Wednesday, August 19.

I spend the entire day in the Hong Kong Airport, from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. If you have to be stuck in an airport all day, this is the place to do it. There's a "Travelers Spa" where, for 600 Hong Kong dollars (about US$77), you can spend the day in a comfortable lounge with leather armchairs and wifi internet, you can have breakfast and lunch, and you can take a shower! Needless to say, the first thing I do is take a shower. Then I settle into one of the very comfortable chairs where I remain for virtually the rest of the day: reading my books, checking my email, talking to Jed via Skype, having a very nice breakfast and lunch and just generally relaxing. It was worth every penny!

Flight to Changsha is a little late, but Chris (Field Director) is waiting at the airport after we pick up our luggage. "We" turns out to be another volunteer, Jessen, and I. We had actually been on the same plane from LAX to Hong Kong as well as the flight to Changsha, but didn't see each other until getting off the plane in Changsha. Still didn't know we were both WT vols. Jessen is arriving late because she is filling in for a last-minute drop-out. It's going to be hard for her because she has missed almost all of orientation.

We take the bus into Changsha, very late by the time we get checked into hotel. Jessen and I are sharing a room. It's a different hotel than the one we stayed in for orientation last year - much "fancier" but apparently Chris got a good price for so many rooms. It's on the other side of the school, down what I refer to as "art gallery" street, but others refer to as "antique street."

We walk up to the noodle shop across from YiZhong to have dinner, then back to the hotel and to bed.

It's unbelieveably hot. Welcome back to Hunan! Thank god for air conditioning.