I didn’t sleep well on Monday night the 10th; I guess I was anxious about getting to Hong Kong. I left my house for the Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington Airport at 7:30 a. m. on Tuesday the 11th. I landed in Hong Kong at about 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday the 12th. After 16 hours in flight to Hong Kong from Newark, I’m pumped and eager to meet Dr. Jody Donovan for our NASPA International Student Services Institute in partnership with the Hong Kong Student Services Association.
When I arrived at the airport in Hong Kong Wednesday evening, I was greeted by “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly,” followed by “Silent Night” and many other Christmas carols. As I write this message while in the lobby of the hotel, I hear more Christmas carols. Everything is beautifully decorated in celebration of the Christmas holiday.
Leaving the airport on the Hong Kong side and coming across the Victoria Harbor Causeway to Kowloon to the hotel, I was struck by all the cranes and containers in the harbor and all the high rises surrounding the bay with lights on in the apartments and condos. The city is alive and electric with stores everywhere. Not just any stores, but there are designer stores jammed in every place.
With so many opportunities for conspicuous consumption, I wonder what college students in Hong Kong and the surrounding region envision for their future. Do they see themselves as financiers, CEOs of start-ups, or are some of them considering education, nonprofit work, or even student affairs. Tomorrow when I speak with the participants in the Institute, I will encourage them to consider becoming mentors in the Gwen Dungy NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program.
Have a great holiday!
Gwen
Gwen Dungy 