Debit Cards and Dragon Boats

What's the best way to draw out all of the internationals in a city? Celebrate a national festival and have one area carry out the festivities in English! That's exactly what happened today. As it is the fifth Saturday of the fifth month of the lunar calendar today was the Dragon Boat Festival, a celebration that originated in China but has since spread across Asia. There were celebrations all over Hong Kong today marked by the unique spectacle of getting to watch dragon boat races. The boats hold about 20 people and are led by a person sitting at the front drumming. Allen was quick to point out that since we went to the English broadcasted one it was nothing like what he was used to experiencing in Mainland China, but it a very cool experience. The beach was packed with tourists, many of whom seemed to be more interested in snapping pictures of some of the racers costumes than the races. Despite the heat and the massive crowd I'm glad I went for the experience.

Crowd

Dragon boat

Costume contestants

The Goldman Sachs team celebrating a victory

Tranquility on the other side of the pier

Speaking of bringing all the tourists together, however, it was crazy that while eating lunch listening a a band play in the town square I not only saw my Mandarin classmate, but I also ran into another Chip! I saw someone walk by with what I thought was the flying C and then as he passed I saw "CMU Lax" on the back. I couldn't believe it. We talked for a bit and he is a CMU student completing his internship in HK. He seemed to be loving his experience too, and I was a bit jealous to learn he was staying until August. I'm still shocked I ran into him.

On a final note, I lost my debit card. I didn't get pickpocketed as I still have all my cash and the rest of my cards, but I have no idea what happened. I think it must have fallen out when I took out my octopus card to pay for the MTR in the past week. It's a very unsettling experience, but it could be so much worse - I mean, it could have been my passport. Everyone here has been very helpful and I've got the card canceled (no foreign charges were made) and should have a replacement by hopefully the end of next week. Sometimes things feel like the end of the world, but I am very lucky to have wonderful parents that figured everything out for me back home. Note to future students: bring 2 cards and keep them separately! I did the first 2 times I was abroad, but having closed my Michigan bank account after graduation I did not this time and obviously regret it! On a high note, however, I just got my passport back from the Chinese consulate and have been granted a visa for my after program travel! I can officially say I will be traveling Bangkok and Beijing for 8 days following my program's completion!