Layover in Hong Kong

My flight from Perth to Hong Kong was late, causing me to miss my connection to Los Angeles. Cathay Pacific was very efficient, however, and soon had me re-booked on a later flight. They even gave me a $40HD meal voucher. I was initially quite pleased by this until I discovered that the exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar and the U.S. dollar is about 8:1. My voucher actually amounted to about $5US. In an American or Australian airport, about the only thing you can buy for $5 is a small bottle of water or maybe a coffee, but I was hopeful my money might go further in China.  

At first glance, the Hong Kong airport looked to be much like any other large international airport in the world. There were a few differences – the signs were in English and Chinese, and the predominant language spoken was Chinese, with English a close second.

Something I've never run across in my travels was that here, I could also rent a bed in a small cubicle for a few hours. I could also buy a shower. Both of these would have been quite welcome if my layover was longer.

Eventually I made my way to the food court. It, too, was much like the food courts in most other airports. There are now McDonalds everywhere in the world, (Tonga claims to be the only country in the world without one), and the Hong Kong airport was no exception. In every country we visit, people tell us how bad and unhealthy the food at Micky D's is, yet it always seems they have the longest lines and are always busy. Since I was in Hong Kong, I certainly had no intention of spending my voucher at a McDonalds, however, and went in search of, if not Chinese food, at least something unusual.

I looked at the menus of almost every restaurant in the airport. Alas, $5 doesn't go much further at the Hong Kong airport than any other. I did find a couple of menu items at a Chinese restaurant, but they didn't look all that appetizing.

In the end, I am embarrassed to say, I bought a coffee and croissant at the McCafe.

Home to America

Airports are interesting places, don't you think? Flying home to America from Perth, Australia the other day … half way around the world … through four different airports … afforded me lots of opportunity to observe and ponder. My first thought … air travel is definitely faster than traveling on Nine of Cups. It has taken us 14 years to get to Australia and I got back to America in just 34 hours.

Layovers, within reason that is, don't bother me all that much any more.When I was traveling for business, it was a pain and a waste of time sitting in an airport for hours, but now it's less of an issue. I use the time to observe what's going on around me and check out the displays and wares that airports offer to lure bored, captive passengers into eating, drinking and buying things at escalated prices they probably wouldn't consider under other circumstances. I especially like “Duty Free” shops that charge no tax, but end up being significantly higher priced than if the tax was included. Go figure! I kind of resent the fact that they make you walk through these shops in order to get to the gates.

Sydney Airport is always a good place to lay over. I had five hours to check it out, so I was pretty thorough. Yes, there were all the usual upscale shops like Victoria's Secret, Coach, Ralph Lauren, Burberry and Godiva. I gave them all a pass. I prefer to browse in shops with more unique products and approaches to selling their wares. I enjoy National Geographic and the Discovery store. The Merino Shop, offering the finest in all things wool, had a great display with a bronze sheep shearing statue out front. Truth be told, I wasn't interested in the woollen products in the least, but the the bronze was pretty classy and elaborate for an airport shop. They must do okay.

Australian Made featured a big kangaroo at the front entry which got my attention. They sold classic Aussie akubra hats and sheepskins, Aussie t-shirts and the usual souvenirs, but the place had a sort of kangaroo-ish flare that distinguished it from all the rest of the souvenir shops.

Beyond the shops, I love to eavesdrop on conversations as I'm walking along. Snippets of different accents, different languages drift in the air. Sometimes I pick up a word or language I recognize. Other times, I'm at a loss. Women in burkas, guys in shorts and thongs (that's flip-flops for Americans, not skimpy underwear), men in turbans and one in colorful African dress all heading somewhere.

I'm fascinated with the Departure boards that change constantly. Flights to Nadi, Dubai, Delhi, Ho Chi Minh City and all manner of exotic places including Los Angeles, which might be exotic to you if you've never been there. I want to visit them all. I wonder where everyone is going and why. Business, pleasure, home for some emergency?

Though I didn't buy any, I did see both kangaroo and crocodile jerky on offer. I preferred some Australian licorice for the trip.

Long Distance Learning

We had a fun and interesting experience the other night. We went back to school … via Skype … to Finley Road Elementary in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Nearly 20 years ago, we met Carrie Burandt Gaffney when she came with her mom and dad to Christmas parties at our home and family events where we worked. She was outgoing and liked to sing with me (both excellent qualities). We kept track of her via her dad, Jeff, when she graduated college and got married. Then, last December we received an email from her directly.

Carrie's a second-grade teacher in Rock Hill, South Carolina now. She's all grown up and married now and just got her M.Ed in Education Technology. She wanted us to talk to her kids about living aboard a boat and sailing around the world. What a fun exchange, we thought, and we were kind of chuffed that she'd think of us to talk to her kids.

There were a few technical difficulties … like there's a 12-hour time difference between Rock Hill, SC and Bunbury, Western Australia which means it would be dark here when we scheduled the presentation and trying to figure out a time we'd have reliable internet on the boat. We sorted everything out. We sent pictures of Cups, mostly inside views, to give the kids a feel for what living aboard a boat might be like. We talked about the different names for rooms on a boat … it's not a kitchen; it's a galley, for instance. We talked about living on the water and how things rock and roll sometimes and need to be lashed down when we sail.

We spent quite a bit of time talking about the schools we've visited throughout our travels ... in Panama and Tonga and Vanuatu. Though the schoolrooms may look different, the kids were very much the same. There are some universal truths … kids prefer recess to practicing math skills, it's hard to pay attention sometimes when it's beautiful outside and teachers are pretty special people who spend so much time and effort helping our kids to learn. Carrie felt that this topic fit in well with her class' continuous Social Studies project about realizing similarities and celebrating the differences between different groups of people.

Carrie's kids are particularly lucky. They each have their own tablets and lots of learning aids available to them. I asked Carrie how she felt technology helped her kids. She was quick to answer. “... technology is incredible (not on its own) but because of what it allows my students to do. We can collaborate with one another, as well as people from around the globe. Students can show their learning in ways that are relevant to them. It allows me to differentiate assignments to help each student to learn in ways which are appropriate for them. It also adds an element of creativity that was just not practical before in the classroom. An added bonus side effect is that it really brings parents into the classroom learning environment in authentic ways. They can literally see their child's learning in real-time through blogs and the website.”

The kids were animated and interested and asked lots of good questions. In fact, we were surprised they were so very attentive and picked up on so many practical issues that might cause a problem living abaord. “How do you wash your clothes?” “Do you sail right through storms or do you go around them?” “What would happen if you got a hole in your boat?” They had their thinking caps on.

Carrie commented that “This all goes along with my teaching philosophy because I want my students to have as many real world learning experiences as I can possibly give them. I want them to leave my classroom as better people - to me, this is just as important as them learning to read and solve math problems. Plus, I want learning to be FUN! There's no rule that says quality learning needs to be boring. I love my job, and I want my students to love coming each day.” Please note that this does not sound like Miss Thompson, my third grade teacher, who majored in Boredom 101 and thwacked a thick ruler on the heads of those kids who dozed off in class while trying to memorize multiplication tables.

We're hoping the kids enjoyed themselves, because we certainly did. We received much more than we gave … the energy, the enthusiasm and the candor of 7 and 8 year old kids is contagious. I think we're going to do this again.