Culture shock? Try culture paralysis.

The numbness is starting to fade.

No, this isn't any kind of emo manifesto. It's what I've been referring to earlier... I haven't felt like I've been in Hong Kong. Just a fog... It sure looks like Hong Kong, it sure sounds like Hong Kong, but I always had the feeling that if I went and swiped at it, I'd get nothing but a billow of precipitation. That's beginning to change. Into what? I don't know. But the subtle cogs that make this culture churn in a different way than back home are beginning to rear themselves. Though, as the sun fades over the Tolo Harbor, and the lights of the immaculate "new town" of Sha Tin turn on in the distance, I can still gather that we're not too far apart.

To summarize the later part of yesterday more, I got my first bits of campus, though still draped in that artificial-flavored mess of official campus-led tours and awkward social encounters with people who had a language barrier to me attempting to feed me critical information about the programs here. In response, I couldn't do anything else but nod blankly. For one, it was surely on a handout that they gave me in stacks. And I didn't feel the need to start making trouble by asking the poor girls and guys to speak up or clarify themselves... That just seemed taboo.

I also learned that not every meal should be eaten with chopsticks. Chopsticks with a spoon as sort of a safety net for fallen noodles is common in the Ramen-esque dishes. Also, spaghetti noodles are fairly popular here as well, which can't be used at all by chopsticks; so in response, forks are to be used. Not by twirling the noodles, though. Maybe once for good measure. Otherwise, it's most accepted to stick your head in close and go at the noodles in a gung-ho fashion.

Also, there is a supermarket on campus with a huge variety of products... In fact, it probably has the same amount of products that a Kroger carries in a much tinier slot. For one, the aisles go to the roof. And second, everything comes in much more portable servings, outside of water (which is more per serving, and immensely cheap - you can get a gallon of water for about US$2) and liquor (which is the same per serving, and also highly taxed to be priced at rates comparable to that of the US -- which for some can look quite funny costing HK$1,200). Even fresh produce was available. Too bad that the community fridge on the floor is jam-packed with goods already for others. Maybe next time.

Last night, I was a wreck. Jet lag finally hit me, and on the longest day of activities for the week, I was only able to get 4 hours. For two and a half hours, I just laid there, hoping I would drift off. But my eyes stayed open the entire time. I gave up, and found my way down campus for the major orientation session.

And this orientation building was infinitely gorgeous. Wow. Completely modern, black sheen, glass walls, and hard wood interior on the walls. It was like walking into the future. It's weird to say it, but the blend of ultra-modern buildings with the Chinese tendency to place calming objects everywhere is really revitalizing. Every building has some characteristic that I can't help but admire as the suburban American kid.

Yeah, it's just a monster of modernity, isn't it? And to think that I have a class or two in there.

And orientation was just a horrid blast of information that we all care little about... Though the staff did a great job of making it interesting; notably, the security officer presented safety tips about the driving conditions by yelling "BE SURE TO LOOK RIGHT FIRST" and then showing a clip of a guy looking the wrong way and subsequently getting hit by a car. Hilarious.

If it weren't for the other people there feeling the same that I was - a daunting, yet sobering cocktail of overwhelmed, excited, exhausted, and hungry - I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it at all. But most of the international students here are great.

After the orientation session ended at 5, I grimaced at the thought of walking back up the mountain to get home. Amy, one of the other international students here, showed me the most beautiful (and appropriate shortcuts): rather than walking up the curved road or taking the bus to get to New Asia college, you can actually take the elevator of one of the buildings to the seventh floor. Instead, though, I hit the top floor. And as we exited, we realized we were on the roof of this building, which on one side sits next to a cliff, and on the other, views Sha Tin.

And just think. This "town" on the other side of the harbor is considered one of the residential areas of the region. High rise apartments, shopping districts (apparently an IKEA, too)... These are the Hong Kong suburbs.

If it was the numbness fading, it probably has something to do with 7 million people sharing the air with me. That's bound to create some kind of feeling.