youn Seafood Restaurant’.
Upon arrival, our group leader and wonderful professor Greg Stoller, with a nice hand from Winnie (our tour guide) successfully had us seated. The food was then brought out and placed on a lazy susan. The waitresses brought out delicious beer (Tsingtao) and delightful food. Some of the entrees included a delicious spicy eggplant stir-fry which we placed on crisp fresh lettuce leafs and topped off with some delicious sprouts and soy sauce. The walk back to our hotel was well lit as if we were near times square except with all of the writing in Chinese characters and narrower roadways. It was at this exact moment that my jetlag stepped aside for a moment to let me realize I was on the other side of the planet. Welcome to Hong Kong!
HK General Chamber of Commerce
On May 17th, 2011 we headed to the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce to be briefed by the Chief Economist, David O’Rear. Mr O’Rear proceeded to give an extremely compelling speech about how Hong Kong’s economy is positively correlated with trade and also discussed current and future challenges for Hong Kong. His explanation on how Hong Kong became what it is today and one particular slide which showed some key economic metrics for Hong Kong were of high interest to me. His final comparison of China to the United States in the 1920’s (wild west, no IP protection, open markets) with the caveat that the great depression has already past, was thought incredibly thought provoking. After his speech, Mr. O’Rear fielded our questions and walked us down to the lobby fielding our questions the entire way. The level of access we were given to Mr O’Rear was amazing and I felt honored to be a part of this event.
After almost 36 hours of smooth air travel including a layover in New York, we arrived in Hong Kong. We arrived at the Royal Pacific and to say the least I was very satisfied with the Hotel amenities. Our first order of business was to get ready for our first group dinner. The restaurant of choice was unable to accommodate our massive group size (we had an incredible group participation rate) so we had to ‘call an audible’ and relocate to ‘Fook Youn Seafood Restaurant’.
Upon arrival, our group leader and wonderful professor Greg Stoller, with a nice hand from Winnie (our tour guide) successfully had us seated. The food was then brought out and placed on a lazy susan. The waitresses brought out delicious beer (Tsingtao) and delightful food. Some of the entrees included a delicious spicy eggplant stir-fry which we placed on crisp fresh lettuce leafs and topped off with some delicious sprouts and soy sauce. The walk back to our hotel was well lit as if we were near times square except with all of the writing in Chinese characters and narrower roadways. It was at this exact moment that my jetlag stepped aside for a moment to let me realize I was on the other side of the planet. Welcome to Hong Kong!
HK General Chamber of Commerce
On May 17th, 2011 we headed to the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce to be briefed by the Chief Economist, David O’Rear. Mr O’Rear proceeded to give an extremely compelling speech about how Hong Kong’s economy is positively correlated with trade and also discussed current and future challenges for Hong Kong. His explanation on how Hong Kong became what it is today and one particular slide which showed some key economic metrics for Hong Kong were of high interest to me. His final comparison of China to the United States in the 1920’s (wild west, no IP protection, open markets) with the caveat that the great depression has already past, was thought incredibly thought provoking. After his speech, Mr. O’Rear fielded our questions and walked us down to the lobby fielding our questions the entire way. The level of access we were given to Mr O’Rear was amazing and I felt honored to be a part of this event.